Going to Memphis with Diamonds on The Soles of Her Shoes
Short story inspired by Paul Simon and Simon and Garfunkel
There’s this boy in a bubble and a baby with a baboon heart in Memphis, Tennessee. The boy is my cousin, Tom, and the baby is on observation for workers in the medical profession. My aunt Linda pulled some strings and got a slot for me to see this miracle baby — right after I visit Graceland.
My son Julio is down at the schoolyard and I’ve got to go pick him up before he finds trouble or trouble finds him. All I want these days is the sounds of silence.
Instead, I get a cacophony of joker interns under my tutelage saying, “Hey doc, you can call me Al.” What the hell is that about anyway? Some kind of inside joke?
I say, you can’t call me by my given name, Cecilia. You can call me Dr. Watzer. Got it? And, then I glare them down. Cocky men don’t do it for me.
Thankfully, my trip to Memphis is scheduled in January. Instead of the hot humid summers the city is known for I’ll be visiting during its perfectly hazy shade of winter.
In Memphis, I meet Aunt Linda at the park and we sit down on opposite ends of a green bench. I look at the both of us and feel like we’re bookends, so I say, “Hey, Aunt Linda, scooch in and give me a hug.” And, she does. She’s my favorite aunt.
She’s looking at her phone and her left eyebrow keeps twitching. Her makeup is immaculate and her lashes are long and luscious. I’m feeling mousier by the minute. I wonder if her hospital job is stressing her out. I’m loving the constant commotion and command I have when I’m head doctor in the OR.
My fiancé gave me a pair of London Fly shoes with 1 carat diamonds embedded in the soles. I show them off to Aunt Linda.
“Damn, babe. You snagged a good one. He treat you all right, too?”
“Oh yeah, Aunt Linda. He loves me like a rock. He’s mighty nice and mighty fine and he doesn’t even know how good lookin’ he is.” We giggle.
My cell phone starts buzzing. “Aw, crap, it’s Julio’s teacher, Mrs. Robinson. I better take this Aunt Linda.”
I walk over to the water fountain and ask what’s going on. Mrs. Robinson informs me that Julio has been stealing flowers from the school garden and giving them to his girlfriends. ‘What the hell?’ I’m thinking, he’s only in 4th grade.
“Look, Mrs. Robinson,” I plead, “Can’t we call this a bridge over troubled water? You and I can get back on the same page. I’ll talk with Julio when I get back from Memphis and he’ll be a changed boy.” She reluctantly agrees.
“Well, Aunt Linda, it’s getting to be pretty late in the evening. Want to grab a bite to eat over at the new burger place? I hear the food is good and there’s music, too.”
“Oh. You mean American Tune? Yeah, it’s got a 5-star Yelp review. Let’s go.”
We walk in the door and Aunt Linda starts flirting with the dark-haired handsome host. She’s eyeballing his biceps and nudging me on the shoulder.
“Hey, show this good-looking boy your fancy shoes, Cecilia. There’s diamonds on the soles of her shoes! Have you ever seen such a thing?” She laughs and bats her lashes flirtatiously. “She has a fiancé, but you might change her mind! I mean, there’s 50 ways to leave your lover.”
Maybe we shouldn’t have stopped for those margaritas on the way over…
There’s old Kodachrome photographs of Buddy Holly, Fats Domino, Louis Armstrong, and Ella Fitzgerald lining the wall.
Aunt Linda struts to a jukebox in the corner and hits 217. She’s playing “Summertime” by Ella Fitzgerald. I guess she likes irony.
We cozy up in a corner booth and talk about the boy in the bubble and the baby with the baboon heart. The case studies are fascinating and I’ll get to learn more about them tomorrow when Aunt Linda takes me to the hospital. I have the feeling I’ll be on parade. I know what I know and Aunt Linda loves a spectacle.
Aunt Linda says, “How are you and your mother, darling Lorraine? Don’t you think it’s time for a mother and child reunion?”
In my hearts and bones, I know it’s time, but I’m not quite ready. I tell her as much. “Have you talked to mom lately, Aunt Linda?”
“Of course I have. And, yeah. We’re still crazy after all these years.”
“Okay, kid, the night is slip slidin’ away.”
The host — Max — comes up to me and slips a phone number into my hand.
Back at my hotel room, I look at the piece of paper with temptation. I punch the numbers on my cell phone. “Hi Tom, Just wanted to say I love you and Aunt Linda loves the shoes you gave me” I hang up. Proof of my love.
I shut off the bedside lamp. Tomorrow’s going to be a long day. First, Graceland and then the hospital where I know I’ll be witness to love and hard times.
Michael Whalen, I’m allergic to math…I’m taking my 100 points and the blue ribbon and riding off into the sunset with Tracy Stengel.
Here’s the challenge from Michael Whalen:
I’m tagging folx who I think may enjoy this prompt: Lucy (the eggcademic) Michael Burg, MD Tre L. Loadholt John Levin Shanna Loga
And, here are a few to get your creative juices pumping