A Rock & Roll Romance by Sophie Monroe Read Free Book Online

make arrangements with the hotel to allow us leave out the back. They happily obliged and after Brett gave the all clear we headed out through the kitchen. We climbed into a regular taxi instead of the hire car to avoid any suspicion.
    Brett gave the cabbie the address , and we headed into Harlem to Bee’s Waffle House. A friend of mine, Big Mike introduced me to this place years ago when I was just starting out. I tried to stop in every time I was in the city. We walked in and were greeted by Mama Bee herself. It was a small, charming little place. There weren’t any booths, instead there were several mismatched tables and chairs. The walls were painted sunshine yellow and plastered with pictures of her and her family. My picture was among them, which always earned a laugh. It was almost like eating in her kitchen.
    “Look what the cat dragged in.” She cooed wiping her hands on the front of her apron. A couple of patrons raised their heads but quickly looked away. She was a boisterous, fun loving woman with at heart of gold. She was short and rotund with short, dark hair and a smile that could light up a room.
    “Mama Bee.” I smiled brightly.
    She pinched my cheek.
    “Oh, you’re getting scrawny, boy. Sit, I’ll fetch ya’ll some grub. Who’s the beautiful lady?” She asked, looking at Aubrey.
    “This Mama, is Aubrey Thompson. I’m trying to make her my girlfriend, but we’re friends for now.” I winked.
    “Honey-child, when you gonna learn? You need to start the pursuit off nice and slow and let her figure it out on her own. Ain’t no sense pushing, ya hear?” She raised her spatula.
    “Yes ma’am.” I said bashfully.
    “Good. Now whatcha want to eat, Aubrey?” Mama beamed.
    “I’ll ha ve whatever he’s having.”
    I bit back a laugh. She had no idea what she was getting herself into. Mama Bee shrugged her shoulders and smiled. She started working away at the stove.
    “I like her Jake.” She yelled. So do I Mama. So do I…
    Mama came over and placed our plates down in front of us. There were two pancakes, two pieces of French toast, two waffles, two eggs over easy, a large portion of corned beef hash, and two pieces of toast. She winked at Aubrey and plopped a container of syrup and a pitcher of orange juice on the table. She whistled on the way back to the kitchen. Starving, I dug in starting with the waffles because they were out of this world. I worked my way through the rest of the plate wiping up the last of it with a piece of toast. I was impressed that Aubrey was able to put a small dent into hers since it was a lot of food. I took out my wallet and pulled out five $100 bills. I left them under the plate since she always refused my money. I kissed her cheek.
    “I’ll see you next time I’m in town.”
    “Take care my sweet boy. Good meeting you Aubrey.”
                  Aubrey nodded shyly.
    “That was really sweet.” Aubrey s aid once we were back in the cab.
    “Mama Bee is an extraordinary woman. She’s suffered a lot of loss and hardship, but you would never know. I’m going to tell you something, and it’s not to boast. I just want you to get a better idea of who I am.” Aubrey nodded. “Mama lives in this teeny, tiny house on Avenue B, it’s the nicest one on the block. It’s also a gathering point for her family and friends. Two years ago, Big Mike called and told me that it was going into foreclosure. Battlescars had just signed their first really solid deal, and I used a majority of my advance to pay off her mortgage, anonymously. She worked too fucking hard to lose her house. She only fell behind because she’s always taking care of everybody else. Mama always puts herself last. If you go there to eat and you don’t have any money, she feeds you anyway.”
    “I think that’s amazing! That’s exactly the kind of thing I would love to do if I had a ton of money.” She said thoughtfully.
    “I have a ton of money.” I teased , and she pinched me.