[ - ]
Table of Contents [Report This]
Printer Chapter or Story Microsoft Word Chapter or Story
- Text Size +
Yes, they got to make music.  And they did it very well.  Nick’s performance of Alias Me blew them all away and put them in the frame of mind to rock and roll.  During the next few days, Nick was receptive to all suggestions, but there were a few they were afraid to make.  Melody thought he looked silly jumping around on the stage, and she thought he should dispense with the guitar altogether – either that or learn how to play it and sing at the same time.

The musicians arrived by ten every day.  This was actually a late start for them.  They were used to getting to it much earlier.  Studio time was expensive, and it was not uncommon to have a six or seven o’clock call.  Nick was used to later starts, and it took him awhile to get going.  But by the end of the first week, he was there by ten, ready to sing. 

Nick was always accompanied by Jeff and Toby.  Toby hovered around, making notes and handing Nick an endless supply of water bottles.  Jeff did a tour of the building, checking doors to make sure they were locked and that no groupies had intruded anywhere.  Then he headed to the workout area.

It seemed to Jeff that it was a waste to have all that equipment sitting there idle for most of the day, so he encouraged other crew members to make use of it.  There was lots of time during the day when people had waiting time, so Jeff filled it with sit-ups.  For the first week, two o’clock was reserved for Nick.  Jeff put him through his paces privately for an hour.

It was bad timing.  Nick was tired from rehearsing and didn’t want to work out.  He didn’t like exercising in the first place, and he didn’t like doing it on a full stomach, so he had a very small lunch.  After he worked out, all he wanted to do was shower, chill out and eat something.  He didn’t want to sing anymore.

He bitched about it to Toby, who suggested Nick tell Rafe he wanted the time changed.  They talked over alternatives, and as much as Nick hated the thought, he decided early morning was best.  Toby pointed out that the shower was still an issue.  Maybe he could arrange to have Jeff do the workout at home with Nick.  Nick argued that that wouldn’t work.  Jeff had worked out a program that used a lot of the machines.  Nick didn’t have any of that shit at home.

“Well,” countered Toby.  “We could get them to dismantle the equipment and bring it to your place.  There’s lots of room for it.”

”But what about the other guys?” protested Nick.  “They’re all using the equipment too.  Jeff’s working with a bunch of them.”  Nick didn’t feel that it would be right to take the equipment away from people who actually enjoyed using it to save it for the one person who hated the sight of the damn stuff.

Toby sniffed.  He knew what Jeff was doing, and he didn’t approve.  Personal trainer, indeed!  What was personal about it if he was doing every guy who came through the door?  “I guess it comes down to the shower then,” said Toby.  “Rafe will just have to have one put in.”

So Nick told Tom who called Murray who called Rafe.

“No problem,” said Rafe.  “Tell him we’ll have it for him by Monday.  Make it sound like a big deal – the guys worked all weekend – that kind of crap.”

Then Rafe Ariando hung up the phone and started to laugh.  It had taken the stupid, little prick a whole week to get to it.  Rafe had deliberately scheduled the workouts at an inconvenient time.  He wanted Nick to react to it somehow. 

It was a win/win situation for Rafe.  Either Nick whined and bitched and annoyed the shit out of everyone (at which point, Rafe would have stepped in and ‘fixed’ the situation, thereby putting Nick and the whole crew in his debt) or Nick would finally show some balls and demand a change – either moving the equipment to his house (Rafe would have talked him out of it, making himself a hero to the crew), or having a shower installed at the warehouse.

At this point, Rafe would open up the locked room which already contained a shower.  He had kept it locked and unmarked all week.  He had parked a skid of boxes in front of it, so no one would go near it.  He’d had a tense moment the first day when Mel had been prowling around, but she had never asked.

So, over the weekend, Rafe would get Murray to have an independent crew paint the door, re-point the bricks around the outside of it to make it look new and make the shower room look newly installed…a perfect example of a hard-working executive doing his best to satisfy the demands of a temperamental, young star.

Yes, Rafe Ariando covered all the angles.  Of course, he chuckled to himself, he had underestimated how long Nick was willing to tolerate his own stench.  The ‘construction crew’ had been on standby since the first day, ready to do an ‘overnight’ renovation.  Rafe stood up from his chair and stretched his arms.  He looked at his watch.  He guessed it was time to get the weekend started.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rafe spent the weekend doing business/social.  He never really did anything just for fun.  He was always looking for the angle that would get him ahead in business.  So if he jetted off to Paris with a woman for the weekend, you could bet that she was either some corporate hotshot or she was related to one.  This weekend, Rafe had a cocktail party on Friday, a dinner party on Saturday and Sunday brunch.  He was a welcome guest at parties because he was that rare commodity hostesses loved to get their hands on – an unattached male.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rashad was definitely an attached male.  He spent the weekend mowing the lawn and playing with his kids.  As much as he loved the performing and the traveling, the sweetest word he ever heard was ‘Daddy’.  The only reason he was going on this tour at all was that the money was just too good to turn down. 

