Just a little something I wrote a few years back.
It sorta became a song-fic somewhere along the way.
(Don't let that discourage ya from reading!)
It's 7 chapters that chart the rise-and-fall of a relationship, kinda Romeo & Juliet-esque...
here we go!
Chapter 1: Transitional Patterns
Standin' at the back door
she tried to make it fast
One tear hit the hardwood,
it fell like broken glass
She said, "Sometimes love slips away
and you just can't get it back.
Let's face it."
For one split second
she almost turned around,
But that would be like pourin' raindrops
back into a cloud
So she took another step,
and said "I see the way out,
And I'm gonna take it.
"I don't wanna spend my life jaded
Waitin'
To wake up one day and find that I let all these years go by
Wasted…
She woke early, showered, dressed and had her small ratty suitcase packed before the sun even peeked over the desert horizon. After gliding a large plastic hair-clip-comb through her hair, cinching the lush brown length up off her shoulders, she switched off the tiny transistor radio with a dissatisfied scowl; she had never been into country music, hadn't seen a single episode of 'American Idol' so didn't know or care who Carrie Underwood was as she belted out those powerful lyrics.
She had no time for music or TV in her life over the past 15 years; she was too heavily involved in her life, her little clique at the small high school in suburban Phoenix, Arizona. Alcohol, drugs, and leather-clad bad-boys were her scene; if there was music or TV to be had back in those days, it was heavy metal or acid-trippy 80's rock'n'roll, rarely pop and never country. And, they didn't usually allow personal radios in the half-way house, except on transition day, which is what made that day, her re-birth-day, so special. That would be the day she finally found freedom; the day she would start to become reacquainted with her 6-year old daughter, whom she had barely seen over the past 18 months; the day she would start to live again.
"Are We all set, Katrina?" a squat and stocky Mexican woman wondered as she wandered unannounced into Katrina's cramped sleeping quarters.
"I don't know about We, but I'm glad I don't have to worry about invasion of privacy ever again, after today…" Katrina snapped, glancing around the dimly-lit space with a heavy sigh. "Let's go, Warden…" her scowl did nothing to impress the woman who had come to fetch her, and the short, round woman stood-fast in the doorway, staring Katrina down coldly.
Rita knew Katrina perhaps better than anyone, having been the probation officer in charge of her case since her arrest nearly 3 years earlier. Although she would never call her a friend, Katrina had shared a great many of her life stories with Rita over the years, until a bond and a certain level of trust had developed. If not for Rita's help, Katrina might have spent the last 3 years locked up in an 8-by-8 concrete cell, or baking in pink pajamas in the desert-dwellings of Tent City' as a ward of the Maricopa County Correctional Facility rather than where she had ended up. Katrina owed Rita some respect, and Rita demanded every bit of it.
Finally, Katrina wavered and glanced away, scolded-sadness sweeping over her. "I'm Sorry, Rita. It's just…" Rita nodded slowly, reaching out with her hand. "Your mother and daughter are waiting…" she reminded, which brought a smile and spark of life to Katrina's face as she collected her suitcase and led Rita out of her quaint and comfortable 'holding cell' for the last time.
"Kaleigh is here?" Katrina asked. "Andâ€â€"
"Mommy!!" the gleeful cheer of a precocious little girl thundered down the plastered-and-paneled wall, as the 5-year old bounded into her mother's arms. A long moment filled with hearty hugs and many heaping kisses and cuddles was finally broken up once Rita had greeted Lynn Mills, Katrina's mother, and both elders agreed upon the exit strategy.
"Let's get your paperwork in order, and go for lunch…" Rita suggested, but it sounded more like a demand.
"I appreciate everything you've done for me, Rita. Really I do…" Katrina coerced. "But, can't we do this some other time? It's my first day Free, and I haven't seen my baby-girl in Forever! Please, Mom?" she glanced between Rita and Lynn, her bottom lip protruding and aquiver.
"Please, Gramma?" Kaleigh copied her mother's pout perfectly.
