Victoria

The first time Victoria sees me, I have just met her daughter and am in her home. It is almost dark already and Victoria struts in the door, warmly welcomes me with a hug and kiss as her daughter introduces me.

Victoria is tall, stately, slender womon with short hair, blacker than the black birds that come to eat my crumbs every morning and straighter than corn silks.

Victoria responds to my “I’m 60 years old” with “I’m 65 years old”! We are both beaming!

She dresses formally every time I see her, with an outfit that appears to be new and everything matching.

She smiles broadly and has a deep, smokers sexy voice that sends warmth vibrating to everyone within range, whether she’s speaking english or Spanish.

Yarida has proudly named her mother a hippie and I as I look at her now, I can see her swinging her long leg over the seat, grasping the handle bars of her motorcycle, donning her black leather jacket with no helmet, face determined and open, and taking off over rutted paths and rocky roads, straight long black hair streaming.

I want to ask her about that trip but I don’t have the words – yet. My truck is parked around the corner, as I’ve been out looking for veggie oil today. Victoria tells me to park out front, she wants to see it.

When I go to get it, Victoria tells me she will come! I ask Alicia if she wants to come too but she says no. Victoria and I stroll down the street to the truck, that I hastily make the front seat passenger friendly, and then Victoria hops into the truck as if she’s been doing such things all her life.

Maybe she has. When we get back to the house, Victoria remembers I have asked about water and filling up my tanks. Alicia brings out the hose, which is about ½” in diameter, and we attach my hose and let ‘er rip! It takes forever to fill the tanks but we do it!

I invite Victoria and Alicia into mi casa. Alicia refuses again but Victoria pulls herself inside. She tries to sit on the bed, but it is many inches too short for her tall frame. I give her the stool to sit on and some of my popcorn to eat. She likes it!

I invite her to get a bowl and make a note to myself to make her a fresh batch later.

Victoria knows about my quest for veggie oil. She goes off to her friend’s restaurant and gets him to agree to give me oil. Yarida, Victoria and I pile into Yarida’s car with my two containers of oil, funnel and filters and off we go around the corner.

The restaurant owner brings out a container that is maybe ¾’s full, apologizing that it is all he has. I am thrilled. Yarida and Victoria start off lifting the container and dumping it thru the funnel into the new container, while I hold the edges of the paper filter up so the oil will run thru faster.

It still takes us the next 45 minutes or so to finish the job. I think Victoria and Yarida are surprised by how much work it takes, yet they hang in there until we have transferred everything but the dregs into the clean container.

I hope this doesn’t put a damper on their quest for veggie oil used for me!

I invite Victoria to come with me on this Joiyssey and I’m not sure if her adventurous spirit longs to fly or if she’s happy being adventurous here. Either way, she doesn’t want to come.