Monica and tony's place (strange lights vol.2)

Strange lights Vol. II

Purple Tony was sat at a table smoking a fat cigar, the lamp shone
through a gin and tonic to play a strange light on his spectacles. The
lady sat at the table next to him, had short-cropped brown hair and a
thin dress that reached her ankles. She was drinking a long cocktail
with a bloody hue. Her cigarette had almost burnt down to the
holder.
On the stage, a well-built man from Georgia sat with his orchestra,
playing dark tunes. The smoke of the bar and dimness of the lights
obscured his dark and calloused skin. His sunglasses played strange
lights into the audience as his voice spun a rich tapestry of soul and
told of places he last saw long ago. A troubled background betrayed his
dignity through the rich musical melody.
From a slow New Orleans march, Gospel and colour burst forth and
flooded the room with light and optimism. People stood and
applauded.The bar man looked
nervous, but people were smiling, euphoric as though experiencing an
expensive drug. Singers sang in colourful arrangements with notes from
the heart. And then the saxophone bled sorrow and tears, bringing the
music down to the lowlights. People re-seated themselves and Purple
Tony ordered another drink. The woman sat next to
him offered a cigarette to the waiter who kindly refused, disappearing
back into the crowd of tables the woman licked her lips and took a gasp
of smoke.
After enquiring on the availability of a seat, a stranger sat himself
at the table next to the woman with a long dress. But before the woman
could reply, the stranger removed a cigarette from her packet and taken
a large sip from her glass. Outraged, the woman turned around and blew
smoke into his face, composing herself in a deceptively calm fashion,
the woman strongly request the gentleman behave in an orderly and
polite manner. As an after thought, the lady stipulated the importance
of
receiving another drink as recompense, by extinguishing her cigarette
in the back of Charles' hand.
After answering an alert from his pager, purple Tony turned to face
the lady with contemptuous frown on his forehead. "Leave the fella
alone, Monica," he growled between scarcely moving lips. "Why don't you
get out front and get the porter to find the car?" Monica stood slowly
and after punching Charles in the face, left the table. Tony threw down
a selection of notes. "You're a lucky man," Tony whispered. "She used
to be a boxer." With that, Tony slapped Charles across the face and
left the area, shortly behind Monica.
Ray Charles was now in his fourth number and he noted the spectacle
from behind his thick-rimmed sunglasses. Laughing between lyrics his
hands danced along an electric piano. The bar man shuffled from foot to
foot. At the back of the bar, Monica and Tony half danced their way out
of the room, nodding at guests as they left.
When the door slammed behind them, all the lights of the room were
lit, the music stopped and the doors bolted shut. An excited hum hit
the room and in one swift motion, tables turned over to reveal writing
desks laden with bingo cards. Ray Charles stood up and with a
microphone in one hand and with the other, opened the back of his piano
to reveal a lottery machine. Pressing the button to "begin the fun" he
muttered into the microphone.
"Well folks it was really close that time. Eyes Down."