LOVETT, Theodore R.

[theo lovett]

theodore robert lovett TWENTY-FOUR      PARAMEDIC ANCHORAGE → LOS ANGELES Here we are, trapped in the amber of the moment. There is no why. TWENTY QUESTIONS • favorite color  petrol blue • favorite holiday  thanksgiving, for food, family and friends • favorite season  spring, especially in anchorage • current source of joy  his pets, a lizard and a tarantula • current source of worry  oliver, as always • last kiss  a random hinge date • now listening  you make loving fun - fleetwood mac • favorite song  don't fear the reaper - blue oyster cult • prized possession  his jeep wrangler • next trip  back to cancun or anchorage • plans for the day  lie in, gym, work • last text from  cleo, asking to day drink • last text to  elyse, asking if she wants in • 2023 NY resolution  cut down on sugar • death row meal  lobster roll and cajun fries • bad habit  friday night binge drinking • most likely to  notice if someone's being talked over in a group • friday night spot  max karaoke studio with the gang • preferred takeout  cliantro mexican grill • drink of choice  corona with lime and a shot of mezcal We have to continually be jumping off cliffs and developing our wings on the way down. A phone background selected after Dolly dumped him, to avoid using a shirtless selfie. THEO'S iPHONE NOTES Previous Seven Days THE EVER-EXPANDING GROCERY LIST • Oatmeal • Turkey breast • Chicken breast • Brown rice • Kale • Lemons • Oat milk - Elyse's brand • Broccoli • Spinach   A KURT VONNEGUT QUOTE HE READS AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK "[When Vonnegut tells his wife he's going out to buy an envelope] Oh, she says, well, you're not a poor man. You know, why don't you go online and buy a hundred envelopes and put them in the closet? And so I pretend not to hear her. And go out to get an envelope because I'm going to have a hell of a good time in the process of buying one envelope. I meet a lot of people. And, see some great looking babes. And a fire engine goes by. And I give them the thumbs up. And, and ask a woman what kind of dog that is. And, and I don't know. The moral of the story is, is we're here on Earth to fart around. And, of course, the computers will do us out of that. And, what the computer people don't realize, or they don't care, is we're dancing animals. You know, we love to move around. And, we're not supposed to dance at all anymore." TO DO LIST • Email Alli back • Book dinners: Jenny - Tuesday / Laura - Friday • Meal plan for next week • Meal prep for next week • Clean bathroom • Drive Cleo to doctor appt - Friday, 11am • Call Ollie And I asked myself about the present: how wide it was, how deep it was, how much was mine to keep. LOVED AND LOST ELYSE "I should have known that having a smoking hot girl move in with us would have caused problems. What I didn't anticipate is that Elyse would become my best friend, and really, that that's the problem. I've never been very good at compartmentalizing, so when she confessed her feelings for me - feelings I reciprocated, by the way - it basically made my head implode. I couldn't and still can't compute what we are to each other now, not helped by the fact she told me this when I had a girlfriend. At least that's not the case now."  DOLLY "The fact I dated Dolly Weathers still feels like a fever dream. I see her on TV, in papers, and seeing her like that she might as well be a stranger to me. She's not at all the way I would have expected her to be, though her family are exactly the way I'd expect them to be, and that was a problem. I thought it would be our biggest problem but it turns out that was me. If it's hard to believe I dated her it's even harder to swallow that I was the one to fuck it all up, she meant the world to me and I couldn't have done Covid without her. I still go around hoping I'll bump into her and she'll give me the time of day, but then I'm not at so many A list parties so it's not seeming likely. Maybe she'll get herself in a medical emergency again, that'd be great for me personally." STELLA "Stella, the ultimate girl next door. Well, she lived a couple blocks over but you get the idea. I met Stella through her brother and it was an instantaneous attraction, even though I was about eleven and didn't even fully understand what attraction was. We were boyfriend-girlfriend in the most childish of ways, holding hands and blushing, going to the movies but being dropped off and picked up by our parents... it's hilarious to look back on, at the time I thought I was such a stud. But Stella and I stayed together a long time. She was my girlfriend when my parents died, and she stayed my girlfriend right up until the minute I left for the airport to get a plane to San Diego aged sixteen. I left all my ideas of what my future would look like on the tarmac that day. Stella on the other hand, she resumed, she basically picked up where she left off just with my literal alternate. If I sound bitter it's because I am kinda, which is an alien feeling for me most of the time... no, it's not her fault, it's not even Jake's fault. I'm happy for them. Really." Of all the words of mice and men, the saddest are, "It might have been." POV   CLEO ROBINSON, BEST FRIEND • "Cleo and Theo, how much more obviously could we be destined to be besties?? No seriously though, what are the chances. I moved to LA, moved into a random apartment, and just down the hall, here are two guys I know from Alaska. Isn't that the craziest thing ever? I really think it's fate. Anyway, Theo and I are two peas in a pod. We first became close because I'm a bit of a hypochondriac and I'd go to him with all my insane medical woes, even though he'd always say the same thing, "I'm not a doctor but you're fine". Theo's a very calming person. He's a sunny personality, and though I think he worries a lot, he covers it up well and it makes him incredibly easy to hang out with. I've learned I have to pay close attention to him if I want to know what's really going on in that head of his... he starts to fray around the edges, becomes obsessive. His gym thing is a big tell, every time I see him it's like he's grown bigger, and I see him daily! He also gets weird about food, fixates on specific cuisines and his macros. Since he broke up with Dolly he's spent more time at the gym than with me, which is obviously super annoying. I think he's pulling out of it though." OLIVER LOVETT, TWIN • "Theo has always expected some kind of twin-ship that I just couldn't deliver. I think he watched too many Olsen twin specials and expected us to be like those girls. It didn't really help that our mom kept dressing us in matching outfits. But really we couldn't be more different. For starters, I'm six inches taller than him. He also has the emotional capacity of a five year old. Like when they trip and fall, you can see it in their eyes and filter their feelings? That's Theo. He's always trying to include me in things, I think he's afraid of me being left out... but I actually prefer it. He thinks I shouldn't like being a recluse, I get it - it's a hard thing to understand. I also get that I'm probably not the easiest person to be around. I kept almost dying up until recently, so I kind of get why he'd be so clingy. He tries to call me at least three times a day. It's hard to deal with." STELLA PALMETTO, CHILDHOOD SWEETHEART • "I'm not really sure what you want me to say about Theo, these days? I wish I could give you more information...when he left Alaska, we really did do our best to leave it behind. I mean it in that earnest way only 16 year olds can manage, but he was everything to me. A consuming, comforting thought that something in my life had gone my way so quickly, I could barely wait to look forward to more. Should have known it was too much of a good thing...but at the same time, I cherish the time we had when we were young, and don't regret him or us at all. I would be less of myself if it wasn't for him, but sometimes I can still see our future so clearly, you know? It was that strong. Gun to my head I hope if we ever run into each other again, he still calls me Stella Dunn."

lex      wyatt cushman      resident