Elaine never thought that her life would be so complicated; not in a million, trillion years. She was fighting a never-ending spiritual battle with herself and her beliefs. Her heart told her one thing and her spiritual mind told her another. She started to question everything about her life, her friends, her parents, her family, etc...
One night, she was taking a lot walk out on the main strip in California. She was living out there now because she wanted to be closer to her boyfriend, Micky. While she was walking, her cell phone rang. "Hello" she said answering it.
"Where are you?" the voice asked.
"Over near Longview and Pleasant taking a walk. Where are you?" she asked.
"I'm sitting here in the living room wondering where you are at. Are you going to walk over? I can drive you back home if you want to come and visit tonight." he said.
"I wasn't planning on coming over tonight, Micky. I just want to go back home and rest." she replied.
"Well then I'll come over there tonight," Micky said. "I do want to see you. It's been nearly a week."
"Micky, you can't." Elaine replied. "I just want to finish my walk, go home, take a long, hot shower, and watch a little TV before I go to sleep."
"Are you sure? I would love to see you for a bit tonight." Micky said crossing his fingers.
"Not tonight, Micky." Elaine replied. "Thanks anyway, but I want to be alone."
"Well, can I at least see you this weekend instead?" he asked.
"I'm afraid not, Micky. I'm doing a lot of things with the kids from Church this weekend; and then I'm singing and dancing for the talent show Sunday afternoon at Church." Elaine replied.
"You are? That is wonderful, Elaine. I want to come to see you perform. I think you will be awesome." Micky replied.
"Micky, no offense or anything. But I don't want you there." Elaine replied.
"Why not?" he asked confused.
"I just don't. I want this to be a special time with me, the children, and the Church and I don't want anyone I know coming to see me." Elaine replied.
Elaine walked back up to her front porch and sat down on her step, and said, "I'm home now Micky and I want to rest. Have a good night."
"Wait! Please do not hang up. I still want to talk to you more." Micky said.
"Micky, I said I wanted to go. Stop being so possessive over me. I want to take a hot shower and just relax falling asleep on the couch next to my TV. I do not want to talk to anyone, have anyone over to visit me, or anything else. I just want to be quiet and spend the night alone. Don't you understand me?" Elaine shouted.
"I'm not possessive over you, Elaine. I just wanted to spend a little time with my girlfriend, that's all." Micky replied.
"Well you can't, and you will just have to deal with the fact that I am a very independent woman and I like to spend a lot of time by myself." Elaine replied.
"Just because I moved out here does not mean that I want you hanging around me all the time, every minute of every single day of the week. I want to be alone most of my time, Micky. And you must learn to respect my privacy. Goodnight and sweet dreams. Have a nice weekend as well. I will call you sometime. I don't know when, but I will call you sometime." Elaine said. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight Elaine." Micky replied and then hung up the phone.
Elaine let herself into the house, walked up the stairs to her room, got her clothes, and went into her bathroom to shower and get into her pajamas. Then she walked out to her couch, covered up with her blanket, turned on the TV to a very low volume, set her alarm for the next day, took a few deep cleansing breaths, put her head down on the pillow, and just relaxed her eyes. Pretty soon, she was fast asleep snoring away.
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The rest of the week went by fairly quickly and Elaine was busy at night with rehearsals at Church for the talent show. She was so excited to be performing again. She had danced when she was younger and now she would get to again with the children.
Saturday night, Elaine met with the teachers and the parents of the kids expressing her appreciation to them all for working with her on the routines and the kids learning the steps. She got in her duffle bag and handed all the parents and teachers a little gift as her token of appreciation.
"I really think Danielle has progressed into a beautiful ballerina," Elaine told her mother, Josephine.
"Thank you, Elaine." Josephine replied. "Danielle talks about how much fun she's had with learning the steps and keeping the beat to the music. You should really look into becoming a real dance teacher. You have very good patience with them."
"Thank you, Josephine, that means so much to me." Elaine replied. "But with work, Church, bible studies, prayer sessions, working here with the kids, having a boyfriend, my life is pretty jam-packed full."
"You have a boyfriend, Elaine?" Jasmine asked. "Heather never mentioned that to us."
