My heart raced. My chest was pounding and throbbing at the same time. I could barely breathe. It was pouring rain, and I was getting soaked without an umbrella. I looked back quickly, could he be gaining on me?
I weaved in and out of people down the busy streets of Philadelphia past city hall and Chinatown.
I panicked. I couldn't breathe. How could this be real? I walked faster and faster across the street holding back my tears. The lights of a pickup truck shined in my face. I tried to shout but the words wouldn't come out. I was hit and lying on the ground.
I don't know how long I was out when someone grabbed my hand and helped me up.
"Are you ok."
"I don't know. I'm a bit confused where am I?"
A bit startled, I opened my eyes and was shocked to see my dearest friend Anne standing in front of me, ready to rescue me when I needed it most.
"Oh Anne, "How did you get here? I thought I was going home to Pennsylvania to stay with a friend."
"Well, you're not in Pennsylvania you are in Florida. what happened to your arm?" She pointed to the bruise.
"It's from Joe. He hit me. It has been going on for quite some time. It's a long story," I started to cry.
"Now, now don't cry". She hugged me."
"I never did like him from the first moment I saw him. The look in his eyes and his whole demeanor just set me off and it never did change."
I remember five years ago when Anne first met Joe.
Joe opened the bar door staggering around. He was disheveled with his shirt half tucked in and his hair sticking up. He saw Anne and I at a back table and waived. His eyes were glazed, and his pupils dilated. I rolled my eyes and wondered what the hell was he on?
He ordered drinks for all of us and grabbed a wad of money on the bar to pay for them.
Anne looked at me wide eyed and gasped. "Did he really just do that?"
We got up to go to the lady's room.
"I hope I don't have to tell you that there is something wrong with this man. Stay away from him he's bad news."
I shrugged and replied "Joe is a really talented musician. You don't know him like I do. He probably took a downer to sleep he has been on the road a lot."
When we walked out of the ladies, we found him asleep in a corner mumbling incoherently.
Although this was a night from hell, it should have also been an eye opener.
Joe can't hurt you anymore. I arranged for you to stay at my condo in Florida ahead and have a real vacation.
She put a finger on my lips. "Let's not think about him anymore."
Anne was right but how could I not think of Joe? I had finally mustered up the courage to leave that bastard. I was petrified. So scared he had followed me, as I was leaving to go to work.
My hands were shaking. I had bruises on my arm and back to prove to the police he was hitting me. But if he came home from work and caught me, he would definitely kill me.
"Don't worry Elaine, Joe doesn't know you're here. Don't be afraid," she smiled.
I was comforted by Anne's words of wisdom and the kindness in her eyes. She looked like an aging model of about seventy, with striking blonde hair and fair skin.
She had on her favorite green leather dress with sandals. She wore a stunning snake ring on her right index finger. Her nails were always freshly manicured.
When you went out with Anne you were always on a journey. You never knew where it would end but you would always have a grand old time, and no one was ever unhappy. She enjoyed her martinis and her long brown cigarettes.
You had a long trip. "Elaine, you must be hungry. Are you up for a walk first? I can take us to this wonderful little Tiki Bar just up the road."
"Sure, I'd love that," I said.
I walked along the street with Anne. It was beautiful. There were stores and vendors all in the streets just like the New Orleans Jazz Festival. Lights glittered over all the trees. We went into this street vendor, and both got our ears pierced. When I saw those diamonds sparkle in her ears I thought of the beauty in Anne and it touched my heart. All the good times we shared.
It was fifteen years ago when I first met Anne. I walked into the Museum of Natural Arts to set up for my first showing. I was only twenty-two but had been making handmade pottery for years. Art had been my major in college. I was so nervous, and Anne helped calm me down.
"You're very young to have a show here. It is quite impressive." A slender attractive woman wearing a long turquoise dress was standing in the hallway smoking a cigarette. Her long hoop earrings dangled in the sunlight and her Indian sandals complemented the outfit perfectly. I could see from her clothes she had a sense of fashion and a youthful quality for someone of her years. "My name is Anne," she held out her hand. Would you like a glass of wine?"
"That will surely calm you down."
I smiled, "thank you, my name is Elaine."
We both chatted as she helped me set up for my show. She told me she loved being a volunteer at the museum. She enjoyed working with the younger people because it was great fun.
I knew from this point on that Anne, and I would become lifelong friends despite our age difference. I was right, we did. For there was something unique and enchanting about her. We went out to dinner after several of my shows ended.
When Anne retired from the Museum of Natural Arts she moved to Florida. Once she settled in, I flew down to visit her and met her son and his family. My parents died in a car accident when I was a child, and she took me in under her wing. She was a dear friend to me.
