Lorna looked over at George, who was coming out of the walk-in with a box of frozen clams.
“Interesting gig you have there, playing that thing,” she said. “How did you get into that?”
“That’s where I make most of my money. I sure don’t make much here!”
“You get paid more than you’re worth, Albino,” George said, chipping in. “So stop yakking and get back to work. You too, Redbone.”
Lorna smiled at Alex and rolled her eyes, then turned and walked back to the dining room.
—-
Lorna and Alex continued to flirt and trade smiles and their brief conversations here and there became more comfortable and more than just snippets. A couple times when their breaks coincided and they had a little down time they had a chance to get to know each other a little better. She told him she was originally from Louisiana and was a divorced, single mom. She lived with her daughter in a small, two bedroom bungalow in an older part of town. Savannah had just graduated from high school and was working at a clothing store. She’d like to go to college but there wasn’t enough money for that.
“So, how did you get into busking in a tux outside the theater?” Lorna asked.
“A couple years ago I was broke and needed money so I started playing sax on the street and found I could make some money, especially if I could play requests. So I practiced like hell and learned all the standards and show tunes I could. I’d find a busy corner and play for hours. Then I thought of the theaters. There are six large theaters downtown that present plays year-round and hundreds of people go in and out of those theaters before and after the shows. I studied the start times and running times and found that most nights I could hit two theaters when people were going in, and two when shows were letting out. And those people tip. So I dug out the old tux and switched to clarinet because it’s light weight. People look at me as a serious musician instead of some bum on the street. The money’s great most of the time and it’s only a couple hours of playing.”
“How often do you do it?”
“It depends, three or four nights a week. Thursday, Friday and Saturday are good. Sundays and early in the week they don’t tip as well.”
“Unh, unh, unh,” Lorna said, shaking her head. “I thought you were just a cook in the kitchen and here I am finding out all kinds of things about you. A talented musician and a creative entrepreneur on top of your day job. You’re an interesting fellow, Alex.”
—-
Alex thought about Lorna a lot. The ice had been broken but he was still unsure of how to proceed. Was she interested in him? There definitely seemed to be some chemistry between them, but the age and color barriers held him back. Should he risk asking her out? He was shy and didn’t want to screw up and possibly make things awkward at work.
—-
Lorna checked the theater listings, and then called each box office to find out the approximate times that the shows ended. Since all of the theaters were within easy walking distance she thought perhaps she could happen upon Alex outside one of the playhouses near the end of the night and maybe they could go out for a drink or something.
On Friday night she went to one theater and Alex wasn’t there, and then she went back to the same theater where she’d seen him the week before but he wasn’t there either. There was another one two blocks over so she started walking. As she neared the theater she heard the familiar lyrical sound of the clarinet. She quickened her gait.
Alex spotted her coming this time. She looked radiant in a light blue sleeveless jumpsuit, her licorice arms swaying as she strode toward him. He aborted ‘Over the Rainbow’ mid-verse and jumped loudly into ‘Things Ain’t What They Used To Be’. Lorna beamed like a klieg light and stood a few feet away to listen. Alex played two verses and blew a grandiose coda. Then he rose from his stool and Lorna walked close.
“Hi Lorna!” Alex said enthusiastically. “What a nice surprise. What are you doing here?”
“I don’t know, I guess the music drew me. I must be a groupie for your one-man band,” she said.
“Well, thanks for coming.”
“Are you finishing up soon? Can I buy you a drink?”
“As soon as I saw you I was done. But no, you can’t buy me a drink because I’m buying you one. Or two.” Alex reached down and picked up his tip bucket, brimming with bills. “Hold this,” he said, handing it to Lorna. Then he disassembled his horn and put it in its case and folded up his stool. Then Lorna watched as he stacked his cash and pocketed it.
They walked to a nearby pub. The place was packed inside with the after-theater crowd so they made their way out to the backyard patio and found a table. Alex put his instrument case, bucket and stool in one chair and took off his tuxedo jacket and draped it over top. As soon as they were seated a server appeared and took their order: a pitcher of ice cold beer.
“I must say Alex, I am impressed. I am with the best-dressed man around town tonight,” Lorna said.
“And I’m with the sharpest-dressed woman. I thought you looked hot in your waitress dress, but when I saw you strutting up in that jumpsuit my eyes about popped out of my head. I even hit a couple sour notes. You look incredible.”
“Thank you,” Lorna said, blushing.
“I’m so glad you came. Such a nice surprise.”
“I debated whether I should or not. I wondered if it might be too forward.”
“I’ve wanted to approach you for some time, but I wasn’t sure how. I was attracted to you the first time I saw you. And then I heard your voice. It’s so sexy.”
“Oh, please…”
“No really, Lorna. But I guess I was just too shy and not sure how you’d take it if I asked you out. I was hesitant.”
“Why were you hesitant? Was it my color?”
“Well, no, I was very attracted to you. It was more my color.”
“Your color?”
“Yeah, I wasn’t sure if you’d really be interested. And…”
“Was it my age?”
“No, it was more my age. I thought you’d think I was too young for you.”
“How old are you, Alex?”
“Twenty-six.”
“How old do you think I am?”
“I don’t know. I know you have an eighteen year-old daughter, so I’d guess mid-thirties. But you look like late twenties.”
“Bless you. I’m thirty-seven. Is that too old for you?”
“No, it’s just right. You look fabulous. Is twenty-six too young for you?”
“No, and you look great too. Especially in that stolen tux.”
They both burst out laughing. As if on cue their pitcher arrived and their waitress poured them beer in frosted mugs.
—-
They spent the next hour and a half drinking beer and talking up a storm. Their conversation flowed just as well as the beer. They shared an appetizer and made eyes. Here and there they touched: his hand on hers and hers on his, occasionally on their arms.
They both opened up and learned a lot about one another in a relatively short time. Alex found out that Lorna had been divorced for nine years from Savannah’s father, who was not a totally deadbeat dad but he was close: he had very little to do with Savannah and was usually a month or two behind with her child support, and that support would end with her turning eighteen and not continuing in school. She’d never gone to college and had worked at Bertha’s for a few years and she got by but it was never enough.