Cheryl,

you might remember a long time ago when i wrote about seeing Sally Timms at the Horseshoe. maybe two years ago. i was alone. and a little drunk. over the course of her set, i fell in love.

after her set, i went up to her and put my arm around her. we’d never met but i felt a closeness. she laughed at my drunkeness. i think i may have slobered on her.

a year or so later i was talking to Rennie Sparks about her and she told me no one covers The Handsome Family like Sally does. i agreed. her version of The Sad Milkman is lovely.

tonight, she played at Lee’s Palace, a place i’m hating more and more each time i go.

pre-show, i asked her if she’d sing some Johnny Cash for me and she said she would. i was giddy with anticipation.

she got up on the stage at Lee’s Palace and played out her set. when the song bridges called for her silence, she swayed on stage to the guitar accompaniment and looked sort of like she thought she was forgetting something. she finished her set without playing my song.

this, i thought, is her payback for my drool!

crushed, i made my way over to the merch table, stopping at the bar to pick up a double jack with a little bit of ice, and a glass of water.

i ended up wallflowering it in the corner, two fisting the beverages.

Sally appeared from around the corner. she layed eyes on me, realized her fuckup, and quickly put her hands over her mouth.

“oh my god! i completely forgot. i’m soooooo sorry, dobbs!”

i just glared.

“here, give me your water.” she took the glass and took three small sips. her lips whetted, she handed it back.

“just for you. acapella. alright, here we go:

da da da...”

she tapped her finger in the air and closed her eyes.

“everybody knows where you go
when the sun goes down.
i think you only live
to see the lights of town.

i wasted my time
when i would try, try, try
‘cause when the lights have lost their glow
you’ll cry, cry, cry.

soon, your sugar daddy
will be all gone.
you’ll wake up some cold day
and find you’re alone.

you’ll call to me
but i’ll tell you bye, bye, bye
and when i turn around and walk away,
you’ll cry cry cry

you’re gonna cry, cry, cry
and you’ll cry alone
when everyone’s forgotten
and you’re left on your own.

you’re gonna cry, cry, cry.”

i thought she was gonna end it there but instead she swayed her hips. i was spellbound by them and i imagined a violin playing, drowning out the din of the other patrons. then, she opened her mouth again:

“i lie awake at night
just to wait till you come in.
you stay a little while,
and then you’re gone again.

every question that i ask
i get a lie, lie, lie.
for every lie you tell,
you’re gonna cry, cry, cry

when your fickle love gets cold
and no one cares for you
then you come back to me
for a little love that’s true.

i tell you no
and then you ask me why, why, why?
when i remind you of all of this
you’ll cry, cry, cry.

you’re gonna cry, cry, cry
and you’ll want me then.
it’ll hurt when you think of the fool that you’ve been
and you’ll cry, cry, cry.”

she leaned in and kissed me on the cheek. stunned, i just stood there as she wandered away. it took me a few seconds to snap out it--plenty of time for her to vanish into the crowd. it was then that i noticed that she’d made off with my double jack. Rennie’d also said that the word she thought best described Sally was “demure.”

i lifted the water to my lips and grabbed some ice. i chewed, happy as hell as i hovered a few inches above the ground in my least fave bar in the city.

Dobbs