She had everything. A nice home, a caring father, close friends, and a gorgeous boyfriend. But of course, what Barbra Ellingson wanted most, she couldn't have. The sophisticated atmosphere of afternoon Manhattan swept through the streets and echoed on the faces of the merry pedestrians. Barbra sniffled from the cold New York winter, pulled her Burberry trench coat collar over her pale, exposed lips, and continued reading her copy of Great Expectations. It was her birthday, and she was reading a book that she read in seventh grade on a bench in Central Park. But whatever, you know? She was still the most popular girl in her class, and she was only alone because her dad and boyfriend were both out of town for business. Barbra sighed deeply as she looked over at a couple taking a stroll, Starbucks coffees in hand, deaf to anyone but themselves. She decided that she would not be sad today. Barbra again started reading her favorite Dickens' novel, but her mind wandered away from Pip and his girl problems. "What's Dad doing right now? What's Owen doing right now? Huh, better yet, what's my mom doing right now? The one who left me and Dad flat for what is it?Fifteen years now?" Her mom... Barbra’s dad had only told her that her mom’s name was Rachel. And that thought sparked an idea in Barbra Ellingson's brilliant yet not properly developed brain. "I will do something today. I will not waste my day, especially my birthday. Especially when any girl at Constance Billard Academy would kill to be in my shoes for a day. Besides, I'm Barbra freaking Ellingson."

Barbra walked across the worn out cement streets of New York and noticed how happy everyone seemed. True, it was winter in New York, but everyone seemed to appreciate each other and where they were. It was like a whole big family of socialites and entrepreneurs who, for once, didn't try to stab each other in the back. The clickity-clack of Barbra's Marc by Marc Jacobs peep toes just added to the signature sound of the Upper East Side-the people rushing to get to work, the honking of taxi cabs, the loud clamoring of people trying to shout over each other on their smart phones. Despite the noise, Barbra managed to think to herself. "I will find my mother today. But first, food." The lightning-fast ideas had driven Barbra's mind, and stomach, deprived of energy.

Barbra was model-thin, but that didn't stop her from eating like a Forever 21 plus size girl. Romero's was the Barbra Ellingson of hot dogs: super hot, uber famous , and the best of the bunch. The it-girl trotted down the street to the renowned hot dog place, sat down at a small table with two chairs, and ordered her usual brunch meal-a New York style hot dog with extra relish and a large icee. The atmosphere of the restaurant was dingy and crowded, but that was only because the owner didn't believe in fancy housing, and there were so many people enjoying their skillfully crafted hot dogs. After quietly indulging in yet another satisfier, Barbra waved over her check and searched through her Chanel tote for her purse. Feeling no usual contact with the soft Louis Vuitton leather, just the slightest bit of worry slid onto Barbra's face. She searched again, now more intensely, but still, no purse was to be found. "Aww crap...What am I gonna do?" The waiter who had dined on Barbra noticed that a bag was being searched, and no money was being paid, so he slowly floated over to her table.

"E-hem, excuse me ma'am, are you ready to pay?" the waiter inquired with a worldly air.

"Ummm, I think I left my purse at home," Barbra replied.
A wave of anguish flushed the waiter's face, and a wave of terror flushed the girl's. The waiter, Sam, according to his name tag, raised an eyebrow as if questioning whether the girl was serious.

"I'm very sorry, miss. If you can't pay the bill, I'm afraid I am going to have to call the police."

"Oh, no, no, no. Please don't do that!" Barbra squeaked, "I have money, I swear. I'm Barbra Ellingson, daughter of Charles Ellingson. My dad owns a multi-million dollar franchise."

"Unfortunately, calling the cops is my only option. Unless your father or anyone you know can come and help you." Sam replied bluntly.

"I don't," Barbra whispered abashedly.
The waiter turned around to make the dreaded phone call, when suddenly,

"Wait!" an unknown woman cried.

Both the confused waiter and the even more confused Barbra turned around to answer the mystery voice. It was the woman sitting at the table behind Barbray. The middle-aged woman was also sitting alone at her little table reading another Dickens' classic, A Tale of Two Cities.

"I'm covering the girl's bill. Gimme the check."
The waiter, baffled yet again but still following orders, brought the check from a table with no money to a table with some, at least. As Barbra sat jaw dropped, the woman fulfilled the check, and the waiter left quietly. Barbra broke out of her hypnosis and leaned over to the stranger.

"Wow, you really didn't have to do that, thank you so much. You literally just saved my life." Barbra spilled upon the woman. "May I know your name?"
The woman looked up at Barbra's genuine face and smiled, saying,

"The name's Loreen. I'm glad to be of service. Just trying to do nice gestures for people, and you looked like you were one nice gesture short."
Both women smiled at the same time.

"Well, thank you again Loreen. I'm Barbra, Barbra Ellingson, by the way. Do you mind if I join you?" Barbra inquired.

"Why, of course you may!" Loreen replied enthusiastically.
Barbra slung back her Chanel and pulled a chair at the odd woman's table.

"Oh, Tale of Two Cities is such a classic!" Barbra quipped, "And Dickens is such a legend."

