I'll See You Next Lifetime
His breath caught in his throat. Or as much breath as the undead could have. There she stood before him...Annie...but that was impossible because Annie was gone. Long gone like his...He couldn't bring himself to say it.
With a hand on her hip and a snap of her finger he was entranced. The royal blue of her dress flowed against her rich skin. Her red lips and bright smile made his feet feel like cement. He wanted to bask in her presence. She reminded himself of what he was missing...home...The Delta.
He hadn't returned in years since that night. He had followed his little cousin Sammie to Chicago. He had made his brother a promise. A promise he would keep until the end. Watch after Sammie. Let him live his life.
He was always there. In the shadows watching over him. That's what led him here to her. Sammie was set to play later tonight and he wanted to see him perform.
She belted. "Come on over baaaabay. Cooooome on over..." Stack's attention was brought back to the present. To her. She swayed back and forth on stage with a woman singing. Together they looked like swirls of caramel and chocolate. A flurry of red and blue with shining eyes and beautiful smiles.
He had to speak to her. He made his way to the stage as she exited along the stairs with the woman from earlier. There appeared to a tense exchange between the two. Stack could sense the familiarity between the two but also the disconnect. The other woman walked past himself without so much as a glance. He moved into the path of Annie...
"Shit," he thought. He knew her name wasn't Annie but fuck if she didn't remind him of her. She looked at him with big doe eyes and an arched brow.
"Can I help you?" She firmly stated and tensed her body as if preparing to defend herself. She was obviously was still tense from her previous conversation.
His mind went completely blank. He stuttered. Stack never stammered. He always had a slick word. But he was speechless.
"Uh...hmm...I mean my name is Stack."
"Okay...Stack can I help you or...?" Her impatience with him taking up her time emphasized as the or rolled off her tongue. She had an important thing to prepare for. She was finally going to the department store to apply.
"I just wanted to introduce myself." He ran a hand down his face and shuffled from side to side. He collected his thoughts and gave a bright smile. The twinkle of his gold tooth bounced against the city lights.
"You sang mighty fine up there."
"Mighty fine? You must not be from here." Ruby quickly picked up on the southern drawl of his voice. It was slow and sweet like molasses. "Hmmm," she thought, "these country men keep coming up to Chicago hoping and praying for a better life. Chicago the same as Mississippi. Just with tall buildings."
"Well thank you," she said. "I must get going. I have something important to do." Stack moved his feet as Ruby attempted to move around him. Slightly disconcerted, Ruby lifted her eyes to meet him.
"I was just wondering if I could call on you some time?"
"Call on me? Yeah you are definitely not from here. Listen I don't have much time and I have places to be. Now could you kindly move."
Stack felt the slight sting of rejection but refused to allow that to deter him.
He said, "Yes call on you. You look like a proper lady. I would never want to disrespect you or your time. I just want a few moments with ya."
Ruby knew he wouldn't let up until she agreed so she huffed, "Fine."
Stack grinned even brighter placing a tooth pick in his mouth.
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