Everything in Between (19 page)

Sionne began “What a Little Moonlight Can Do.” Zae kept her gaze on Chip, all the while wondering how she could have known him for so many years without knowing him at all. He smoked, he knew classic literature—perhaps even better than Zae, though she’d never admit it out loud—and he played the piano nearly as well as Teddy Wilson, who’d accompanied Billie Holiday on her 1935 session recording of the tune.

Sionne’s gruff, ragged interpretation of the song was something only a devoted girlfriend could love. His “woo, woo, woos” resembled the lowing of a wounded beast of burden, but Sionne grinned broadly when the audience gave a round of applause midway through the song.

After his final, agonizing note, Sionne left the stage with an appreciative bow, never realizing that the applause had been for CJ, in the role of Benny Wilson, who had taken the stage with his clarinet. The night’s emcee, Delbert Brown IV, took to the mike to introduce Eve. She scooted out of the booth, her face reddening as applause accompanied her to the stage.

Zae watched Chip switch his music, then play a playful intro to the song Eve had chosen to perform. While Eve’s voice was lower than that of Ella Fitzgerald, who had popularized “All My Life,” Zae listened to her daughter’s rendition with pride.

Eve was the quiet baby, the introspective, introverted half of the egg that had split into Zae’s daughters. Like an angel emerging from the mist, Eve seemed to glow in the smoky room, the skirt of her white silk dress belling prettily at her knees. A cluster of perfect white rosebuds pinned in her upswept hair heightened her sweet sensuality. Eve’s stage fright wasn’t an issue, not with her gaze fixed on Cory, her longtime friend and first boyfriend.

Chuckling, Zae shook her head at Cory. She could almost see the imaginary crown of tweeting lovebirds circling his head as he smiled at Eve in a near swoon.

Not that I’m one to talk,
Zae thought. Every time she glanced at Chip, her heart beat a little faster. He was so expressive as he played, as if he’d been born to jazz.

Over applause, Eve introduced her sister. Dawn, the showier twin, took the mike from its stand with a flourish. Planting her feet wide apart in her short, flirty black skirt, her presence was larger than life. Thanks in part, Zae saw, to her black suede peep-toe pumps. The full sleeves of her white blouse swayed with Dawn’s sultry, energetic performance of “The Man I Love.” The song might have been inspired by Sionne, but Dawn held every man in the audience enraptured with her naughty glances and saucy shoulder bobs. Dr. Dudley in particular seemed overly entranced by Dawn’s performance. By Zae’s count, he’d blinked only once during the whole song.

Dawn earned a standing ovation, and Sionne swallowed her petite frame in his bearish embrace once she left the stage.

“We’re all friends here at Del Brown’s,” the emcee said, taking the mike, “but some of you new folk might not know the talented cats playing for you tonight.” Speaking over a reprise of “What a Little Moonlight Can Do,” the emcee introduced each member of the house band in turn. They acknowledged the crowd’s applause with modest solos. Women hooted and whistled at Chip during his solo, and CJ shelved modesty for his.

CJ took to the front of the stage and blew chops as if possessed by every jazz clarinetist he worshipped. The trumpet player shook his head and rolled his eyes heavenward as CJ took his moment. CJ’s last long note earned him a loud round of applause. When he tugged a giant white handkerchief from his back pocket to swipe his sweaty brow, Chip laughed so hard he almost lost his fresh cigarette.

“That’s just not something you see every day,” the emcee laughed. “A jazz man with a curfew.” He tugged CJ’s handkerchief from his grasp and used it to shoo him offstage. “You come down and make noise with us any time you want, little man. You’re all right.”

Beaming, CJ returned to Zae’s table, his clarinet clutched in his left hand. He sat beside his mother, who gave him a proud smirk. “You can knock me some sugar, if you want to,” he told Zae. She kissed his cheek twice, leaving dark lipstick prints on him. “Some bug-eyed Betty tried to kiss me at school today,” CJ started, “and—”

Zae cut him off with a stern finger point to his face. “Let me tell you something, little Negro,” she growled menacingly, “I don’t want to hear you using expressions like that. You don’t refer to any girl as a bug-eyed Betty if you don’t want me to snap your licorice stick in half over my knee.”

