Driving the King Read Online Free PDF

after we left the dressing room. Perhaps the starlight had emboldened us, and with no ushers around and the outside doors still closed, we made ourselves comfortable in the forbidden row, if only for a few seconds, before we eased back outside. A young couple took the same seats, with the man unfolding my A4 for his lady friend and then taking A3, where Mattie had been. I’m sure he found his cushion sunk a little bit lower because of the beautiful crater left by Miss Mattie Green, more lovely and buxom than Jean Harlow, Betty Grable, or the young lady who held his arm. Mattie had run her hand along my collar and my ear, and then down the back of the downstairs seat, collecting army green and red velvetlint on her gloves. She’d rolled it between her fingers and released a bright little tornado that spun to the floor.
    Our actual seats were worn, but sturdy enough. Besides, once the music stopped, everyone in that theater would want to be in my place, AA17. That ring had been with me for the seven hours since I’d bought it, but I had lived with the notion for years. People had rushed to altars all over Montgomery before the war, but I didn’t want to. In case I might die wasn’t the way I wanted to start things. I needed it to feel like forever instead of maybe.
    â€œI wonder what song he’ll play first?” Mattie said. “I guess it doesn’t matter, because I want to hear them all.”
    I just squeezed her arm. I didn’t want to say much until I said the most important thing. The nerves had started working, and I needed the last few minutes to get collected. No fumbling with the pocket button or dropping the ring.
    On my way out, I’d told Mr. Cartwright about the plan me and Nat had made, and then I’d given him three more half-dollar coins, one more for him and two for the stagehands above our heads, moving on the catwalk that ran down the center of the theater, their own little alley high above us. One turned right and the other left as they took their places on the twin spotlights that flanked the stage. One looked across and nodded my way.
    The blinking of the house lights came and went, and the place got showtime dark. The New Collegians came on, and the applause started, polite from downstairs and heavier in the balcony, where some of the folks probably knew the band members. As the horn players took their seats on the bandstand, Johnny, Oscar, and Nat came on to roars and clapping from the top and bottom of the theater. As soon as Nat took his place at the piano, the band started with a little of the local flavor with “Tuxedo Junction.” Then Nat leaned into the microphone and told us what we already knew.
    â€œGood evening, Montgomery. We are the Nat Cole Trio and we’re pleased to be here tonight with the wonderful New Collegians ensemble. It’s good to be back home.”
    Hearing him say “home” brought more cheers. When he lifted his hands from the piano, the band stopped as well. One of the two spotlights left the stage and swung around to me.
    â€œMontgomery,” he sang. “Let me tell you ’bout a friend of mine . . .”
    And then it was my turn.
    Mattie watched me drop to a knee. My back foot stepped onto the folks beside us, but they seemed to understand. I took Mattie by both hands, and everything about her said yes. People downstairs were on their feet. A few fromthe rows beneath the balcony had walked into the aisle to see. Sweet murmurs came from the seats all around us. I was never one who liked being the center of things, never craved the attention of anyone beyond my loved ones and friends, but that feeling was something else, the whole world knowing the good news I’d held in my pocket for too long.
    I froze before I could reach for the ring. My heart beat faster than it had since the war. It was not because of love, marriage, or the fear of either. Through the brass railings along the balcony, I saw the