Title: One for my baby…
Author: Christie (MagnificentSin)
Challenge: July Challenge- Daydreaming
Rating: Let's go with PG-13
A/N: There are certain things I know; but I am taking advantage of literary license for this story.
Disclaimer: Spoiler warnings for all books, but I don't think any apply really. Don't own the characters, just like to move them around. I just like to cover all my bases. Please read and enjoy.

One for my baby…

The club was busy tonight. The air was filled with smoke and laughter. The mood seemed right for a night like this. I had my best dress on, a little red number that made my pale skin stand out like a moonbeam in the darkness. My lips had been painted to match and the rouge on my cheeks just a shade paler to make my cheekbones stand out against the soft light in the club. I left my shoulder blade length brown hair down in the soft waves it favored, spritzing it with this expensive French perfume that my mother had given me for my sixteenth birthday. A flower was left behind on my pillow last night; I had cut the stem off and pinned it in my hair right above my right ear exposing my long graceful neck. No one would say I was a beauty like Grace Kelly or Rita Hayworth, but I did my best with what I had.

I was standing behind the curtain fully hidden from view thinking about everything that had been happening; and would happen from this day forth. Life was constantly changing in the world now. No one knew if they would live to see tomorrow or if your loved one would return safely back into your arms. Money was scarce and hard to come by, especially if you were a woman. There were a lot of things I could not afford now, but life was good the way I had chosen. I had no regrets and the life that I had been taught to lead just wasn't the life I would have chosen for myself. So I didn't choose it. I set out on my own to experience life and what it had to offer me. I was young and naïve, barely eighteen now, facing the world with the fresh face of youth. I still believed that you could find the good in anybody and everyone was not out to get you. Life had taken a few turns recently and brought me to this city. I had been enjoying every aspect of city life. Including the love of my life.

The dress I had worn tonight was bought by him, the love of my life. It was a beautiful dress I had seen in a little shop on the corner. I had matching open toed sling backs in red patent leather with little kitten heels showcasing my newly painted red lacquered toenails. The dress was knee length, expensive French silk with a little red belt to match. I had been window shopping and spotted it. I went back every day to admire it, knowing that I would never have the money for such a dress; but secretly coveting it in the hidden dreams of my heart. One day as I was standing at the window of the shop admiring the dress, a man in uniform came up to me and asked if he could be of assistance. I knew as soon as I turned around and looked into his dark chocolate eyes that he was what I had been searching for. He stood over a head taller than me, his skin tanned from being in the sun working. He had dark hair that was cut short and slightly curled at his scalp. He had a smile on delight on his face and his eyes were gazing into mine like he had known me for eternity. All this time, bouncing from city to city, I had been searching for that certain something to make me feel complete. Just standing near him I could feel my heart skipping a beat. It was love at first sight.

He told me he had noticed me coming by there every day for two weeks admiring the same dress in the window. He asked me why I just didn't go in and buy it. I told him softly that I could not afford such a dress. He smiled and made small talk with me for a few moments on that sidewalk outside the shop. He asked me to dinner and I accepted his offer. Two months later, he became my lover. He was stationed here on the base, and would soon be leaving. I would regret the loss when he left, but I would never regret meeting him. The time spent with him had been the most memorable of my life. I would remember it for when I was pulled down into the shadows of loneliness and despair after his departure and I went back to living my life as I did before him.

I used my left hand to peel the curtain back slightly and looked from beyond the curtain. A cigarette in my ornate black cigarette holder was perched between my right middle finger and index of my opposite hand; and I took a long drag and looked out amongst the crowd. The room was filled with uniformed men drinking and having a rousing time while on leave. My sharp blue eyes scanned the crowd looking for any signs of him. I didn't see him yet, but that didn't mean anything. He would be here. I would know it the second he stepped into the club. I always got this familiar tingling sensation along my spine when his eyes caressed my body. He and I had become one, sharing one soul and one heart. I loved him with everything I had, and expected no commitment in return on his part. I knew his life would not allow him to keep me waiting, wondering if he would ever return. He would never allow himself to leave me cold with fear of never hearing his voice whispering against my naked skin in the middle of the night. He had been upfront with me since day one, and I had agreed to his terms without a second thought. I would never regret this time we shared, even after tonight when he left my bed for the last time. Tonight would be one to remember for the ages.

