The interview

When I walked into the Oakwood Nursing Home the smell of ammonia and prunes smacked me in the face. I held back a disgusted face as I went to the check-in desk. The lady behind the desk looked almost as old as the people sitting in the little living room, waiting for their family members to visit them.

"Can I help you?" She asked in a crackly voice. Her breath inched its way up my nose...cigarettes. I cleared my throat and scrunched my nose really fast, trying not to be rude. "I'm here to talk to Periwinkle Gorat?" I told her.

"She's sitting in that purple chair over there," she replied, pointing a wiggling finger over my shoulder. I thanked her quickly and walked over to the purple chair. Sitting in the chair was a women in her 80s. She had a bluish tint to her hair and wore too much eyeshadow. The bags under her eyes seemed to be accentuated by her false black lashes.

"Are you Periwinkle?" I asked in a timid voice, stepping a little closer.

"Why yes I am dahlin',"she replied in a thick country accent, "is there ahnythin I can help you with?"

"I was hoping I could interview you."

"You want to interview lil ole me?! Why certainly! I'd be honored."

"Thank you."

I sat down in a chair across from Mrs. Gorat.

"So, Mrs. Gor--"

"Call me Peri," she interrupted, smiling.

"So, Peri,"I started again,"do you remember your first love?"

I watched as Peri's eyes deflated a little bit.

"I surely do remember,"she said, her voice loosing its hyper vibe.

"Can you tell me about it? Or is it too uncomfortable..."

"I can tell you, but it's a sad sad story."

"I have time to listen," I said. My curiosity was sparked now, there was no way I wouldn't listen to a sad love story.

"I met her in highschool."

"Her?" I questioned.

"Yes her," she replied, "I am a lesbian honey."

"Oh."

"Anyway, I met her in highschool. Her name was Autumn Fitzgerald. She had dark brown hair and fabulously emerald eyes." Peri smiled as she described her beloved. "She had a great personality, but was as stubborn as a bull. She was always getting into trouble. Actually, the first time we talked to each other was when she asked me to skip class with her to smoke some cigarettes she stole from her mother." Peri laughed at the memory. "I said yes, and we asked the history teacher if we could go to the restroom. He let us go, but I always thought he knew we weren't coming back. Anyway, Autumn and I walked over behind the school building. She leaned up against the bricks and pulled out a lighter. She asked if I was ready. I honestly don't know why I had even gone with her. I was the goody two shoes in my school and here I was with a little punk girl smoking cigarettes behind the school! We each took turns puffing the cigarette. I honestly hated the cigarette, but hanging out with her was fun. We actually ended up skipping the rest of the day!" Peri was smiling so big I thought her face was going to stay that way. "Oh I loved that girl," she continued, "but she wasn't welcome in my house. My parents figured out I liked a girl and they beat me really bad. The beating i received would've been considered child abuse in today's world. But Autumn and I still saw each other everyday. Seeing her was worth every beating I ever got. But those happy times only lasted about 5 months, because then she committed suicide. I hadn't even known she was depressed..." Peri looked at the floor for awhile. I'm not sure how much time passed before she spoke again. "Autumn was amazing and I didn't show her enough love. I wish I could've helped her. She was my soulmate."