J-Bone beamed at him. “Look at you, David! We’ll make a hep cat outta you yet, just wait and see. Now, are you ready to be transported to Newport? Trust me when I say your life will never be the same.” He set the record on the player and lowered the needle. The record hissed and crackled, and then a moment later, tinny cheers were followed by Ella laughing and saying “Thank you!” as the piano kicked in, along with the tsst tsst tsst of the snare and hi-hat.
And Ella began to scat, a brilliant improvisation that caused Arthur’s nerves to calm and his heart to swell, especially when Lucy and J-Bone started scatting along with her nonsensically, more sound than rhythm.
At first, David looked unsure, but as soon as the music began, his eyes widened slowly, his mouth hanging open. When J-Bone and Lucy began to scat with Ella, he turned his head toward them, starting to bounce a little. And then Ella threw in, “When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that’s amore,” causing David to laugh as he shook his rear in an awkward shimmy, his thick white hair flailing around him.
“That’s it!” J-Bone cried. “Feel it! She is a queen. Do be do whaaaaaaa.”
“Arthur!” Lucy called. “You wanna dance too?”
He did, more than almost anything. Without looking at Miss Marblemaw, Arthur slid one foot out in front of him, the hem of his trousers halfway up his calf. He snapped once, twice, and as Ella brought them toward the big finish, he shouted, “Da da didilee dop do bap!”
“Aw,” Lucy said. “It’s so cute when you try. We’ll have to practice more. J-Bone, play it again!”
After replaying the song seven more times, Lucy proclaimed Arthur and David to be scat masters, and reminded them that it had nothing to do with feces, which Arthur appreciated. After all, they had enough shit to deal with.
David grew more comfortable the longer they stayed in the shop. Though he kept a careful eye on Lucy and Arthur as if to make sure they wouldn’t leave him behind, he started sorting through records, asking J-Bone which ones were his favorites. Lucy sat on the floor next to Arthur, both looking for hidden treasures.
Miss Marblemaw followed J-Bone, attempting to ask him questions about his interactions with Lucy, and if he’d ever felt that his life had been threatened. Politely, J-Bone said, “I’m not a narc, and I’m assisting a customer. I’ll be with you shortly. Thanks for your patience!” With that, he turned back to David, who had picked up a record. “The Clovers? Man, that is choice. Most people dig ‘Love Potion No. 9,’ but don’t sleep on ‘One Mint Julep.’ So smooth, it’ll make you feel like you’re being spread on toast.”
Certain that David was in good hands, Arthur looked back at Lucy, who was studying a record sleeve with a concentration he normally reserved for attempting to create sentient mud men. “Lucy,” Arthur said.
Lucy looked up. “I don’t think I have this one. How many records can I get today?”
“You already have records at home you haven’t listened to yet. How many more do you think you need?”
“Well, when you put it that way … thirty more should be sufficient.”
“Three,” Arthur said.
“Twenty-nine and a half.”
“Two.”
“Three it is!” Lucy said. “I knew you’d see it my way.” He pulled out another record, discarding it almost immediately before going after another.
“Lucy,” Arthur said again. “Can I ask you a question?”
Attention firmly fixed on the records, Lucy shrugged and said, “Sure.”
“Today was your day to pick the adventure.”
“Wow, your memory is extraordinary. How do you do it?”
“And yet, instead of thinking about what you wanted to do, you went and planned a day for each of your brothers and sisters.”
“But I am doing what I want to do,” Lucy said, looking up at him. “We’re at the record shop.”
“I get that,” Arthur said. “But what I’m asking is why?”
“Oh,” Lucy said. “That’s easy. Remember when we talked about being a monster or being good?”
“I do. You were quite upset with me.”
“Maybe,” Lucy said, grabbing another record and holding it close to his face. “But I thought about it. Like, a lot. I was still sort of mad at you, but then I thought about what makes me happy.”
Arthur nodded. “And what did you decide?”
“That I like when other people are happy, and it makes me feel good when I get to be part of it,” Lucy explained. But because he was still Lucy, he added, “Not everyone, just the people I like. For some reason, it makes the spiders in my head go to sleep. Not forever, but for a little while.”
“And why is that, do you think?”
Lucy shrugged. “I dunno, but I like how quiet it is.”
“Why did you invite David?”
“Because I knew Miss Marblemaw would follow him, and if David is with us, I can make sure she’s not being mean to him.”
“You wanted to protect him,” Arthur said.
“Sure,” Lucy said. “Being new is scary, and having her here makes things worse. But if he’s with us, then nothing can happen to him.”
“You’re not upset with him anymore?”
He paused. Then, “Don’t think so. And even if I was, he booped me on the nose. You can’t be mad at someone who does that. It’s, like, the law or something.”
“You astonish me,” Arthur said. “In all the best ways possible.”
“That’s because I’m amazing.” He pointed a finger at Arthur. “But just because I want to make people happy doesn’t mean I can’t do other things too.”