"Yes, I do, Jasmine. I do not see him much though because I really like my alone time to do what I want to do. He is learning to respect my privacy now. It's very hard for him at times, but he's learning." Elaine replied.
"That's good that he understands, Elaine." Jasmine replied. "Heather has said nothing but compliments about you."
"Thank you, Jasmine. Heather is becoming a really good tap dancer and she loves to listen and learn." Elaine replied.
After the meeting was over with and Elaine was back in her car with her duffle bags, she pulled out her cell phone and checked it. She had one message:
"Hey Elaine, it's Micky. I know you do not want to talk to me, but I just wanted to call and wish you a great performance tomorrow evening. We are at a concert tonight until 10pm, but if you want to swing by the Mercer Club after that, we will be there for a publicity event. I would love to see you. If not, I understand and I do hope things go good for you tomorrow. Love always, Micky."
Elaine looked at her clock on the cell phone and it was already 10:30pm. She started her car and drove down to the Mercer Club, parked her car in the parking lot, went inside, ordered herself a Coca-Cola, and sat at a table in front and just waited. There was not much of a crowd forming yet, so she just sipped on her Coca-Cola and went through her calendar for the next week. She had a pretty open week, although she did not want Micky to know that though because she did enjoy her alone time.
"Hey, you got my message," Micky said sitting down at the table next to her.
"Yeah, I just finished at Church and thought I would come over for a few minutes before heading home." Elaine replied.
"I'm glad you did," Micky said. "How was the meeting?"
"Good, the parents were very complimentary to me about the kids and I'm really looking forward to a good show tomorrow night." Elaine replied.
"That's totally awesome, Elaine. I am so happy for you." he said. He leaned over and tried to kiss her and she backed away.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"Nothing's wrong, Micky. I just don't want public displays of affection, that's all." Elaine replied.
"You have never objected before," Micky said looking at her concerned.
"That was before; this is now Micky," she replied. "I'm not the same person I was before."
"What?" Micky asked confused.
"Nothing." she replied taking a huge chug of her Coca-Cola almost to the point of finishing the glass in one gulp.
"Well, I should get going now. I really only wanted to stop for a minute. I'm tired and need my sleep." she replied.
"Why do you have to rush off?" Micky asked.
"I told you. I am tired and need to rest. I have a very long day tomorrow and I need to be well-rested before the show. Have fun with your publicity event. Goodnight." Elaine said getting up from the table and walking out the door.
"Thanks for coming," he said waving at the door and then looking at the guys.
"She's gone already?" Mike asked.
"Yeah," Micky replied.
"That's a bummer, Mick," Mike replied.
"Yeah, it is." Micky said and then walked over to the table where they would be signing autographs for people.
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That following night at her Church, Elaine was behind the curtains cheering the kids on while they were dancing their routines. She was helping them with their routines as well. She loved the little ones so much and they made her so happy.
Micky walked into the Church and was greeted by a hostess, "Can I help you, sir?"
"I'm here to see Elaine." he replied.
"She's with the children during their performances. You can sit in the back if you'd like." the hostess replied.
"Thank you," Micky replied walking over to a table and sitting down watching the show.
Two hours went by and Micky was still sitting there watching the performance. After it was all over and done with, Elaine came out onto the stage and took a bow while everyone clapped, including Micky.
After her cleaning up the Church and helping put away everything, Micky approached her and said, "Good show."
"Thanks, but I told you not to come." Elaine replied.
"I know you did, but I wanted to talk to you about last night." Micky replied. "Something is bothering you and I want to know what it is."
"Not here, Micky. I'm busy." Elaine replied.
"I'll sit in my car and wait for you. I want this rectified tonight." Micky said turning around and walking out the door again.
Elaine blew a huge breath out and gave all the kids kisses and hugs goodbye, as well as their parents, and then she grabbed her bags and walked outside to her car.
"Let's go and have a pop or something and talk about this, Elaine." Micky said.
"Nothing to talk about, Micky. I told you I wanted my space and that's what I want." Elaine replied getting inside her car and rolling down the window to talk to him.
