AIN'T TALKIN' 'BOUT LOVE

CHAPTER 7 - BLUE TRAIN by JOHN COLTRANE (MATURE CONTENT 18+)

I love this chapter. Much of it has been written for a long time, so it was fun to piece together. I love that Levi loves the trumpeter, John Coltrane. For some he's an acquired taste, so give it a shot, and it's okay if you don't like it right away. The Ella that Isabel is referring to is Ella Fitzgerald, one of my most favorite singers, as well as Billie Eilish. I've put the YouTube links down here and the Spotify link is at the very bottom.

SPOTIFY LINK https://open.spotify.com/track/3zIuHdD8dkh1vPxQu334T7?si=9fb05e54e2404acf

Levi sat at the table in front of his balcony door, drinking tea with the Sunday paper spread out in front of him. Coltrane slipped and fluttered from the speakers behind him as he stared past the white curtains billowing in the breeze. The sun took the chill off the mild winter morning, and his mind felt calmer than it had.

There hadn't been a lot of sleep the night before between thinking about Eren and the anniversary of his mother's death. He'd been grateful that the day had fallen on a night he played. It always went a lot easier if he could throw himself into his playing to drown out the memory of her ashen skin and sunken eyes, and the terrible sound of Farlan's cries.

He shook his head to ward off any further thoughts of it and lit a cigarette, opening the balcony door wider to vent the smoke.

Farlan. How that ridiculous kid loved that doomed woman he would never understand. But he did, and it hurt to see him slip into a darkened place every year over a whore and a meth addict. And then for Kenny to show up last night...it was all too much.

The only things that took the sting away from remembering that awful day were those glistening green eyes peering up from under long eyelashes and the feel of that mouth wrapped warmly around him. He wondered what might have happened if he hadn't sent him away.

A gentle knock on the door brought him out of his thoughts. He stood and walked to the door, unlocking it, and letting in a smiling Isabel. Her curly hair was a riot around her young face, and Levi knew her smile was a question more than a greeting. She hovered around the kitchen counter quietly, waiting for him to speak. Instead he turned and handed her the latte he'd prepared for her.

He walked back to the table and sat down, pulling a chair out for her. Levi didn't speak, but waited, knowing that Isabel would find her voice in her own time. The silence between them was always easy, and honestly, she was the only one he could sit with like this.

She leaned forward and pulled the comics from the table. He had already parsed the section from the rest of the paper, knowing she preferred it. Sipping her coffee, she leaned back to peruse the pages. He watched her from the corner of his eye and waited for her laughter to spurt out and her eyes to crinkle in amusement. It was easily the best part of his Sunday. Write on cue, she giggled and nudged his arm. "Have you read these yet?"

Levi nudged her back. "I hate the fucking funnies."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever, bro. Anyone who calls them the 'funnies' reads the funnies."

They sat quietly through all of "Blue Train," Isabel humming along and flipping through the pages, while Levi smoked another cigarette. When it was over, he got up to get more tea. "Do you want another?"

She shook her head and watched him as he poured hot water from the kettle. "Sentimental Mood" began it's tittering skip across the breeze coming through the window. "Don't you ever get tired of listening to this?"

He returned to the table and sat back down. Sighing, Levi glanced at her sideways. "If you want to know that," his head gestured to his guitars mounted on the white brick wall behind him, "you gotta know this." His head nodded forward to the speaker and the rich sound cascading through Coltrane's trumpet.