The rain blew me right in the front door. Alright, I’m exaggerating, but it did influence my entrance.
Perils of a skinny girl who felt she was levitating.
I decide to behave and go straight to the ante room off the bar that looks like a miniature Versailles. 
“Coffee please,” I say to the waiter whose crisp white jacket smells like Downy Fabric Softener.
My eyes can’t help but to gaze toward the entrance to Bemelmans, wondering who’s there gracing its noble bar.
No one very interesting is alongside me at the half dozen tiny tables. An older woman in vintage Chanel who’s sitting with a pleasant Indian lady who seems like a paid companion. I watch as their lunch plates are cleared away.
To her left is a business man on his phone she’s giving dirty looks to. In her day, one wasn’t so rude in a public place such as The Carlyle.
A flamboyant couple sit down accompanied by a dozen shopping bags. The man’s Rolex, the size of Big Ben, glistens in the soft light.
I’m bored, and think, I’ll just ask for my coffee to be taken to the bar. I can do that, pretend I’m an Astor with a trust fund.
The waiter complies, but I know he’d like me to pay the check first, which I do tipping him as if I really were an Astor.
The barmaid pops over. “Um, so, it’s been a while. Do chips go with coffee?”
I look at her and think, why not. At these prices yes, I can always toss them in my scarf and have them for dinner.
Oddly enough, I’m not yearning for a cocktail, even though my own spirits are low.
My swoons come and go, this one lasting a bit longer than usual, but my money’s on Bemelmans to burst its bubble.
I keep praying, the little lapsed Catholic that I am, asking for a sign that all is not lost. A glimmer of light would be nice, to let me know, hope, the little devil, is just stuck in traffic.
My over-tipped waiter comes in to bring me a fresh pot of coffee. Gee, God, that’s real nice, but I was hoping for something a little more miraculous.
Suddenly the back door off the lobby opens, and who tools in but Maxwell Press, I’ll call him, an actor I had a hot canoodle with, way back when.
Hitting 70, still turning heads, a combination of Cary Grant, the Eiffel Tower and a cougar looking for a snack. Looming over his audience at 6’2, he spots me at once as if I were waiting for him.
The thing about him is, ten years could go by, and he acts as though you’ve just left his room.
“Hallo Darlin, aren’t you a picture perched so prettily.”
Yeah, he’s very hard to resist, like cashmere, or your favorite pie.
He sits without invitation, calling the barmaid over who starts to stutter.
He gazes at my coffee and sighs. “That wagon you appear to be on must get awfully lonely there ducky. How about a little bubbly?”
Hard to stay sober around a matinee idol, but I decline knowing, when you’re feeling this poorly, nothing is so bad that a drink won’t make worse.
He takes my refusal well, ordering a martini with olives, I know he’ll play with like props. The stuff one remembers.
“What is it? Why are you here in the middle of the day abstaining? I know that face. Something has made you sad.”
I’m actually touched by him saying this since, he’s such a lady’s man. How the hell he keeps us all straight, I’ll never know.
I mention this and he says, “I can see you’re still underestimating yourself. Don’t you know I cherish the time we’ve spent, always.”
Tears arrive like the sprinkler system just went off weeping on his Savile Row tweedy shoulder.
“I feel hopeless, like there’s nothing to look forward to anymore,” I say, like Little Nell, tied to the railroad tracks.
“Oh sweet girl, you are so, so silly. Of course there’s hope. It’s the one thing that cannot be lost.”
I was waiting for him to break into a little Shakespeare, those English vowels bouncing off the ceiling. To be or not to be.
Well, alright.
Suddenly my sense of humor is back when I say, “You still look like Ken.”
“Ken? Do I know him?” he says, smirking. All he needs are whiskers and a waggy tail.
“You know what I mean,” I say shaking my head. “How do you stay so handsome despite…
“Being a fossil?”
“I wasn’t going to put it that way exactly, but yes. What is it? Some type of bovine injection? zinc?”
“Sex.”
“Really?”
“No, my throttle one could say, is not what it once was, but thinking about it a lot doesn’t hurt.” I smile, sucked into his charm oozing like a gas leak.
“It’s all in your mind ducky, this hopelessness you’re weeping over. Embrace all you can. Be in love more, even if it’s just for the afternoon.”
Uh-oh
So, without going into detail, we had a very nice early supper in his suite that felt right out of a Noel Coward play, especially when he changed into a navy satin smoking jacket.
But I have to say…
it’s nice running into an old friend who’s already has had a peek of who you are, and what you need, what you like, and what you don’t like.
When he recites a little Keats, that doesn’t hurt either.
“Touch has memory”… 
Alas, you said it there ducky.