"We have to do this, Trina…" Lynn lamented. "Rita has found you a job…" Rita nodded again.
"It's not much, but it's in your field of experience, a restaurant across town… it's a start…" It was a start, a brand new life!
Oh, I don't wanna keep on wishin'
Missin'
The still of the morning
the color of the night
I ain't spendin' no more time
Wasted
************************************************************
Another glass of whiskey
But it still don't kill the pain
So he stumbles to the sink
And pours it down the drain
He said "It's time to be a man
and stop livin' for yesterday
Gotta face it..."
Cuz I don't wanna spend my life jaded
Waitin'
To wake up one day and find
That I let all these years go by
Wasted
Across town, blankets and sheets stir, a man's arm lunged forth, swatting the bedside alarm clock, squelching the bleating tone in favor of subdued country-music radio station. An empty Jack Daniels bottle toppled from the nightstand, landing on the carpet with a heady thud, while the man kicked out from under the covers.
"Happy Anniversary, Angel…" he mumbled at a picture behind the clock-radio on the nightstand, a picture of the man himself in white tuxedo and a beautiful bronze-skinned young woman dressed head-to-toe in white lace-and-satin, though the man sat, naked and alone, in the King-size bed.
Eventually, the man staggered from the bed, bracing himself for a moment against a sturdy wooden computer desk against the wall near the bed. He found himself staring at the active computer screen, an image frozen in place in the center of the screen; a computer-generated golden trophy, stenciled with a fancy font declared 'BigSlickRickâ€â€1st Place, $1000 Guarantee Main Event.'
He found his balance in that moment, righting himself from the desk, smiling whimsically and stumbling sluggishly into the bathroom. He leaned toward the bathtub, twisting the shower-faucet wide-open while still managing to keep hips straight, knees flexed just the right way to pee in the toilet; this guy had done this before. He then stepped beneath the powerfully-coursing pulse of water, shivering, but leaned back out and flushed the toilet, yelping loudly as the water temperature rose and plunged drastically for 4 seconds, finally jarring him fully-awake.
His morning cleansing ritual complete, the man shuffled from the bathroom 20 minutes later, hair and torso wringing wet, towel wrapped around his waist. He collapsed across the bed for another half-hour before the ringing phone roused him once more.
"Rick! Wake Up! You're late for work!!" the caller greeted.
"I'm on my way…" Rick replied, slamming down the phone, shucking off the towel, and tugging on a pair of blue poker-print boxer shorts (Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs, and Spades) and navy-blue polyester pants.
He was still buttoning up his uniform shirt, running a hand through his hair as he bounded into the restaurant which bore the name embroidered above the left-breast pocket of the shirt.
"Welcome to Wowwy-Burger, Boss-Man!" an employee greeted from behind a desk in the restaurant's small office as Rick entered.
"Sorry I'm late, Tori." Rick apologized. "Anniversary blues…"
Tori merely nodded, then turned her attention to the computer screen on the desk in front of her.
"Welcome back off the Graveyard Shift! For your first assignment back in the Land of the Living, we've got another new-hire from the Challenges Transitional House coming in today…"
"Great…" Rick moaned as he tried to clip his tie-pin in place. "Another crack-head loser who'll spend equal time in the bathroom and on smoke-break, getting paid to hold up a wall but not be bothered to push a broom or deal with customers… I bet you $1000 he'll be six-foot-two biceps as big as my neck and have the Dead Man's stare, so he'll get away with murder around here…"
"His name is Katrina Mills…" Tori continued, seemingly barely aware of Rick's rambling appraisal, until she turned and snapped his Ace-King-of-Hearts tie-clip in place on his shirt, demanding. "I'll take that $1000 in small, non-sequential bills, if you don't mind…"
Rick laughed, while Tori looked up at him straight-faced and serious."I was kidding, about the bet…" Rick smirked. "I play poker, I don't 'gamble'… I betâ€â€I mean, I'm sureâ€â€she will be a fine addition to the crew. Now, can I please check my e-mail before my shift? Don't you have a store to run, Boss-Lady?" Terri checked her watch and stood up from the chair, nodding at Rick.
