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<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cEthan, it\u2019s Delilah.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHi Delilah. I\u2019m almost there.\u00a0 Are you?\u201d I ask as I walk briskly through the cold winter night.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m gonna be late. \u00a0Don\u2019t worry my friend Rachel will be there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought it would be an evening of just you and me.\u201d I reply.<\/p>\n
\u201cHa ha.\u201d\u00a0 She emphasizes each syllable.<\/p>\n
Delilah and I have been roommates for almost two years. \u00a0Although she has not been in a steady relationship since her divorce five years ago, I occasionally snuggle up to her, remind her how much we adore each other, and try to convince her that getting involved would be so natural. Maybe she rebuffs me to hold out again for someone who is much younger. I accept that and move on, but I almost never bring girlfriends to the house.<\/p>\n
Delilah continues, \u201cI forgot I told her I\u2019d meet her and I didn\u2019t want to cancel. I know you haven\u2019t met her but she\u2019ll be easy to spot. She\u2019s much older than both of us, red hair, pudgy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, all right. I thought I knew most of your friends. Who is she?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEthan, she\u2019s cool. We just go to concerts together. I know she\u2019s involved in some sort of emotional truth\/new age group but she doesn\u2019t tell me and I don\u2019t ask.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOk, let her know I\u2019ll be looking for her and I\u2019ll get a table for the three of us. See you when you get there.\u201d<\/p>\n
The venue is a good sized, informal Asian restaurant where the tables are not close together and the lighting is a warm, red-purple. One corner has windows on two sides, amplifiers, an acoustic box drum, and sax and a guitar. I don\u2019t see Delilah\u2019s friend so I sit close to the front. \u00a0After two minutes, a statuesque woman with strawberry blond hair, a tight fitting soft leather jacket and a youthful face stands about two feet in front of me. I raise my chin to her.<\/p>\n
\u201cEthan?\u201d she asks.<\/p>\n
\u201cRachel?\u201d Not what Delilah described. I jump to my feet. She smiles broadly and extends her hand. Her warm and sparkling eyes have me smiling immediately. I motion to an empty table in the back. Rachel settles into the seat bench facing the room as I sit opposite her. If I don\u2019t see the room, I usually feel anxious, but my delight with Rachel calms me. As we peel off our coats, our connection builds.<\/p>\n
\u201cHas Delilah ever been late meeting you<\/em> before?\u201d Using our common ground to build a bond.<\/p>\n \u201cAre you kidding me?\u00a0 I always expect her to be late. That way I\u2019m never disappointed.\u201d She laughs.<\/p>\n We laugh about our friend\u2019s many quirks. Whenever the conversation sputters, one of us mentions yet another quirk, and we cackle all over again. Rachel abruptly changes the conversation to the types of music she likes. I hear Delilah over my right shoulder, whom I then see remove her coat, sit next to Rachel, and proffer reasons for her delay. Rachel and I exchange knowing glances. The band starts and I turn to watch for the entire set.<\/p>\n During the long break, Rachel and I discuss music, art, and food.<\/p>\n After some time, Delilah says in a monotone while rolling her eyes, \u201cDon\u2019t let me interrupt your date.\u201d I take that comment as encouragement to continue enjoying my new friend.<\/p>\n After the evening band finishes, we walk outside to the curb. I feel I should go back with Delilah, so I begrudgingly say goodbye to Rachel. I hug her politely and to my surprise, she gives me a warm kiss on the corner of my mouth.\u00a0 During the walk back, I feel as if I am on a caffeine high.\u00a0 My thoughts are rushing; my face warm in the cold night and my fingertips shooting sparks.<\/p>\n When we arrive, Delilah seems distracted. I resolve not to mention tonight and she doesn\u2019t either. We have been friends through many relationships, always supporting each other.\u00a0 But since Delilah has been without one for a while, maybe she needs every close friend to fill the occasional void.<\/p>\n I have to ask her, \u201cAre you upset that Rachel and I talked to each other so much?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo\u2026Not at all\u2026She had a rather dramatic break up with a guitar player and I think she\u2019s not ready for someone new. Ya know?\u201d She searches into my eyes looking for a consent.<\/p>\n We sit quietly in the kitchen over some Sleepytime tea.\u00a0 Finally I slip away and go off to bed.<\/p>\n Using my phone to go on Facebook, I go to Delilah\u2019s page and find Rachel as her friend. I immediately send a message.<\/p>\n \u201cHi Rachel.\u00a0 Great time! \u00a0Might I interest you in dinner next Tuesday? -Ethan\u201d Most of the next day, I help Delilah with her household shopping. She has difficulty choosing among even the most mundane products. Pink or yellow tissue. Single or two-ply.\u00a0 Last night is not mentioned. How I will navigate this new connection without Delilah\u2019s support?