Another Friday Night at Josie's in Philadelphia...My name is Reed Nelson...I'm a trumpet player.
The piano player from philly who we called "88" invited us down. He sat in with us and we put on a show for the Philly locals. I'm not from Philly, so I didn't know all of the locals, but "88" did and that was all that mattered. In between sets he went around shaking people's hands and getting dap from everyone...just like a politician.
When we began our second set..We had a surprise for the crowd...We had hired two singers and a rapper to augment Me on the trumpet, a new saxophonist, a trombonist, the guitarist, bassist, drummer ,percussionist and additional keyboardist. The crowd roared as we duplicated and performed some of the r&b and neo soul hits of the day....In fact ,within an hour we were playing to standing room only crowds... The dance floor was jumping! I looked over at the bar and Gus , the owner was clapping his approval...
Gus was happy because thirsty people were ordering drinks as well as food and Josies was making money hand over foot.. It's funny how a moment like this can turn you around....I noticed a face in the crowd....One woman...a very shapely woman in a pair of Black jeans that seemed as if they were painted on...some red stilletto heels and a red blouse that was low cut and showing a lot of cleavage, hidden by a black lace bra and a Black cowboy hat!!! She was stunningly beautiful...A little light skinned for my tastes...but interesting just enough.
At first she was dancing by herself....for about five or six selections...then several young men asked to dance with her and she obliged. She appeared to be walking out the door to get some air and heads turned....even heads of guys who were visibly with someone...I couldn't get her out of my mind.
"88" was very perceptive..He saw me looking and after our set was over and we walked down into the area where the booths and tables were he said to me-
"Watch yourself player...she's a dangerous one" he said.
"YOU know her?" I asked.
"Yeah. You know my friend Chess?" he said.
"I've heard you talk about him...." I said.
"He was involved with her during the time he and my cousin had broken up...She's got issues man...She left him stranded in Puerto Rico, took his cash and his ride... Next time he saw her she was going with Fathead Newton." he said.
"Fathead?? The gangster??" I asked suddenly thinking about changing my mind.
"Yeah, but he was just using her..he dumped her for some other babe who he married. She thought he was going to marry her." said 88.
"Wow man, that's a hurt peice...that must be bad." I said, pretending to care, but not really caring and sighing with releif that I wouldn't be stepping on his toes.
"Yeah , well get this...then she winds up with that Black Federal Prosecutor...That young handsome guy that was making all the ladies panties wet for a minute...you know ,the cat that was always on TV.. Anyway, she had him so sprung that he was having Fathead busted everytime he turned around...Fathead couldn't get bailed out of jail good before he was being busted again for something else....but they got the Federali guy for malicious prosecution or something or other...Kevin Morris was telling me and they put an end to that...Dude left Philly...but not before he told old girl to get lost and that he never wanted to see her again." said 88.
"Wow "88", I see that you're the man to go to when I need information." I laughed.
"Yeah, but you still gonna put your bid in right, Reed ?" said "88"
"Damn right...did you see her in those pants???" I asked.
"Well you know what the song says....never trust a big butt and a smile." laughed "88".
To Hell with a song....I had made up my mind...I was going in.
When she came back...I saw her paying her tab to Gus... I walked over to her and politely gave her her credit card back.
"Gus...I got this...her tab is on me." I said.
Gus gave me a side eyed look....then a frown, then he just shook his head and waited on another customer.
'Why thank you sir..but...but ..who are you and why did you do that?" she asked.
"Come on now honey, you don't recognoze me?? I'm Reed Nelson...the bandleader and trumpet player extrodinaire.." I laughed.
'Extroidinare huh?" she smirked..
"Yes...and I must say ...you are.....you are.....uh...well you are just the best looking woman I have seen in this joint tonight.." I said.
"Oh just tonight,eh?" she said.
"Look the whole time I've been up there playing ,I couldn't get my eyes off of you...I just had to come down here and meet you...I'm not playin...Please tell me that you don't have a man." I said.
"What? You like me in a pair of jeans and you all of sudden just know you wanna be my boyfriend right? You don't even know me man." she said.
" I know your story..I've asked around....the only thing I don't know is your name." I said.
"It's Cherry, Cherry Johnson.....People run their mouths too much....everything isn't the way it might seem." she said.
"Awww come on now love.....don't be like that....smile..I'll bet you've got a sexy smile...I'll bet you do...come on......shum on...seeeeee, now look at that..I told you you could smile." I said.
"What do you want Mister....Mister....???"
'Nelson, Reed Nelson." I answered.
