Connections

by R. H. Vesely

  "Hon, what do I get out of this?" said Tom.

  "The unparallelled joy of seeing me happy," laughed Toni, as she gave Tom a big hug and a kiss.

  Ia - Pretty good plan by Tom there. He's a sort of sleeping giant huh.

  In - Yeah, quiet and calm but a deep thinker. So what do you think of him and Toni?.

  Ia - God, what's not to like. He seems like the perfect counterpoint to her shot from a gun energy and though they don't talk about it, their connection seems powerful. But man, with all they do and how wrapped up they are in each other, it's hard to imagine a child entering this equation.

  In - How about Bill?

  Ia - This guy just doesn't do it for me. I still find it hard to see him suspending ego. I'm not so sure Toni isn't overlooking what he is really about, in hopes she can spend time with her friend. I mean think about it. He has seen this woman in the office a couple times and that's it. You couple that with his escapade with Kelley and I think this is just another game for him. He's supposedly looking for a woman to have kids with and he's going after an older woman. Doesn't make sense to me other than just another conquest.

  In - Yeah, point well taken.

  Ia - But you know, I love that place of Tom's it reminds me of when I worked in an apothecary in Chicago. All the patent medicines had those same funny labels and sayings. Some of the drawings were amazing. Of course the stuff didn't do shit other than occasionally give people diarrhea or plug them up or get them a little high but the packaging was visually cool and funny. Hell half the stuff had opium, morphine, cocaine or a high percentage of alcohol. There was one, Chamberlain's Diarrhea Medicine, the damn stuff was almost 50% alcohol. I swear, I think women used to use the stuff to get high so they could stand their miserable lives. So, I guess it did do some good and made you feel better unless you died first.

  In - Yes, I remember using some supposedly soothing syrup for one of my kids that had morphine in it. God can you imagine giving morphine to a baby, unbelievable. Anyway let's keep going, time is moving.

  Chapter 28

  It was everyone's first trip to the beach that year or at least first trip where they were not bundled up in heavy winter clothes. It had been difficult to finally get Allie out, taking over two weeks before Toni could convince her that she needed to do something to feed her soul and not just worry and dote over patients. Tom also was surprisingly reluctant to leave the Bean for an entire day, but ultimately no one could withstand the force that was Toni.

  The beach was a state park whose small parking areas during the summer season were packed. At this time of year however, you could easily get into the forward parking lot just back from beach. Bill had driven out with Tom and Toni and Allie was driving out separately on the chance she received a call to deal with an emergency. Toni had simply mentioned to Allie that a friend might come with them but that she was not sure if the friend would make it. In fact, she was certain that Bill would not only make it but had been eagerly awaiting this event for the past two weeks. Toni had already had three ridiculous conversations with Bill since he found out they were getting together. It was starting to concern her and she had closed the last conversation by saying

  "Bill, look you have to settle down. There is something weird to me how you, chill Bill, are acting. I am starting to wonder if this whole thing is about some sort of male conquest thing. You know some typical male bullshit where you are caught up in the pursuit of this unattainable object and the whole thing is about this chase that really has nothing to do with wanting to get to know the other person. Not to be a shit, but I have seen you operate at bars when we played together, and while I laughed and joked with you about it then, I am not going to laugh and joke with you about it with Allie. In fact, you will not want to know from me my friend if I think this is what you are doing. Oh, and by the way, I mean you to take that as a threat. So, let's just have a great time and Tom and I will bring food and blankets and you can maybe bring your guitar and anything else you think would be fun. So we'll pick you up tomorrow at ten and I am really looking forward to it. It's supposed to be a beautiful day, warm and sunny and it will be so nice to get back to the ocean, smell the air and who knows, if past experience is any indication, you may even want to go for a swim in the freezing water, lunatic that you are. Ok, hugs and hasta manana my friend."

