Ch 132 I should tell you something

I should tell you something

          Wes stopped short of the stairs, pulling Janet back.

          “What’s wrong?” she said. “I have to go. The car’s waiting for me.”

          “I know, but I think I should tell you something,” he said, looking worried.

          Her eyes widened as they always do when she expects bad news. “Don’t you dare, Wes! Don’t you dare tell me you’re not going, cuz I will kill you!”

          He shook his head. “I’m going, but…I never did tell you who my client was and why the project was so important and why it had to be done tonight.”

          “I thought the deadline was Monday?”

          “Got moved up.”

          “And you’re not done?” she shrieked.

“I am done…sort of. Thing is, I have to work tonight…at the gala.”

          “What?!?!”

          “The website is for… it’s the official Luke Tramaine website, a fan page I guess we’re calling it.”

          Janet’s mouth fell open. “Luke didn’t tell me about that!”

          “Course not…since he doesn’t know about it…yet,” Wes said, bracingly.

          “What?” she said. “How can you…oh… this was Billy’s idea!”

          “You got it,” Wes said. “That’s why it’s a secret.”

          “Does Alana know?”

“No. Please don’t tell them. It’ll only freak him out just before the performance.”

          “So, he still doesn’t know?” she said. “Wait, why would he freak out about it?”

          “You know how he is about any publicity and…okay, this is the thing. Billy wanted to…drum up as much enthusiasm for this gig as possible and…well, let’s just say he exceeded expectations.”

          “Meaning?”

          “The gala was sold out weeks ago so…he wanted the website to help some more and it really did. It has already over ten thousand subscribers…and they’re all paid.”

          Her eyes widened again. “What does that mean…paid? You gotta pay to see the website?”

          “It’s exclusive for tonight. We offered a once in a lifetime chance, for a limited time, exclusive rights to see tonight’s performance at the gala via live stream for…a pretty hefty fee.”

          “Hefty fee?” she squeaked.

          He nodded. “Who knew so many people would pay almost as much as you would for a live concert? And just for a live stream!”

          “Omigosh,” she mumbled. “But…what do you have to do?”

“My job tonight Is making sure nothing goes wrong with the live stream and to monitor any late coming subscribers. The cut off is just before the second performance, but they’re still coming in and I’m in charge of that.”

          She digested this for a minute, just vaguely hearing her father shouting for her to hurry up. “But…that means I’ll be live too…the whole performance will be live and…and you didn’t bother to tell me this before now, why?”

          “Billy swore me to secrecy. He knew if I told you, you might let it slip and tell Luke and he’d put a stop to it.”

“Probably, yeah,” she said.

“I wanted you to know that I’ll be there, even if you don’t see me, I’ll be there and I’ll see you…the whole time, and you’ll be great. I just know it. I’m so proud of you, Janet, I’m bursting with it.”

          He took her into his arms then and kissed her, leaving her breathless.

          “You’re going to be famous… a little like my mom,” he said grinning.

          “I already have the shoes, huh?” she said, slightly dazed as she looked up at him. “Wes, I’m not sure I want to be famous.”

          He laughed. “Well, then, we’ll just have to make you rich instead.”

          “Rich I can handle,” she said and she laughed too, just as her mother called her down. “Coming, Mom!”

          “What…who gets the money from the website?” she asked.

          “Luke. It’s all in an account for him. You know he’s planning to put out an album, so he’s got the money now. No excuses anymore. And you’ll have to help him with it. He relies on you as much as he does on Alana.”

          “You did that for him. You made his dream possible,” she whispered. “You really are awesome, Wes.”

          He shrugged. “Just as long as you think so, I’m happy. Come on. We better go, or your dad will kill me… twice!”

          Janet kissed him first. She wanted to tell him how she felt…if she could only find the words.

*****

          “Nervous?” Luke asked, for the tenth time.

          “A bit,” Janet replied. “But not about the performance.”

          He made a weird face at her. “What else is there to be nervous about?”

          “My parents,” she said. “This is the last shot I have to get my parents back together, and I don’t… I just don’t see it happening…not anymore. Too much crap in the way.”

          “I’m sorry,” he said, frowning slightly. “Wish I could help but…we’re just kids and we don’t know much about that sorta stuff, at least that’s what they tell us. It’s up to them to stop acting like idiots.”

          She attempted to smile, but tears filled her eyes instead.

          “Oh, Janet! Don’t,” he said putting his arm around her. “It’ll be okay. We’ll try our best, singing every fricken love song there is. Okay?”

          She nodded and sniffed.

          “We can’t go out there until you smile,” he said.

          “Oh, yeah? Then I guess we’re in trouble,” she said, but a second later she did smile.

          “Now, remember,” Luke said, going back to his serious mentor mode. “This isn’t like a regular concert. We’re just doing background noise, really. So don’t be intimidated or annoyed or insulted that no one will be listening to all the songs. This is a party and people will be eating, drinking, dancing and drinking some more, and it’s all for charity, anyway. The Adams family are real schmoozers. They go around, chatting people up, making sure everyone’s having a great time—which means more drinking, lots of laughing and talking. It’s how they drum up the check writing. It’s what this is all about. We’re just here to sing, play music to make people happy enough so they give loads of money. Okay?”

