GrowingOlderHopeWiser

The machine whirred and dinged. Lights flashed, and it spoke with a foreign accent. Isabel had put in that special Buffalo Nickel she had found under the boardwalk in Long Branch, New Jersey. She often went there to collect coins people dropped from the boardwalk. It was a gig better than collecting soda pop bottles. 

“What you see depends on what you’re looking for…” 

The machine boomed, startling Isabel.

“Looking for?” Isabel found herself talking to the animatronic character “Zoltar.”

“Beware the half-truth; you may have the wrong half…”

“You messing with me now?” Isabel said, posing as if she were cool.

“When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.”

Isabel chuckled. She wasn’t about to get into it with this machine, even if it was being a wise guy.

“Dude, stop messing around and give me my fortune!”

“The best place to find a helping hand is at the end of your arm.”

As the machine whirred and banged again, the crystal ball released blue smoke, and the whole wooden case shook like a washing machine gone rogue. 

“Dude, calm down, what if I said, please give me my fortune?”

Zoltar stood still

“Do not miss out on something great just because it may be difficult”

“Look, I gave you my lucky Buffalo Nickel. I think it deserves a fortune.”

“A goal without a plan is merely a wish”

“I’ll take a wish,” Isabel said, getting all flustered.

“Put your future in good hands, your own.’’ 

“I wish for world peace, there I said it!”

Whoosh! All the humans disappeared.

“Everyone smiles in the same language”

Zoltar begins to laugh loudly.

Chapter 2

Such a drama queen, Zoltar, Isabel thought to herself as she walked down the Boardwalk, clutching her golden fortune ticket. “Find what you are looking for” was printed on it in a flourish. And fancy, too! she continued her musings. What am I looking for? She reached into the pocket of her cargo shorts. Slim pickings today, not many coins under the boardwalk. She pulled out a handful of coins and counted to see if she had enough for an egg cream at Max’s soda shop. They made the best. They used real Fox’s U-Bet chocolate syrup, served in a tall glass so cold it frosted over with bubbles. Yep! Life was good; she had enough. 

The boardwalk felt warm through her flip-flops, and the fresh ocean breeze made her stomach grumble with hunger, the good kind of hunger you feel after spending a couple of hours on the beach. She reached Max’s and ordered her egg cream, ah, heaven. She sat outside on the tall stool and counter, and people watched from her perch. Isabel was 14, the age between the magic of what was and the possibility of what will be. And she was street-savvy; she had to be walking alone on the Jersey Shore. Mom worked all day at the Lido Spa, serving fancy, rich people trying to lose weight and look pretty. She was a latchkey kid; home was a tiny bungalow. Next door lived a Saint Bernard who loved to scare her mom when she came home by standing on its hind legs to greet her. Yep! Mom is home, thought Isabel when she heard the familiar scream.

Isabel made her way to where the rides were and the record booth, where you could shoot water through a gun hose, burst a balloon, and win a 45. The guy there was a lot older but a cute Jersey boy, and she had enough coins to try her luck at winning a record single.  The new hit “Mr. Big Stuff” was playing as she approached the record booth. 

“Hi, gorgeous, trying your luck today?” Smooth-talking Eddie is always trying his best to charm the girls. 

“Set me up, I only got one shot” 

“Okay, little lady, your wish is my command”

Isabel shut one eye and aimed right above the open mouth of the clown, the sweet spot. Isabel was good at it. She won herself a copy of Mr. Big Stuff. The day was going well. She pulled out her Golden Fortune Ticket and read it to Eddie. 

“Find what you’re looking for.” “What are you looking for, little lady?”

“I guess I’ll know when I find it.” “What are you looking for, Eddie?” 

“Someday, I’ll own my own record store downtown, not just 45s, but whole long-playing records with cool album covers and maybe some picture disks. I’d have a recording booth where people can record their own records.”

“It sounds like you know what you are looking for, Eddie,” Isabel said.

“Tomorrow is my Birthday, I’ll be 15” 

“Wow,” said Eddie, and gave Isabel an extra 45 on the house. You’ve Got a Friend, a recording by James Taylor.

“Today is my lucky day!” She tucked away her two new 45s and headed to the bungalow to play them on her record player. 

She tried on the new birthday dress that Aunt Mary made for her. Aunt Mary was her legal guardian, and she was only spending the summer with her mom. Mom was taking her to dinner at Giovanni’s Italian Restaurant. She was humming and singing along to her records as she twirled in front of the mirror in her new dress, which was sky blue, her favorite color, sleeveless, and perfect for summer. The Golden Ticket was on the Dresser now, with its fancy message. Isabel tried to think about what she was looking for. Eddie seemed to know exactly what he was looking for. 

At Giovanni’s, Mom arranged for the singer to come over to the table and sing for Isabel, not Happy Birthday, but a real romantic Italian song, Volare. Isabel melted into his dreamy, dark Italian eyes. She was beginning to feel things like never before. She looked into her mom’s hardworking eyes, and she wanted with all her heart for her mom not to have to work so hard all the time. That they all could be together again as a family, she missed her brothers and her sister. 

“What you see depends on what you’re looking for…” Isabel remembered Zoltar’s booming advice. She saw that everything was okay today; it was a good day. She got to walk in the sun, listen to the waves, smell the fresh ocean air by the Jersey Shore, enjoy a delicious egg cream, win a new 45 for her collection, and even get a nice present from Eddie. She also got her first romantic serenade. 

The summer was coming to an end, and she would have to return to boarding school. She would be a sophomore this year at Mary Help of Christians Academy. Aunt Mary did not want her to take the bus to high school in the City. 

Chapter 3

Only this summer was different; she made a life-changing decision. Her mom asked her to come live with her in Miami Beach. Isabel jumped at the chance. They left that night, packed their bags quickly, and stayed at a hotel overnight to catch the morning train to Florida. It all happened so quickly that Isabel had no time to think things through. They had left the luggage in the car downstairs, in front of the New York hotel. The luggage was stolen, and Isabel had nothing left but the clothes on her back, an overnight bag, and her guitar. She felt a mix of anticipation and dread. 

“When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.” Zoltar again in her mind. 

Maybe it was not such a good idea to go live with her mom in Miami Beach. But it was too late; the wheels were already in motion. The train ride was long and uncomfortable. When Isabel finally arrived in Miami Beach, the heat was in the 90s, and her long hair felt like a winter hat. 

“Do not miss out on something great just because it may be difficult.” 

Life can be an adventure, they say. Isabel, focused again on the possibilities rather than the losses. Her Mom enrolled her in Public High School, Beach High, which was co-ed, and the apartment was right on Ocean Drive and 10th Street. She got to enjoy every sunrise and sunset, the beautiful palm trees, and the ocean breeze. Isabel, connected to her Cuban roots, enjoyed the food, the music, and the game of cubilete on the corner of 5th Street and Ocean Drive. 

“Put your future in good hands, your own.” She could not erase that darn Zoltar from her mind.

She took art classes in high school and decided she wanted to study advertising art, so she quit Beach High and went to Lindsey Hopkins Education Center instead to study commercial advertising art and finish high school in night school. Now she had a goal and a plan. She found what she was looking for.