  Woof, that woman can talk thought Bill. God but was she right, am I pursuing her on some sort of lark. Going after the beautiful, older, unattainable object, just to see if I can get it. I mean, the only thing I know about her is what I have seen as a patient, what Toni has told me about her and that feeling when I first really saw her, not a lot to go on. So then why the hell have I been pursuing her like Toni says, and why am I so focused on how I am going to win her over. If this is what I am doing, this does not speak well of my character and Toni will have my guts for garters, thought Bill.

  The weather was in fact fabulous, by far the warmest day of the year so far. The sun was brilliant in a perfectly clear blue sky and there was just a slight onshore breeze bringing the smell of the ocean to them as they unloaded the car. Bill had worn his swimsuit and was dying for some good exercise now that he seemed to have recovered from the effects of his concussion.

  "Ok here is the way we are going to play this. Allie will likely be late, she always is. She drives like Tom, way too slow, and I would not be surprised if she gets lost too. Her mind tends to wander when she is driving. So we'll take everything down to the beach and set up. Bill, you and I will go for a long walk when we spot her pulling in. Tom that's your job to keep a look out. That way it won't look like it is a set up to get the two of you together, just a pleasant get together with two of Tom and my friends who we don't get to see that often. Tom and I will pretend that we forgot that you two had met and that you were a patient of hers. Tom are you listening hon, and then it will just go naturally from there."

  "Got you love," said Tom.

  "Wow Toni, kind of a detailed plot, I thought this wasn't supposed to be a chase," laughed Bill.

  "It's not and you better remember what I said. I was not joking, get it," said Toni staring directly at Bill.

  Tom did his job and as he spotted Allie's car, Bill and Toni headed out for a walk down the long horseshoe shaped beach.

  "God Toni, what a glorious day. Isn't it wonderful to feel the sand between your toes and watch the sun glimmer on the tops of the waves. Life can be so damn rich sometimes, huh," said Bill as they strolled along the edge of the water.

  "Amen my friend, there is nothing like the ocean for feeding your soul," sighed Toni, as she slipped her arm under Bills and stared out at the waves.

  They walked along, talking only occasionally, like this for about a half hour before they arrived back at the blankets. "Hi Allie, I am so glad you made it. This is our friend Bill. God Tom, what a walk. You and I will have to go later. It feels so lovely to walk in the water and feel the sand on your toes and smell the ocean. Here hon, I found a sand dollar for you. I couldn't believe it was still whole. God in summer you can only find little pieces. You can put it by the cash register, it will brighten peoples days to see a little bit of the ocean when they get their coffees," said Toni, as she sat down, gave Tom a kiss and then turned and wrapped Allie in a big hug.

  "Bill, I had no idea you were the friend Toni was talking about. So you really seem to be feeling better," said Allie looking directly at Bill.

  "Yes, thanks, all the post concussion stuff seems to have gone away. I'm feeling great," said Bill.

  "Oh my god, that's right, I totally forgot you two knew each other, god what a hoot, Isn't that amazing Tom. What a small world," laughed Toni.

  "Yes, small world," said Tom, thinking to himself, laying it on a bit thick hon.

  "You know Doctor Ames, I feel a little bit odd, I mean should I call you Doctor Ames, doctor Allie or just Allie?" laughed Bill.

  "Allie is fine," smiled Allie.

  "Great."

  "Well, how about I lay out
the the feast. I made some quiches, and brought some nice cheeses, fresh fruit and a baguette," said Tom.

  "Perfect Tom, I brought some fairly decent wine and am ready to just relax. Not on call or anything so it will be such a treat to just eat, drink, talk and laugh with friends," said Allie.

  "So, Allie did you get lost on the way out?" asked Toni.

  "Actually yes. You know at that fork where you are supposed to bear left and go by the fire station. Well, I was daydreaming, feeling the warm breeze on my face and listening to Van Morrison and ended up going right and was half way back to town before I realized," laughed Allie.

  "Yeah, Van will do that to you. I once did the same thing and drove for two hours past my turn just listening and replaying one of his albums. The only thing that saved me was that the road eventually dead ended into another. Hell I might still be out there otherwise," laughed Bill.

