In My Life (A Norman Reedus Story)

Chapter Three

Chapter 3

Sally leaned against the cool brick wall in the back alley of the coffee shop. Her stomach was doing flips and she took a deep breath in hopes to reduce the feeling of nausea that was rising in her throat. She could feel her heart beating faster as each minute passed. She looked up at the sky and swallowed the lump in her throat. She was on the verge of tears. He said he was going to be there to see her perform, but he hadn't answered his phone all day and he was nowhere to be seen. Sally had no idea she would feel so disappointed in him not showing up. The feelings she was having had nothing to do with being nervous performing. No, Sally rarely got nervous. It was the fact that she felt lied to and she didn't understand why.

“Sally?” she was taken out of her thoughts by one of the workers at the coffee shop. “You ready?”

Sally nodded and walked in the back entrance with the young man. The smell of coffee entered her nostrils and she took another deep breath.

The young man leading her through the small hallway looked back at her and gave her a small smile. She smiled back. She knew he thought she was nervous.

Sally stopped just out of sight of people allowing the young man to introduce her. She didn't listen to him as he spoke. Her eyes searched the crowd in one last hope that he showed up. There were more people there than she anticipated. About thirty people crammed into the coffee shop and had their various types of caffeinated beverages in front of them. He wasn't there, though.

Sally started to move towards the piano when she heard the clapping from others indicating to her that the young barista had introduced her.

She sat down at the piano and took a deep breath. She immediately started to play without speaking into the microphone. She started with “I want to hold your hand,” by the Beatles. She slowed the song down, so it was a ballad. She closed her eyes as she sang attempting to focus on the words, but her feelings came through as she sang.

Norman’s foot was tapping quickly as he rode the subway towards where Sally was playing that evening. He had just booked his first commercial and he was excited to tell her. He had no idea the audition was going to take so long and by the time he was able to use his phone, she was already gone. He started to chew on his thumb nail knowing she’d be upset with him. He knew this was important to her.

When the train stopped at his destination, Norman leapt off and immediately started to run towards where the coffee shop was located. He dodged people as best as he could and apologized if he bumped into anyone getting angry scowls from those that he did.

He slowed to a light jog as he came up to the coffee shop and flung the door open. Immediately he was hit with the sounds of Sally’s voice. He stopped in his tracks and stared at her in the back of the shop behind the piano. Her eyes were closed tightly as she sang the song passionately. She had a pained look on her face and he found himself holding his breath.

“Hey, there’s a spot right there,” a young woman in a coffee shop uniform pointed to a small table just to the right of where he was standing.

He was hoping for a closer spot, so she would see that he was there, but he opted to not make a scene and take that spot.

“Can I get you anything?” she asked as Norman attempted to focus on Sally.

“Black coffee,” he said and sat down not once removing his eyes from the girl behind the piano.

He felt himself get chills by the despondent spin that Sally put on what was known as an upbeat song. He lost himself in watching every movement, every breath taken, and every note she sang. He didn't even notice that the barista had brought him his coffee.