“Well, see you around,” said Mindy, pushing herself up from the stool next to Susan. She started to say something else but decided against it. She just smiled, then turned and walked away. It was so obvious Susan would soon surrender to James. Susan just didn’t know it yet.
Susan looked over at the girls on the other side of the room, who were all deadly silent, glaring at her. James didn’t notice as he took off his guitar and walked over to her.
“Come watch me pack my gear up and then we can get out of here,” he said. He took her hand, and they stepped up onto the stage area where all the boys were unplugging their instruments and carrying everything to the practice room upstairs before taking them out to their cars.
One of the girls from the other side of the room came up to the front and said loudly, “Us English girls not good enough for you anymore, Jimmie? Prefer the American whore to us, do ya?”
James spun around. “Get yourself out of here, Sara. What I do is none of your business.”
“Well, it is when my best friend is having her heart broken over you.”
“You mean Hilary? She doesn’t have a heart. She just wanted me to increase her consequence so she could climb the ladder to a more popular bloke with more money. You know that as well as I do.”
“You didn’t seem to mind her so much when she gave herself to you...in fact...”
“Stop, Sara...just because the bloke with the other band decided he didn’t want her anymore, doesn’t mean she can come running back to me. She sickens me. I don’t even know why you decided to be her friend other than you feel sorry for her.”
Sara turned to Susan. “Just wait, little American girl...just you wait until he’s sick of you. It always happens you know...he’s had just about every girl that was in the room tonight at one time or another.”
“Get out!” yelled James.
Derek looked over at Sara. “Better leave, Sara,” he advised.
She glared at Susan with hatred so intense that Susan took a few steps backward and almost knocked over a speaker. Sara smirked, then turned and walked away.
“Watch your back, little girl,” she flung over her shoulder. “Hilary won’t let this drop, you know.”
Susan, shaken by the encounter, was at a loss for words.
“I’m sorry,” said James, motioning for her to follow him upstairs into the practice room.
“Please don’t worry yourself about anything she said. I made a big mistake when I hooked up with Hilary. It looks like I’m going to be regretting it a lot longer. Sara’s not such a bad person, in fact, she’s quite nice. Ian goes out with her from time to time. She should never have become friends with Hilary. It’s Hilary that’s tellin’ her what to do and say.”
Susan sighed. “That’s okay. She just kind of frightened me, that’s all.”
James and the boys had to make several trips out to their cars with all their gear. They wouldn’t be playing at the club again until Tuesday, so they took their stuff home in case they wanted to get together somewhere else or in case they individually wanted to work out a new tune. Their Dusky nights were Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday, which meant James would have all day Sunday and Monday off.
James opened the passenger door of his car, and Susan got in. He got in on the other side and started it up.
“Mind if we stop off at my house before we head out somewhere else so I can drop my gear off?” James asked.
“Why no, of course not,” she replied. “Where else are we going tonight?”
“Well, first I thought I might freshen up a bit, you know, wash the stuff out of my hair...”
She turned and looked at him. “Are you doing that for me?”
“Yeah...I guess I am.”
“I’m flattered...thank you.”
“I was hoping maybe later you’d run your fingers through my hair.”
“Hmmmm...Were you? ...I knew there would be an ulterior motive.”
“I also thought we could head down to the docks and peek in some clubs there.”
“Sounds fine to me.”
***
The first thing Susan noticed when they walked in the front door and James switched on the light was the piano up against the back wall of the main room. James saw her looking at it.
“Yeah, that’s the piano my dad taught me to play on. My mum used to play it too. They’d sit there on that bench and play tunes together.”
“Oh, how sweet! Making music together. That must have been very special for you.”
“It was. My dad still sits there and plays the same tunes, mostly American ragtime...you know, Scott Joplin...Hey, I’m gonna run upstairs real fast like, run my head under some water and make a quick change. Make yourself at home; I’ll only be a few minutes.”
She smiled, looked around and sat down in a big armchair. The room smelled faintly of tobacco smoke, like pipe smoke. It was much nicer than the cigarette smell from the club.
After a minute, she stood up and went over to the piano. She sat down wondering if she really could now play. Had Mika given her the gift? “Might as well test it out,” she thought. “Hmmm...I wonder if I know anything by heart...”
She put her hands on the keys and started playing. “Moonlight Sonata” came flowing out of her hands as they moved across the keyboard. She closed her eyes, and with a deep and gratified sigh, played on. This was great!
