The Saga of Girly Lee Brown A novelette by Theresa Black

Chapter 5 (Final)

We were performing the first show of the evening, and I was last on for the set. By now I was well known to the regulars and they gave me a good round of applause as I shimmied behind the microphone in a figure hugging dress (I should mention that I’d had breast enhancement surgery a few years earlier) and gave a bow. To my surprise, Marilyn leaned over and hissed “Change of plan – there’s been a special request from a customer for you to sing “I Wanna Be Loved by You’.”

I was surprised and a little annoyed, but it was too late to protest as Marilyn was already playing the intro. I put on a big smile and started to sing

“I wanna be loved by you,
Just you and nobody else but you,
I wanna be loved by you, alo-o-one!
Boop-boop-e-doo.”

I’d always regarded it as a silly song, especially that final line, but what the heck, the customer is always right. Now, it was the rule that when the show was on, the houselights were dimmed and the stage lights raised to focus attention on the performers. As I sang, to my surprise, the front houselights seemed to be getting a little brighter, and then it was that I saw him. It was Leroy! Who else could it be, sitting at a table near the stage, with a bottle of real champagne in an ice bucket, and two glasses waiting to be fllled? He was wearing a tuxedo and looking more handsome than ever, if that was possible.

I can tell you that changed everything for me. Now I was singing the song for him and him alone, and he sat there smiling at me, that smile that’s guaranteed to make a woman go ‘weak at the knees’, well it certainly had that effect on me, but fortunately not literally.

After the song was over and Leroy led a standing ovation and cheers, I carefully descended the steps to the restaurant floor and walked over to the table where he was waiting for me.

“Is this seat taken?” I asked him, trying to control the emotion in my voice.

“It certainly is, now and forever, I hope,” said Leroy as he pulled it back for me to sit down. Then he popped the champagne cork and filled the two glasses. We clinked them together in a toast and I took a sip.

“How did you find me?” I asked.

“Do you have any idea of how many people called ‘L Brown’ there are in the Chicago phone book?” he asked. “I needed help.”

I suddenly laughed. “This scenario has Lucille’s fingerprints all over it!”

Leroy smiled. “I suppose you can guess how many L. Mackiewiczs there are in Chicago?”

“Just one?”

“Just one”

Tell me more,” I said.

“Well you guessed it. It seems one day, Lucille called in at the gas station in Hicksville – just as well she did then because it was two days before my folks retired and handed it over to another couple. It seems Lucille asked how I was doing, and they told her I was divorced. Well, you know what Lucille’s like.”

“I should do, she’s been my sister for longer than I can remember, and what she doesn’t know about me isn’t worth knowing.”

“Exactly. So a few days later, in fact two days ago, I received a short note in a neat feminine hand. All it said was that if I visited the Star Theater-Restaurant one evening I might make an interesting discovery which would be to my advantage. It was signed L.J.”

That’s Lu,” I said, “Her married name is Jackson, and she’s always looked after me ever since we were kids together.”

Somehow, and I wasn’t even aware that it had happened, we were holding hands across the table.

“Well, now you’ve found me working here, I guess you know more about me than you ever knew before,” I said.

Leroy smiled. “Oh no, I’ve known that about you for many years.”

I was shocked. “But you got married,” I said.

He had the good grace to look embarrassed. “The biggest mistake of my life, and I’m still ashamed of it,” he said.

‘Do you want to tell me? It’s an hour until the next show.”

“Well the truth is I was never that interested in girls, which made it all the more surprising to me that I was so interested in you. It took me a while to work out why.

“After I arrived in Chicago, I tried to work out who I really was interested in and yes, there were some young men in my life, but it didn’t matter if I was giving or receiving, it was just sex – a moments pleasure and then it was ‘Sayonara’. That wasn’t what I wanted, and anyway there was a girl back in Hicksville in the back of my mind.

“You asked about my marriage. Melissa was a great girl – she still is. We became friends and I thought that if I married her then I could somehow become a ‘normal’ man. She was a church-goer and a virgin. She didn’t believe in sex before marriage and I can’t help thinking that if we had, it would have saved a lot of heartache. I already knew it was a mistake on our wedding night, but I couldn’t insult her by not playing my part, so I did – once. Being a virgin she didn’t really enjoy it the first time since I’m told it can hurt. I think she expected a repeat performance but I said I was exhausted and rolled over and went to sleep. The following day she expected more, but I told her that married couples only did it once a week. I felt I could cope with that.

“Of course it didn’t occur to me that women talk about the most intimate things and when she arrived back at the office where she worked, after the honeymoon, all the women were keen for details and that including ‘how many times?’. When she said ‘twice’ – they responded ‘only twice a night?” and her answer of ‘twice in a fortnight’ had them stunned. Ignorant of married life as she was, she soon began to think that ours was a most unusual marriage. After about a month, she sat me down and asked me what was the matter.

“Don’t you find me attractive?” she asked, and it nearly broke my heart to hear the catch in her voice.

