LOVE LAS VEGAS
Theo Ruth Benji Oriana
One of Natalia's last wishes was to see LOVE in Las Vegas. She was a music hound, who made the best mix tapes, and CDs and downloads of anyone I ever knew. When she knew time was running out she announced that on of the last trips she wanted to make was to see Cirque de Soleil doing their Beatles show. She wanted to go with a crowd of her dearest friends, to have one last, crazy Vegas weekend. And she really did believe that All You Need Is Love.
Well, we never made it.
We tried, but times didn't work out, and then she was too sick to plan far enough ahead to accommodate ticket scarcity and a lot of busy women. She died without seeing LOVE.
We were in Vegas right before New Years for my brother's 40th birthday road trip. We blew out of town in a huge mini-van, packed with four children, four adults, lots of junk food and a Pooh tape featuring the voice of Lady Judi Dench that we listened to all across the Southwestern US. We booked rooms at the Mirage. As we drove into Vegas the huge billboards lit up the sky. "LOVE at the Mirage," it said.
It was like Nat speaking to me from beyond the grave. Nat, you still send a lot of messages!!!!
The show is always sold out. But we walked in and I got the LAST seat for the 10 p.m. show--a slightly obstructed view on the lower deck.
Confession: If I could live my life over (if I were born as a smaller, more limber person) I would join Cirque de Soleil.
So I went alone. Just me and Nat.
As I sat waiting for the extravaganza to start I thought how crazy it was that she had not made it. That we had not made sure she made it. Only a few hours away. And yet, she didn't make it.
It was dreamy. Like a long, crazy, hallucinatory, supremely sensual, wacky, acid-streaked LSD trip. She would have loved it.
It was my last date with Natalia. My good-bye for 2008. She will always be with me. But my period of deep mourning is over. She wants me to move on and live and love.
But you would have loved the show, Nat. You would have loved it!
