Monday, September 25, 2006

Through The Looking Glass

The uniform was familiar, but the stadium was different. Yes, he was wearing the jeans, sportcoat, oxford shirt and adidas Forums. And yes, it was still a jazz club, not quite as smoky as he was used to. But the band members, along with most of the patrons, were white. He didn't know a single person in the place. And because of her, he was a ball of nerves.

He saw her with her friend, sitting at the edge of the stage sipping big awkwardly constructed drinks, full of fruit and color. In fact, they possessed the only color in the place. He watched for a little while, looking for their men to approach. Her friend was definitely wearing a wedding rock, but she herself was ringless.

He ordered a drink from Mike and took a seat at the other end of the stage so he had a direct line of sight to them. Slowly he sipped the Cuba Libre, waiting for signs that they were accompanied by men. He never saw any.

He walked back to the bar. "Mike, I need a small favor." "What is it?" "There are two women sitting at the stage. I wanna send them some drinks." "You wanna send them a shot?" "Nah, whatever they want. I just need you to tell their server and put it on my tab." And he went back to his seat.

A few minutes later, the waitress walks over to ask the ladies a question, and very conservative looking drinks arrived at the table. The waitress bent down to respond to a question by the single one and she answered by twisting her hair.

The ladies looked up and raised their drinks, mouthing "thank you". He raised his glass in a return salute and continued to watch the band. A moment or so later, the married one went to the restroom. It was time to move.

He was extremely self conscious as he walked across the room. He'd never felt so aware of the length of his stride or the bounce in his step.

He knelt beside her chair. "Hi, I'm Zed." "I'm Teresa." She smiled and shook his hand. She was warm or the dress with the plunging neckline made him feel warmer.

"My friend and I had a bet that you're either a professor or a musician. Which one is it?" "That's pretty good. At least you didn't think I was a bum. Actually, I'm a [blank]." "Really? We were kind of far off, weren't we?" "Yeah, I think so." They laughed and he was at ease. The conversation flowed freely.

Her married friend came back, he introduced himself to her and decided to take leave of them. "Could we go out sometime? Get to know each other a little better?" And with that, she grabbed a pen and made his night.

And that's how he got comfortable on the other side of the looking glass.

Stay Cool,
KZ

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

That is cool Zed

oh yeah FIRST!!!!!

1969 said...

Smooth. I like it Zed.

(Rob Mack, you taking notes on how to swagger?)

Anonymous said...

Sounds promising and unusually optimistic.

onefromphilly said...

Sounds like a good start!
*sending positive vibes your way*

A.u.n.t. Jackie said...

yup, that's how you get your smooth on!

Angie said...

I like.

You make me want to go sit my ass near a stage somewhere and do the drink sending!

Knockout Zed said...

@Newy
I try, mama, I try.

@Sixy
I need to take notes from Rob Mack. That dude is a winner!

@Chele
I am an optimist, aren't I?

@OneFrom
Who knows. I felt like I was home for a little while there.

@Miss Ahmad
That actually used to be me. I don't know what happened to him.

@Angie
You'd send drinks? That's my kind of woman!

KZ

BKBajan said...

Hey Zed, *waving* had to play catch up, sounds like you were going through some shhht, happy to see you are back in the game - Today is a Good Day. . . .

Miz JJ said...

How Zed got his groove back. Nice moves. Hope you have fun.

A.u.n.t. Jackie said...

for some reason i think you still got it in you, you're just playing shy boy for us bloggers:-)

Anonymous said...

I have not had the cherry drink since (Sweetartini)...
Great spot for meeting new people. Awesome ambiance...

Yay! for Zednanreh...I want you to find her and get off this damn blog thang!

Disco said...

At least this post wasn't an impetus for hate mail!! LOL

Love ya!

Anonymous said...

Alright! You better get your grown and sexy on "through the looking glass..."

Ming Houser, Realtor said...

Really nice. For a minute I felt like I was at the Jazz spot, too...

Mr.Slish said...

Lol...Lemme find out you been watching mo betta blues again..lol

Sounds like you got ya swagger back Playboy!!!

Angel said...

i see you with you strut on! you need some theme music boo! ;-)

"Now girls step up to this
One simple kiss, and it's over Miss
Sold to nice dreamers, high as the price seem
girlfriend, you been scooped like ice cream
So just swing or fling a gathering try to cling
Cause It's a Big Daddy Thing
And I'm lovin em right word is bond
So just play Marvin Gaye and Let's Get It On
I make it real good like Dr. Feelgood
To make sure that my point is understood
That when it comes to this there's none greater
Sincerely yours... the smooth operator" ;-)

Sangindiva said...

Damn Zeddie-
You tryin' ta get a girlfriend for the winter?!
That was a reeeeal smooth post :)
was it a true story?

@ fallen- gurl you can write a poem about ANYTHING!!
That's why you're the homie! :)

Knockout Zed said...

@OSB
Finally, a good day. Welcome back!

@Miz JJ
Shit, I hope I have fun too! Thanks.

@Miss Ahmad
Opportunity was lacking. Actually, me leaving the house was lacking. Maybe opportunity was there all along.

@Up In
The ambiance is off the chain. If I could just see mo' colors...

The blog thing is disheartening, no?

@Robyn
You haven't seen my Hotmail inbox yet!

@TS
I'm trying, though it's much less fun without a BOB to set if off.

@Dynasty
I'm glad I could take you there a little.

@Slish
That was a little swagger. I was nervous as hell in the beginning and I can't explain why.

@FA
You quoted the man himself! Nice!

@SD
I was at home spazzin' out because my internet went down. That's the only reason I left home. Sad but true. When I got to the club, I was happy I left home. Yeah, it's a true story.

KZ

BZ said...

Hercules! Hercules! HAHAHA I'm glad you had a good time. Definitely a great read. And, I have to agree w/ Chele on the positivity. Glad to see you still have some! :-P

The Stiltwalker said...

how sweet. You've inspired me to send some bastid a drink.