Now Alexis was colorful, but it went way beyond that old clichΓ© about lighting up a room, she didn't really light up a room, in a very odd way, she colored it. Of course in a real world I'd never know Alexis, I mean overweight, fifty-two year old men just don't run into slim, nineteen year old women who make the 120 color box of crayons look dull. Not unless the man is picking up concert tickets (the old fashion way) for his eighteen year old daughter.
So yeah, I waded through the youngsters, browsed through the Nine Inch Nails CDs, and then went to wait in line for tickets to "Thirty Seconds to Mars." I couldn't help but smirk, remembering waiting in line for "Grand Funk Railroad," with an opening act from "Bloodrock," when I was just eighteen.
Fuchsia β I remember the color, my daughter was two or three when they added this one to the big box of crayons. The day I first saw Alexis, her hair made me think of the fuchsia crayon. It was cut short and kind of spiked over the top of her head and then it darkened almost to Magenta. It was not the hot magenta fluorescent crayon added in 1972 but more the darker, nearly maroon crayon I used to use when I was a kid. The two colors combined nicely, not just in coloring books, but also on Alexis' head.
Turquoise blue β another crayon from my youth, one of my favorites, made an interesting eye shadow for Alexis, kind of emphasizing the brown in her eyes. Of course it was not all turquoise blue, out near her temples her eyelids flowed toward aquamarine, one of those wild new colors they added to my crayon set when I turned four or so.
"You want how many tickets?" she asked, speaking in plum, another exciting new color for the four year old me glistened on her lips. "Sir, the "Thirty Seconds to Mars," you wanted how many?"
"Oh sorry, two, two tickets please," I replied, handing her my American Express, no not the Platinum or Gold, merely green.
"I'm putting a total of ninety six fifty on your card, which includes a service fee."
"A service fee?"
"Yeah, for the convenience of buying the ticket here at the CD store."
"Instead of, say, over the internet?"
"Yeah, kind of crazy, but I think they also charge a fee," she said, handing me the tickets with some wild strawberry fingernails.
"Thank you Alexis," I said, looking at her brick red nametag.
"You're welcome Mr. Johnson," remembering my name from my green card, "hope you enjoy the show."
Feeling my face flush a bit, I pointed to the tickets and said, "For my daughter."
I watched a genuine smile illuminate Alexis' face, then I turned and headed through the doors with the tiny bag holding the two tickets. Feeling a bit elated that I survived the experience without completely embarrassing myelf, I decided to step into a nearby coffee shop and grab something to drink. I do not drink coffee, but found a delightful looking sky blue colored beverage and grabbed the bottle. Mmm... raspberry, and such a pretty color too.
Sitting down at a small table in the coffee shop, I slowly sipped my drink and went through the bag looking for the tickets amid all the promotional materials they gave me. I found the tickets and carefully read all the information I could glean off them, making sure of the time, the parking requirements and the seat selections.
After reviewing the tickets, I slipped them back into the bag and then began looking over the promotional stuff. I had to laugh at some of the stuff they slipped in, face creams, feminine hygiene ads and even a condom. Figuring they must have these set aside for the middle age customer who wanders through, I slipped the stuff back into the back and was about to take a large gulp to finish my drink when I noticed Alexis from the CD shop, peek her head in the door and wave.
Stepping inside she called out to me, "I'm on break now, do you mind if I sit with you?"
I grabbed one of the chairs and pulled it back to signal that she was welcome. She smiled, pointed to cashier and then started a complicated coffee order. Wondering what Alexis wanted with me, I watched her as she waited.
Prussian blue β they later renamed it to midnight blue, the deep blue of the Prussian uniforms and Alexis' jeans. I had never seen jeans quite that color, kind of a dark bluish gray. Her blouse was silvery, almost the color of aluminum foil, and kind of shimmered in the light, accentuating her breasts, especially as she walked.
"I hope you don't mind me joining you, it's just that I hate eating and drinking alone."
"No, no it's fine, I enjoy the company."