Honoree sipped her champagne as Lil swept over to the group.
“Have you met our guest of honor, Cab Calloway?”
Honoree shrugged, attempting to mask the excitement bubbling inside her.
“Would you like to meet him?”
“Love to, but can Oscar join us?” she said with a flirtatious lilt. “I want to learn more about your next movie. I’ve seenBody and Soul—it is glorious.”
Ezekiel whispered in her ear, “I think I’ll leave you now. You have this party well in hand.” Then he raised his voice. “I hope you all won’t mind if I excuse myself. I have some policy work to do this evening. No rest for the wicked—”
“Ahem, so you’re a numbers man?” Oscar said, sounding critical.
“I know you aren’t a fan of racketeering. But a Black man in America does what he can to contribute to the economy in Bronzeville.”
“The auto body business doesn’t pay you enough?” Oscar said.
“Ezekiel is a man with any number of skills,” Lil said. “Auto repair, gambler, brawler, entrepreneur. In his short time back in Chicago, he’s proven himself an invaluable man to know.”
“Thank you, Lil.” He bowed and kissed her hand.
She giggled. “And he’s a charmer.”
“Maybe you should be in one of my movies, then,” Oscar chimed in.
Honoree grinned, but she was suspicious of Ezekiel’s easy laugh and how he chatted effortlessly with Micheaux, Cab Calloway, and Lil. And they wouldn’t let him leave. He kept talking, moving smoothly from topic to topic like any of the New Negroes. Race politics, the unionization of the Pullman porters, and whether a white boy in St. Louis named Bix could hold his own against Louis. But to Honoree, the real wonder was Lil; she was the real McCoy. “How are you enjoying our new record?” Lil asked the group.
There was a pause as everyone keyed in on the record playing on the phonograph. “Is that the one you recorded with the Hot Five, ‘Gut Bucket Blues’?” Ezekiel said. “Surefire hit.”
“Yes.” Lil seemed impressed. “We only finished recording it the other day at OKeh.”
“I know. I have eyes and ears in all parts of Chicago,” he said, bowing. “And speaking of which, now I must excuse myself. I have another appointment.”
There was a general sigh of disappointment; even Honoree had enjoyed his entertaining sidebars.
He took her hand and gallantly kissed her palm. “It was a pleasure having the chance to catch up, Honoree.”
Honoree touched his sleeve as he turned to leave. “Let’s make sure we find time to get together soon,” she said, but realized with a slight panic that some might misunderstand her invitation. “In case there are more details on that business we discussed.”
Amusement darkened Ezekiel’s eyes. “I’m at your disposal.”
Then he was off to wherever it was he had to be. Honoree watched him walk away, the handsome man with his Joe Brooks style and thick, wavy black hair, and when his eyes weren’t black with rage, the specks of blue shone like the rhinestones in her best dress.
She and Ezekiel had fit well together when they were young, and from the eyebrow wagging of Lil and her friends, they fit well together still. Their kiss at the auto body shop had given her a jolt, admittedly. Was she falling back under Ezekiel’s spell?
Honoree was not a fool, but Ezekiel was like a rod of the best silk fabric. She couldn’t afford to own it, but pure silk was always something to be admired.
Turning, she gave Oscar Micheaux a flirty smile and said, “I can’t believe you’re already working on another film. What’s its name? And is there a role for me?” She laughed, the way a carefree girl laughed with nary a worry in her head, and when Oscar laughed along with her, she tried to contain her excitement.
CHAPTER 29
SAWYER
Sunday, June 28, 2015
Sunlight slips through an opening in the hostel’s blackout drapes. I had clicked off my cell hours ago—after I finished with my father. Now, I lie in bed, wrapped in sweat, drowning in the aftermath of another dream. But not the hands-on-the-steering-wheel dream.
In this one, Azizi is dancing, dressed in her ballerina outfit, pink and satin; her round face glows, but her collarbone is as thin as the blade of a knife. She looks beautiful and broken. I ask her if she’s happy, and she smiles and says,Not yet. Not right now. But soon, Sawyer. You wait and see.