"Something is going on with you, Elaine. And if I've done something wrong, I want to know what it is so that I can change it." Micky replied.
Elaine sat there playing with the ribbon on her ballet shoes and did not look at him.
"Well, are you going to tell me?" he asked.
"I need my space, Micky. I told you that repeatedly and you still keep coming back for more." Elaine replied.
"What is so wrong about me wanting to see my girlfriend, Elaine?" he asked.
She played with her ribbon again and said, "Nothing is wrong with it, Micky. I just don't want to be seen, that's all."
"And, what does that mean, exactly, Elaine?" he asked getting very annoyed.
"It means that I don't know if I still want to be your girlfriend, Micky." Elaine replied looking at him and then back down to her ribbons.
"I see," he said. "And what on earth made you decide this?" he asked.
"Nothing 'made' me decide to do anything, Micky. I just don't feel it's proper, that's all." Elaine replied looking at him.
"You want to clarify?" he asked turning off his car engine.
"We are too different, Micky. Our lifestyles are too different and they are heading in two very different directions." Elaine replied.
Micky looked at her and his anger built inside him. "So, in other words, you are wanting to end this relationship tonight then, huh?" he asked very upset.
"I don't know, Micky. I am not myself anymore. I don't know what I want." Elaine replied.
"Well you call me when you decide what the answer will be. I won't bother you again." Micky replied, started his car, and then drove off.
Elaine sat there watching him drive away and tears started to flow down her cheeks. Her heart ached for him, but she was so confused.
Back at the pad, Micky arrived home and went into his room without talking to anyone. Peter looked at Mike and Davy and asked, "Should we?"
"No, just let him be," Mike replied. "If he wants to talk to us, he will."
Micky walked into his room, closed the door, and took down all the pictures of him and Elaine shoving them into his dresser drawers so he would not have to look at them ever again.
______________________
As the weeks went on, Micky did not hear from Elaine and he did not try to call her either. He knew that the ball would be in her court for when she wanted to talk to him again. In the meantime, Elaine had thrown herself into her job, prayer sessions, joined the ladies Bible Study group at Church, and was meeting with her Pastor once a week for private, individual Counseling that she so very much needed.
One night at home, Elaine had a very bizarre dream and she dreamt that there was a man staring in her bedroom window watching her sleep.
Her eyes opened suddenly and she looked towards her window and saw a shadow standing there in the window. She said a prayer, "Please God help it to not be some kind of mass murderer or something, please." She grabbed her cell phone and slowly crept out of bed and walked to the side of the window. She reached her hand underneath the blind and then raised it quickly and jumped back from the window.
Standing there, all in black was a man looking at her. He did not have a mask on or anything and he had no weapon. "What do you want?" she asked.
"I need a friend, Miss." she heard the voice say. "I won't hurt you, I promise."
Elaine looked at the man and he seemed very sincere to her. Being the good, kind-hearted Christian woman that she was, she opened the window and let him inside.
"Thank you," he said pulling his pockets out so she could see he did not have a weapon. He even lifted up his pant legs to show her no weapon.
"Are you hungry?" she asked the stranger in the dark clothes in her bedroom.
"Yes, very Miss. I'm sorry I didn't mean to scare you." he said. "I heard you were a Christian woman and I knew inside my heart that maybe you could help me."
"Help you with what?" she asked leading him into the kitchen to make him something to eat.
"I am looking to find someone and I do not know where to start." he replied.
"And why do you want to find them?" Elaine asked giving him a bowl of cereal, a spoon, and a glass of orange juice.
"Thank you, Miss." he replied. "Well, I am kind of looking for a woman that I once knew."
"Really?" she asked. "And what was her name?"
"Her name is Elaine Grace Nelson and I believe she's from Massachusetts." the man replied.
"Really?" Elaine asked putting her head in her hands. "And why are you wanting this woman, exactly?" she asked.
"Because she was my friend at one time." he said to her.
"And what happened to her?" Elaine asked the man sitting in her kitchen.
"I wish I knew," he replied taking a bite of his cereal. "One day we were good friends and the next something happened with her and we haven't talked in a long time."
