Read Online Six Miles From Nashville by Elaine Littau - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Elaine Littau
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behind. It was out of her hands. If Miss Sweetie and God wanted Johnny to get her letter, he would.
Chapter 10
Betty was early for the morning shift so she sat at the back booth and drank her coffee in the semi-dark room. She had put on the little ring. It was silver and matched the POW/MIA bracelet she wore. The name of the serviceman was familiar to her only in that she had looked at it every day since it had arrived in the mail. She knew his name and rank. That was all she knew of the man. She wondered if he had a wife or children.
She wrote to the people in California that put together the information for the bracelets and asked to have one sent to her with her brother’s name on it. His circumstances seemed to be different than the Lt. Col. who appeared on her wrist. She just knew that he was not dead. She stared at the name and it seemed to leap from the shiny band. “God, wherever this man is...and my brother...help them. Walk with them through the jungles of Vietnam.”
Bill appeared with a fresh pot of coffee and topped off her mug without asking if she wanted a refill. He studied her face and said quietly, “Sweetie tells me that you can sing.”
“How does she know?”
“The letter said something.”
Her cheeks turned a dark crimson. “Oh, that.”
“Can...I mean...will you sing harmony for me tonight? I aim to sing a few songs for the folks.”
She flashed a quick smile. “What songs are you singing?”
He shuffled on his feet nervously. “I was thinkin’ on, ‘I’m so lonesome I could cry ’, ‘Hey good lookin’’, and ‘I saw the Light’.”
“So you are a Hank Williams man. Those are good songs. What key do you sing them in?”
He stepped to the kitchen and reached through the door, retrieving a guitar. “I am gonna set up the Gibson for tonight, but the acoustic will do to practice for now.”
He turne d the knobs slightly as he fine-tuned the instrument. Betty watched, thinking, This could end up to be really good or terribly bad.
Soon he ran his fingers across the strings and fretted the chords. The way he played sounded to Betty like there were multiple instruments playing along. The man was skilled.
He began the soft, haunting words, “Do ya hear that lonesome whippoorwill? He sounds too blue to fly...”
She found her voice and added a full low alto that matched the timber of his voice. Gus and Sweetie wandered into the room and listened in awe of the music they made. Susie and Daisy entered through the back door and listened in silence until the end. The room erupted in applause.
“I had no idea! That was wonderful!” Sweetie said.
Bill winked at Betty. “Hey, hey, good lookin’ whatcha got cookin’?”
Betty joined in and sang the flirtatious little song with him. The morning coffee crowd hurried to their tables and clapped and stomped their feet in time to the music. “Sing another one, Bill!”
Betty broke away from Bill long enough to fill their coffee mugs and take their orders while Bill played an instrumental. The music brought the place to life.
Bill put away the guitar and stood on the platform. “Tonight will be our first live music night. Tell everyone and come have supper while we play.”
Miss Sweetie was a ‘twitter with excitement as she knocked on Betty’s door. She had a garment bag in her arms with a boot box balanced on top. The girl opened the door and backed up, wide-eyed. “What is all of this?”
“Your performance outfit. I got you a white satin shirt to match Bill’s. Took me all day to sew on the red fringe. We picked out the colors after we found the boots. Look at these!”
The boot box fell as if on cue. Bright red leather boots with fancy tooling, accented in white, skittered across the floor.
“You can wear your blue jeans. Just tuck in the tail of the shirt.”
“Miss Sweetie...I...ah”
“Don’t thank me now. I didn’t get you a hat yet. Maybe you won’t need one for awhile. After you get
Chapter 10
Betty was early for the morning shift so she sat at the back booth and drank her coffee in the semi-dark room. She had put on the little ring. It was silver and matched the POW/MIA bracelet she wore. The name of the serviceman was familiar to her only in that she had looked at it every day since it had arrived in the mail. She knew his name and rank. That was all she knew of the man. She wondered if he had a wife or children.
She wrote to the people in California that put together the information for the bracelets and asked to have one sent to her with her brother’s name on it. His circumstances seemed to be different than the Lt. Col. who appeared on her wrist. She just knew that he was not dead. She stared at the name and it seemed to leap from the shiny band. “God, wherever this man is...and my brother...help them. Walk with them through the jungles of Vietnam.”
Bill appeared with a fresh pot of coffee and topped off her mug without asking if she wanted a refill. He studied her face and said quietly, “Sweetie tells me that you can sing.”
“How does she know?”
“The letter said something.”
Her cheeks turned a dark crimson. “Oh, that.”
“Can...I mean...will you sing harmony for me tonight? I aim to sing a few songs for the folks.”
She flashed a quick smile. “What songs are you singing?”
He shuffled on his feet nervously. “I was thinkin’ on, ‘I’m so lonesome I could cry ’, ‘Hey good lookin’’, and ‘I saw the Light’.”
“So you are a Hank Williams man. Those are good songs. What key do you sing them in?”
He stepped to the kitchen and reached through the door, retrieving a guitar. “I am gonna set up the Gibson for tonight, but the acoustic will do to practice for now.”
He turne d the knobs slightly as he fine-tuned the instrument. Betty watched, thinking, This could end up to be really good or terribly bad.
Soon he ran his fingers across the strings and fretted the chords. The way he played sounded to Betty like there were multiple instruments playing along. The man was skilled.
He began the soft, haunting words, “Do ya hear that lonesome whippoorwill? He sounds too blue to fly...”
She found her voice and added a full low alto that matched the timber of his voice. Gus and Sweetie wandered into the room and listened in awe of the music they made. Susie and Daisy entered through the back door and listened in silence until the end. The room erupted in applause.
“I had no idea! That was wonderful!” Sweetie said.
Bill winked at Betty. “Hey, hey, good lookin’ whatcha got cookin’?”
Betty joined in and sang the flirtatious little song with him. The morning coffee crowd hurried to their tables and clapped and stomped their feet in time to the music. “Sing another one, Bill!”
Betty broke away from Bill long enough to fill their coffee mugs and take their orders while Bill played an instrumental. The music brought the place to life.
Bill put away the guitar and stood on the platform. “Tonight will be our first live music night. Tell everyone and come have supper while we play.”
Miss Sweetie was a ‘twitter with excitement as she knocked on Betty’s door. She had a garment bag in her arms with a boot box balanced on top. The girl opened the door and backed up, wide-eyed. “What is all of this?”
“Your performance outfit. I got you a white satin shirt to match Bill’s. Took me all day to sew on the red fringe. We picked out the colors after we found the boots. Look at these!”
The boot box fell as if on cue. Bright red leather boots with fancy tooling, accented in white, skittered across the floor.
“You can wear your blue jeans. Just tuck in the tail of the shirt.”
“Miss Sweetie...I...ah”
“Don’t thank me now. I didn’t get you a hat yet. Maybe you won’t need one for awhile. After you get