Life's Journey

By R. E. Link

Life’s Journey is a collection of three stories presented in a single offering. The titles are, Rhapsody, Incident at the Copa, and Life’s Journey.

Rhapsody, is the story of a young man’s encounter with an illness he cannot escape. Rhapsody offers a brief glimpse into the thoughts and feelings of this young man, as he struggles with an unwanted reality. It touches upon his youthful exuberance, and his absolute denial, and cruel indifference for others, until finally coming to a resigned acceptance of the inevitable, and a guilt that pulls him down. It’s the highs and lows of life’s journey as he’s confronted with a final judgement of his own making.

Incident at the Copa is a story of a young woman who, as world war two ends, finds herself unemployed and her prospects limited as America’s factories convert from war time production. Wanting more for herself that being a housewife, she is unwavering in her desire for success and independence. It’s luck and happenstance that set her on a new path, for the perfect job, at the Copacabana show club where both happiness and life’s twists await.

Life’s Journey. It was love that brought them together, nourishing them, leaving its mark. And it was their devotion to each other that drove them apart. She wanted to make him better. He wanted to make her happy. From those giddy days in the beginning, to their final ending. It’s life’s journey, where Cupid’s arrow takes its toll.

• Language: English
• Publisher: R. E. Link
• Release date: Oct 29, 2022
• ISBN: 9798986214146

Book preview

Copyright and Credits

Each story in this collection is a complete work of fiction created out of imagination. The characters are imaginary. The names were created at random and any resemblance, similarity or likeness to actual people, places, things or incidents is a coincidence.

Rhapsody, originally published as Bohemian Rhapsody in 2017, © 2017 by R. E. Link, updated and rereleased as Rhapsody © 2022 by R. E. Link.

Incident at the Copa, originally published in 2017, © 2017 by R. E. Link, updated and rereleased as Incident at the Copa, © 2022 by R. E. Link.

Life’s Journey, originally published in 2016, © 2016 by R. E. Link, updated and rereleased as Life’s Journey, © 2022 by R. E. Link.

All rights reserved by R. E. Link. No part of this work may be reproduced, copied or recorded, by any means know or unknown, nor stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the copyright holder.

Published by R. E. Link.

Mass market publishing, August 2022.

Inquiries may be directed to: [e-mail]

Cover art and illustration by R. E. Link, Copyright © August 2022, by R. E. Link

Print Book ISBN: 979-8-9862141-3-9

E-Book ISBN: 979-8-9862141-4-6

Audio Book ISBN: 979-8-9862141-5-3

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Dedication

To the music makers and poets of the world. You speak to our hearts and rally our spirit.

We marvel at your ability, and jealously wish we had the talent to join your ranks.

Introduction

I love music. Most people do. Perhaps you do as well. It’s the melody that sets the mood, with supporting notes that bring it depth and richness. Music is wonderful. And when blended with verse and rhyme, it can take us on a journey that we might otherwise never have taken. Might never have realized was there for us to take.

The poetry of the lyric conveys an entire range of emotion that connects us to our feelings in a way that nothing else can, or does. They bring out our tears, and our laughter. They wrench upon our hearts, and force us to consider that which we had not. They take us on a journey.

It is with these thoughts in mind that I wrote the stories in this collection. When I hear a particular song, and I find an understanding of its message, I also know it presents only the highlights of a moment. The key notes of an encounter. But they are not the whole story. They leave a gap. Questions that cry out for the explanation of how, and why.

I felt the pull of the emotions they summon, driving me to seek out the explanation. In the stories, Rhapsody, Incident at the Copa, and Life’s Journey, I imagined those answers.

R. E. Link

Rhapsody

This is the story of a young man’s encounter with an illness that he cannot escape. A story of youthful exuberance, withdrawal and denial. A story of happiness and regret. Guilt and judgement. It is a story briefly touching upon these moments as he travels through life’s journey.

Incident at the Copa

Incident at the Copa is the story of a young woman trying to make her way in the world. It was 1946 and America was bringing home her soldiers from the war. Pre-war attitudes reasserted themselves regarding women and their place in the workforce, forcing her to seek employment in a more traditional capacity. It is her story of success, and loss, at the famous Copacabana show club, in New York City.

Life’s Journey

It was love that brought them together, nourishing them, leaving its mark. And it was their devotion to each other that drove them apart. She wanted to make him better. He wanted to make her happy. From those giddy days in the beginning, to their final ending, it’s life’s journey, where Cupid’s arrow took its toll.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title

