by Londyn Skye
“Yeah, I’m a little rusty, though. It’s been a while.”
“I sure couldn’t tell.”
“I’m certainly nowhere near your level of skill.”
“Well, I enjoyed it nonetheless.”
“Thank you,” Elijah smiled.
The gaze that accompanied his smile sent a rush of warmth running through Lily. Needing to escape the intensity of his eyes, she turned and walked toward the edge of the stage to look out at the interior of the theater.
“Beautiful place, isn’t it?” Elijah asked, walking up behind her and staring out at all the features along with her.
“Sure is.”
“Amazin’ what a pair ‘a hands can craft.”
“So true. I said that to myself when William’s amphitheata’ was finished. It came out to be so beautiful. But this place … this is the grandest thing I’ve eva’ seen in my life. Can’t hardly believe I’m blessed enough to be standin’ here in the middle of it, let alone the fact that I’ll be playin’ in this very spot in front of an audience full ‘a folks.”
“Is that what’s troublin’ you?” Elijah asked, his booming voice echoing through the empty theater.
“What makes you think I’m troubled?”
“I admire that you’re tryna put on a happy face, but you seem a little tense to me,” Elijah replied as he began lightly massaging Lily’s shoulders. “Is it your nerves gettin’ the best ‘a you?”
“Naw, it’s not that. I’ve ova’come my fear about playin’ in front ‘a folks. It’s just…” Lily’s eyes suddenly fluttered closed when the massage began to relax her.
“Just what?”
“Just that … umm…” The soothing feeling of Elijah’s caress made her lose her train of thought.
“I tell you what.” Elijah turned her around to face him. “How about you tell me ova’ dinna’?”
“Dinna’?”
“Yeah, I bought us some food from the restaurant across the way. I wanted to cook somethin’ for you, but it’s a little tough without an oven here,” Elijah laughed.
“Yeah, I guess that would pose a problem,” Lily nervously laughed in return.
“So, will you join me?”
“I would, but William’s s’pposed to be back with some food in a little while.”
“I know. I saw ’em headin’ into the restaurant about to get your food. When he told me you were stuck stayin’ here, I told ’em he could go on and get a room at the hotel and that I’d keep you company. A man his age don’t need to be sleepin’ on a cot.”
“Oh, I see. I guess that’s true,” Lily replied, suddenly feeling a little uneasy about being there alone with him.
“Any more excuses you care to use?”
Lily smiled sheepishly and shook her head.
“C’mon,” Elijah said, taking her by the hand and leading her into his dressing room. Inside, he had set up a makeshift table and laid out the dinner like they were at a fine restaurant, complete with champagne glasses, candles, and cloth napkins.
Impressed by his efforts, Lily lit up with a genuine smile. “Smells really good,” she said, as Elijah pulled out her chair.
“I’ve heard their food is good, but I doubt it’s as great as mine,” he boasted.
“Well, you ain’t the least bit arrogant, are you?” Lily teased.
“It’s called confidence when it’s the truth,” Elijah smiled. “Go on, try a bite.”
Lily cut into a small piece of the steak and let it melt in her mouth. “Mmm,” she purred as she chewed.
“Mine would be far betta’, but I guess this will have to suffice … for now.”
“Somehow, I just can’t imagine you bein’ this great at cookin’,” Lily teased.
“I’m great at a lot ‘a things,” Elijah replied, staring at Lily with a different sort of hunger in his eyes.
“I’m quite sure you are,” Lily responded, returning his gaze. His innuendo suddenly caused her mind to flood with thoughts unbecoming of a young unwed woman. The images caused her cheeks to flush red. She quickly turned her attention back to her steak to force the fantasy to fade away.
Elijah sensed Lily’s sudden discomfort and steered the subject back to safer grounds as he cut into his steak. “So, I was askin’ earlier, what was troublin’ you? You’re pretty good at hidin’ your emotions most ‘a the time. But I can see right through that little shield you have up.”
Lily put her fork down and stopped eating when his question prompted her true worries to return.
