Season of Joy

Allison ordered a vodka screwdriver but Joy ordered a light beer. She developed a taste for beer in college and though not as sophisticated as wine or cocktails she still preferred a good lite beer nonetheless.

Their drinks appeared presently as the two women shared their history. Allison married 25 years ago and all three of her children were now away to college. Her husband represented an important apple label and frequently went to conferences and sales meetings for international trade of their products.

Alison worked at the Commission ostensibly to fill her empty days but more for her love of the arts of all kinds. She claimed she had little talent for music, drama or graphic arts but, in fact danced a little as a child.

Her buxom body which rapidly appeared during puberty accompanied by a graceless clumsiness pretty much eclipsed whatever budding talent she possessed. By fourteen, she gave up dance but often worked behind the scenes wherever she could.

The job at the Commission offered a perfect use of her prodigious skills in scheduling and organization. Joy became more impressed with her by the hour.

Joy shared her life history as well.

"I've sung as long as I can remember," she began , "and my parents who put me in voice lessons right away. By high school, I sang leading roles in local opera and musicals. It helped that I could act as well sing coloratura."

" I auditioned for Julliard after graduating from U-Dub and while there studied with the greatest voices of opera. I graduated with honors and auditioned for the Metropolitan opera system and began singing roles in smaller houses."

"I sang up and down the west coast until a dashing young businessman came back stage and swept me off her feet. I just happened to be feeling the pressure of the professional stage when he proposed. I chose a life of love, security and wealth, a choice I never regretted."

She gave up her career to make a life with Thomas Harrison and gave him two children. Her children were now married and living across the world in Amsterdam and Hawaii. She had a grandson and another on the way.

She teared up as she described her years of hell, when Thomas began getting paranoid even suspecting her of infidelity! He suspected everyone 'out there' of conspiracy and bought a survivalist bunker disguised as a luxury log cabin in the Sierra Nevada mountains. They lived there until his behavior became too erratic for her to stay alone with him. She called for assistance which of course added to his paranoia. His subsequent hospitalization lead to a diagnosed of early-onset Alzheimer's.

Five years. It took five years to kill him. The two years hiding in the mountains followed by three years in a Memory Care Center. The last two years, he didn't even remember her and the last year the love of her life lived as largely an empty shell, only sitting and staring out a window.

When she described how she tried to revive her career, failed and then happened on this job working behind the scenes so to speak, they both realized their common path though they came from opposite ends.

They ordered a second round. After a third, they decided to order some food. Joy ordered a Cheeseburger Meal and Allison ordered a Chef Salad.

While they awaited for their food, the third round of drinks came.

"How do you keep your amazing hair so....white.?"

"Actually, the color is all natural, my hair has always been white.

"Really? But you don't appear to be albino?....Oh...Sorry....I'm being entirely too blunt!"

"Tests showed it to be some kind of birth anomaly. I have normal skin tone and eye color but white hair. It has been my 'trademark' more or less. I have always been proud of my hair."

"It is beautiful!" Allison added sincerely and let the topic die. A moment of uncomfortable silence followed.

"I'm nervous about tomorrow." Joy confided.

"Why?"

"I'm supposed to meet Gere Dawson tomorrow, and I am dreading it."

"Really?" Allison queried, "Why?

"Well ... he is a big influence in the arts community or, so I have been told. He is hard to work with and last but not the least, he is the only board member who voted against hiring me."

Allison looked surprised but said nothing for the moment. She took a sip from her drink and smiled.

"Where did you gather this bit of information?" Allison queried.

"I spoke with Gerome in the hospital when I first got here, and..."

"Ahhh..." Allison shook her head.

"What?" Joy asked.

"Oh, nothing."

"Come on, spill."

"Well...no, ...you'll find out."

"Oh come on, I need all the help I can get."

"Yes, I imagine you will," She laughed then added, "but not in the way you think."

"What? You're speaking in riddles."

"Well. Here's a hint that may help, Gerome is gay and fell hard for Gere.

"So Gere is gay?"

Allison burst into laughter. "No, not at all! No, he is definitely NOT gay!"

"Wha...I don't understand?"

"Oh, I suspect you will.

