The Necklace - The Dusky Club, June 1962 - Linda S Rice (books to read fiction txt) 📗

the practice room, where he gently placed her in a large stuffed chair sitting on the side of the room.

He heard Derek, Ian, and Blue continue to play, knowing they could carry off the night without him if they had to. He briefly thought about Ryan but chased the thought from his mind as he looked at Susan’s pale face.

“I’m taking you back home,” he whispered to her.

She rubbed her eyes and sat up straight, then tried to stand up.

“Just stay there a minute while I talk to Derek,” he said, urging her to sit back down.

A short time later, he was back, and they both went out to his car and drove home. Susan was relieved she didn’t have to talk to Lynn. By the time James pulled up to the house, she was feeling much better.

Mel was surprised to see them. When James explained that Susan had fainted, he was concerned.

“Are you okay, Luv?” he asked.

She nodded. “I think maybe I just overdid it today. And it was so hot and smoky in the club; I didn’t feel like I could even breathe.”

“Well, why don’t you go upstairs and lay down then? I’ll take you up to James’s room,” he said, motioning her to go upstairs. James followed them.

“If you want to go back to the club, go on,” said Mel. “I’ll make sure she gets tucked in all right and tight. I’ll leave a blanket and pillow downstairs for you on the couch,” he added pointedly.

“You okay with my going back to the club?” James asked Susan as she laid her head down on the pillow of his bed.

“Of course I am,” she smiled up at him. “Just don’t go home with any of those other girls, okay?”

He leaned down and kissed her tenderly. “Never in a million years,” he said, turning off the light and going downstairs.

She snuggled into his pillow, wrapping both arms around it tightly and breathing in the scent of him. She was asleep before he went back out the door.

 

Chapter Fifteen

Back to the Cottage

James and Susan were sound asleep on the couch, pressed tightly together due to the small space when Mel came down the stairs the next morning. A blanket covered them, and James’s leg was on the edge, almost ready to fall off. Mel shook his head. Here he thought James would be the one sneaking back up to his bedroom to join Susan in his bed, but instead, it appeared that Susan had come downstairs to join James on the couch. Mel sighed. They both looked so innocent...and so young...and so in love. He went into the kitchen to make some coffee.

Both of them woke up to the smell of the coffee, realizing they’d fallen asleep before Susan thought to go back upstairs to James’s room. James kissed her softly, whispering, “I think we’ve been caught.”

“Is he going to be upset?” she whispered back.

“Nah, not Dad. He told me just yesterday he knew what it was like to be young and in love. He understands...and he likes you a lot. Plus, we’ve got all our clothes on, you know.”

James slipped off the couch, then stood up and stretched. “You can sleep some more if you want,” he said. “I’m going upstairs to take a shower and shave.”

“No, I’ll get up.” She stood up and did her best to straighten the dress she’d been wearing since forever, it seemed. “You chicken...making me face your dad alone.”

“I said you could stay here and sleep some more.”

“Yeah, as if I could do that now. He’s probably heard us talking.”

James winked at her and headed up the stairs.

“Didn’t mean to wake you up,” said Mel, as Susan came into the kitchen.

“Good Morning, Mel.” Susan was blushing. “James’s is upstairs taking a shower and shaving.”

Mel didn’t seem to notice her pink face.

“I’ve got some eggs and kippers here ready to go for breakfast and some toast,” he responded.

“Kippers?” Susan thought. “Isn’t that some kind of fish?” It didn’t sound appetizing.

“I’ll have it all ready in a few,” he added, “in time for when Jimmie comes on down.”

He busied himself at the stove for a minute, then turned the gas down and turned to face Susan.

She looked over at him.

“Have a seat,” he said, pouring two cups of coffee and sitting down across from her.

He looked down at his cup for a minute, then back up at her.

“Can I ask you a few questions?” he said, then paused. “And will you answer them truthfully?”

“What do you mean?” she asked, looking down at her hands in her lap. “Do you think I’ve been untruthful with you?”

“No, no...I don’t think you’ve been untruthful...”

“What then?”

“Just evasive...”

“Oh.” She looked up at him for a minute, then back down at her hands.

“When you were here yesterday, it seemed you tried to turn the subject on me when I started talking about some things.”

“Some things?”

“Yes. When I asked you if you two loved each other, you said ‘yes, but...’ and something about things not working out, then you changed the subject. And when I asked you why you were leaving for your history tour on Friday at midnight and what was going on with the other students, which I thought was pretty odd, you changed the subject again.”

She looked up at him. He was very serious, and she was feeling very trapped.

“So, can I ask you a few questions then?”

She nodded, dreading them.

“And will you be honest with your answers?”

She nodded again and whispered a small, “yes.”

“So then...I don’t have any doubts about you and James loving each other. I understand whirlwind love and know it can happen sometimes...but I want to know about this history tour of yours...mainly if you plan on coming back after it’s over.”

