"Love is the falcon's flight over your sands. Because for him, you are a green field, from which he always returns with game. He knows your rocks, your dunes, and your mountains, and you are generous to him."
-Santiago
The Alchemist
Chapter 1
I remember that night as if it was just a second ago. We were sitting at the table, a single rose on the lacey white tablecloth. She seemed nervous, and she reached out and grabbed my hand. I looked at it, and looked back at her.
"Mark, I need to tell you something…"
"After that night, I knew that my life would never be the same. She had me begging on my knees, and then she broke my heart, as if it was a paper towel. Move on to the next person, forget Mark.
But something told me, that she really did like me. We were together for over a year, and she said that was the longest she was with anyone. I don't think I'll ever forget her, especially since she keeps calling me.
Her name was Maureen. The beautiful Maureen Johnson. She had thick wavy black hair, and handsome brown eyes. She was medium height, 5'4. She had a great body, and was always smiling. It was hard to think that a beauty like that could be attracted to the nerd. The white-blond, blue-eyed move dork. Roger found it hysterical, and Collins cracked up every time he saw us together. But I was weird Mark, but I didn't care. As long as I had my camera, I was happy.
We first met, when I was getting ready to make a movie. I really didn't care who was in my movie, just as long as I got to see them before hand. I remember putting up that flyer all over Avenue A, so that I could get someone quickly. She came the very next day, after about three unsuccessful auditions.
I heard the knock on the door, and looked around. Roger was practicing with his band, and Collins was doing something. No one knew where the hell Collins went, or either he even did anything. No one cared. I stood up, and opened the door.
There she was, her black hair down and long. She was smiling at me, wearing a black tank top, and black pants. It was summer, and I stood, appalled in her ravishing beauty.
"What?" she asked.
"May I help you? Because it you are looking for Roger he's at –"
"No," she cut me off. "I'm actually looking for a –" she pulled the flyer out of her pocket in a wad, and read my name. "Mark Cohen."
When she said it, it sounded like a choir of angels singing, I wanted so badly just to faint in front of her, but I knew I couldn't.
"I'm Mark Cohen," I said, knocking my knees. She looked at me, and then smiled.
"I'm Maureen Johnson, I'm here to audition for this movie role," she said. She threw the paper to the side, and I looked at it. Nice to know that I wasted 5 dollars on that nice lime green paper. Very nice to see it crumpled up on the floor. She walked in and looked around.
"Ok, well, um, let's see, I want to get to know you first," I said.
"Why? It's not like beauty pageant or anything," she said. I smiled at her. I gestured to our couch, and she sat down on it. I sat down on our coffee table, and grabbed a piece of paper, that I jotted the questions down.
"Well, what do you like to do in your free time?" I asked.
"Well, I like acting. I can sing, and I scrap money off people. That's pretty much what I do," she said. I looked up at her.
"Any jobs?"
"Well, right now, I'm working at Chuck E. Cheese as that rat," she said. I looked at her oddly. "And I'm also the Rubber Lady."
"You're the Rubber Lady?" I asked, shocked. The Rubber Lady was a chick who was on all these billboards for some rubber company. She also stood out on the street corner in rubber. I remember Collins and Roger would walk by her, and wolf whistle at her.
"Yeah, it brings money in," she said.
"You…have any love interests?" I asked.
"No…not at the moment. My boyfriend and I just broke up. Why?"
She was free, and she was straight. I could have done a dance around the room.
"Oh, just need to know if that would conflict with any of the shootings," I said. She nodded, and it seemed like she understood what I was talking about. "Well, I'm going to let you read Jenna's monologue," I said. I grabbed a script, and flipped through it furiously and handed it to her. She read it first and I looked at her.
"What is Jenna's personality?" she asked.
"She's quiet, and confused about the world, kinda like me," I said. Maureen looked at me, and smiled. She walked towards me and smiled.
"I like guys like that," she said. For the first time I noticed her bright red lips. They were the color of freshly drawn blood from the heart. Just like what she was doing to me.
"Okay, well, go on ahead and read it," I said to her.
By the time she finished her audition, I was shocked. Maureen was funny, cute, quirky and she had a great personality. She was also a great actress, who won the role of Jenna. She already had me on my knees for her.
She laughed when I told her she got the part, two hours after we first met. She smiled at me, and then walked towards me.
"You know Mark, you are actually kinda cute," she said. I felt my heart skip a beat, and she got close to me. I felt her pin me against the wall, and she touched my cheek. I could feel her body press against mine, her breasts near my chest. I felt her put her hand on the back on my neck, and the other one of my cheek. She leaned her face towards mine, and I closed my eyes. I knew it, this wasn't happening to me. I was not going to be kissed by this gorgeous babe. I was going to kiss the Rubber Lady.
Her lips pressed against mine, and then I put my hand on her face, massaging it. She continued to kiss me, and I kissed her back. I felt her tongue come against mine, and I knew, that this was the most romantic kiss I had ever experience. Not that I had very many to choose from.
I heard the door open, and I heard laughter. I opened my eyes, and saw Roger and Collins walk in. They froze when they saw Maureen against the wall, and me on the wall.
"Mark?" Roger asked. Maureen broke our kiss, looked at me, and smiled. She then turned around and looked at Collins and Roger.
"I'll be damned! Mark was makin' out with the Rubber Lady!" Collins exclaimed. Roger and Collins started cracking up, and Maureen looked back at me.
"Laugh all you want," she said. "I'll see you Thursday night Mark," she said. She pressed something into my hand, and then waved bye to Collins and Roger, who were still laughing. I looked at the paper in my hand.
Thursday night, met you at Rowan Bar. At 7. Maureen
I froze and read the paper, and I knew, that this could be it.