“What’s a bug-eyed Betty?” Cinder asked.

“An ugly girl like Tenesha Carter, who tried to kiss me at school today,” CJ answered sullenly.

“Tenesha is a lovely girl,” Zae said. “The rest of her face just has to grow into the size of her chin and her forehead.”

“Funny-looking kids always grow up to be cute,” Eve said. “Look at you, CJ. You were a real bug-eyed Betty when you were little.”

“Boys can’t be Betties,” CJ snapped.

“Bug-eyed Bobby, then.” Eve smiled.

“Mark my words,” Dr. Dudley began in a loud, authoritative tone. “Tenesha Carter will probably grow up to be one ripe tomato.” He winked at Zae, as if to say he understood CJ’s language.

CJ, his elbow on the table and his head propped on his hand, noisily sucked ice water through a straw as Dr. Dudley treated him to a lecture on how hormonal changes affect the development of the female body.

Zae fussily crossed her legs, wishing he would shut up and pay attention to the emcee.

“Now you folks just heard two baby vamps sing their hearts out up here,” the emcee said, comically wiping his bald brown head with CJ’s handkerchief. “I think it’s time you heard from the mama vamp herself.”

Zae threw a dark look across the booth at Dawn and Eve.

“Back before the casinos and new hotels took over the riverfront, this place stood alone among the barges and loading docks that used to populate the river. You couldn’t get to Del Brown’s unless you knew about Del Brown’s. A young lady used to come here for voice lessons in those days. She was one of the best, but she gave up the school of hard knocks to get some college learnin’ on the East coast. I’m pleased to see her back here tonight, and with a little encouragement, I’m hoping she’ll grace us with a song. Azalea Richardson, where you at, girl?”

The house lights rose enough to accommodate the search for Zae. Cinder facilitated the discovery by giving Zae a hearty pinch on her right buttock. Zae shot to her feet, her hand covering the offended part of her anatomy.

“There she is!” The emcee smiled and clapped.

“Heifer!” Zae whispered in Cinder’s ear on her way out of the booth.

Cinder blew her a kiss and added her applause to everyone else’s.

“It’s good to have you back home, Zae.” The emcee took her hand and helped her onto the stage.

“I don’t have anything prepared,” she whispered. “I wasn’t expecting this.”

“I think we can take care of you.” Del went to the music stand and rifled through the club’s collection of dog-eared sheet music. He quickly found the piece he’d sought and walked it over to Chip, who set it on the piano after a mere glance. Del spoke a few words to the rest of the musicians, then pulled a tall wooden stool to the side of the piano.

“You folks are in for a bangin’ treat tonight,” he told the audience. “I present to you the prodigal chanteuse, the mama vamp herself, Azalea Richardson singing ‘Out of Nowhere.’ ”

Zae softly cleared her throat. The still flames of small votives in crystal holders marked each table, but with the glare of the spotlights in her eyes, she couldn’t make out specific faces. She took a deep breath, and with a nod of her head, she cued the musicians.

* * *

Once his mother’s song was announced, CJ rushed the stage with his clarinet. He earned a smile from Zae. She interpreted his eagerness to a desire to perform with his mother. Had she asked, he would have told her directly that he was hungry for the clarinet solo in the song.

“Out of Nowhere” opened with a piano solo. Chip, his head bowed over the keys, began weaving a melodic spell with his first note. Her elbows crossed over her crossed knees, Zae closed her eyes to savor Chip’s solo. Teddy Wilson’s performance of the song with Lena Horne on vocals was brilliant, but Chip’s had to be a near second. His fingers danced over the keys, producing sparkling, staccato notes that seamlessly became fluid and languorous. Chip made it look effortless, the solo highlighting his skill and passion for the genre. The music seemed to issue from his fingers as smoothly as thought, and Zae’s anxiety began to wane. Chip’s effort would be a gorgeous accompaniment to her vocals, complementing without overshadowing. Good musicians handled their instruments as they would a lover. Zae envied the sleek, sexy baby grand piano.