"Five minutes, Ace…" Terri proffered, sliding past Rick into the restaurant kitchen, while Rick took her place at the computer.
"Uh, it's Ace-King…" Rick explained, "Big-Slick… learn the lingo…" After a few moments, the screen was scrolling with e-mail listings. Rick scanned and skimmed the list, highlighting and Deleting a vast majority of junk-mail, before coming across a header that interested him: "Ulti-Mate.com Response From: Kaleighco-Kat-Lover" Clicking on that header brought him to the Ulti-Mate Internet Match-Dating website, to the profile and ad of someone claiming to be female:
"Kaleighco-Kat-Lover: SWF, 26, seeking M as roommate, friend,
confidante, co-conspirator LOL! Possibly more. Must love
children, as I have a 6-year old at home who means everything
to me. Must be patient, understanding, trustworthy, and
discreet. Must know how to have a good time, but also know
when the party is over and it's time to call it a night.
Must be able to hold up your end of a conversation, but also
know when to shut up and be quiet and leave time and space
for me to figure things out for myself. Strong sense of
passion and loyalty also necessary;
I am a Scorpio, beware my sting!"
Being open-minded and quite naïve about such things, Rick had been corresponding with this Kaleighco-Kat-Lover for a few months. And, regardless of the fact that she didn't know how to spell 'calico' even as she subconsciously-but-obviously professed a certain love for the breed, on this day, Rick would take the next step. After the usual pleasantries and rehashing previous correspondence, he came to a part in Kaleighco-Kat-Lover's letter that made him smile:
"Finally, freedom! In less than a week, I'll be moving into
Transition phase, which means more time to do the things I
want to do, less restrictions, fewer inhibitions… I should
be getting back to work again, finally able to take care of
myself and my child without having to rely on the State or
anyone else for a hand-out! Not to mention what this will
mean for my social standings! Any room free on your dance
card, Big-Slick-Rick?"
Chuckling, Rick typed in what he hoped was a reasonable request given the length of time spent getting to know this 'Kaleighco-Kat-Lover' person through her letters:
"I feel like it's time to take the next step in our
relationship, so forgive me if this is too forward, too soon,
but here goes nothing: Since you don't have a photo of
yourself to go along with your profile, so I can't see your
face: Do you have a phone number I could reach you at? I
would love to hear your voice, to know that you sound as
sweet and sincere, sensitive and subdued as your e-mails
read. I would really like to meet you some day soon too, if
that doesn't sound too psychotic after such a short time
spent e-mailing each other… But, the thing is, I still don't
even know your name…"
Tori popped her head around the corner and reminded Rick his 5 minutes were up, it was time to start serving the breakfast crowd. Rick quickly dispatched the e-mail response and logged-out from the Ulti-Mate website, to begin his work-day.
Oh, I don't wanna keep on wishin'
Missin'
The still of the morning the color of the night
I ain't spendin' no more time
Wasted
**********************************************************
"OK, that should about wrap up the dread paperwork!" Gayle Truman smiled that fake-forced bureaucratic smile from behind her over-sized desk in her over-sized office smack in the middle of the run-down half-way house called Challenges.
"For the next 8 to 12 weeks, you will begin the Transistional phase of your recovery, Katrina. You will be monitored by your probation officer and your parental guardian, who will be in constant contact with myself and the Challenges staff in regards to your progress acclimating yourself to life outside these walls again…"
Katrina was only barely listening, as she bounced her daughter on her knee there in Gayle's office. Her head was swimming, thoughts swirling about finding a place to live on her own, the new job, Kaleigh's schooling…
"Do you have any concerns or questions before I release you?" Gayle asked, still behind that phony smile. Question? Concerns? You mean like: Would she be able to support herself and her child, to survive and thrive in the real-world, without the demons, drugs and thugs that had dragged her into the depths of Hell before? How could she make it through this transition on her own? Was she really as strong and ready for all of this as Gayle, Rita and her mother had been praising and appraising?
