Connected To Pain — Grace Linton Part 1

“I am not doing it,” Yvette Black states, staring at Jason and Carol while in the beauty salon.

“Still clinging on to the pain of the past, are you?” Jason asked, looking up from Carol’s hair that he was perming.

“She hasn’t let go of all the things that bring her pain. Girl, release the pain,” Carol urged, looking at herself in the mirror facing her. “Remember you got to cover the gray hairs too.”

“Don’t I always,” Jason said grinning.

Yvette stares at them, then asked, “It’s my turn to choose where we go to enjoy ourselves, right?”

They both nodded.

Smiling, she took two tickets from her purse, placed them on the countertop in front of the large mirror, then glanced at the heart-shaped clock above, saying, “Grace Linton will explain my deep connection to pain simpler.”

Two days later, she hurried to her reserved seat in the Gibson Hall at the Grant Hotel. Sitting between Jason and Carol who said, “you blackmailed us in coming here and you are late?”

Eyeing her, battling her instincts that wanted to ram the truth down her throat. A calmer personality emerged as she grabbed a deep breath and said, “sorry, something important came up.”

Carol jumped up, a microphone in her hand, as Grace Linton appeared on stage attired in danger red, from the color of her hair to the red nail polish on her freshly manicured toenails.

“Are you in pain?” Carol's curiosity asks.

“Isn’t all of us.” Grace said smiling.

“You are darn right!” Carol said eyeing Yvette, “nothing says pain like the color Red. Well, Miss -refuse-to-let-go-off-her pain forced us to come here because you can explain why she still hangs on to more than thirty years of pain!”

Eyes widen, some in the audience gasp and heads swayed as doors open and memories dormant for years, rush into hearts, minds, and souls.

Yvette grabs the microphone away from her, shoving her down Reflection Retreat, “as kids, we were always late for school because our parents didn’t think that punctuality was essential to our future.”

“We are still alive,” Carol said after someone handed her a microphone.

“We missed many lessons, had to go to summer school every year and was held back one year,” Yvette reminds them.

“And that’s pain for you?”

“Didn’t it hurt you to be the oldest child in the sixth grade because of lack of punctuality?”

“Damn!” they said in unison.

“Thank god I wasn’t held back,” someone said.

“Well, I was, and like she said, it hurts,” another shares.

“Well, it didn’t hurt them two,” Yvette said, pointing to Jason and Carol.

“Yes, it did,” they both agreed.

“It didn’t hurt, because both of you turned around and did the same thing to your children. Why do you think they are always at my house and don’t want to leave?”

“Dammit!” shot from deep within them.

Yvette went on, “Our parents didn’t attend PTA, Career Day, Parents Day, Consultation Day, Prize Giving or anything our school put on.”

The audience gasped, and someone said, “Been there.”

Others agree as that painful memory returned.

“You held on to that pain too?’ Jason asked.

“Yes,” Yvette said. “It prevents me from repeating my parents’ thoughtless actions to my children. The way you do to yours.”

Caught off guard, Angela quickly explained, “I have a demanding job.”

“And I have clients that I must attend to,” Jason defends his action.

“So, your children welfare isn’t that important,” A angry female in the audience asked.

“Yeah,” many in the audience agree.

Grace smiled, signaling Yvette on stage. Yvette revealed as she reached up, “two days ago, you sat in his salon doing your hair and nails, after lying to your only child, that you couldn’t attend her prize giving because you had an important conference.”

The audience gasped as she turned red.

“You are repeating what was done to you!” Grace said. Turning to Yvette she inquired, “You went to the prize giving, didn’t you?”

“The pain of what was done to me prevents me from copying the actions, choices and decisions of my parents, friend’s and foes. So, hell yes, I went!” Yvette said glaring at Carol. “There is no way I am going to allow any of these children to go through what we went through as children. Yes. I am connected to my pain!”

I am so connected to my pain, it guides me!”

Thank you for reading this piece. I hope you enjoyed it.