Copyrights_and_Credits

Dedication

Introduction

Table of Contents

Story One: Rhapsody

Rhapsody_Episode_1-1_The_Doctor

Rhapsody_Episode_1-2_Riding the Wave

Rhapsody_Episode_1-3_The News

Rhapsody_Episode_1-4_Denial

Rhapsody_Episode_1-5_Momma

Story Two: Incident at the Copa

Incident at the Copa Episode 1-1 The New Guy

Incident at the Copa Episode 1-2 Training

Incident at the Copa Episode 1-3 Jack Russel

Incident at the Copa Episode 1-4 Just How Things Were

Incident at the Copa Episode 1-5 Economics and History

Incident at the Copa Episode 1-6 A Show Club

Incident at the Copa Episode 1-7 Lola

Incident at the Copa Episode 1-8 Showgirl

Incident at the Copa Episode 1-9 Rico

Incident at the Copa Episode 1-10 The Incident

Incident at the Copa Episode 1-11 Yellow Ribbons

Story Three: Life’s Journey

Life’s Journey Episode 1-1 John and Marsha

Life’s Journey Episode 1-2 The Encounter

Life’s Journey Episode 1-3 First Date

Life’s Journey Episode 1-4 Happiness

Life’s Journey Episode 1-5 The Next Step

Life’s Journey Episode 1-6 An Imperfect Perfect Moment

Life’s Journey Episode 1-7 Married Life

Life’s Journey Episode 1-8 Solution

Life’s Journey Episode 1-9 The Supplement

Life’s Journey Episode 1-10 The Tic

Life’s Journey Episode 1-11 The Doctor

Life’s Journey Episode 1-12 Divorce

Life’s Journey Episode 1-13 The Abyss

Life’s Journey Episode 1-14 The Call

Life’s Journey Episode 1-15 Discovery

Life’s Journey Episode 1-16 Life’s Journey

Rhapsody

(Story One)

Rhapsody

Episode 1-1

The Doctor

She stood in the corridor, just outside the door to his room. The sounds of the hospital acting as a distraction, diverting her thoughts, keeping her emotions from overtaking her. On the other side of the door was her patient, and he was slowly being taken away, disappearing down the path of a terrible disease, like all those others. He had HIV, and he was dying. Unfortunately, in spite of her training, in spite of her knowledge and experience, there was nothing she could do to help him, except comfort him where she could. In this decade, there is no hope.

Logically, she understood patients died. People died every day. It was just a fact of life, and she knew this. She had been warned about the effect it could have upon those left behind. Had in fact been required to attend two lectures regarding it at university. One declaring the absolute inevitability that life would end. The other regarding how to adjust and accept it. But lectures could never truly prepare one for the reality of losing a patient. It was a difficult thing to face. And for her, in spite of the lectures and her training, the experience of it always seemed to take a small piece of her with it.

She remembered the first time she had seen an HIV patient room. It was in an older part of the hospital. In fact, the basement. Infected patients were kept separated from all others. A prudent measure at the time. The disease was new, it’s method of transmission not fully understood, but its mortality rate very clear. And it was spreading. People were frightened. The virus could be found anywhere. It had even been detected in the tears of babies. A conversion of closets and storage areas became the answer, turning them into patient isolation rooms. There were no windows, and no built in facilities for the equipment. Nothing to support the needs of a patient. Everything was brought in, set in a corner and strung together. They were a box, with a single overhead light bulb, and a bed parked in the center.

Thankfully, there’s a better understanding of the disease now, and a kinder consideration of the patient. Although everything else about it remained unchanged. People were dying and there seemed to be no stopping it.

Taking in a breath, she resigned herself, pushed down on the door handle and entered his room. Her patient was lying in the bed, the head of which was against one wall. There was a small table next to it that held a vase with a yellow rose.

A clear tubing supplied him with additional oxygen through two small outlets, one in each nostril. The tubing wrapped back around his ears to hold it in place. His eyes were closed and his breathing light and shallow. Other plastic lines ran from hanging bags of medication, down to his arm. There were wires connecting him to a monitor, which painted a jagged green line across a screen. It sounded a non-committal note with each weakening beat of his heart, indifferent to the feelings of the people who watched.

Stepping over to him, she listened to his heart, and his breathing. Picking up his chart, she flipped the pages back and forth, pausing here and there to read the notes, before setting it back down. As she had expected, there was no change in his condition.

She took the man’s hand and ever so lightly patted it with her own. She wished there was more she could do. Shaking her head, she returned his hand to rest on top of the bed cover, then turned to leave the room. She would return to him later, after checking on the wellbeing of her other patients.

Rhapsody

Episode 1-2

Riding the Wave

He was drifting in and out of awareness, riding a wave of consciousness between this world, and the next. He would open his eyes on occasion, sometime seeing his mother sitting next to his bed. She might be holding his hand, or speaking to him. It was always a surprise, and it always made him smile, but those visions were rare. Usually there was nothing to see except a blank wall, and it was not enough to hold his attention. Opening his eyes had become an unimportant, and useless task now, not worth the effort it required of him.

In a dream like state, memories of the past began entering his mind, presenting themselves once again, as if to say, ‘Don’t forget me. Don’t leave me behind.’ Memories of happiness, fear, excitement and sadness. Each as vivid and real as any other moment in his life. There was no difference. The sounds, the smells, the taste, all of it there as he jumped through time, recalling life’s journey.

*

He smiled. The snow had melted away, and spring was giving way to summer. It was early June of 1972. The days and nights growing warmer, more inviting. It was the perfect time of year, the time he liked best. It set his mood to hopeful expectation. The evening could tease, or it could satisfy. One never knew what delights or disappointments a Saturday night might offer up.

He arrived early. This club was his favorite Saturday night hangout, offering food, music and dancing. It was busy, even for this early hour, but not overly crowded. You could still get a table.

An