I said, “Don’t be afraid. I’m through the worst of it.”
Again, Frankie said, “Tell me where you are. Please?” She was getting more frantic and started crying. Tears formed in my eyes too as I wrestled with her request, and then I relented. She said, “I’ll be there tomorrow.” I told her I’d be here. She said, “I love you Jack,” and hung up. I stood there holding the phone, dwelling on how much it sounded like I just got off the phone with Anna.
As I had promised her, I was there when she arrived in the late afternoon. The flight was relatively short but the drive from the airport in her rental was long. I was on the patio behind the house with a glass of scotch in my hands, lost in the susurrations of the waves lapping on the shore when I heard her drive into the driveway. It had to be her. I didn’t know anyone else. I promised myself that I wouldn’t compound Frankie’s concerns by being drunk and I wasn’t; but almost. Scotch had become one of my four major food groups. I didn’t eat much. It was way easier to pour a glass than make a meal. The clothes I had brought, just hung off me. I didn’t care.
I heard Frankie calling for me as she ran around the side of the house heading for the water. When she saw me sitting in my lawn chair, she said, “I thought you’d probably be out here.” I stood up and turned toward her and she stopped dead in her tracks and said, “Oh my God, Jack. What are you doing to yourself. You look terrible.” I bent down and put my scotch glass on the table by my chair. I stood up and offered her my arms and she burst into tears as she ran into them.
In my previous life, I would have been prepared for her arrival and been freshly shaved and showered. I was suddenly embarrassed that when she pushed her lips to mine, I was sporting a ten-day beard, unkempt hair, boozy, bad breath and BO. She ignored it all and showered me with pecking kisses. She was laughing and stopped to look at me and then she started all over again. Finally, she stopped and pulled back and said, “Well, you may look and smell like shit, but at least you’re alive. We can work with that.”
I laughed and said, “It’s good to see you Frankie. Your timing was impeccable. I was just about to spiral into the ground when I got your letter. I had accepted my fate.
Frankie kissed me again with passion and then said, “This isn’t your fate. Not while I’m here and I’m here for the duration. She kissed me again and lead me inside and straight to the bathroom. She turned on the shower and said, “Get those smelly clothes off and get in the shower while I go see if you have anything to eat in this house.
I began unbuttoning my shirt as she had commanded and I said, “Frankie? What do you mean, you’re here for the duration? You have a job you have to go back to.”
Frankie grinned at me and said, “Not anymore. I quit after talking to you yesterday. You’re more important to me than a job. Now get yourself cleaned up and we’ll see where we go from there.”
When I got out of the shower, I did feel semi-human again. I stared at my reflection in the mirror and didn’t even recognize myself. I shaved and did all the bathroom stuff that I had abandoned over the past several weeks since arriving here. Early on, I had maintained a semblance of personal hygiene as I frequented bars and had a few one-night stands with unknown women who were as drunk as me. Lately, I had abandoned all that as I just drank here alone.