FOUR

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Getting off the bus to where I lived up in a quaint little neighborhood of Oakwood, the sunset began moving back into night and overall today had been quite a success I had to say. 

Finally, I could tell Mama all about how I had found work. 

Of course leaving out the slight detail of that rambunctious bartender who had become a brief pain in my side in order to do it. But like I was always taught when people like that didn't like you for whatever reason he had, I just had to kill him with kindness if I had to see more of him around.

But yet, I couldn't get him out of my mind as much as I wanted to...or should.

Levi Janson.

Even his name in a way matched the charming and candid personality he possessed. 

I was more titillated than turned off by the way he spoke to me—strangely still wanting to find out more about him. He was different from any man I ever met. But for all I knew he was taken by someone else. 

I guess for now, only time would tell if I would even be able to really dig into his life story.

Though the glamorous life of speakeasies and alluring men was just gonna have to wait until unfortunately the time of 8 A.M., because until morning...it was time for my own personal lifestyle to set back in.

"Thank for my groceries earlier Ivy! I'll pay ya back, I promise!" I suddenly heard one of my older neighbors, Miss Thompson, from the front porch of her house next door to mine.

She told me that every time I did it. Yet, she was much more financially worse off than me so I didn't ever hold her to it.

"My pleasure!" I shouted back waving before trying to skip happily into my front door.

"Miss Ivy Hart! Are ya still gonna help me put my fence up later on?" Another neighbor, Mr. Jack called out to me from now across the way. I nodded agreeing.

He liked asking me to do small tasks like that around his house. He clearly needed it though. The place looked like a tornado ran right through it half the time. "Yes sir!" I heard him rejoice from afar while heading in himself. 

Closing the door to our small but functional one bedroom and a small den off the front, I could see Mama laying in bed. She was half wrapped in her quilt I had stitched for her a few months ago. But my favorite part of the space definitely had to be the walls that were covered in photographs of the good old days of her and Daddy being in love and together, and us as one big happy family. 

It brought us all back to simpler and easier times.

"Mama! I've got great news to tell ya!" I started to race into the room. But slowly coming to, I realized I had just woken her up from a nap. Whoops...

"Why are ya so cheerful for?" She then asked, turning to me and trying her best to sit up in place as best as she could.

I giggled and rushed into the room fully, sitting on the edge. "Only the best news we've been looking for! I've got a job just like ya wanted me to!"

"Ya mean we wanted to?" She corrected me casually.

"But of course." Technically, I ain't wrong. 

Growing up, I always had plans of singing on a big stage and becoming a big hit someday. But with the way situations had worked out in our life, she forbade me to even think such things.

"Good. It's about time folks started offering ya some work. Now, maybe ya can actually start making sense around here regarding dangerous dreams and love having a job that's safe, pays well, and covers our bills until I get back on my feet. Ya hear?" She explained, nodding.

She loved saying things like this all the time. Though, I never had the heart to tell her she wasn't gonna be able to probably again. 

She knew it herself—yet loved the sound of it dancing across her tongue. 

It was wishful thinking. She always taught me that wishful thinking would get us a lot farther than complaining about what we couldn't or didn't have all the time—even if we knew better not to think anything more of them.

See, it all happened after my Daddy got shot and killed last year. 

He was singing up on stage back in New York at one of his favorite jazz clubs, when a few of  Frank Castello's gangsters got into a terrible disagreement with a rival gang at one of the tables.

Instead of taking their little quarrels that were probably so stupid to even fuss over, they pulled out a gun—and instead of targeting just their guy, they also killed him. Luckily at the time, I was in school and didn't visit him there that day so I saw nothing of it. 

But when the cops came to tell us the truth, our world turned upside down.

Mama was devastated so much she thought it was best to just move away, and head to California and start over again—leaving all the bad memories back in Harlem.

It started to work too. 

She found a good job at a factory and started taking care of me and my four younger siblings and got us through school with the love of Daddy in her heart that was keeping her going.

Though just when things started to look like they were gonna turn around, she got into a terrible car accident. It was one of the worst ones the Dr's had ever seen. But then...it left her now paralyzed from the waist down. 

No one knew how long it would last or if she'll ever walk again, but behind closed doors the nurses had pulled me aside and told me directly and alone that it was in one and a hundredth chance she ever would.

So, I had to take matters into my own hands.

I dropped out of school and I stopped singing in front of a crowd that we used to bring in on stage too all the time, when my Daddy would let me follow him to work and join along. The others were too young obviously, but it was nice to enjoy just our father and daughter time.

The only thing that usually played in my head was one of the last things he told me about how I should consider taking my 'talent' as a profession too.

I didn't think I was any good now though. I never really had a way to anymore. I mean, I certainly was at a place finally to actually try again since the whole incident happened. But where?

In Los Angeles, they didn't really care about music the way Harlem did. 

And according to 'The Hollywood Lounge' and their new radio only source of entertainment, just proved my point even further.

"I hear ya loud and clear Mama."

🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶

A little insight of Ivy's life! This and the next chapter will definitely go into depth of who she is, so stick around for that and I can't wait to show you more! 

See ya next time! ;)


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