st. georges

when i was sick
and full of fever
strange memories and thoughts floated in
and out again
some about mrs. georges
way back in el paso
she was me and my brother's
childhood friend's mother
he was
jeffrey rust georges
had the reddest hair i've ever seen
a "dumb and dumber" bowl cut deluxe
and could shoot a mean game of pool
anne georges was a small lady
only about 5'2"
long red hair
she usually kept neatly tied back
she wore tiny wire framed glasses too
we'd always pass by her bedroom
on our way to the TV/lounge room
and peak in at a scene
that almost never changed
it was as if it had been truly frozen in time
curtains always drawn
even on the sunniest of el paso afternoons
perpetual night
in jeff's parents bedroom
mrs. georges on the bed
playing solitaire
cigarette in hand
TV going
small drink on the nightstand
she was curt
during the day
short clipped answers
a coldness in her voice
that hissed
"bitch"
hardly ever much to say except when she was
sending orders to jeffrey
but as night would descend and wear on
dear anne would emerge
from her bedroom solitaire match
for refreshment
then saunter into our TV room
looking at us with a twinkle
gregarious and even downright chatty
we usually didn't know what to say
we were so puzzled
the next afternoon
she'd slowly pull open their big oak front door
like it weighed a thousand pounds
and our arrival was nothing but a nuisance
standing in her bathrobe
hair down
dishevelled and wild
barely even a nod for hello

at least 2 to 3 times a week
she'd call out
"jeffrey!! jeffrey!!
i need you to run and fetch some more beefamato!!"
http://kookychow.com/kookychow/01/page/beefamato2.htm
we were so confused
that drink was horrible
i tasted it once
out of curiosity
and nearly spit it back out in disgust
who could drink that bile!!!???
and not only that
she went through bottles and bottles of it
we were so naive back then...

it wasn't until many years later
as adults
that we realized poor anne was a terrible
sad
alcoholic
beefamato her hangover remedy
we'd been oblivious to one of the most obvious
adult scenarios

in my fever induced haze
i thought of how the days must have crawled
and blurred by
for mrs. georges
endlessly
like groundhog day (the movie)
in that dark bedroom of hers
day after day after day after year after year
cigarettes and solitaire and cocktails
hangovers and hangovers
beefamato after beefamato after beefamato
and floating beefamato medley
dancing across the smokey solitaire sky
until one day
it was all over

and where did she go?
where did it all go?

when i was still in college
i heard anne fell down a steep flight of stairs
while vacationing in their winter condo
one christmas
she was making her way to a cocktail
the tumble didn't kill her though
she made it a few years past that
but not many
i heard the injuries shortened her life considerably
she was after all
a very small
frail person
poor sad anne georges
i'm sure i'll see you again
when the fever grips me