“Did I say somethin’ wrong?” Elijah asked, after feeling her emotionally drifting away.
“No, of course not.”
“Well then what is it? You ain’t eatin’ all of a sudden. You alright?”
Lily continued staring at her plate in silence.
Elijah put his fork down as well. “Lily, you can talk to me about anything. Whateva’ you say will stay between you and me.”
“Thanks. I appreciate that, but I don’t wanna bombard you with my troubles, especially afta’ you done went through so much trouble for me tonight.”
“You wouldn’t be bombardin’ me. Lily, I wanna help. Is somethin’ goin’ wrong with the show?”
“Naw, rehearsals are goin’ just fine. It’s just … I’m worried.”
“Worried about what?”
“About…”
“Your masta’? William told me he’s yet to make it up here.”
Lily scoffed at his terminology. “He’s not my masta’, Elijah.”
“Is that what he’s tellin’ you these days?”
“No, it’s just not that way between us. He’s … He’s a friend.”
Elijah laughed, wiped his mouth, and tossed his napkin on the table.
“What’s so funny about that?” Lily asked.
“He’s a friend?”
“Of course he is.”
“A man whose fatha’ paid for you at an auction is a friend? A man who dragged you up here without you havin’ so much as a say in it, is your friend?” Elijah asked, sounding as if such a thing was ludicrous.
“I know what it seems like to everyone else, but James truly is my friend.”
Elijah scoffed and shook his head. “Yeah, I had a friend once too. I knew ’em damn near my whole life. A white boy named Nicholas … Nicholas Wellington. He lived up the road from William. Me, him, and William’s boys used to climb trees and fish togetha’ on weekends and nearly every day in the summa’s. Truth be told, we were so close for so long, Nicholas felt more like a brotha’ to me than anything else.
“Nick was talented. He was good at everything. He was the only boy in town who could give me a run for my money at foot racin’ and fishin’. But I couldn’t hold a candle to ’em when it came to drawin’ … Nobody could. That boy was one hell of an artist. Could draw and paint anything with the utmost precision. People, animals, landscapes, you name it. He planned to go off to school for it, so he could improve and make a livin’ at it. But before he went off to college, we saved up enough money and bought ourselves some tickets to ride a steam train togetha’. We were both fascinated by trains, and we’d been dreamin’ about ridin’ one for years. We planned to travel from one end of the state to the otha’. It’s all we eva’ talked about sometimes, all the adventures we’d have while we were seein’ everything Ohio had to offa’. And afta’ years of savin’ up, that’s exactly what we did.
“So, there I was, with my best friend, our first time on a train togetha’, ready to make our dream a reality. While we rode, Nicholas sat next to me starin’ out the window at the landscape, capturin’ everything he saw on a drawin’ pad. You’d probably think that I’d’ve had my eyes pasted on the landscape whippin’ by us too, but that’s not what caught my attention at all. Instead, I couldn’t take my eyes off this poor old Negro man I saw shovelin’ coal into some sort ‘a compartment in the engine. I realized he was shovelin’ the fuel to keep the train movin’. He was hunched ova’, covered from head to toe in soot and
sweat. Hell, he was covered so thick, he could ‘a been a white man unda’ there and I’d‘ve neva’ known the difference.
“For days afta’ that trip, I thought about that poor old filthy man breakin’ his back. I’s convinced there had to be an easier way to keep that train movin’ than to force some old man to slave away and suffa’ the way he was. About a week lata’, I had a dream … a dream about how I could improve that train. I dreamt about a holdin’ compartment for all that coal, one that could be placed high up above the engine, so that the coal could be funneled downward into the engine by simply pullin’ on a lever. So instead ‘a shovelin’, all a man would eva’ have to do is open that storage compartment with the lever and release as much coal as he needed before closin’ it off again. No more shovelin’, no more sweatin’, no more soot, no more watchin’ an old man damn near break his back to keep a train rollin’.
