SATURDAY, APRIL 2, 2022 - SATURDAY STORY

 SATURDAY, APRIL 2, 2022 - SATURDAY STORY

I’m still working on writing fiction.

*****

Emmalee Smith and Penny Krause were teaching at Mount Hood Community College in Gresham, Oregon.  

*****

Emmalee decided that it had been too long since she had gone out on a Friday night.  In her first year at Mount Hood Community College, she went to downtown Portland several times - hoping to meet some new friends, hoping to meet a man, but generally just having an expensive night downtown with little to show for it.  The frequency got less and less in her second semester.  

But, tonight, November 6, 2016, she thought she would give it another try.  She laughed at herself when she thought of inviting Penny to join her.  Penny was a good friend, but a White Idaho farm girl at a Black bar in Portland might be just a little too much.

Fixing her hair, doing a good job of make-up, and putting on a provocative dress, she headed out.  Her first stop would be the Black Dagger on East Madison.  It was a little more upscale than some of the black bars in Portland.  Some bars were just too close to Portland State University and at age 28, she didn’t really want to hang out with college students.  

The Black Dagger was primarily a beer bar with maybe the best selection of beers in Portland.  Emmalee preferred beer over cocktails.  She knew what to expect with beer, and just didn’t like whiskey, scotch, rye, or related grain-based alcohols.  Some women like daiquiris or margaritas - but that didn’t seem to be her type of drink.  Other places had wine, but she just didn’t know enough wines to pick a good one. At 28, she could hold a glass of beer and make it last for half an hour.  

But, the Black Dagger was not very exciting tonight.  She walked in, and immediately felt the difference.  The walls had murals (hmmm - maybe she could enlarge her artwork), but the murals were Hip Hop - flashy, way too colorful for a jazz place.  She walked back to the bouncer at the door.

“What happened?” she asked.

The bouncer looked at her as if she was an alien.

“What do you mean what happened?” he answered back.

“The decor, the music seems different.” was Emmaless’s answer.

“Oh that”, answered the bouncer.  “We have a new owner out of LA and he wanted a new format and new style. Seemingly he has a few clubs in the LA area that are very successful and was trying for a new location here in Portland.” 

She thanked the bouncer and went to the bar.  She wanted cool jazz but hip hop had taken over the Black Dagger since she was last in.   She just kind of hung out for a beer, but with a younger crowd, she left after one beer.

The Jack London Revue in the Adler hotel was a good jazz spot.  She lasted there for an hour. .  A good trio was playing, and the lead singer was Stevie Wonder sound like.  She took a spot on one of the tall cocktail tables and made small talk with some of the people around her.  

A couple of guys came by and tried to hit on her.  One was interesting and they talked for a while.  He was an attorney and knew jazz well.  About 45 minutes later, he got a phone call and excused himself.  A friend had picked up some Trailblazer tickets for cheap from a scalper and he headed to the game.  But, he did take her phone number and gave her his business card.  Maybe sometime in the future, she thought.  

Afrodaddy’s was a good jazz spot, so she headed there next.  It was busy.  The Michael Bebard Explosion from Chicago was playing and Emmalee had heard them in the past.  A dude who looked tried to pick her up.  “Do you want to go to my place?”, he asked her.  Maybe after she knew him better, but two minutes after meeting him was too soon for Emmalee.  She was thinking “Gee, maybe I’m getting too old for this sort of thing.

She wasn’t paying attention as the guy put a tablet in her beer.  Soon her head was swimming and she was seeing double.  The guy asked again “Do you want to come to my place?”.  As she was staggering he grabbed her and tried to carry her out.  

But, fortunately for Emmalee, a bouncer had seen the guy drop the table in her beer.  He stopped the guy from taking Emmalee out of the club.  Emmalee was really staggering and seemed about ready to pass out.  The bouncer then took the guy to the door and told him not to come back.  Then he took Emmalee’s beer and had the bartender throw it down the drain.

Meanwhile, Emmalee had fallen, and the bouncer picked her up and put her in a booth with some friends he knew and asked the friends to keep an eye on her.  He then went behind the bar and got a cup of coffee and put that in front of Emmalee.  

“You know what he was trying?” He asked Emmalee.

“I wasn’t born yesterday”, was Emmalee’s response with a smile.  She tipped him $20.

Meanwhile, Emmalee was woozy, and the bouncer picked her up and put her in a booth with some friends he knew and asked the friends to keep an eye on her.  He then went behind the bar and got a cup of coffee and put that in front of Emmalee.  