"Still talking in riddles...."

"His wife, Janet died of Alzheimer's 2 1/2 years ago. A sweeter woman you would never meet! Anyway, when he started socializing again, he became the most eligible bachelor in town. Women of all ages are trying to turn his head, even the twenty-something bitches with the tight asses and big boobs."

She leaned in and said in a half whisper, "I took a run at him myself." Alison blushed with the admission of her lascivious intentions, "but no one has landed him so far,....by the way, don't tell my husband." Joy laughed, not sure how to take Allison as yet.

Allison continued, "When he is talking to you, you fancy yourself the only other person in the room besides him at that moment...giving you his total and undivided attention." She blushed and bit her lower lip, and stared off as if a memory caught her.

When she came back to the present, she continued, "He sings baritone and is involved in the local choirs and the new opera organization. As a matter of fact, I think he is supposed to be one of the Kings in our production of "Amahl and the Night Visitors' this Christmas!"

"Go on..."

"I ....I think I will let you find out on your own."

Joy sat back and mulled over what Allison told her. It didn't inform her much. She seemed to imply that Gerome was less than reliable in his warning about Gere, ...or maybe she misunderstood.

Whatever, the 'cat got the canary' look on Allison's face told her she would get no more from her, unless she got her drunk enough to loosen her tongue, and then she would have to drive her home herself. She would have to wait.

The next day, Allison admitted being a bit hung over and if truth be told Joy felt a little 'tired' as well. She twisted her long white hair up into a loose bun and wrapped a scrunchy around it. She looked at her schedule for the day.

Gere Dawson volunteered to give her a tour of the 'greater Wenoka Area' at 1:30 pm and her sister-in-law, Edith asked her to join her at the senior center for lunch, and she assented. She hoped to find an angle in which she could skip dinner with Jack. Otherwise, except for the lunch with Edith, it looked to be a dreadful day.

She picked up Edith at 11:30 and Edith directed her to the senior center. She admitted to her aunt to be a little self-conscious about eating at a senior center, but Edith assured her that younger friends were allowed and often did join their friends and parents for lunch.

"As a matter of fact, honey, you are almost a senior yourself." Edith chortled. Joy was not amused.

4.

"I'm not celebrating Christmas this year," Gere told his father as they waited to be served at one the round tables. Small decorative pumpkins painted with a set of eyes, a nose and a mouth like a Jack-o-Lantern were arranged as part of each centerpiece. The small pumpkins were about the size of a soft ball and looked fake. Gere picked it up just to see, and the jack-o-lantern's eyes fell off. They were little black decals. Embarrassed, he forgot why he picked it up in the first place, and tried to replace the stickers but found they wouldn't stay on, so he gave up.

"They're real," his Dad smiled with a sparkle in his eyes, and leaned into him, "I knocked the eyes off that one right before you got here."

Gere had a weekly lunch date with his 90 year old Dad, who ate lunch every weekday at the North Wenoka Senior Center.

"Hmm," his Dad didn't seem too shocked, "it gets kind of pointless when you live alone."

"Yeah, last year the kids spent the whole day fighting over their mom's gravy boat, a f...," Gere caught himself before he dropped the 'F' bomb in front of his Dad, "a damned gravy boat. I about threw them all ou....!"

Gere stopped mid-sentence when his eyes fell on the woman who just entered the cafeteria with a woman in her 80s. From the entrance, the older woman waved to friends that were already seated at the table next to his. The two made their way across the room and took the two remaining seats there.

The center encouraged younger persons to come to dine at the center with their senior relatives, Gere ate there regularly with his father, but he didn't remember ever seeing a more lovely woman there.

She moved gracefully like a dancer with poise and elegance, She stood almost 5 feet tall with a beautiful body and youthful appearance except, and perhaps the most notable, her striking pure white mane pulled up in a loose bun.

She had the most beautiful, piercing blue eyes that flashed behind long eyelashes and elegant shaped brows that were darkened several shades from her natural color, so they at least be seen. Her complexion glowed like fine alabaster with a natural flesh tone and blush that contrasted appealingly to the white of her hair.

