Finally, I decided to give her my old fur coat, though I pretty much suspected she’d sell it for her daily fix, and so she did. So what??
I’d used that coat enough as my daily fix and it did soothe a multitude of my pains. So, why begrudge a girl her fur?
I’m not even sure Marlena was her actual name, since I usually had difficulty understanding her slurred speech. But we’d established a connection from morning after morning shared on an icy subway platform at 104th Street and Broadway. …she supine, bundled and comfy looking, me standing and outfitted for my first commercial audition of the day.
I remember thinking : she could be me if the fish stopped biting…..Hell, maybe her show biz career stalled too! Though at least voice-overs managed to pay my rent for now.
Marlena became such a presence in my daily grind that sometimes I’d fall asleep in my warm bed fearing how cold she must feel on that concrete.
So, I gave her my old fur.
And took her hot coffees and bagels to bless both our days.
One morning, she wasn’t there, and I never saw her again.
Even though she was always flat on the ground bundled in rags, I could tell she was tall. And big boned……like me.
And someone had painted her toe nails orange…..those toes, unsheltered, glowed in the morning chill.