Afternoon with Jesus
I was leaving One World cafe after some killer chicken noodle soup and an iced cap, and he was standing on the street, leaning against a pole when I walked out. As grubby as the next guy, he had a loosely buttoned long-sleeved green shirt and faded jeans with a few frayed holes here and there. He had this sort of crooked smile and his eyes lit up when he saw me.
"Hey there," he said coming toward me. His hair was long and brown, and his beard was pretty shaggy. I think he actually had some blonde highlights, which I thought was peculiar.
"Well, hi," I said surprised. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, I came to check out this nose piercing I've been hearing about. Let me see!" As I tilted my head to the left to show it off, I watched his smile grow bigger and he asked if he could touch it.
"Sure. The after-care instructions said by all means, don't let anyone touch it, but I'm sure I can make the exception for you." He reached up a dirty hand with a thick, silver ring on the middle finger and tapped his pointer finger on my stud. He let out a hearty laugh and I giggled.
"Mind if I walk with you?" he asked. I nodded and shrugged my shoulders, and he fell into step with me. There were noises from the cars rushing by and an older woman walked out of a shop to our left, signaling the chime and jingle of the door bell. We smiled at her and she sort of peered at us and moved on.
"So how is your day going?" he asked as his left hand slid tenderly over my back. He looked down at me as I screwed up my face. "Eh, not too bad. I met this guy who does graphic design at Northwoods, and I'm going to help him out a bit on a volunteer basis."
"That sounds fun," he said.
"Yeah, I guess. It kind of made me feel wierd though, because it's a bigger responsibility than brushing my teeth. And I don't know if I'm doing it because I want to, or I'm doing it 'cause my dad gets all teary eyed and proud when we talk about it."
"Mmm," he said nodding.
"Maybe it's both," I said rattling on. "I guess I don't know. I'm just worried that I'm going to set another tornado in motion before I'm ready to take it on. So within seconds of my dad mentioning it, I feel all these expectations clouding over me and I panic."
He nodded knowingly and we walked a little further in silence. I started to feel sort of weighted by my thoughts and felt my brows furrow. Just as I was going to say something else, he let out a little laugh and stopped in his tracks.
"What?" I asked, looking in the direction of his gaze. There was a window next to us filled with shelves of figurines and teapots and rosaries.
"Is that supposed to be me?" he asked chuckling. His finger pointed to a little nativity scene on the second-to-top shelf.
"Yeah," I said grinning.
"That's funny," he replied, shaking his head side to side. "Very funny" he mused under his breath.
We rounded a corner and I reached into my purse for my camels and lighter. We headed across the black top of the parking lot and I glanced down at his feet, strapped in sandals. I noted how long his toes were as I raised the cigarette to my mouth and lit my lighter. They were probably twice as long as mine, I figured. He stopped and waited while I lit the cigarette.
"What are you going to do this afternoon?" he asked. His voice was sort of soft and deeper than I expected it would be.
"Oh, I don't know," i replied, dropping my lighter back in my purse. We began walking again. "Maybe work on my puzzle or paint. I'll probably try to call Tom back, too."
We reached my car and stopped. I stood with my right arm crossed over my chest and flicked my cigarette. He leaned against the back side of La La and reached out his hand. "Well, if you want, I can hang with you," he offered.
I blew out and handed him the cigarette. It nestled between his fingers and then rolled slightly. "Oh, you don't have to," I replied. I couldn't imagine all the commitments he already had. "I mean, I'm sure you're busy. I'm okay, really. I feel pretty good."
He took a drag and handed the cigarette back to me. "Well, the offer stands. I haven't talked to you in a while." He puckered his lips and blew out above my head.
"I know, but that's okay."
He reached out his arms and grabbed my shoulders with his big but gentle hands. He titled his head and looked at me closely. "Take it easy, okay?" he raised his eyebrows and I nodded.
The sun was moving out behind some clouds and I could feel the warmth pass over me and my body temperature rose, making me a little uncomfortable in my sweater. I dropped my cigarette, putting it out with my shoe, and then folded into his chest. His arms encircled me and he smelled like sandalwood and peppermint. I took another deep breath and then stepped back.
"Take your time," he reminded me, smiling softly. I smiled back and reached for my keys in my back pocket. "And listen to that song for me," he told me, stepping away.
I smiled bigger and nodded, turning to unlock my car. It resisted and I stood moving it in and out of the lock and tried again, using both hands. It finally released and the lock popped up. I grabbed the handle and turned around to say bye, but he wasn't there.
I looked down where he was standing last, and there was a daisy. I rolled my eyes and giggled under my breath and opened the door, sliding inside and thrusting the key in the ignition. La La roared to life and I waited a minute before backing out. The cd player started and I quickly skipped to track five before switching gears.
Once in drive, I rolled out of the parking lot and put my windows down, lifting my left hand up and letting the air rush between my fingers as the first notes of our song started.
