Ryman Auditorium, where The Byrds made their appearance at the Grand Ole Opry on March 15, 1968. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Sean slowly walks around the perimeter of the dance floor, stopping to say a few words to friends, nodding at acquaintances. Bethany hungrily watches him as he moves away from her. However, the entire time, his thoughts are on the girl waiting for him at that small table in the shadows. When he finally makes his way back to Becky, he places the bottles of water on the table with a flourish. “One icy cold water for the lady. And one for me.”
“Thanks, Sean.”
Sean waves off her thanks. “No problem.”
Sean pulls a chair from under the table, sits down with both elbows on the table, and just looks at Becky with a smile on his face. “So…Becky…come here often?”
They laugh and relax, both feeling comfortable as well as curious. Sean decides to go first. “Are you, uh, are you from Nashville?”
Becky shakes her head. “No. I just moved here a couple weeks ago. From Knoxville. I’m starting grad school at Vandy on Monday.”
“Wow. Seriously? That’s impressive.”
Laughing, Becky says, “I don’t know about impressive, but that’s what I’m doing.”
“So, you got brothers, sisters, parents, a husband?” Sean says it like he’s joking, but he’s secretly hoping to hear a “no” to the husband part of the question.
Becky laughs again. “Well, let’s see. No brothers or sisters…I’m an only child. Definitely no husband or anything. And, as far as my parents go, it’s just been my mom for most of my life. They divorced when I was five and from then on, it was just Mom and me.” Becky lifts one shoulder in a shrug. “What about you?”
“Me? Hmm…okay…let’s see, I’ve lived in Nashville all my life. I’m an only child too…Mom and Dad adopted me when I was five and then they found out they couldn’t have any kids of their own, so they were pretty much stuck with just me.”
“I’m sure that’s not how they see it.”
“Well, yeah, you’re right. They’re pretty, uh, pretty cool. I’m lucky to have ’em.”
“So, do you live with your parents?”
“No, no…I live with four other guys in a big old house here in town.”
“I bet you guys have some wild times, huh?”
Sean chuckles and says, “Well, you’d think. But we all spend a lot of time working, different guys out on the road at different times, so we’re not all there very often. And it’s an old neighborhood with a lot of really old people, so we try to kind of keep a low profile, no loud music or wild parties. I think the neighbors kind of appreciate that. A lot of times, the ladies’ll bring us a cake or cookies or whatever. Think they think we don’t eat right or something. What about you? Are you going to work while you go to school?”
“Oh yeah, I have to, I have to have the money. I already had a job lined up when I moved here. I’m working 20 or so hours a week over at Pinky’s Diner.”
“No way! We stop in there after work sometimes. You know, to get breakfast for supper. My dad and Charlie love eggs and bacon and hash browns or biscuits and gravy at night.”
“So, you and your dad work together?”
Sean looks at her questioningly. “Well, yeah, we work together, always have.”
“So, where do you guys work?”
At that time, Becky’s friends stop at the table. “Becky, we’re getting ready to go home here pretty soon.”
Sean jumps in, “I’ll be glad to take you home if you maybe want to stay and dance and talk for a while.” As soon as he says it, he’s hoping he didn’t sound too desperate.
Becky hesitates, looking into Sean’s eyes, then nods her head slightly. “Okay. I think I’d like that.” She looks at her friends, “That be all right with you two?”
They both smile and nod. Her closest friend, Dana, leans down to hug her and whispers, “He’s so cute. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
Filed under: writing | Tagged: Dance hall, Nashville, romance | 1 Comment »
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