so there I was backstage at a punk show
in Fort Lauderdale, Florida,
hanging with my buddy Jono
who plays base and sings in the band,
when I lock eyes with a woman,
and I instantly know I know her
from somewhere; she knows it, too.
like trying to think of the name
of a movie or a song,
having something like this
on the tip of your tongue
is more annoying than intriguing,
and I couldn't just be a creep
and stare at her while trying to figure it out;
but she was stealing curious glances at me, too.
right before the main band—
my friend Jono's band—
this woman and I found ourselves
by the bathroom kinda away from everyone else...
and before I could say anything,
she pointed at me and said
"I know you from somewhere, but..."
"Yes!" I exclaimed, "but I can't figure it out
and it is driving me bananas!"
We thought about it for a sec,
as she swirled her drink
and I scratched my beard;
I asked her where she lived,
and she said Orlando.
"Oh!" I exclaimed again, "I am from Orlando."
"Maybe that is it," she said.
"Maybe that is it," she said.
"Did you grow up in Orlando," I asked.
"No," she said, "I grew up in the Philippines."
Hmmm, we both gestured, aloud.
"I did live in New York," she said as a throw on.
"Me, too!" I exclaimed again.
"What did you do there?" She asked.
"Became a writer, became an adult, fell in love a bunch,
had my heart beautifully broken, ate good food, listened to good music...
I could go on and on and on, but what about you?" I finish up.
"I mainly went to school, but I did work
at this little tea shop on the Upper East Side."
And that's when it hit me, that's when it blew my mind...
of all the gin joints in the world.
I had worked at this cute little Alice in Wonderland themed
tea house/restaurant in Manhattan for a long time,
and apparently she did, too, and that's how we
recognized each other, cuz I trained at her location.
So this is when we start asking each other
all kinds of questions, but that time is a bit fuzzy for me
and it was a long time ago for her.
We realized we knew all of the same people,
from some of the bakers to all of the baristas,
some of whom I still chat with, and all of which
I texted letting them know who I had run into...
just then the band starts and we put this wild coincidence on hold.
Interesting sidebar: during the show, I was walking around,
dancing by myself, sneaking into VIP, tho I didn't have to sneak,
because I had on a fancy purple paper wristband
that made me essentially in the band,
when I ran into a woman named Kym Hill,
who I know through Enid and who I saw
at Enid's birthday party...so that is just weird, too.
After the show, as I was congratulating
the members of the band I didn't know
and hugging the ones I did know,
this blast from my past, introduces me to her husband,
the drummer of my friend's punk septet,
and he jokingly asks if we ever hooked up,
to which I say no, but she gives a look,
and smirks at the corner of her dark red lips.
When her husband walks away,
she says one word, but prefaces it
by disclaiming she is only to going to say one thing
and if it jogs my memory great,
but I also don't have to talk about it...
Well, the word she says is Kerwin,
who was a mutual friend of mine,
through Marlon who has gotten me the job...
and that is when EVERYTHING comes
flooding back like a nostalgic tsunami.
Silence.
I ask her how she has been,
she looks down, takes a beat,
and then said "The years cried by, time smiles wide."
Short story long, at some karaoke staff party,
she kissed me to make this dude Kerwin jealous.