At the table were LaToya, Janniece, Micah, and Raymond.  With the coffee, Emmalee started to recover.  Raymond started a conversation with her and soon they were talking about art, food, and politics in the Portland area.  The bouncer came over when he was free.  His name was Izaak.  At about eleven the crowd was thinning out.  On their break, the Michael Bebard Explosion band came to their table.  

Although still dulled by the knock-out pills, Emmalee enjoyed hearing from the Michael Bebard Explosion about Chicago and some of the places she knew and remembered.

Emmalee was feeling better.  This was a good group.  They suggested getting four pizzas for their table for the band’s next break.  They were laughing and having a good time, Emmalee was glad she came.  It seemed like Raymond might ask her over, but he was going hiking with a couple of his buddies on Mount Hood in the morning.  They did exchange phone numbers.

Raymond said, “I’d like to see you again, but I’ve got to get up early to go hiking with my buddies”.  He leaned over and planted a kiss on her head.  

Emmalee thought that’s been a while since a guy said he’d like to see me again!!

Izaak also was interested in Emmalee.  He sat where he could see the door, but most people were leaving and just a few were coming in - probably from other bars.

“My cousin is at Mount Hood College”, Izaak said.  They talked longer.  Izaak’s cousin was actually one of Emmalee’s students, Mariah.  Mariah was a good student with some artistic ability and Emmalee was happy to find something to talk about.

Janniece also knew some people at Mount Hood Community College.  She was working as a paralegal at a downtown law office and working on her law degree at the University of Oregon.  

“Can you tell me about your mural?”Janniece asked when Emmalee had talked about her work.  

And, Emmalee was happy to share her plans for a Black Lives Matter mural in Gresham.  

*****

But, it was Izaak who took the next step.

“What are you doing on Sunday?”, he asked.

“LaToya, Raymond, and I are going to Hood River for apple picking.  Would you like to join us?  Do you know the Walmart at 238th and Interstate 84?  We could pick you up there at about 11:00 or so?”, Izaak added.

“Could I bring a friend?  She’s a new teacher at Mount Hood and would love to go apple picking,”  asked Emmalee.

“Sure”, was Izaak’s response

When it was time to go home, Izaak walked her to her car to make sure she could drive.  But, Emmalee was still a little slow in her reactions, so Izaak took the wheel and drove.  Janniece and Micah drove behind them to get Izaak back to the club and his car.  

Izaak was a bodybuilder and could be intimidating as the club’s bouncer, but during the week he was a trainer at the best performance exercise gym in the Portland area.  

“Did you play basketball?” Izaak asked, seeing Emmalee’s height and bodybuild.

“Yes, I played at the University of Illinois”, Emmalee replied.

Izaak had been a football player and a wrestler in high school and college at Gonzaga University in Spokane.  He had tried out for the Olympics as a weightlifter and had been good, but not good enough for the U.S. Olympic team.  

Emmalee was thinking - ‘wow - this was a productive night, three possible men - the guy who went with his friend to the Trailblazer game from the Jack London Revue, Raymond who had left early because he was going hiking on Saturday, and here - Izaak had “bounced” the guy who had spiked her drink and now was driving her home.  

*****

Izaak parked Emmalee’s car and said ‘Goodnight’ and got into the car with Jannience and Micah.  She would see them again to go apple picking on Sunday.

Going inside, before falling asleep, Emmalee texted Penny about going apple picking on Sunday.  She figured there wouldn’t be a response until Saturday morning since Penny was a go-to-bed early kind of girl.

*****

And, she was right.  Penny texted back about 6:30 a.m. the next morning that apple picking in Hood River would be awesome. (Of course, Emmalee didn’t read that until about 10:00)!!

*****

Meanwhile, Penny had spent Friday night rearranging her apartment.  When she had moved in in August, it seemed like everything was ‘just right, but now two months later, she wanted a different arrangement.

And as she did the moving of things around, she thought that one wall was too drab.  She decided she would ask Emmalee for something to put on her wall.  She was thinking ‘Yes, my friend the artist probably can make something for me’.

Emmalee had been to Penny’s apartment for dinner a couple of weeks before, and Penny had been to Emmalee’s apartment too.  Yes, Penny could ask Emmalee for some decorating help!!!

*****

Okay - just another episode in my story.  

Next Monday I’m starting a couple of days about writing fiction - and see if I can’t be a better fiction writer!!!

LOVE WINS!!!

Karen

Saturday, April 2nd, 2022