Black & Tan Blues Ch. 01

I started making dinner and trying to keep my thoughts away from everything that had happened the night before. By the time Donna walked in the door dinner was ready and Sam was awake. She jumped into Donna's arms as she walked in and said, "Guess what mommy, daddy took me to the zoo today! And we had McDonalds and everything!"

Donna' looked at me and then looked back at Sam and said, "Wow, honey that's great! Sounds like fun. I wish I could've gone."

As we sat down to the table to eat, Donna said to me kind of crossly, "You could've waited for the weekend and then we all could have gone together."

I looked at her calmly, "Well Donna, if you remember, the last few weekends you haven't wanted to do much of anything except sleep, watch television and not be bothered."

Donna face turned pale then red. She looked away from me and didn't respond. She turned to Sam to listen to her talk about the funny things the monkeys had done. I thought to myself, 'think about that bitch!'

A little while later as we were finishing supper, I decided to yank her chain a bit. I said, "I haven't heard you talk about Josie or Mary from work much. What have they been up to lately?"

Donna kind of looked at me out of the corner of her eye. I'm sure she was wondering why I was asking now, I never had before. Casually she answered, "They are about the same. In fact we are planning on having dinner together tomorrow night."

"Oh, where are you planning to eat at?"

"We haven't decided yet. Why do you want to know?"

"No reason. Just wondering what kind of places you have been going to."

Donna rattled off the names of about a half a dozen restaurants around town, mostly modestly priced up-scale kinds of places with a bar but no entertainment.

"Sounds like you girls have been getting around. Well I've got to get to work." I got up from the table and gave her and Sam a kiss goodbye. As I left Donna still had a suspicious look in her eye.

I was waiting for the line to start and Trev rushed in at the last minute as he usually did and got the usual ribbing from the rest of the section. As he brushed by he said lets talk at lunch. I just nodded and we started our shift.

We were standing around outside the building with the smokers after we ate when Trev said, "I still don't think this is a good idea, Ken."

Stubbornly I replied, "I've got to know for sure. If it is true some heavy shit is likely to happen. There can't be any mistakes."

"Sounds like you have been giving this a lot of thought?"

Soberly I nodded and looked at him, "If it's true, then it's something I can't live with."

He sighed, "Okay this is what I want you to do. Call in sick tomorrow and meet me in the parking lot at Gino's at eight. I will drive us over to the Black & Tan in my car. And no hanging around a bar drinking while you're waiting. I want you sober, got it?"

"I got it."

He looked at me, "Good thing you have a darker complexion than your wife. Don't shave tomorrow. The stubble will darken your face even more. You have any dark clothes? I don't want you to stand out, the darker the better. And wear some dark glasses. I don't care if it is night time. Half those gangbangers wear sunglasses in there anyway."

I nodded again.

"You have a dark panama or fedora hat? Something with a brim?"

I shook my head no.

"Okay, I'll bring you something. Tony is going to meet us there. He is going to grease things with the bouncer before we arrive. He and I will keep you sandwiched as much as possible."

"Christ! Sounds like a James Bond operation."

Trev looked at me seriously, "Bad shit happens there every week. I don't want it to happen to you. Not the least of which is if something happens to draw attention to us she will probably see you and you will never get the truth. We will get in, keep a low profile, see what there is to see and then get out. Okay?"

"Okay Trev. And thanks I really appreciate it."

"Hell Ken, you know my ex-wife screwed me over big-time, I would hate to see it happen to you."

The rest of the night went quickly. I got home as usual. As much as I hated to do it I slept in our bed with Donna. It wouldn't do to get her thinking I was avoiding her on purpose. I never heard her get out of bed, but I remember her saying goodbye when she left for work. Awhile later the alarm went off and I got up and around to start the day.

After taking Sam to school I drove over to the university and the college of engineering. I walked around to the prof's offices and checked the exam results posted on their doors. I scored a 2.5 and two 3.0's. Normally I would have been a little disappointed with the 2.5 but that was the least of my problems. I stopped at the admin office and verified that my credits had been accepted and my degree was good to go. I returned home and retrieved my box of job applications and dropped them off at the post office. Regardless of what else happened I was moving this part of my life forward.

