London Blues

Two days later, I sat in a London Jazz club and listened to the Saxophone player....I didn't know him..he was a Jamaican guy....but the guy sittin in on Trumpet was a guy I did know... Downtown Rob Brown...A Philly guy...

I sipped on a pint of Beer and tapped my fingers as Rob and this guy and his band played their set....Rob recognized me and came over to my table after the break!

"Heyyyyy Ralph...sure is nice to see somebody from home." he said.

"How long you been here?" I asked.

"About a month....I had a recording date on this guy's new CD and then he asked me to set in with him for a few gigs....Nice money..." he said with a shrug....

"I hear that." I said.

His girlfriend, Delores walked over to our table....

"Ralph Scallion! What are you doin here?  You got a cookin gig?" she asked.

''Nah....I came over here to see Minay" I said.

They both looked at each other kind of strange.....

''You've seen her?" I asked.

Downtown Rob Brown didn't say anything, but Delores did....

"We've seen her and some other dude a couple of times."

"That would be Luther...I know all about him." said Ralph...

"Damn...and you still in town?" said Rob Brown laughing...He had no doubt heard about the bar room brawl of a few days before...Who hadn't?

"Yeah ,funny aint it?" I said. "I punched his ticket for him a few nights ago...Him and his fat cousin!" I continued , somewhat proudly.

"Yeah?  No kiddin? Nah...I heard . Yeah ,well just be cool..Luther's  kinda a bad character..Deals weed... Watch your back...I don't know what Minay saw or sees in him." said Rob.

"He's a bad boy..all of us like our bad boy before we find a good guy." said Delores.

Rob and I gave her the serious side eye.

"What? It's true!" she said.

II-

I listened to Rob and the Sax player play two more sets...I was getting ready to leave when I heard an all too familliar voice say-

"Come here often?"

It was Minay!!!!!

I was stunned.....

"Minay? What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I like good jazz....I heard that Downtown Rob Brown was in London and I came to see him and Hugh Gooden (The saxophone player) perform together." she said.

''You here by yourself?" I asked.

"Yeah" she said, hanging her head. "That's going to be the story of my life for awhile I suppose." she continued..

"Where's Luther?" I asked.

''You don't have to worry about him." she said.

''I wasn't worried about him." I said.

''I know...I know...He's a very insecure man...In more ways than one I found out.. After he and  his cousin, Wally got knocked out in that bar brawl...He couldn't show his face to his mates... He blames me for the whole thing and he put me out." she said.

"Oh..." was all I could manage to say.

"Ralph....The first two times I came over here...it was because my uncle really was deathly ill with his Cancer and I was looking after him and all....and then I got reacquainted with Luther...I had known Luther even before I hooked up with Hugh Benet." she said.

''May he rest in peace."I added.

"Yes....Luther...Well...I-I-I got caught up....I resisted him at first...I did...because I knew I had a good thing goin in Philly with you and you were home being true to me." she said.

I thought about the waitress at the Diner outside my daughter's college, my old college sweetheart and my two trysts with Rowena...Not to mention a late night booty call with Baby Phat and suddenly felt guilty...But Minay didn't know anything about that or that I had had a wonderful couple of nights over here with Toney Marley...Lawd!

"But then one night I gave into temptation with Luther....I felt so bad...and that led to another night and another night and the next thing you know....I thought I was in love...In love with Luther...and then...Then I was such a coward..That's why I quietly quit my job and put my loft up for sale...I couldn't face you...I wasn't even going to come back to Philly...I'm so sorry." she said...She began to cry...

"I forgive you." I said quietly.

''What?" she said...

''Nobody is a saint...I certainly aint.." I said.

"You're closer to it than I have been." she said. I winced..She couldn't know how wrong she was!

"Do you uh know Toney Marley?" I asked.

"Who?" she said.

''She's your Uncle's Hospice nurse!" I said.

''Oh her! We might have met once or twice.. We never talked much outside of hi and bye...What about her?" she asked.

"Nothing...Nothing...I uh met her the other day when I got here and she directed me to the Hospice where I met your cousin...Your cousin wouldn't give me any information...Just told me that she'd get in contact with you." I said.

''Oh...Yeah...She thought she was protecting me.....Toney saw me with Luther...She could have told you where I was staying, but I guess she didn't know you that well and oh well, she probably didn't trust you...It takes her awhile to warm to people." said Minay.

Really huh? She was more than warm to me a few nights ago....but that was my little secret..I mused. That was all I was going to say...No way was I going to spill my recent and not so recent sexual history.......

Minay laid her head on my shoulder and just cried.... I held her and in the background...I could hear Rob Brown's trumpet wailing a bluesy solo!

"I -I shouldn't do this...Not with you...You have absolutely no reason to forgive me..." she cried..."You'll find this hard to believe , but Luther and I were in the process of breaking up anyway, by the time I saw you in the pub the other day...He was very controlling and overbearing..Jealous , extremely jealous...I was in the process of moving in with my cousin...I was explaining why we were breaking up to Wally, when you came in..." she said, still crying.

"So were you coming back to Philly?" I asked.

"I don't know...I have no job...My loft is on the market...I've pretty much burned my bridges there." she said.

"Maybe not...Cherry hasn't replaced you yet and nobody has bought your loft...Hell, your things are still in it!" I said.

"Do you want me to come back Ralph?" she asked.

"I'm here in London aint I?  I done been in a bar room brawl because of you, indirectly, What do you think?" I said with a laugh to show that I wasn't mad. She hung her head.

I kissed her softly and ran my hands under her blouse...she softly moved them..

''Ralph...My god...you're always thinking about sex...Even at a time like this." she said.

"And you aren't?" I said.

"I can't believe you'd still want to." she said.

She gently allowed her hands to touch the crease of my trousers-

"Oh my God....that thing feels like an iron pipe." she mused.

I smiled...

We kissed some more.

"Check Please" I said to the waiter.

III-

Back at my flat, Minay and I wound up drunk...(We'd killed two bottles of wine), and on my bed kissing and making  out like two teenagers...I was massaging both of her breasts and kissing  her from her vagina up to her neck and behind her ears...

Minay was kissing me behind my ears up and down my neck and finally in the lips , long and hard...

"Ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu Ralph...Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..I've missed you so much..."
she moaned..

"Ummmmmmmmmmm Minay...I've missed you toooooooooooooooo..arggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.." I moaned...

Speaking of long and hard.....I was very long and hard at this point....and I stretched Minay out across the bed and entered her deliberately slowly....

"Ummmmmmm...ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu Ralphhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..."she moaned with delight...

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh gurllllllllllllllllllllll...ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, you feel so good." I moaned with pleasure.

I lifted Minay up and began to enter her harder and faster...Her legs began to twitch at first and then shake...

''OUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU....RALPH...LAWDDDDDDD!"
she moaned as she continued to shake..

"UMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMph." I groaned.....

We went on like this for a couple of hours and finished , both of us cumming furiously
and continuing to kiss passionately....

I slept like a baby!

IV-

When I woke up the next morning, Minay was dressed and sitting on the side of the bed...She was crying...

''What's wrong Minay?" I asked...

"I got a text" she said..

"From Luther?" I asked.

"No....from the Hospice..... Uncle Nigel....He died last night!" she said.

(Conclusion Next)