Sigh
SB
Happy Birthday, Susannah! Your friend’s advice seems sound to me. This was a delightful read, but sorry to hear you’re down.
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This too shall pass. Thanks for reading. It was longer than I like my pieces to be. I just let it go. 🙂
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Is it your birthday Susannah? I wish for little breezes of happiness to blow your way. We celebrated mine last Monday while on vacation. Our week is over with tomorrow.
Your friend sounds like a true gentleman and positively delightful. Of course he would remember you! I hope he cheered you up and left a smile on your face.
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I’m still smiling so wonders never cease. Happy Birthday to you just a tad late. Thanks Skinny.
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“Be in love more, even if it’s just for the afternoon,”
Words to be lived in.
Was it your birthday, Miss Thin Girl? Because Happy Birthday! Either way really, This story being the gift that it was, it seems like the appropriate reply. 🙂
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It was much too long. No one read it, but you did, so thank you.
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You write so beautifully, and I am always gonna read what you write. So there! 🙂
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I used to pen a Carlyle piece monthly till I stopped drinking. Then they became rather dull without the glint of alcohol coloring the page. I’m trying so hard not to drink so breezing into Bemelmans is risky. However, my prose did take a hit. Oh well. We’ll always have Paris Mr. Imma.
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I went through a period of time where I thought I needed to have a few in order to attain my edge. I was wrong, but coming to that realization was a royal pain in the ass.
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If I could control it, it would be fine. BUT…WE HAVE THE OVER DO IT GENE, WE HAVE. It’s so hot here, where in the past I’d put on a little sleeveless smock and tool on into Bemelmans for an ice cold vodka on the rocks with enough lime to change the ozone layer. sigh.
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Refreshing summer drink. But yes, I know. I love bourbon, not A bourbon. So I pick my spots and I give myself other things to do so I’m not paying specific attention to the love affair in my tumbler.
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An art in itself.
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There IS an art to it. Reining the moody blues into a come hither whilst swimming inside the unholy water. Definitely an art.
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Loved the Moody Blues…Guess ya gotta go, oh you better go now…go now…go now…sigh
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AWE…THANKS
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Happy birthday! The answer to your prayer was a lot more miraculous than a pot of hot coffee. I’m going to leave it there and comment on your memory. You had all the details to paint a picture of the people in the ante room, which set the stage beautifully for your move to the bar. I am very impressed with your memory of the conversation and how it flowed. I reread it several times and began to notice how beautifully crafted it was. The first quotes identified the speaker and added background. From there it picked up speed, and it was like watching a tennis match, with heads twisting back and forth. You are a master writer, so good that the reader doesn’t notice how she has been swept up in the flow. I am sitting here, just full of admiration. And to think you were down and yet could produce this gem!!
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This just made my day Anne. What lovely remarks. I thank you very, very much.
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You are very welcome. I love your writing.
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I’m humbled by that…really.
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Your birthday may have started out with some melancholy but it seems the angels were watching and knew what you needed. Coffee, an old friend, dinner…Happy Birthday!
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Thank you.
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I read this the other night but heavy rains threw my computer connection.
Glad you were able to enjoy a nice dinner and birthday companion.
Your descriptions are always fabulous to read. You missed your comedic calling or maybe not.
There’s always hope. How about wishing on those candles?
HAPPY BIRTHDAY … !!!!
Isadora 😎
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Thanks for the good wishes. Birthdays have become like time bombs. Must live in the moment forgetting age and fallen faces, to name two things you can’t change. Well, you can attempt to alter the latter, but good luck. Have to just accept who you are and be grateful you’re still in flight. Thanks.
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My hubby used to write me poetry when we dated. He’s not doing much of it anymore. It’s been turned over to me now. But, I read them from time to time. Perhaps, you’d like to read this one on aging. https://insidethemindofisadora.com/2019/07/20/beauty-fades/
Best of health to you … xoxo
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Thank you.
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My touch seems always to be memory…sigh
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Keats is very provocative.
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You know, you never give yourself enough credit. Neither did Mr. Keats. Thought you should know that.
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I have noticed that.
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He was very tormented. Poets.
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I write poetry. I understand that!
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Yeah. Poets wince and writhe, ache and bleed. Whitman comes to mind. How hard it had to be for him to live with such a creative openness he had to hide. Walt was ahead of his time.
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I tried leaving a reply on your birthday but alas, it flew to some unknown place. So I’m very late with a happy birthday to you Thin Girl. Your post wasn’t too long at all. I enjoyed every word. The handsome gentleman was especially juicy; especially the timing. A man like that is always welcome, right? I trust he lit your fire?
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Thank you for your good wishes. I appreciate them. One never knows what’s round the corner.
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