Jane
Natalie's was a favorite local barbecue establishment in downtown Memphis and was always packed with tourists and locals—especially on a beautiful, fall Saturday night like this one.
The stage was set up between the bar and dining room so that everyone in the restaurant had a clear view of it. My band was called Lady Jane and the Shortcuts, and we were scheduled to headline that evening, playing after a band called Soul Express. I honestly would've never called myself "Lady Jane", but the band came up with the name and unanimously loved it, so I rolled with it.
We'd been playing together for over a year and had made some real progress considering all of us had day jobs and were just doing music as a hobby. We did mostly covers, but I had written a few originals that we recently added to the mix.
Although our voices were different, I had a similar style to my mom, and people always commented on how we were twins in both looks and musical presence. I didn't consider myself to be as talented as my mother, but I appreciated the compliment when people compared us, and I truly enjoyed performing—even if it wasn't to huge crowds like when I was a kid and went on tour with my mom.
Soul Express wrapped up their set at quarter-till-eight, and we gave them a few minutes to haul away their instruments before we set up. I had some friends and family taking up a whole section in the restaurant, and I smiled at them from the stage when we were getting ready to start.
Mom and Dad brought Shelby, and they were sitting at a table in the restaurant section. They would watch five or six songs before taking Shelby back to my house to give her a bath and put her to bed. We had played at Natalie's a few other times in recent months, and Mom and Dad had a routine by now.
Shelby waved at me as I smiled to the crowd, and I waved back at her before introducing the band and saying how happy we were to be playing for such a great looking audience. They applauded their own beauty, and we all got a good laugh at that as I counted off the first song.
We opened with a Stevie Wonder song called Signed, Sealed, Delivered, which was a favorite of mine.
I noticed him about halfway through the song.
Gray. He was sitting at the bar, but he turned on the stool so he could face the stage. The place was packed, and I couldn't tell if he was with other people or alone. He was sitting in the midst of a big crowd, but he wasn't talking to anyone. I glanced his way again just to make sure I wasn't seeing things, but it was Gray; I knew it.
The third time I looked at him, I smiled. He smiled back at me before I broke eye contact. It was definitely, no doubt, one hundred percent Gray. He was the most handsome man in the room, and he was looking directly at me. It made me extremely nervous. I already had a touch of stage fright as it was, and this man (who was supposed to be in Chicago right now) most assuredly made matters worse.
Thankfully, I knew the songs and the whole routine well enough to sing, speak, and play on autopilot. Mom and Dad left with Shelby before the first set was over, but everyone else stayed.
The mood of the crowd was sometimes hit or miss at Natalie's. Sometimes they would be totally into the music, and other times there would be lots of talking and more paying attention to the food. Tonight was a good night. Tonight they were into the music. I had fun, and the crowd seemed to love it, but I couldn't stop thinking about Gray and wondering why he was sitting on a barstool at Natalie's instead of being home in Illinois.
He ended up getting into a conversation with the people sitting and standing next to him, and for the last couple of songs of the set, he wasn't looking at me when I glanced at him. We finished our first set at 9, at which point I told the crowd we would take a ten-minute break and be back to finish up with our second set.
I went to use the restroom, thinking, hoping, and wishing that Gray would come over there to talk to me. I tried not to be too disappointed when that didn't happen. I used the restroom and stepped back into the hallway, thinking for sure Gray would be standing there, but he wasn't.
A group of my friends from work called me over to their table once I got out of the restroom, saying they enjoyed the first set but would probably head home before we were finished. I gave them all hugs and thanked them for coming before greeting a few others.
I knew I had a minute or two to spare, and I was on my way to the table where my brother and Rose were sitting when I changed my mind. I waved and smiled at Jesse and Rose but I didn't go over there. Instead, I kept walking, straight to the bar.
I didn't really know what I was going to say to Gray once I got over there, but my legs just seemed to walk in that direction on their own accord. A Bruce Springsteen song called I'm on Fire was playing over the speakers, and I felt a bit like I was in a nervous haze as I made my way toward him.
Gray was talking to the people next to him, but he caught sight of me as I approached. He shifted on his barstool, smiling and almost taking my breath away. It was like sensory overload with all the lights and sounds and people bumping into me.
And there he was, smiling at me from the other end of the tunnel of chaos. A couple of people in the crowd told me they liked the music, and I responded to them gratefully, but I stayed focused on making my way to Gray.
"What are you doing here?" I asked.
"I came to see you."
His smile was so full of confidence that I felt weak in the knees. His response left me breathless. I hadn't expected him to be so straightforward. Thinking it would make me look casual and not sure what else to do with myself, I leaned in and reached around him, grabbing the tall glass of ice water that sat in front of him. He swiveled in his stool to let me get closer.
"Do you mind if I take a sip of this?" I asked, pointing at his glass.
"Not at all," he said, pushing it toward me. "You can have it all."
"There's a glass of water up there on the stage. I just forget to drink out of it." I tilted the glass, taking a drink of Gray's water. As silly as it may be, I got a thrill from sharing a drink with him. Maybe it was no big deal to take a sip of his water, but it made me feel all gooey inside to do something familiar like that. I set down the glass and stepped back, smiling at him and begging myself to keep it together.
"I thought you were going to Chicago," I said.
"I did," he said. "And now I'm back. We had a party last night."
