A Christmas Story

    


   I never knew my chat with Lady Barbara would turn into a Christmas Story. I pull no strings each day and allow the puppet, me, to  of the day.  When I had last chatted with Barbara,  we spoke about the Roger Wagner Chorale singers. She had been one of their lead singers.
    I entered the Encinitas Oak Cafe a bit late but in time to find my good friend and wish her a great weekend. Also, I needed to gather more information about her life. She and the gang at Table 5  were finishing the last bite of lunch. I pulled up a chair and sat next to her.  After four months here, she jas engaged life and now wishes to stick around.  Laughter spills all over the Number 5 table. Laughter, of course, makes the world go around, especially at Table 5. Ron is her Knight in shining armor. He dotes on the little frail 84 year old the way a mother does with a newborn. I enter and sit down next to her. It is about 12:00 and everyone has almost finished the lunch.
     "George, I want these lunches to go on for ever. I have never laughed so much in my entire life. Now I garden and play more with my German Shepard,Caleb. Why the other day, Caleb tried to play with our neighbors turtle. Every time he poked his nose at her, she withdrew into her shell. The turtle wasn't sure if Caleb was a meat eater or not."
    Just then, Thomas and Abe were told their taxi had arrived. They readied to leave, leaving me with Barbara. There was a Siberian breeze outside, no place for Lady Barbara. In fact, no place for any lady or man. We placed our chairs by the open door to watch for her ride. While waiting, I wished her to speak about husband number two. Husband number two produced seven kids. I wished to find out why she spent so much time in the bedroom.  "Hey Barbara, tell me how you met your second husband? Was it love at first sighting?"
   "I married the first time at age eighteen. After about one year, we mutually decided on a divorce. I went out with several guys, but after one or two dates told them good-by. I would never allow them to kiss me.I worked downtown at the Los Angeles  Fashion Mart. I modeled clothes for buyers.
   "One day, my Mom Agnes called me up at the Mart.  'My sister called and wishes you to go out on a blind date. Bechtel is giving a Christmas Party, and Bechtel has a new employee. He will not attend and make merry without a date.'" party without a date.  who needs a date, or he will not go."
   "Well now, I never go on blind dates since I never needed to.  I told my Mom "no". She insisted and since it was her sister who had asked, I accepted. The Bechtel Christmas Party would be held at the Biltmore Hotel in downtown L.A."

   "The door bell rang. Too scared to open it, I peeked out of our blinds at the  stranger. Not bad. He looked like you, George, tall with broad shoulders. I opened the door and could not believe my eyes. I have never seen such a good looking man."
   "Well at the Bechtel Christmas Party, he didn't know how to dance. I had to dance with my cousin's boy friend. I just could not get over how handsome he looked. I found out he had gone to college back East and  graduated in Engineering. The problem was he had two left feet, or couldn't dance a step. I danced with my cousin's date the entire evening. When he taxied me back to my house, I hoped his lips and mine would produce a duet. 
   "It 21, I had been dating a marine from Camp Pendleton, but he became history. His parents were divorced his Dad was a big builder in New York. He looked similar to you George, but without a personality, since he did not need one. Yet he certainly made up for it in the bedroom. We needed to buy new box springs every year.
   "George Schultz was president of the power company but it was my husband who engineered the building of the atomic generators in San Clemente." (Next  up is a closer look at Bechtel Power.)

   Today the ninth of December I needed a pick up. I left my Dickens book on the Coaster and felt depressed. The Curiosity Shop kept me company on the weekend, and everywhere I went, Charley Dickens came with me.
    So when I saw Barbara during lunch, I knew her energy would lift mine. And besides, this 84 year old dame keeps my heart pumping. She looked exited when I sat down with her at table number 5 at the Oaks Café in the Encinitas Senior Center.
   "Guess what, I went with Gregorio to see The Messiah in La Jolla over the weekend. He told me he played the violin for an orchestra in Moscow and also was their director. He allowed me to sit up front when we returned to my home and told me that "He loved me".
   I was curious to find out about her second husband. "After your date at  the Biltmore Hotel, did he ask you for another date that evening."
   "He took me home in a taxi and asked if he might call on me again. I interrupted him and yelled, "yes". It took him a few dates before he allowed himself to kiss me. He had been brought up a strict Christian and sex was not allowed before marriage. He was kind and always courteous to other Bechtel employees. Everyone loved him."
    "He proposed and took me to a nearby downtown jewelry store for a white and gold ring. He could not afford a diamond ring then.
   "Three months later we got married at the First Congregation Church in downtown L.A. He too was a Baptist, and our marriage was a simple. Roger Wagner's Choral singers provided the music. Instead of a honeymoon, we left to my husband's apartment and soon after, our first was born.  
    "We moved to two apartments and our first home was close to Knott's Berry Park. Like his Dad who built the structure of the New York State Hospital and  other buildings, he built the generators for the San Onofre Dam in San Clemente and another in Arizona."