The Future Has a Past by J. California Cooper Page A

went to take a barstool vacated just for her. Silki turned to look at who the bartender was talking to. Silki liked what he saw.
    Luella hadn’t finished her last drink when the new drinks arrived. She was happy to be with Silki, but she was also miserable. Everything was happening too fast. But, oh, her feet and her numb behind.
    Silki reached for Luella to dance again. Luella, feet in too much pain, bowed her head.
    “Come on now, Luella! Let’s dance! We in the big city now! You can’t lay back on your ass like this! I done spent all this money!! Trying to show you somethin bout life! Come on! Live!”
    As Luella started pulling herself up, she felt a rip begin in the seam of her tight, red dress. She quickly put her hand over the ripping seam and started to sit back down. “Silki . . . we been travelin so long . . . I am tired. I just gotta rest my feet . . .” But Silki is not looking at her, not listening to her. She looked to see where he was looking. He was looking at She-She.
    For Luella’s benefit, Silki started looking around the club to see if he could find someone to dance with as though he had not already chosen She-She. “Well . . . then . . . damn. I’ll just have to dance with somebody else.” He started walking away, calling to She-She, “Say there . . . young lady! She,” he waved his hand back at Luella, “tired. Come on, let’s dance!”
    She-She crossed her long pretty legs and leaned back on the bar. “I dance better when I’ve had a drink. Adds a little fire to my blood.” She smiled up at Silki. “And I step a little higher.”
    Standing over her, looking down at her, he answers, “Well, get you a drink! Get two! Add a little MORE fire to your blood. Bartender! Two drinks here. Ah . . .” points to Luella, “give her one, too. If she can wake up long enough.”
    Luella looked at her man, slowly and sadly. She wiped her forehead and looked like she was going to cry. She slowly nudged her shoes off, then she picked up her glass and drank it all down.
    She-She looked at Luella, then smiled up at Silki, saying, “That your mama? Look like she need to be home. Better get some more money from her, quick, if that’s where you get it from, cause it looks like she is gonna go to sleep.”
    Silki took affront at her words, “After all,” he thought, “I am a man.” So he said to her, “That ain’t your bizness to worry bout! Let her go to sleep! I got my money! Now! You ready to dance or not?”
    She-She threw her head back and laughed, throwing her hair as she said, “I stay ready! Now, you sure you got some money? Cause I don’t like no ‘po’ nothing! No how! No way! No time!”
    Silki pulled her into his arms as he said, “I ain’t never gonna be ‘po’ again. I done found my callin. Now, I’m callin you. You better hurry up and answer. Come on now, let’s dance.”
    But She-She liked to tease, “Are you sure you can dance? I don’t like nobody messin up my feelings on the dance floor!” She stood as she hollered over her shoulder to the bartender, “Give us another drink, Ju Baby!”
    As they moved to the dance space, Silki told her, “My name is Silki, baby. If I ever mess with your feelings we won’t be dancing! Say . . . I could ask you, if you don’t like ‘po’ what you doin in here? But, mama, you look so good, I don’t even care!”
    People stepped back as Silki and She-She held the floor in a very sensual dance. Not too slow or even too close, but extremely sexual movements. It was like a dance symbolic of all the Silkis and She-Shes in the world. Promises, lying promises. A sensual, false-true longing and unaware loneliness and Promises. Were the surface scratched, it would reveal the underlying fear that he was getting broke and might not make it. Anywhere. Fail. Her fear that time was already passing her by, she couldn’t reach out and touch it any longer. It was changing her value in her world. She would, inevitably, be less to nothing. Promises