14 May 2020

Trigger: Some of the Best of Bennett

Use the following song titles by Tony Bennett as you wish in your story

• I wanna be around
• The good life
• Because of you
• For once in my life
• Smile though your heart is aching
• The best is yet to come
• Life is a song
• Poor little rich girl
• When we were young last night
• I’ll be seeing you
• Who can I turn to

Poor little rich girl

The road stretched out ahead of me, as far as I could see. That’s all there is in the central part of the US. Mile after mile of straight, boring, road. A least I had changed from Interstate 70 after St Louis and decided to take the old highway 40 through this part of the country. I wasn’t really in any hurry. I was leaving things, and people, behind. The best was yet to come, at least that is what I told myself.

For once in my life, I was doing the right thing. It had not been easy, leaving my comfortable job and friends, or so I called them. When I got into trouble, it seemed those friends became” too busy to see me, or help me. I guess it did not help that they were Beverly’s friends really. I had just come along and joined the crowd. It was her money that attracted them all. Well, they had money too. It was that old family money where they tend to marry into each other’s money. Keeping it all in the crowd was what I discovered. And when it appeared that we might be getting too close, they did everything they could to undermine me in her eyes. They felt sorry for the little rich girl being involved with a poor man, as if it would rub off on her and on them.

It didn’t help much either, that I worked for the family business. That’s how I met her. It was at the company picnic. All the family members were expected to attend to show the benefits of the good life. Just keep working hard all you employees and perhaps, someday, you too will be wealthy enough to be in the ruling class. At least that’s how I saw it.

It was clear that Beverly did not really fit in with all the rest of us there. She had been standing off to the side, holding her ice tea (no alcohol permitted, at least openly) in her hand as the ice melted in the september midwest heat. I grabbed a glass, filled it with cubes and walked over. “You look as if you are missing your AC at this moment. Here, put this on the inside of your wrist, it will cool you off.”

She had looked up at me with those big brown eyes and smiled. “Thanks, I was just wondering how long I have to stay to show my support for the family flag.” And she held the glass between both wrists. “Wow, she said after a few seconds, it really does seem to work.”

“Ah, its just a diversion. It changes the way you look at the heat. It’s still typical Indiana heat and humidity. We just have to wait until October for it to cool down.”

“Yes, she laughed, we get one good month and then we get freeze and cold until April, then another nice month before June and here we are again.”

“So why do you stay?” I questioned.

And she smiled again. “I dont really. I scuttle off to florida or the caribean in the winter and go to our summer house in rhode island in the summer. In fact, I’m heading off at the end of the week. I know, a really shallow lifestyle huh.”

“Not if you can lead it” I said. “Sounds like a pretty good life if you ask me…which you didn’t.”

By this time, the ice had melted in the glass and the moisture from the outside was dripping down onto her light yellow summer dress, making a water stain. “Sorry bout that” I said as I went to the table and brought back a napkin.

“ Are you always so thoughtful to damsels in distress?” she asked.

“Depends on the Damsel. But perhaps I could offer you a true cold drink. There’s a lovely little watering hole not far from here. It’s not fancy but the AC, and the beer, are extremely cold.”

She thought for a second, looking over to where the boss was holding court with a gaggle of the junior execs. “I’ve shown my face and now Daddy is engaged in his pontificating about the marvelous opportunity they all have to work for Juniper Services. He wont miss me for at least an hour. Do you have a car? I came with him.”

“It’s not exactly a limo but it gets me where I need to go.” I pointed to the lot at the side of the field. It’s over there, the white Chevy.” She looked and began walking. “Do they have anything cold other than beer. I think I could use a bloody.”

“Oh yeah, Fran makes the best bloodies…if you like em spicy.”

She looked back at me. “ I love all things spicy,” she said with a sly smile. I pondered that comment as I walked her to the car and opened the door for her. She slid her slender tanned legs in and said, “ Oh and a gentleman too.”

We walked into the Central Avenue Cafe. Fran was behind the bar of the long narrow room, always somewhat dark day or night. It hadn’t changed in the 25 years Fran had been the owner. We sat on the stools right across from her..She already had opened the cooler, pulled out a bottle, and popped the cap off a beer. “Here’s your Strohs Jimmy. What does the lady want?”

Beverly replied, ‘the lady wants a bloody, with two large olives and dont hold back the tobasco.”

Fran gave an exaggerated look and snapped back. “Oh, she wants a regular” and with a laugh proceeded with the mixing, shaking the liquids in the ice shaker before pouring it into a tall glass.