"Would it be alright if I… could I check my e-mail before I leave? I don't know if or when I'll have internet access again, and there are a few friends I'd like to say Goodbye to, if that's alright?" all of her concerns and questions could be answered, she hoped, if but one response was found waiting in her In-Box.
************************************************************
She kept drivin' along
'til the moon and the sun were
Floatin' side-by-side...
Katrina was tense, her nervousness building as the odometer on her mom's car ticked higher, ever closer to the restaurant she would be calling her place-of-employment for at least the next 8 to 12 weeks during her transition from drug-dealing ex-con to recovering-addict single-mother.
*************************************************************
He looked in the mirror,
his eyes were clear
for the first time in awhile...
Rick was in the restroom, splashing cool water on his face in transition himself, from the Breakfast to Lunch crowd, from lovelorn widower to sober survivor. "It's time." He thought to himself, knowing it was well past time to start living again.
When he emerged from the restroom, Tori was waiting for Rick at the front counter, a sweet and petite, skiddish and stand-offish young woman at her side, with a precocious little moppet of her own clinging to her hip.
"This is Katrina Mills, on lease from Challenges..." Tori introduced, and the pair shared a welcoming grin and nod. "You'll be doing her paperwork so we can get her started training before lunch."
"And, who might this be?" Rick wondered, kneeling to smirk directly at Katrina's little sidekick. "Our new dishwasher, I bet?!" The girl giggled and danced behind Katrina, out of Rick's line-of-sight, while the adults laughed.
"Not for about 10 years at least…" Katrina smiled, stepping aside and holding her daughter's hand as she made the introductions. "This is my daughter." Kaleigh flushed from the attention, and did a cute little curtsey, giggling gleefully along with the grown-ups as she shuffled toward Rick. "Kaleigh, honey, say Hi to mommy's new boss, baby-girl…"
"Big-Slick..." Kaleigh noted, pointing at Rick's chest as she danced about.
"The girl knows her poker!" Rick said, standing and fluffing his tie a bit while it held fast in place against the A-K tie-clip. Katrina nodded slightly and shrugged.
"I think she watches a little too much TV at her Auntie Brenda's. Uncle Steve is really into ESPN, football and poker, 24 hours a day, isn't he, Kaleighco…" Kaleigh meowed and made a purring sound with her tongue-in-cheek rubbing her head against her mother's legs as she danced around Katrina on the floor.
"What did you just say?" Rick wondered, suddenly startled and very self-conscious.
"ESPN poker. Kaleigh watches a lot of poker at my sister's place…" Katrina repeated herself.
"Her name is Kaleigh." Rick repeated the phrase he was struck by. "You called her Kaleighco… and, you're Katrina…" Katrina nodded, while Rick nervously tapped and tugged at his tie clip. "I'm Rick…"
"Big Slick!!" Kaleigh cheered again.
"Big Slick Rick…" the light bulb in Katrina's brain suddenly flickered with life, even as her cheeks flushed red. "Are you serious? Is this some kind of joke? Ulti-Mate.com…"
Rick was blushing as much as Katrina in that magical moment of uncomfortable-comfort. "I don't believe it!" she gasped. "I almost didn't come here this morning! I dreaded starting over, coming back here after working here and getting high here for years… And, now…"
"I like a girl who knows when to take a calculated risk…" Rick comforted as he gathered the file folder of paperwork from Tori, and extended his other hand to Katrina, his lifeline, her rock, though neither of them knew at the time how very much they needed each other.The lobby Musak-music was droning in the background as Katrina kissed her daughter and sent Mom and Kaleigh away, while Rick escorted Katrina and Rita to a corner booth, and Tori returned to the kitchen to corral her crew for the Breakfast-to-Lunch transition with little time wasted…
Oh, I don't wanna spend my life jaded
Waitin'
To wake up one day and find
that I let all these years go by
Wasted
Yeah, yeah
Oh, I don't wanna keep on wishin'
Missin'
The still of the morning the color of the night
I ain't spendin' no more time
Wasted...