As she finished, she heard clapping behind her and spun around on the piano bench. An older man in a bathrobe was looking at her intently with a pleasant smile on his face.
“Very nice, very nice indeed,” he said, coming over and extending his hand. “You must be the American girl James told me about. I’m his dad, Melvin. Just call me Mel.”
“Oh! I’m so, so sorry!” she said contritely. “I didn’t realize anyone else was at home...James never said...I just wasn’t thinking...I must have woke you up!”
“No matter at all, dear. I’m a light sleeper, and I found your playing quite delightful. Might you want to play something else for me?”
“Oh, no...no...I’m not very good you see...”
“There’s some sheet music in the piano bench. Get up a moment and let me get it.”
He came over to the piano bench as she stood up. He opened it and took out some sheets of music and set them up on the piano.
“Have you ever played any Scott Joplin?”
“Um...no...I don’t believe I have.”
“Well, since I’m up and you’re here...where is James by the way?”
“He went upstairs to wash that horrible greasy stuff out of his hair...oh geez...I shouldn’t have said that. I suppose it’s all the rage and everything...but I didn’t mean to be insulting.”
“No need to apologize; I think it’s quite appalling myself, and so does James Well, while we’re waiting, why don’t you come sit down on the piano bench, and we’ll play this together?”
“Oh my! I really couldn’t...I mean shouldn’t I’m sure I’m not near good enough.”
“Of course you are; now come and sit down with me. I’ll play the right hand, the hard part...” He grinned at her. “You just play the left hand, and I’ll do the foot pedals.”
He sat down on the piano bench invitingly. She shrugged her shoulders. “Oh well...here goes,” she thought. “I hope I don’t make a fool of myself.”
“Ready then?”
Both of their hands hit the keys at once, Mel’s fingers flying and Susan’s playing rather tentatively.
“Give it more gusto!” said Mel. “Come on now; I know you can!”
She read the music and played, doing her best to follow his lead, and soon found that she was having fun. This was quite fabulous, being able to play the piano. Mel flipped the pages of music as the song went on. It was “The Entertainer,” Susan recognized, thinking of the movie in the future in which it was the featured song. Mel and Susan were both laughing as the tune ended.
They heard clapping behind them. For the second time, Susan spun around on the piano bench, and there was James.
His hair looked clean and fresh but was still a little damp. He wore dark trousers and a long-sleeved shirt and looked stunningly handsome. He shook his head in an attempt to dry his hair and Susan stifled a gasp. This was the James she remembered falling in love with from afar at a concert in August 1964, a concert that hadn’t even happened yet.
And here he was in front of her now, young and exuberant, his career and world-shattering popularity on the brink of happening. For all his sexual innuendos and outrageous flirting with her, he still looked so open, honest and…gentlemanly. So...so...darn desirable! Damn it all! She shook her head to try and clear her thoughts.
Mel was observing Susan looking at James and James looking at Susan. It was easy to see the attraction between them. In fact, he could almost feel it crackling in the air.
“Trying to steal my girl away from me, are ya Dad?” James asked.
“Sure and why not!” responded Mel. “She’s a fine piano player and very pretty on top of it.”
James grinned. “Yeah, she is very pretty; I don’t believe I’ve told her yet.” Susan blushed and started fingering the silver ballet shoes on her necklace.
“Play a tune with James, will you?” said Mel, getting up from the piano bench and looking at Susan. “Come on over here, Jimmie, and make some music with your new girlfriend.”
Susan almost choked. She was his new girlfriend, was she? Just how much had James told his dad about her anyway? She hadn’t even been here that long!
James came over and sat down, flipping through the music on top of the piano. They were sitting so close together that his thigh was touching hers. It sent uncontrollable shivers down her spine. She moved over an inch, but there was no more room on the piano bench.
“Ah! ‘The American Beauty Rag’ ...sounds like a good one.”
He smiled at her.
He placed the music so they could both see it and started to play. She joined in. Mel tapped his foot along in time to the music. As it ended, they all clapped.
“Very nice,” complimented Mel. “You’ll come back and play sometime again, won’t you?”
“Well, maybe I will...” She looked at James as she slid off the piano bench and stood up.
“Yeah, Dad, I’ll bring her back sometime soon.”