I spent many vacations and Thanksgivings with my friend who loved to entertain for the holidays. I remember so vividly the lit candles flickering with the lights on the bare branch trees in the window. The multicolored hues of green in the shag rugs were beautiful.
The smell of turkey and mash potatoes filled the air, and we sauntered down stairs, martini in hand to try the reddest shrimp cocktail and savor the caviar on cream cheese. We were full by the time the dinner was done. We had drink after drink and enjoyed the company of each different guest she had every year. One year Anne invited an eccentric musician that was an Elvis look alike with long side burns. He wore a tweed jacket with suede patches on the elbows and jeans. He resembled the appearance of the elder professor hovering over a book like a mother over a child. When he sang at the piano he unleashed his inner self and became one with the piano like an eagle flying over a mountain. Everyone sang along holding their drink. I thought of Billy Joel's song Piano Man "sing us a song piano man" and that is exactly what he did.
Anne had style and class. She loved to entertain sing and dance and was never too mild to give her opinion. She grew up in the 40s yet she was modern to the younger crowd and a tad overdone in the hyperbole with the compliments.
She had made me forget the life I left behind. All the trouble with Joe and where my life was headed seemed so far in the past. I was focused on the present and the good times with Anne.
Soon we were off to the Tiki Bar. It was right off the beach not far from the tide. There were two tall palm trees by the side of the stage and a large bar in the front, which was surrounded by two cylinder like fish tanks with beautiful blue and yellow fish. Along the bar was also a huge tank with a full selection of lobster. Various African Iris shrubbery and yellowish Allamanda Bush were planted near the Palm trees. The tide was high, the ocean was clear blue, and the waves appeared a frothy foamy white in the distance. The sky was a purple and the setting sun was an orange that all blended in with the high tide much like the hues in Monet's palette.
When we arrived, Anne waved to the waited and ordered us a round of martinis with a twist then lit a cigarette. She made a toast. "To us the nicest people we know and to better times for you."
"Don't we look grand?" Hey sir. She signaled to the waiter. "Would you mind taking our picture?"
"Oh, why certainly. Hope you have a wonderful time here. This is a place where dreams come true." The waiter smiled fondly. I no sooner looked back, and he was gone.
"Where did he get to so quickly." I asked Anne.
"Chop! Chop! Elaine you need to pay attention to every detail or you will miss out. I told you this is a one of a kind place."
"Oh, look at this cute little dog running along it looks just like my old Westie Randy. What a great old dog he was. He came right up to me and licked my face. He's so cute. I looked at his dog tag and it said Randy 1988-1999.
Well I have had a few, I thought to myself. I looked across the room and saw my neighbor George Ellenstein dancing with a young woman that wasn't his wife. When did he recover? I thought.
Last time I saw him he had oxygen and was in a wheelchair. Cheers to him! I held up my glass, but he didn't see me. He was too busy dancing.
No wonder everybody was dancing. There was a wonderful rendition of the Rat Pack singing New York, New York, who got everybody up and dancing. Everyone loves Frank. The Rat Pack was accompanied by an orchestra. Frank continued as Sammy Davis Jr played the trumpet and drums. The next singer could really belt out an uncanny resemblance to Janice Joplin's Piece of My Heart, "Wow! I thought it couldn't get any better. She paraded all around the stage in high heels with such an energy and passion, wearing a brown dress and long multicolored beads. She was dancing with a tambourine. It was amazing and unique how she carried and enthralled the crowd.
The drinks kept pouring in. I knew I had a few too many. I didn't want our trip to end but it had too. I kept giggling and acting silly. Anne did not seem to be affected by the alcohol. We walked down a long hallway, in the distance behind there was this beautiful shimmering prism of reflecting lights of all colors like the rainbow surpassed by an encompassing light more mesmerizing than the sun. It was drawing me into its sphere. Anne gave me a hug and told me to walk on ahead. She pointed toward the path.
I saw myself on the street lying there. I grabbed Anne's hand. "I don't want to go back to life with Joe. That light is beautiful. Please take me with you, there's nothing for me here. I don't want to live. I'm ready to go like you were."
"No! Don't Follow me! I love you but it's not your time yet. I died at eighty-two and I was sick. There was no hope. You're only thirty-seven Elaine. You have a lot to do. I took you on this journey to show you that life is good despite the hardship. If you learn anything from me look back at my life not my death. I loved life and lived it to the fullest and that is what you need to do. You are in charge of your own destiny."
Adhering to those words I waved goodbye to my dear friend and she disappeared into the lights before me.
I heard a loud voice. "She's ok" I turned my head and began to wake up, I heard the sound of ambulances around and I was on a stretcher when I awoke. I was being wheeled into the ambulance. I looked down in my hand and wondered why I had a picture of myself in a Tiki Bar. I smiled; it would be a time for new beginnings.
