It Begins with Hello

The House band was the best Philadelphia had to offer... I mean, even though he was dating my ex-girl, Delores for awhile, Nate "The Snake"Howard is the truth on Guitar as is Fred "Fried Fish" Collins..."Shady" Grady Tatum is no slouch on the Bass either...nor Chris Combs on the Drums... They kept the crowd jumpin in between acts....Me, I'm one of the headliners...I'm Downtown Rob Brown..I play trumpet...

"I gotta hand it to you Gus...This free week long Block party jam is a stroke of genius." I said.

"It aint my stroke of genius....Chess, Chris Thompson and Symphony Sam put this together...I'm just hoping we have nice weather." said Gus.

"Yeah, I gotta admit...When Symphony Sam came to me and asked me to play, I thought it was another one of his scams...but he said that you was puttin up the money to pay the groups." I said.

"That chisler is wrong again...I wish he'd get his facts straight...Chris and Chess put the money up to pay the acts and for the outdoor stage here in the parking lot." said Gus.

"Wow....and your bar and Mabel's soul food joint and Bottom of the C are donating drinks and food for what? Just free advertising?" I asked.

"That free advertising goes a long way junior..Take a guess where everyone will wind up after the concert is over?" said Gus.

"The Mermaid club?" I laughed.

"Oh you got jokes today huh? Well here's a joke..There's your ex...lookin pretty good. Maybe I should go over and make her acquaintence." ribbed Gus.

There is a saying that the finest woman in the world is your ex on the arms of another man....There was Delores sitting up front with her sister, Deborah...both looking good... They were here to see Reed Nelson and Kerry "88" Moore...who were sitting in with the house band tonight and had the crowd clapping and going crazy....In the corner was Mabel Jenkins...she was off tonight, but her cooks and her waiters and waitresses were selling Fried Chicken and fish platters with collard greens, turnip greens, potato salad,corn on the cobb and sweet potatoes...Some had Macaroni and Cheese... Anita Jenkins, her sister and Victoria Weatherford her other sister was overseeing the operation.. Those platters were going fast, They were making a killing. Mabel's boyfriend, "88" was playing keyboards behind Reed Nelson, who I must admit was impressive tonight...Symphony Sam came up on stage and joined them with a wild Saxophone solo...The crowd was having a ball....

From a distance ,I saw Cherry Johnson....I used to date her.....I was certain...She wanted nothing to do with me...I saw Ingrid Rhodes, the singer...I was dating her too once...we were cool, but I was a little uncomfortable around her too...She was getting ready to sing tonight...I did want to see her.

Connie, who used to be a Lesbian and who I had totally turned out kept coming on to me...She and I weren't exactly dating but we were kind of like, friends with benefits...She walked up behind me and grabbed one of my butt cheeks and whispered in my ear..

"Rob...I'm not wearing any panties...."

While that might have been a turn on a month ago...it was starting to wear thin...She had dropped by my house..at least two times in the past month, unannounced and late...once when I had company!!! I had become her booty call...Now, I was irritated at the sight of her.

I made my way through the crowd and sat down next to Reed's girl..Deborah....She was at least cordial to me.

"Heyy Rob, how are you?" said Debbie.

"I'm good...I'm good...How are you doing?" I said.

"Can't complain.....Reed is pitchin a bitch up there tonight....You're not playing behind him are you?" she asked.

"Yes.. he is good tonight....Nah,I'm on tomorrow...Me and Brooke Taylor."I said..

"Ohhh...well then, could you watch my seat...I'm going and get one of those cold brews to go with my platter." she said and exited...She didn't need me to watch her plate...Her sister, who hadn't said a word to me was sitting right here...I had the funniest feeling that this was all orchestrated...No pun intended.

"Hello Rob!"

"Hi Delores....How have you been?" I said shyly..

"Okay and yourself?" she said....

I hated this generic small talk...

"Truthfully, I haven't felt right since we broke up." I said.

"That was on you Rob." she said.

''I know... I got a little extra on you."

"Extra? Hmmmph, extra aint the word....but, anywho...what's past is past." she said.

"I guess you're here to see your boyfriend play...He is pretty good on that guitar." I said.

"We aren't together anymore." said Delores.

"No? Wow, that was quick." I said, suddenly hopeful!

"He got a little extra too! Somethin about you musicians" she said.

"Delores look....I'm past all that..for real...I'd like to get back with you." I said.

"Wow...you don't waste anytime do you?" she laughed.

"Time is a very valuable commodity." I said.

"So Rob....you aint seein nobody? NOBODY??" she asked.

"Not exactly...I gotta friend..." I said.

"With Benefits?" she asked.

"Yeah, kinda sorta..but it means more to her than to me." I said.

"Connie huh?" she laughed.

"Yeah...How did you know?" I asked.

"I hear things." she laughed.

"Well Delores...If you give me another shot, I swear...Connie will be a thing of the past..I swear."

I said.

"Well....We'll see.." she said.

"Come on, let's get out of here...I don't play until tomorrow night . I'll get us two platers and a couple of cokes and we'll chill out at my place" I said.

"Movin kinda fast aren't we playa?" laughed Delores, who pretended that she was reluctantly going along with me.

We walked toward the street....I saw Debbie..She looked at me and winked...and I saw Connie..She looked kind of disapointed, but she didn't do anything....We passed by Ingrid Rhodes and Johnny Diamond...I felt as though I had put my past behind me finally...Where would we go from here? Who knew.

(To Be Continued...)