Loss of a Friend

Subject : Heartbroken and Horrified
Posted Date: : May 30, 2006 3:40 PM

I met Charles at a comedy event this past Sunday. He was a friend of a friend, and the first comedian up on the stage. Charles and I were about the Burbank area. I mentioned something about having once lived in Eagle Rock. The strangest thing happened then His first reaction was to say one simple word. That one word meant more to me than he realized at first. It was an incredibly powerful word, and one that shattered the still air around us and our simple conversation. All he said was "Colombos."

Immediately I wondered if this new friend could possibly have been an old friend once upon a time! I knew he looked familiar. Was there any way he was once one of my customers at Colombos? Did I once serve this man a meal, or pour him a drink? Did I perhaps ever suggest my favorite Spinach Lasagna to Charles? But something about the look on his face puzzled me. There was no dawning of recognition there. I looked at him a moment before finally asking, "Do you recognize me from there?"

He looked puzzled for a moment, then shook his head no. "Should I?

I was a waitress and bartender there for about a year and a half, off and on!

He stepped closer to me, and shook his head again. But I would have remembered you. When did you stop working there?

We talked for a bit about the life and times of Colombos, and discovered that he didnt even know about the restaurant until some time after I had stopped working there. He was quickly welcomed into the fold there though, and became close friends with some of my favorite people, like Vic Parrino, Linda Lopez, her two children Michael and Yolanda Nogueirra, and many of my other favorite people at the restaurant.

"Its a shame about Linda, huh?" He took on a sad look in his eyes.

"Huh? What do you mean? Is she ok?" Linda was always very dear to me. She loved me as though I was one of her own.

"Oh, you didnt hear? She passed away about 2 weeks ago."

Heartbroken and horrified, I hung my head and cried on the shoulder of a stranger that night.