The Key to You

A woman walks into the cafe, sits down and drops her keys on the table. The sound is impressively loud and the mound of keys takes up a large space on the table. As always, I look at that metal mound and wonder what does she do for a living to need all of them? Is she a locksmith? Or in charge of safety deposit boxes at the bank? From what I’ve seen, people generally like carrying lots of keys. Maybe it’s a power or prestige thing: There are so many valuable, lockable things in my life that I have to carry this metal bouquet with me wherever I go.

I hate keys and have always carried as few as possible. House key, elevator key, mailbox key, car key. End. But so many people carry around so many that seeing them sometimes makes me wonder is my life too simple? Are there too few things to unlock in my every day? Recently when someone whipped out their fat bunch I asked point blank what the hell are all those keys for? She happily said in a kind of child’s singsong voice: this is to my apartment, this is to my office, this is to… At which point I zoned out. Maybe that’s it — a heavy handful of keys is proof for some people of what’s theirs. Constant visible proof. A friend of mine always carries the house key in their pocket no matter where they are, even on a business trip to New Zealand. When they get nervous about something, like an upcoming meeting or speech they must give, they wrap a hand around that key to reassure themselves that sooner or later they’ll be home again and safe

originally posted at www.jonathancarroll.com

Jonathan Carroll is the author of over 20 novels and short story collections. His latest novel “Bathing the Lion” is now available in trade paperback. If you liked this piece, there’s lots more on his monthly newsletter. You can subscribe here