Beverly raised the glass, clinking it against my bottle. “Here’s to cold and spicy”. I should have paid a bit more attention to that remark as I look back on how things turned out. It was amazingly prophetic.

And the afternoon turned to evening, though you couldn’t really tell from the inside. We laughed and joked. Fran served us up two big steaks with home made fries. The basketball playoff game came on and she cheered the home team with great knowledge of the intricacies of the sport. I was not only impressed, I was bowled over by this brown eyed woman.

Daddy was at the door as | walked her up the step. Hello Mr Juniper, I said, greeting him. He looked at me without saying anything, addressing Beverly. “I missed you. You should have told me you were leaving.”

“Oh Daddy, you were doing your thing and James here was kind enough to take care of me and feed me dinner and bring me home. And he has two tickets to the basketball game next week and I have begged him to take me. And she turned to me. “I’ve had a wonderful time. Thanks for getting me out of my routine. I hope Fran will let me come back?”

“I wouldn’t worry,” I replied. “She gave me the thumbs up as we left. We can go for dinner if you like before the game.”

“Its a date then,” she said as she walked through the door which Daddy Juniper closed, but not before giving me a good long look.

And Beverly had not gone to Rhode Island the next week, or even the next. Over the next months we were regulars at the Cafe. Beverly loved hearing Frans stories of the characters she had met over the years. And Bev began to invite me to events with her friends, all from the wealthier clans in town. I suppose for a while I was an exotic pet. I was a creative writer in the ad department at Junipers and did have a bit of patter and could BS my way through most situations.

As time passed though at work, I realized I was not being given choice assignments, especially on something new. It was all rewrite and editing and basic work any intern could do. And it seemed whenever I approached a group of staff, they would clam up as I came up. Well, that comes with dating the owners daughter I guess. But it was the snide comments that began to get to me. Always something of a put down of my ideas or work.

November came, and Beverly did not leave for florida with her friends as usual. Finally, I was invited to the Junipers for their annual Christmas party. It was a big tradition for the wealthy crowd. Beverly told me it was a formal affair so I went out to rent a tux.

Upon arrival, I was the first one there. Jenkins, their butler told me as I entered, “9 oclock for this crowd really means 10. Miss Beverly is not yet dressed.” And he took me to the bar where the small orchestra was getting settled. He brought me a beer, some dark heavy beer, not my beloved crisp clean Stroh’s apologizing that it was all they had unless I wanted a cocktail.” I felt I should keep my wits about me.

Slowly the crowd drifted in finally a large group entered at the same time, led by Randolf Warren, of the Bosten Warrens’ he had told me the first time we met.” And while that did not matter to me, it was a big deal to him and all the others of that circle.

Beverly had just come down and had come toward me, when Randolf said in a loud voice. “Well, you can put them in a tux, but it still looks like a rent a date.”

I’m not at all a physical guy, though athletic and in good shape. But I could not help myself, I crossed over to him and with a short direct punch, hit him square on the nose. Blood spurted all over him and the floor and his friends jumped to hold me and I began to flail at them.

“JAMES” Beverly yelled at me “What are you doing?” Of course the entire room had gone quiet, even the orchestra. And she took my arm away from the guys holding me and began walking me to the door. “I think you should leave.”

I tried to smile, even though my heart was aching. “I’ll be seeing you, I hope” I said.

Those brown eyes looked at me sadly, “I’m not sure. I’ll have to think about it.”

The following monday at work, I was called into the office of the creative department and told my work was no longer up to standard and I was being let go, immediately. A security guy walked me to my desk and watched as I put my personal items in a box and I was escorted out.

And that’s how Midnight and I come to be on this long lonely road heading west. The sun was directly in my eyes as it sank down toward the horizon. I already had on my sun glasses but it was still glaring in on me under the visor. A good time to stop.

A sign for a country diner said two miles to home cooking. “Sounds right for me,” I thought as I nosed the Chevy into the mostly empty parking lot. Only a few customers were seated in the booths along the window. From habit, I sat down on a stool at the counter. A heavyset woman with frizzy blond hair walked over to me, placed a menu down in front then put a cup on the counter and poured in some coffee. “You look like you need something to cheer you up” she said. “How about some of Eula May’s meat loaf and macaroni. That’s me, I make it myself. It’s the best you’ll find around here.”

I smiled my thanks and shook my head yes. The big platter soon arrived and you know, it did make me feel better. Eula May began to inquire about me and where I was going. “To start a new life” I mused almost to myself.

“There’s a lot of that goin’ round,” she replied.