It sorta became a song-fic somewhere along the way.
(Don't let that discourage ya from reading!)
It's 7 chapters that chart the rise-and-fall of a relationship, kinda Romeo & Juliet-esque...
here we go!
Chapter 1: Transitional Patterns
Standin' at the back door
she tried to make it fast
One tear hit the hardwood,
it fell like broken glass
She said, "Sometimes love slips away
and you just can't get it back.
Let's face it."
For one split second
she almost turned around,
But that would be like pourin' raindrops
back into a cloud
So she took another step,
and said "I see the way out,
And I'm gonna take it.
"I don't wanna spend my life jaded
Waitin'
To wake up one day and find that I let all these years go by
Wasted…
She woke early, showered, dressed and had her small ratty suitcase packed before the sun even peeked over the desert horizon. After gliding a large plastic hair-clip-comb through her hair, cinching the lush brown length up off her shoulders, she switched off the tiny transistor radio with a dissatisfied scowl; she had never been into country music, hadn't seen a single episode of 'American Idol' so didn't know or care who Carrie Underwood was as she belted out those powerful lyrics.
She had no time for music or TV in her life over the past 15 years; she was too heavily involved in her life, her little clique at the small high school in suburban Phoenix, Arizona. Alcohol, drugs, and leather-clad bad-boys were her scene; if there was music or TV to be had back in those days, it was heavy metal or acid-trippy 80's rock'n'roll, rarely pop and never country. And, they didn't usually allow personal radios in the half-way house, except on transition day, which is what made that day, her re-birth-day, so special. That would be the day she finally found freedom; the day she would start to become reacquainted with her 6-year old daughter, whom she had barely seen over the past 18 months; the day she would start to live again.
"Are We all set, Katrina?" a squat and stocky Mexican woman wondered as she wandered unannounced into Katrina's cramped sleeping quarters.
"I don't know about We, but I'm glad I don't have to worry about invasion of privacy ever again, after today…" Katrina snapped, glancing around the dimly-lit space with a heavy sigh. "Let's go, Warden…" her scowl did nothing to impress the woman who had come to fetch her, and the short, round woman stood-fast in the doorway, staring Katrina down coldly.
Rita knew Katrina perhaps better than anyone, having been the probation officer in charge of her case since her arrest nearly 3 years earlier. Although she would never call her a friend, Katrina had shared a great many of her life stories with Rita over the years, until a bond and a certain level of trust had developed. If not for Rita's help, Katrina might have spent the last 3 years locked up in an 8-by-8 concrete cell, or baking in pink pajamas in the desert-dwellings of Tent City' as a ward of the Maricopa County Correctional Facility rather than where she had ended up. Katrina owed Rita some respect, and Rita demanded every bit of it.
Finally, Katrina wavered and glanced away, scolded-sadness sweeping over her. "I'm Sorry, Rita. It's just…" Rita nodded slowly, reaching out with her hand. "Your mother and daughter are waiting…" she reminded, which brought a smile and spark of life to Katrina's face as she collected her suitcase and led Rita out of her quaint and comfortable 'holding cell' for the last time.
"Kaleigh is here?" Katrina asked. "Andâ€â€"
"Mommy!!" the gleeful cheer of a precocious little girl thundered down the plastered-and-paneled wall, as the 5-year old bounded into her mother's arms. A long moment filled with hearty hugs and many heaping kisses and cuddles was finally broken up once Rita had greeted Lynn Mills, Katrina's mother, and both elders agreed upon the exit strategy.
"Let's get your paperwork in order, and go for lunch…" Rita suggested, but it sounded more like a demand.
"I appreciate everything you've done for me, Rita. Really I do…" Katrina coerced. "But, can't we do this some other time? It's my first day Free, and I haven't seen my baby-girl in Forever! Please, Mom?" she glanced between Rita and Lynn, her bottom lip protruding and aquiver.
"Please, Gramma?" Kaleigh copied her mother's pout perfectly.
