Sandra looked, and felt splendid that Saturday evening. The glow in her eyes and cheeks was not artifice, as those derived from the love barely contained in her being.
-“What a lovely surprise! Imagine finding YOU here!” Charles’s stepsister spewed with malicious intent. Giving Sandra the once over inspection, she then leaned closer to Phillip to bestow a kiss on his cheek.
-“Hello Cynthia, have you already met Sandra?” Phillip said unaware of Cynthia's diabolic intentions.
-“Why, I have shared the same roof with Sandra when the fool of Charles hired her as his own, on-site prostitute.” Like a cat that’s caught a mouse by its tail, her sinister expression glowed with malevolence. –“I am frankly appalled that you would resort to hire a prostitute for this upscale event Phillip. It really is bad form to do so.”
Sandra felt the blood drain from her face, and her body temperature drop. She seemed to be trapped in a time freeze, as she looked from Phillip’s horrified expression, to Cynthia’s venom slowly dripping from her lips in a slow motion.
-“What? You didn’t know this Phillip? Oh, this is too delicious. Don’t tell me that you didn’t know that Sandra is a common, vulgar whore. She spreads her legs open for any man willing to pay her a stipulated amount.” At that point, Cynthia could not contain a laugh. She laughed so much that her eye make-up ran.
Sandra felt almost lightheaded, as if the ground shifted and swayed under her feet. Phillip grabbed her arm and pulled her outside to greet the cool evening air.
-“Please tell me, is what Cynthia said, even possibly, remotely true? Is she making that up? Don’t you dare lie to me Sandra!” Phillip said through clenched teeth.
-“Yes, Phillip. It’s true. But, that was before. I am now leaving that all behind to earn my living through my business enterprise. I’m so sorry that you had to find out this way.
What I did, doesn’t define ME. I am a human being worthy of love too!
I just want you to know that I love you, and if you love me too, nothing else should matter.” Sandra pleaded with her voice and supplicant eyes.
-“GET AWAY FROM ME!” Phillip yelled as he ran away from her.
Before the torrent of tears broke the damn, Sandra went back inside to ask Charles for cash for a cab. Methodically, she poised her face to be devoid of any emotion, as she encountered Charles. Upon securing fifty bucks for her cab, Sandra then walked with intent to the bar. She sat there, and waited patiently for her moment to act.
Sandra locked the restroom door, as she cornered Cynthia inside a bathroom stall.
She plunged Cynthia’s face into the urine-filled toilet bowl, over and over again, until she gasped for air to survive.
-"You are right Cynthia. This is not very ladylike behavior on my part."
-“Dude are you even going to take a shower today? You are starting to smell like rancid milk.” Cindy stood with hands on her hips, towering over Sandra’s reclined form, sprawled on the couch.
Kicking aside empty bags of Doritos, chocolate wrappings, and empty wine bottles, Cindy made room for herself on the edge of the couch.
-“Mind your own business; just leave me alone to gloat in my misery.”
-“Well, you know that misery loves company.” Taking a moment to reflect on what she was about to say, Cindy then spoke. – “Dude you know this was about to happen sooner than later. You didn’t fess up, and frankly you aimed too high. It is what it is, and the sooner you realize it, the sooner you will snap out of this funk. Life’s too short to spend it reveling in your misery.”
-“I know Cindy. Still, it doesn’t lessen the pain one bit. I love him. No matter how many men I fucked, no one touched my heart. Not until Phillip. The pain is too much Cindy.
I hate myself for fucking this up.” Sandra burst into a heartfelt crying binge that shook her frame, as she sobbed with a pain that came from the depths of her soul.
-“You know what I was thinking today? That we create the circumstances that shape our lives – including the difficulties in our life.
We are, the architects of our lives.
Imagine if instead of hooking, we had gone to earn a decent living working as a waitress, barista, telemarketer, or what have you. Surely we would have struggled financially, but those people earn their money honestly, and at the end of the day, they go home and gather with their loving families, even if they have to do with less.