Her cheek bones were high over rounded cheeks that broke into the most adorable dimples as she spoke and burst into full bloom when she smiled. She reminded him of the actress that played in that 'Frozen' movie, the one in several rom-coms, he couldn't bring her name to mind.

By no means an older woman she couldn't be over 40 or 45. It discouraged his heart when he considered her youth, she would not be interested in an old fart like himself. But still he could not keep his eyes off her.

As Joy wound slowly through the tables with Edith, she noted his eyes followed her across the room. Her heart beat faster as the exceedingly handsome man gazed at her! She tried her best to ignore him, fearing she would blush a bright crimson if their eyes met.

People looking at her, even staring at her, did not bother her, her long white hair always attracted a lot of attention, but she feared she would not be able to control her blushing under his gaze. She glanced at him now and then, and their eyes met once. She blushed, amazed by her immediate attraction to him.

He smiled at her and she smiled back politely. She blushed even more, certain everyone would know the cause.

A hand came to rest on his arm, and turned to look at Vivian, one of his Dad's companions who always ate at his table. He smiled at her as she leaned toward him.

"It isn't polite to stare, Gere," she smiled again, "She is lovely though isn't she?"

"Who is she" he asked, finding it difficult to look at her without staring.

"I don't know, I have never seen anyone here with Edith. Go introduce yourself."

Gere did not consider himself a shy man but the thought of disturbing such loveliness caught him as rude, like approaching a celebrity when they were at lunch. He would certainly expect to be rebuffed due to his age. He kept glancing at her and caught her looking at him once. She smiled at him and he smiled back. He felt like a school boy who finally caught the attention of the most beautiful girl in school. He lost his nerve.

"Gere...GERE!" A voice startled him from his infatuation. He blushed and his hands were sweating.

He looked at Vivian, who asked him, "Do you want a coffee or ice tea?"

Joy jerked her head toward the woman who called out to see who responded and it surprised her that it was the man who had been staring at her.

"There couldn't be more than one 'Gere' in this small town," she thought. To be sure, she did not miss the handsome man almost as soon as she entered the room. How could anyone miss him? He wasn't tall but his personal magnetism drew your attention to him. He reminded her of someone famous, but she couldn't quite place who.

Here, right next to her sat the very man she dreaded since her moved here. She studied him as best she could, trying not to let him catch her staring.

His fair complexion and graying sandy colored hair helped her estimate his age in the late forties or maybe his early fifties. His smile shown from his eyes and small dimples that made it very alluring. He had a smoothing resonant voice and words just seemed to rolled off his tongue. He appeared to be pleasant and affable...not at all what she expected, or even imagined! It caught her off guard and fascinated her in a way she couldn't understand.

She became aware of his staring at her again, and she got the feeling any moment he would stand and approach her. When he stood up, a moment of panic seized her. He walked toward her, and she swallowed hard and avoided eye contact with him.

At the last moment he turned aside and went to fill a glass with iced tea. She let a breath out in relief, but she couldn't deny a little disappointment. She looked away and began speaking to Edith.

Gere poured a glass of tea over a spoonful of ice and took a sip. He peered over the top of the glass at her.

"She is gorgeous! The most stunning I have ever seen! I have to introduce myself. It is now or never."

He thought.

"Every woman loves to hear compliments on their appearance, but beautiful women become quite accustomed to hearing it and are often less than impressed, no, ...'you only have one chance to make a good first impression' he reasoned. He had to make this good."

He studied her intently as he sipped his tea. She couldn't be more than 5 feet tall and quite petite. On her feet a pair of black loafers covered her small feet without socks.

She wore black skin-tight yoga pants, as is the fashion these days, showcasing her shapely long leg, a black silk somewhat translucent blouse under which a conservative black bra covered her perfectly proportioned bosoms.

Around her neck, she wore a generous purple silk scarf tied under her ear allowing the ends to hang down over her chest, functioning to further camouflage her breasts.

Dangling from her ears were small diamond earrings with a short dainty gold chains encrusted with tiny diamonds. A matching necklace peaked from under the loosely tied scarf.

