From Riches to Rags (15 page)

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 with 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!

I’d been in limos before, many times, so it was like coming home again when I slid across the leather seat to make room for Melinda to get in. But I don’t recall any of those limo rides having tea and sodas on ice.

“Can I offer you a beverage?” She asked and I laughed and nodded my head.

“A diet soda would be nice, thank you.”

“One diet soda coming up. There are some snacks over there if you’re interested?”

She handed me the drink and I replied, “No, thanks, this will be enough for now. So, where are we going?”

“To the airport.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes, seriously. It’s the quickest way to get to where we’re going.”

“And where is that, pray tell?”

“It’s a surprise.”

She had a big sheepish grin on her face and I suddenly became worried.

“Melinda, I don’t want to hurt your feelings, but I’d rather not go to Vegas.” I kept my reasons to myself, because I was too embarrassed to tell her that I woke up in a casino there, not knowing how I got there.

“You don’t have to worry; we’re not going to Vegas. But that was a good try though.”

“And I really don’t think now is the best time to meet your parents.” I really did not want to meet her parents, at least not until I got some decent clothes to wear.

“Don’t worry, you won’t see my parents because I don’t think any time is a good time to meet them.

We pulled onto the tarmac at the private airport and stopped in front of a corporate owned jet. Blackstone was printed in bold black letters above the windows.

“Your family has their own jet too?”

She pointed at the tail of the plane where the word
Blackie
was spelled out vertically.
Damn!
I did not see that coming and really, I probably should have. I forget sometimes that she’s a billionairess.

I walked inside to a palace on wheels. My father’s jet was similar, but not as lavish. A set of oversized leather recliners at the front, another set of seats with a walnut table between them and a vase of fresh cut blue daisy’s on it, a blue strip carpet, and a floor lamp resembling the Tiffany lamp in Norma’s apartment.

We buckled up in the front seats and prepared for departure. The take off, which I have always hated, was smooth as silk for a change.

“Want to watch a movie?”

Melinda didn’t wait for my answer, she got up and turned on the wall to wall monitor screen and we moved to the seats with the table between them. The flight attendant brought out crackers and cheese and fruits of every kind. Then she came back with soda drinks and a bucket of fresh popped popcorn.

“What’s the movie, Melinda?”

“Invaders from Pluto.”

“Oh, um, sure, that sounds good.” I lied through my teeth.

She looked at me like I had forgotten something. The grin on her face told me that I had.

The title zoomed in until it filled the screen, and then disappeared. Then the word
starring
zoomed in and I shouted, “That’s Norma!”

“Ah, now you remember, right?”

“Yes, how cool is that. Does Norma know? Oh, Melinda, she doesn’t have a copy, you have to give it to her.”

“Who do you think I borrowed it from?”

“That’s strange. She told me she didn’t have a copy.”

“Oh, I didn’t know that she had told you.”

Melinda looked away and I waited for her to tell me, but she changed the subject. “Did you know that our neighbor has starred in over twenty movies and that she even won an academy award for supporting actress?”

“Oh my gosh. No, she never told me that.”

“She didn’t tell me either. The guy at the book store where I—“

“Busted. Fess up, the book store where you bought this movie.”

“Okay, you caught me. Anyway, he showed me her profile on the internet.”

“All of that and now she lives in that derelict of a building. How could she have come to that fate, do you think?”

“We may never know for sure, but she herself has told us about the poor choices she’s made. I guess it caught up with her.”

Chris yawned and leaned back in the seat.

“It’s going to take a little while to get to our destination so if you’d rather get some sleep, I’m sure Norma wouldn’t mind.”

“I’d like to watch the movie, but I can’t promise I won’t fall asleep during it.”

“That makes two of us.”

“Melinda, you got that tape for Norma, didn’t you?”

She nodded her head and tossed some popcorn in the air, catching it in her mouth.

“Okay, I’ll let it go. It was really sweet of you to do that for her.”

“Chris,” she stopped and turned to me, “I’m not a bad person once you get to know me, and my money isn’t evil, it’s just money. It has no soul.”

I acknowledge what she was trying to say, and I hoped to take it up a level for her, “Melinda, how did you feel when you gave Norma that tape?”

“Well, I guess I was happy for her. She became that young movie star again, full of energy and zest for life. We sat down and watched the movie and it was really not that bad, considering when it was made.”

“Oh, I wish I could have been there, I would have loved to see her watch this.”

“I’m sorry, I should have waited.”

“No, that’s okay. That was your moment with her, and I’m glad you had it.”

“It did kind of fill me up.”

“Fill you up? Oh, you mean like with that rush of satisfaction a person gets when they’ve done a good thing for no other reason than to make someone feel like a movie star again?”

