It is a beautiful morning as Goddess and I sit on the beloved back deck watching the sun and Fran's thousand shades of green do this Tango. Everything remains in bloom though the deck is littered with leaves from the huge tree that leans between my house and the neighbors. The Hibiscus blooms are a reddish orange complimented by the yellows and pinks of the Gerber Daises. The Palm Tree with the oyster face, coconut bra and grass skirt wishes me a happy "Good Morning". Fran is out dancing the sun who suddenly stands still to admire her beauty and I must admit that she still takes your breath away.
"Hey!" I yell at her, though she's been dead for decades only to be risen when I needed her most in her thousand shades of radiance. "Give me my breath back!"
She would have loved the line.
We danced together once ... at "The Flame" in Statesboro. She'd had never been and I spent most of my time there. She was trying to cram all of these things into her life before she died, because she knew she was dying. I'm not sure how but I became "Accomplish in Living" so I drug her to "The Flame" one night with her protesting all of the way. She was very close to God ... much closer than me ... and she knew she'd be spending more time with God than with me anyway ... but she loved me and we walked in giggling.
Fran dripped in beauty. There is no other way to describe her. Long black hair that curled in ringlets, the largest brown Cow eyes that made you melt, olive skin and this Pirate Smile that was forged in hell but loved by God so much that he gave it to her. She may have weighed ninety pounds.
But she saw things the rest of us never saw. Trees were thousands of shades of green. Tiny legs with MS would pedal a yellow bicycle built for two ... because she believed she was never alone. I would often find her, sitting alone by the lake or in Sweetheart Circle ... reading or writing or just staring at things.
"What are you doing Fran?" I would ask.
She moved in slow motion as though forcing herself out of one universe into another. When those large eyes finally rested on me, it took her seconds to process everything as though she were looking at me for the very first time. The silence was pounding and then would finally speak. When she did, she shared something about wherever universe it was just been.
"See those the thousand shades of green in those trees?" was the first time she did this to me. She never said "Oh hey Mike" but took me directly to wherever she was.
Everyone treated her as though she were some frail invalid because she couldn't always control her legs or arms and would just topple over in a crowded hallway for no apparent reason. And the most beautiful she ever was sitting there, papers and books spread everywhere, her legs spread in her blue jeans as she tried to steady herself on the floor and ... she would just smile.
People rushed by her to their classes and on numerous occasions I would find her there, trying to reach the papers and books furthest from her ... with beautiful arms that didn't quite work. I would plop on the floor beside her and spread my legs like her.
"What are you doing Fran?" I would ask.
And she would laugh. Then she thrown her arm around my shoulder and I pick her up. Then we would do this silly dance because she would have to be the one to collect her own stuff ... my job was to keep her mostly upright as she bent over. We fell over together a lot and would just laugh. Somehow, the Professors would always excuse me for being late to class because Fran had given me this excuse.
I never treated her as she was fragile or dying or anything other than her beautiful self. So at "The Flame" that night ... a stale beer and urine smelling kind of place ... we danced to ... "Stairway to Heaven."
She didn't cry.... though I did.
She giggled.
So I giggled and we burst into laughter.
I stare off into space with moist eyes. The phone rings and I jump to life. Dedra tries to open the back gate and it takes her a long time to operate machinery. Goddess licks my foot.
I stand and light a fire in the pit just ... cause today is special.
The winds pick up and Fran's leaves shimmer.
The sun continues to defer to her.
And she just dances ...
like she always has.
