Shadows and Chocolate pecan pie Joy and Sorrow

Celeste sighed as she stood in front of the full length ,antique mirror,attempting to fix hair mussed up by late afternoon sex with her her gentleman friend, Shi- Phen, They had meant to wait until the Thanksgiving guests had gone,but the way  their soiree was shaping up, this dinner could very well turn into a gigantic sleepover.So they both excused themselves to the restroom one at the same time and made love in the attic.

Time was not something that should be taken for granted, especially at their age.He was pushing seventy and she had turned sixty one on Halloween.The entire family was downstairs,along with some lonely bachelors from his taxi business.Soledad, her old colleague from Hollywood,was also visiting.From the looks of her, this  would be the last time they saw each other.This frail old woman was not the ball buster that made the studio heads shiver and crushed the box office for two solid decades.Age was a horrible mistress.

Her son Sebastian had shown up completely unannounced with his band yesterday morning.Celeste couldn't complain too much: the band had cooked up dinner and with Sebastian's schedule, who knew when she would see him again.

Celeste rearranged her scarf and glanced into the mirror.A look of suppressed mirth took over her face.Instead of seeing the current old lady she is,versions of her former youth materialized like some kind of bizarre slide show.The sad -eyed girl she was stared back in a ruffled blue dress. My god, she had terrific and thin too.

That had been a horrible chapter in her life: she was in an abusive marriage to a man she loved that would not get help.After their infant daughter died, her will to salvage that  relationship slipped away as well.Shi - Phen had been the cabbie that drove her to the plane with took her to Hollywood.

Another slide stopped and it was her  son Sebastian and his father Joel. Who knew that little boy would grow up to be a heavily tattooed punk rocker?Celeste had been forty whe she gave birth to him,too old by some people's standards.But she had been busy making movies,making a life,trying hard not to repeat the mistakes of her first marriage,Finding the right person was like winning the lottery.She had hoped to grow old with Joel,but he had been murdered in a drive by shooting as they were leaving a restaurant on day.Celeste thought she would never heal from that death blow.

She and Shi -Phen had been thrown together again right before Hurricane Katrina reared its ugly head.Authorities were telling residents to evacuate the city.She had been lucky enough to haglle her way into a seat in the taxi.The rest is History.Sebastian liked that his mother smiled with her teeth whenever Shi - Phen hugged her.

It had been a  long trip,searching for the puzzle pieces of life to fall into place.Loud music wafted through the open window.The band was playing requests and the guests were eating it up.She needed to get back to her company.

Celeste could smell the chocolate pecan pie that Sebastian made with a hint of bourbon thrown in for good measure.She really needed to lose thirty pounds.

'' I can always diet tommorrow.Chocolate pecan pie awaits.'' She said to the mirror.Celeste walked out of her furnished attic, the girl inside the mirror faded away.