Choices ‒ Christine Livingston and Melinda Blackstone
Quitting time! I rushed out the back door of the restaurant and onto the street, looking both ways this time, before I crossed it, and there she was, waiting for me in her golden carriage. I wasn’t surprised. In fact, I probably would have been disappointed if she hadn’t been there, but I was definitely relieved because I felt safer with her around. When she saw me, she got out and leaned against the car, crossing her arms and grinning like the Cheshire cat.
“Okay, what’s going on?” I asked cautiously.
“Frankie thinks she may have located one of Norma’s grandsons in Texas.”
“That’s wonderful news!”
We got into the car and continued our conversation as she drove me home.
“So, how do you want to do this?”
“Do what, make contact with him? Oh dear, I hadn’t thought that far ahead. How should we approach them?”
“There are a couple of options. I can ask Frankie to go down there and meet with him, or we can go see him ourselves. Or, if you want to remain anonymous, simply write him a letter and leave your name off.”
“I like the third choice.”
“Yeah, I thought you might. But it will take longer and you won’t know if it worked until they walk in the door.”
“That’s all right, it’s better that Norma thinks they wanted to find her, not that we guilted them into it.”
“Yeah, you’re right. I can’t wait to see the smile on her face when she tells us about them.”
“Me too! Norma has been such a treasure to me. She gave me some really good advice today. Well, it was yesterday, but you know what I meant.”
“Yeah, I knew what you meant. She gave me some good advice too.”
“Care to share?”
“Only if you do.”
I laughed, “Okay, never mind.”
“Uh-huh. Thought so”
Norma’s words of advice had kept repeating itself in my brain ever since she said them, and once I understood what they meant, I came up with a plan to test Melinda, but also to bring her up to where I am now. I just hope it doesn’t all blow up in my face.
“Can I ask you something, Melinda?”
“Sure, anything. I’m an open book.”
“I’ve thought about this all night, and um, am not real sure what’s the best way to ask you this, but here goes anyway. Melinda, what would you be willing to give up to be my friend?”
She looked shocked, like someone had asked her that question before, and suddenly I was afraid that I had totally messed things up.
“I’m sorry. I can see my question upsets you.”
“No, don’t be. It was just that Norma said something so similar to me yesterday and I didn’t know the answer until just now. I would be willing to give up everything, Chris.”
I almost giggled, but I didn’t. Instead I put it out there on the table and held my breath to see what her answer would be.
“Melinda, you’ve told me before that you wanted something more out of life, and I think I can help you find it, if you’re willing?”
“Willing to do what?”
“Give it all up. Give up your money, your fast cars, your booze and loose women.”
“No shit?”
“No shit. I’m challenging you to give it all up for one month. For that thirty days you will live in a small apartment like this one, I think there’s one for rent across the street, get a job, there’s an opening at the restaurant for holiday help, and live off of that paycheck, abstaining from everything else.”
“Damn! That’s kinda extreme, don’t you think?”
“That’s exactly why I’m suggesting it. Thanksgiving is next week, so you could start on the twenty-sixth. That will give you time enough to put your affairs in order, won’t it?”
She nodded her head but I wasn’t really sure she was listening to me. I though I might have really frightened her this time, and half expected her to dump me on the side of the road and take off. A moment had passed before I realized that I was holding my breath.
“So, for a month, I will just give up everything?”
“Yes, everything. No wads of hundred bills in your billfold. No credit cards, not even your cellphone. You can’t contact anyone for anything; you must rely solely on yourself. Completely independent from the life you lead now.”
“Wow, uh…, wow.”
“It’s not like you’ll be stuck in that way of life forever, not like I am. In thirty days you’ll go back to the way it was, richer, but wiser. So, what do you say, ready to take the test?”
“Is that what it is, Chris, a test?”
“I won’t lie to you, Melinda, it is a test, for both of us. So, are you up to the challenge?”
“One question.”
“Yes, ma’am?”
“What happens between us if I fail?”
“That’s a good question and one I hadn’t given any thought to.” I ran all the possibilities through my mind and came up with only one answer. An answer I didn’t like and I knew she wouldn’t either. “I think we probably go our separate ways, or back to how it is now.”
“Okay, well, let’s do this then. I am up to the challenge if you are.”
“Oh, a challenge within a challenge, should be interesting.”
Panic – George Kirk and Melinda Blackstone
Blackie called me in a panic, rushing through her words so fast I barely could understand her. But when she told me that Chris had challenge her to see how the other half lives, I took out my pen and wrote on the calendar, marking the day that history was being made.
“Why, that is a wonderful idea, Blackie!”
“What the hell are you talking about, George? I can’t do this. I’ve never worked a day in my life, unless you count prying the oyster out of its shell, as work?”
“Now don’t panic, Blackie, you can do this. It’s exactly what you’ve been asking for.”
“Oh no, I never asked to be dirt poor, slopping greasy fried food at people all day and then taking the bus home to a dump of an apartment.”
“Blackie, what will happen if you don’t do this?”
