Kiss of Life

"Everyone who's anyone is here!" Alexandra Bradford whispered to herself while sitting in the front row of the historic Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. Although it was presently Friday, December 1, 2017, she clearly remembered saying those very same words in the very same coliseum, some twenty-two years ago. Turning around, Alexandra looked up several rows to where she had sat that time long ago and began reliving the seventy-minute event as if it had occurred only yesterday...

On Monday, January 2, 1995, Alexandra carefully observed the crowd considered both talented and powerful in the music and entertainment industry. She noticed only an occasional exception among the multitude of celebrated personalities and certainly considered herself one of the very few.

Nevertheless, many considered the forty-two-year-old Alexandra Bradford an entertaining novelist, although she didn't feel like one on that particular day. In fact, she felt like an outsider completely out of her element in the crowd she regarded as famed, foreign and totally removed from the simple life she shared with her fourteen-year-old daughter, Jacqueline.

On that sunny southern California afternoon, Alexandra recognized several popular musical groups, literally ranging from A to Z. There was the well-liked Swedish Ace of Base, the incomparable Aerosmith, the more recently popular Counting Crows, and the wholesome and harmonious Boyz II Men. Even Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, two original members of the legendary rock band Led Zeppelin from the late sixties and seventies were there.

Next, Alexandra identified the award-winning music producer, David Foster, noticing his smooth fair-skinned face, glancing at his dark brown hair that had a touch of gray. She also saw the acclaimed entertainment producer, Quincy Jones, and recalled many of his original musical compositions.

The occasion, to her surprise, reminded Alexandra of a Grammy Awards gala, which she vividly remembered watching on television, and many of the motley mass were dressed colorfully as if they were attending the highly prized extravaganza. But when Alexandra eyed Aretha Franklin and Carole King's conservative black dresses, and looked at the two notable singers' somber faces, reality surfaced as to why everyone had gathered—the memorial service for Sean Adams.

Sean Adams had been one of England's most talented songwriters and successful contemporary pop singers, but Alexandra also knew he was considered every woman's fantasy lover. Scanning several large photographs of him on-stage, she eyed Sean's curly hair, long and blond, which hung down loose and slightly wild, admiring his extraordinary handsomeness while focusing on his creamy complexion and dazzling blue eyes. All at once, Alexandra understood why many women were completely captivated by him.

As the service progressed, Alexandra smiled warmly as she listened to Sean's music playing softly in the back-ground. But suddenly, she became oddly upset when his twenty-one-year-old son, Eric Adams, walked towards the stage. She gasped in disbelief as if she were seeing a ghost and instantly tears streamed uncontrollably down her dark brown face. It must have been Eric's uncanny resemblance to his father that made her think of the devastating car accident that had caused Sean Adams's premature death at age forty-four.

On-stage, Eric spoke emotionally about his father's love of music, then paused for several seconds and lowered his head. As a watchful silence enveloped the auditorium, he raised his head, cleared his throat and gathered his thoughts. Then, as enthusiastically as possible, he started speaking again. He mentioned how much his father had looked forward to playing the leading man in the upcoming Vision Films motion picture, Kiss of Life.

Shortly thereafter, the memorial service ended.