Throw Him My Way

As usual, Juno, the little adopted mongrel she walked for free because the old lady, sweet Mrs. Morrison, could no longer take her for the long walks she loved, came and plopped down at her feet after a few minutes.

Heidi poured her water and settled down to watch the others, keeping an eagle eye on them.

“Juno, my darling girl, getting on a bit like your human, aren’t you? Well, you’re one of the luckiest ones here. Mrs. Morrison would take you for your walk every single day if she could. It’s only the arthritis that stops her. She adores you, you know that? Of course you do, you adore her, too. So you would know. There now, look at Timothy and Rover. Don’t they look ridiculous together? Of course Rover got the stick. That terrier has got some grip. We’ll just chill here and watch them for a while, shall we?”

Balls were thrown, as were sticks, and when it was finally time to round them all up and take them back, Heidi was reluctant to do so.

She didn’t want to give them up. They were so uncomplicated, and so was their love for her, and hers for them.

They were family to her. Half of them were also family to the senior citizens who often depended on them for any company at all. Heidi was glad the other half belonged to young ‘entrepreneurs’, because she didn’t charge senior citizens as much as she should.

But Heidi did need them. Heidi was pretty much alone in the world.

But she didn’t mind, not all that much. She had a good life.

It would be better when she finally found some real success, but she couldn’t complain, as things were.

She could afford rent on her tiny apartment. Tiny, but it was hers.

The distance education business course she was doing was going well. Heidi was proud of herself for doing that. When she had money to manage, and she managed to make a brand out of herself, what she was learning would come in very handy.

And then there was Mrs. Spinelli, who gave her free voice lessons. Mrs. Spinelli apparently had enough money to be going on with, and Heidi had a feeling that she could very easily live in a lovely condo where everything she wanted was at her fingertips.

Apparently, that didn’t appeal to her, so she lived in the apartment building, across the hall from Heidi. They’d started talking to each other when Mrs. Spinelli gave Heidi an excellent critique on her blues style. Heidi had taken note, and baked her brownies to express her gratitude.

That had turned into so much more. Heidi baked dessert, Mrs. Spinelli made her wonderful sauces, and they practiced until Heidi got better than she’d thought she could be.

Mrs. Spinelli had stories, too, of how she had almost made it in opera, but she’d met her husband, Joe, and had never looked back.

She’d never regretted anything, either. The couple of times she’d sung as backing vocals for a couple of big names – she still wouldn’t tell Heidi which big names, for some reason – kept her going.

But she still had the voice of an angel. Even more precious, she had technique, and a willingness to teach.

Well, thought Heidi as she walked her precious wards back to their homes, maybe she wasn’t so alone in the world after all.

She had people who cared for her, who depended on her, and who believed in her.

That was far more than most people could ever hope to have. She should be ashamed of herself, moping around as she was.

Heidi barely noticed how heads turned when she walked by. Even if she had noticed, she would’ve put it down to the pack of six dogs she was walking.

Dog walkers and dog sitters weren’t all that common, which was part of the reason why she could afford to support herself – just barely – doing that.

One day, she was going to get a paying gig, thought Heidi as she dropped off Rover, who greeted his human by jumping onto the bed and licking him adoringly.

When she got a paying gig, she would finally be able to call herself a real singer.

That wasn’t an ‘if’. That was a ‘when’.

As Heidi made her way back home, to hit the books for a while with something baking in the oven, she had her head held high, and she made quite a picture.

She was tall, slim and had a grace that you were either born with or you never had. She seemed to move through crowds as if she were dancing through air, through motes that were there only to make her movements even more enticing. She rarely noticed how people noticed her. Heidi was far too engrossed in where she was going and how she was going to get there to pay attention to things like that.

Heidi, with her hair tamed into a sleek bun for the day, clad in leggings and a loose, bright orange T-shirt, strode along, and used her key to let herself into the apartment building that she described as ‘full of character’.

She knew that the character so described could very well be unsavory. She didn’t mind that, not really. That was colorful, too, and Heidi’s life was full of color.

That’s exactly how she preferred it.

There were aspiring actors, failed ones, dancers looking for a break and a chef who was sure that the next reality TV show would be his big chance, all in her apartment building.

She fit in quite well, and she knew it.

Heidi didn’t sneer at any of their ambitions or their hopes. Hers were just as unlikely as anybody else’s.

The world was full of people with outstanding talent. It was a matter of getting lucky and being tenacious.

Well, she had the tenacity down pat.

As for the lucky break…

Well, she was going to get it because she wouldn’t have it any other way.

She would sing at every club she could find, and she would wow every audience she could get. She would put her songs up on YouTube, post on Instagram, keep up her Tumblr, and she would have as many real life meetings as she possibly could.

Eventually, she would find a connection that would come through.

She believed it, absolutely.

After all, if she didn’t, what was the point of going on?

Then, she would have all of those little comforts she had missed all her life.

Whoever had said that money couldn’t make you happy had clearly missed the memo that said poverty couldn’t make you happy, either.

So Heidi would go out and sing for every open mic night. She would find auditions open to her and go for them, no matter how many times she was told that she wasn’t the right type, or she hadn’t the right story, even if her voice was fine.

There were plenty of pretty girls with good voices, she’d been told at so many auditions. Without something more, she didn’t have much hope of getting a real chance.

Well, she planned to prove them all wrong, and how.

But it would be nice to get a break soon, she thought wistfully as she opened her door, walked inside and looked around.

Her home wasn’t messy. But it was cluttered.

She had a habit of collecting memorabilia. Sometimes, it got a bit out of hand.

When she could no longer remember how the collectible had made her feel when she decided to keep it, she threw it away. But she seemed to have the memory of an elephant when it came to stuff like that.

Well, when she had a bigger place, it wouldn’t matter so much, she told herself, but there was a part of her that didn’t want to move away even if she could afford it.

Could a fancy condo with everything running efficiently and smoothly ever have the charm of her apartment building? Sure, the boiler might be a bit annoying and the heating could be off. Sometimes, the thermostat decided to be as temperamental as the people who lived in the building.

But the people were friendly, and they all knew each other. They all encouraged each other, valiantly believing in all the dreams even if nobody else might have. Even if it was more sensible to encourage each other to just find a stable living, none of them would dream of doing so.