Mabel's Proposal

ART: "Jazz Still Life" By Keith Mallett

Reed Nelson was in California, touring up and down the coast....I got this from his girl, Cherry Johnson, who hadn't seen him in close to a month. Me? My name is "88" , I play the Piano for a living. You wouldn't know it though. I toured with Reed and his band from Boston to New Haven to New York City, North Jersey, Philly and Myrtle Beach,South Carolina. Then I came back to Philly for a couple of weeks..I was missing Mabel Jenkins something crazy. She had good lovin and good cooking to boot. Only thing was ,I may have stayed a little too long. Reed and the boys went to the West Coast without me.

I owed Chess about two month's rent. He and I are kind of cool and he hasn't said anything, but you can only owe a man money for so long before he have to say something. So I put together a little group of my own. I got a local guitarist...Catfish Hawkins and his friend, Charlie Bassoline, a
Bass player and a drummer, Rib Tip Johnson and formed my own little quintet. A Funk quintet.
We played music from the 70's and the 80's and built up a small following. We got enough buzz that Gus allowed us to play at his bar, Josie's a few dates.

We brought in the crowds and he asked us back again... I made some good money..Enough to square things with Chess as far as my rent and enough to take Mabel out for a nice meal after one of my Friday night sets.
I wound up spending the night over her house and making love into the wee hours of the night.
Afterwords, neither one of us was really sleepy,so we just lie in her bed with the windows open and the night air blowing across our sweaty bodies.

"88...why don't you move in with me?" asked Mabel.

" Because, I like havin my own place...you know that Mabel..we discussed this before." I said.

I couldn't believe that I was turning down a chance to live with the sexiest and most desirable woman ever to set foot in Josie's.

"This would be your place too." she said.

"I know Mabel...but what if we got in an argument and you told me to get out...then what would I do? I'd be on the street." I said.

"I promise I won't do that." she laughed.... I rolled over on top of her and kissed her.....

"Thas what all you women say..then yall get mad and throws a brother out in the street. It would be my luck that it would be on the coldest day of the year to boot." I laughed.

Mabel began to stroke my penis, until it got hard and she began to blow into my ear softly ,while I lie on top of her... She always did this when she wanted me to cave into one of her wants..it usually worked..but now I was thinking..No seriously..my mind was wandering...pondering her latest proposal.

"I wouldn't throw you out into the cold baby...it get's cold in here too...I would be needing some warmth in the winter, just like you would.." she said.

Surprisingly enough I thought about it....I could help her with her bills and groceries and it might even wind up being cheaper than paying rent in Chess's apartments.

She continued to stroke me lightly ,while I thought on her proposal....finnally I just stopped thinking and entered her warm wetness and began to move in a purposeful motion that brought
pleasure to both of us....It was the fourth time tonight, or this early morning...but I wasn't complaining and neither was Mabel...

We moved slowly and deliberately and in that rhythmic pattern that married couples or couples who had been together for a long time found themselves in....More and more I thought about getting married too, rather than just shacking...Taking Mabel off of the market...I thought about my friend Clerow and how he would feel about Mabel and me gettin married.. She had been his woman at one time...and ,she was the reason he was in Philadelphia...to win her back..But..and there always was a but..He had gotten her younger sister pregnant and had married her and was
doing just fine for himself....and Cora beth ,like Mabel was nothing to sneeze at..She turned nearly as many heads as Mabel....As far as I was concerned..Clerow was just fine.

"Ohhhhh....88....." she moaned... I said nothing...I was a silent lover........I felt her climaxing over and over and that made me explode myself...My body shook violently as I did and Mabel held me tight until at last ,I finnally stopped moving.

"Gurl....I'm a musician...I don't make steady money like you do..but when I make money,I make good money...If you don't mind that...We can try this." I said, just before I rolled over and went to sleep.

I awoke to the smell of Buttermilk Pancakes and Sausages cooking...I walked down the stairs in my bathrobe and there was Mabel cooking breakfast for us. I went in the refrigerator and grabbed a carton of orange juice and poured myself a tall glass. Mabel opened a bottle of champaigne and added some to both of our glasses...

She had an IPOD dock on her table and we were serenaded with the sounds of Miles Davis and Charles Mingus...She knew what I liked...I sat there with her and thought, and smiled softly to myself. I allowed myself to imagine waking up to this everyday..

That afternoon, I walked into the Diner down the street from my apartment and saw two familiar figures sitting at their usual table, drinking coffee. Chess and his friend, Chris Thompson.

"Ohhh,look at what the cat dragged in...the Piano man." laughed Chris.

"What's up bothers?" I said as I walked in. I handed Chess an envelope. He opened it up and found crisp twenty dollar bills...

"What's this? You already paid me the rent for the last two months 88?" said Chess.

"That's for this month and to reserve me a spot in case I need to come back" I said.

"You movin out holmes?" asked Chris.

"Yeah...I'm gonna move in with Mabel" I said.

"Mabel huh"" said Chess with a big grin...

"Mabel?...I can't say I blame you bruh...you tryin to lock that up huh? You makin the smart move" said Chris.

"I'll have my stuff out in about two weeks" I said.

"Aww man, take your time...in fact..I got a movin van you can use...free of charge if you need it, you know how we do? You know we go back a ways." said Chess as he shook my hand.

"I'm thinkin bout maybe gettin married man...but I aint tole nobody yet." I said.

"You aint told her yet either ,have you?" laughed Chris.

"Nah...all things in time, you know?" I said.

"Well ,good luck 88 and I hope that you don't have to come back here...but I'll hold a room for you just in case." said Chess.

That night I rang Mabel's doorbell.....She answered the door and was actually surprised to see me-

"88, what are you doing here?" she said.

"I thought about your offer..I've decided to take you up on it." I said.

She smiled the biggest smile...not unlike a child on Christmas morning....

"You won't be sorry,I promise you 88." she said.

I didn't think I would be either.





(For O.G. and Dreamy)