Down Memory Lane

It was a cloudless night in September of 1945; the stars were all a man could see if he happened to look up. A lone car moved down a quiet street, a sleek and shiny black color. A man was waiting on a porch just down the street, watching the car come closer to his house. He wore a white flannel shirt under a cream-colored suit; a black tie was securely around his neck, accentuating the black shoes he wore. A fedora was atop his head, the same color as his suit with a black hatband around it. His brown eyes continued to follow the car until it slowed to a stop in front of his house, and the passenger-side window rolled down to reveal three men around his age.

“Well, don’t you look snazzy there, Matt,” the man behind the wheel commented as Matthew got into the car.

Matthew rolled his eyes. “Thanks. You too, Victor.”

Victor smirked, and pulled away from the house. He fiddled with the radio to try to find a station that wasn’t filled with static, and couldn’t find one, so he shut the radio off. “Are you boys ready to go see some pretty dames?”

Shouts of agreement rang throughout the car. All were excited to be going out, since they all had just come back from WWII, befriending each other since they lived in the same area. None of them were injured in the War, which most would say is lucky. They did have some mental scarring to be healed, and going out to a club was the perfect treatment to that in their eyes.

Leo scoffed from the backseat. “I’d say that all of the ladies in the world are going to be where we are going, just because we’re going to be there.” He fished in the pocket of his red coat jacket and pulled out a lighter and cigar, lit it, and held it to his lips, breathing in the toxins.

Victor glared at him from the drivers seat. “If my car smells of cigar later, you’re cleaning it.”

Leo shrugged and continued smoking, keeping the smoke leaving his lips toward the window, not saying a thing more.

“So,” Jesse said from the passenger seat, “I heard there’s going to be a particularly pretty dame singing tonight.”

Matthew leaned forward in his seat. “Really?”

“Yeah,” Victor said, picking up where Jesse left off. “She’s new in town. Moved down from somewhere up north, Audrey something-or-another. My Ma heard that she’s bad news though.” He turned out of the suburbs and into the city.

“Why’s that?” Matthew inquired. He saw the good in everybody, but could smell a rat from a mile away if trouble brewed.

“Well supposedly she’s a rebel, and did the singing gig out of spite towards her family. That’s all I know,” Victor said, shrugging.

“Well, did your Ma hear that from her family, or just people around the street?” Matthew egged him on for more information.

“I don’t know, Matthew! How am I supposed to know that?" Victor gave a small glare into the rearview mirror before returning his gaze to the road.

Matthew sighed and kept his mouth shut, the car slowly growing quiet as they continued to the club. He looked out the window, seeing the lights of the city.

The lights were bold, and flickered in time with each other, creating a small rhythm if you looked at them long enough. A variety of colors splashed the light; red, gold, blue. The buildings that held the lights were of brick and wood, different sizes next to each other. Music filled the air as the Ford got closer to the club, the sweet sound of a saxophone.

Matthew smiled, since they were nearer and nearer to the club. "Almost there, boys."

He started thinking about the singer again. What was she really like? Was she such a rebel like Victor rumored? Surely not, he thought. She couldn’t have wanted to do this to intentionally hurt her family, would she? What was so bad about singing in a club, anyway? All she was doing was singing. Not like it was hurting anyone.

The Ford pulled up to the Club, all four men opening the car doors and getting out once the engine was shut off, and the car parked. You could hear the music from outside, and the electricity in the air.

“Good Evening, Gentlemen,” the doorman greeted them as he opened the door to the swanky club.

The men nodded, Matthew tipping his hat off to him.

The first thing Matthew saw when he walked in was the people. The club was packed. Tables were placed near the walls, and booths placed in one part of the club for eating.
The walls were painted with musicians playing their heart out, colored in many hues. The floor was swarmed with swaying bodies to the music.

The music was so infectious: the piano, the drums, and the horns all playing and blending together. The rhythms made him want to jump and jive, dance until dawn. It was an instrumental, Matthew gathered, for there was no one at the microphone. He supposed the band was warming up as he and his group found vacant seats at a table.

Just as soon as they sat down and ordered drinks, the band did a big finish. Everyone clapped for them as a tall man waltzed up to the microphone. “Thank you one and all, and welcome to The Fremont. I hope you’ve enjoyed our band this evening, and I would like to introduce a very special lady who will be gracing you with her voice tonight. Without further ado, may I present, Ms. Audrey Evans!”

A woman walked onto the stage as the man exited the stage. She wore a red short-sleeved dress that hugged her frame and ended at the knees, her feet in black high-heeled shoes. What made her stand out the most to Matthew was her beautiful red wavy hair, and blue eyes.

I don’t think I’ve ever come across a woman with red hair and blue eyes before, he thought.

“Thank you, Marvin,” she said, nodding to the man that had introduced her. “We’re going to liven up this joint and have you dancing until you can’t dance anymore!” She gave a cue to the band, and they started it off, the song familiar to Matthew. He realized what it was when she sang the chorus. It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing/Do ap do ap do ap do ap…/It don’t mean a thing, all you’ve got to do is sing.

“Yeah,” Victor approved, nodding his head to the beat. Matthew noticed he had an eye on a girl dancing near the stage, and soon enough, Victor got up and moved to her, dancing alongside her.

Matthew watched how Audrey sang, and loved her voice. Her voice had an edge to it, and power, like she knew what she was doing. It had a husky tone to it that suited her perfectly. He tapped his long fingers on the table in time to the music, watching the others wander off as he listened to Audrey sing.

She sang many other songs he recognized, and he thought that she did well with each of them.

On the last song she swayed in time with the music, cradling the microphone in between her hands. She scanned the audience as she sang, and he could have sworn she looked directly at him. Her stare lingered for a few seconds before her gaze moved on to the rest of the club.

I must meet her. One way or another, Matthew thought as her song ended, everyone clapping as she walked off the stage and through the Employees Only door.