His wife, Keshia, had been the one to make the final decision.  Think of the things we can use that money for, she said.  If we put it in the bank, it’ll be ready to pay for college when they’re ready to go. 

Rashad had looked at his beautiful babies, so far away from college and yet so near.  It made him sad to leave them and miss even one precious moment when he knew they would grow up too fast, but with a sigh, he had agreed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Blaine spent the weekend with his girlfriend, Cathy.  Blaine thought he was in love with her and was going to use the time spent away from her on tour to decide if he couldn’t live without her.  They spent the weekend going over the tour schedule and making a list, matching the time zones, so that he would know the best time to call in each city.  It would be his most precious possession on tour.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chris Sandoval spent the weekend with a girl too.  Three different ones, in fact.  He liked to spread the Tofu largesse around.  When Toby had questioned him about his needs on tour, Chris had replied succinctly, “Condoms!  Lots of ‘em!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nick spent the weekend tidying up loose ends before he went on tour.  He spent Saturday morning with Sam, going over the finances, signing some cheques and getting the word on his investments.  Everything looked rosy there.  Sam had looked at him askance when Nick suggested that maybe he’d buy another boat then, but he soon realized the young man was just kidding.  Sam found that very interesting.  Six months ago, Nick wouldn’t have been kidding.  The kid was definitely growing up.

Nick went to a private party with a group of non-industry friends on Saturday night.  As always, there were several tanned and gorgeous young women who tried to catch his eye.  Sometimes he’d choose one of them; sometimes he wouldn’t.  It depended on his mood.  It didn’t depend on Tamara.  He knew that she slept with other people too, when she felt like it. 

This Saturday night, Nick didn’t feel like it, however.  He talked to a bunch of people, danced with one or two, had a couple of beers and went home.  Sunday, he slept in until noon...not because he’d been out that late the night before, but because this was going to be his last opportunity to sleep in.  His workouts, he shuddered at the thought, were scheduled for eight o’clock in the morning now. 

Jeff had promised Nick that he would love it, that working out would energize him for the day.  They’d have to see about that.  Nick couldn’t really see exercising energizing him for anything.  And besides, he thought he got enough exercise doing his thing on stage.

Nick thought about that as he lay in bed Sunday.  He crossed his arms behind his head and stared at the picture on the wall opposite the bed.  It was one he’d brought back from Japan.  It wasn’t exactly a picture, more patterns, a bunch of graphic images.  He loved it.  Every time he looked at it, he saw something different.

Jumping around on stage. 

While they had been rehearsing this week, Nick had watched the musicians out of the corner of his eye, trying to gauge their real reactions to things.  Sometimes, he’d just sit on a stool at the edge of the stage and sing the melody softly while they worked their instruments, getting in tune with each other and the song.  Invariably, at the end of that, they’d look at each other and smile and then look at him.  “Good,” they’d say or else make a suggestion on how to make it better.

But when they rocked it, when Nick would strut across the stage and wail, playing with the microphone and jumping around, he didn’t get the same reaction.  They never looked at each other after one of those numbers.  It was almost as if they were afraid to make eye contact, in case…in case what? 

Nick was afraid that it might be in case they laughed.  He had seen the corners of Rashad’s mouth twitch once or twice, while Nick was doing his thing.  And he had come back from the washroom once to hear Melody say to Blaine that “…had to get over the difference between what he thinks a rock star is supposed to be and what a rock musician really is…”  Nick couldn’t say for certain that she was talking about him, but he had a sneaking suspicion that she was.

Nick decided that maybe he would try a little less of the mike tossing and jumping this week and see what their reactions were.  He wasn’t giving up the guitar, though.  He loved that part of the show, even though it wasn’t very much.

Sunday afternoon, he went out on his boat.  That centred his being totally.  Being on the water brought him peace.  He’d loved making the I Got You video because it was on the water.  He wished they hadn’t made him have that stupid girl in it, though.  Nick didn’t think she fit in.  He wanted it to be a desert island/pirate kind of atmosphere…man against the elements kind of thing. 

The director had sneered at Nick when he’d suggested it and asked him if he’d actually listened to the words of the song.  It was about having someone, wasn’t it?  Well, there had to be someone.  Nick thought staring off into the distance was enough…let each fan think he was thinking about her…but he had been overruled.  That was one thing he was going to be forceful about this time – the videos. 

Nick talked to Tamara on Sunday night, but mostly he just listened.  Tamara hadn’t met Terence – he didn’t have a last name – until Wednesday, after cooling her heels in the hotel room waiting for the call.

“It was torture,” she said, “and I think he did it deliberately.  I couldn’t go anywhere.  His assistant kept telling me that he would send a car around to get me when Terence was ready for me and that I shouldn’t leave the hotel.  Terence was preparing himself for the shoot.  I finally asked the assistant if it wouldn’t be easier to prepare if he actually knew what I looked like, and the guy gasped.”  Tamara laughed.  “He actually gasped in horror.  ‘Don’t say anything like that to Terence,’ he said.”

“Did you?” asked Nick.  He knew that Tamara didn’t like to be kept waiting.  The only serious fight they’d ever had was over him being late picking her up.

