Good Times With Epiphanies

Regina’s footsteps echoed across the concrete and asphalt as she raced back down the street. It must’ve been about midnight now; drinkers and late night revelers packed the street as they shambled to and from bars. A few gave Regina odd stares as she sprinted by, but she paid them no attention at all. She had somewhere she needed to be.

When a huge pack of drinkers stumbled down the sidewalk in front of her, inadvertently blocking her path, Regina slipped out onto the street. After circling around them, she darted back to the sidewalk right as a car rumbled down the street. Her shoe clipped the edge of the sidewalk; she stumbled onto it, with all her momentum bringing her right into the ground. She rolled into the edge of a building; she felt growing bruises and new cuts on her arms and hands. Regina ignored the stinging pain and brought herself back to her feet, soldiering onwards.

The bar finally came into view. But so did the line to get into it. Regina frowned; she couldn’t afford to wait in line again to find Lucille. Who knows what would happen to her while Regina was stuck outside? After tapping her foot impatiently, Regina found her spot at the back of line and shot a quick text to her friend, telling her to stay put for the time being.

A response came a few seconds later.

At the place you wanted to go. Battery running low gotta go

Regina scrunched up her face as she brought the phone close to it. She had indeed read those words correctly - Lucille had left the bar for somewhere else. A blackout drunk was now wandering the streets of a city suffering from homeless, crime, and fentanyl problems. Sure, they were in the nice part of the city, but there wasn’t a clear border line between First World and Third World of urban America. One wrong turn and Lucille could be in a tent city.

The place where I wanted to go? Regina’s eyes widened. She found the statue? But I didn’t even give her a description of it! She covered her face with a hand, trying to concentrate. She willed her thoughts to come together; she had to shake off the rust a little first, since this was the first time in a long while that she actually needed to think and problem-solve. Probably not since high school.

Considering her current status, she must’ve just found a random statue and thought it was the one I wanted to see. The closest statue was in the Public Park; Regina slipped out of the line and took off in that direction. Her thoughts were her only companions as she raced toward her destination, something Regina didn’t particularly like. Her usual lifestyle let her repress her thoughts, since thinking wasn’t all that fun. But without a sour diesel suppressant, they all came flooding back to her, filling with her worry and fear.

But, as Regina jaywalked (jaysprinted) through an empty intersection, she realized that she had another companion, too - the moon shone brightly above her. The buildings were there, the occasional tree in the sidewalk was there, the traffic lights were there. Life was there. No longer looking at it through a constantly foggy haze, she never realized life could be so real.

A breeze rustled through the park as Regina arrived on the top terrace. The park stretched out below her, until it met buildings and those buildings met the ocean. Lights sparkled from the bridge across the bay and the boats on the water. As Regina caught her breath, she knew she needed to find Lucille fast - if she didn’t find that statue here, she would have no idea where Lucille could be.

But the Park came up empty. With increasingly frantic steps, Regina came across zero statues in that entire area. She found trees and bushes and stone paths and a few late night walkers, but not statues and, more importantly, no Lucille. She tried calling her a few times, but no answer - Lucille said her battery was low, so her phone must've died.

Shit. Regina wiped her face and wracked her brain, trying to think of any other possible statue locations this side of the city. She looked to the moon for guidance, but it gave her silent encouragement rather than any real answers. But maybe that encouragement was all she needed, for her new sense of clarity also allowed an old feeling to rise up once again inside her - the gut feeling. Regina had little use for her instincts these past few years, either - but they were still there, and offered her a solution now.

I assumed she meant the statue. But was there anywhere else I wanted to go today? Somewhere close by?

She gasped in realization and pulled up her phone. The location stuck out to her like a sore thumb - only a five minute walk away from the bar. Lucille had to be there. Despite the complaints in her feet, ankles, and calves, Regina took off again; the adrenaline carried her through the night, another feeling that had never been used in four years. This was the first challenge in her life since high school; Regina faced little fight-or-flight situations these past four years (except for when she was about to get second-hand cringe from a television scene). But now that she faced a challenge, and approached it with a clear head, she found her mind and body worked pretty well, all things considered. She would have to find a less-dangerous way to challenge them when this was all over.

