1984, Texarkana, Shreveport, Dallas. Maxine “Maxie” Broussard was the younger sister of Mike “Sarge” Broussard. Mike and Maxie were born and grew up in Vivian Louisiana, but when their parents separated Maxie went with her mother to Texarkana, Arkansas. Lily was born, unplanned, the result of a one night stand with a guy, Rocky Rhodes, she hardly wanted, and never saw again, meaning she raised Lily by herself. When Lily was 15, they left Texarkana and went to Shreveport, then Dallas where this story takes place.
Texarkana 1984
(F.D. Leone, Jr.)
The shoulder pads from her mama’s jacket
Lily stuffed into her bra
Fixed her hair, and did her makeup
Left no trace of Arkansas
In a little black sequined clutch,
She had a condom she’d kept there f’months
She was fifteen, but so much more
Texarkana 1984
When her mama, Maxine, met Duane
She thought he might be her ticket out
He promised her Dallas, then claimed
“I wanna try Shreveport for now”
Maxine did the one thing she knew
She an’ Lily left in Duane’s Subaru
Hell bent for Dallas in a thunderstorm
Texarkana 1984
[interlude]
Jésus could mambo and cha-cha-cha
He had all the right moves
The salsa girls cooed ooh-la-la
Jésus was black satin smooth
He saw Lily swaying by the bandstand
Danced over and took her by the hand
They were magic on the disco floor
Texarkana 1984
Duane, who Maxine left behind
Came to Dallas for his Subaru
How hard could Maxine be to find?
Duane was nobody’s stooge
Maxine was workin’ at a Deep Ellum bar
That’s where Duane saw his car
His luck was improvin’ for sure
Texarkana 1984
[interlude]
Duane staked out Maxine
Tailed her everywhere she’d go
Took notes on her routine
Where she went, what she did, he’d know
He showed up at the salsa club
Drank too much to build his courage up
He wasn’t sure like he was before
Texarkana 1984
Jésus was standing in the way
This Latin guy might give him trouble
Duane was just about to make his play
When Maxine sat down at his table
She said “Duane, here, take your keys,
I’m sorry, but I just had to leave.
I dreamed of this and so much more.”
Texarkana 1984
[interlude]
Maxine dealt blackjack in Reno, Nevada
Jésus and Lily ran the salsa club
Duane had a car lot in Texarkana
Sold the Subaru for $500 bucks
Their dreams partly came true
Funny, how they sometimes do
One by one they knew the score
Texarkana 1984
They got about what they bargained for
Texarkana 1984
.© 2022 Frank David Leone, Jr./Highway 80 Music (ASCAP). The songs and stories on the Highway 80 Stories website are works of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
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