Coloring the Night

Ammies was wall to wall people when we arrived. The music bounced off the walls & the floors were throbbing to the beat of bodies bouncing to the music. The DJ was playing the Rolling Stones hit 'I Can't Get No Satisfaction', Michele & I looked at each other & started laughing as we walked towards the bar.

"What'll be, ladies?" Asked the barmaid as she checked Michele & me out.

"Rum & Coke," answered Michele

"Vodka Martini, two olives please," I requested

"Still doing those martinis' girl?" The voice came from behind me. I turned quickly to see Vidal standing there with his arm around his wife's shoulder.

I glanced at him & then hugged Beverly. She was a stunning woman, beautiful blue eyes, & a smile that glowed.

"Bev, when did you arrive? Vidal, why didn't you tell us Beverly was here?" I really liked Beverly. She was a good match with Vidal. She was calm & laid back, while being very aware of business. Vidal was very busy & rushing to finish five things at one time, needing roller skates, constantly thinking & doing.

"She surprised me with a call from the airport. I had no idea she was coming. I hope you guys don't mine us crashing your outing?" Vidal's eyes glowed. We all knew that the sun rose & sets on Beverly as far as Vidal was concerned. Josef & Aaron were hugging Beverly now & talking in her ear. The music drowned out most of what anyone said, unless you spoke into their ears. Vidal guided Beverly onto the dance floor as the four of us watched.

I took a sip of my drink, as I glanced around the bar. There were several people that I knew, & I waved to them or blew kisses.

"May I have this dance, CeCe?" Josef asked as he held out his hand with a flip of his wrist. So handsome & so queenie! I loved him, even though he was so bad.

"Thought you'd never ask!"

The song was, 'Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me' by Mel Carter. Josef is an excellent dancer, as he guided me around the floor, spinning, dipping, twirling around. It ended much too quickly for me.

"Excuse me please." There was a man standing in front of my drink when I returned to the group.

"I'm sorry." He responded, as he turned towards me to make room. "I'm hoping to get a drink tonight." He was slightly taller than me, with dark brown/almost black hair, brown eyes, five o'clock shadow, with a crooked smile. Not a noticeable man, but not bad looking. He reminded me of the guys in Brooklyn. Didn't really care if they were messy looking, but manly looking.

I only nodded my head, as I reached for my drink & turned to Aaron, who was doing one of his customer impersonations. Aaron had a way of making fun of the clients without really putting them down. He kept us laughing for a long time.

As I turned to put my now empty glass on the bar, I notice that this man was listening in on Aaron's show & laughing along with us.

"Very funny! Who is he talking about?" he asked.

"Yes, he is," I was still laughing, "He's talking about our clients." I waved at the barmaid.

"Clients? What do you do?"

"We are Stylist. We work with Vidal Sassoon. That's Vidal there with his wife."

The barmaid was shaking my martini & watching me & this man closely. As she poured the drink in a fresh glass, he reached into his pocket, pulled out a twenty dollar bill & held it out to her.

"CeCe?" Nikki eyes motioned over to his hand.

"Can I buy you a drink?" he asked, "My name is Sunny, I'm not married, I have a job, my sign is Pisces, I just would like to buy a beautiful woman her drink." There was that crooked smile again.

"Thank you, but, no thank you."

"Please put that on my tab, Nikki." I asked.

"Okay CeCe," and Nikki walked over to the tab book.

"Michele, lets dance," I turned to Michele. I wanted to remove myself from this area.

Michele & I danced for at least an hour. The music was so electrifying, dancing to the Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Del Shannon. We were out of breath, sweaty, & thirsty when we returned to the bar. I was relieved to see that the man was not still standing near our group.

All of us finally left for our homes at three in the morning. Michele & I shared a cab, since we lived only a few blocks from each other.

I crawled into my bed, turned out the light, remembering the evening as I fell off to sleep.