Because we lived a life of sin, now we have to pay the heavy consequences.” Cindy said with a heavy heart, and hot tears running down her cheeks.
-“Perhaps you’re right, but then we probably would not have met, nor would I have had the seed money for our thriving clothing line.
But why are you crying Cindy? You have it made. You are no longer hooking, and you will graduate in two months.
You are pretty and smart, and you have a knack for design. Your designs are well liked, and how you are marketing the dresses with a guarantee to look two sizes slimmer, is making you well known!” Sandra said as she blew her runny nose.
-“I had a big fight with Ronald. He’s recently found out that he is HIV positive, and told me to get myself checked. I just found out today that I am too.” Cindy’s hot tears, became uncontrollable sobs.
-“Oh my God Cindy!” Sandra sat up on the couch and embraced Cindy as both women hugged and cried together.
-“I was thinking when I left the clinic that I brought this on myself. If I had just stayed in school, gotten a regular job, I might today have my own family and perhaps a few kids too. I was a single child; I always wanted a large family. I was looking forward to that when I graduated, you know? To meet a decent guy since I kicked Ronald to the curb.”
-“You wanted like fourteen kids? That is ….idealistic, although a bit impractical.” Sandra joked.
-“Shut up! Like I would want those stretch marks.” Ceasing her sobbing, Cindy wiped her face with a tissue. –“Sandra, you have to get out of this funk; I don’t need you to drag me down. Look at me! I have my days counted, while YOU have your whole life ahead of you. You have a promising future, and you have to look forward to new opportunities.” Cindy renewed her crying session once again.
-“Now you shut up! Look, we are all going to die someday. The only difference is that you are sensitive to that fact, and must learn to take good care of your medicines and diet. And you must live your life to the full. Look at today’s papers. Read how some poor son of a bitch met his or her death unexpectedly, without having truly lived their life fully, fearlessly, and with love abound!
Tell me Cindy, where would you like to travel to? Which is your favorite place in the whole world?” Sandra asked excitedly.
-“Hmm…I think an ocean cruise in the Caribbean. Yeah, that would be my dream destination, to splash in the crystal clear waters and kick the white sands, while the hot sun, toasted me to a golden brown.” Cindy said while she ceased to cry for a bit.
-“Okay! This is the plan. As soon as you graduate, we will take a ten day cruise on the Caribbean – my treat! Let’s live and appreciate every single day we are blessed with Cindy. In fact, I’m going to shower right now, and clean this place up and we will go out to eat a nice dinner.
You are right Cindy; there is no time to dwell in misery. Life’s too precariously short.”
-“Do you have your passport, tickets, and credit cards ready?” Hurry up the airport shuttle will be here in thirty minutes!” Cindy said excitedly as they were about to depart on her long awaited cruise ship voyage.
-“Yeah, I’m ready. I’m just going to the potty.” Sandra said as the door bell rang.
Opening the door, Cindy is met with a delivery boy holding a large bouquet of roses.
-“It’s for you Sandra, there’s a card with it.” Cindy said, as she carefully placed the floral arrangement on the coffee table.
Reading the note enclosed, Sandra’s face registered shock. –“It’s from Phillip. He says that he loves me too, and that we all deserve a chance to redeem ourselves. He writes, that ‘if I want him back, to meet him at eight at our favorite place.’ Oh my God! I can’t believe this!” Sandra sat on the couch dumbfounded.
-“So, what you are going to do? If we don’t take our plane on time to Miami, we will miss the cruise ship people at Miami’s airport. We'll miss the ship!” Cindy silently pleaded with her eyes; she had looked forward to this trip with anticipation. If Sandra didn’t go with her, it would just not be the same for her.
-“Dude, I understand. Whatever. I’ll wait outside for the shuttle van. If you want to come, do so, if not, I'll understand.” Cindy hauled her luggage to the elevator while hot tears formed in her eyes.
"Tuesday's Child" by Michael Parkes