“When I woke up from that dream, I was hell-bent on makin’ it a reality. I wanted to get a patent for the idea and sell it to every train manufacturer in the United States. I wrote up a summary about it and tried to draw a blueprint to go along with it. The problem was, I couldn’t draw no betta’ than a five-year-old. But Nicholas Wellington—my friend—he could draw anything. So, I took my basic sketch to ’em, showed ’em the write-up on my idea, and asked if he’d do a professional blueprint for me. Nicholas was more than happy to do it. He shared in my enthusiasm because he was just as convinced as I was that this idea would be a change that no train manufacturer would eva’ turn down. He had no doubt in his mind that somethin’ so simple would make me rich, and my best friend wanted to do all he could to help. He told me to give ’em forty-eight hours, so that he could be sure the drawin’ was done to scale. He said he’d have it complete by then for sure. Two days lata’, I returned to retrieve it, just to find out that my very best friend, a friend who was like a brotha’ to me, had gotten on a train and rode south with my idea tucked away in his pocket. His first stop … E.M. Baldwin Train Corporation.
“So, if you eva’ have the chance to get on a steam train, just know that it’ll be my coal funnelin’ system helpin’ to propel it forward. But more importantly, that my friend, Nicholas Wellington, will neva’ have to work again a single day in his life because of it. And worse yet, there ain’t a damn thing I can do about it because there ain’t a court in the land that’ll believe some dumb Negro actually thought of an idea like that.
“That was my ticket, Lily! My ticket to a betta’ life, a life of not havin’ to work like a dog to make ends meet, to supportin’ a family when I have one, a ticket to givin’ somethin’ meaningful to my folks afta’ everything they been through for me and my sista’. My so-called friend, he took that ticket from me, signed his name on it, and took my seat on a train with a destination to an easier life. So long as I live, I’ll neva’ forgive that bastard for it!
“‘I’m your friend!’” Elijah pointed his finger down hard on the table with a scowl on his face. “White folks! That’s what they’ll tell ya’, Lily! They’ll smile at ya’! Hug ya’! Or do whateva’ they have to do to get close enough to ya’, just to be sure it’s easier to take what they want from ya’ wheneva’ it comes a time that they need it!”
Lily stared at Elijah, feeling uneasy with how upset he had become. “I-I’m sorry for what happened to you, Elijah, I really am. But how could you say that afta’ everything that William’s done for you?”
“William’s an anomaly!”
“And how do you know that James isn’t?!”
“Oh, come on, Lily! Don’t be so blind! He hasn’t even tried to hide it! It was all ova’ the newspapa’s, how he’s usin’ you to make money to pay his daddy’s debts!”
“That ain’t true!”
“If it ain’t, then answa’ one question for me … Of all the money you’ve made since performin’ on William’s estate and outta all the advances Robert Branaugh has given for this show, how much of it has your masta’ laid in your hands?”
Lily leaned back in her chair and stared at her plate, embarrassed to answer truthfully.
Elijah scoffed. “A friend, huh?” he smiled arrogantly. “Betta’ start rethinkin’ your definition ‘a what that really is. You should be happy your masta’s locked up, instead ‘a sittin’ here sulkin’ ova’ him the way you are. He deserves to be sittin’ in that jail cell dealin’ with the consequences of his actions, not to mention for the way he’s stealin’ your money.”
“Stop talkin’ about him that way! You don’t know James the way I do!” Lily quickly scooted her chair back, got up, and stormed out of the dressing room.
Elijah immediately jumped up and caught her in the hallway. “Lily wait! Please!” He gently turned her around to face him. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I had no right. I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to get upset at you. I didn’t realize how bitta’ I still was about what happened to me. This whole scenario makes me so mad because I just don’t want the same thing to happen to you. I know I may not have expressed myself right, but I just wanna protect you from what I went through. But, you’re right … I don’t know this James guy at all, so I shouldn’t’ve said those things about ’em.”
“You’re damn right you shouldn’t have!”
“I know, I know … but can you at least try to unda’stand where I’m comin’ from?”
Lily just stared at Elijah with a scowl on her face and refused to utter another word.
“Can you give me anotha’ chance? I know I was way outta line, and I probably don’t deserve it, but I’m askin’ for your forgiveness anyway?”
