Control two lovers simultaneously in your
quest to unite them.
—from an iTunes ad for an game called “Staying Together”
Inside my telephone I see two spots,
and several dogs on the run. Cons-
truction has moved from outside
to inside. How hardcore can a team
of specialists banging around my
bay windows be (the answer:
very!) as they gradually make
their way into the stairwell,
which is now an art exhibit
of rectangular shapes cut into
the walls, complete with ladders
and sheets of plastic covering
the stairs. As I walk down
for some groceries, I peer into
each hole in the wall and can
see the beautiful inner wall that
is within. It’s made of bricks
of many different colors:
floor 3, clayey red to the east;
floor 2, brown like the soil in
the river valley (Northwest
Arkansas); floor 1.5, black
like a soot-covered,
chargrilled heart.
Looking out for the needs of a single character
won’t get you far, as these inexorable
companions move in unison.
—from the same iTunes game advertisement (“Staying Together”)
