Jules, Jim and Jonah sat in the living room, four walls, a window, no door. Their words to one another were sparse, though their thoughts ignited at the focal point of Catherine. Jules thumbed through his telephone book finding Catherine on every page, more times than he had ever called her. Jim perused his paper from story to story, each exposing another facet satisfying the obsession: stories of her first kiss, editorial opinions on her beauty, the allure of her face in every advertisement, and her intellect sensed behind every contact announcement, a new woman described each time. Jonah was trying to get her on the television but there was no picture. Usually she was present on every channel, walking avenues, sitting in the park, a book on her lap or a care-free swim in the open bosom of the sea. He shifted his efforts to the radio. Perhaps he would find her singing a chanson, or speaking at a press conference announcing the owner of her heart's affections. And he did find her. He listened as Catherine sang a song of farewell to men, voice fading in and out owing to the widening distance between her and the opposite gender. She had decided for the moment to concentrate her attentions on women. Jules, Jim and Jonah found themselves in one whale of a limbo.

Story #248

Note from Indeterminacy: Thanks go to Sylvain Chuzeville of the band Ex-Magnolia for kind permission to use the photo. Check out their song "On a Shelf," a title which kind of goes well with this story.