"Hey, Jane, y'all sound good!" I heard a voice yell from a little ways down the bar. I looked up to find a few people I recognized. I waved at them and thanked them before focusing on Gray again.
"How'd you get here?" I asked.
"I drove," he said. "I was curious about your band, and I figured I might as well come back since I had a place to stay."
"We moved a few more things up to your apartment earlier today," I said. "Mom even brought by a few dishes and other kitchen stuff. She had some things in her attic, and she asked if you could use them, so I told her you probably could. She and Dad brought a few boxes by earlier. It's not a ton of stuff, but we got your kitchen set up a little bit. You can fry an egg if you want to, anyway."
Gray's expression was neutral, and I had no idea what he would say. "That was really nice of you guys," he said.
We locked eyes for a few seconds.
"It was really nice of you to come all the way back here. Did you seriously drive all the way just to come here tonight?"
"Yes."
He was grinning, but he was serious and matter-of-fact, and it made me experience all sorts of feelings.
"Do you like it?" I asked (because I was too much of a nervous dork to keep my mouth shut and let him tell me that himself).
I squinted like I was mad at myself for asking that question, and his smile broadened. His teeth were extremely distracting. So were his lips. I was awestruck by the whole bottom part of his face—from his jaw and chin to his mouth. It was so perfect that I made myself look at his eyes instead. Dang. That was no help. His dark eyes appeared black in the low lighting of the restaurant and were framed in dark lashes.
"What were we saying?" I asked.
"You asked if I'm enjoying the show, and I told you I liked it very much, but I don’t think you heard me. I love it. I would have driven another five hours to hear this."
"If you would have driven another five hours, you would have missed the show."
Gray smiled but shook his head. "I would have left earlier."
Another song came on the stereo, and someone must've turned it up because it seemed louder than one that had just finished.
Gray leaned in to speak closer to my ear. "Somebody's trying to get your attention," he said, speaking loudly over the music.
He was close enough that I could feel his breath on my ear. There was no doubt in my mind that I was interested in this man as more than a friend or a tenant. I felt warm-chested and weak in the knees when he came close to me.
Reluctantly, I turned and spoke to the person who had been trying to get my attention.
"Sounding good up there tonight, Jane!" the guy said.
I smiled. "Thank you so much!"
I recognized the guy as someone I had met before, but I couldn't recall his name. I was still in the middle of addressing him when I noticed my drummer sit behind his drums. He was always the one who kept us on time, both during the songs and otherwise, so I knew that was my cue to get back on the stage.
I looked at Gray. "Are you going to stay for the rest on the set?" I asked.
"I thought I would," he said, smirking at me in a way that reminded me subtly that he had just driven eight hours to get there.
I pinched his arm for teasing me, and he laughed and shook his head.
"So, you're gonna be here when we finish?" I asked. I turned to walk away, but I stared over my shoulder and waited for Gray's nod before making my way to the stage.
The crowd in the restaurant thinned out a little after the set break, but the bar area was still full and beginning to get rowdy. The people who were standing next to Gray talked to him some, but I still caught him looking at me when I glanced over, which made me happy.
The second set was shorter than the first by a few songs, and it seemed to fly by. Just like that, we were finished playing.
The band began packing all of our gear while I went to talk to the manager about getting paid. I checked in with Gray on my way to the back, assuring him I'd only be a few minutes. By the time I finished, he had introduced himself to my band-mates and was helping them load equipment.
It took us about thirty minutes to finish up, and the next thing I knew, I was standing face-to-face with Gray in the alley behind Natalie's. The other members of my band had just driven away, leaving Gray and me in the alley (along with a few others who were standing a little ways off).
"Mom and Dad are at my house watching Shelby," I said. "Sometimes she spends the night with them, but tonight they're watching her at my house."
"Will she be sleeping when you get home?" he asked.
"I'm sure," I said. "I hope so. Are you coming back to the house? Do you maybe want to follow me?"
He nodded. "I'm parked on the street." He gestured to his left even though there were buildings in the way of our view of his vehicle.
"Do you want a ride to your truck?"
He shook his head. "It's just right over there. You don't have to wait for me, though. I know you need to get home."
"I'm not in that big of a hurry," I said. "I could give you a ride to your truck, and you can follow me to the house if you want—if you're planning on coming home."
I thought he was going to tease me about giving him the option to stay out, but he didn't. Instead, he smiled and gave a light slap to the top of my car.
"Sounds like a plan," he said, crossing to the passenger's seat. "You probably know a better way home than I do, anyway."
It took us about fifteen minutes to reach my house. Randy's car was in the driveway, and so was my dad's truck. I pulled into my usual spot, and Gray parked behind me but strategically far enough away so that I could get out if I needed to. I couldn't help but smile at the sight of him getting out of it his new truck. He looked like an ad for the dealership.
"Is this okay?" he asked, referring to his parking job.
"It's great," I said.
"I'm glad you let me follow you," he said. "That's definitely not the way I would have come."
"That connection between Main St. and Saint Mary just happened a few months ago. It's probably not even on your map."
"It's not, and that was a much better way. Thank you."
"You're welcome," I said, shamelessly flirting. "Thank you for coming tonight."
We approached the house, and Gray hesitated near the side, as if assuming he was headed upstairs.
"Shelby should be sleeping," I said. "If you want, you could come in and say 'hi' to my parents."