Elegant Black

by M. L. Bullock

  Deb said, “Nope. I’m fine. I’ll take the bus, Levi, or maybe I can ride with Candace. It’s lame anyway. We’re singing Christmas music, and it’s only October.” She grinned her goofy, silver smile, and I grinned back.

  “Okay. I’ll at least get you an autograph.”

  She turned up the radio as Naomi slammed her bedroom door upstairs, and for a little while the two of us pretended we were a happy family. We gobbled up hot dogs and parted ways. Deb went off to do her homework, and I went downstairs to wait for the band to show up. I decided against telling them about the tickets. It would only cause headaches. Myron would demand that I take him, but I’d already made up my mind. I was taking Lisa and popping the question during the band’s Elegant Black performance.

  Finally, after the shit day I’d had, everything was coming up roses.

  Levi Wallace finally caught a break. Or so I believed.

  Chapter Two—Levi

  The basement was full of smoke even though the rest of the band had left fifteen minutes ago—the aromas of cloudy incense, Myron’s clove cigarette and other substances of the illegal sort (courtesy of Myron’s little brother Jimmy) filled the tight space. Seated on the floor beside me was Lisa, my muse and soon-to-be wife. Yeah, I was pretty sure she would say yes. Her dark brown hair swung around her face as she writhed on the pillow to the tune on the radio. Elegant Black played at full blast. We hadn’t purchased the record yet, but our favorite station played it regularly. The whole world had gone crazy over the single and the whole album. And to think, I had tickets to the show! I couldn’t wait to tell her. I was going to do that as soon as I could speak. Man, this weed had brought me to my knees. I grinned at the sight of my beautiful girlfriend twisting to the music. I couldn’t get enough of it either; there was something about the damn song that set my soul on fire. The seductive lead, the angry guitar, the beauty of the smashing drum kit. I set my guitar down, my tired fingers numb and burning from picking strings like a clumsy madman.

  This tune had been on all our minds during our rehearsal. Myron picked out the bass easily enough while I struggled with the lead. I had the chords right but didn’t have Rex Teaser’s voice. Jimmy didn’t know his ass from a hole in the ground, but by the end of the two-hour session he could at least keep the rhythm. That was kind of important for a drummer. He’d have to get better or get lost. Jackie Dean, our second lead and manager, couldn’t make it to practice tonight, something about his kid being sick, but it had been a good practice. Despite the fact that we had only a few original songs, we had a catalog of popular rock songs that we covered pretty damn well. I was hoping that Jackie could find us a gig soon, but we couldn’t even decide on a name for our band, so it was probably just as well.

  Ever since we graduated high school, things seemed to move too slowly and none of us were as excited about breaking out as we used to be. I never expected that. When we were in school, we were all convinced that it was the only thing holding us back. We’d all been wrong about that. It took more than growing your hair and stroking a guitar to make it in this business. So far, we couldn’t even break into the local scene, much less hit the charts.

  All Myron talked about these days was getting a promotion at the beer plant. Jackie wanted nothing more than to be a cop and was going to the academy in the spring. A cop, of all things. Jimmy would never amount to anything. He was an A-Number-One-Screw-Up. Life had come crashing in on all of us. But I wasn’t ready to give up on this dream of mine, to rock a stadium with my guitar in my hand, Lisa’s worshipful face glowing up at me. Yeah, that hadn’t happened even though I was as talented as the next guy. More so, probably.

  Lisa was on her feet now; her hair covered her face mysteriously as she snapped her fingers and twisted her waist to the music. I finished smoking my roach and leaned back to enjoy the show. She was naturally provocative; she had a talent for flirting, one that matched my own. She had a slim body with slightly rounded hips. She wasn’t as chesty as Jackie’s wife, Rhonda, a minor television actress with an incredible rack, but I didn’t care about breasts the way some guys did. Sure, I appreciated a good-looking set, I wasn’t gay or anything, but it wasn’t the most important thing to me. So what was it about this girl that made me want to marry her? Her eyes. That had to be it. Those shiny blue eyes.

