Connective Tissue

by Lorette C. Luzajic

It’s beautiful, really, my biology prof said, the collagen, the reticular fibres, the elasticity of it all, the patterns holding the adipose cells together. Like latticework, she told us. Beauty is not what I’m seeing now, in the Value Village lineup. Even with the six feet of separation, the old woman in front of me is like a cellulite scream, spilling out between fishnet diamonds and the armholes of a mesh tank shirt, hair bleached in bunches of orange and gray, with a vintage rhinestone barrette that says “HOT.” She has yellow sneakers in her cart and a pile of leopard print garments. You almost were that lady in front of us, once, my sister says after we’ve paid and have left earshot. I feel a rush of relief for the office slacks and tailored blazer in my bag, but it fades fast. Then it’s me wondering what happened to me, wondering where it all went wrong.

* * * * *

"Connective Tissue" is previously published in Lorette C. Luzajic's new book, Winter in June (Mixed Media Books, 2021).

Lorette C. Luzajic is a writer and artist in Toronto, Canada. Her prose poetry and small stories have been widely published, in The Citron Review, Unbroken, Cleaver Magazine, MacQueen's Quinterly, and more. She is the editor of The Ekphrastic Review. Her most recent book is Winter in June (Mixed Media Books, 2021).