<\/p>\n After a late lunch, I want a quiet place alone to look at my phone to see if Rachel replied. I say, \u201cDelilah, I\u2019ve got to do some of my own errands. I\u2019ll catch ya later. OK?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOk, thanks for your help, Ethan. Bye\u201d<\/p>\n I run to the park, sit on the first free bench and read. \u201cHi Ethan, Time went fast last night! We\u2019re on for Tuesday, 8pm at Falphies? R.\u201d<\/p>\n I reply, \u201cC U then, -Ethan\u201d<\/p>\n I slog through the next few days until Tuesday night. My senses are on high alert as I enter Falphies, a Middle Eastern, dimly lit maze. I spot Rachel leaning against a bar stool and stride up to her. We hug with big smiles and are immediately led to a section with no other tables.<\/p>\n As we sit, I feel we\u2019re already establishing our own planet. We order the same food and begin nursing our drinks.<\/p>\n \u201cEthan, did I say how Delilah described you that night?\u201d I shake my head.<\/p>\n \u201c She said you dressed shabbily and looked beaten down. You were the complete opposite! Give me a break.\u201d<\/p>\n I replied, \u201cWell, you don\u2019t want to know how badly she described you. I guess she really didn\u2019t want us to like each other.\u201d<\/p>\n We used the large gaps between courses to explore the usual getting acquainted terrain\u2014where and with whom we grew up, one or two dramatic lifetime events, a significant relationship, and when the conversation slows, we chew on some Delilah fodder.<\/p>\n After dessert, Rachel sips her tea and asks after a thoughtful pause, \u201cI know this might be a little strange to ask, but have you ever been truly transformed in your life?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cGradually over time. For example, I have much less anxiety now. But that has taken years of killing off the responsible brain cells.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t mean due to physiological causes, Ethan. I\u2019m talking about an event that changes you emotionally. An epiphany. Something that has you seeing life with a new paradigm.\u201d I feel she\u2019s looking through my eyes to the back of my skull.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, I\u2019ve never had a near death experience or some other traumatic or euphoric event, if that\u2019s what you mean.\u201d I say that fishing for what she is fishing for.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, not that kind of thing.\u201d She says, \u201cHave you ever heard of the Emota-Intel Program?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNope\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a program that increases your emotional intelligence while becoming in tune with the Universal Pulsating Presence.\u201d<\/p>\n I wonder how I can be caught up in my emotions while being in tune with some subtle cosmic vibration. So I say, \u201cSounds contradictory to me.\u201d Rachel stares at me for a few seconds probably to determine if I\u2019m being hostile.\u00a0 Apparently, my sarcasm is not welcome.<\/p>\n \u201cEthan, I\u2019ve spent a good part of the last two years transforming myself through this wonderful program and organization. I do not see why you need to judge me or what I believe as frivolous and shallow. I cannot abide that. You tell me right here and now, are you open to a dose of reality, or must you continue hiding in your shell of habitual thinking and sad emotional armor?\u201d<\/p>\n Usually it takes many get-togethers before I enter the backcountry of someone\u2019s personality. But now I must struggle to get oriented, leaving behind the champagne of flirtation. Is Rachel that easily abraded or is she in control and just testing me? She clearly doesn\u2019t like what she sees inside my skull<\/p>\n I stand, \u201cLet\u2019s just say we\u2019re not made for each other though it feels so right. I will not join your program; I will not increase my emotional intelligence to pulsate to your presence.\u201d I kiss her on the side of her mouth, leave money on the table, turn my back to her, and stride away.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve never done that before, I feel like I\u2019m in control of my life like never before. I\u2019d say that\u2019s an epiphany.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cEthan, it\u2019s Delilah.\u201d \u201cHi Delilah. I\u2019m almost there.\u00a0 Are you?\u201d I ask as I walk briskly through the cold winter night.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[21,6,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-467","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fiction","category-flash-fiction","category-memoir"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7zCq3-7x","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":689,"url":"http:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/2016\/11\/25\/woodlawn\/","url_meta":{"origin":467,"position":0},"title":"Woodlawn","author":"Joe Lobel","date":"November 25, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 IT ALWAYS \u00a0AMAZES \u00a0ME \u00a0HOW \u00a0THE \u00a0COLD, \u00a0IRON \u00a0 GATES OF \u00a0WOODLAWN CEMETERY BECKONS AS \u00a0WE \u00a0PASS \u00a0BY \u00a0THE \u00a0GRAY, \u00a0BLEAK, \u00a0STONE \u00a0MAIN \u00a0OFFICE, \u00a0THE MAUSELEUMS \u00a0GREET \u00a0US \u00a0ON \u00a0THE \u00a0RIGHT. 