"We have to do this, Trina…" Lynn lamented. "Rita has found you a job…" Rita nodded again.
"It's not much, but it's in your field of experience, a restaurant across town… it's a start…" It was a start, a brand new life!
Oh, I don't wanna keep on wishin'
Missin'
The still of the morning
the color of the night
I ain't spendin' no more time
Wasted
************************************************************
Another glass of whiskey
But it still don't kill the pain
So he stumbles to the sink
And pours it down the drain
He said "It's time to be a man
and stop livin' for yesterday
Gotta face it..."
Cuz I don't wanna spend my life jaded
Waitin'
To wake up one day and find
That I let all these years go by
Wasted
Across town, blankets and sheets stir, a man's arm lunged forth, swatting the bedside alarm clock, squelching the bleating tone in favor of subdued country-music radio station. An empty Jack Daniels bottle toppled from the nightstand, landing on the carpet with a heady thud, while the man kicked out from under the covers.
"Happy Anniversary, Angel…" he mumbled at a picture behind the clock-radio on the nightstand, a picture of the man himself in white tuxedo and a beautiful bronze-skinned young woman dressed head-to-toe in white lace-and-satin, though the man sat, naked and alone, in the King-size bed.
Eventually, the man staggered from the bed, bracing himself for a moment against a sturdy wooden computer desk against the wall near the bed. He found himself staring at the active computer screen, an image frozen in place in the center of the screen; a computer-generated golden trophy, stenciled with a fancy font declared 'BigSlickRickâ€â€1st Place, $1000 Guarantee Main Event.'
He found his balance in that moment, righting himself from the desk, smiling whimsically and stumbling sluggishly into the bathroom. He leaned toward the bathtub, twisting the shower-faucet wide-open while still managing to keep hips straight, knees flexed just the right way to pee in the toilet; this guy had done this before. He then stepped beneath the powerfully-coursing pulse of water, shivering, but leaned back out and flushed the toilet, yelping loudly as the water temperature rose and plunged drastically for 4 seconds, finally jarring him fully-awake.
His morning cleansing ritual complete, the man shuffled from the bathroom 20 minutes later, hair and torso wringing wet, towel wrapped around his waist. He collapsed across the bed for another half-hour before the ringing phone roused him once more.
"Rick! Wake Up! You're late for work!!" the caller greeted.
"I'm on my way…" Rick replied, slamming down the phone, shucking off the towel, and tugging on a pair of blue poker-print boxer shorts (Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs, and Spades) and navy-blue polyester pants.
He was still buttoning up his uniform shirt, running a hand through his hair as he bounded into the restaurant which bore the name embroidered above the left-breast pocket of the shirt.
"Welcome to Wowwy-Burger, Boss-Man!" an employee greeted from behind a desk in the restaurant's small office as Rick entered.
"Sorry I'm late, Tori." Rick apologized. "Anniversary blues…"
Tori merely nodded, then turned her attention to the computer screen on the desk in front of her.
"Welcome back off the Graveyard Shift! For your first assignment back in the Land of the Living, we've got another new-hire from the Challenges Transitional House coming in today…"
"Great…" Rick moaned as he tried to clip his tie-pin in place. "Another crack-head loser who'll spend equal time in the bathroom and on smoke-break, getting paid to hold up a wall but not be bothered to push a broom or deal with customers… I bet you $1000 he'll be six-foot-two biceps as big as my neck and have the Dead Man's stare, so he'll get away with murder around here…"
"His name is Katrina Mills…" Tori continued, seemingly barely aware of Rick's rambling appraisal, until she turned and snapped his Ace-King-of-Hearts tie-clip in place on his shirt, demanding. "I'll take that $1000 in small, non-sequential bills, if you don't mind…"
Rick laughed, while Tori looked up at him straight-faced and serious."I was kidding, about the bet…" Rick smirked. "I play poker, I don't 'gamble'… I betâ€â€I mean, I'm sureâ€â€she will be a fine addition to the crew. Now, can I please check my e-mail before my shift? Don't you have a store to run, Boss-Lady?" Terri checked her watch and stood up from the chair, nodding at Rick.
