CURTIS

Introducing

"I apologize" I whispered through the crack of the door.

I was more than ecstatic to greet Ms. Ramona. She came over for coffee and to interview me. She was writing a book. I looked at her with relief in my eyes, as if it had been a long time since I've said the words "hello" to anyone. In a way it made me feel special, but at the same time there was something hollowing about the idea.

I walked her over to the couch as my wooden crane creaked across the frangible centuries old floorboard of the apartment unit. It made me nervous. At any moment I felt as if the both of us could fall through.

"It's a mess in here" I murmured. "I haven't had much energy lately for much cleaning, and my aid had an emergency."

I rushed to clear as much items as I could out of her way out of embarrassment.

"Don't worry about it, Mr. Johnson. Just being in your presence is a reward in itself regardless of the state of your apartment. We all have our days" She laughed. She lit up the mood just by being there with me. The apartment, albeit cozy felt empty all at once. I had just lost my wife the year before and the deathly feeling was almost tangible.

I envied how quickly Ramona could just sit down, without any pain or groaning. It took me a while to sit down. When you're old everything takes a while. Futile movements one would make in their youth all become a sport at the raw age of 87.

I finally bent my antiqued knees and slowly took a place on the couch subsequently to my own surprise, I wept.

"I apologize." I repeated. "It's been hard you know? Losing someone you love."

"I know the feeling Mr. Johnson."

"Please, call me Rudy." I insisted.

"If you're not up for the interview today, we can always do it some other time?"

I sat up straight and wiped my face almost immediately as to prove to her that petty tears cannot hold me back.

"No, we'll do this interview. I got a lot to say and I have to say a lot. I don't have much time."

"What do you mean?"

I looked at her in almost pathetic way as if to say 'Are you blind?'

"I'm an old man, Ramona. As a matter of fact I don't think I was supposed to live this long ."

"A lot of your band mates died when they were pretty young. Isn't that right?"

"At the same age, too."

"Really?"

"25." I clarified. "One by one I watched them disappear. I always thought I was next..... but nothing. I spent my whole life waiting for....him...."

"I'm afraid I don't understand, Rudy."

"I'm afraid I don't understand either."

"Who's him?"

"Curtis."