She turned away from him and took a deep breath.

“Exactly how long is this history tour supposed to last?” he asked.

She shook her head, but no words would come out.

“Are you coming back at all then after you leave on Friday?”

Susan looked him square in the face and met his concerned eyes.

“I can’t,” she whispered, the pain clearly reflected in her eyes. “It’s not possible.”

Mel sat back, staring at her intently. “And why is that? You don’t want to come back?”

“Please...please, Mel,” she pleaded. “Please don’t ask me anymore. It has nothing to do with me wanting to come back; it just won’t be possible for me to come back. I should never have come here in the first place!”

“But why can’t you come back?” he persisted.

“Don’t make me beg you to stop asking, please,” she said again. “I just won’t be able to come back...” She started to sob. Tears overflowed her eyes and ran down her cheeks. “It won’t be possible. Please don’t ask, please...”

Mel stood up and came over to her chair. She stood up, and he wrapped his arms around her, patting her on the back.

“It’s okay, Luv. I won’t ask anymore...but will you be telling James then?”

She shook her head, sobbing some more. “No, no...I can’t...I just can’t...Please don’t tell him, please...”

Mel gently pushed her away from him so he could look into her face.

“Why?” he asked.

She saw pain and concern in his eyes and knew it wasn’t just for his son, but for her as well.

“Because I want us to have just a few more days of happiness...and because when I’m gone, I’ll be just a dim memory to him...I don’t expect you to understand...”

James walked into the kitchen at that moment and stopped dead at the sight of Susan being held in his dad’s arms.

“So, what’s all this?” he asked. “You making my girl cry, Dad?”

“She was just telling me how much she loves you, and it brought tears to her eyes, right Luv?” he said, looking down at Susan and releasing her from his arms.

She ran to James, wrapped her arms around him, and gave him a quick kiss. “That’s it exactly!” she said, wiping the tears from her cheeks. “Go sit down. Your dad has breakfast about ready.”

James sat down at the table while Susan went and poured him some coffee.

“So, how did the audition go?” Mel asked, looking at James.

“Great!” said James. “We’ll find out by next Monday if we’re to make a record. Ryan made a couple of hours of tapes of our songs and took them with him. We’re keeping our fingers crossed he’ll want to record all of them.”

“Pretty ambitious, aren’t you?”

“Oh, James, I just know he’ll want to record them all! You’re going to be world-famous someday!” exclaimed Susan.

“You think so?” said James, smiling. “I’m sure you’re right! I’ve always thought I’d be rich and famous someday!”

“Now Jimmie, there you go with your pipe dreaming again, always thinking how fabulous you are...”

“Oh, but he is!” Susan exclaimed before she could stop herself. “Their band is going to be known as the greatest band of all time!”

Both James and Mel looked at her.

“Looks like Susan here shares your pipe dreaming,” said Mel.

“Well, maybe she’s right, you know. She has intuition.”

They all smiled. Susan jumped up to help with the toast as Mel finished the eggs and kippers and set them on the table. He then got out three plates and forks. Susan finished buttering the toast and sat it on the table with some jam.

“My own jam,” said Mel proudly. “Made from the blackberries that grow out by Annabelle’s cottage.”

“Speaking of the cottage, Dad, I thought Susan and I would head back out to Little Dippington after breakfast. We want to do more sketching and maybe take a dip in the pond.”

Mel looked at James and said, “I was figuring you might be wanting to go back out there. It’s a romantic spot, isn’t it?”

Susan could feel the heat coming into her face again. She sure spent a heck of a lot of time blushing! It was embarrassing!

They all chatted a bit more as they ate breakfast...Susan politely refused the kippers...and then she got up and carried the dishes to the sink.

“You two stay right there,” she said as Mel started to stand up to help her. “I can take care of the dishes while you two chat.”

She picked up the rest of the dishes, re-filled their coffee cups, and started filling the sink with hot, soapy water. When the sink was filled, she excused herself for a minute to go to the bathroom.

Mel looked at James over the rim of his coffee cup as he heard Susan head up the stairs. “So, now that you’ve taken her innocence away, what are your intentions regarding her?” he asked pointedly. “I know the crowd you hang around with is flighty, but Susan doesn’t fit in with that sort of thing. I told you before I wouldn’t have you hurting her. So then...What are your intentions? Have you talked to her about giving up this history tour thing?”

James sat up straight in his chair. “Why, my intentions are honorable, of course, Dad. I’d never hurt her. I don’t plan on letting her leave on the history tour! I’ll convince her to stay, I will!”

“Not leave, eh? Perhaps you wouldn’t hurt her intentional-like, but the way you run around now with all the girls, that would hurt her deeply.”

“Dad, I said I’d never hurt her.”

Mel shook his head, a worried expression on his face. “I certainly hope not. She’s a good girl that she is. But, I’m rather worried about this