"Five minutes, Ace…" Terri proffered, sliding past Rick into the restaurant kitchen, while Rick took her place at the computer.
"Uh, it's Ace-King…" Rick explained, "Big-Slick… learn the lingo…" After a few moments, the screen was scrolling with e-mail listings. Rick scanned and skimmed the list, highlighting and Deleting a vast majority of junk-mail, before coming across a header that interested him: "Ulti-Mate.com Response From: Kaleighco-Kat-Lover" Clicking on that header brought him to the Ulti-Mate Internet Match-Dating website, to the profile and ad of someone claiming to be female:
"Kaleighco-Kat-Lover: SWF, 26, seeking M as roommate, friend,
confidante, co-conspirator LOL! Possibly more. Must love
children, as I have a 6-year old at home who means everything
to me. Must be patient, understanding, trustworthy, and
discreet. Must know how to have a good time, but also know
when the party is over and it's time to call it a night.
Must be able to hold up your end of a conversation, but also
know when to shut up and be quiet and leave time and space
for me to figure things out for myself. Strong sense of
passion and loyalty also necessary;
I am a Scorpio, beware my sting!"
Being open-minded and quite naïve about such things, Rick had been corresponding with this Kaleighco-Kat-Lover for a few months. And, regardless of the fact that she didn't know how to spell 'calico' even as she subconsciously-but-obviously professed a certain love for the breed, on this day, Rick would take the next step. After the usual pleasantries and rehashing previous correspondence, he came to a part in Kaleighco-Kat-Lover's letter that made him smile:
"Finally, freedom! In less than a week, I'll be moving into
Transition phase, which means more time to do the things I
want to do, less restrictions, fewer inhibitions… I should
be getting back to work again, finally able to take care of
myself and my child without having to rely on the State or
anyone else for a hand-out! Not to mention what this will
mean for my social standings! Any room free on your dance
card, Big-Slick-Rick?"
Chuckling, Rick typed in what he hoped was a reasonable request given the length of time spent getting to know this 'Kaleighco-Kat-Lover' person through her letters:
"I feel like it's time to take the next step in our
relationship, so forgive me if this is too forward, too soon,
but here goes nothing: Since you don't have a photo of
yourself to go along with your profile, so I can't see your
face: Do you have a phone number I could reach you at? I
would love to hear your voice, to know that you sound as
sweet and sincere, sensitive and subdued as your e-mails
read. I would really like to meet you some day soon too, if
that doesn't sound too psychotic after such a short time
spent e-mailing each other… But, the thing is, I still don't
even know your name…"
Tori popped her head around the corner and reminded Rick his 5 minutes were up, it was time to start serving the breakfast crowd. Rick quickly dispatched the e-mail response and logged-out from the Ulti-Mate website, to begin his work-day.
Oh, I don't wanna keep on wishin'
Missin'
The still of the morning the color of the night
I ain't spendin' no more time
Wasted
**********************************************************
"OK, that should about wrap up the dread paperwork!" Gayle Truman smiled that fake-forced bureaucratic smile from behind her over-sized desk in her over-sized office smack in the middle of the run-down half-way house called Challenges.
"For the next 8 to 12 weeks, you will begin the Transistional phase of your recovery, Katrina. You will be monitored by your probation officer and your parental guardian, who will be in constant contact with myself and the Challenges staff in regards to your progress acclimating yourself to life outside these walls again…"
Katrina was only barely listening, as she bounced her daughter on her knee there in Gayle's office. Her head was swimming, thoughts swirling about finding a place to live on her own, the new job, Kaleigh's schooling…
"Do you have any concerns or questions before I release you?" Gayle asked, still behind that phony smile. Question? Concerns? You mean like: Would she be able to support herself and her child, to survive and thrive in the real-world, without the demons, drugs and thugs that had dragged her into the depths of Hell before? How could she make it through this transition on her own? Was she really as strong and ready for all of this as Gayle, Rita and her mother had been praising and appraising?
