The Art of Mounting

By last call, Adele is in a corner booth drinking martinis with a taxidermist named Sid. He claims to be able to talk without moving his lips. Trying to impress her, he twists his face and begins to mumble and drool. Fed up, Adele tosses back her drink, slams the glass on the table, snapping the stem, and tells him to stop it and talk like a real person. Sid starts to cry.

Adele feels guilty and moves to his side of the booth, where Sid lets it all out. He knows he isn’t any good, but he can’t let go of his dream. He doesn’t want to be a run-of-the-mill taxidermist forever; he wants to break into show business and perform morality plays with his stuffed animals. He has a lazy eye that reminds Adele of a boy she once loved and lost.

When the waitress sees the broken glass, Sid takes all the blame and sounds almost sexy promising to make it worth her while if she sneaks us a couple of drinks for the road. He puts his hand on Adele’s inner thigh and asks if she wants to go back to his place to appreciate his art—he’s just finished a one-eyed owl.

As they wait for the check, Sid describes the intricate process of removing skin and mounting it to a skeleton.

A week later, a tow truck driver swallows the last of his morning coffee, tosses his cup in a dumpster, and goes to pick up a deserted car at a local bar.

***

Michele Alouf lives in Richmond, Virginia, where she is working on her first novel and a master's degree in creative writing and literature from Harvard Extension School. She has had one short story published in the spring 2023 Wordrunner e-Chapbook Fiction Anthology--Salvaged. Michele has also owned a yoga business and worked as a writer and editor for a small local magazine.