Princess Noire: The Tumultuous Reign of Nina Simone

7. Little Girl Blue ~ July 1956–December 1958

7. Little Girl Blue ~ July 1956–December 1958 ~ N ina’s relationship with Edney had been, for all its intensity, a meeting of the heart and mind, stopping short of the physical intimacy she longed for. In the months after she left Tryon, Nina found little social life of any sort, although there was one brief episode with a young man from home that was, in a way, connected to Edney because they knew each other. The day Nina ran into him on a Harlem street she was particularly lonesome, and, as it happened, so was he. New York City was “too much to deal with,” she said. He reminded her of Edney and took his place that night. “It wasn’t what I expected, not at all. It hurt like hell and put me off the whole idea of men for a good while.” Sometime later in Philadelphia a young man named Ed, who sang in the Tindley Temple choir, prompted Nina to examine her thinking. He was handsome, shared her love of music, and was also the child of a minister. That his name reminded Nina of Edney might have made him that much more attractive. One Sunday Ed offered to walk Nina home after church, and their afternoon together turned into the evening and then into a romance that lasted a few months. “He taught me a lot,” Nina said. “He even talked about marriage, which was when I finished with him.” By the time Don Ross sidled up to Nina at the Midtown with that glass of milk in his hand, she was ready to reciprocate. She let him walk her back to the rooming house on New York Avenue after her last set, and pretty soon he came by in the daytime to visit or take her out to meet his Atlantic City friends. She got so used to seeing him every evening at the Midtown that if he wasn’t in the room, “the place felt empty and I got lonely again.” Don was a “pitchman,” a salesman-for-rent for whatever product needed selling. He worked fairs up and down the East Coast and wasn’t particular about what goods he was pushing. He would earn enough money to get by, and when a certain amount accumulated, he stopped in a place where he had friends until he had to go out and earn more money. A self-styled hipster, he claimed to be a drummer or painter, depending on his mood. Don moved in with Nina that summer. They “slid into bed together” was how she put it, no big declarations of love, no emotional fireworks. But having Don around took the edge off a lingering isolation that Nina couldn’t shake, even with the accolades that accompanied her growing popularity. She liked waking up in his arms rather than by herself, and she got used to it. Before she knew it, she recalled, “the idea of being without him was unthinkable. He loved me, and I needed to be loved.” When Nina brought Kevin, the call girl, home, the family hadn’t flinched. They didn’t flinch when they met Don either. “We didn’t care whether he was black, blue, green or yellow,” Carrol said. He fit in easily and “could hang out with anybody. He was just part of the group . . . And he loved Mother’s cooking.” Sam Waymon, Nina’s youngest sibling, was only twelve, and Don intrigued him. He’d never seen a man who wore a beret. “He was a cool cat, a bohemian,” Sam remembered. Though Nina and Don clearly cared for each other, Carrol doubted the relationship would last. His sister was a professional, “up and coming.” Don was not. 72 · p r i n c e s s n o i r e • don’s presence helped make the summer at the Midtown go by quickly. Harry Stewart, happy to have his star for another three months, declared her “back by popular demand” in the bar’s weekly ads. But Nina knew that when her contract with Stewart was up at the end of August, she was finished. Offers were coming in now from clubs outside Atlantic City and Philadelphia, and Don thought she should take them. She was of two minds. She liked the income, and most of the time she enjoyed the work, but this was still a means...