Everybody Loves Somebody Sometime

Welcome to My World

"Ladies and gentleman, let's have another big hand for the beautiful Sandy Lawrence," a suave man in a grey suit called out. The audience clapped enthusiastically as Sandy bowed and left the stage, before returning to their conversations. Sandy sighed and headed to her dressing room, slamming the door shut behind her. It had been a long night, her first night at the 14th Street Lounge in New York City. She had just been let go from Vanderbilt Palace as their resident lounge singer, so she had a chip on her shoulder the size of Kentucky coming into this job.

Sandy poured herself a drink and sighed, collapsing on the small chair in her dressing room and staring into the mirror. She was a beautiful 27 year old singer, with long brown hair that flowed past her shoulders, a slender frame, fair complexion, a dazzling smile, and sparkling green eyes. Her voice was smooth and melodic, and generally made heads turn in her direction.

However, heads turning didn't seem to please the club owners all the time, citing that Sandy was too sweet, to gentle to have a life in show business. Her demure attitude onstage overshadowed her beautiful voice; she just wasn't confident or exciting enough to be a performer. When Jim Franklin took her on for 14th Street, she vowed to change things up, add some electricity to her performance, but she just fell into the same routine she always had. She sang slow ballads that were pleasing to the audience, but has nothing to spice up her performance.

"May I come in?" A deep voice called out. Sandy spun around, startled out of her thoughts. In stepped the Emcee, Patrick Field. He was a charming man with a bright smile, and had been the first to welcome Sandy into the club.

"Hi Mr. Field," Sandy said softly, shooting him a small smile.

"Please Sandy, I already told you to call me Pat. I just wanted to tell you that you were incredible out there. Your voice is astounding!" Patrick said earnestly, giving her a warm smile. Sandy tried to smile back, but still couldn't hide the disappointment on her face.

"That's awfully nice of you Pat, but I'm afraid just having a nice voice isn't going to get me anywhere. I'm in major need of a 'wow' factor if people are going to keep me around," she sighed, masking the tears forming in her eyes. Patrick came up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Come on now Sandy, you did great out there. You'll find your wow factor, I promise," he said gently. Sandy gave him a real smile that time, gratitude shining in her eyes.

"I appreciate that Pat, thank you. So, is that what you came in for?" She asked, eyeing the bouquet of roses Pat had set on a coffee table.

"Actually, I came in to give you these. They're from the guy who's going to be performing next, well...one of them anyways. He was quite taken with you, told me to deliver these to you personally," Pat answered, gesturing to the roses.

Sandy blushed, walking over to the bouquet and picking up the small cars attached to it. She had received gifts from admirers before, but only from drunken men who were looking for a one night stand before returning to their wives, never from another performer.

"He's a good looking man Sandy, I think you and him would get along just fine. Him and his comedy partner make quite the duo, they're two of our up and coming regulars," Pat said lightly, winking at her. He made his way to the door and took his leave, letting Sandy read the card in front of her.

Ms. Lawrence,
I wanted to wish you congratulations on a stellar opening night. I heard you singing from backstage, and I have to say I would love to work with you in the future. I would be honored if after I finished performing if you would grab a drink with me. I'm going to be the one in the black tux, the Italian one.
Sincerely,
Dean Martin

Sandy had a silly grin on her face as she clutched the roses to her. Mr. Dean Martin...she had seen him once before, when she was being shown around the club. He had been talking to a young man in a tweed jacket with an unusually nasally voice. Sandy's heart had nearly stopped when she saw him; with a great build (about 6 foot 1), a booming laugh, thick black hair, a gorgeous smile, and chocolate brown eyes. He was the dream of any single girl on the planet, and for some reason she had caught his eye.

Sandy ventured out into the the hallway, heading towards the stage where she peeked through the curtains. She saw the young man in the tweed suit jumping all around Dean, looking like a monkey. Dean, for his part, just continued to dryly spit out his lines, with the other man's slapstick expressions drawing loud laughs from the audience. Sandy was completely captivated; watching Dean's natural charm and the other man's natural goofiness. The two made a perfect comedy duo, playing off the other with such professionalism and ease, like a fine and intricate dance.

"Alright Jerry...I'm gonna sing a song now," Dean chimed out, earning a flamboyant clap from his partner. Dean began to sing, and Sandy thought she was going to die. It was something in Italian, his accent apparent in the words he sang. His suave, crooning voice was the equivalent to melted butter, and his gentle vibrato echoed throughout the entire room. His graceful motions and poignant facial expressions were incredible; he was the consummate performer, captivating everyone in the audience.

When he finished singing, the audience stood up and cheered. The other man, Jerry, came back out and the two of them bowed. Patrick came onstage and shook Dean's hand, motioning to the audience one more time.

"Was that not incredible ladies and gents? Please, give it up one more time for Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin!" Patrick crowed, leading the audience in another round of applause.

"Mr. Martin..." Sandy called out as the two men walked past her, causing Dean to whirl around, a bright smile on his face.

"Hey baby..." He drawled, clapping his partner on the back and walking towards her. He oozed charm from every bit of him, and Sandy blushed lightly, his gaze intensely fixed on her.

"Thank you for the flowers," she said softly, reaching out to shake his hand. He took her hand in his and kissed it lightly, his eyes never leaving hers.

"It was my genuine pleasure Ms. Lawrence, you truly have a lovely voice," he answered earnestly, glancing back at his partner.

"Hello!" The other man chimed out in a sing song voice, causing Sandy to laugh. He walked spastically up to her, sticking hand out for her to shake as well,

"That's Jerry Lewis, my weaker half," Dean joked, earning a glare from Jerry. Sandy just chucked and smiled sweetly at the young man, watching him blush brightly.

"Well I thought you were wonderful," Sandy gushed, getting Jerry to grin widely.

"I like her..." Jerry announced, before giving Dean a quick wave and heading back towards the dressing room. Dean smirked and raised his eyebrows at Sandy, before offering her his arm.

"Let's say you and I get that drink now," he said gently, waiting for her to respond. Sandy nodded as took his arm, heading towards the dimly lit bar near the end of the club.

That's this chapter, stay tuned for the next one coming soon!