I thought that I already knew her answer, but I wanted her to hear it come out of her own mouth. Maybe then she’d understand what’s at stake. This may very well be her only chance at redemption.
“Chris and I talked about that and she said we’d probably stop being friends.”
“No, not with her, with you. What will you do if you fail?”
“Honestly?”
“Yes, be truthful to yourself and analyze it from every angle, and then tell me what will you do if you don’t succeed?”
“I have already analyzed it for hours on end, and the answer always came out the same, go back to Vegas, get drunk and screw the first skirt that walks my way. That’s what I’m use to and that’s what I’m good at.”
“So, the very thing that you are trying to escape from, would be the very thing you run back to? What a crock!”
“Excuse me?”
“Wake up already, girlfriend. This is your chance, your saving grace. Don’t you see, in thirty days you could have everything you ever wanted, including having your slate wiped clean, if you’d only try.”
“Girlfriend, why George, you’re such a tease. All right, I hear what you’re saying and you are absolutely right, I will try, and I will succeed, damn it!”
“Damn straight you will, because I don’t want to write in your biography that you failed.”
“That’s not going to happen because I’ll sue your ass off if you do.”
I heard her laughing over the phone and I breathed a sigh of relief. Blackie has a wicked sense of humor sometimes.
“Blackie, I’m so excited for you that I almost wish it were me starting over again. Almost.”
“Listen, would you tell my parents that I’ll be out of touch for a while. There’s no need to tell them why, that’s just between you and me, okay?”
“Sure, what do you want me to tell them when they ask why?”
“They won’t ask you why, but you can tell them I’m working on an experiment for you if you want?”
“Oh God, I can’t do that!”
Again I heard her laughing, and again I exhaled. I’ve known Blackie since she was a little girl and I’m still not use to her sense of humor. I wished her luck, and she wished me a happy Thanksgiving and hung up.
I wish there was some way I could be a fly on the wall and watch her progress. I need to chronicle it for her biography. Imagine, billionaire heiress Blackie Blackstone, living in the slums with nothing to her name but the shirt on her back. Hollywood and social magazines everywhere would pay good money to see that, and I imagine a few ex-girlfriends too.
Chapter Twelve
One Last Hurrah – Christine Livingston and Melinda Blackstone
“Taxi service, ma’am.”
I laughed when I heard Melinda’s voice on the other side of my door, and then I panicked. I was about to show her the poverty that I live in and I knew it was going to be a shock for her. I looked around the room again to make sure everything had been put away, and then I scooped the kitten up and opened the door.
“Melinda, won’t you come in?”
“You mean you’re actually letting me cross the threshold into your domain?”
“Stop being silly and get in here. I want you to see the kind of apartment you’ll be living in when the time comes. Would you like a tour of my humble little abode?”
She nodded and I shut the door behind her, and then I showed her around.
“This is the kitchen,” I pointed to the hotplate sitting beside the tiny sink, and then I stepped over beside the bed, “in the corner there is the kitten’s bathroom,” I pointed to the cat litter box, “and here we are finally in the living room,” and then, feeling silly, I took her elbow and led her around in a circle back to the bed again and said, “and this is the bedroom.” She chuckled nervously, but I had saved the best for last and walked her over to the bathroom door, “and here we have the facilities. It’s a little snug in there but I think you’ll fit inside all right.” The bathroom had a single person shower, and a toilet, with a mirror over the toilet. There was no sink to wash my hands, so I used the kitchen sink.
Melinda laughed at my joke and walked inside the bathroom and then back out again. She said with a smirk, “Okay, let me make sure I know where everything is so that I won’t get lost when the time comes. The bathroom is just here.” She stretched one long leg across to the kitchen, and said, “This is the kitchen, right?” I nodded my head, smiling, while she took one step over to the bed and said, “And this is the living room,” and then she stepped back and looked around the room as if she were trying to remember. “Wait, don’t tell me, I’ll figure it out.” She said and then she stuck her finger up in the air and said “Aha!” and took a step forward again, “and this is the bedroom. Am I right? Did I miss anything?”
“Yes, I forgot to show you my balcony with a view.” I walked over to the window with the security bar across it, “Here is where I found Blackie on the fire escape.”
“How on earth did she get out there?”
“I have no clue. I thought maybe she had fallen out from the apartment above me, but when I asked them, they said she wasn’t theirs, that they don’t own a cat. ”
“Perhaps she was a gift from your guardian angel.”
“She certainly has been a gift to me, that’s for sure. Listen, on the way to work, would you mind taking a detour? I’ve been longing to see my parents home again but couldn’t afford the taxi fare and buses don’t run in that neighborhood.”
“Sure, I would love to see where you lived.”
“Thank you.” I kissed the kitten and sat her on the bed and told her to be a good girl while I’m at work. “Norma gave me a couple of toys and some food and litter for little Blackie. She said she had too much. Was that your doing?”
“Yeah, I wasn’t sure how much a cat ate so I probably over did it a little.”
“Well, for my kitten’s sake, I’m glad you did.” I teased the kitten with the feather toy, and then we left.
