A New York Romance

by Winters, Abigail

  Love brought her such little joy over the years, except the love of her father. In that love she felt safe enough to open her heart and be fully exposed without fear of pain, judgment, or suffering. She hung on to these warm memories of her father when she needed to feel safe again, but even their warmth was now tainted with the coldness of his passing and the realization that she could not make new memories with him.

  After her last failed relationship with Brian, love came to such a point that she claimed she never wanted love again. She remembered slamming the door after screaming, “I never want to see you again!” How could love turn into such a horrible, painful thing? she had thought in the moments of their breaking up. Then there was her mother, the root where all love and pain intertwined as one indistinguishable sentiment. She could not think of her mother and the need for her love without the feeling of abandonment, sadness, and even anger.

  But Julie did not want to think of such things. She was finished with love for now. The walls were built around her heart to keep others out. She put it on a shelf, out of her mind and continued shopping the stores with her strange friend that she met on a bus. He seemed safe to her, as if the tangling vines of love’s pain would never get hold of her through him.

  “Come here, Charlie.” She pulled out a pair of jeans that any young hip teenager would like. “These look like they will fit you.”

  Charlie, a little reluctant about the style, agreed to buy them. He grabbed an ordinary blue hoody from the rack. Julie grabbed a black one for herself along with socks and a couple of hip t-shirts for each of them. Then she brought him to a shoe store across the hall to replace his worn-out shoes. However, Charlie stood still in the hall as he spotted clothing in the store next door that looked like something that an upper class European man from the 16th-17th century would wear and said, “I remember when people dressed like that. It must be coming back in style.”

  “I don’t think so,” Julie said.

  “But it’s on display in the window. Don’t they put all the latest fashions out front?”

  “That’s a costume shop,” Julie laughed as he noticed the witch, disco queen, and cave-girl outfits lined up next to the one he liked in the window.

  “Well, I like it,” he replied.

  “Then you should get it. Just be who you want to be, even if that means wearing clothes that have been outdated for over two-hundred years.”

  She pulled him into the shoe store.

  After they browsed the shoe store, Julie said, “We have one more stop to make.”

  “Where is that?”

  “I need some underwear,” she said as she wrapped her fingers around the inside of his arm above his elbow and led him straight to the lingerie store. Bras and panties were laid out on the tables and hung from racks on the walls. Sexy lingerie was draped over the window-front mannequins catching the eye of almost every man that walked by.

  Charlie stopped before the entrance.

  “I’ll wait right here.”

  Julie could see his obvious discomfort and let go of his arm.

  “Alright, Charlie,” she flashed a flirty smile.

  He turned toward the nearest bench. Sitting on the benches were the seemingly bored, antsy faces of other men, waiting for their wives or girlfriends to finish shopping, as if hoping they might make it home in time to catch the second half of the football game. But there was no game today.

  Charlie joined the men. They were in a deep discussion about the Jets’ last losing season and their predictions for the next. Charlie didn’t know much about football. He just observed how all the men suddenly became psychics when it came to the outcome of future games, laying their guarantees out and putting their reputations on the line. However, the interest of their conversation could not keep them talking when their wives or girlfriends approached, telling them they were ready to leave with a simple look.

  One by one each of the men were dismissed from the bench, like a player waiting for their coach to tell them to get on the field. Charlie noticed how well or not so well they each knew the face of the woman they vowed to love. He could feel the years of built up tension between them, or the dull routine that their relationships had become as they walked silently away. He could feel the men pretend to care about the ‘great deal’ their wife or girlfriend found on new clothes as he glanced at the other beautiful women walking by.

  Suddenly he saw Juliet come out of the lingerie store. He stared at her pretty face with an emotion he could not define. He ignored any facial language she was trying to convey to relieve him from the bench, and simply stared at her.

  “Are you alright?” she asked.

  “Yes,” he replied, as if suddenly waking from a dream. He turned to the other men still sitting on the bench and silently wished them a happy life and healthy relationships. Then he stood and turned his attention back to the pretty, young woman that walked at his side.

  He felt close to her in that moment, perhaps because he was observing the togetherness of others and the fact that of all the people there, she was the only one he spoke to and vaguely knew, and she was the only girl he really noticed.

  “Where are we off to now?” Charlie asked.

  “I’m going to get ready to go back home. New York is more expensive than I thought. I don’t have the money to stay here longer,” Julie answered.

  “Let me get you a room. I’m going to stay a few more days and I could use the company,” he said nervously. “You already know more about me than anyone else on this planet.”

  “No, I couldn’t. I don’t want you paying for me,” she said.

  Charlie felt like a high school kid asking a girl out for the first time.

  “At least stay one more day. You haven’t really even visited the city yet. It’s getting late and all we did was shop,” he almost begged.

  “It’s only around 3 o’clock,” she replied. “I have plenty of time today if you want to see something.”

  “By the time you have dinner and get to the bus station you’ll be traveling at night,” Charlie pleaded.