"Okay, you want my number?? I'll give you my cell phone number...call me sometimes." she said.
"If I call this number, are you going to answer it or will you just screen it and ignore it?" I said.
"You'll never know unless you call it right?" she said.
"Okay..fair enough...Can I walk you to your car?" I asked.
"Sure....." she said.
I walked her to her car and she even let me open the door for her.
"Thank you Mr. Reed Nelson, you do seem to be a gentlemen." she said.
" I'll be out of town doing a few dates...but I'll be back in Philly afterwords and I'm going to call
you." I said.
"Whatever man!" she said cooly as she drove off into the night.
88 and Gus walked out into the night air and stood next to me...
"Man ,you aint gon make no money if every time you see a fine young thing ,you payin they tab.
That gal's tab was $100.00" said Gus.
"A hundred dollars?? Mannn I hope you at least got an address and a phone number." said 88.
"I got her cell phone number." I said.
'Sheeeet, that was only worth forty dollars...not a hundred." said 88 as Gus bent over laughing...
I wasn't laughing....I was intrigued!!!!
To be continued.......
The piano player from philly who we called "88" invited us down. He sat in with us and we put on a show for the Philly locals. I'm not from Philly, so I didn't know all of the locals, but "88" did and that was all that mattered. In between sets he went around shaking people's hands and getting dap from everyone...just like a politician.
When we began our second set..We had a surprise for the crowd...We had hired two singers and a rapper to augment Me on the trumpet, a new saxophonist, a trombonist, the guitarist, bassist, drummer ,percussionist and additional keyboardist. The crowd roared as we duplicated and performed some of the r&b and neo soul hits of the day....In fact ,within an hour we were playing to standing room only crowds... The dance floor was jumping! I looked over at the bar and Gus , the owner was clapping his approval...
Gus was happy because thirsty people were ordering drinks as well as food and Josies was making money hand over foot.. It's funny how a moment like this can turn you around....I noticed a face in the crowd....One woman...a very shapely woman in a pair of Black jeans that seemed as if they were painted on...some red stilletto heels and a red blouse that was low cut and showing a lot of cleavage, hidden by a black lace bra and a Black cowboy hat!!! She was stunningly beautiful...A little light skinned for my tastes...but interesting just enough.
At first she was dancing by herself....for about five or six selections...then several young men asked to dance with her and she obliged. She appeared to be walking out the door to get some air and heads turned....even heads of guys who were visibly with someone...I couldn't get her out of my mind.
"88" was very perceptive..He saw me looking and after our set was over and we walked down into the area where the booths and tables were he said to me-
"Watch yourself player...she's a dangerous one" he said.
"YOU know her?" I asked.
"Yeah. You know my friend Chess?" he said.
"I've heard you talk about him...." I said.
"He was involved with her during the time he and my cousin had broken up...She's got issues man...She left him stranded in Puerto Rico, took his cash and his ride... Next time he saw her she was going with Fathead Newton." he said.
"Fathead?? The gangster??" I asked suddenly thinking about changing my mind.
"Yeah, but he was just using her..he dumped her for some other babe who he married. She thought he was going to marry her." said 88.
"Wow man, that's a hurt peice...that must be bad." I said, pretending to care, but not really caring and sighing with releif that I wouldn't be stepping on his toes.
"Yeah , well get this...then she winds up with that Black Federal Prosecutor...That young handsome guy that was making all the ladies panties wet for a minute...you know ,the cat that was always on TV.. Anyway, she had him so sprung that he was having Fathead busted everytime he turned around...Fathead couldn't get bailed out of jail good before he was being busted again for something else....but they got the Federali guy for malicious prosecution or something or other...Kevin Morris was telling me and they put an end to that...Dude left Philly...but not before he told old girl to get lost and that he never wanted to see her again." said 88.
"Wow "88", I see that you're the man to go to when I need information." I laughed.
"Yeah, but you still gonna put your bid in right, Reed ?" said "88"
"Damn right...did you see her in those pants???" I asked.
"Well you know what the song says....never trust a big butt and a smile." laughed "88".
To Hell with a song....I had made up my mind...I was going in.
When she came back...I saw her paying her tab to Gus... I walked over to her and politely gave her her credit card back.
"Gus...I got this...her tab is on me." I said.
Gus gave me a side eyed look....then a frown, then he just shook his head and waited on another customer.
'Why thank you sir..but...but ..who are you and why did you do that?" she asked.
"Come on now honey, you don't recognoze me?? I'm Reed Nelson...the bandleader and trumpet player extrodinaire.." I laughed.
