MOVING IN STEREO

DEVIL INSIDE

 "Here comes the woman with the look in her eye

Raised in leather with flesh on her mind

Words are weapons sharper than knives

Makes you wonder how the other half die."

"Devil Inside"

INXS

The Leonid meteor showers are named such because falling or shooting meteors in our dark skies every year seemed to astronomers to issue from the constellation Leo. They make an often unspectacular appearance every year as the Earth passes through the dust trail of the Temple-Tuttle comet, which only appears every 33 years on its lengthy orbit around Uranus. For years I have been observing them without much success. However, that particular night was to be different for the celestial spirits. The Mojo or just plain luck converged and provided me with ample opportunity to view the century's most spectacular heavenly display via a charming girl named Adrian.

Before I proceed with said story, I must nod to waitresses everywhere. If you do not already, you should over-tip a little because there were ten assholes before you who probably did not tip at all. And along with whoring and motherhood, the waitressing profession is one of the world's oldest and hardest. As Abraham begat Isaac and Isaac begat Jacob, the struggle with Lori, the aloof bartender, begat moderate success with Adrian, the waitress.

Now, on with the show.

Adrian was one of those girls who was the sneak up on you, kind of pretty. With Lori, the attraction was instant, at least on my side. With Adrian, it had to simmer a while. There was nothing particularly unflattering about her at all. It did not dawn on me until one evening while I watched her work just how pretty she was. She had been waiting on a table nearby. I saw her as I sat at the bar nursing my fourth Newcastle. Her mousy brown hair had streaks of blonde and red throughout, and it was pulled back tight into a high ponytail. The place was reasonably busy, and I could assume near invisibility with minimal small talk at the bar.

I felt a sudden chill as a blast of cold air rushed in and surrounded the few other patrons and me. My eyes were drawn in the direction of the intruding cold, where I saw Adrian silhouetted in the alternating red and green glow of a prop traffic light hanging near the door. She stood with her arms crossed and shivered as soon as the biting cold subsided. She smiled when she caught me looking at her for more than a few seconds. I looked away to avoid further scrutiny but wondered why I had not noticed her before.

Lori removed the empty glass and replaced it with a full one upon my nod. Hazy light brown sudsy bubbles nearly brimmed over the top.

Oh yeah, Lori, the bartender. Well, that's probably why I never noticed.

No bother, I resumed my gaze. Adrian was staring pensively into space, and I was gazing at her. She had large almond eyes set wide apart and a small, perfectly shaped nose. Her lips seemed to be forced into a constant pout. Lori caught her attention from the other end of the bar and called her over. She came and stood next to me, fumbling for cash as Lori passed her two glasses of red wine. She smelled of rosewater or some other exotic oil. The scene melted away before me, aided by the beer, her scent, and my overactive imagination. We were standing on my rooftop watching the sunset. She felt soft and warm in my embrace and rested the back of her head against my shoulder as I held her. I caressed her arm then reached up to touch her left cheek. She pressed harder against me as the sinking sun radiated in the autumn sky, filling it with hues of orange, purple fading into dark blue. Finally, she looked up at me as we kissed.