Free Six Miles From Nashville by Elaine Littau

discovered, we will see to that.”
    “I...ah”
    “Here, put it on. Bill has one, too. That new Singer sewing machine he bought me was a ‘flying today. You two will look as professional as you sound.”
    Sweetie unbuttoned the white shirt and shoved it toward Betty. The girl dashed to the bathroom and put it on. How did Miss Sweetie know how to make this fit so well?
    Miss Sweetie was beside herself at first glance of Betty. “You look better than Loretta Lynn!”
    “Thank you, Miss Sweetie. You are too good to me.”
    She entered the cafe through the kitchen. Bill stood next to the swinging doors and took her hand. “Thank you so much, little girl. This is a big night for me. Well...us.”
    “You are the one with the talent. I am happy to sing with you.”
    Betty didn’t know where all the chairs came from. People sat at every available booth, table, and inch of floor. People stood at the door and looked in as Bill began to play his electric guitar. The crowd quieted down as he began the first ballad. She breathed in and sang with all her might. It took all of her power to match his voice. They mesmerized the people with their perfect blend.
    Someone stood and began dancing with his wife. Other couples followed suit. Betty wondered how they found a spot to even turn around. The last song was over and she joined the other waitresses in serving the customers. Many of them handed her a tip before she took their order. “This is for your singin’, hun.”
    They closed the place down at midnight. It was close to one a.m. before Miss Sweetie turned the key i n the lock of the front door. “Bill, I would call that a success.”
    Bill grinned as he handed her a card. “Guess what this is.”
    “Tell me, Bill.”
    “He is a scout for one of the record labels. He wants to meet with Betty and me.”
    Sweetie hugged and kissed him passionately. “I knew it.”

 
    Chapter 11
     
    “I like what I heard at the cafe last week, Mr. ah..”
    “Wall, the name is Bill Wall and this is Betty Barnes.”
    Betty’s heart thumped loudly. The sound seemed to fill her ears and then the room. The scout sat behind a smallish desk in a plain room. She had always thought that recording studios were lavish. This one was far from it. She brought her thoughts under submission quickly because she was known to be someone who was easily read by others. Goodness knows Mama knew what I was thinkin’ almost before I did.
    “...are you agreeable with that, Miss Barnes?”
    “I’m sorry. What did you say?”
    The man stood and edged to the front of the desk and sat on the corner of it. “The label I represent wants to hear a new song. A song that you and Mr. Wall have written together.”
    “I see.”
    “We can do it. First, we are going to see my friend and have some papers drawn up. Then we will be ready to meet with the top brass of this label you are talking about,” Bill said.
    “Sure, draw up some papers if you want. We will have plenty of papers, but do what you want.”
    “Thanks, we will, and Mr. Sawyer will come with us for the signing of all the papers involved.”
    The man stood. “Fine. You will see that we are on the up and up here. You have a good business head. That will play well for you here in what you want to accomplish in your career.”
    They stepped out onto the sidewalk of the busy town. “Why don’t we just get on back to the cafe? We can sort out our thoughts on what kind of song we want to write about on the way,” Bill said.
    Sweetie saw them coming toward the car. She ran up to them to find out how the meeting went.
    “Let’s get in the car and get on back,” he said.
    Betty sat in the back seat and stared at the buildings they passed in the car. It didn’t seem real to be in Music City, USA. She felt small and insignificant.
    A large white Cadillac Eldorado convertible passed them. The driver wore a large Stetson hat. The next car was a red Monte Carlo. That’s more my style. Amongst the new cars