The Wages, An Illustrated Story | 11. Masterstroke | Blueprint For a Life of Secrets
I stood between my bed and dresser with my hands on my hips like the bold captain of a hidden realm, but I grew annoyed that I couldn’t get my own nattering song out of my head and my self-contained chutzpa evaporated.
I needed to unwind and I ended my night of trashy reading and writing by purifying my body in a bubblebath. Basking in the soapy warmth, I read the second chapter of a spy thriller called Blueprint For a Life of Secrets. I had not hidden this neglected paperback. I hadn’t dog-eared it. I didn’t cram it full of multiple bookmarks, and I had not accidentally memorized any of its climactic action scenes. But I figured I should reward it for having done its job of obscuring Girlfriend Librarians from public view in the bookstore checkout.
That’s how I wrote what would go on to be my only top-ten song; not in a wonderful flash of inspiration, but as a way of blowing off some disgusted self-pity before I masturbated.