When he got off the highway at Old Town and made his way to the restaurant, he found that a parking spot had been reserved for him right out front.

“You’re Ivan David, right?” one of the restaurant workers asked him through his open window as he pulled his car into the spot.

“Yeah.”

“Well, come on in, brother, we getting the place good and ready for you.”

Ivan liked that feeling of importance already. He climbed out of his car and walked into the restaurant all smiles. As soon as he walked in, The Notorious B.I.G. was blasting through large speakers, “I love it when you call me big pop-pa…”

“It’s a five-dollar donation tonight, sir,” Ida teased him through the music. She was sitting behind a small table right inside the doorway, wearing a colorful flower-child dress, straight out the seventies.

Ivan laughed and dug into his pocket to pay her. “Boy, you took that term ‘old school’ to heart, didn’t you?” he asked her, noticing her dress code.

“Yeah, I figured I’d dig into my closet and see what I could come up with,” she responded. Then she waved his money off. “Go ’head, I was only teasing you.”

Ivan refused to take his money back. “Nah, nah, I like that policy. Nobody gets in free, not even me. So when the hookup patrol shows up, we’ll tell them that we paid to get in, too. So you put your five dollars in,” he told her.

Ida said, “Yeah, like they’re gonna believe us, right? But okay.” She dug into her small purse to add a five-dollar bill to his before tossing them both into the cash box with the rest of the money. About seven people had shown up and ordered food, ten minutes before six.

Ivan looked around the place and noticed the chairs and tables pushed closer toward the walls for an open dance floor. There was darker lighting than usual, with the DJ equipment and speakers set up toward the back corners.

Ivan nodded his head and liked what he saw. This might work out all right in here tonight, he figured. Capacity was enough for two hundred. Ivan just hoped to see over a hundred to cover his flyer costs, after sharing half of the total with the restaurant.

By seven o’clock, more than a hundred people were already there enjoying themselves, including white Americans, Latinos, and Filipinos, who loved old school music, soul food, and a good time after work as well.

Thomas, Henry, and quite a few of the San Diego Urban League members were excited by the turnout. Catherine showed up with an attention-getting yellow dress to engage the crowd on her own, and without Ivan needing to babysit her.