Barista Wife

Barista Wife

     I tell the barista girl, “I am so sad to hear your Boston Terrier is under the weather. I’d be glad to make a donation for her medical bills.”    
     “Thank you from my heart. Because it means so much to me that my customers care I am giving a personalized thanks in the form of my lipstick print on their cup. But for donations over a hundred dollars, you get a peck on the cheek.”    
     “I don’t want you to think I digging deeper in my wallet for your kiss. But I am most eager to help in any way I can.”    
     She puts her fingers on my face and reaches up for a full-blown lip kiss. I say, “You know I’d love to see your pup. I guess she is too sick to make an appearance here.”    
     She replies, “Her malady is grief. She lost someone long ago whom she pines to see one day. She is seeing a dog counselor but nothing short of a reunion with her master will cure her ails. So she is physically able to be in this place. In fact, you can see her now if you like.”    
     “I may not be able to control my tears. I used to sing to my Boston at night until she knew her time had come and wailed over my voice. If I can be of solace for your beloved pup I will certainly be there for her.”    
     “Follow me into this room.”    
     “Hey, this is the closet. And I can’t see you anymore in the shadows.”    
     “Let me sweep a path for us.”    
     She raises the broom and sweeps away the darkness until the light is everywhere. Her brushwork uncovers the layers of art painted over long ago to reveal the original masterpiece of creation. The young woman whom I followed here is now the middle-aged woman I knew. And Ruthie my dog runs up to me. I am in the living room where my wife adds lip gloss to my already decorated face. She wears the fairy queen green dress that I chose for her in the thrift store. She says, “There are no restaurants here. I hope you like my cooking.”    
     “Oh honey, your goulash is heavenly.”    
     “We couldn’t have reunited here if you’d gotten
remarried. God wouldn’t approve. But you were true to me. When I was on my last leg I called those women friends of ours to tell them I would soon be out of the picture. I didn’t want you to be alone. You don’t do well by yourself.  But you were strong and stayed faithful. Now we are together again.”    
     “Am I of flesh and blood or some ectoplasm I can’t imagine?”    
     “Well, you didn’t give up the ghost. So you are alive. Since the maker saw fit to give all three of us living breathing bodies we need exercise. Let’s take Ruthie on a walk around the block. We don’t have seasons here but an eternal spring. The azaleas bloom all year round.”    
     “Will she need her harness?”    
     “There are no cars here but Ruthie stayed in the yard since losing you. Lead her by the leash until she learns the streets.”    
     “Will you join us?”    
     “I have to prepare for our family gathering. My children are coming over and I am planning a feast.”  
     “How will we visit with your children who are on our home planet?”  
     “We will connect through our dreams while they are asleep.”  
    “Let’s not be so codependent like we were.”    
     “We don’t have to be so afraid of being apart temporarily like we were on earth. In this place, there is no death waiting in the wings to catch us unaware.”