On The Road: Filler Chapter

After we returned the car we weren’t sure how the Cadillac owner would react. I don’t think Dean really cared much anyway. After all, nothing could get in the way of our kicks. Chicago was a grand city with crazy clubs. In the afternoon we decided to sleep for a while and recover from the night before. We were not going to, but we decided to go out for some kicks on our last night in the city. We would get on the road in the morning and take a bus headed east. Eventually we would get to New York. We went to Anita O’Day’s club again and this time we also had many beers.

Out of nowhere Dean shouted, "God has arrived again!" and sure enough there was George Shearing walking into Anita O’Day’s club. George looked tired, but ready to play some music. He played the piano for a long while, with a few choruses and his amazing chords. He kept playing until he couldn’t play anymore. He left the stage and took a seat at the bar. Dean and I went over to have a drink with him. Dean shouted , "Hot Damn!" We were in Chicago, getting our kicks, talking to George Shearing. Chicago was great.


There were the same young bop musicians and an even bigger crowd than the night before. We walked around outside the club and tried to pick up some girls off the street. With no luck we went into the club again and got some whiskey. The music blasting out of the horn and the other instruments made me want to join them. There was skinny Chicago kid again, ready to jump and blow on his trombone. At intermission I went out for some air. The night was young and so was the city. When I went back inside Dean was getting his kicks with some more beer. I told him to come outside with me.

Outside on the sidewalk Dean spotted one of the prettiest young girls we have both ever seen. She was thin and average height with long blonde hair. I told him to go pick her up. "Go talk to her Dean", I said. But he didn't do it. When I asked him why he just said, "I couldn't do it man." It was strange to see Dean scared to approach a girl. It was as if he had fallen in love with her in the five minutes that he was watching her. I decided to go ask her to join us for some drinks. And sure enough she did. We went back inside the club and got some more beers. She was having fun and Dean started easing up. He started talking to her about all kinds of things. I was sure that he would get in with her before the night was over.

While Dean was picking up the young blonde, I decided to look for a girl of my own. I went for a walk. The streets were so alive and lit up. It reminded me of New York and I actually missed the "Big Apple" a little bit. I smoked a few cigarettes and thought about some things. I thought about going back to New York. Our return to New York was really going to be something. I thought about traveling more, to foreign countries like Italy or Mexico. Someday Dean and I could probably make it to South America if the road would allow it. I wondered happily as I stumbled back into the club to hear the loud and crazy music in the club. I sat next to Dean. His girl wasn't there. I wondered what went wrong and so I asked him. He simply said that she would be back later.

We talked about New York and Frisco. The beautiful Frisco and all the ood times there. We talked about Denver and all of our history there. Dean's father was there and he wanted to find him someday. Many memories were in Denver and we wanted to hold on to them. This deep conversation had both Dean and I sweating. We smoked a few cigarettes and had some beers. Dean started talking about Old Bull Lee. We wondered where he was. If he was getting his kicks and if he was with his girl. It was just Dean and I now. I wondered if we would ever see any of our good old friends again. My aunt thought they were all idiots, but I knew that they were all good people. Even good old Dean, the mad-man.

Another intermission and back outside we went. Surprisingly, dean's girl actually came back. She came over and started talking about music and I don't know what else. I wasn't really paying attention. The music started up again and Dean started shouting things like "Yes!" and "Hot Damn". He was sweating and yelling and happy all at once. For a moment I thought Dean was mad again. He started talking about his father and then about Camille. We started musing about Mexico and decided that one day we drive there. Dean shouted, to nobody in particular, "The road can take us anywhere!" Then he said, "C’mon, let’s go man", and off we went.