I told Lanna that I needed to talk to her. She agreed to take a break from rehearsals. After everyone was gone, I got down on one knee and I kissed her hand.
I said, “Will you marry me?”
Lanna said, “Yes.”
As she said yes her brown eyes lit up with joy. I picked her up and I kissed her as I held her in my arms. Everyone congratulated us.
Simmy Day Jones, my saxophone player said, “I guess tonight is an engagement party as well? Congratulations man. I knew she was the one.”
I replied back to Simmy, “She’s the only girl for me."
She said, “Awe baby, it’s our special night. I love you.”
I replied back, “I love you too,” with a kiss of course.
The night was going well. Everyone who was anyone in music was there that night. Duke Ellington and his orchestra, Lanna and her group Crystal Dream, and Bobby J. Blues. Satin Rivers and Maureen B. Hill performed as well.
The host came back to the stage and said, “Ladies and gentleman I’d like to thank you all for coming tonight. Closing our show tonight is the very talented West Barrington and his orchestra. It’s also a very special night for West, he just proposed to the very lovely Lanna Gold. Congratulations! Take it away West.”
I felt such happiness that night. As the main lights began to dim, the spotlights brightened. As we started performing, I saw Silk making his way through the nightclub. He had a suspicious look in his eyes. He looked right at me as I was performing on stage. I tried to keep calm and act like everything was cool. He rolled his eyes at me as he turned away.
I happened to see Bobby J. Blues across the room. I saw Silk walking towards Bobby J. Blues. It was about this time that a group of cops came into the nightclub. I saw the police officer in the front stop to ask Jimmy, the waiter, something. I saw Jimmy point towards Silk.
The front police officer and the other officers made their way through the crowd. The police officer in the front said, “Freeze!” The music stopped as the main lights came back on. The officer said, “Silk Turner, you’re under the arrest for the murder of Ron Mallens.” He handcuffed Silk and they took him away.
We had heard that Silk went ahead and confessed to the murder of Ron. The police were working on some other cases they had against Silk. When they told him about the evidence from the other crimes he had committed, he went ahead and confessed to the murder of Ron. Silk was going to be put away for good this time. Silk and his crew were no more. I was relieved justice had been served. I had witnessed a murder, then I was there to witness the murderer being taken away.
Bobby J. Blues and I went on tour with our bands the following week. According to the old newspaper article, Johnny had told me about in 2016, Bobby J. Blues was murdered on January 8, 1927. Here it was January 9, 1927, and I was here in New Orleans performing with my friend Bobby J. Blues. History hadn’t repeated itself and it was all because I had reported that I had witnessed a murder. I had to go all the way to the future to 2016, to realize that I had to stand up and do the right thing. I had received a second chance to go back in time and change history by stopping my friend from being murdered by Silk.
Bobby J. Blues and I had performed in New Orleans and Nashville before coming back to perform in Harlem. As I was laughing and talking to my friend under the Harlem sky, I knew that I had done the right thing. After Bobby J. Blues and I got back from tour, both our music careers started to really take off. I just felt blessed that my friend was still alive and here by my side. If I had never gone to the future, I would’ve never reported what I had seen about Silk. The future, 2016, had made me the man I was in 1927 Harlem.
Publisher:
BookRix GmbH & Co. KG
Sonnenstraße 23
80331 Munich
Germany
Publication Date: March 22nd 2016
https://www.bookrix.com/-ja956a16f47ce65
ISBN: 978-3-7396-4413-4
Harlem Renaissance Time Traveler's Diary Page 4