Queen B

The familiar piano chords played and Jill Scott whispered, "Wondering if you still wear the same cologne," and, again, I was convinced that I'd run into her. I'd thought of her several times over the previous seven days and this was exactly the venue I'd likely see her.

We'd sat in the very back row of The Greek during Jill's second tour through Los Angeles, you know, back in the day. Jilly from Philly was about to be Grammy-winning and Queen B and I were, well...

"Kiss this and this and this and this andthisandthisandthisandthat. Hey...show each other where the climax was at."

I dubbed her Queen B because she was always the planner. The crowd I rolled with then, a rag tag bunch of work friends who magically appeared after the longest relationship of my life ended, always ended up at her place. She always found the new spot to try out, the next concert to attend, the theme party to have. We gave each other new music. She hipped me to Chocolate City. I broke down the finer points of The Roots.

"I was just thinking about you and wondering what you doing, I mean what you been up to?"

We never dated. Nah, that would've been too simple. I was fiending for somebody else. She was too busy searching...for something. But, you know, she was Queen B. I can still feel my arms around her midsection. Singing lyrics in her ear. Doin' things.

We drifted. She went travelin' around the world with different shows. I got focused on things (and people) closer to home. But, every once in a while, there she is. At a De La Soul show. At a Reality TV wrap party. Sippin' a cocktail in the back of the spot.

Jill's singing and a grin escaped my face. At that moment, I was sure she was there.

Later on, there she is. "Queen B," I said loudly. "Tha Bizness!" She turned and danced towards me. I danced towards her. We hugged and held hands and smiled at each other.

So what if it was just a dream? She was running across my mind.