The slapping of sneakers against concrete echoed down the street. Regina huffed and puffed out of the park, down a major street, cars racing alongside her. The bright lights remained, but the street of bars and clubs transitioned into a street of convenience stores and malls. All of them were closed, except for one:

 The midnight Taco Bell.

Regina slid to a halt in front of the glass window at the front of the store. Her hair looked frazzled and messy, dirt and grime covered her face, and bruises and cuts ran down her arms. This was her last, best chance of finding her friend.

On the other side of the window, inside the Taco Bell, Lucille nonchalantly nibbled on a chalupa, a wide smile on her face. When she noticed Regina on the other side, she immediately started waving at her.

“You fucking idiot,” Regina mumbled, feeling grateful.

…

Regina entered the late night Taco Bell, which was only occupied by a few customers and a few workers. A police officer stood off to the side, eating his own crunchwrap supreme while looking at his phone. Perhaps his presence was why the store could be open this late. Nevertheless, Regina turned her attention to the matter at hand - her best friend, who sat in a booth with a dumb grin on her face.

As Regina approached, she realized somebody else was with Lucille, too.

“This is Frank!” Lucille introduced, gesturing at the man sitting on the other side of the booth from her. Regina’s jaw slackened; this was the homeless vet from earlier today who lost a leg in Fallujah. He ate a few tacos next to Lucille, two crutches leaning next to him in the booth.

Lucille scooched over so Regina could sit next to her. As the adrenaline subsided, Regina let out a long sigh and wiped her eyes.

“Are you alright?” Lucille asked. Her words sounded less slurred; judging by the big plastic cup and the number of empty chalupa wrappers around her, she must’ve fought off the blackout by inhaling a copious amount of food and water. Well, Baja Blast.

“I should be asking you that,” Regina simply said. She placed an elbow on the table, her palm facing upright, and rested her face upon it. “I’m sorry.”

Lucille tilted her head. “For what?”

“I shouldn’t have left you alone by yourself. It was irresponsible of me. Maybe I’m not actually that good of a friend.”

Wrappers crunched and rustled as Lucille pushed over a pile of chalupas towards her. “You’re a great friend, Regina. My best friend.” Lucille rubbed her forehead sheepishly, her face growing a light hint of red. “I don’t really remember it all that well, but I know I said some awful things about your job and your life back there. But you were right - I do take out my own feelings on others. I deserved to be left all alone after what I said. But you came back.”

Though her stomach tossed and turned from all the exertion, Regina ended up eating a chalupa to settle it. Lucille smiled and spoke as she ate. “You were right about everything, Regina. Not just about me taking things out on others, but I needed to grow up and realize things are nice here, too. I came here to escape to Japan, but I learned a lot about my own city and culture today.” She gestured at the Taco Bell sign and grinned. “I needed to appreciate my own life more.”

And then she nodded at Frank, who had been quietly sitting there and munching on food this whole time. He didn’t smell the best but he seemed right as rain, all things considered, and sat there with a smile on his face.

“I ended up stumbling out of the bar and wandering around the street,” Lucille recalled. “But then I came across Frank here. He remembered me from earlier today and wanted to help me out, so we ended up going to this Taco Bell together until you came back. The store employees are letting me charge my phone here.” She gave Regina a light punch to the shoulder. “You were right all along. I just wanted things to magically work out for me, but in order to receive, I had to give first.”

Regina finished her food, her stomach finally feeling at ease. Lucille was with her, they patched up their friendship, and she got her own cup of Baja Blast. When Regina returned to the booth, her newfound clarity culminated in one more realization.

“You were a little right, too. About me not doing anything in life. I don’t think I have that same drive as you do, and that’s alright…I don’t want to do anything big or grand, but I think it would be pretty neat to do something small.”

“Like what?” Lucille asked.

Regina leaned forward, tilting her head as she spoke. “I’m not entirely sure. I thought you could help me with it.”

Lucille leaned forward to match her.

“I’d love to.”