Chasing Empty Spaces

Chapter 1

They traipsed through the foyer and Harry grabbed his set of keys off of a hook by the coat holder. He opened the front door and gestured for Faye to step outside. Hearing muted laughter pitter from the dinner area, Harry let out a sigh and pulled the door shut behind him.

Outside, crickets loudly chirped and a smatter of stars looked as if they were dancing along the black mass above. The temperature had cooled significantly in comparison to the afternoon heat and Harry probably would have felt revived if it wasn't for the girl trailing behind him.

"Where's this club anyways?" Faye asked, quickening her steps to match Harry's gait. When he didn't immediately answer, she carried on, "I've been wantin' to go dancin' for weeks now, but Daddy never lets me go." Faye let out a sharp laugh, "Probably cos I got in a bit of trouble when I didn't come back 'til early morning the last time I went."

Gravel crunched underneath his shoes as he strode towards a black truck parked in the drive. Harry hauled the door open for Faye and kept his eyes on the horizon.

"It's in town," He dully answered, waiting for her to climb in before shutting the door behind her.

Harry and walked around to the driver's side and quickly hopped into the car. He pulled the door shut and jammed his key into the ignition. The muffler loudly roared to life and Harry brought the truck out of park.

"You don't talk much, do ya?" Faye asked when Harry pulled out of the drive.

Harry took a left at the end of the road and started driving towards town. He had almost forgotten that Faye asked him a question, only remembering when he looked over the center counsel to see her expectantly staring at him.

"Um. Just more of a listener, I guess," Harry answered with a shrug of his shoulders.

Although he was being quieter than normal, Harry wasn't exactly lying. He always preferred listening to people talk rather than being the one initiating conversation. It was a trait that his father berated him for, always saying that a true business man did the talking.

"Well that's just fine with me," Faye reassured him even though he wasn't worried in the slightest. She snorted, "Mamma always said I was a talker. When I was a little girl, she said that I would just go on and on to anybody with two ears. Apparently, when I was six..."

And that was where Harry had stopped listening. He nodded his head here and there, laughed when he assumed she was telling a joke, and murmured, "Oh I bet" from time to time.

By the time they parked at The Cotton Club, Harry was almost positive that Faye had told him her entire life story. Even though he barely had said anything, he was inexplicably exhausted from being alone with her. Harry always thought of himself as a people-person, but he greatly questioned that from single car ride with her. Finally putting the car in park, Harry pulled the keys out of the ignition and shoved them in his front pocket. He climbed out of his seat, locked both doors, and walked to the front entrance with Faye unnervingly close by his side.

Music blared from the amplifiers inside the club and Harry could feel his stomach twist in knots as he watched different people disappear through the entrance. Clouds of tobacco smoke created a hazy atmosphere, causing Harry to subconsciously feel for his silver lighter that was nestled in the breast pocket of his jacket. When he was younger, his father told him that, "A true gentleman always carries a light." Harry rarely smoked and it was always a bit ironic seeing as how he was to inherit a tobacco firm.

Everyone that passed by the pair looked fantastic. Men wore their best suits and women were draped in their finest dresses. Friday nights in town were what people looked forward to all week long. It was the one night where kids were left at home, strangers met in dimly lit passageways, and music had the ability to bring people to life. It was the one night that Harry could break away from his regular academic schedule that was designed to make him a successful business man.