Chapter Fifteen
Fifteen
Tall, clean-shaven, with short dark hair and a strong frame, the man standing across the road from Mary looked to be around her real age, give or take a year or two.
He was wearing a dark gray suit that seemed to have come straight out of a gangster movie.
His posture was calm and relaxed, with one hand tucked into his trouser pocket, matter-of-factly, and the other holding a lit cigarette.
In all fairness, there wasn’t really anything about the man standing across the road that could scare anyone, except for the fact that to Mary he looked familiar… too familiar, in fact.
The man’s eyes moved up and for the briefest of instants their stares met.
Right then, it seemed like the whole world had frozen in place.
His unblinking dark eyes, like two black holes, seemed to be staring straight into Mary’s soul, as if he could see past her disguise… as if he knew who she really was.
Mary’s heart stuttered. She was certain that she had seen that face and those eyes before… but when? And where?
The man casually turned to face the other way, taking another drag of his cigarette, but Mary found herself unable to drag her eyes away from him, as if spellbound.
The harder she stared at him, the faster the gears inside her brain turned – the faster they turned, the more that she was certain that the memory of him hadn’t been created in Nashville.
She hadn’t seen him during one of her many walks by the Cumberland River or sitting outside one of the many bars and saloons along the Broadway.
She hadn’t seen him at any of the cafes in Hillsborough Village either.
No, Mary was almost certain that she had seen him somewhere else, before she made it to Nashville.
‘Mary.’ A voice called from behind her.
She didn’t move.
‘Mary… wait.’ A hand fell over her left shoulder.
Spell broken.
She turned around to find herself face to face with Luke one more time. ‘Hi.’ The word came out as a whisper, riding on the waves of a deep breath.
‘Sorry,’ Luke said, his embarrassment palpable. ‘Did I scare you?’
‘What?’
‘You seem spooked. Did I scare you? I’m sorry.’
Mary turned her neck to look behind her. The man was still there. This time, he seemed to be looking into the Broadway Brewhouse through the front door and waving at someone.
‘Mary, are you OK?’
‘No,’ she finally replied. ‘You didn’t scare me. I was just… looking at the lights.’
Luke smiled shyly as he offered her the CD that he was holding in his right hand. ‘You said that you enjoyed the gig, so I wanted to give you this. Just… something to remember the night, you know? Maybe you’ll come back again.’
‘Oh my God,’ Mary said, shaking her head as if snapping out of a dream. ‘I completely forgot. I wanted to get one of your CDs anyway. And yes, I loved the gig. I just… forgot, really.’ She reached into her handbag and came out with a ten-dollar bill. ‘They’re ten bucks a piece, right?’
‘Oh no, please,’ Luke said, shaking his index finger at the money. ‘It’s a gift.’
Mary peeked behind her again. The man dropped his cigarette on the ground and stubbed it out with the tip of his shoe.
‘Do you know what?’ Mary said, hooking her arm through Luke’s. ‘I’ve changed my mind. How about we go have that shot… right now. What do you say?’
Luke perked up. ‘What? Really?’
Mary nodded.
‘I say – hell yeah.’
‘But only if you let me pay for the CD,’ Mary said, catching Luke’s eyes. ‘It’s for a good cause, remember?’
Luke chewed on his smile as he hesitated for a second.
‘And you’ve got to sign it for me too.’
‘OK,’ Luke finally gave in. ‘Deal.’
As they started walking back to The Whiskey, Mary turned to check behind her one last time – gangster-suit man was all but gone. She checked left then right, but he was nowhere to be seen, as if he’d just vanished into thin air, like cigarette smoke.