“Yes, exactly. I’d like to feel that again.”

And there it was, the exact feeling I was hoping she’d feel. You can’t get that feeling while drinking booze or chewing out a waitress.

“There’s no reason why you can’t. That’s my biggest regret. I could have done so much more with what I had. Instead, I squandered it away. Now I have nothing to show for it and yet I can find ways to help others.”

“Like when you gave your kitten to Norma?”

“Yes, it was the hardest thing to do, but it was the right thing. Her need was greater. And look what good came out of it. Norma has a kitten to love, plus she made two new friends, you and me, and I have my little Blackie back and you gave her a gift of her youth with this movie.”

“When you think about it, that’s kind of amazing really, the way a simple act of kindness mushroomed into all of those things.”

“When you think about it, there’s so much more we could do, to give back, and keep that domino effect going.”

*

When I came back from using the lavatory, Chris was asleep. I got an afghan down from the closet and covered her with it, and then I set down and watched the movie for a little bit, but it wasn’t long before I was thinking about what Chris had said, that her biggest regret was not having done more with what she had and she didn’t realize that until she had nothing. Is that why she’s so gung ho to have me take the challenge, to experience what she had? I think I get it now. She wants me to see it from both sides and then chose. But does that mean I stop being who I am, stop being Blackie?

I looked over at her, now curled up in the blanket, and I wondered, who would she have turned out to be if she hadn’t lost everything? And how did she come to lose it all? When she looked at her parent’s house I could tell the pain at not being able to go inside and see them cut deep in her soul. They are at the heart of her troubles, but I don’t think they are the sole reason for them.

Then I had an idea that struck like lightening. I would go see them, introduce myself as Chris’s friend and impress them, and then maybe convince them that their daughter needs them – or maybe I should just keep my nose out of her business until she asks for my help.

I must have dosed off because before I knew it, we were there.

“Chris, Chris wake up.” I nudged her awake and opened the shade over the window. “Look we’re here.”

“Where? Where is here?”

She peered out the window and then looked at me and said, “That’s the Golden Gate Bridge.”

“That’s right,” I said with a grin.

“That’s where we’re going, to San Francesco?”

“Yes ma’am. Have you ever been here?”

“No, but I always wanted to. I haven’t really been very far out of Memphis, to tell you the truth, so this is a real treat. Do you own a house here too, Melinda?”

“No, I only have the condo in Vegas. My parents have several homes, but my favorite one is here in The City, home to the best Yorkshire pudding ever made. I only wish we had time for me to give you a proper tour.”

Chris looked at the clock on the table, and then at her watch and said, “Well, we just gained an extra two hours, would that help?”

I smiled at her eagerness. “This isn’t a pleasure trip, remember. I want to show you what I’m giving up, so you will understand when I whine about that tiny bathroom. I mean, I know you know, but not the scope in which you think you know… uh… you know?”

She laughed and nodded her head. “It’s okay, Melinda, I knew what you meant and would like to see what you have to show me. But just keep in mind that you have a safety net. When the thirty days is over with, it will all still be waiting for you. Have you considered how lucky you are to have this chance to see both sides of the street? People are usually forced into poverty against their will, and very few are lucky enough to escape it. You will be one of those lucky few.”

“Well, I guess when you put it that way.”

We landed at the airport and I had my Ferrari convertible waiting. I thought she might be impressed with the fiery red color, the spoke wheels and the tan leather seats, but she wasn’t. She asked me if I ever bought American but didn’t wait around for my answer. In fact, I have several American made beauties like the Corvette Z06 Convertible, one in blue and one in red, and the Dodge Viper SRT, also in blue and red.

I drove her the long way around and showed her as much as I could in the dark. I drove her down Lombard Street, which made her laugh with all its hairpin curves and beautiful flowers, and then I drove us down Filbert Street. Knowing that the street would be practically empty at four A.M., I gained speed quickly, praying all the while that a car didn’t pop out of one of the intersections, the only flat areas on the hill. Gaining speed, I gunned it at the second intersection, yelling at Chris to hang on, then the Ferrari went airborne. Long after the tires bounced back to the ground, Chris was squealing. I had never heard such squealing before, not even during sex. After I slowed the car down she said that was fun and asked if we could go again. Of course, we went again.

And then I drove us over the Golden Gate Bridge, where even in the dark, it was a beautiful sight to see. Luckily, I timed it just right so that when we got to Marin Headlands on the other side, we could watch the sun rise over the bridge. It had been so long since I stood there, watching the sun rise over the horizon, glinting off of the water and casting soft shadows across the bridge. I looked at Chris who was staring in awe at the beautiful sight, the wind catching her hair up, the sun’s rays sparkling in her eyes. For a fleeting moment I lost myself in possibilities that I knew would never happen.