With the music wrapped around her as close as a hug, touching off nerves and emotions that left her weak even as they fortified her, Zae put the mike to her mouth, and sang.

* * *

Chip’s rapport with his fellow musicians had led to an evening of incredible music. With Zae’s first pure, honeyed note, her chemistry with Chip was complete. He knew the music well, which allowed him to watch Zae instead of his sheet music. A silk snood with a complicated pearl brooch on one side contained the wealth of her black hair. Her deep berry lips complemented her dark skin and smoky eyes. She looked and sounded like a true jazz diva.

Such passion went into music, performing with her was as intimate as some of the other acts they had shared. During CJ’s clarinet solo, Zae looked down just as Chip looked up. Their gazes locked. Zae had spent most of the day irritated by news of his transfer to Washington University, but with his blue eyes boring into her, the emotional detritus of the day filtered away with everything else other than the silky sounds from CJ’s clarinet.

One corner of Zae’s mouth turned up in a hint of a smile.
If Cupid shot arrows, this must be what it feels like when it hits the center of your heart,
she thought.

The smooth, sensual purr of Zae’s voice blocked out all but the music. Chip ached with each line of the song. She sang words he so wanted her to say to him. He loved her. No fact in his life was more certain. But joining her in song convinced him that everything he’d done with her and because of her had been right. Zae was his just as surely as his other ribs belonged to him.

Basking in Chip’s gaze, she finished the song, her final note fading to silence. Zae’s left calf, sheathed in black silk stockings, rested near the end of the piano. Without moving his hand, Chip extended his littlest finger to caress Zae’s leg. But then a sudden burst of applause popped the bubble of their spell, and Zae slid off the stool. Adding her applause to the raucous noise rattling the lead crystal ornaments in the chandeliers, she turned to acknowledge the band. Chip, the trumpet player and the drummer waved while CJ rushed into his mother’s arms for a hug and kiss. Zae reached for Chip, to pull him into the embrace. Before Chip was clear of his piano bench, Dr. Dudley Dexter appeared on stage, his Bozo-sized boat shoes treading the toes of Zae’s black T-straps. He swept Zae and CJ into a hug that lifted Zae from the ground and dislodged her snood. CJ fought his way out of the hug and Zae performed a near backbend to avoid Dr. Dudley’s puckered lips.

“Now there’s a man who appreciates the songstress as much as her song!” the emcee exclaimed, hopping on stage.

Unable to avoid Dr. Dudley’s public display of affection, Zae tightly puckered her lips and allowed him to give her a peck. By the time he freed her, the next singer was onstage, and Chip’s face was buried in a new page of sheet music. He didn’t look up as Zae left the light of the stage and returned to the darkness of the house.

* * *

Following Dr. Dudley’s awkward rendition of “Minnie the Moocher,” the band took a break. Chip joined Sionne’s table to toast him on his birthday. The booth was full, so he pulled up a chair to sit outside it, close to Zae.

“You’re quite the piano man, Charles,” Dr. Dudley said. “I imagine it’s an interesting life, earning a living playing at clubs in this day and age.”

“I do this for fun,” Chip said. He signaled the waitress, who eagerly came to take his order and replenish the drinks of his tablemates. “I teach martial arts to earn a living.”

“I’d better watch out for you then,” Dr. Dudley guffawed. He took Zae’s hand and laced her fingers through his. “Are you married?”

Chip shook his head.

“Dating?”

“I wonder if we could get another tray of appetizers,” Zae asked with a brittle smile. “I could go for some toasted ravioli.”

“Sounds good to me,” Sionne said.

“So tell us, Charles,” Dr. Dudley persisted. “Is there a special lady you make music with?”

“Yes,
Charles
.” Dawn grinned wickedly. “Tell us about the special lady you’ve been seeing.”

“Actually, my friends call me Chip,” Chip said, leaning past Zae to address Dr. Dudley directly. “But you can call me Charles.”

A beat of silence. Then Dr. Dudley brayed with laughter. “You’re quite the funny man, piano man.”

“Chip has so many girlfriends, it’s hard to keep track of them,” Dawn said brightly.

Zae swept her leg under the table and gave a hard kick.

“Ow!” Gian grunted. “What the—”