I scrounged through my closet and found the clothes I needed for the evening. I put everything in a sack and put it in my pick-up. Since Donna was planning on going out to dinner I fixed something for Sam and me. Donna was later than usual, and as she rushed in the door she apologized saying she got called to do an emergency EKG on a patient that was just admitted. I told her I still had time but I couldn't miss work tonight. I gave her the story line about there being several people on leave and we were going to be shorthanded. I kissed them both goodbye and headed out.

I decided to go over to the mall and kill some time watching a movie before I had to meet Trev. My mind was running a mile a minute and I don't even remember what I watched. I got to Gino's a little before eight and Trev was already there. I told him I would change in the men's room and be ready in a couple of minutes.

He was standing by his car when I came back out and I asked him if I was dressed appropriately. I had a black sports jacket over a black polo shirt and dark jeans. He nodded and handed me a 'Blues Brothers' black pork pie hat. "See if this fits." It did.

He just grunted and said, "Let's go."

We got to the Black & Tan about a quarter to nine. There were a lot of cars in the mostly unlighted parking lots. There were quite a few people, singles and couples walking towards or congregating around the front of the club. We finally found a spot almost all the way in the back. Trev said, "Wait here while I go check things out."

He came back in about fifteen minutes. He looked at me and his face tightened, "They're here. Tony is keeping an eye on them. Let's go."

I tried to swallow the lump in my throat and nodded. I put the hat and sunglasses on and Trev said, "Cover as much of your face as you can with the brim. Try not to look up, Okay?"

We got into line to go in. I was drawing a few strange looks from others waiting to get in but nothing was said. When we got up to the door to pay the cover, the largest of the two bouncers said to Trev, "Who's your friend, bro?"

"He's an old army buddy who saved my life in 'nam." Trev said with a straight face.

"Shit, who're you trying to bullshit, Trev? You never made it to 'nam."

Trev grinned and said, "Okay, okay, he's my second cousin on my dad's side. He's the black sheep of the family and we're kind of ashamed of him."

The bouncer laughed and said, "Go on in, you already know where Tony is sitting."

We walked in and it was nearly standing room only. The only lights were around the band and the bar. The band was playing loudly with a heavy beat and the smoke was so thick you could cut it with a knife. It smelled like cigarettes, stale sweat, booze and occasionally the sweet smell of marijuana. There was a large crowd on the dance floor bobbing up and down in unison with the beat. I followed Trev as he slid over to the left of the room. Once in a while, he'd stop and say something to someone, exchange the lodge handshake and then move on. I ignored the looks and muttered comments I was getting, kept my head down and stuck to his side like a tick.

We finally got to a table with a couple of empty chairs and Tony sitting there giving us the eye. We both leaned over and Trev said, "Ken, you remember Tony?"

I nodded and we shook hands, "Thanks for your help Tony." He just shrugged and pointed his head over his shoulder.

"They're over there against the wall. They just got here about a half hour ago."

Trev had me sit on the side where I could see them without turning my head. I looked over at their table under the brim of my hat and steeled myself for what I was going to see. Shit, we were only twenty-five, thirty feet away. Donna and Connie stood out like a beacon on a stormy night on the darkest night of the year. The four of them were in a booth with the women against the wall. Donna was sitting next to a big guy, who had to be easily six foot four inches, and weighed maybe two thirty. The other guy sitting next to Connie was probably more my height and size. I whispered to Trev, "Which one is the football player sitting next to Donna?"

"That's Curtis."

I looked him over carefully. Well dressed, shaved head with a moustache and goatee. He talked easily to everyone and was obviously paired up with Donna. He looked tough but gave the impression he was a smooth operator.

The waitress came by and took our drink orders. I could hardly take my eyes off of my wife. She was talking, laughing and acting as if she was as comfortable as in her own home. Curtis had his arm around her shoulders and was occasionally talking into her ear. She had a glass of white wine in front of her that was mostly empty already. Connie was draped all over the other guy whom I assumed was James.

Trev and Tony talked back and forth and occasionally threw a comment my way. I was so focused on the other table I don't remember what they said or if I even replied. During the course of the evening it seemed like a steady stream of men found their way over there to talk to Curtis or James but it was obvious they were more interested in checking out Donna and Connie.

