Page 22 - The Jazzsipper Novel

18

THE JAZZ SIPPER

mother put food on the table. So they came to a mutual agreement to
split up. Ben moved up to Canada; and that was the last time we
heard from him.

Vance’s mother with all things being considered took the split up well,
even though she found out later that she was with child and Ben was the
father. As much as she loved Ben, she was not going to have her son see
his mother being blinded by love, all his life she had been instilling in him
that a relationship between a man and woman was one of mutual respect.
What you put into it is what you should get out of it and if that‘s not
happening then it is not the right relationship. No matter what, strong viable
relationships demand and require more than love they require everything
including the kitchen sink.

Yeah, Vance knew 1971 had been his year of Giant Steps, no more mother
or no more Ben. He thought the difference a day can make, He wondered how
many kids at that age, had to deal with the kind of complexity he had dealt
with at that time. He could hear the smooth sounds of John Coltrane sax
seeping through his ears one note at a time. When Vance woke up he could
smell the breakfast his Aunt Jessie was cooking. She would cook breakfast
for Vance with a vengeance, he remember her telling him that breakfast was
the most important meal of the day. It’s like putting gas in an empty tank.

Breakfast with his Aunt Jessie was always cool, they would have some of
the most profound talks, and she would call them their morning chats. And
Vance found it very easy to talk to her. She would never prejudge anything he
said; she had a way of getting him to self-evaluate whatever he was