'Extroidinare huh?" she smirked..
"Yes...and I must say ...you are.....you are.....uh...well you are just the best looking woman I have seen in this joint tonight.." I said.
"Oh just tonight,eh?" she said.
"Look the whole time I've been up there playing ,I couldn't get my eyes off of you...I just had to come down here and meet you...I'm not playin...Please tell me that you don't have a man." I said.
"What? You like me in a pair of jeans and you all of sudden just know you wanna be my boyfriend right? You don't even know me man." she said.
" I know your story..I've asked around....the only thing I don't know is your name." I said.
"It's Cherry, Cherry Johnson.....People run their mouths too much....everything isn't the way it might seem." she said.
"Awww come on now love.....don't be like that....smile..I'll bet you've got a sexy smile...I'll bet you do...come on......shum on...seeeeee, now look at that..I told you you could smile." I said.
"What do you want Mister....Mister....???"
'Nelson, Reed Nelson." I answered.
"Okay, you want my number?? I'll give you my cell phone number...call me sometimes." she said.
"If I call this number, are you going to answer it or will you just screen it and ignore it?" I said.
"You'll never know unless you call it right?" she said.
"Okay..fair enough...Can I walk you to your car?" I asked.
"Sure....." she said.
I walked her to her car and she even let me open the door for her.
"Thank you Mr. Reed Nelson, you do seem to be a gentlemen." she said.
" I'll be out of town doing a few dates...but I'll be back in Philly afterwords and I'm going to call
you." I said.
"Whatever man!" she said cooly as she drove off into the night.
88 and Gus walked out into the night air and stood next to me...
"Man ,you aint gon make no money if every time you see a fine young thing ,you payin they tab.
That gal's tab was $100.00" said Gus.
"A hundred dollars?? Mannn I hope you at least got an address and a phone number." said 88.
"I got her cell phone number." I said.
'Sheeeet, that was only worth forty dollars...not a hundred." said 88 as Gus bent over laughing...
I wasn't laughing....I was intrigued!!!!
To be continued.......
22 comments:
Uh Oh...This looks like something
different....I likes.
OMG!!!! I'm first!!!
I think this story may answer a lot of questions I've had about Cherry!
Looks like a Love story here..No shooting or killing...Good, Let's give Kevin ,Chess and Fathead and company a break for awhile.
I love this...I like where I think this is going.
This is going to be the first Reed Nelson /88 storyline..They've all appeared in short stories before..now we'll get a chance to flesh them out, see who they are.
Reed apparently didn't learn from the last time did he? lololol..At least he didn't hire Cherry to sing. :)
It's about time we had a series with a new charactor...There has been enough murder and mayhem..time for a love story.
I though Cherry was going to give him some...I'm glad you made her charactor more reserved this time..
More realistic. Reed Nelson is just a hound...Just like Robert Foxworth (Who by the way is my favorite of your charactors)
Wow..This looks interesting..I'm going to wait to see how this develops.
I actually expected some poetry from you...Didn't expect a storyline right after a storyline..but I'll take it.
I like Reed Nelson..He reminds me of myself..His style ,his approach.
I love Reed Nelson....He's one of my favorite Escapade Charactors.
Gotta hand it to Reed, He's got swagger and confidence going to bed. No pun intended.
Eventually ,I know that this storyline is going to have my panties soaring towards the ceiling. :)
This is like a chill out mode story isn't it? A break from the cops and gangsters storylines..I love it man.
I gotta hand it to Cherry, She doesn't let any grass grow under her feet or her bed for that matter. Chess, Fathead, Billy Dee
Prescot and now Reed Nelson..She's
hot stuff.
A love story at the beginning of summer!! What could be better! :)
Hey Keith..Do you plan on writing another Mabel Story?? She was always my favorite charactor of yours.
As always ,Thank you all for the love and support. I do have a Mabel story in the works for the near future..Some of you guys read my mind..
@Angie B. -While I did give Kevin,Chess,Chris et al a rest..Fathead will be in this story before it's over..Sorry! :)
That's good to hear. Fathead adds a little comic relief. Him and the good Reverend.
Didn't New Edition do a song about Cherry back in the day? Or was that Bell Biv Devoe? Somethin' 'bout POISON! Reed better heed the warning!
Had to chuckle when I saw that Jazzy's favorite character is one of the jazz musicians.
"If I call this number, are you going to answer it or will you just screen it and ignore it?" I said.
Hilarious! Why he gotta put her on blast like that? Women reserve the right to do the "screen & ig" as needed LOLOL! Good one :-)
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