Bona Fide Image II

-"John, do you have the MTA itinerary ready for me?" Clare asked as she rushed on her way out.

-"Yes Madam, but I must reiterate that I would prefer to take you to that part of town myself." John insisted.

-"No, no, thank you John. I do have to get into character, therefore I will take the buses there, and back. By the way, how do I look?" Clare asked with a smile which showcased her yellowed teeth with an overbite.

John was at a loss for words. He was used to his employer being a bit eccentric, but this just came down to weird.

Clare was dressed in old clothing which had seen better days, a bit torn here and there. She carried a hump on her back, wore dirty sneakers, a gray wig, and her skin's appearance had been altered beyond recognition due to a home made concoction of beaten egg whites. When it dried, the effect was similar to the effects of a prolonged drought on the terrain, with deep crevices proliferating all over the arid landscape.

This balsam had been generously slathered on her face, neck, and hands, and as it dried, it made Clare appear at least seventy-five. The handsome woman which Clare is, was nowhere in sight.

-"Here is your bus itinerary Madam." John said in a neutral tone.

-"Oh, by the way John, can you brake a fifty? I don't think I can get change on the bus for the fare." Clare said as an afterthought.

-"No Madam, but I do have ten dollars, if that might help?" John said as he fumbled for his wallet.

-"Thanks a lot. Remind me to pay you back tomorrow." Clare said as she left in a flurry of tattered layers.


There she is. Cindy looked just like the picture Phillip had shown her plastered on his cell phone. She was indeed a beautiful girl; this Clare had to concede.

Clare stood outside the window of the doughnut shop where Cindy tended the register and to the sporadic customers.

After fifteen minutes of watching Cindy chew gum like a cow, while she texts on her cell phone, Clare decided to commence her project.

Clare stood on the open doorway of the doughnut shop and got to work.

-"Please sir, will you please spare a quarter or a dime? I just wanna get a cup of hot coffee." She asked anyone going in or out of the doughnut shop.

-"Lady! You can't panhandle here! You better leave, or I will call the cops!" Cindy, the love of his cherished son Phillip, threatened to call the cops on her.

-"Young lady, it is so cold this evening. I simply want a hot cup of coffee to thaw my cold bones. I have not eaten anything since this morning's breakfast at the shelter.
I am only a quarter short, do you think that you might give me this small cup of coffee, and I will be on my way, and leave you alone?"

-"Look lady, THIS IS NOT A CHARITY! Okay? Go beg somewhere else. I don't want you to scare away our customers." Cindy said in no uncertain terms.

-"But I am a customer too. Young lady, please have some respect for the elderly. You are young and beautiful now, as I was too one day. You don't know how hard life can be when becomes a nuisance. Won't you at least give me old doughnuts from yesterday? I won't mind, I will soak them in the coffee and they will become bland. Then I will just be on my way and leave you alone." Clare would have been happy with crumbs.

In a derisive tone, Cindy answered: -"Are you are dense or stupid? You have to leave, NOW!
I am not giving you even last month's left overs. I am not here to serve people like you! This joint is owned by my parents - this is not my career. I am going to college; I am very beautiful, and I also have a very rich boyfriend, so don't you worry about me. You had your chance, I am now calling the cops." Cindy said as she dialed 911.

Not to be deterred so easily, Clare continued with her charade.

-"Young lady, you are indeed beautiful, but you are very mean to someone who is vulnerable and begging you for a few crumbs to eat, and coffee for warmth. This shows to me that you are not truly beautiful where it counts."

-"Do you really think that I care for your opinion?" Cindy's mock erupted in a laugh.

A bystander took pity on the old woman, and gave her a dollar.

-"Thank you kind sir. Now, may I please have a small cup of coffee, and I do have enough for a glazed doughnut too." Clare said this as she took out all the nickels, and dimes from her pocket.

With a sour disposition, Cindy served the coffee, and the doughnut. By her demeanor, she made it explicitly clear that she was too good to serve the likes of Clare.

-"Young lady, won't you be so kind as to open these little cream containers? You see, my arthritis will not allow me to flex my fingers well. I just want four creams in my small cup of coffee, if you would be so kind."

-"Do you also want me to wipe your ass? Just get your stupid cup of coffee and get out!" Cindy said through clenched teeth.

Just them the cop car pulls in front of the doughnut shop.

-"What seems to be the matter here?" The uniformed officer asks Cindy.

-"This old hag was told many times to leave the premises. She was panhandling on the doorway, and disrupting my customers.

-"Officer, it was all due to a minor misunderstanding. I did after all pay for my coffee and doughnut in full." Clare said as she gathered her purchases and sat on a chair.

-"I want her to leave, she is harassing me and the customers. Just take her away." Cindy ordered.

-"Ma'am, I'm sorry but you can't come here to disrupt the clientele. You have to leave, and please don't come back." The officer said.

-"But officer, I am a paying customer. I have not done anything wrong, except to request that I get some cream in my coffee. I paid, and I deserve to eat here. Surely you have more important things to do officer, than to deal with an elderly woman who is simply hungry and cold. Surely, you have thieves and criminals to catch and to process, to keep this city safe." Clare insisted.

-"Ma'am, one more time, if you don't leave...right now, I will take you to the station and book you for disobedience."

-"But officer, doesn't your vehicle state that you are here to protect and to serve? Surely as one of the most vulnerable citizens of this nation - of the planet, as matter of fact - I am entitled to my right to sit in a public establishment, and to eat in peace my glazed donut and coffee - sans cream I might add - which I have recently purchased!" Clare said stubbornly.





-"John? Hi, it's Clare. It seems that I will need that ride after all. It simply is too late, and I don't have the bus information to get back home from the police station. Can you please come and pick me up? Obviously I can't call Phillip for a ride from the police station. It's the Los Angeles police station.....it's on 12312 Culver Blvd....thank you John."



-"Madam, may I inquire as to how they released you without your attorney present?" John did not dare ask as to the reason why Clare had been picked up.

-"Simple logic. I spoke to the captain in charge, and I told him the truth, my name, and so on. He checked me out with a few prominent references - no prior record.
I made a point that as the city budget was in such dire straights, it made no sense to persecute an innocent woman, and to incur that expense.
Besides, he hates his ex-daughter-in law. She slept around while his son worked the night shift, and on top of that, now has him paying her alimony. So,he let me go with a warning.

You know something John? It is appalling how people most people tend to treat others' simply based on their exterior adornments." Clare said as an after thought.


Once again, John was at a loss for words.




To be continued...