On her fingers she had several white gold and diamond rings. One of them may have been a wedding ring, but she wore it on her right hand. Around each wrist were three or four silver colored bracelets studded with small diamonds that jangled as she moved her arms and played rainbows of color from the refraction of the room lights.

Her movements were graceful and elegant and when she smiled the whole room lit up with her beauty. She delighted the eye, the most pleasing vision of a woman he could remember.

He turned his admiration to her beautiful hair, the like of which he had never seen. He met a young woman with white hair such as hers long ago but it would be unlikely it was the same person.

Certain she had heard every line possible about such hair. He considered her jewelry as a possible point to compliment her. He could tell her...what...? She turned her head toward him and smiled as he looked upon her. Her blue eyes twinkled at the same time her diamond earrings sparkled with blues and reds.

Gere refilled his glass and headed back to his seat as food began to be distributed. He almost lost his nerve as he approached her but forced himself to lightly touch her shoulder getting her attention . She turned her head and smiled up at him as he stood beside her. The other diners at the table stopped their conversations and looked at him as well, raising his self-consciousness to near crippling levels.

"Hi. My name is Gere Dawson. I'm compelled to tell you before I sit down to eat, that the flash of your beautiful earrings accentuate the brilliant blue in your eyes. I have never seen anything like them...your eyes I mean."

Joy dimpled. Taken aback by his unique compliment, she could think of noting to say. She occasionally got complimented on the beauty of her hair color, of her face and form, but she had never encountered this particular angle before. Men had told her of the allure of her eye color and their intensity, but never compare them with diamonds! It set her heart aflutter.

"I'm glad to meet you Gere, I'm Joy Harrison. I... ".

Since he had not been rebuffed he crouched to match her eye level as they spoke. "Joy Harrison! I have an appointment to show you around the area in...in..." he checked with his watch, "about 2 hours."

"Yes."

"I am so glad to meet you!

"Me too, I have heard so much about you."

"Oh, that is always a worrisome thing to hear." Gere laughed, "I'm never sure if it is good or bad. So what have you been told?"

"I think I will plead the 5th." Joy smiled, still uncertain of him.

They chatted the rest of the meal as much as they could between tables, making small talk interspersed with questions about life. Joy blushed and butterflies fluttered in her bosom the whole time. Gere's heart beat so hard he feared everyone could hear it thumping.

Gere waited as his Dad finished his meal. Joy helped Edith put on her coat and turned to Gere, "So, Gere, can we make our meeting at 2:00?"

"Sure, I'll pick you up at your office at 2:00."

"Great, I'll be ready."

"I can't wait," Gere replied, and he meant it, too.

Joy waved as they shuffled out the door. Gere realized he grinned so much over the last hour his cheeks hurt.

He planned to check in on Gerome, but he headed to his home instead. Now that he met Joy in person, the prospect of spending the afternoon with such a beautiful woman caused him to want to brush his teeth and freshen up a bit.

As he drove he began to remember meeting a beautiful young soprano after an opera in Seattle about 30 years ago. He held season tickets in those days, but eventually, his life got so busy he could no longer make the 3-hour trip for the performances.

"It has to be the same woman," he said to himself out loud. He continued thinking, "the likelihood more than one opera singer had Joy's striking beauty and amazing hair color was next to none."

He went to his file of Symphony and Opera programs he collected over the years and found the one that he recalled. Sure enough, The picture on the cover and the woman he just met were the same.! She sang the role of 'Susanna' in Mozart's "Marriage of Figaro".

The photo confirmed in his mind, she was quite young then but without a doubt the two were the same woman.

He flipped to the bio of the Soprano and found the autograph. He grinned in the memory of his embarrassment and excitement he felt as he waited back stage for her signature. She was so gorgeous and sang so beautifully he developed an instant crush while watching her performance!

Her bio revealed her maiden name as Joy Frederick, born and raised in Tacoma, Washington! A Local Girl....well almost!

He brought the program with him to meet Joy, it would be a possible topic to discuss. Never dreamed he would one day be alone with that lovely woman from so many years ago.

In the meantime, Joy dropped Edith off at home and along the way had pumped her about any information she may have about Gere.

Edith knew some about his public life: He retired as the administrator of the small community college in town and immediately flung himself into community service.