  “Are you asking me to dinner?” she raised her eyebrows and smiled.

  “I guess so,” he shrugged.

  Charlie was attractive physically, but Julie did not feel attracted to him in a romantic way. He was simply interesting, carefree, and she was beginning to see the humorous side of him that she was not certain existed before. Besides, what else was she to do and who else was she to talk to in this city of infuriate-faced strangers? And she did want to stay longer. The only thing that would make her run away from him was if he tried to get too close or he revealed something too dark from his secret personality. Of course, if he sang again she would have to leave him for the moment. What were those horrible sounds coming from his soft voice when he tried to sing?

  “Well, okay. One more day,” she agreed.

  Chapter 9

  After sightseeing and a late dinner, the coldness of the night forced them to walk to the nearest vacancy sign. It was a two floor motel, the kind that is found along a desolate freeway hoping to pick up vagabond travelers who become too tired to drive any further in the night. The cracked paint and crumbling sidewalk was evidence that this was probably not one of New York City’s finer establishments.

  “May we have two rooms for the night, my good sir?” Charlie asked the sloppily dressed man behind the counter. He was tall and skinny, probably in his early thirties, working there for a paycheck without motivation to do what he really wanted to do in life. Charlie simply loved him the way he was.

  “We only have one more room available, but it’s two beds,” said the motel clerk.

  Charlie paused.

  “That’s fine,” Julie agreed as she opened up her purse. Charlie smiled inwardly that she agreed to stay in the same room. It made him feel ‘not rejected,’ in a strange human way. He noticed that she only had about $150.00, mostly fives and tens with ones thickening the stack. She probably had just enough to get home, but still wan
ted to contribute to the price of the room.

  “I can get it,” Charlie said.

  “No, I’ll give you something. As long as I have enough for the bus ride home. You bought dinner.”

  Charlie agreed. The greasy-haired fellow behind the counter took the money without ringing it up in the cash register. He grabbed the key and handed it to them. “Room 113. Have a good night,” he said with a wide-eyed grin toward Charlie, staring at Julie as she walked away.

  Julie watched as Charlie nervously opened the room door with the key.

  “Look Julie, I don’t want you to be uncomfortable. I’ll sleep in the lobby or something.”

  “Don’t be silly. I trust you or I wouldn’t be here now,” she replied.

  They entered the room and Julie went into the bathroom with her purse and a package from the mall. Charlie sat in the chair and emptied his mind of all thoughts. A moment later she came out in her new, long T-shirt and quickly hopped into bed. Charlie noticed her out of the corner of his eye and quickly turned to look out the window, his mind now filled with so many thoughts that he could not keep track of them. His blood rushed through his veins, his palms began to sweat, and his heart beat faster.

  “What’s wrong? Aren’t you tired?” she asked seeing Charlie fully clothes with his shoes still on.

  “Yes.”

  “Are you going to go to bed?

  “No.”

  “Are you just going to stare out the window?”

  “Yes,” he answered, trying to ignore the rush of chemicals that flooded his veins, struggling to fill his mind with something else besides the image of her legs hanging out of a long shirt.

  There was a long pause. Charlie stared out the window at the 24 hour mart across the road, simply wishing the patrons happiness, love, and good health as they walked in and out of the store.

  Charlie thought of the chubby man crossing the street last night, how embarrassed he must have been losing his pants in the middle of the street. He considered how he might have affected the man, as the drivers taunted him. He looked up at the moon over the all-night mart and wished the chubby man love and happiness. He also wished that every time the man looked at the moon that good things would happen for him the next day. He imagined the man waking up happy and finding love and happiness throughout each day.

  He turned around and Julie was covered up in her bed already asleep. He kicked off his shoes and pulled back the covers on the other bed and laid there staring at the ceiling, while dwelling in the feeling of love and happiness for all creatures until he drifted off to sleep.

  Chapter 10

  “Ahhhhhhhhh,” Julie screamed.

  Charlie woke as she struggled in her bed, perhaps to pull the covers up over herself.

  He turned away and said, “I’m sorry, I cannot always help what I dream about.”

  “What?” She jumped up and ran into the bathroom. She peeked around the corner, “There’s a huge black spider in my bed, get it Charlie!”

  “A spider? That’s all?” he whispered.

  “It was just there dangling above me when I opened my eyes! I think it was going to crawl in my mouth or something!” she said, following the nightmares of her imagination.

  “Oh,” he sighed softly enjoying the morning sunlight in his eyes. He turned to see the spider and smiled. He let it crawl on his hand then gently placed the creature outside.

  “I’m going to shower. We have to get out of here now,” Julie said.

  Charlie casually agreed uncertain why people were so afraid of such a tiny bug.

  When she finished getting dressed in her new clothes, Julie saw Charlie’s reflection in the mirror and quickly turned to him, “How did your cuts heal so quickly?”

