josie

WOMEN 62
One week before i was to move to New York, Josie began waitressing at a restaurant i was storytelling in. We made much eye contact our first night, and she agreed to play George Bush’s Arabian wife in a piece of street theater i was planning for my last Sunday morning Orpheus gig. It was a blast, and she and i proceeded to cram as much together-time into my last week as we could. She was trying to leave the party life behind, cutting down on drinking and stopping smoking. The first time we hugged, my eyes popped at how we molded together. We spent three or four nights kissing and cuddling. She revealed a damaged past, complete with a street rape at the age of fourteen. She enjoyed my kissing and nibbling her neck and shoulders, which surprised her...she couldn’t even enjoy oral sex, which blew my mind. She was Michigan-raised, of Mexican/Native American descent. She had a love/hate relationship with her family, the hate centering on domineering males. She missed her sisters and nieces, and cried talking of them. She had moved to Florida years before, with a boyfriend. She spoke of living the rest of her life in Bulgaria, or Michigan. I was happy to take things slowly. One night, she came to my place after an evening of drinking. The combination of fatigue and alcohol put her asleep immediately, snoring on her back in the center of the bed. I told myself that this was her one grace night, and that the next time i would roll her over. I let her be, put earplugs in, and slept upside-down so as to fit on the mattress. She was embarrassed the next day, but i was thrilled she'd been able to sleep so comfortably even while her subconscious knew i was there (okay okay, maybe she had to anesthetize herself to get to that place...but i'm ever the optimist). Another night i was sleeping nude when she arrived and made her way to bed in the darkness. In settling in, her hand brushed my penis. She was embarrassed, but laughed. I was eager to continue the relationship. I was already planning a return trip to FL, and she was going to visit me. The following month i sent two letters and received one, but contact was limited as she had no phone. When i visited FL, it took her a couple days to find the note i left on her porch. She'd started smoking again, and had started seeing someone after i'd left. She said it was already over with them, but from the way she said it i knew it wouldn’t take an act of god to get them back together. I was a little thrown, and we only spent one night together, during which i held but didn’t kiss her. She spoke of wanting to live in New York the coming summer, but her energy was far from centered. We were supposed to spend my last day together. I didn’t hear from her.