  “Dance with me, Levi,” she pleaded again. Her hair slid back and her moist lips parted as she reached for me. I shook my head and smiled back. I was high, so I couldn’t dance if I wanted to, but she was so beautiful. All I wanted to do—all I could do—was watch her. She turned the radio up as she continued to spin and twist to the song. It would be over soon. And then hopefully she would collapse beside me and we would make love until neither of us could move. God, I wanted her so badly. I had to have her. I was high as a kite and could barely move my arms, but my heart was full. I could almost feel it swelling inside my chest. Swelling and shrinking, beating and thumping for Lisa. If my heart had a voice, it would say, “Li-sa, Li-sa.”

  Hey, maybe it did have a voice.

  I laughed at the thought. It didn’t make sense, but then again it did. Everything made sense right at this moment. I was one with the Universe and soon would be one with Lisa. When the song ended, I held out my arms to her and she smiled as she pretended to chew on her fingernail. I was mesmerized by her perfect lips. She never wore lipstick. She didn’t need to; her lips were the perfect shade of pink.

  And then she was in my arms and her musky perfume filled my nostrils as I breathed in the scent of her skin. She was kissing me, and I felt as if I would melt into her. The basement was cold; it had begun to snow earlier. Lisa shed her burgundy turtleneck and cast it to the side. I tugged off my shirt and we lay together on the sea of pillows, skin on skin, kissing and touching and loving. She was perfect in every way. I had been her first; I knew that even though we never talked about it. A guy just knows those kinds of things. Her gold heart pendant shone in the dim light, and her eyes glistened with desire as her arms leisurely rested around my neck.

  “Lisa,” I whispered lazily as I helped her out of her jeans and then she helped me out of mine. And then we were together, like two stars colliding, two oceans crashing into one another until we weren’t two but one. And I was lost in her depths.

  Afterward, we fell asleep and when I woke up, it was morning and the room was icy cold. Lisa was gone, but she’d left a gift on the pillow beside me. A note she’d penned while I slept.

  Furious Peacocks.

  To anyone else it wouldn’t make sense, but I knew exactly what this was. This would be the name of the band. I grinned as I folded the paper and dressed quickly. I slid the note in my pocket and dusted myself off. The radio was still playing; another tune from the Black Knights bubbled from the black and silver box. It must be early in the morning because Hillbilly John was still spinning the tunes.

  “You heard that right, folks. It’s not a rumor. The Black Knights are coming to the New Field Arena tomorrow night. If you don’t already have your tickets, then you are probably out of luck. This is going to be a sold-out show, folks. Sorry.”

  I grinned proudly as the tune faded and Rocket Star began to play. I had tickets, right? I hadn’t dreamed all that, had I? Where had I put those tickets? Man, I didn’t even tell Lisa about the concert. I racked my brain. Come on, dude. How can you be so irresponsible? Those tickets are priceless! Hey, that’s an idea. I mean, the letter didn’t say I couldn’t sell them. I bet I’d make a few dollars. Immediately I shrugged off that idea. No way was I selling those tickets. I dug in my jacket. Not there. I searched my pants pockets. Not there.

  “Crap!” I shouted as I tossed pillows around hoping to find where I’d stashed the tickets. What if Jimmy had found them? Aw, man… I flipped open my guitar case. Yeah, there they were, hidden in the side pocket.

  So it hadn’t been a dream. Not at all. I really did have two tickets to the Elegant Black tour and backstage passes. I put them in my pocket and raced upstairs to make su
re Debbie had eaten breakfast. It was eight o’clock already, and I had to be at work in an hour. She’d clearly had a bowl of cereal for breakfast since the Cinnamon Grahams were open and on the table. I closed the box and put it back in the cabinet. I peeked around the corner and could see that Naomi was passed out on the couch. I crept close to her to make sure she was still breathing, and of course she was. I wasn’t sure how I would feel if she wasn’t, and I didn’t have time to ponder my emotions this morning.

  I hurried off for a shower, hid the tickets in my closet and went next door to talk to Junior before I headed to work. Man, I hated taking the bus, but at least I had that option. Nope, I couldn’t be late. I needed tomorrow night off. I wasn’t worried about Lisa taking off work. Her boss was her dad; he owned a diner, and he completely spoiled her. If she wanted to take off she could, anytime. I don’t think he liked me too much, but he never said it. As long as I treated his daughter right, why wouldn’t he? Maybe I should ask his permission before I asked Lisa to marry me.

  Nah. I wouldn’t do that. He might say no, and then what? I’d ask her anyway. No need to start our son-in-law/father-in-law relationship on bad terms.

