A Flash of Jazz - Café Scene

 

Thursday at Cafe Siren.

The day begins, as always, with the doors being unlocked by a quiet server dressed in ripped jeans and a black shirt with her traditional combat boots. And, every time she opens the door, she always looks out to the busy street and smiles at the raggedy looking man across the street who draws whimsical pictures in watercolour. He looks up, sees her red lipstick framed smile, and waves once. She nods and then returns inside. 

The server, whose name for today is Nina, wraps a dirty apron around her waist and begins her regular set up of the espresso machine. When she's ready to prepare the tea for the day, she turns on the turntable located by the front door and puts on a jazz record. This will be the first of ten albums played during the day. However, she doesn't realize that today, there will be an eleventh. 

An hour later, the first customer comes into the cafe to the welcoming tune of some female jazz singer who looks as though she came from the 1930s. This first customer, dressed in a suit that looks too confining on him, asks for a simple cup of the dark roast with enough room for creamer. Nina hands the piping hot coffee to the customer and turns to leave. She wonders about him, wonders about where he lives and what he does to make himself smile. She smirks as she wonders if he's ever smiled, or if such an action would be too liberal for him. Nina releases that thought as other customers enter the cafe.

Halfway through the sixth album, Matthew enters the cafe. Matthew is a muscular black man who is wearing jeans, a black shirt, and hiking boots. He flashes a smile at Nina as he takes his place behind the bar. Nina unwraps the apron from her body and steps outside to the alley for her hour long break. When she connects with the sounds of the city, she lights up a cigarette and takes a sip from her cup of matcha tea. She gives herself enough time to have a sandwich before returning. 

By the time the tenth album is put on, Matthew and Nina are ready to call it a night. Just then, a woman dressed in a slinky red dress strolls into the cafe. Her long black hair moves like ripples against her ivory shoulders and back. She walks right up to the counter and asks in a near whisper - Coffee. Black. Matthew obliges while Nina waits to hear the scratch and hiss of the final album. The woman in red pays for her coffee, smiles weakly, and then sits at a table. Nina growls under her breath as the exhaustion threatens to overwhelm her. Just then, a man dressed in a rumpled tuxedo staggers into the cafe. His blonde hair looks like it's never seen a brush before. He looks around the cafe, then settles his gaze on the woman in red, who freezes in mid-motion. 

I figured you would be here, the man yells.

Leave me alone, the woman replies in a cold tone, then sips her coffee. I told you that I no longer have it. 

You're a terrible liar, the man replies with a chuckle as he knocks the coffee from her hand. The contents splash all over her dress and face. Thankfully, the coffee was not too hot. She gets up and slaps him across the face. That emerald was not worth it, she hissed. I almost got killed.

Juliet, the man replies in a softer tone, I told you that once we got that emerald, we would finally go to Paris. Finally free from V.'s group and the harsh rules. She lowers her head. She knows he's right. 

It's in my hotel room, Francis, she says. I didn't think you were serious about it. The man pulls her into a tight embrace and then the two leave the cafe. 

Matthew and Nina watch the entire scene in silence behind the bar. When the couple leaves, Nina slowly walks toward the turntable. She turns it off, hesitates for a moment, and then puts on an eleventh album. As the sound of a lonely trumpet begins the album, Nina walks to the door and peers outside to the desolate night. And wonders. And wonders. 

Matthew closes his eyes and dreams of Paris. And wonders if it's too late to catch up to the couple and tell them that they'll never be free from V., or rather his, grasp. 

Accompanying Jazz album - Hailey Tuck: Coquette