Summer Jazz Nirvana

The golden sun rays tangled themselves in my wife's pink hair. I'd always loved that hair, so lustrous and exotic. It bounces when she dances, lays placidly over her face when she lays on my chest, and feels like silk when I run my fingers through it. Right now, that hair was bouncing as my love made breakfast in the kitchen. Smooth jazz was playing from her phone as she spun and swayed over a pan of sizzling vegetables and eggs. A beautiful smile was spread across her face as the jazzy trumpet carried her feet around the kitchen floor. The music had an effect on me too. My head bopped to the tune as I watched her pile food onto our plates.

“Hey gorgeous,” I said, wrapping my arms around her soft waist. She jumped and giggled in my embrace.

“Hey there handsome! You feelin’ hungry?”

“Starving,” I said, kissing down her shoulder. She playfully batted me away and brought the plates to the table. I turned to grab the orange juice from the fridge when I heard my wife gasp.

“What is it?!” I said urgently.

“Listen!” I did so. A familiar tune filled the space. A saxophone drifted through the air along with flutes, trumpets, a beautiful bass clarinet and a deep undercurrent filled with the cello. I could feel the memories flowing into my head as I continued listening to the music. My wife clearly remembered as well, a relaxed smile spreading across her face.

“After all these years, you still remember this song?” I asked, amused. She nodded, her hair swaying and she danced from side to side. I joined in my wife’s swaying as the warm summer memory filled itself with color.

Three Years Ago~

The setting sun shone brightly in my eyes as I nursed my whiskey sour. I’d been here for at least an hour and a half, listening to the clinking of glasses, the jazzy live band playing their hearts out in the corner, and the playful chatter of guests all around the lounge space. The swirling of colorful dresses and crisp lines of suits broke up the monotony of the ballroom, filled with sparkling chandeliers and sculpted wall sconces.

I sighed and swirled my drink. I knew I shouldn’t have come here. These parties were for closing business deals, exchanging backhanded compliments or finding a companion for the night. But the complaints from acquaintances that I was “too antisocial” kept ringing in my head. So here I am, in a borrowed suit, leaning up against the wall, and wishing I was writing my book or listening to music in my apartment.

I took a sip from my drink, relishing in the sour taste. From the look of the sun, it was around 6:30. The perfect time to slip from the party without anyone noticing. I would be in and out like a ghost. I straightened my jacket, left my glass on the counter and made straight for the wooden doors. My hand had clasped the handle when I finally saw her.

A flash of hot pink, a gleam of shimmering gold, a swirl of graceful fringe. Those were the first things I noticed when I first saw my future wife. Her pink hair was curled immaculately, bouncing over her shoulders as she twirled to the beat of the music. The gold of her dress and shoes complemented her flushed skin beautifully, making her look like she had emerged from a pool of jewels. And that gorgeous smile! I swear I could feel my heart lift as I watched her dancing to her heart’s content. Before I could properly think, my hand was off the door and I was walking my way over to her.

“What are you doing?” I thought desperately, “We don’t have a plan! Stop moving!” Too late, I was only a few feet away, able to see all of the details of her dress. In a moment of divine intervention, the woman spun away and gambled over to the bar counter. I breathed a sigh of relief as I saw her walk away. That’s good, I could get some liquid courage and then I might be able to talk to her. I made my way over to the bar, giving a nod to the bartender. He was in the middle of making a strawberry cocktail, complete with gold flecks on the glass and mini flower petals.

“I’ll have what she’s having.” I said hurriedly, tossing a five in the tip jar. The bartender raised his eyebrows and smirked, but got out another martini glass. The woman turned to me and gave me a cheery smile. Up close, I could see she had warm gray eyes, resembling a cozy winter sweater. And of course, when I made eye contact with her, all of my thoughts ran for the hills. Nothing was there, not even a cheesy pickup line. “Uh...hi.”

“Hi! How’re you doing?” God, even her voice was beautiful. It was light, airy, but still clear, like dainty little bells.

“I-I’m doing pretty good. Just uh, trying to order a drink. But you already knew that of course…” She giggled and nodded, trying not to outright laugh in my face. “Uh, I really like your dress by the way…”

“Oh, this old thing?” she said, smoothing the fringe, “I got it for a 1920’s party! I thought it would match the aesthetics here, and who doesn't love a good bit of glitter?”

“Yeah, it kinda reminds me of the lights.” A hot flush crept up my face, “I-I mean like the crystals of the lights, not like the actual chandelier-like, you don’t look like a chandelier, I’m just saying that the fringe reminds me of-” As I continued talking, I felt my insides curl with embarrassment. The woman’s face was looking more confusedly amused with every word, and the bartender’s shoulders were shaking with suppressed laughter. Through my babble, a storm of negative thoughts swam through my mind. “You should’ve left when you did… This woman probably thinks you’re a creep now...This is why you should’ve stayed home, you’re not meant for this type of place…”

“Hey!” I jumped as the woman laid her hand on my sleeve. “Take a deep breath and slow down. I can tell you’re nervous, you’re all tense.” The woman gave me another sweet smile, with a little nod. I took a deep breath and rubbed the back of my neck.

“I-I’m sorry, I just...I’m not very good at talking. Especially at more formal events like this…”

“That’s okay, you can just take your time!” The bartender placed two pink strawberry cocktails on the counter with a nod to both of us. The woman slid one of them towards me. “Here, have some strawberry courage, then we can go somewhere private to chat.” I did so, my spirits lifting at the fizzy sweetness. The bartender gave me the thumbs-up and a wink as we walked away from the counter.

