The piano played lightly inside of Black and Blue’s Jazz Bar softly after midnight. The moonlight streamed through the Plexiglas windows as couples floated in and out the smoky atmosphere.
It was Europe’s newest hot spot, owned by an American and his son, who had come to Paris in a whirlwind. The nightlife of Paris had changed since the classy bar had opened a little over two years ago and everyone who was anyone danced away the night on the small wooden floor.
John Black had purchased the bar on impulse wanting to get away from the American life as soon as possible. After a tiresome split with his precious wife of almost three years, he had moved to Paris to try and start a new. His daughter had remained in the states for college, while his oldest son decided to join him in his quest over seas.
The bar had started out as just a fun idea. A place where they could go to relax and ease into the life. But what they never expected was the response it got from the local patrons and how much publicity two small time American’s could get from something as simple as a bar.
The crowd was fair for a Saturday night after midnight as Brady Black lightly tickled the ivories with soft melodies. He had liked the idea of moving away with his father, although he had begun to miss Marlena and especially his sister in the time that they were gone. He still spoke to Belle quite often but it still wasn’t the same as seeing her every morning and every evening.
“Wanna play a song for me, stud?”
A voice from behind Brady made him stiffen as he slowly turned around. It was then he saw someone he never thought he would see again … she hadn’t changed much in the past couple years. Her russet hair was now back to blonde and rested neatly upon her shoulders, her curves still evident with every step she took. Her hazel eyes still shone with desire and intrigue and most importantly love as she gazed at him, diamond tears built up behind her amber orbs.
“Ma … Marlena, what are you doing here?” Brady asked astonished, as he gazed over his step-mother intently.
It was almost like a dream to him. He had prayed she’d figure out where they were but as the years passed, he had given up. She had never come back and it was beginning to become a lost dream. But she was there now and he hoped it was to stay.
“I was in Paris and I wanted a drink. This was the nearest bar and here I am. You look great, Brady,” she smiled tenderly.
“So do you,” he replied, getting up to hug her.
“You know, I heard you and your father opened up a bar. Is he here?” she wondered.
Remembering the fights and the screaming, Brady shook his head, more for her protection than his father’s. John Black had basically shut out Marlena Evans from his mind. Not because he wanted to, but because he had too. “No, he doesn’t work on Saturdays. I … I’m sorry.”
The smile dissapeared from her lips and she cleared her throat, anything to shake the dissapoint from her mind. “That’s alright. Look, Brady, can you do me a favor?”
“Sure. What is it?”
“Can you play the song? I haven’t heard it since he left and I really need to right now. Would you mind?”
“Marlena, I don’t know,” he hesitated, glancing around the room to see if his father was around.
“Please,” she asked, her eyes pleading.
“Alright,” he agreed reluctantly.
Brady began to play the keys lightly, the soft sounds of Unchained Melody wafting through the air. Marlena closed her eyes in remembrance, feeling as the world slowly spun beneath her feet. She hadn’t heard that song in so long … ever since the night he had left.
“Brady, what the hell are you doing?” John Black said sternly, walking over to the piano. “You promised me you’d never play it again.”
Brady pointed his eyes upwards as John finally looked up. He found himself gazing into a pair of hazel eyes he never thought he would see again … a pair of eyes that were the window to his soul.
“Mar … Marlena,” he whispered, amazed to see her standing before him. “What … what are you doing here?”
“I was in Paris and I wanted a drink … I didn’t know this was your place until I saw Brady playing on the piano. How are you John? You … you look great,” she smiled, overcome with emotions.
“You too. I’m good. The bar has kept me pretty busy but I love it. What about you? How are you?”
Before she could answer, a tall man walked up to the threesome, lightly kissing Marlena on the neck. “Darling, I got us a table.” Noticing the group surrounding Marlena, he held out his hand to John. “Hi, I’m Rick Bergman, Marlena’s fiancĂ©e,” he said politely, “and you are?”
John stared at him in shock as he could hear Marlena wince slightly. He glanced over at her, her eyes begging for his forgiveness as he turned back to Rick, shaking his hand gently. “John Black. I … I own the bar.”
“Well you have a great place,” Rick smiled. “Now if you’ll excuse us, we’re going to sit down for a drink. It was nice meeting you, Mr. Black.”
