Lo

I met her 12 years ago or so.   She appeared out of nowhere when I needed the kind of friend that forces life on you.  She always swings by at (mostly) the right times and I love her for that.  Last night around 7 pm I heard the raucous knock on my door and there she was... her long dark hair sticking in every direction, makeup smudged and smeared, her old cut t-shirt hanging off both boney shoulders with a big hole on the right side exposing half of her stomach.  Her skin tight jeans were shredded at the heels, torn at the knees and down to threads across her ass and thighs.  A cloud of whiskey hovered around her.  There was a twinkle in her eye and a crooked smile on her face.  I love this white hot mess.

With little more then a "hey" grunt, she crushed her cigarette out on the carpet in front of my door and burst into my apartment dropping her tattered oversized purse on my kitchen floor... junk spewed everywhere... lipstick, a bra, a half empty fifth of Jack, and a ton of random shit.  Right to the fridge where she grabbed a beer off the top shelf and downed it in one breath.  She grabbed another, popped it open and handed it to me with a smile, grabbed herself another and asked how I've been.  "Fuckin ballz-ass shitty" I replied.  She laughed at me, started stripping off her clothes, grabbed another beer and headed to the bathroom.  I heard the water run for a bath.  A few minutes later I hear her singing loudly and I settle back into bed with my beer and a smile on my face. 


L.A. February 2006...  I was on tour on the west coast and she happened to be out there the same time.  I had several hours of rehearsals which caused me to miss both Grammy's parties she had invited me to.  She was always getting invites to things like that.  Lucky girl.

Late the following afternoon a silver 2 door convertible picked me up in front of my hotel.  She "borrowed it" she told me and to "hop in."  We grabbed a quick lunch and headed to the Hotel Cafe for my show that night.  I don't remember much of the show other than it went well.  There was a good crowd and it was the only night on tour we played as a trio instead of a duo and I got to play an acoustic piano.

After the show and a few drinks we drove around town in that great little convertible with the top down.  February!  It was shocking for a north-east coast girl like me.  It seemed that everywhere we went, she ran into people she knew and before long there was a dozen or so people on the hunt for liquor before heading back to my hotel room on the Sunset Strip.  By the time we got to my room we had collected 30 or so more people and a few bars worth of booze. 

What a party!  The first time security came, they told us to keep it down.  The second time they came, they told us to clear out or get kicked out.  The third (and fourth) time they came we shoved 30 some people out on the 10th floor balcony that was large enough for a small bistro set and closed the curtains.   I woke up the following morning in a king sized bed with 2 beautiful women and a man I'd never seen before.  Some quick showers, a few hugs, and I was back on the road en route to San Francisco for more shows. 

She didn't stay in L.A. much longer.  She doesn't really stay anywhere for long.  I saw her briefly in NYC a few months later.


An hour after she disappeared into my bathroom she reappears with another beer for each of us and slides her warm naked body next to me.  She looks thinner than she has since her days in L.A. but not a bit worse for wear.  We cuddle up for "story" time and share adventure tales.  Hers are always better than mine...  her laughter is intoxicating along with the smell of lavender radiating from her soft skin.  The cloud of whiskey has been replaced with a cloud of beer around us both.  This is just what I needed.