Nate Logan

HOW CAN I LOVE YOU IF YOU WON'T LIE DOWN

"Your collection of straw wrappers doesn't hold a candle to this wooden duck," my wife said. "I don't see what's so great about this duck," I said. "Well," the clerk inserted, "let me tell you about this duck. This duck has been around for at least 50 years. It spent 35 years on the fireplace mantel of Mr. and Mrs. Ed Rosen. Of course, sometimes it took vacations to a brown box with a ceramic dolphin and two guys named Santa." The clerk chuckled, but I was not amused. He went on. "After the passing of Mrs. Rosen, her daughter, Daisy, brought the duck here. She said she had no place for a wooden duck in her home, can you believe that?" The clerk was genuine in his tone. "And so," the clerk continued, "this duck has spent the last 15 years in my shop, waiting to be adopted." "Wait a second," I said, "people don't 'adopt' antiques. Much less ducks." The clerk flashed me a stern look. "Well sir, you may feel that way, but when you've been running an antique store as long as I have, every day surrounded by things people don't want anymore, you start to get a little attached. I feel bad that all of this stuff is in here. I'd take every piece in here home if I could," he said with a sniffle. This whole time my wife had been staring at this duck, right into its sockets. "We'll take it," she said flatly.

Ten years later and that duck sits on our mantel, its face turned toward our front window. I spend most of my time in my favorite chair, staring at that duck that's staring elsewhere. It hasn't looked at me once since the day we brought it home. "And it won't get more profound," my wife says as she passes behind me into the kitchen. "What's that supposed to mean?" I call out to her. But she doesn't tell me. She never tells me.

Nate Logan was born and raised in Indianapolis, IN. His work has appeared in Forklift, Ohio, glitterMOB, and Ninth Letter among others. He's a contributor to _____ On Sports and chief editor of Spooky Girlfriend Press.