  Toni fixed everyone a plate with some of everything on it and set them out so that Bill and Allie would sort of be pushed next to each other. Unfortunately, no one had remembered to bring glasses, so they were forced to just pass the bottle around and take swigs.

  "God Tom, this is the perfect meal, hard crusted bread, good cheese, fruit and a nice bottle of wine. I am in nirvana," said Bill.

  "My feeling exactly and I actually like passing the bottle around. Kind of like smoking a good joint," laughed Allie.

  After the food, Bill and Toni played and sang a few of Van's they remembered and a mixture of Dylan, the Band, Bonnie Raitt and several of Bill's originals.

  "Wow, this is what life is about the beach, good friends, good food, good music," sighed Allie, as she laid back on the blanket and her sarong fell open a little, revealing a small light blue bikini underneath.

  Bill laid back too with his arms behind his head staring out at the ocean and Toni settled back into Tom's lap.

  After a while Bill stood up and continued to stare out at the ocean. "You know what, I have to go in. I can't stand it any longer. I've got to feel the rhythm of the ocean on me," said Bill, as he took off his pants and shirt.

  "Are you nuts, that water has to be in the fifties. My ankles ached when we just walked on the edge," said Toni.

  "I know but I've got to go. I just have to go," said Bill.

  "I'll go," said Allie, as she stood up and unwrapped her sarong.

  "Good for you Allie, let's do it. You only live or die, as the case may be, once," laughed Bill, as he headed to the ocean followed by Allie.

  "Ok, Take my hand, at least for the initial shock," said Allie. The minute their feet hit the water a shooting pain went through their ankles and Allie squeezed the hell out of Bill's hand. "Wow! That is cold," said Allie.

  Bill was notorious for swimming in the ocean before anyone else. He literally couldn't help it. When he got near the ocean, something in him compelled him to go in. "I do this a lot Allie. Basically you have to go in slow and let your joints go numb. First your ankles, then a little further and you hit your knees and then---- not sure if I should say this, but it hits my jonson and that is brutal but you don't have to worry about that," laughed Bill.

  "Are you kidding, I used to do this with my dad and when it hits my vagina, it is no fun, believe me," laughed Allie.

  "Really, never had a woman come into the really cold stuff with me, interesting," said Bill.

  "Ok, well for me, the last is to pause at chest height until you can get use to breathing, and then I splash some water on my head to get it ready for the plunge," said Allie.

  "Perfect, exactly what I do. You have done this," said Bill, as they finally reached chest depth.

  "Ok here goes," said Bill, as he dove in and came up letting out a scream.

  "Damn that is cold, my head is pounding," laughed Bill.

  "Ok, I'm going," said Allie, as she dove in and then popped up with a blood curdling scream and laugh.

  "Holllllly shit that is freezing," she said, as she jumped on Bill and wrapped around him laughingly using him to pull herself up out of the water a little. Bill, caught off guard, lost his balance and they fell back together into the frigid water. They surfaced laughing and jumping up and down repeatedly screaming "shit it is cold, shit it is cold, shit it is cold".

  They both then did about fifty yards of breaststroke to keep their heads out of the water, swimming parallel to the shore. They stopped, looked at each other, laughed and headed into the shore.

  "God, my legs are like stumps. I can barely walk," laughed Allie.

  "Same here, but god didn't it feel great, even with the mind numbing pain," laughed Bill.

  "Spectacular," said Allie, as she slung her semi numb arm over his shoulder, as they ambled down the beach side to side like a couple with matching wooden legs.

  When they got back to the blanket, they both sat down, wrapped themselves in towels and just stared shivering at the ocean. Toni and Tom looked at each other and smiled.