“You too,” John said stunned, watching as he walked off with Marlena. She turned around only once, her red lips curving into an ‘I’m sorry’ as John’s heart began to break ever so slowly.
**
“Brady, play it!” John yelled as he poured himself another shot of Tequila.
The bar had closed an hour ago, as John stayed around, wallowing himself in his alcohol. He shouldn’t have been surprised that Marlena had moved on … she was gorgeous, who wouldn’t want her? But he had hoped somewhere deep down that she was unable to move on, just like he wasn’t.
“Dad, no,” Brady said firmly, trying to grab the shot glass away from his father. “Come on, why don’t we go on home. Alcohol is not going to help you fix this. Please, let me close up and we’ll go home.”
“You played it for her, now play it for me!” he whined. “Come on, Brady. Play it.”
Sighing loudly, he moved over to the piano, Unchained Melody filling the vacinity of the room. Wiping his tears, John poured himself another shot, downing it quickly.
“You know, alcohol won’t cure this.”
John looked up and Marlena standing there, her hair wet from the rains, her clothes soaked to the bone.
“How did you get in here?” he mumbled. “We’re closed.”
“The back door was open,” she said softly.
“Shit, I should have locked that,” he muttered, pouring himself another shot. “So what do you want, Marlena? Is your fiancĂ©e here? Did you come here to rub it in a little more?”
“That is unfair,” she whispered, tears beginning to fall softly from her eyes. “John, we got divorced two years ago. What did I do that was so unfair? I moved on, isn’t that what you wanted? Aren’t you the one who told me to say good-bye to you and move on? I mean, damn it, John, you moved to Paris for God’s sake. Did you want me to wait around forever for you?” she exclaimed, exasperated.
“I did,” he replied. He looked up at her, his eyes beat red. He noticed that the music had stopped and turned slightly, realizing that Brady had left the room moments before.
“Oh that is not fair. I never asked you to wait for me, John. You left! I never thought I would see you again!”
“Do you still love me?” he asked, carefully standing up as he held onto the bar.
“John, I …”
“Just answer the question, Marlena. Do you still love me?” he asked firmly.
“Of course I do,” she said softly. “I’ll always love you, John. But things changed … we changed, our lives changed. That doesn’t mean I ever stopped loving you.”
“So kiss me,” he said. “Kiss me as if it were the last time.”
“John, I can’t,” she whispered. “Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t …”
“Yes you can. Just kiss me. Pretend the world was ending tomorrow and I was the only person there. Would you kiss me?”
“John, the world isn’t ending tomorrow,” she protested.
“Pretend it was,” he replied, leaning into her, bringing his hand up to her face. He felt her soft cheek for moments, remembering what it felt like to touch her silky smooth skin. Her smell rushed through his body, knocking him limp for a few seconds as he grabbed onto her body tighter. He tilted his face, lightly tracing his finger along her cheek.
Bringing his lips in closer to hers, their bodies became molded as one as his tongue softly danced into her mouth, their tongues partnering up in the tango once more.
The kiss released moments later as they stared into each other’s eyes.
“I … I have to go,” she stammered, grabbing her bag off the bar. “I … bye,” she finished quickly, rushing out of the bar, as John collapsed onto the bar stool, desperation running through his veins.
**
John Black sat in his office, a container of aspirin on one side of him, a bottle of Pepto Bismol on the other. Visions of the night before swam through his mind as his head began to pound a little harder.
A knock on the door made him wince as he leaned back in his chair, lightly rubbing his temples. “Go away.”
The door swung open and Marlena walked in in a frenzy, slamming the door shut behind her.
“Damn it, Marlena,” John groaned, “I have a hangover the size of Texas, must you slam the door?”
“I hate you!” she yelled as she began to pace the room. “Where do you get off doing what you did last night? What and who gave you the right to kiss me, John Black. I am not yours anymore! I am not yours to kiss, I am not yours to love, I am not yours to have! I am engaged for God’s sake! I really hate you,” she seethed.
“No you don’t,” he smiled, despite the headache pounding through his head. “If you hated me you wouldn’t be here right now. If you hated me you wouldn’t have kissed me last night, and if you hated me, this would not make you so angry. What you want to tell me is that you love me. That the kiss we shared last night brought up a lot of old memories and that you want me back. You can deny it all you want. You can say I am being an egotistical asshole, you can tell me I am wrong, but your eyes don’t lie, Marlena.”
