Heard this song on the radio today, one of my favorite oldies, and the story flowed from it. Still working on the "drabble" length; 223 words or so, if you ignore the lyrics.
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Childress, Texas, June 1989
He dropped down onto the hard cement bench, the high hedge in the garden sheltering him from the noise and the crowd. He stretched his long legs before him on the grass, and pinched the bridge of his nose. The new in-laws knew how to put on a good reception, though he wished the two love-birds had waited until finishing grad school next year. The band started playing another song, an oldie, one he remembered his mama playing years ago.
Sometimes I wonder why I spend
The lonely night dreaming of a song
The melody haunts my reverie
And I am once again with you
When our love was new
And each kiss an inspiration
But that was long ago
Now my consolation
Is in the stardust of a song
Beside a garden wall
When stars are bright
You are in my arms
The nightingale tells his fairy tale
A paradise where roses bloom
Though I dream in vain
In my heart it will remain
My stardust melody
The memory of love's refrain
And he remembered his daddy throwing the old 78 on the floor, smashing it to bits, saying he was tired of hearing that song over and over again, and his mama leaning down and picking up each sliver of the record and putting them all into a paper bag, closing it carefully, and saying to nobody in particular, that it was the song Glenn Miller played that first time daddy had danced with her at the county fair all them years ago, and he had bought that record for her a few days later, and now neither of them could hear the music any more.
As he stared down at the geraniums next to the bench, he felt his someone standing next to him. Looking up, his blue eyes meeting amber eyes, his cowboy asked, "Can I have this dance?" Their first one.