“Excuse me,” Susan said. “But, may I use your bathroom, please?”
“Oh, sure,” responded Mel, pointing. “Right up the stairs there, door on your left at the top.”
Susan thanked him and went up the stairs. Both James and Mel heard the bathroom door close.
“So then, you told me this morning you’d met an American girl last night at the club, who I can only assume is this Susan here. A delightful little thing. How old is she?” asked Mel.
“Didn’t ask, Dad, but you have to be eighteen to get into the club, you know,” James responded.
“Well, she doesn’t look that old to me. Too fresh and innocent looking. And that dress she’s wearing; looks like she’s ready to attend a church service. She must have stood out in the club.”
“Yeah, she did. Ian noticed her right off and pointed her out to me. It was odd. One minute she wasn’t there, and then all of a sudden she was. Almost like she appeared out of nowhere.”
“Well, I guess if she was in the club, she must be at least eighteen, but it concerns me with you and your way with the girls. The ones you and the boys hang around with have all been around the block; you know what I’m saying? This one looks untouched.”
“Yeah, she rather does.” James remembered his conversation with her out in the alley at the practice, where she all but admitted that she was a virgin.
“So where in America is she from? Are her parents with her?”
“She’s from California, and no, her parents aren’t with her. Her dad passed away when she was seven. She’s a college student here on a history tour with a group of other students. The others, though, are delayed in getting here.”
“So, she’s here all alone?” Mel sounded shocked.
“That’s what she tells me. I’m volunteering to protect her until the others arrive.”
“You protect her?!! She needs to be protected from you!”
“Now, Dad, I can behave if I want to.”
“Well, that’s the question then; do you want to?”
Just then, they heard Susan coming down the stairs.
Mel turned to James, lowering his voice and said, “She seems a good girl, Jimmie. Don’t be misbehaving with her, okay.”
“Sure thing, Dad.”
Susan went to pick up her purse, thinking about James’s dad. She liked him. She hoped they’d be able to come back sometime during the week and see him again. Playing the piano was fun. She wondered if she could play “Fur Elise.”
“We’re off then, Dad,” said James. “Thanks for entertaining my girl.”
She looked at him. He’d called her “my girl” twice now. This was just getting downright ridiculous! She shook her head as if to clear her thoughts.
Susan and James left and got back into his car.
“So, where exactly are we going,” she asked.
“I thought we’d drive down to the wharf, kinda near where you and Sandra were today. There’s a couple of clubs down there that have other bands that sing later than we do, some of them all night. A lot of the sailors from the ships come in and join in the singing. Anyone who’s there can jump up and sing.”
“Oh, like karaoke?” she asked. “What’s that?”
“Oh, something they do in America where people go up and sing in bars.”
She thought, “There I go again, blurting out something from the future that makes no sense to him.”
James parked the car down by the wharf, and they walked up and down a few streets, past a few clubs and bars with the sound of music drifting out the doors. They went into the next’one, where James was greeted by a few friends he knew. He introduced Susan to them, and they all sat together at a small table near the back. James’s friends were looking at him a little oddly. Susan thought it was likely because he’d lost his usual scruffy look and they were finding it amusing. It was also, no doubt, due to the way she was dressed. She didn’t see any other girls in the room dressed like June Cleaver.
Various people were taking the stage to sing at the front of the bar, none of them very accomplished singers, but the music wasn’t so bad. James’s friends urged him to go up and sing, but he refused, not wanting to leave Susan alone with strangers. After about a half hour and drinking a mug of beer, Susan looked at her watch and said, “Oh gee! It’s after 2:30 already! I should be getting back. You keep me up too late!”
They said goodbye to James’s friends and left the bar, James holding Susan’s hand. It felt so good to her, but she knew she was in dangerous territory with him. It gave her chill bumps.
When they were in the car, James asked, “So can I see you tomorrow? I mean, today that is...I thought maybe we could go on a picnic.”
“A picnic sounds nice,” she immediately answered. “But where is there around here to go on a picnic?”
“I thought we could drive out to my Auntie Annabelle’s cottage. I used to spend time there when I was a lad. I don’t visit her as much anymore, but I have a lot of nice memories of the place. It’s about twenty miles north of here...up in the countryside, you know...there’s a hill overlooking a pond my brother, Chad, and I used to swim in. The hill has a big tree we used to climb up. We could picnic under the tree.”