The house band was winding down, and it was my time to shine again. I had been working in this club for almost four months now. Business was booming and my night show had been expanded to four nights a week. One thing that my parents had done for me that I had benefited from, singing lessons. I had been told from day one that I had a voice of a siren and could bring grown men to their knees with my voice. So I did what I did best, I sang in a nightclub since I had run away from home.

There was a quick intermission and the house band went out back for a quick smoke break. I grabbed a quick drink from bar and finished my cigarette. I tossed the bartender a smile and a wink as the announcer was calling out my name. Most of the oil lamps on the walls were snuffed and the remaining ones along the bar cast a soft glow onto the stage. I made my way slowly, swaying my hips side to side, to the stage.

When I came to standing in front of the microphone, the band started into the slow beat of my first song. I started of slow and melodic, putting the uniformed men and their women into a calmed state of pleasure. I had been doing this for so long, I knew just when to sing what song. I knew how to get what I wanted from the crowd; and tonight was no different. My song selection tonight had been picked with a certain degree of melancholy. The women out in the crowd could understand the sadness in my heart. After tonight, our men were being shipped out to war. Many hasty decisions would be made in the heat of the night, tonight. But my life would not change because of them. After tonight, I knew what my fate would be. I would be without him. I could not change the love in my heart, nor would I want to. I would want things to be different, I wouldn't let him leave if I could have my way, but life was not about controlling the other person. It was about controlling your own fate, your own destiny. Seizing the opportunity to live and love. And I loved him with every fiber of my being.

I had but one song left now and he was still not here. He would not just leave like a thief in the night. I knew him to be better than that. I wondered if this was just as hard for him as it was for me. I wondered if I was just one more girl left behind in a different city, never to be thought of again. But I knew that there was no truth to such thoughts. We were more in love then two people should be allowed to be. When the night was through, he would leave me behind in body, but my spirit would always be with him. I would always know that he was out there somewhere thinking about me, and about our time together.

Couples were dancing in front of the stage and some were still at their tables, ladies sitting on their men's laps enjoying the closeness with the one they loved. Only two lamps were still lit, and everyone's attention was focused on the music. I sucked in a breath before I started the lyrics.

"It's quarter to three… there's no one in the place… Except you and me…" The tone in my voice was soft and seductive, a hint of love flowing out at with the words. The instrumental strings and piano played quietly behind me just as we had practiced. I heard the sigh of hearts beating as one with the music in the club. I closed my eyes and let the music take me away.

"So set 'em up Joe, I got a little story… I think you should know… We're drinking my friend, to the end… Of a brief episode…"

I took a deep breath and leaned away from the microphone.

"Make it one for my baby… And one more for the road…" I crooned to the crowd. In my heart, the song was a heavy one; close to the pain I was feeling crushing my soul. But in my voice, it just held a hint of playfulness. I continued to sing the words to the song, watching the couples sway to the music. I was longing for the moment to be in his arms and feel his heart beat against mine. Every moment away from him was like a dull ache in my heart, and I didn't know how I would bear him being away from me.

"I feel kind of bad… can't you make the music… easy and sad…" I paused for a moment, before carrying on with the words. I was swaying along with the music slowly, feeling the words as they left me. "I could tell you a lot… but it's not… in a gentlemen's code…"

I caressed the microphone stand with my fingers, sliding them down the stand slowly and back up to hold onto the microphone with my left hand. My right hand dropped to my side, "Make it one for my baby… And one more for the road…"

I felt him come into the nightclub before I saw him. His dark eyes could burn a blazing path of desire on my body. My body temperature always shot up at least fifty degrees whenever he was within a hundred foot radius of me. I opened my eyes, and locked gazes with him. He was leisurely letting his eyes roam downward, undressing me with his eyes. I imagined he was taking in the way the light played off the dress he had bought for me. The way I would look laying in the middle of his bed without the dress tonight and just the flower he had left for me this morning, in my hair. I didn't stumble my words, and I continued singing; but I was only thinking of him. Of his hands on me, his mouth tasting mine, the pleasure I could receive from such a mouth. I looked from his eyes to his lips and a slight smile played at them. He knew what I was thinking.