  After a quick consultation, Junior informed me that I was merely low on oil. I hadn’t slung a rod yet, but I obviously had some kind of serious leak, probably around the manifold. He promised to take a look at it for me today and let me know something tonight. I breathed a sigh of relief as I headed to the bus. Maybe things were getting better. I hoped Sanja didn’t give me a hard time about tomorrow night. I really hoped he didn’t.

  I climbed onto the bus and slowly walked to the back to my usual seat. I hadn’t been on the bus in at least six months, not since I bought the Vega, but not much had changed. The same unfriendly driver who I always suspected took a few nips before climbing behind the wheel. The same sad people in their usual spots. The old lady who always crocheted hats was in the first seat. She was busy now working on something black. Four seats behind her on the opposite side was the long-haired guy who smelled like onions and garlic. He must work at a restaurant or something. Two seats behind him was the kid with the lazy eye. He couldn’t be more than fourteen or so. Why wasn’t he in school? Shouldn’t all kids be in school? Even kids with lazy eyes? He gave me an unfriendly squint before leaning his head against the window and closing his eyes as the bus began to roll away.

  Yep, all things were as they always had been. Except for the guy sitting in my seat. I was so surprised to see him I didn’t move for a few seconds. He grinned at me, showing the widest smile and the whitest teeth I’d ever seen on a human being. He had shaggy, shoulder-length feathered black hair and strange eyes. He was a rocker, that much I knew, with an assortment of leather necklaces around his neck. He tilted his head in my direction, and his leonine smile never faded as his fingers tapped on the back of the seat in front of him. He wore a ripped sleeveless shirt even though it was freezing out.

  “Hey,” I said in a whisper as I sat down in the nearest seat. The stranger didn’t return my greeting, and I pretended that didn’t bother me. He continued to stare at me and grin, all the while tapping on the seat.

  Tap, tap. Tap, tap, tap. Tap, tap, tappity, tap, tap.

  That sounded strangely familiar. What was that from? He continued to tap…that was Elegant Black! Was the guy a drummer? Maybe he’d want to join the band. (Sorry, Jimmy.) I couldn’t believe how quickly my mind raced toward this solution. He tapped on, and I became more curious by the minute. As the driver sailed down Eighth Street, running a yellow light with reckless abandon, I spun around to ask the guy about it.

  Only he wasn’t there.

  The rocker was gone. “Hey,” I said to the emptiness. Was this jerk playing hide-and-seek with me? I got up to look around, but he wasn’t here. I even looked under the seat. There was no bathroom on this bus and nowhere for him to hide. Nowhere!

  Okay, Wallace. Get your head out of your ass. It’s the weed. You’ve got to stop smoking that shit. Now you’re hallucinating.

  The bus pulled up to the corner of Coronado and Eighth, and the driver waited for me to get off. I couldn’t do anything except stare at the empty seat.

  “I can’t wait all day,” the skinny driver squawked at me. “You getting off here?”

  “Yeah, I’m getting off here,” I said as I turned my back and shivered. Hell yeah, I was getting off here. I felt sick to my stomach, and my skin wanted to crawl off my body. I stepped off the bus and watched it roll away. I almost screamed at what I saw.

  The dark-haired rocker waved at me from the back window. He grinned as if we were old pals and he’d pranked me. He’d been there the whole time. I hadn’t imagined him, but I knew for a damn fact that he wasn’t there when I got off. He wasn’t! And how was it nobody else on that bus seemed to see the weirdo? I closed my eyes for a second to reset my brain, but it didn’t work. I couldn’t stand out here all day, and I couldn’t be late if I wanted to take tomorrow off. I had to be on my best behavior today. I’d think about all this weird shit later. I headed inside Crazy Sanja’s Electronics Store and forgot all about the weirdo.

  At least for a little while.

  Chapter Three—Levi

  “No way. I need you here tomorrow night, Wallace. We have a Wild and Crazy Sale, remember?” Sanja gave me a wide-eyed stare as he waved his hands around. My boss’ horrible Steve Martin impersonations normally brought me a great deal of amusement, but I wasn’t having any of his nonsense tonight.

  “No way to you, Sanja. I have plans. Did you not hear me? I have concert tickets. To the Black Knights.” I shuffled impatiently in my suede shoes and tossed the last box on the counter. “Besides, Abner will cover for me; I always fill in for him.”