"Oh, pretty girl you tell it well." Loreen drawled.

"Do I sense a bit of a Southern accent in your voice? You're not from New York are you?" Barbra asked surprisedly.
Loreen sighed, looked straight at her new, young guest, and something changed in her eyes. Like she had been waiting for this moment for a long time. The smile that she shined at that moment was for no one else but herself.

"Well, I was born and raised in Tennessee. One magical night, I meet this guy, big New York business guy, at a local bar. We got to know each other, apparently he had flown in from the east for some important business meeting. We fell in love, and he tells me, 'Let's go to new York, we can live there together forever.' And silly me, I believe him, drop everything, and leave. We got married, had a beautiful little girl, and everything was going swell. But then he would always be gone from home, working, not caring for his wife or daughter. We fought and fought until there was no more yell in our voices, no more glass to break in anger. So two years after my baby girl was born, we split from each other. He took my daughter, I became someone else."
Barbra sat mystified, hypnotized by the reality of love.

"Have you spoken to your daughter or your ex-husband after your split?" Barbra asked nervously.

"No, dearie, I left New York after we were no more. Flew back to Tennessee to see if my family would forgive my running away. And they didn't." Loreen looked down at her open copy of Tale of Two Cities with nothing but shame in her withered eyes. She closed the book and continued, "They told me that what I had done was unforgivable and to never talk to them again and to never, ever call Tennessee home. So I came back here because this was the only other place in this world that I knew. New York. I kept my distance from him, but that came with a price. I never saw my daughter again." Now the shameful eyes were sad and regretful, but also weary and tired. Then she became conscious of the listener at hand and quickly tried to change the mood. "But enough about me, what about you, sweetheart, what's your glamorous life like?"
Barbra, too, snapped back into her senses and took a deep breath, preparing to tell the follow-up Chapter Two of The Lonely Lives of Loreen and Barbra series.

"Today's my birthday, and my dad and boyfriend are out of town. But of course, I'm not gonna sit around, I'm gonna find my mother who disappeared when I was a child. Her name was Rachel. That’s all my dad every told me about her. You know that's weird. Our stories could go hand in hand if only you had just left instead of divorced. My mom left me and my dad when I was just a kid. That's so weird, right? Can I have a nacho?" Barbra talked too easily. Loreen just smiled at the girl's peaceful face, internally asked God to never put upon this child what she herself had experienced in life, and pushed the tray closer to Lindsey. The girl took a chip, pampered it with even more cheese, and dunked it into her mouth. Feeling at ease at last since the after the hot dog brunch frenzy, Barbra sat back on her wooden Romero's chair. She took a few more nachos and made some more small talk to kind Loreen. Before she knew it and after the beeping on Loreen's watch went off, it had already become six o'clock.

"Oh my god, look at the time!" Barbra wailed, "Ugh, I haven't even found a way to search for my mother, and it's already six." "Loreen, thank you for all you've done for me today. If you ever need any help, please call me." Barbra pushed back her chair, grabbed her handbag, and picked up a napkin. She got out a pen and scribbled her phone number on the rumpled napkin.

"Here you go!" Barbra smiled her signature Mona Lisa smile and handed Loreen the number on the napkin. The two smiled at each other and shared an intimate hug.
"Well, goodbye Loreen, I'll see you around." With a last parting smile, Barbra exited out of Romero's. On the chilly and barren New York street, Barbra inhaled, exhaled, and implanted in her mind an even stronger determination to stop being pitied and make use of the rest of the day.

“Wait!” the voice that had saved Barbra before had come to redeem her this time.

“Yes?” Barbra turned around to face the source of the voice, again Loreen.

“This is really hard to say...” Loreen dragged on.

“I’m listening?” Barbra squinted her eyes and drew closer.

“Your mother-your mother, I knew her. When I first moved here from Tennessee, she helped me get around this crazy city because my husband was never around to do it himself. Rachel Ellingson, oh what a queen. Your mother was a fine woman, mind you. The envy of girls everywhere, just like you.”

“What? Well, do you know what happened to her? Why she left, why she didn’t try to come see me?” Barbra asked, craving every bit of information she could squeeze out of Loreen.

“See, that’s the hard part-your mother died in a car crash. Your dad talked to me and said he didn’t want you knowing until you were in college.”
Barbra gasped, she couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t breathe. She sat down on an apartment step and put her hands to her face.

“I can’t believe this. How is this possible?”

“Your father thought it best if you would just think she disappeared. I told him you deserved the truth, but you were his daughter, so his word above mine.”
Tears rolled down Barbra’s cold, rosy cheeks, dropped, and diminished.

“It will be hard to get over. But we did and so will you. She is watching you from heaven right now, sweetheart.” Loreen softened.
Barbra stifled her sniffles, looked at Loreen, and the two hugged. It was the most intimate hug Barbra had ever experienced, and she felt her mother’s love in Loreen’s hug.

“Thank you, Loreen” Barbra replied, getting a tissue out of her Chanel.

“You will get through this, luvy, you will.”
As the night wore on, Barbra’s tears eventually stopped dripping. Loreen’s and Barbra’s hands enveloped each other’s and the night cradled them until dawn.