The music sped up a beat, "You'd never know it… but buddy… I'm a kind of poet… And I've got a lot of things I'd like to say… And if I'm gloomy… please listen to me… 'til it's talked away…"

He moved closer to me, cutting a handsome picture in his well-fitted uniform. He was clean shaven and his dark hair had been freshly cut. He took a seat in the only secluded corner in the back of the club. His back was to the wall, his long legs stretched out in front of him. His eyes never left mine.

"Well that's how it goes… and Joe I know your gettin'… anxious to close… Thanks for the cheer… I hope you didn't mind… my bending your ear… But this torch that I found… It's gotta be drowned… or it's gonna explode…"

The band faded out and the piano was the only thing still playing. The club was silent, except for sadly sweet melody of the piano, and the couples were holding each other close, knowing that the song was coming to a close. I took a deep breath, the song's lyrics at the end always caused a lump of sadness to get stuck there. I practiced this part a couple of days ago. I changed it from the original ending, because it seemed fitting for tonight. When the piano hit the last note, I whispered into the microphone, holding the dark chocolate eyes of the one I loved with my own blue ones.

"Make it one… for my baby…" I held the note quietly. My voice was angelic, floating around the club like a soft breeze in the spring, "And one more for… the road…"

The piano picked back up the melody and played out the rest of the song. The last note came up on the piano and I picked up where I left off. "Make it… one for my baby…" I breathed into the microphone as it ended, "And… one more for… the road…" I held the last note for a couple of bars and let my voice fade out into the darkness of the club. The couples on the dance floor were still slightly swaying to the words, unwilling to let the night slip away from them.

There was no need to thank the crowd, everyone was in their own little worlds; using up the rest of the time they had before dawn's early light. It wouldn't be long now; it was well after one in morning. My shows always lasted past one. I took my time getting to him, talking to the band, collecting my money from the bartender. I knew his eyes were on me; the anticipation of tonight was pulsing through my veins. I could feel the weight of his desire with my whole being. There would be no rest tonight.

I turned slowly away from the bar, and when my eyes caught his, my whole body started to hum. My heartbeat slowed and my lips parted. No matter where we were, he always seemed to literally take my breath away. He was still sitting in his chair in the back of the room, seemingly relaxed; his arms braced on the table. He was armed with his company issue gun. I knew he carried a knife in his left boot. On the inside, I knew he was always watching; ready to pounce at the slightest hint of trouble. He was like a tiger, always stalking his prey and waiting for the right moment to attack.

He crooked his finger at me and mouthed, "C'mere."

I gave him a slight smile from across the room; and sauntered slowly to him, making sure to swing my hips provocatively. The dress was swinging around my knees, flashing him hints of skin from my thighs. When I neared him, I made my lips pouty and braced a hand on the back of his chair suggestively.

"You here to see me?" I asked huskily. I was slightly leaning over him, no parts of our bodies touching but the heat of his body was caressing over my skin.

He leaned a little forward and used his index finger to touch the palm of my hand.

"I heard there was a beautiful woman in a red silk dress here and had to come see for myself." He murmured to me. There was a small smile playing at his lips. His finger was tracing up from the palm of my hand, to my wrist in feathery light patterns. He brought my hand to his lips and kissed my knuckles and then turned it over kissing the palm, his tongue flickered out licking it gently. He heard my breathing catch in my throat and chuckled.

"Baby, are you ready to go home?" He asked me as he kissed the fingertips of my hand. His eyes were filled with the desire match in my own.

"Always." I told him.

"Mother! Mother! Wake up!"

I opened my eyes in a hurry and looked around the room. The TV was blaring with an old romantic comedy movie, and the familiar smells of dinner cooking in the kitchen lingered in the air. A pair of eyes to match my own were full of fury, and she was currently waving a wooden spoon at me.

"Mother, I have been talking to you for the last thirty minutes! You haven't heard a word I've said."

