Over the Rainbow

Chapter 5: The Meet

Jared wasn't much of a dancer, but he enjoyed live music and the band that was booked into the club Over the Rainbow for Saturday was one of his favorites. He didn't bother looking for a date, being stood up again took some of the shine off that prospect. Anyway, maybe he'd meet someone at the club. A guy had to have hope.

"Johnny," he tapped on Johnny's desk to get his attention. "What you say we head out to the Rainbow Saturday?"

"What're you nuts?" Johnny didn't even look up from his monitor. "Dancing with you you? What kind of douche to you think I am?"

"No," Jared protested. "Not dancing! Rassy's Boy is playing there. I thought we'd go and hang out."

"Rassy's Boy?" Again Johnny's eyes stayed glued to the monitor.

"I talked about them, Johnny. They're a Neil Young cover band. Come on, it'll be a good time."

"Yeah, yeah," Johnny conceded "But you're buyin' the first round."

That settled, Jared turned back to his work and shut out the rest of the world

***

"I'm sorry, Over the what?" Sarah wasn't sure she'd heard Marianne correctly.

"Over the Rainbow," Marianne replied. "You've really never heard of it? It's a dance club."

"Ok, I kinda got that when you suggested going dancing." Sarah was perplexed. "I really don't have time for that. I've got to get to Jared. You know that."

"Yeah, I know. You've got to tell him what to do to get you back to your real life. I haven't forgotten, but you still don't actually know where to find him. You've bumped into him, but it was pretty obvious that he didn't have a clue who you were."

Sarah was pacing back and forth, wearing ruts in the carpeted floor. Marianne watched her in silence for a few minutes, but eventually couldn't take it any more and had to speak up.

"Dancing!" She nearly shouted, "Dancing together, dancing with boys, hell, dancing with other girls. Having some fun. Burning off some of this nervous energy. Sarah, you need to step away from this for a minute and relax. Recharge your batteries. Get your head straight. Hell girl! Maybe get laid!"

Sarah stopped and stared at her friend. After a moment she broke into laughter, it started out almost hysterical in nature but settled down to genuine amusement.

"Laid, huh?" She sat down on the couch, still chuckling softly. "Is that your plan? Get me laid?"

"Sure why not?" Marianne sat next to Sarah, took her hand. "Look, just have a good time. Maybe get a little drunk, laugh at stupid jokes, make fun of stupid boys. Just enjoy ourselves for the night."

Marianne made a cross over her 'heart'. "I promise we'll get back on the hunt tomorrow. But tonight is Ladies Night!"

Sarah rested her head on Marianne's shoulder, heaved a sigh and said, "Alright, I guess one night on the dance floor won't kill me."

"That's my girl," Marianne put her arm around Sarah's shoulders. "Just us two, out for Ladies Night."

***

The band was just warming up when Jared and Johnny got to the club. Jared was surprised to see that the front man even managed to look quite a bit like Young. He'd aged a bit since Jared had seen them last. The two made their way across the nearly empty dance floor and found a completely empty table.

They sat down, arranging their chairs to get a good view of the stage. 'Niel' was banging out a few chord changes while the techs did level checks. As the bassist tore into a raucous riff, a waitress stepped up to the table.

"What can I get you guys?" She asked to get their attention.

"You got Rohrbach's?" Johnny asked and without waiting for an answer, continued, "I'll take a Scotch Ale."

"I'll take a Guinness." Jared, didn't have to ask. Everyone had Guinness.

"Ok, one Scotch Ale and one Guinness. Be right back boys." With a flip of her skirt, she turned and headed off to the bar.

"Sweet!" Johnny watched her legs closely as she walked away. "This may have been a good idea after all, dude."

"Right." Jared glanced back at the waitress, but was obviously more interested in what the band was doing on the stage. It looked as though they were about to start their first set. The room had gotten considerably more crowded and there were now dozens of couples scattered around the dance floor.

The front man introduced the band members, called out their first number and the drummer counted out the beat to start the song. As the music and vocals swelled, filling the room, more people moved out to the dance floor. The room lights dimmed and small spots illuminated the band.

The crowd on the floor was swaying to the beat of After the Gold Rush. Most of the dancers were simply rocking back and forth. Jared and Johnny tapped their feet to the music and ordered more beer. They watched the dancers with passing curiosity.

Cinnamon Girl picked the pace up a bit and the crowd on the floor got larger and more tightly packed. The gyrating figures in the dim light, along with the mild buzz supplied by the beers had Jared and Johnny mesmerized. They swayed back and forth with the music while they watched the dancers rock and sway. They were so absorbed in their voyeurism that they were both shocked as two women pulled up chairs and sat down at their table.

"You guys gonna sit here all night, or are you gonna get up and shake it?" Marianne reached out, picked up Johnny's beer and drank it down in one draught. "Beer's gone anyway, might as well dance!"

Marianne took Johnny's hands and began dragging him out to the dance floor. The band had just broken into Loose Change. This one could last a while, but Johnny was buzzed, so it was time to dance. He and Marianne disappeared into the crowd.

Jared looked at the young lady sitting across from him. She looked familiar but he couldn't figure out why. Maybe if he hadn't had 4 beers, he could recall where he'd seen her before, but in his current state, he didn't have a chance.

"Do you want to dance?" He finally asked, realizing he'd been staring at her.

"Not really," she replied shyly. "I'm comfortable right here."

"Ok, I know this sounds creepy, but do I know you?" The beer loosened his tongue a bit. Otherwise he'd never ask such a question. "I mean, you look so familiar. Have we met? I'm lousy with names."

He hoped that made the question less insulting. This girl was seriously cute and he should have remembered her more clearly. Maybe it was the beer.

"I don't really know any more." She responded cryptically. "I thought maybe I knew you, but now I'm not so sure. Everything's kind of confusing right now. I'm really not sure of anything any more."

"Well, can I buy you a beer?" He offered, "If you're not gonna dance..."

"Sure, I'll have a beer. If that was a Guinness, I'll have the same."

Jared's heart was pounding now. Something about this girl was... fascinating. He had a hard time taking his eyes off her long enough to order the beers.

Conversation turned to the band, favorite songs, favorite bands. Then to pastimes, hobbies. They hardly noticed that Johnny and Marianne hadn't returned. Eventually the four regrouped and after the band was through with their set, they decided to go out together for something to eat.

This is turning into an awesome night, thought Jared as they made their way to the street. Really awesome!