  “They did? I hadn’t noticed,” he remarked mysteriously, with the shrug of a shoulder.

  Charlie showered himself and put on his new pants and hoody. When he came out of the bathroom Julie asked, “So what did you dream about last night, Charlie Daniels? Fiddles? Hickory stumps? The Devil?”

  “If you do stay longer we should get you some new pajamas. Big, ugly pajamas and maybe some of those pointy glasses from the fifties. Oh no, forget the glasses,” he said.

  “They are pretty sexy, aren’t they?”

  Charlie turned away. She couldn’t see but he may have been blushing.

  “Yep,” he admitted.

  “So what do you want to do today?” Julie asked.

  “Eat breakfast and then, who knows.”

  Julie nodded then finished brushing her hair while Charlie paid for another night at the motel so they did not have to lug their bags with them. Charlie was planning to stay anyway, and he didn’t mind sharing his room with spiders.

  As they walked down the street Charlie became tense from the screeching cars, blaring horns, the variety of music mixing together from the shops, and especially the sound of construction machinery. He could not recall a time throughout history when daily life was filled with so much noise.

  “What’s wrong, Charlie?” She could see the tension in his eyes.

  “All the noise,” he replied. “I do not do well in the city. I am not used to…”

  “To what, Charlie? You’re keeping something from me. You should just tell me and get it over with. What can be worse than hurting a bus full of people?”

  She was still in disbelief about that claim.

  “It is nothing I have done, it is who I am. You will think I’m crazy, or should I say even crazier.”

  “Let’s go in here and get some breakfast.” She grabbed him by the arm and pulled him into the nearest café. There were enough of them.

  “You mean lunch,” Charlie said, referring to how long they took to get out of the motel and find a place to eat.

  They sat down, watching what might be the last heavy snow fall from the winter season.

  “You might as well tell me what’s on your mind, you know, the reason I will think you’re crazy. Try me. I bet I don’t run out of here screaming and I promise I won’t laugh. I’ll just listen. Besides, I’m too hungry to leave without eating,” she promised with comical sincerity.

  “Well, alright,” he hesitantly agreed.

  “Good Afternoon! What can I get ya’ll?” the waitress said with her dominate southern accent.

  They ordered their food and the waitress let them know she would have it out in a jippy. Charlie wanted to ask what a jippy was but Julie spoke up first.

  “Well, tell me. Tell me everything, Charlie.”

  He took a deep breath.

  “Okay! My name is not Charlie Daniels. That is just the name I chose,” he paused and looked around the room as if making sure no one else would hear him.

  “What do you mean chose? Who are you?”

  “I’m Cupid,” he stated quickly.

  “Cupid?” she huffed, remembering her promise not to laugh. “Like the little boy with wings who shoots arrows at people?”

  “I knew I shouldn’t have told…”

  “I’m sorry,” she interrupted, wiping the growing smirk off of her face.

  “I am not a little boy and I wish you humans would quit putting diapers on the pictures you draw of me. I don’t have wings either. Never have. And I don’t shoot people with arrows. That’s just inhumane. You know nothing of who I am anymore, just like you humans know nothing of true love anymore.”

  He might not shoot people with arrows but his words felt as sharp as one. It was a tone that let Julie know he was serious and a little upset, like the way a person feels when they are underappreciated for all they have done.

  Julie also remembered her promise not to run away. She did not know what to say. She simply let Charlie, or Cupid continue.

  “You see, people used to call upon me when they needed my help with love, but not anymore. People do not really fall in love anymore the way they use to, like that couple in the café this morning. It is very rare and that is why the couple was so important to me. I suppose I needed them more than they n
eeded me. I needed to see them to know people can still find true love.”

  “I see. You mean you’re the real Cupid? The Greek god, Cupid?” she questioned in disbelief as he seemed too ordinary in appearance, but she was intrigued with how much he thought about love.

  “Yes, I am. I was a god to the ancient Greeks, but today people do not even see me as an angel. They do not ask for my help. So I took the form of a human so that I could come here and understand why humans do not want true love anymore. Of course I did not know how to take care of my body, I mean it seemed simple from watching humans for so long, but it was more difficult than I expected. I never felt hunger before, or any physical pain for that matter. The first time I put my finger in a light socket, it was very shocking to me, literally and figuratively.

  “This body took me a while to get used to. The first time I soiled myself I thought my body was turning inside out. I met an older couple and they took me in until I figured things out, but I never told them who I was. When I was ready I set out to find answers to the problem with human love, but as you know personally, I have trouble being around people. I have trouble controlling the emotions that go along with this body. My mind is still quite powerful, but in the body I’m sometimes out of control, as you humans say.”

  “Like accidentally hurting a bus load of people,” Julie said.

  “Yes,” he replied, “exactly like that.”

  There was a long pause, which was uncomfortable for Julie. She still did not know what to say. Then the waitress broke the silence, “If there’s anything else, just holler,” as she placed their brunch in front of them.