“Hmmmm...” Susan thought. “Out in the country...sitting under a tree on a blanket...having a picnic...” It sounded incredibly romantic, but at the same time very risky for her and her virtue. She almost laughed at that. How much “virtue” did a sixty-two-year-old woman who’s been married for forty-four years have left anyway? Aside from inhabiting the seventeen-year-old body, that is. But then again, she figured if Auntie Annabelle were there, she’d be safe enough.
“Something funny?” James asked turning to look at her.
“No, nothing at all. I just thought I haven’t been on a picnic in a long time. It sounds like fun. I could have the hotel pack up a basket for us.”
“I have a hamper at home; I could throw some things in.”
“Okay, then let’s surprise each other. You pack a basket, and I’ll pack a basket.”
“There’s also a shop on the way out of town that has fresh-baked bread and homemade cheeses if you have an interest.”
“Oh yes! That sounds wonderful! I’m getting hungry right now thinking about it.”
“You want to get something to eat now then?”
“No, no...I’m not all that hungry...I was just thinking of fresh-baked bread. There’s nothing like it! I make it all the time at home in my bread machine.”
“Bread machine? What’s a bread machine?”
“Oh...it’s something we have in America like a little oven is all,” she responded, wanting to slap herself again at her careless words.
“You like to cook then?”
“I love it! I cook and bake a lot! I like inventing new recipes.”
He looked at her with his eyebrows raised. “You’re the first girl I’ve ever met who said she loves to cook let alone knows how to do it well enough to invent new recipes.”
“Really? How odd...” she thought, “Best change the subject before I start talking about microwaves and slow cookers.”
“So...what time do we want to leave for the picnic?” she asked.
“How about I pick you up at 10:00?’
“You sure you don’t want to sleep in longer?”
“I’m sure.”
***
As they pulled up to the hotel, Susan said, “You can just drop me at the curb,” but as she started to open the door, James put his hand on her arm and said, “No, I’m walking you in, and you wait right there while I come around and open the door for you. Wouldn’t be very gentleman-like just to let you hop out on your own.”
“It’s what we do in America.”
“Well, it’s not what I do. When you’re with me, you wait for me to open the door for you. It’s gentlemanly, you know. Remember, okay?”
He turned off the car and slipped the keys into his pocket. “Stay right there.”
He came around to the other side of the car and opened the door for her then held out his hand to help her out.”
“I’m impressed, Sir James,” she said smiling, “but you’re only walking me to the lobby, you know.”
He opened the lobby door for her and before she could protest, had pulled her across the foyer to the elevator where he pushed the “up” button. The doors immediately opened, and he tugged her in.
“What floor?” he asked.
“Four,” she responded with a quiver in her voice. The words of the song he had sung to her beat in her head...“Make it happen for us tonight...” Oh, no, no, no...!
Her hormones were leaping with joy. She did her best to ignore them.
Neither of them said anything until they reached the fourth floor and stepped out. Susan didn’t move from where she’d come out of the elevator.
“I can find my way from here.”
“What room number?”
“You don’t need to know that.”
“But I’m picking you up for our picnic in just a few hours.”
“You’re picking me up in the lobby. Besides, I heard your dad tell you I was a good girl and that you should behave yourself,” she added.
“I am behaving myself.”
He started to walk one way down the hallway.
“No, this way,” she said, turning the other direction. “Room 4027.”
They arrived at her door. She made no move to get the key out of her purse. He looked at her with his eyebrows raised.
“You’re not coming in if that’s what you’re thinking,” she said. Then she suddenly thought of something else and blurted out, “You didn’t make another wager did you?”
“No, no!” he assured her, raising both hands in the air. “I didn’t want any part of it.”
“Well, you’re still not coming in my room…”
“Then how can I properly kiss you goodnight?” he asked.
“Right here in the hallway will be just fine.”
“But it’s so public a place.”
“Not very public at 3:00 in the morning.” She looked up at him, suddenly feeling shy. Her heart was beating wildly.
“And what makes you think I want you to kiss me goodnight? You know…you just about knocked my legs out from under me with that hand kissing last night...”
“Did I?” he asked with a rueful grin on his face. His eyes were twinkling with amusement. “Then I think you rather do want me to kiss you goodnight.”
“So...he knew...he knew how it affected me,” she thought, heat flooding h