She looked up at him, her eyes filled with an endless amount of tears as she sat down across from him. “You’re right,” she replied softly. “I don’t hate you. I went back to the hotel last night and I just spent all night out on the terrace glancing up at the stars. I kept remembering all of our times together … and before you think it, don’t get mad at Belle for not telling you. I told her not to mention it to you, although I knew she would have to at some point. Brady didn’t know either … I guess I did anything and everything in my power to keep it from you and I am sorry. And now I am so confused. John, I want you back …”
She said it so quietly, he almost didn’t hear her. He looked up at her, his eyes wide as he almost choked on the sip of water he had just taken. “Marlena … Marlena, you’re engaged,” John replied. “Look, despite what I said and despite what I did last night, I do not want you to leave Rick for me. I can’t put you through that again. Maybe we can still keep in touch,” he said standing up, as moved next to her.
She looked at him, her eyes wild with fire, tears flowing rapidly down her cheeks. “Why are you doing this to me?” she cried.
“Because,” he smiled gently, rubbing his hand against her cheek, “You’re going to regret it. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life. I love you to much for you to make that mistake twice. Why don’t you just walk away, Marlena? Walk away knowing that we had our last good-bye. The last kiss that will echo on for all eternity. My time with you is over, it’s Rick’s now. Wish him my best alright? He’s got one amazing woman.”
“Is this what you really want?” she asked, her voice cracking with emotion.
“It doesn’t matter,” he said shaking his head. “This is for the best, Marlena. You don’t really want me back. You just want what we had, you want that spark that we shared last night. Rick is the one you love now though. You fell in love with him, you accepted his proposal … don’t give that up because of me. I’ll always love you, Marlena, but this is for the best. Besides, we’ll always have Salem.”
He lightly kissed her lips and walked her towards the door, wrapping her in his arms, as she wrapped herself into his embrace. “Here’s looking at you kid,” he whispered, kissing her once more.
**
“Dad?” Brady called, walking into his father’s bedroom. “There is a message for you on the office answering machine. I think you should check it.”
Rolling over in bed, John sighed, picking up the phone. “Thanks son.” He dialed the office, punching in a few numbers to reach the answering machine.
“John, it’s Marlena. Look, I know all that you said last night and I tried to accept it, I really did, but I am not sure I can just leave. I am supposed to fly back to the states tomorrow at nine in the morning. If you have changed your mind and you want me back in your life, come to the airport. I love you, John Black. I always will.”
Glancing at the clock, John slammed the phone down. “Shit! Brady!” John screamed. “Start up the car, will you? I need to get to the airport!”
**
John Black rushed into the airport, rushing up the ticket counter. “Flight back to Salem,” he said winded. “What gate?”
“3B but sir, they are about to …”
Before she could finish John dodged through people, fighting his way through the crowd. Out of breath, he finally reached 3B just as the plane took off in the air.
“Shit!” he yelled, banging his hand against the window. “Damn it!”
“Looking for me?”
His body stiffened as he heard her voice, his heart stopping for a moment in time. Almost afraid to turn around for the fear of it being a dream, he grabbed onto a seat and slowly pulled himself to face the voice of an angel.
She was standing there smiling at him, her eyes wild with desire. His mouth hung open in surprise as he eased himself in the chair in fears of passing out.
“Your plane … what … why are you here? I didn’t come on time … I …”
She placed her finger over his lips, silencing him. “Whether you came or not, I knew wasn’t the issue. The issue was me, John. I couldn’t marry, Rick, not while I am still in love with you. John, I love you. I love you with everything in my entire being and I want to be with you. I don’t know if you want to be with me …”
“I love you,” he interrupted her. “And yes, I want to be with you,” he smiled, pulling her to him and kissing her.
“You know,” she laughed, as they pulled apart, “I was beginning to feel like Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca. Only I never did like the ending. He let her go way to easily …”
He smiled at her, tousling her hair with his fingers. “Well my dear, this is the start of a beautiful friendship,” he teased, kissing her hand gently, as they walked out of the airport and into the early morning light, a new day dawning and a new life beginning for two star-crossed lovers.
The Jarlena Journal 