*
I finally make it into Chris’s apartment, and I instantly have second thoughts about our test, though I wouldn’t tell her that. I will be moving from my thirteen hundred square foot Vegas penthouse, with two master bedrooms, a spa, a hot tub, three bathrooms and a kitchen twice the size of Chris’s entire apartment, into a cardboard box with barely enough room to turn around in. Her bed was only a queen size, how am I supposed to stretch out on a queen size bed? And that bathroom. Good God, that miniscule bathroom. I was at a complete loss for words. What if my apartment across the street from her, ends up being worse?
Once I had purged my soul of all the complaints about the living quarters, I segued right into the next pending disaster, the dreaded waitressing job.
I got it of course, after I swore the restaurant owner to secrecy. That wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be. I knew Chris wouldn’t want me bribing him, but I did have to promise to send business his way whenever I could. That was sort of a bribe but not in a monetary gain… sort of.
I said I would do this, and I won’t renege on that. But Chris needs to understand the scope of what she has asked me to give up. We’re on our way to see her house where her parents live; perhaps I should show her one of my houses that I grew up in.
*
I guided Melinda across town, to my parent’s mansion. When I saw it again, tears instantly blurred my eyes, and I angrily wiped them away so I could see.
“Are you all right?” She asked me.
I couldn’t speak, I just nodded my head and kept looking out the window at my home. God, how I miss that place. Finally, after a few minutes, I began to reminisce and I’m sure it wasn’t long before I was rambling.
“When we first moved here, I was almost twelve years old, and to me, it looked like a giant playground. I ran from room to room, up and down the staircase, shouting to make it echo my words back at me. It was a magical place. I helped mom unpack while dad was at work and the large house made it seem like we had very little. I remember that after we had unpacked everything, Mom stood with her hands on her hips, surveying the huge living room and decided it was bland, terribly bland, as she put it. The next day there was an interior designer at our front door. Mom had hired her at a hefty cost, to makeover the entire house. The designer did a great job. Mom and dad were very please, but I had lost my echo friend.”
“Were you happy living here? I mean besides losing your echo friend?”
“At first, yes, very happy. Well, at home anyway. I didn’t like my new school, the kids were so standoffish and cliquish. That’s when it started.”
“When what started?”
“The downhill spiral into the gutter.” I turned and looked at her and I knew what she wanted to ask next, but I still wasn’t ready to go down that road with her, not yet anyway. “Listen, we’d better get me to work before I’m late again.”
She opened her mouth to say something, but changed her mind. We rode silently back to Beale Street, but before I got out of the car, she stopped me.
“Chris, when is your next day off?”
“If he doesn’t change my schedule again, it’s on Friday. Why?”
“I want to show you something and I don’t want to have to rush to get you back to work, like we’re doing now. Can you get off an hour early?”
“I’m sure I can, Thursdays aren’t that busy.”
“Good deal.”
“It sounds intriguing.” I said half-heartedly, my mind still back at my home, and then I thought to ask, “Should I expect you to pick me up tonight?”
“Yes, ma’am, you should.”
I smiled and got out of the car and then stood there on the sidewalk and watched her pull away. Just as she turned the corner, she stuck her hand out the window and waved. I went into the restaurant w
ith a smile on my face.
*
Her parent’s house was just about what I had expected. It was beautifully landscaped with a Mercedes in the driveway. I know that her father is worth millions, and his home reflects it, but compared to her parent’s mansion, my parent’s houses are castles. I hit the phone button on the console and began making calls in anticipation of our trip on Friday.
“Hey, it’s Melinda. Got a minute?”
“Melinda? I thought your name was Blackie?” George said on the other.
“Oh, uh, yeah. Anyway, can you find out what house my parents are living in on Friday?”
“I talked with your mom yesterday as a matter of fact, and she was right in the middle of overseeing their move to Naples for the winter. They should be there by now”
“Is that the house in Naples, Italy or Naples, Florida?” Either way, it was perfect for my needs. Unfortunately I didn’t have enough time to fly her to our vineyard in Italy, which would have been my first pick.
“Florida.”
“Okay, thanks, George.”
Before he could ask why, because George was a curious man, I hung up and called the airport. While I was making the arrangements, I had completely forgotten that this was not a date, and that I wouldn’t need the champagne and strawberries. I laughed out loud, thinking what an earful I would have gotten from Chris if she walked in and saw that sitting beside my bed. Surprisingly, those urges weren’t there with Chris. The only need I felt towards her, was the need to treat my friend to a special day in the land of oz. I can’t wait until Friday.
***
I barely slept a wink last night in anticipation of my big adventure with Melinda tomorrow. She wouldn’t give me any details, just to be ready to go the minute I clocked out at work. That and it was her last big hurrah before the big test.
I counted down the minutes, until finally, after the slowest day of my life, the clock struck one. Quitting time! I clocked out, grabbed my purse and dashed out the door, but the Lambo, as she likes to call her Lamborghini, was nowhere to be seen, just that obnoxious limousine blocking half the street. Wait, you don’t think… Melinda stepped out of the back seat and waved for me to come over. This is going to be a huge last hurrah!
From Riches to Rags Page 11
