"Ready, momma?" Jukie said, as he opened the bedroom door and they were greeted by another sexy tune drifting up the stairs---this time it was Marvin Gaye. Them white kids was definitely on their way to doing some balling of their own tonight! Somehow, that thought relaxed Jukie a little about them seeing him come down the stairs with this white girl.
Soundtrack: "I Heard it Through the Grapevine---Marvin Gaye"
As Donna passed in front of him through the door, Jukie caught a whiff of the strong perfume she had applied as part of her endless preparation to leave. Man, but she smelled good! Baby, let's git where we going fast. I wanna get outtahere and pick up where we left off! He followed Donna as she headed down the back stairs. Jukie smiled: Good thinking!
They emerged in the kitchen where Jukie immediately spotted that cat, Jake, just standing there, staring at the door into the main room. "Shit! Don't want to talk to this dude, now,” he muttered to himself.
He motioned to Donna to move on quickly so Jake didn't spot them. She shrugged and headed toward the rear door. Jukie followed swiftly, passing quietly through the door into the cool night air. Jake hadn't even noticed them. Not too surprising, given how stoned out he was earlier in the evening.
Now, it was Jukie’s turn to take the lead, so he grabbed a hold of Donna's free hand and led her round the side of the house out toward the street. He could just barely make out the music leaking through the partly open windows, some corny honky music. Definitely, time for him to be moving on. He didn't belong at this whitey party, no how.
Then, just as they rounded the corner of the house, the front door opened and loud music poured out. Jukie stopped short, jerking Donna back into the shadows of the house. He put a finger to his lips, cautioning her to keep quiet, then pointed to the two figures he saw leaving the house and walking toward the street. Well, I'll be damned, he thought. It's good ole Patsy Richardson and… I do believe it's that spic, Luis! Wonder what they're doing together, him being married and she being… like practically a virgin…except for those couple times in high school when the two of us got it on! Wow! I gotta’ check this out with Patsy later!
But, for now, he waited, as the two silhouettes disappeared down the street.
"Coast is clear," he whispered to Donna, tugging at her impatiently to follow him to his car. He walked fast. He just didn't want to run into nobody right now, not with Donna in tow, carrying a big overnight bag. It looked too suspicious.
When they reached his little red VW bug, he unlocked and opened the passenger door for Donna, then took her suitcase and carried it round to his side. She reached across and unlocked the door for him from the inside, her breasts inviting him in as she did so. He tossed her bag in the back and turned the ignition key. A little hard starting because of the weather, but soon they were on their way.
Donna hadn't said a word since they left her room. Jukie wondered what she was thinking. "Hey, baby, what’s on your mind?" he asked.
Donna laughed. "Oh, nothing really. I was just amused by your stealthy exit. Were you really afraid of those morons at the party?"
That pissed Jukie off. "Hell no! I ain't afraid of nuthin'. Jes' don’ trust or like none of 'em!" That would set her straight!
"O.K., O.K." she assured him. "I was just askin.' Seemed like earlier you were worried they were gonna’ get the wrong idea about us; that's all. Hey, man. Relax. I was jes' askin.'"
As she was saying this, Jukie noticed something he'd noticed around some other white people he'd known, like that dude, Jake. After a while, they start in jive talking. That's what this gal, Donna, was doing right now. He couldn't figure it. It wasn't like they were mocking him. More like they were playing up to him.
"That's O.K," he told her. "I'm jes' a little edgy tonight. That's all. It’s been kind of a crazy time for me these las’ few months. I'm not used to bein' around so many honkies."
Links
Marvin Gaye
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New Year's Eve 1968: Jukie, Scene 7 "Growin' Up Black in White America"
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New Year's Eve 1968: Jukie, Scene 5 "The Start of a Very Inerestin' Semester"
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New Year's Eve 1968: Pat, Scene 1 "1969 Began with a Kiss"
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