Page 22 of Broken Melody
“Don’t even think about it,” Rocco says.
“Thanks for the vote of confidence guys,” I say.
“How long have we known you, Mad? Don’t screw with us.” Rocco says angrily.
“Look, it’s no big deal. I went to the bar where she works last night, and-”
“You what?” Nixon asks disbelievingly.
“For what?” Henley asks.
“Did you tell her that we’re interested in her being in our band?” Rocco stands up in alarm. “Because I’m not sure that was a good idea. What if something falls through with the label and the offer gets jacked up or something?”
“I didn’t tell her anything about that.”
“Then why did you go there?” Rocco asks.
“Yeah, I’d like to know the answer to that question too,” Nixon says.
I throw my arms up in the air. “Fuck! Fine! I went there for a few reasons. Because, I was hoping I could get her to change her mind. I mean, we sure as hell don’t have a choice in all of this, but if I could get her nervous…make her wonder if she’s good enough…”
“Then she wouldn’t want to sing with us?” Henley questions.
“Yes. She would question if she’s up to the task and hopefully would have decided no.”
“You were going to make her insecure?” Rocco shakes his head in disapproval.
I ignore the question, “I also went because I was curious. Jace and Rick told us about her singing karaoke and I looked up the bar, saw their website and which nights they have it. When I saw it was last night, I went to check it out. I couldn’t help myself from wanting to see her sing in her element. I wanted to see how people respond to her singing, what kind of songs she sings, and how her presence is on stage.”
“And?” Nixon asks.
“And…what?”
He sighs, “How did people react? What did she sing?” I stare at him and cross my arms over my chest, and he shrugs, “Shut up. I’m curious now too.”
“She sang some shitty woman empowerment song, but then she sang one of our songs.”
“She did?” Rocco asks.
“Yeah.” I state remembering the way her eyes found mine in the crowd. She looked at me defiantly as she told the DJ what song she wanted to sing next. Her chin was high, shoulders back, the lights were hitting her hair making it shine and there was a seductive grin on her lips full of attitude and sass. The confidence she exuded was sexy as hell, and I’m not the only guy in the place that took notice either. “She sang, Keep Dreamin’ but she switched the pronouns around.”
“How did it sound?” Henley asks.
I look around the room at each of them and for just a moment I think about shrugging it off and telling them she was okay. But then I flash back again to her on that stage. The way her body moved with the music. How she would close her eyes at times and I could see the lyrics and the melody was speaking to her. I could almost taste the words as they were sung from her lips. I watched as the crowd gladly ate them up. All of that combined with the fact that the woman can sing like a damn songbird, and I answer them honestly, “She’s fucking amazing. Just…amazing.” I sigh.
“Yeah?” Rocco asks and I detect a note of hope in his voice. I think all of us need to know that this decision is only going to reap good things for the band, and not be the beginning of our downfall. If I’m honest with myself, I think it also gives me comfort – it helps me know that perhaps the mistakes I’ve made recently are salvageable. That this isn’t going to break us, thatIdidn’t break us.
“Yeah. Both times I’ve seen her now, something is clear. She’s one of us. Music is in her soul, just like ours. She doesn’t just sing the words - she feels them. You guys know what that means, how that makes all the difference. And on stage she’s…”
“What?” Nixon asks and his stance has changed. His elbows are on his knees and he’s leaning toward me, eager for each word. A look around shows that they all are. Yeah, they all need the truth, and I get it. And for a moment I hate myself for what I’ve been putting them through with my shit.
“She’s electric. The crowd ate up everything she sang. They cheered for her. Wanted her to keep singing. She owns that stage. In fact, I realized something else when I was watching her.”
“What’s that?” Rocco asks eagerly.
“I think there will be times when we are on stage with her and we’ll all be invisible next to her. She’s going to outshine us all.”
“Wow,” Henley responds.