  Chapter 29

  It was Sunday and Toni and Allie were lounging on the porch of Tom and Toni's house. It was perhaps Allie's favorite place to be. It had been designed so that when the weather warmed up, they could take down the walls and their winter sun porch would become part of the outdoors. The vines had already started climbing the wooden support posts and spring flowers were everywhere. The amber colored tile floor was warmed by the sun and a soft breeze blew through the budding trees and bushes and across the porch. The furnishings were a mix of old chairs and tables Tom and Toni had salvaged from yard sales set amongst a jungle of large houseplants. The table where Allie sat was a large old stained glass window covered with a sheet of plexiglass that Toni had salvaged from a church that was being demolished. Stone steps led down from the porch and flowed into a large pond where a pair of mallards had taken up residence.

  Allie loved sitting here because it breathed nature and life. At the moment she was sketching the mallards and chuckling to herself at how cute their little webbed feet looked moving through the water. Toni was lying on a couch of large stuffed pillows listening to a Joni Mitchell album. They had spoken few words since Allie arrived and settled at the table with a cup of coffee. Allie was probably the only person that Toni sat with and did not feel the need to talk. They seemed to be able to communicate by simply observing the expressions on each others faces. As Joni Mitchell finished "A Case of You", Toni got up and joined Allie at the table.

  "Great to see you drawing Allie, been a long time," said Toni.

  "Yes it has hasn't it. I seem to get so caught up in work that I forget the joy it brings me," smiled Allie.

  "Yeah, important to remember those things," said Toni, looking at Allie's smiling face.

  "I think going to the beach yesterday brought it back to me. It was a magic day, thank you so much for hounding me in to it. You always seem to know what I need," said Allie.

  "You're welcome," said Toni.

  "I was so glad to see Bill doing well, concussions can be such odd things. It's hard to predict recovery time, but he appears to be completely recovered," said Allie, as she put down her drawing pad and took a sip of coffee, staring out into the yard.

  Toni knew Allie so well, that she knew this was Allie's way of bringing Bill into the conversation. Though it was couched in medical concern, her wistful expression gave her away.

  "Yeah, Bill is a really interesting guy. I met him when he was doing music full time and he and Tom and I became good friends right away. We've spent many a night with Bill, playing music, laughing and arguing over or maybe strongly discussing our differing though often similar opinions. He's a very bright guy. Did you enjoy him?" said Toni, trying to help Allie ease into the discussion.

  "Yeah, I did. I loved his music, he is really good. I also had a great time laughing with him in the ocean. It was fun and oh my god was it cold," she laughed.

  "Yeah, I kind of got the sense that he really liked you too," said Toni, trying to move it along.

  "Really, gee, you think so, I mean he is so damn young," said Al
lie.

  From this, Toni could immediately tell Allie had already been thinking about it and running the idea through her brain.

  "I mean, god, did you see that sexy young thing he was with at the gallery. I thought Michael was going drown in his drool," laughed Allie.

  "Honey, you are not that much older than him, and while you refuse to acknowledge it, you are very good looking. Christ, it made me sick seeing you in that Bikini yesterday. When I saw that body of yours, I felt like a blimp in comparison," said Toni.

  "Oh please you have a great figure," said Allie.

  "Maybe, but next to you I feel like a sack of potatoes," laughed Toni.

  "Hey Hon, crazy at the Bean today, completely ran out of carrot cake and remembered I had one here in the freezer," yelled Tom, as the screen door slammed shut.

  "Great love, I think its in the left corner there somewhere," yelled Toni.

  Got it," said Tom, as he came out onto the porch cradling a carrot cake.

  "So what are you two talking about?" said Tom.

  "I was just telling Allie about Bill," replied Toni.

  "You're kidding, you told her," said Tom, a little shocked.

  "No, no you idiot," said Toni quietly to Tom, as she motioned to Tom to Zip his lip.

  "Ok, hon well you better get back to the Bean," said Toni a bit to loudly.

  "Wait a minute Tom. I am interested in knowing what it is that you appeared shocked that Toni told me," said Allie with a smirk on her face.

  "Oh nothing, just how silly it was that we didn't remember that Bill was your patient. You know we were laughing with each other about it and saying god, I hope she doesn't think we were trying to set her up," said Toni laughingly.