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FOR \u00a0HERE, \u00a0IN \u00a0THIS \u00a0MORBID\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Poetry"","block_context":{"text":"Poetry","link":"http:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/category\/poetry\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"joes-woodlawn-003","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/joes-woodlawn-003-1024x637.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":320,"url":"http:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/2016\/07\/23\/what-happened-out-back\/","url_meta":{"origin":467,"position":1},"title":"What Happened Out Back- Part 1","author":"Kathy Follett","date":"July 23, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0The South Onnamaqua police rescue team responding to a call on September 8 discovered a local resident up to her neck in what was described as wet mulch after an accident on her property at 11 Breakfront St.\u00a0 Sheila Redmond (47) said she had\u00a0been hosing leaves off her barn when\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fiction"","block_context":{"text":"Fiction","link":"http:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/category\/fiction\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/studioandroid7142016-035.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/studioandroid7142016-035.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/studioandroid7142016-035.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/studioandroid7142016-035.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/studioandroid7142016-035.jpg?resize=1050%2C600 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/studioandroid7142016-035.jpg?resize=1400%2C800 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":656,"url":"http:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/2016\/11\/21\/not-telling-part-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":467,"position":2},"title":"Not telling – Part 3","author":"Kathy Follett","date":"November 21, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 \u00a0 This is me Sheila again. I think you are all waiting for me to say why Joe Sr. and I live in two different houses especially when there is enough space in this one and anyway he will never get around to taking the rest of his stuff\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fiction"","block_context":{"text":"Fiction","link":"http:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/category\/fiction\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"2016-11-20-15-39-23","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/2016-11-20-15.39.23-1024x557.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":204,"url":"http:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/2016\/07\/10\/pitter-patter\/","url_meta":{"origin":467,"position":3},"title":"Pitter Patter","author":"Joe Lobel","date":"July 10, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"THE PITTER PATTER OF JAKE\u2019S PAWS ON THE HARDWOOD FLOORS, SHOCKS ME BACK TO REALITY FROM WHERE MY MIND REVIEWS THE KALEIDOSCOPE OF ENDLESS IMAGES THAT WEAVE THE YEARS OF MY\u00a0 LIFE TOGETHER IN TAWDRY FASHION. THE COUNTLESS BIRTHDAY PARTIES, CHRISTMASES, EASTERS AND RELIGIOUS BENCHMARKS ALL ASSIMILATE INTO A MAZE\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Poetry"","block_context":{"text":"Poetry","link":"http:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/category\/poetry\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"note 4 july1016 126","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/note-4-july1016-126-300x169.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":397,"url":"http:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/2016\/08\/01\/about-alexandra-part-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":467,"position":4},"title":"About Alexandra- Part 2","author":"Kathy Follett","date":"August 1, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0Alexandra is my daughter but I\u2019ll let her speak for herself even if I can\u2019t stand it. . . . . Mom is alright. At least she\u2019s not mean. But she\u2019s a mess. Like when I got home on Tuesday the Rescue Service was pulling her out of the mulch\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fiction"","block_context":{"text":"Fiction","link":"http:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/category\/fiction\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"studio08012016 022","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/studio08012016-022-1024x576.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":27,"url":"http:\/\/wordpress.talesfromthelake.org\/index.php\/2016\/04\/08\/remembering\/","url_meta":{"origin":467,"position":5},"title":"Remembering","author":"Jeff Ginsburg","date":"April 8, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cAillen, how can any of your individuality re-incarnate? Your body structures and sustains memories, emotions and perceptions. When it dies, all is lost.\u201d Because I know Aillen so well, I sense his smiling beyond the speaker-phone, \u201cEthan, you know about quantum mechanics and quantum computers. 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\nI fall asleep on my back, feeling fulfilled.<\/p>\n