I wish I could remember the name and location of the restaurant. It must either have been in midtown or the Village. It was small, intimate and down a set of stairs. In retrospect, it could have even been Joe Allen's.
We were seated at tables throughout the restaurant and it was mainly just our party there.
We were leaving the restaurant when my cousin Vinnie races outside to grab me and my mother to bring us back in. "I want you to meet someone," he says. Vinnie leads me over to a table where an older woman with striking, full white hair sits in a black pantsuit. She is dining with a female companion. Vinnie says, "Johnny, this is Alice Faye. She's a movie star and a singer." I shake her hand and notice the perceptible glow emanating from her. "Ms. Faye, this is my cousin John. He wants to be a movie star too." She looks at me -- a fat, short, awkward kid with big glasses and puffy hair -- and says, "Then you will be!"
She signs a napkin: To John-Vincent. With love, Alice Faye.
As we're getting up to leave Vinnie stops and looks at her. "Miss Faye. Will you sing something for us?" She smiles and nods and we kneel next to her. She very quietly sings the song "Rose of Washington Square." I look over at Vinnie and he has tears in his eyes. I don't know who this woman is, or what this song is, but I am certain I am privy to something special. She finishes the song, kisses our cheeks and we leave.
Vinnie is still crying. He puts his hand on my shoulder and whispers, "That was very special." We get on the bus and leave the island at the end of the world. But I know that I'll return soon.
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