the life coach 16

Asa in the Topanas

16

If you're feeling weary

or you've been alone too long

or maybe you've been suffering from

a few too many

plans that have gone wrong

and you're trying to remember

how fine your life used to be

running around banging your drum

like it's nineteen seventy three

well, that was the river

this is the sea

The Waterboys:”This is the Sea”

Asa Cedar

“Asa is a little lady full of temperament after she became a great pop star.

She wants to be in control of what's going on around her. She wants to dictate the agenda. Maybe she has been pushed around too much by publishers and managers. On the cold island where she comes from, women have been emancipated for 1000 years...” Jay was talking to Pearly the same afternoon.

Gortex had come to pick Asa up just after Pearly had arrived from the exhibition. Yes you have noted so in your journal”, Pearly replied. “Yes I am telling you because she can be really nasty sometimes, when something goes against her will. She is not in the same category as Chet, but more infamous. So there might be some noise around here this week."

"OK, so my darling, how have you been with L.J. lately? Hear anything from him again? I like the little guy; maybe because he once was you? Do you have a picture of him from that time?" Pearly smiled when she was talking about L.J. Jay looked at her and said; "well, you should have heard him today! He really wiped the floor with me" "What? Why? Didn't you treat him well?" "Well, maybe I didn't. He was very cross with me and gave me a lesson about my reality and how I handle it nowadays... I tell you; it's going to be worse. He wants me somewhere far out from the ordinary man I am!"

"But you are not an ordinary man. I find you very extraordinary in your ways; you're an artist, you paint, you make extraordinary drawings and you play the guitar and sing.

You live thousand miles from your homeland, you have been staying and working in war zones for years, you have travelled the whole world, you speak many languages, you're a life coach and a good one with the capacity of intuition you have.

She looks at him and goes on saying:"and - you are a cute man!" She laughs and blushes a bit when saying that.

Jay laughs with her; "I know this my love, but this time and process is what I do in my life. I cannot be ordinary and mediocre. L.J. is pointing this out and and he wants me to follow up on this issue. "Expand", he tells me, "be what you truly are and can be; and he will push me there; all the way and by all means."

"Jay", Pearly, says, "I will be with you all the time. I am aware of your abilities. I have witnessed them for many years.

You are holding them back and I don't know why. Sometimes I have wanted to push you too."The door bell rang, but before any of then could rise up Asa came sailing in like a windjammer with colourful sails.

"Good evening you beautiful people!" she announced and came dancing towards them... "Are you ready to take me out for dinner?" Then she walked over to Pearly and looked her straight in the eyes saying:" Mmm, what a lovely partner you have found, Jay." Then she kissed Pearly on both cheeks and on her mouth. Pearly, as calm as ever says to her: "Thank you and it's nice to meet you too."

Jay notices the flash in Asa's black eyes; she feels inferior.

Pearly turns to Asa and says:"I'll be delighted to go out with you. Earl and Maria will probably come too. We have planned to go to TamAm tonight. They make good food there and the service is excellent. Does that sound all right for you?"

Asa is satisfied with Pearly's little speech and smiles at her and walk up to her again to giver a hug. "Yesss", she says, "let's go, shall we?"

So they all leave. Outside the gate there's a taxi. "I came with my favourite Greek driver to pick you up; not my sweet Polish one, but I'll meet him tomorrow." They all enter the taxi and off they go - for TamAm

Asa creates havoc

They stop at the end of Halidon and walk into the Topanas area or the old town as it's also called. It's been renovated and there's many cafe's and restaurants there among small souvenir shops and artists exhibitions and workshops...

Their destination is TamAm which is serving mainly Cretan

dishes, but also western food now in the tourist season. The service is very good and the place has a pleasant atmosphere. The older part of it is in the former basement with galleries along the walls.

Now Pearly, Asa and Jay is climbing down to the steep stairs and are shown to their booked table...

Asa is delighted by the ancient heavy stonework inside and she's looking forward to spend the night with her friends in this genuine Cretan atmosphere...

They sit down and order their dishes. Jay and Pearly know that the food will be prepared in the best manner and they're willing to wait for that reason. Asa has a totally different attitude to this; she wants her food immediately! She sulks like a teenager. Jay has to tell her that this is the style here; the longer they wait, the better the meal.

Asa is not willing to share this opinion; she waves at the waiter who is very busy serving at the next table. He hasn't got time for her, obviously. Then she rises up and screams: "I want to be served now!!" Jay pulls her sleeve and tells her to calm down; she will have her meal, but she has to wait like all the other guests. She sits down, but she is not satisfied. Jay fears that she will start again very soon, if the food doesn't arrive in two minutes. He looks at Pearly who stays calm, but she is alarmed by Asa's infantile behaviour. she whispers in Jay's ear: "I remember everything you have written about her and you're right!" She smiles at him and kisses his cheek.

So, finally; after five more agonizing minutes all the meals are placed before them with an excuse for the delay; so many guests to serve this evening. Asa looks up at him and screams again:"I am not used to wait for half an hour for a meal, my good waiter!" Then she sits down and looks at her chicken Souvlaki and frowns. "So this is the delicious food they serve here, Jay! How can you call this delicious, it doesn't even look nice on the plate!"

She starts eating like a child who is not happy with what she is served. She pushes the vegetables aside. She barely touches the food at all except for a couple of nuggets of chicken.

She gets some wine and do not behave like a child anymore, but like an alcoholic; she gulps down glass after glass of it and when the bottle is empty she orders champagne. The waiters are in miss of what to do with her... She has been recognized by some of the guests and the waiters are anxious to please her. She has her champagne in a cooler just by her seat and she is drinking straight from the bottle and in a few minutes it's all emptied. The guests around her are applauding. Something happens to her. She rises up and looks around at her audience as if she has just made a stage performance. She smiles and laughs and leaves her table. She takes a stroll around and talks with people and writes autographs. She sits down by some of the tables where there are young Greek men sitting. Soon she is into heavy kissing and groping with a couple of them.

Now the butler has been alarmed and he comes for her. He is a big Cretan with a huge black beard and dressed in black with a black knitted cap on his head; a traditional costume for Cretan men. He grabs her by her elbow and pulls her away from the young men who's had glorious moments to tell their friends about... The butler lifts her up; puts her underneath his arm and climbs up the stairs to the alley outside. He dumps her her there and stays by the door to prevent her from entering inside again. She starts hitting him in the stomach and swears with each punch. "Malakka!!" the butler screams an grabs her elbow again and drags her down the alley and leaves her far away from the restaurant.

Pearly looks at Jay and says:" what to do now?"

Jay, who has watched Asa's escapades all the time, like everyone else in the TamAm this evening, replies:" right now there is nothing I can do. She is a grown up woman and has to take responsibility for her own actions. Hopefully she will call or show up tomorrow and then we will have a session together and we'll see how that ends."

Pearly looks at him again, takes his hand in hers and says:"but shouldn't you...?" "No, my dear. I shouldn't. I have been talking with her many times about her unacceptable behaviour. This is a big problem for her. she is spoiled and that is actually her worst grief nowadays. Now she has to come back to another kind of reality. She will show up in a couple of days."

croenning@rocketmail.com