Tales of the City 02 - More Tales of the City

shook his head. “I told them that in the letters. I don’t remember a bit of it.”
    “You mean there’s no record whatsoever … no evidence of where you were or what you were doing for—”
    “Wait!” He stopped suddenly and dug in his pockets. “Hold out your hand,” he instructed her. Somewhat reluctantly, she complied. He pressed something small and metal into her palm.
    “A key,” she said flatly. “What’s that mean?”
    “You tell me. It’s all that’s left of me.”
    “What?”
    “It was in my pocket, my shirt pocket, when they found me in the park.”
    She examined it more closely. “It’s … smaller than a door key, or a car key. I guess it could …” Finally, she shrugged, giving up.
    He shrugged back at her, smiling. It was his collie look again. Gentle and golden and vulnerable beyond her wildest dreams. She knew instantly why she had loved him from the beginning. He was a clean slate, a virgin….
    And she could show him the way.

Back to Babylon
    T HERE THEY WERE AGAIN, BACK WHERE THEY HAD MET, back at the seedy old Greyhound bus station on Seventh Street in San Francisco.
    Mona surveyed the snack bar, feeling an unexpected flash of nostalgia, while Mother Mucca slurped coffee noisily out of her spoon. The old lady was still being ornery, but at least she had consented to this visit.
    Mona had told her everything about Andy/Anna only three days before.
    And the mother-and-child reunion was only an hour away.
    Mother Mucca belched. “I don’t feel so good,” she grumbled.
    “Now, don’t start on that again.”
    “I don’t Mona. My stomach feels a tetch—”
    “Your stomach’s perfectly fine. You’re just nervous, Mother Mucca. That’s O.K. It’s O.K. to experience a—”
    “It ain’t O.K. with me, girl. This just ain’t the right time to—”
    “Please, Mother Mucca! I know you can handle this. We’ve been through this before, and we both agreed that … well, it’s the best thing, that’s all.”
    The old lady ducked her head moodily. “Maybe for you.”
    “For all of us.”
    “I ain’t seen my son for forty goddamn years!”
    Mona winced. “Daughter.”
    “Huh?”
    “She’s your daughter now. I know that’s hard to deal with, but it would mean so much to Mrs. Madrigal … I mean, to Anna. Try to remember that, will you?”
    Mother Mucca wouldn’t look up. “Whatever.”
    “No. Not whatever. Your daughter. Anna.”
    “I called him Andy for sixteen years!”
    “I know, but a lot’s changed. You must’ve changed yourself.”
    “Says who?”
    “Please don’t be difficult.”
    “What does he look like?”
    “I told you that already.”
    “Well, tell me another goddamn time!”
    Mona sought for another description. “She’s very … majestic.”
    Her grandmother snorted. “Sounds like a fuckin’ race horse.”
    “See for yourself, then.”
    “Does he … look like me?”
    “You’ll just have to wait.”
    Mother Mucca glared at her granddaughter, then at a pimply teenager in glitter wedgies eating a doughnut at the next table. “Nothin’ but weirdos in this town,” she growled.
    Mona’s first glimpse of Barbary Lane brought her heart into her throat. Nothing had changed in the sylvan city canyon. The cats were still there, the miniature cottages and the eucalyptus trees and Mrs. Madrigal’s courtyard beckoning in the moonlight.
    “You tell him we’re comin’?” asked Mother Mucca, surveying the cozy old house.
    “No. She knows we’re coming, of course, but I didn’t tell her exactly when.”
    “Stupid!”
    Mona snapped back, “I didn’t want to put her in a negative space before we got here.”
    The old lady blinked uncomprehendingly.
    Mona smiled and translated. “I didn’t want her to feel uncomfortable about our arrival.”
    “You didn’t mind makin’ me pretty damn uncomfortable.”
    “C’mon now. Behave yourself.”
    Mona stepped into the alcove next to the door buzzers. Mother Mucca lagged behind, pacing nervously in the courtyard. “C’mon,” coaxed Mona. “It’s gonna be just fine.”
    “I can’t, Mona.”
    Mona turned and saw the piteous expression on the old woman’s face. Mother Mucca took several steps toward her. “Mona, darlin’ … I don’t look like an ol’ witch, do I?”
    “Oh, Mother Mucca … you’re beautiful! Don’t worry, please. Anna’s gonna love you.”
    “We ain’t brought her nothin’.”
    Mona hugged her. “We’re all she needs.”
    “Yeah?”
    Mona smiled.