Here is a story of just how amazing this woman can be. The miracle Amber, as I called it.
         
It was not long after Demi’s funeral. And before Joey's death. Yeah I should put these in order, only I thought the happy story should follow the sad one, unless you want the last thing you read to be sad. There was a hot, humid rain. Let’s face it, rain in the city is not so great. But Amber, she’s always loved the rain. Says it heals and cleanses. It’s always cleansed her pain in ways a person can only imagine. I’m not giving credit to the rain for this afternoon, however. It was Amber that healed us.

          The band was pretty down. We had finished a song in Demi’s name. All of us were filled with memories and our hearts were weighed down. Amber had other plans. She looked out the window and announced that it was raining. No shit it was raining. It had been for a while. I think she was trying to break the silence that had fallen over us all.

          When no one responded, she got this look like “fine ignore me.” Then she grabbed Jordan’s hands and dragged him outside with her. He protested of course The boy hates to stand out. But Amber has been known to always get her way. Once outside (this was out front even, boy that woman…) Jordan stood under the awning. The rest of us were curious and ran to whatever windows faced the front sidewalk. There was no yard, when is there ever a yard in the part of San Francisco that people like me can afford? But there was hardly any traffic. I think Jordan was grateful for that. He looked somewhat worried and looked like he wanted to flee.

          Amber went out and stood in the rain on the sidewalk. She looked at Jordan and then stretched out her arms, looked up to the rain, and spun around. She began to dance. It was like a child enjoying the rain for the first time. Only it was sexy and beautiful. It was like the rain was new to her and she wanted to soak it all up. She had this look in her eyes. We call it her “come hither look.” It's a sort of mischievous look with a bright sparkle that makes you want to run away in fear of being dragged into something like dancing in the rain! But it also has you wanting to sit by and find out just what she is planning. She looked so free then. So alive.

           Eventually, Jordan could no longer resist. She took his hands and dragged him out into the rain with her. Jordan isn’t much of a dancer and it was hilarious to watch her try to get him to move.

          She jumped up into his arms then and wrapped her legs around him and he spun her around. It was the sweetest thing. I envied Jordan at that moment. Envied their love. They laughed and she leaned back, trusting him to not drop her. They were having so much fun, that the next thing I knew, I was the only one still inside. The others had joined in Amber’s rain dance.

          There’s a song that says “I can feel you like the rain.” That’s what went through my head at that moment. The rain is cleansing and healing. And Amber was the rain. A quick rush of something pure and natural. Something that left the world different than it was before.

          Of course, I joined. I really can’t dance. I am worse than Jordan. But she even got to me. She took my hands in hers and made me dance with her. I hadn’t laughed so much in a long time. And I don’t think I had ever been so free and not cared what the people on the street thought of me. The traffic, the shop owners, none of it mattered. Only the freedom to live my life. The absolute need to dance in the rain with her that day. That’s all we knew at that moment. And that was all Amber wanted. Just for us to let go and, "live the way we absolutely needed to live." (Amber's fave words)