I just sat there and watched as the evening progressed. I could barely stand to touch my drink my stomach was in such a knot. A couple of times the four of them would get up to dance which from what little I could see was mostly of the dirty dancing variety. Curtis had his hands all over Donna and it was obvious she didn't mind. Donna was wearing a low-cut blouse with a short skirt and high heels. An outfit I don't remember ever seeing before. When they walked back to the table Curtis would have his arm around her waist or on her hip and she would be giggling. It was also apparent she wasn't wearing a bra.

Donna was on about her third glass of wine when James kind of turned his back to the floor and took something out of his shirt pocket and lit it. The four of them casually passed around a joint under the table pulling it out to take a hit before putting it back under the table to pass it on. I watched in shock as Donna took a big hit and held her breath with ease. I swear she did it like a pro. We had experimented with marijuana a couple of times when we were in Germany. She always said she didn't really care for it.

Trev must have seen the look on my face as he leaned over and said, "Are you going to be all right?" I nodded. "If you can't be cool I have to get you out of here."

Things were heating up and I tried to imagine I was just watching some strangers make out. A couple of times I had to look away. My emotions alternated between rage and overwhelming sadness. I constantly had tears in my eyes as the enormity of what was occurring sunk in. Finally James said something to Curtis and he and Connie got up and walked toward the door. Curtis turned back to Donna and leaned in close. We could see he had his hand under the table and up under her skirt. Donna had this glazed look on her face and had one of her hands in his lap. He continued to whisper in her ear and she just closed her eyes and nodded from time to time. After about an hour James and Connie came back to the table. Connie's face was flushed and they both had a satisfied expression on their faces.

Curtis pulled his hand out from under the table and said something to them and they all laughed. Donna sat up and looked around like she wasn't sure where she was. Curtis said something to James and stood up. He held his hand out to Donna and helped her out of the booth. The two of them walked along the edge of the dance floor toward the door, Donna clinging to his arm and nearly every pair of eyes in the place following them.

Trev leaned over to Tony and me, "This is where we need to get out of here, understand?"

I nodded and the three of us got up and walked toward the door. I followed Trev and Tony followed me. The fresh air hit me like a hammer as we made the door. It was just in time since my head was pounding and I was real close to losing anything I still had in my stomach. As we made our way out from the crowd around the door, Trev said to Tony, "Do you know what he is driving?"

Tony nodded, "Yeah, Lincoln Town Car, four-door, silver. What else would any self-respecting drug dealer drive? He usually parks in the last row of the back parking lot." We walked that way checking out the cars as we went.

Quietly Tony said, "There it is." And pointed over to the right. We stood in the shadow of a warehouse from about four cars away and had a real good view. They were sitting in the front seat with the windows down a couple of inches. We could see the glow from a joint being passed back and forth.

As we watched I held out the hope that this was all there was to this so far. Finally the glow was extinguished and the two of them didn't seem to move. Finally the front doors opened and they both got out and stood talking across the roof of the car. I gave a sigh of relief which gave way to a groan of disbelief as they both opened the back doors and climbed in.

We could see their heads come together for a few minutes then separate. Then Donna's head disappeared down into his lap. A sudden flash of uncontrollable rage hit me. I started to shake and took a step forward. Trev and Tony both grabbed my arms and Trev hissed at me, "Ken, No! Not here, not now!"

A sudden burst of clarity hit me and I stopped trying to move. It was over. My marriage was over. The most important thing I had that I thought was mine wasn't. The most important thing I thought I loved, I didn't anymore. Only one thing was left in my life now, and that was Samantha.

We stood still for a few minutes. We saw Donna's head come up and the two of them came together again. Then the two of them disappeared from view. After a few minutes Donna's widespread legs appeared above the seats and started to jerk spasmodically.

I shook off Trev and Tony's hands and said without emotion, "Thanks Trev, thanks Tony. I've seen enough. It's time to go."

As I turned and walked away I said savagely, "My marriage may be over but this isn't."

"No," I whispered to myself, "Not nearly over!"