Page (5)

After her therapy session ended in Santa Monica, Page goes to the beach to walk along the boardwalk and have lunch. She sits at a table in a lovely restaurant and peruses the menu for its vegan selections. She is sitting at a table close to the boardwalk and can see the vendors selling art. Some selling sage and oils. There is also a woman singing in front of a microphone. The woman is thin and brown wearing a long beautiful gold dress. She is singing "I wanna dance with somebody" by Whitney Houston and she sounds pretty good. As Page is getting into the performance the waiter approaches.

"Hello there. Are you ready to order?"

"Um...yes, I think so. Your vegan menu looks good. I'll have the vegan sausage and scrambled egg whites with rye toast and orange juice. I'm feeling like breakfast today." Page smiles at the waiter and notices his soft face and green eyes.

"Sure thing."

A crowd has started to form around the woman and she begins another song. Whitney Houston again. This time it's "I believe the children are our future." Page hums along with the woman and allows her mind to go back to her therapy session. As this was her first time going to therapy she didn't know what to expect. She liked Elizabeth. Her red lipstick and perfect eyeshadow. Her rings and necklaces. How she spoke softly and listened so actively while Page spoke. Page was surprised at how much she allowed herself to say, especially to someone she didn't even know. Mostly she talked about her being the main caregiver to her brother. She told her about the incident. How Rock was in Leimert Park protesting with some other people and the cops showed up. They had their batons out and were swinging at everyone they could reach. One cop grabbed Rock by the shirt and threw him down on the ground. He was beat so badly he was almost killed. Suffered permanent damage to his back from being kicked and stomped on. He has head injuries. Can't walk. Has frequent migraines. And so many other physical injuries, not to mention his mental state. He was so messed up after that night his family didn't think he would come out of it alive. When he did, Rock sued the police department for damages and actually won. Page was living in a single apartment in Long Beach but moved into the house Rock was renting in Inglewood to help him. It's been three years. Fifty minutes flew by before Page knew it. She and Elizabeth agreed to see each other again in two weeks. Elizabeth suggested that Page keep a journal and bring it in with her. Page let her know she was already keeping a journal and agreed to bring it in. Elizabeth walked her back down the hallway and when they reached the waiting room Page almost wanted to give her a hug. As she stood outside under the perfect California blue sky she knew she wasn't ready to go home. She decided to hit the beach.