Other Teresa Short Story
Other Teresa stands at the kitchen stove patiently waiting for the song of her tea kettle to scream out into the silence of the summer night. She avidly leans headfirst into idioms to prove the right or better yet, to prove to herself flower petals on the lips of liars are the birth of exaggeration. “A watched pot never boils, huh. It takes the same amount of time as if I wasn’t looking, why do people say that?” She asks herself quietly. The small black kettle whistles loudly and steam lifts from its spout into the kitchen. In the front room, Janetta clicks on the record player and lays down Nirvana’s “MTV Unplugged in New York” album onto the armoire sized deck and with a crackle, “About a Girl” begins playing. The sounds of the hi-fi player dance through the rooms filling the house angst. Other Teresa watches the steam rise and it seems to mingle with the waves of music come from the other room, entangling, and then dissipating on the ceiling in the center of the room.
“Janetta, I love this album!”
“Yeah, I’m feeling a little angsty.”
“Well, this is the first actual meeting of the Night Train Widows, so that is just fine.” Other Teresa responds quickly, and then clarifies, “you wanted black tea or green was it?”
“Either one is fine. Two sugars either way, please!”
“Black tea it is! This one is my favorite. I got it when I was in Louisville last.”
“Okay!”
Other Teresa lovingly pours the near boiling water over the two sugar cubes in the two mugs on the counter. She places them on the flowery tray and carries the cookies, tea and honey into the front room where Janetta is sitting patiently with her eyes closed, bopping her head to the music on the record player.
“I know it’s annoying being stuck here while they get to go play, but it’s gonna be alright, Janetta.”
“Yeah, I know, Other Teresa, it just wears on me a bit, I suppose.”
“Well, drink up, hopefully the nice warm tea and that lovely breeze through the windows will lift your spirits and we can jam out to Nirvana here and everything will be alright.
Some time later…
“David, honey, will you come over?”
“Yes, my lovely? What can I do for you?”
Other Teresa intently stares into the screen deep in thought, “Well, I’m trying to think of a nickname for this Tom Petty chatroom. I’m figuring it’s between Luna and Magnolia, and I’m not too keen on Magnolia. You think Luna is a good fit?”
“Well, what about Echo? That one just came out. It’s a good’n.”
“My goodness, that’s a fantastic idea. I will literally just repeat whatever is the line above mine when I type it out. I love that. Echo it is.”
Other Teresa furiously punches in Echo and leans back frustrated when the error message pops up saying, “That username is taken.” Resolute, Other Teresa types ‘EchoTP’ which is accepted, and she begins furiously contributing to the conversation by repeating random things posted in the chatroom and signing them “-TP.” People are tolerant at first on the off chance this is actually Tom Petty, but deep in their hearts they know, it’s not Tom Petty and the annoyance of having their ideas repeated over and over lead to temporary bans from the chatrooms.
Inspired, Other Teresa begins to double up every entry in her nightly journal with a copy of everything she was inspired to write, paint, sketch or doodle. She signs every original page with ‘lovingly, Other Teresa’ and the copies she signs ‘lovingly Other Echo.’ She fills piles of notebooks with sketches, poems, and eventually songs. She builds them with two identical verses, a chorus that is never repeated, two more identical versus and a bridge that repeats four notes for 8 stanzas. Every compilation is a delight and fills the mischievous imp inside her with endless gladness. Whereas her original intention was to playfully be a bother, her popularity on message boards, chatrooms and even community events where she presented some of her spoken word poetry and several of the songs she’d written, rose to a measure where she was requested any time local music festivals gathered talent.
Days come and go. Days come and go…
Other David gathers his things and calls out for Other Teresa, “Sweetheart, you about ready? We should probably leave here in just a few minutes.” He hears a voice call back from the bedroom, “Could you say that again?”
“Sweetheart, you about ready? We should probably leave here in just a few minutes.”
Bursting from the bedroom, Other Teresa is fully dressed in her performance outfit. She wears two t-shirts, one has a low-cut neck to expose the identical shirt underneath and two skirts, one slightly longer than the other. The quirkiness of the performances has endeared her to and ever-growing audience, and she has leaned into it heavily.
The two move toward the car, carefully packing everything into the back and driving in silence to the show, hand in hand, enjoying the drive through the Eastern Kentucky hills amidst the trees whose color is slowly changing with the season.
“Next on stage, you love her, I love her, we all love her, Other ECHO!!!” The crowd joins in as the announcer repeats himself, “Next on the stage, you love her, I love her, we all love her, Other ECHO!!” Other Teresa walks up from behind the stage to a roar of applause and chanting of Echo. Shyly, she approaches the microphone, “Oh my goodness.” The crowd again joins in, “Oh my goodness.” She smiles from ear to ear and bashfully looks at the ground as she settles herself into her position at the center of the stage. “So, you know how it goes?” Without prompting, everyone in attendance joins in with the repeat, “So, you know how it goes?” “Well, if we all know where we are and there’s no need to explain, this first one is ‘Repeat After Me.’” In unison, the room shouts, “Well, if we all know where we are and there’s no need to explain, this first one is ‘Repeat After Me!’” followed by bellowing cheer and an uproar of applause.
Exhausted from the energy she puts into every performance and a bit of mouth fatigue cause Other Teresa to be reticent to engage with fans as Other Echo after shows. The love for her character she inspires generates some energetic encounters that fill the room with waves of the same sound. Her first album, ‘Deep Cries Out to Deep’ went Platinum, and has brought her fans from around the world.
“Miss Other Echo, h-h-h-hi. I’m-m-m your bigg-g-g-ggest fan.” Other Teresa looks down at the young girl clutching a CD of ‘Deep Cries Out to Deep,’ and on her shirt is a photo of Other Teresa in her now famous costume of the double shirt and skirt. “I r-r-really l-l-love the way y-y-you repe-repe-repeat every son-son-song like that.”
Other Teresa’s eyes well up and tears stream down the sides of her cheeks. “Why thank you, sweetheart. You know, Other Echo is a character I play, and I never imagined she would mean so much to so many people. I am honored to see you wearing my shirt. I love it.” Noticing the little girl has two collars Other Teresa continues, “Do you have two shirts on?”
“Yes, I d-d-d-o!” She holds down the undershirt and pulls up the outer shirt adorned with Other Echo’s face. The image on the shirt underneath is worn and there are holes around the collar and at the hem.
“Oh honey, that shirt has been through a lot, hasn’t it? Well, let’s go ahead and fix that.” Other Teresa looks up at the little girl’s mother who is desperately fighting back tears of her own who quietly mouths ‘thank you.’ She reaches out to the little girl, taking her by the hand and walks her over to the Other Echo merchandise table and picks out two identical t-shirts. She pulls from her pocket a silver sharpie and asks, “What’s your name, sweetie?”
Beaming, the little girl, eyes bright and smile wide, says emphatically, “It’s L-l-l-luna!”
“Well, I love that name! I love it!” She signs the t-shirt, ‘To Luna Luna, with all the love my little heart can muster, Other Echo Other Echo.”
She hugs the munchkin and as the little fan walks away, the cheers of her mother mingle with the child screaming, “I love it, I love it, I love it, I love it, I love it, I love it, I love it, I love it, I love it, I love it.”
The End