"Would it be alright if I… could I check my e-mail before I leave? I don't know if or when I'll have internet access again, and there are a few friends I'd like to say Goodbye to, if that's alright?" all of her concerns and questions could be answered, she hoped, if but one response was found waiting in her In-Box.
************************************************************
She kept drivin' along
'til the moon and the sun were
Floatin' side-by-side...
Katrina was tense, her nervousness building as the odometer on her mom's car ticked higher, ever closer to the restaurant she would be calling her place-of-employment for at least the next 8 to 12 weeks during her transition from drug-dealing ex-con to recovering-addict single-mother.
*************************************************************
He looked in the mirror,
his eyes were clear
for the first time in awhile...
Rick was in the restroom, splashing cool water on his face in transition himself, from the Breakfast to Lunch crowd, from lovelorn widower to sober survivor. "It's time." He thought to himself, knowing it was well past time to start living again.
When he emerged from the restroom, Tori was waiting for Rick at the front counter, a sweet and petite, skiddish and stand-offish young woman at her side, with a precocious little moppet of her own clinging to her hip.
"This is Katrina Mills, on lease from Challenges..." Tori introduced, and the pair shared a welcoming grin and nod. "You'll be doing her paperwork so we can get her started training before lunch."
"And, who might this be?" Rick wondered, kneeling to smirk directly at Katrina's little sidekick. "Our new dishwasher, I bet?!" The girl giggled and danced behind Katrina, out of Rick's line-of-sight, while the adults laughed.
"Not for about 10 years at least…" Katrina smiled, stepping aside and holding her daughter's hand as she made the introductions. "This is my daughter." Kaleigh flushed from the attention, and did a cute little curtsey, giggling gleefully along with the grown-ups as she shuffled toward Rick. "Kaleigh, honey, say Hi to mommy's new boss, baby-girl…"
"Big-Slick..." Kaleigh noted, pointing at Rick's chest as she danced about.
"The girl knows her poker!" Rick said, standing and fluffing his tie a bit while it held fast in place against the A-K tie-clip. Katrina nodded slightly and shrugged.
"I think she watches a little too much TV at her Auntie Brenda's. Uncle Steve is really into ESPN, football and poker, 24 hours a day, isn't he, Kaleighco…" Kaleigh meowed and made a purring sound with her tongue-in-cheek rubbing her head against her mother's legs as she danced around Katrina on the floor.
"What did you just say?" Rick wondered, suddenly startled and very self-conscious.
"ESPN poker. Kaleigh watches a lot of poker at my sister's place…" Katrina repeated herself.
"Her name is Kaleigh." Rick repeated the phrase he was struck by. "You called her Kaleighco… and, you're Katrina…" Katrina nodded, while Rick nervously tapped and tugged at his tie clip. "I'm Rick…"
"Big Slick!!" Kaleigh cheered again.
"Big Slick Rick…" the light bulb in Katrina's brain suddenly flickered with life, even as her cheeks flushed red. "Are you serious? Is this some kind of joke? Ulti-Mate.com…"
Rick was blushing as much as Katrina in that magical moment of uncomfortable-comfort. "I don't believe it!" she gasped. "I almost didn't come here this morning! I dreaded starting over, coming back here after working here and getting high here for years… And, now…"
"I like a girl who knows when to take a calculated risk…" Rick comforted as he gathered the file folder of paperwork from Tori, and extended his other hand to Katrina, his lifeline, her rock, though neither of them knew at the time how very much they needed each other.The lobby Musak-music was droning in the background as Katrina kissed her daughter and sent Mom and Kaleigh away, while Rick escorted Katrina and Rita to a corner booth, and Tori returned to the kitchen to corral her crew for the Breakfast-to-Lunch transition with little time wasted…
Oh, I don't wanna spend my life jaded
Waitin'
To wake up one day and find
that I let all these years go by
Wasted
Yeah, yeah
Oh, I don't wanna keep on wishin'
Missin'
The still of the morning the color of the night
I ain't spendin' no more time
Wasted...