"Hmm," she asked. "Have you tried to write to this woman?" Elaine asked.
"Well, see, that's just it. I am not quite sure of her address." the man replied.
Elaine looked at the man and she saw eyes full of pain, hurt, and sorrow. She folded her arms and asked, "And, what would you do to her if you did find her?"
"Oh Miss, I would tell her how much I was in love with her and tell her how much she meant to my life, even just the short amount of time I have known her." he replied looking at her.
"And how do I fit into this picture?" she asked.
"Well, I was hoping you might know who she is and help me to get in contact with her, that's all." the man replied.
"Why would I know who she is?" Elaine asked the man just looking at his hurtful eyes.
"Well, I was talking to a friend of mine and he believed that she lived in this neighborhood somewhere." he replied. "I would really want to find her because I have so much that I want to share with her."
"Really? And what is that?" Elaine asked curiously staring at the man eating cereal in her kitchen.
"I wanted to apologize to her for any wrongdoings I might have caused in her life, and I wanted to profess my love to her and tell her how much she has meant to me having her as a friend." he replied.
"And, what would you expect her to say to you in return?" Elaine asked folding her arms again and staring at him.
"Um, well I guess I would expect her to give me a reason as to why she has left me for all this time. And to hopefully let me be able to help her with whatever it is that is wrong with her causing her so much grief in her life." he replied.
"What if this woman you are looking for does not ever want to be found again?" Elaine asked.
"Then I guess I will have to pray to God for a miracle." he replied.
"Are you a Christian?" she asked the man.
"No, I am not. But I do want to give my life over to the Lord. I just do not know how about going about it. And before I got to ask my friend, she deserted me and left me behind." he replied.
"Tell me something, sir, what you would do if you were to change your life around and devote it to the Lord?" she asked.
"Well first, if I find this woman I am looking for; I would take her hand in marriage. Then, I would devote all of my time and energy on the Lord and her giving up my current occupation completely." he replied.
"Oh really?" she asked curiously. "And what is your current occupation, sir?"
"Well I am a drummer and singer in a band," he said. "I know that I do not lead a Godly lifestyle or anything. But if I was to find this woman that I am telling you about, I would change not only for myself or the Lord, but for her as well."
"Why would you do all this for a woman you haven't seen in a long time?" she asked puzzled.
The man took a drink of his orange juice and said, "Because she was a gift to me by God. She was my angel from the heavens. I was wrong in not understanding that before. But I do understand it now and I will do anything to find her to tell her all of this that I am telling you tonight, Miss."
Elaine was trying to hold back her tears. She lifted her head and looked up at him and asked, "What would you want her to say to you, if you did find her?"
"That she felt the same way about me and that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with me forever until death do us part. And I would profess my love to her daily with love letters, love songs, great walks along the bike path, weekend getaways, and being the best husband in the world, and a grateful follower of the Lord." he said looking at her.
"And what made you decide to come to me?" she asked fighting her tears.
"I heard you were a Christian woman and I thought you might be able to say a prayer with me so that my dream could come true one day." he replied.
He took her hands in his and asked her to say a prayer, "Dear God, we come to you tonight on behalf of this lost gentleman that appeared outside my window who is looking for his beloved lady friend that he would love to take her hand in marriage until death do them part. Please Dear God; help this lost gentleman to find her and to be able to live the rest of his life with her proving his love to her every day of the year. And may he give thanks to the heavens above for providing him with this beautiful angel you sent down to him. We pray this in your precious son Jesus' name, Amen."
"Amen," he said. "Thank you very much, Miss. You are a true angel of God."
"You're welcome," she replied. "I'm glad I could help you. Hopefully your dream will come true."
"Thank you Miss, and me too." he replied.
"Sir," she asked. "What is your name anyway? So that I can tell her a gentleman caller called on her."
"My name is George Michael Dolenz, Jr." he replied.
"Thank you," she replied back to him. "Hopefully one day you will find your angel from the heavens."
"And what is your name, Miss?" he asked. "I would like to send you a thank you note for helping me with my prayer."
Elaine gulped and said, "My name is Elaine Grace Nelson, and yes, I do accept your hand in marriage."
~The End~