Doris Day was on the TV with Rock Hudson, and she was confessing her love. I looked down at myself and I realized that I had been dreaming. Remembering…

"Mother, I told you not to turn on those old movies. You always daydream when you turn them on." She said to me as she turned back into the kitchen.

I slid out of the recliner, gingerly. I was no longer a young and limber woman. In my heyday, I was a live wire; and some considered me to still be so. I didn't live by the rules now that I was on my own again. My life had been planned by everyone around me since I returned to Trenton all those years ago after he had left for the war. I had waited for a couple of months and realized that it would never work. Things changed in my life and I needed the support of my family.

Though, immediately upon returning to Trenton at the age of eighteen, my parents married me off to the same man they had arranged my marriage to before I left. He was several years my senior and we had nothing in common. The marriage had been an okay one, but I always knew in my heart that soldier from years ago still held my heart.

I had done my best by Ellen, since she was my only child, but she came out to be the exact mold of what a woman was always expected to be. Nothing wrong with that, but it was a little boring in my book. I always craved the adventure of life I had found all those years ago, but it is hard to make a living when you are pregnant and on your own. Especially when you are in the business of singing in a nightclub. So I came back and took my rightful place in society. I did exactly what my parents wanted of me, became the person that everyone wanted me to be and pushed my dreams aside. Never did one day go by that I didn't think of him, wonder if we could have made a good life for ourselves if the war hadn't taken him away. Wondering what a little boy with his coloring would look like and having every night to share.

She was still droning on and on from the kitchen as I made my way in there.

"I don't know what has gotten into you, mother. You are off in your own little world. I expect that out of Stephanie. She has that youthful dreamer still in her that she will eventually grow out of once she marries Joseph and settles down. But you... I would have expected you to have grown out of that stage a long time ago."

Stephanie was a lot like me, but she had a lot of her mother in her too. Stephanie was in love with a man named Ranger that reminded me of another young man a long time ago. He wouldn't allow her into his life, just like the other had kept me away. I encouraged her as much as I could to go after him. I didn't want her to have the same regrets I now had in my life. I always told myself I would never regret the time I spent with him, and I didn't. I had a lovely daughter from that brief time with him to remind me of all the love we shared. But I was afraid Stephanie would buckle to her mother's wishes and marry that cop, Joseph Morelli. Joseph Morelli was a good guy now that he had grown up, but he wasn't the one that Stephanie should spend the rest of her life with. She would never be happy with the kind of life her mother led, keeping a household and putting dinner on the table at six every night. Stephanie was born to fly.

"Ellen." I said softly, "I'm going upstairs. I'm suddenly tired and think I need to lay down before supper."

She looked up from her cutting board and knife. The concern of a loving daughter showed through her eyes.

"Are you feeling okay, mother? Do you need some help upstairs?"

I was already shuffling myself out of the kitchen and towards the stairs.

"No."

I made my way up the steps and down the hall to what was now my room. I made my way over to my desk and slipped a hand underneath. I felt around on the wood and closed my hand over a key. I pulled the key out and unlocked the middle drawer, pulling out an old faded journal. The journal had seen years of heartache, joy, sadness and love. I flipped it open carefully, and thumbed through the pages that had been written so long ago. His picture sat on those yellowed pages, a little frayed on the edges, a tear stain on the bottom corner. He was frozen in time, along with my memories. I still thought of myself as that young girl in his arms.

I picked the picture up and stared into the eyes of the man I had given my heart and soul to all those years ago. I took it over to the bed and laid down on the coverlet, laying the picture on the pillow beside me. I closed my eyes as I whispered.

"I shall see you soon, my love. I'm only a dream away now."

And one more for the road…

A/N: I dropped a line in the lyrics. In "One for My Baby…" the lyric "I know the routine, put another nickel in the machine…" comes before "I feel kind of bad, but buddy, I'm a kind of poet…" I just didn't like the lyric and didn't fit the time frame I was trying to go for. This song "One for My Baby…" was sung by Ella Fitzgerald in the 1950's. I used it for wartime in the 1940's.

I hope you enjoyed this piece. After reading the part in TS about Grandma Mazur saying she would rather sing in an evening gown, I got this idea. "One for My Baby…" is probably my favorite song of all time.