Seeking Forgiveness From Carmen

Seeking Forgiveness From Carmen    
   
     Carmen the waitress says, “Are you bored with this side of town? I bet there are a lot of great attractions around the college town where you are going?”  
     “The reason I am moving is that the house needs a lot of repairs.”  
     “You told me that.”       
     Drawn by Auld Lang Syne my city wheels roll in clouds of time.  
     The weathered facades of a wooden portrait of the once-grand restaurant broke my heart. The candlelit room where I dined on my last supper with her had retreated to the size of a small tea room. But as luck would have it she was there just getting off work. She stopped in her tracks when she saw me.  Her downcast eyes were crescents of our once-fertile romance.  
     She said, “Did you think you could just pop out  
of nowhere and expect me to be all mushy and jubilant because you graced me with your presence after a year? I felt like a widow of clockwork who once knew the gold of a pocket watch. But I got over it. I’ve learned not to trust men or need them in my life. And I have you to thank for that lesson. How do you like my lily-white dress? I traded my faux leather for the virginal look.”  
     “You would look great in nothing at all.”  
     “Leave it to you to warm my heart. Now give me a hug.”  
     I reply, “We never hugged before now. Are you sure your heart can withstand my embrace?”  
    She says, “We’ll hug each other. That way the sense of you giving back will be the Cortizone to soothe my Corazon.”  
     I reply, “Your Corazon is the perfect valentine for this inept lover.”  
     “If you learn Spanish I’ll give you a second chance.”  
     “Of course, shall my acquired parlance be the Honduran dialect?”  
     “It doesn’t matter silly. You don’t need fluency in my language to understand me. My tongue is multilingual.”  
     I reply, “Does that mean we can make chords without our vocal cords?”  
     “If only it were that simple.”  
     “You could move in with me across town. We could start a catering business together.”  
     “The stardust that is in my eyes is too sad to bear.”  
     “I have graham crackers in the glove compartment. Let’s share them.”  
    “They must be as crumbled as the history you left me.”  
     “That is all I have.”  
     “Give me one of those crackers for the road. It won’t matter that the crumbs will get all over the upholstery. As I drive I’ll think of you.”