“No, it’s not that,” I said. “I’m afraid I just don’t have much of a libido.”

“Well, she seemed to accept that, but as the months rolled on, she was saying that she wanted a baby, and if we were doing it so infrequently, she couldn’t see how that would happen. Unknown to her, when the day of intimacy approached, I was doing everything I could to reduce the likelihood of her getting pregnant, since I knew that if she had a baby, then I would be really stuck.

“Eventually she took the initiative and told me that she couldn’t go on like that and we should separate. That was exactly what I wanted of course, but I had to try and sound reluctant. We were so much happier then – her in the house I bought and me in a small apartment. Actually, I’ve jumped the gun a bit. I should say that I had completed my studies to become a qualified accountant. I stayed for a few years in the company I first joined, and I was earning good money. This was before I got married. After we separated, I wanted a complete break, so I left the company and started up my own one. It’s been very successful and I’m quite well off now with a new house of my own.”

“You got divorced,” I prompted him.

“Yes. It was obvious to both of us that we would not get back together, so we divorced. We have one set of mutual friends who still talk to both of us, and I recently heard that she is engaged to be married again. I’m very happy for her. I hope that this time she gets everything she wants in married life, including children. In fact it’s that knowledge that makes me finally feel a little less guilty about what I did to her.”

I couldn’t criticize him. He asked about me, and I told him all that I’ve previously recorded.

“Seems like we’ve both been through the mill,” Leroy said, and I had to agree with him.

“So what happens now?” he asked.

I’d had time to think about it so I answered him in this way.

“I always imagined that I might meet you again, Leroy, but I didn’t really believe it could happen. Now that it has, I have to seriously consider whether I am truly still in love with you, or in love with the idea of being in love with you. After all, with the passing of time, in some ways I hardly know you. Maybe you feel the same way?”

He sort of grimaced but didn’t reply.

“There’s another thing. You say you have your own successful business. Now if anyone here recognized you, I’m sure it’s ok for you to have come here once and happened to know one of the singers, but if it happened on a regular basis … well I know it’s a ‘dog eat dog’ world out there, and rumours might be spread which would ruin your business.”

“Are you trying to tell me that you don’t want to see me again?” he said, and the look on his face was heartbreaking. I squeezed his hand.

“Oh no! Far from it! What I was going to suggest was that we see each other discretely; perhaps stay overnight away from Chicago? Maybe you could smuggle me into and out of your house? That way we could really get to know each other again and decide for sure if this is what we want. If you’d like me to stay overnight, I’d be happy to.”

His face broke out into a broad smile. “Oh! I’m totally in agreement with that. You know you are not just beautiful, you are very smart too!” It was my turn to blush again, something I hadn’t done in quite a while, and I rather liked the feeling.”

Leroy stayed for the second show. I warned him that I was scheduled to sing ‘Love for Sale’, that standard so beautifully sung by Ella Fitzgerald, and I did my best to sing it in her style. “This one I’m definitely NOT singing for you!” I said with a smile:

‘Who will buy?
Who would like to sample my supply?
Who's prepared to pay the price
For a trip to paradise?
Love for sale’

Before I left the table, Leroy discretely slipped me a piece of paper with his address and telephone number. We were definitely NOT going to lose touch again.

And so began our second romance. We spent many happy hours just talking or even sitting and enjoying each other’s company in silence while we read. Then there were the nights, and they were all I could wish for and more. I will never forget the first time we made love. I had imagined it so often and it was truly more than I could ever have imagined. Afterwards, when we lay beside each other our hearts still pounding and chests heaving as we gasped for air, Leroy turned to me with a concerned look on his face. “Lee. You’re crying. Did I hurt you?”

“Oh no, darling. It was the most wonderful experience of my life. It’s really my first time; I’ve had plenty of sex before, but this is the first time I have made love with the man I love and I’m afraid it’s made me rather emotional.”

“Oh darling! I feel the same way!” He put his arms around me and held me close. I felt safe and it was so wonderful.

“I have a confession to make,” said Leroy. “I visited my parents a few times and never contacted you, but it was only because I loved you so much and I had nothing to offer you. It nearly tore me apart to know that you were so near and yet I did not dare see you.”

“Oh my darling, let’s not dwell on the past. Now we are together, and I am totally yours and forever.” I replied, and we hugged each other even more tightly.

After about four months, we were both sure that we would never be apart again. We couldn’t marry of course but there was nothing to stop me as an old friend appearing in his life again and we told the story of a secret marriage with only a couple of witnesses, which explained the beautiful engagement ring and wedding ring I began to wear. A discrete friend of Leroy’s took some ‘wedding photos’ for us to prove our story. I changed my name by Deed Poll, so that I could legally use my new name.

I had to leave the Star of course. Mr Marchant was sorry to see me go but when I told him I had met the love of my life again, he understood my decision. As I said to Leroy, while I loved my job there, I loved him more. I moved into his house which was only part-furnished by him while he was a bachelor, so I had the fun of selecting more furniture, drapes, carpets etc.