  Sanja closed his eyes and said, “One, two, three, four and five…” My boss was a big believer in mysticism, and he wasn’t above using his “psychic” powers to try and manipulate me.

  “You can count all you want, Sanja Pashwa. I’m outta here, and I’m not coming back until Monday morning.”

  “I am sorry for your plans, Wallace, but you will be here with me tomorrow night. We’re having a Wild and Crazy Sale!”

  “That’s some bull, man. I’m not going to be here. I’m gonna be at the New Field Arena.” I tossed my store apron on the counter and headed toward the glass doors. It was ten minutes past quitting time anyway.

  “You walk out, and you don’t come back at all. I have nothing else for you—no more work. You go away for good.” Sanja’s puffed-up cheeks and his angry red face let me know he wasn’t joking around.

  Could I afford to lose this job? Hell no. Piece-of-shit father of mine really screwed me over. If I ever found him, I’d beat the hell out of him.

  “This isn’t right, Sanja! You won’t be by yourself; I know Abner will cover for me!” Jobs were hard to come by in this city, and even though my boss was an asshole, he paid me pretty well. I was looking forward to receiving my Christmas bonus soon. I would need it to keep the household going. Deb would need presents, and God only knew what Naomi would need. More pills? Walking out would put me in a bind.

  “Abner is sick, too sick. You be back tomorrow noon. Wild and Crazy Sale until midnight.”

  “Whatever,” I mumbled as I started to walk out of the store. I paused and swallowed my pride. I had to, didn’t I? “But I have to leave at seven, Sanja.”

  “You stay until midnight, Wallace. Wild and Crazy Sale until midnight.”

  “Can’t do it. How about ten? I can stay until ten o’clock.” The band will probably play their new stuff at the beginning. I won’t miss much, I lied to myself. Who was I kidding? I wanted to hear every song, every note, the old and the new. I had to see every move the Black Knights made. There was no band like the Black Knights. They were the be-all and end-all of rock and roll as far as I was concerned. And I was going to have the opportunity to meet them.

  Leave it to Abner to let me down. I was going to remember that. I added Abner’s offense to my growing li
st of people who needed an ass-whipping.

  “Okay, ten o’clock but not one minute earlier.”

  “Fine,” I muttered as I stomped out of the store.

  I hadn’t been sure before, even though I bought a ring, but I was sure now. Absolutely sure. I was going to ask Lisa to marry me at the concert, and I was going to wait until the band played Elegant Black, her favorite song and mine. Lisa would be my wife. She was the one! I practically skipped as I approached the bus stop. But then my heart started pounding. Did I really want to ride the bus again? What if that creep was still on there?

  Come on, man. You were hallucinating or something. Maybe you were daydreaming. What do you think you saw? The Invisible Man?

  I decided to walk home. It was only ten blocks. It might take me thirty minutes, but I could use the time to think. How would I propose? I would wait until there was a lull in the song, that one part with the sitar solo. That would be righteous! I’d fall on one knee and hold up the box. Then I’d open it and she’d jump up and down and say yes. People would be screaming, jumping up and down with us when I finally kissed her. Mrs. Lisa Wallace. Yeah, righteous.

  And what was I going to say to Rex Teaser when I met him? Would I tell him that I’d spent the past three weeks trying to pick out the tune but couldn’t do it justice? I wouldn’t say anything as embarrassing as that. I awkwardly kicked at a small stack of empty soda cans that littered the sidewalk and thought about the song as I walked along. I shoved my hands deep into the pockets of my fleece-lined corduroy jacket. Geesh, it was cold out here. Yeah, the riffs were tricky, the notes heavily articulated, and there was no doubt the whole song—hell, the whole album—had been written by geniuses.

  “Hey, Rex! Man, you’re a genius!” Lame-o, Levi. Don’t say anything that stupid. I was bummed I wasn’t going to catch all of the concert, but at least I would get to meet the Knights. That’s what mattered, right? As I daydreamed about hanging out with Rex, Brice and Daniel, I made my way home through the quiet streets of Eugene Springs. And yeah, it was quiet tonight. Unusually quiet. Evening had come quickly, and there were a few glittering stars shining down on me. There was the scent of burning leaves in the air and the almost-promise of snow, too. I could see my breath, and the air was so cold it burned my lungs. A blast of wind tossed dried leaves around my feet, and I hurried to my corner. Wow, I’d come a long way without even thinking about it.