Again, Lily was cold and refused to respond.
“Please?” Elijah begged. “I know I’ve made a complete mess outta dinna’ tonight, but to make it up to you and show you that I’m not such a bad guy, how ’bout I ride back to Athens tomorrow to see if I can find out what’s goin’ on with James?”
“I-I’d appreciate that.”
“Then that’s what I’ll do.”
“Thank you.”
“So, now what do you say we forget about the last ten minutes and start ova’?” Elijah extended his hand for Lily to shake. “Hi, I’m Elijah … And you are?”
She finally smiled at his sarcasm. “Lily,” she replied, reluctantly placing her hand in his.
“Wow! You have a smile that lights up this entire room.”
“Well, thank you … Umm, what did you say your name was again?” she responded, playing along with his game.
“Elijah,” he laughed.
“Well, Elijah, that’s very sweet ‘a you. You have a very nice smile too.”
“Well, thank you beautiful.”
Elijah took hold of Lily’s hand and guided her back to his makeshift dinner table. They sat back down together and finished the meal in better spirits with plenty of wine, dessert, and lighter conversation. They later tinkered on the piano together and then sat next to one another in the theater seats, laughing at funny stories about each other’s lives. They carried on with the fun of their impromptu date until Lily grew tired and departed back to her dressing room well after midnight.
From her few interactions with Elijah, Lily had learned that he was more than just a flawlessly handsome man who possessed the ability to simply look at a woman in a way that would melt her insides. He was witty, intelligent, ambitious, attentive, and had a confidence about him that was unlike any other Negro man she had ever known. She was quickly convinced that he was an anomaly amongst Negro men, the sort of rare man that women would fight over to marry and have children with. He had such an impact on Lily that she was still thinking about him well after their date. This, despite their minor argument about James. In fact, as she lay in her tiny cot, it dawned on her that she had not thought about James at all after that. Elijah’s presence had temporarily freed her from her worries about James’s whereabouts. Instead, she found herself wondering if she just might be the right fit for a man of Elijah’s caliber. She now looked forward to spending another evening
with him to see if time would tell.
… It was the mere thought of Elijah and Lily spending such precious quality time together that tortured James as he sat idly in his jail cell. Logically, James knew that he had no right to be upset at Lily for accepting Elijah’s advances, if that’s what she wanted. But logic was a foreign concept when it came to the matter of his feelings for her. And logic was certainly proving to have no power in stopping the graphic visions of Lily and Elijah that continued to erupt in James’s jealous mind, visions far worse than any simple dinners or casual hugs. The effect of those mental images were exacerbated by the fact that James was yearning to be there for Lily behind the scenes, supporting her leading up to another monumental moment. He feared missing her first show inside a real theater and the celebratory hug that she always gave him following every grand finale. The culmination of it all had a rage building inside James that intensified the closer it grew to opening night.
Now, with only hours remaining until the opening number, the fuse of James’s emotions had nearly burned through completely, leaving him on the verge of exploding. He lay in his filthy jailhouse cot with the lack of food, water, and sleep adding fuel to that burning emotional fuse. His malnourished mind continued to maliciously torture him with images of Elijah and Lily’s entangled bodies. Those erotic visions finally caused his fury to explode. Angrily, he sprang from his cot, wrapped his hands around his cell bars, and began yelling at the top of his lungs. His pleading echoed down the hallways of the jailhouse and fell on the deaf unsympathetic ears of the sheriff, as usual.
After nearly going hoarse, James stood with his head resting against the bars of his cell, the vile images of Elijah and Lily continuing to add to his madness. The visions ceased, though, when he suddenly heard a familiar voice begin to berate him.
“You mean they ain’t let you outta here yet, schoolboy?” Tucker teased from outside the small barred window near the ceiling of James’s basement cell.
James tore himself away from the cell bars and turned around briefly to look up at the person he was convinced had played a role in ensuring his extended jailhouse stay. After he saw Tucker’s face, he turned back around and rested his head back on the bars. Despite James trying to ignore him, Tucker continued to torment him.