As ‘Mrs Markiewicz’, I was mixing with the cream of Chicago society, attending concerts, first nights of plays, and dinners with the elite. Leroy was generous with my housekeeping money and I had ample to dress myself in a manner befitting the wife of one of Chicago’s top accountants. Meanwhile my sisters seemed to keep having children and I was an aunt many times over. From time to time, we visited Hicksville to see my Mom, and Grandma who lived until she was 96. They knew all about me and why I had ‘married’ Leroy, but never said a word to anyone, and took our secret to their graves. We made sure they had grand send-offs.

We also visited my three sisters from time to time and got together at Thanksgiving and Christmas for great parties which the children loved. Like all happy marriages we wanted it to last forever.

Now comes the sad part which I am obliged to record. After many years of happiness together, Leroy started getting a regular hacking cough. He was now in his sixties, not old by any measure. I finally persuaded him to see a doctor. In those days men resisted seeking medical aid until they were near death’s door. Alas the news was not good. Leroy was never a smoker but so many men were in those days, so I suppose he was subjected to what is called ‘passive smoking’. Nothing could be done except to make him comfortable and as pain-free as possible.

I still remember the morning that he passed. It was around four o’clock. He had been restless during the night but now he seemed to settle down. I got up and sat beside the bed, holding his hand . I had a feeling that the end was near. He seemed to settle down to sleep and I think I dozed because I suddenly opened my eyes and saw his eyes were open too and looking straight at me.

“Lee,” he whispered, and I had to lean forward to hear him. “We’ve been so happy, haven’t we?” he said in the quietest of voices, and then “I love you, Lee.”

I knew the tears were flowing but I couldn’t help it. “So happy, darling,” I replied.”I love you, Leroy, now and forever.”

He smiled at that, sighed and closed his eyes and then lay back, the smile still on his lips. He was gone. I sat there for a long time, his hand growing cold in mine. Then I laid it gently on the bed and stood up and walked to the window, I drew the drapes and looked out at the lights of Chicago, and the stars blazing down from the clear night sky. There was one particularly bright one and in my mind that was Leroy’s star.

“Thank you for everything, darling,” I whispered.

Once Leroy was gone, I had no desire to stay in Chicago. It will come as no surprise to you that Lucille and Rob had a spare room for me on the farm, and that is where I will live out the rest of my life. Then I will be taken back to Chicago to lie beside Leroy.

Hicksville might seem a strange place to live for someone with as much money as I have, but my needs have always been simple, and when Leroy’s business was sold, and also our house, I was so glad to be going back home.

I was actually able to do some good for the town which had grown since I last lived there, including renovating and extending the local school to cope with increasing numbers of children, and also building a new community multi-purpose hall with a stage at one end, with curtains, lighting, a sound system and change rooms. The local council donated the land and I paid for the rest. My one condition which they were happy to accept was that it be called the ‘Leroy Maciewicz Memorial Hall. They wanted to make it ‘Lee and Leroy’ but I said, “Only when I’m gone”.

The opening was a grand occasion with a free dance and supper. The local mayor stood on the stage at interval and thanked me for making the new building possible. Then it was my turn to speak.

“I’m a local girl,” I said. “I met Leroy when his parents took over the gas station and it was love at first sight for me. He was the handsomest man I had ever seen. I think he liked me too! (Laughter at this). But then he went to Chicago to go to college and I thought I had lost him forever, especially when I heard that he was married. Later I too settled in Chicago and joined a nightclub band as a singer. I didn’t know that Leroy’s marriage broke up, but my sister Lucille heard and finding him in the phone book let him know that he might find something of interest at a nightclub which happened to be where I worked.. He later told me that he had heard I was in Chicago and had tried to find me but there were rather a lot of L Browns in the telephone book, but, thank goodness, only one L Manciewicz. (More laughter) I have so much to thank Lucille for; by the way she is now my landlady.

“That night at the club I was told a patron had requested a favourite song and as I sang it so the lights came up and I saw Leroy sitting there as handsome as ever and smiling at me. After the song, we sat together and talked and ‘the rest is history’ as they say. I haven’t sung in quite a while and this is the last ever time I will sing in public, but in Leroy’s honor I will now sing his, and my, favorite song.”

With that I turned to the band and signaled them. They played the intro and I launched into “I Wanna be Loved by You”. When it was finished I had a standing ovation, the last one of my life..

I should mention that I still had quite a lot of money left over, and after a meeting with my sisters, who were all comfortably off themselves, it was agreed that my estate will be divided equally amongst all their children. They will receive quite a lot of money each and I hope they spend it wisely. Whether they do or not is not up to me, I won’t be around to see.

The evenings are drawing in now and I think it is time to stop writing and go downstairs to where I know there will be a warm welcome, a warm fire and a happy family.

The End