The willowy model sighed.  “No.  When I finally got there, he was totally prepared.  Everything moved very quickly.  I was in and out of clothes so fast, I had to keep looking down to see what I was wearing.”

Tamara went on to explain that Terence didn’t do all the shots for one outfit and then move on to the next.  He shot what he wanted to shoot.  The model was like one of the outfits for him, just a piece of clothing, not a human being.  Her one attempt at conversation had been greeted with a brusque, “Shut up!”

“And my hair!  My Lord, if I’m not completely bald by the end of this…it’s been pulled and shaped and colored and teased.”

Nick made what he hoped was an appropriate murmur.  He had tuned her out and turned on a video game with the sound off.

“And then suddenly, he stopped.  After all that activity, he just stopped…froze in place.  He stood there like a statue for almost a full minute and then he said, ‘well, that’s it, then’ and walked out the door.”

“Was it like that every day?” Nick asked, when he realized that Tamara was waiting for him to speak.

“Yes, except that when I came in on Thursday, much earlier this time, he tossed an 8 by 10 at me from the day before and said, ‘you’re brilliant, exquisite, beyond belief’ and then he proceeded to treat me like a piece of cloth again for the rest of the day.”

“A little easier to take, I guess,” said Nick.

“Oh, decidedly,” laughed Tamara. 

They talked for a few more minutes and then rang off.  Nick went to bed early.  Tomorrow he had to get up early to work out.  But then he’d get to make music.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Melody spent Saturday morning doing household chores and making lists for packing.  They were going to be touring for about six months, she’d been told, first Europe and then the U.S.  At that point, they would decide whether to expand the tour or scale back.  They were doing mid-size arenas this time.  With seats.  Nick certainly wasn’t ready for a stadium tour, but Rafe felt he had outgrown the small warehouse standing-only crush-up-against-the-stage thing. 

Nick had insisted that that was the atmosphere he liked, but apparently, he hadn’t got his way on that.  The list of things Nick hadn’t gotten his way on grew longer every day, Melody thought.  And the young singer didn’t like it, she could tell.  There was an explosion coming, that was for sure.

Saturday night, Melody went out with her friend, Jack.  She and Jack had been good friends for years and had seen each other through any number of relationships with other people.  They slept together occasionally, when the mood seemed right.  This time, the mood wasn’t right.  Jack talked enthusiastically about the new lady in his life and asked a million questions about what women really thought.  Melody had no answers because she was pretty sure every woman thought differently.  Men didn’t get that, though.  She guessed it worked the same, the other way around.  She and Jack had a marvelous time, however, lots of laughs and some great pasta.

“Jack’s got a new woman,” Melody told Mart during their weekly Sunday afternoon phone call.

Mart laughed.  “Let me guess.  This is one is a year younger than the last one.”

The two women laughed together. 

“I don’t think so.  This time, he sounds pretty serious.  And when he was talking about her, it wasn’t physical.  It was all about what she said and what she thought, stuff like that.”

”Whoa, sounds serious,” said Mart.  “Sounds like Jack might be coming off the market.” 

And maybe you’ll have to go out and look for a real relationship then, she thought.  She didn’t say it out loud.  She knew better.  Mart had encouraged Melody in any number of ways to be more proactive in the dating scene, to get out there and look for Mr. Right, not just sit waiting for him to come calling.  But she didn’t get anywhere.  Melody would just listen patiently and then say, Alone doesn’t mean lonely.  Which was her way of telling Mart to shut up and mind her own business.

Melody told her about the week’s doings at the warehouse, and they discussed her packing list.  They laughed over the tampon issue.  Did they have the same kind in Europe?  Should she take enough for the whole time they were over there?  She was on the pill, she could figure out what she’d need.  Or should she get Toby to do the complex mathematical calculations?

“Maybe I shouldn’t have been so hasty in saying that I could handle this myself,” Melody choked out, the tears running down her face.  God, she loved laughing with Mart.  She hoped that by the time the tour got to Detroit, which is where Mart lived now, her husband wouldn’t have uprooted her and moved her somewhere else.

“Oh, don’t be such a ‘little woman’,” said Mart.  “Just fill up your guitar case.  You don’t need all those picks and extra strings and things.  And they’d make good packing around the guitar.”

“Omilord, can’t you just picture it…me snapping open the case and having little paper-covered cylinders fly around the stage!?”

The two women pictured it and laughed some more.

“So what’s coming up this week?  More of the same?” asked Martha Jane.

“Yes, rehearsals during the day.  That’s working out pretty well, I think.  We’re all getting along.  And we seem to all have the same distrust of management, so that’s a bonding thing too.  Then I think the third week, the rehearsals are cut back because Nick has to go do a video for the first release.”

“Alias Me?” asked Martha Jane.

“Yes,” said Melody.  “It’s going to be huge.”

They rang off with the promise that they would talk soon and that they loved each other.  Mart gave her standard admonition about not working too hard.  Melody accepted it with grace.  She could never make Mart understand that, when she had a guitar in her hand, it wasn’t work.  It was joy.  She was never happier than when she had a gig.