Paradise Café
Dale Rominger
- With
- the
- death
- first
- of
- his
- wife
- and
- then
- of
- his
- best
- friend,
- David
- Robert
- Bainbridge
- has
- lost
- his
- moorings.
- He
- returns
- to
- the
- place
- where
- they
- all
- met,
- and
- settling
- at
- an
- outdoor
- table
- in
- his
- favorite
- café
- in
- Berkeley,
- California,
- he
- takes
- a
- yellow
- pad
- and
- ballpoint
- pen
- from
- his
- bag
- and
- begins
- to
- write.
- He
- delves
- through
- layers
- of
- memory,
- sifting
- and
- searching
- for
- a
- meaning
- to
- sustain
- him
- through
- his
- losses.The
- people
- in
- my
- life
- whom
- I
- have
- loved
- are
- all
- dead.
- I
- am
- alone.
- I
- am
- on
- the
- brink.
- I
- am
- in
- my
- third
- and
- final
- act.
- I
- thought
- if
- I
- came
- back
- to
- this
- café,
- Paradise
- Café
- for
- God's
- sake,
- and
- claimed
- sanctuary
- and
- sat
- down
- and,
- with
- brutal
- self-truthfulness,
- remembered
- my
- life,
- I
- might
- be
- saved.
- Saved
- from
- what,
- I
- don't
- know.
- Saved
- for
- what?
- I
- also
- don't
- know.
- But
- saved,
- nonetheless.But
- life
- intrudes.
- The
- child
- who
- demands
- his
- attention
- shows
- him
- the
- opening
- into
- a
- new
- life
- where
- old
- loves
- are
- deepened
- through
- new
- ones
- and
- people
- are
- waiting
- to
- be
- called
- by name.
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