I started off the conversation again, “Hi, how’re you doing tonight?”

“I’m doing well, how’re you liking the party?”

Her name was Lucy. She was a senior in college, majoring in business and minoring in dance. Breakfast is her favorite meal of the day, she can’t ice skate to save her life, she tapped danced and juggled for her high school’s talent show, and she’s allergic to blueberries.

My name is Jackson. I just graduated a year ago with a degree in musical composition. My favorite candy is Sour Patch Kids, I love listening to classic rock and jazz, I’m writing a sci-fi book about rival space factions, and I’m an amazing dancer( if I do say so myself.) We both leaned against the cool balcony and relished the cool breeze blowing through the starry sky. 

“I’m sorry,” Lucy giggled, “I just can’t imagine you challenging someone to a dance contest out of the blue!” I smiled, finishing off my strawberry cocktail.

“Well, I was definitely a lot more social back then. And I wasn’t gonna give up a total movie moment, it was too perfect!” A soft breeze billowed through the balcony, whipping my tie all around and making Lucy’s dress jingle and shake. We managed to straighten ourselves out, looking a little more disheveled than before.

“Are you okay Jack?" Lucy asked concernedly.

“Yeah, yeah don’t worry. I’m all good.” I fixed up my tie, jacket and ran my hands through her hair. When I looked up again, I saw that the breeze also managed to send locks of pink hair straight into her face. “Oh, hold still for a minute.” Lucy froze as I gently shifted her hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear. I paused too, her soft hair in between my fingers and still lingering on her cheek. She looked up at me, her gray eyes wide and shining in the light of the full moon. We both just stood there, breathing in each other’s air and looking into each other’s eyes. I wanted to say something smooth or romantic, but all I could focus on was the softness of Lucy’s skin and the comforting warmth I felt as she was gently pressed up against me. 

A blare of trumpet finally broke us out of our reverie. I quickly pulled my hand from Lucy’s cheek and straightened my tie. Lucy's cheeks were bright pink and she busied herself with fluffing her hair and fiddling with her dress. As the awkwardness finally faded from the air, I finally heard the song playing. It was a cacophony of instruments melded together into a gorgeous, snappy jazz beat. Before I knew it, my feet were tapping and my head was bobbing to the beat. Lucy noticed and smiled.

“You wanna go in and dance together?” I quickly stopped tapping.

“What? Oh no no, I just like the song-”

“Oh come on, it'll be fun!” Lucy pulled me from the balcony into the ballroom. I gently pulled back, looking back at the lonely starry sky. “Don’t worry, it’ll still be there! And besides,” Lucy gestured to the dance floor filled with people spinning and shaking to the music, “You don’t wanna miss out on another movie moment, do you?” That’s what got me. I finally relented and took Lucy’s hand.

“Okay...Let’s make some movie magic!” 

Dancing with Lucy was like being in dance Nirvana. Just like in the movies, the crowd of people parted as we spun and swayed on the golden floor. We busted our best moves, carried around the large circle by the gorgeous music. But I could barely hear the music. I didn’t even hear the cheers, whoops, clacking of shoes or the jingle of jewelry. All I focused on was Lucy’s pink hair swirling around her face, her heels clicking around the floor, and her hands clasped in mine. It was like we were dancing in the sky, bouncing on moonlit clouds, leaping over stars and tangoing in deep blue oblivion. As long as I had Lucy in my arms and the music in my heart, I felt like I could dance forever. 

But after a few minutes, the spell was broken. The song had ended, the cheers from our audience came back in full force, and I had Lucy in a graceful dip, her hair grazing the floor. I picked her up from the dip and drew her into an embrace. Lucy threw her arms around me as well, giggling into my shoulder as the clapping gradually faded. After a few seconds, I let her go and made my way to the band. 

“Stay here, I’ll be right back!” I quickly rummaged in my wallet and pulled out a twenty dollar bill. The band was taking a break, drinking mojitos and chatting with each other. As I jogged to them, the trumpet player smiled and waved to me.

“Hey man, we saw you tearing it up on the floor! You looked great!”

“Thanks so much!” I said happily. “If you ever want to sign with a record company, release this as your first song!" I gave her the twenty dollars. "Here's a tip, I think you're doing really good stuff! Keep it up!” The band members waved to me as I ran back to Lucy. Now was the moment, I could finally ask the question. “Hey Lucy, would you… would you like to go back to my place and uh, get sobered up?” She made a mock thinking expression.

“Only if we can watch Footloose while we’re there.” I chuckled and shook my head in amusement.

“Sounds like a plan. Shall we?” Lucy linked her arm with mine, holding on tight as we jogged our way to the marble double doors.

Present Day~

I danced to the music, twirling Lucy around the dining room table. “Looks like our band finally managed to make it on the radio!” I took a sip from my glass of juice as Lucy pirouetted in front of the sunny window. 

“Babe, the food’s gonna get cold!” Lucy said, with an adorable little pout. I kissed the pout away and held her close to me.

“Come on babe, we’ve been so busy with work. When’s the last time we danced?” Lucy sighed and looked up at me.

“It’s been months. And I’ve missed dancing with you~” 

“Exactly,” I kissed Lucy’s forehead and gathered up the plates. “And don’t worry, we can heat up the food a bit later. But for now-” I got into a dramatic dancing pose, “Dance with me darling!” And we did. Accompanied by the soulful jazz, we danced around into the familiar deep blue Nirvana. After a few minutes, the music faded away into the background. All I felt was my dear wife’s warmth against me, and all I saw was her beautiful pink hair swooping down her back and tangled with golden sunshine.