Please can we just talk?
I’m so sorry can I just say something to you? Can you please come outside? I want to see this movie with you because it’s like a “real” movie you know, like wolf of wall street. Just called to say that I’m in a lot of stomach pain. I will always remember this room with so much fondness. The sun is setting. It is now like it once was. Thinking of you, wishing you were here to throw these things away with me. I miss you so much. Won’t be able to call tonight since I have yet to disassemble the bed or reverse-stoop the table. You did wonderfully sweet sweetie. Thank you. I would like a smooch. Do you think I should see a doctor of some sort? Good luck with moving out tomorrow. Will you have some time to call today? I might be napping when you come back from work. You can get in with me if you’d like. Called you 6 times… are you alright? Are you safe? Please just tell me if you are okay. I’m freezing some grapes for us to enjoy later tonight! Apologies, I’m holding drenched shirt. You might be averse to hello hug. Went very briefly to Hmart and saw “LOOSE CARROT” for sale. $1.69. I will tell you now that at 4pm I will wait outside the very main entrance at the bottom of the stairs for you. Hello I am 2 stops away from canal street see you soon. Who do you think is leaving all the bread in the lounge? Going to skip class today. I love you too. Let me get my laundry, and then I will call you! I’m struggling to finish my essay. Getting Drive Through McDonald’s. Send pictures of Chicago! Thank you for the CHEMEX it’s an effective and elegant device—not just purely aesthetic. The filtration is so FAST and smooth and the overall process is very satisfying. My bed still smells like you. The only Mediterranean restaurant I can think of in the area is Symposium on 113th which I find to be pleasant but not spectacular. I have something I need to say to you. Don’t be nervous—it’s something good. Call me when you get a spare moment. Can we have sex in Schermerhorn? My Columbia ID is in the green corduroys. I’ll explain soon don’t you get your hopes up. Omg see this is why we shouldn’t text. Upon seeing your email I have been thrown into the certainty of seeing you soon. I’ve been caught underprepared. I think about you all the time! Ignore my previous message, I must be a little stupid in the head. My general feeling is that there’s something so comforting, so calming, about being at an airport. I think it’s the uniformity—the gray speckled walls, always the same stores, the large swaths of time to do nothing. I’m standing in an impossibly long line at the TSA… thinking about that dream I had not long ago about us making mochi together. In my dream I was the hammer guy and you were doing the hai hai hai. I was in the shower when my mom screamed. Dripping wet, I burst out of the bathroom. She was standing there, perfectly fine, pointing out the window at the new snow. Made me think about you. What the fuck these grapes are 50 dollars it’s like 12 grapes. I wanted to tell you that I finished Conversations with Friends. I thought that text was the most appropriate medium for this news. On a separate note, I have to admit that I have been waiting for your call all day. Maybe I have fallen out of favor with you haha. Study with me in Avery for an hour before we head down. I’m really happy I met you. Are you coming to the open mic? Do you want to go on a walk? Hi this is Renny I was wondering if you’d like to get coffee with me tomorrow morning.
Renny Gong (@renny.reviews) is a graduate of Columbia University and the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. His first book, Ping Pong Kids, is forthcoming from Ecco in spring 2027.