Love In The Wild West

“But you do not act like a rich person,” said Lila. “I mean. I live in the city and there are a great number of rich people there. They all act the same way. They act like they own the world, like they deserve all of the wealth that they own. It’s really annoying to see, but there is nothing that anyone can do about it because they are very rich. And sometimes when I look at them I feel like they are divorced from reality in a way. They seem to be living in their own little bubble, unknowing of anything else that is going on around them. It’s such a sad thing to watch because it just goes to show how little they care about things apart from their own wealth. But you… you are not like this at all. On the contrary, you seem really in touch with everything that is going on around you. You seem to understand every aspect of the world and what is most important is that you know that you are wealthy and that this makes your privileged. You do not behave as if you deserve this wealth you own. You do deserve it, of course you do, but what I mean to say is that you do not behave as if your wealth somehow makes you superior to other people.”

“Well,” said Kurt, measuring his words in that manner that Lila loved so much. “I do understand what you are saying. I must say that I am not exactly a very good person who knows instinctively that this is the way that people are supposed to behave. I used to be a really spoiled brat. But my father always kept me in check. He always made sure that I knew just how lucky I was to be as rich as I am. And I do know this for a fact. I am privileged, I have lived a life far greater than the vast majority of people in the world, and I really am extremely grateful for it indeed. I feel like I should be thankful every second of my life, because I am living here in this comfort where there are so many people living in poverty.

“In just this town alone there are so many people without jobs, so many people that go to sleep hungry. This is so wrong, there is an injustice being done here. I want to fix it but I do not know how. I donate a lot of my money to charities. I have set up soup kitchens and other establishments that would help people that are struggling, but I always feel like I am not doing as much as I am supposed to do. I feel like I am letting people down by being this way, as if I am not doing the things that people deserve me to do for them. After all of my charitable endeavors, there are still so many people that go to sleep hungry at night.

“What good is my money if it cannot help all of these people who are in need? What good is any of it if it cannot help the people that were not born in circumstances as comfortable as my own? I earn a great deal of money. I am not bragging, this is just a fact. Money is nothing to brag about anyway, or at least I feel this way. I have earned this money because I was placed in a very comfortable position that allowed me to go to really good universities and get a very expensive and high quality education. I had money from my father which I was able to use to open my own business. And after all of that, I still have my family to fall back on. If everything goes to sh*t and my businesses collapse, I will not go to bed hungry. I will be far from that. I will be taken care of. Even if my family refuses to take care of me, although this is impossible, I still have a huge nest egg saved up that would allow me to stay comfortable for the rest of my life. I know now that I have lived a more privileged life than I can say. I know now that the other people, people that are not as privileged, are owed another chance. I owe it to them.”

“This is such a progressive way of thinking!” said Lila. “No rich person I have ever met has behaved this way. Trust me, I work at a bank, I work at the place that rich people come to store their money. Trust me when I say that I have never seen a rich person behave in this manner in my life. I am so glad that you are this way, however, because it makes it easier for me to… well, like you.”

Kurt smiled at Lila. She blushed for a moment but then recovered. She was slowly starting to become increasingly comfortable with talking to Kurt in this manner. He was a safe person to be around, she felt, he was the kind of person that would not use her feelings against her. On the contrary, he seemed like the person that would respect her even more because he had something so precious.

“So you work at a bank,” said Kurt. “I didn’t know that. Is it a good job?”

“Not really,” said Lila. “I mean, it helps me pay the bills. It is a pretty decent job all around, but at the end of the day it is a sh*tty job because I have to do the same thing day in and day out. I write things on pieces of paper, I type information into computers, and I deal with annoying customers that have no idea what it is that they want. I have to deal with all of these things, and none of it gets any easier. I end up feeling like I am trapped in some kind of rut. I end up feeling like I am in this pit of despair, that I am spiraling downwards, ever downwards. Oh, I sound so dramatic right. It’s not as bad as all of that. I get to sit down and do minimal labor and I am paid a good amount of money for it. There are so many people that would kill to have a job like mine. I feel like I am really ungrateful. I really should thank the lord for all that I have. I think that everything you are saying is true for me as well. I may not be rich, but I have never been hungry. Not a day in my life. I have never had to face that horrible feeling of emptiness that I have read about in books. On the contrary, I have lived my life feeling extremely comfortable at all times.”

“I do not think that applies to you, though,” said Kurt. “What I said about privilege, I mean. I feel like you should not have to think about that. And if you hate your job I feel like you deserve to. You are a very outdoors type of person, you enjoy things that will allow you to enjoy the sunlight and work up a sweat. I know that you are a very proactive person, and to have a job like this that basically only requires that you sit down and listen to people and type numbers into computers is probably going to be the worst thing that you can think of. I understand that you feel really bad about your job. I am really sorry. I wish that it was different for you.”

Lila was about to respond when the waiter arrived with their steaks and their drinks. Lila took in the smell of the sizzling slab of beef that had been set before her and her mouth started to water. She could see the juices leaking out of the meat and she was starting to realize just how much she was going to enjoy herself right now.