There's a good story here ... Full of Curves & it's all true!
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Sometimes pulling back the curtain can be like a batter walking up to the plate.
The bases are loaded & you just know you are going to get the curveball. The question is what will you do when it heads your way?
You grip the bat tightly. Its heaviness is like that curtain you wrap around you. A shield. You think that if you hold it ever so close nothing can hurt you. But they say if you don’t pull back the curtain or swing your bat … Well, how can you really live life.
And so you step up to the plate, the pitcher throws that curveball & before you swing, you look back behind you to see the curtain blowing up in the breeze. You think, “Ok, here I go!”
And you start, a baby step in enjoying life before it’s over.
“Hi. Who owns this place?” you ask. And she says, “I do.” You say, “Do you live on San Benito Way?” “Yes,” she says with hesitation. She cocks her head & waits for you to explain yourself. Then you say, “I don’t know if you remember me, but I lived in the garage apartment in the house across from yours. I lived there for 13 years. I was there when the tornado came through.” She smiles.
So it begins.
She tells you about the crazy McMansions they are building in the neighborhood. You both tell each other where you were when the tornado came through on the 4th of July weekend years ago. You tell her that you have moved to a loft on the edge of downtown, but that you really miss the days you lived on her street.
Before you stopped by her shop, you had found yourself driving down San Benito Way one rainy day. The neighborhood was just as it had been when you lived there. All the streets are lined with giant trees, full of new green leaves that almost glow from all the spring rain. You lived on this street longer that you had anywhere in your life. This is still home to you.
You had memorized every house. When you had lived there you had jogged through the neighborhood almost every day. You had picked the house that you might live in when you found the right guy. A beautiful brick home built in the 30s, with a screened in porch just minutes from White Rock Lake. You imaged having a tree house in the backyard. Pure heaven.
Then you remember to ask her about Richard. “Does he still live on the street?” you ask. “Yes he does, how did you know Richard?” You smile, “I had a blind date with him once. It’s funny story, when we met we didn’t even know we lived on the same street. How is he?” you ask.
Just then Harry walks in from their other shop down the way. He still looks the same. She immediately tells him who you are & mentions Richard. You tell them you only had one date & remembered he was a musician, but couldn’t recall much more about what he did. She smiles and says, “Well you know who he is right?” You shake your head.
To your astonishment she tells you that he is a Dallas Symphony conductor & also a very gifted trumpet player. Now this is a curveball you would have never seen coming. Your own life is a mystery unfolding!
Before you leave, she invites you stop by the next time you are in the neighborhood. Harry has created an oasis, a perennial garden in the backyard & she would love for you to see it.
As you walk back to you car, you think about the next curtain you will pull back. Then as you drive away, you begin preparing your bat for the next curveball … Life isn’t so bad. You just have to let go & keep your eye on the ball …
This is dedicated to Why Paisley for inspiring me to whip up another paisley image, in my attempt to make one for her. I promise yours is in the making Miss WP!!
Saturday night smooches,
The Tart
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