          Janet suppressed the urge to tell him he had already told her this a thousand times, so she just nodded, holding a slightly shaky hand to her butterfly filled tummy.

“Wes is here,” she mumbled to herself, and that alone, strangely, calmed her enough to take Luke’s hand when they heard his name introduced followed by hers and they stepped out onto the dais and into the bright spot light just in front of the band.

          The applause was deafening and everyone was on their feet. Luke and Janet exchanged startled looks. “Not like a concert, huh?” she said, mocking him.

          “You’ll see,” he said, bravely. “They’ll ignore us soon enough when we start singing and they go off to eat.” He then released her hand and sat down at the piano. He almost jumped back when a surge of teenage girls rushed the stage like a tidal wave, each pushing the other for a better vantage point. They turned their eager faces to him as if he was God. He turned to give Janet an uncomprehending expression.

          She shook her head. “No, you’re right, nothing like a concert.”

          That made him laugh and he started playing a jaunty tune.

          When she recognized it she gave him a scathing look. “I am not singing Enery the eighth!” she muttered covering up her mic so only he could hear.

          He laughed again and expertly slid into the first tune on their playlist. Lucky for Janet this tune was almost entirely Luke’s with her singing harmony only during the chorus. That gave her time to look out at the crowd and search for her family. It wasn’t easy with the lights blaring in her eyes, but she finally caught sight of Cindy waving madly at them. Though probably considered thoroughly unprofessional Janet waved back. She could see her parents beaming at her, but they weren’t sitting together and that made her heart sink. Jasmine was sandwiched between them, and she looked about as happy about it as a frog would be in a snake pit.

          Janet sighed and right on cue sang the chorus with Luke, their voices melding perfectly. Janet heard a few girls right in the front row moan and sigh in delight and she very nearly laughed. Luke rolled his eyes, but didn’t miss a beat. He went from one song to the next just as they had practiced endlessly, all the while wondering when those silly girls would go back to their seats.  

Luke assumed someone would eventually tell the groupies to move back to their tables, but this did not happen. Much to his astonishment, however, a few of the wait staff, instead of moving the girl on, were seen bringing chairs for them to sit on. Now the girls had a front row seat and no reason to leave their places. Luke gave Janet a What the heck’s going on kind of look to which she could only shrug.

So much for no one paying any attention to them!

*****
 

          “What do you think?” Donny asked, holding May Lyn as close as he dared as they danced slowly.

          “About Janet’s performance?” she asked evasively. “She did great.”

          “You know that’s not it,” he said, casting a glance at their table where Wendy sat looking forlorn and Jeff nowhere to be seen. “She obviously told him about Boston and he’s ticked. Should I talk to him? Tell him nothing happened?”

          “Only if you want to spend the rest of the night nursing a fat lip,” she retorted. “Leave it be, Donny. They will sort it out on their own. It’s all on them.”

          “I feel bad though,” he said, pulling her closer. “We should never have gone.”

          “Then you better invent that time machine and give them a do over,” she snapped.

          “Are you mad at me, too?” he asked.

          “That would be stupid. I didn’t even know you when you had the hots for my sister.”

          “I didn’t have…”

          She smiled. “Yeah, you kinda did. Every guy who meets Wendy does, Donny, even for just a little while. It’s no big deal nor is it a surprise. Wendy has that effect on men. She makes them glad that they are men, and Jeff…” she sighed and shook her head. “The poor stupid guy just can’t take it. He should be used to it by now. Well, he better get used to it soon or he’ll end up living the rest of his days in misery. Cuz that’s the way it is.”

          “Bit of a defeatist, aren’t you?”

She laughed. “I never thought of myself like that, but if the shoe fits. I know you want to help, Donny. I do too, but this is their thing. They have to figure it out for themselves.”

He nodded, looked at Wendy again and sighed. “Why do I feel like I screwed up her life?”

“If it is screwed up, and I’m not saying it actually is, it was her own fault. Not yours. She’s a big girl and she knew what she was doing.”

“Tough love from big sister, huh?”

She laughed, placed her arms around his neck and pulled him closer until their noses touched. “Something like that. Can we stop talking about my sister now? I’m starting to feel like a third wheel or something.”

“Never a third wheel.” He kissed her slowly, crushing her to him. “Can I tell you a secret, May Lyn?” he whispered against her lips.

“Are you sure it’s a secret you’re willing to reveal?”

“Maybe not, but I should tell you anyway, even if it scares you away.”

“I don’t scare that easy.”

“Okay,” he said, and he kissed her again.

“Is that the secret?” she asked.

He nodded. “I’m falling hard and fast, May Lyn. Thought I should warn you, cuz I don’t do anything half way.”

“Like with Wendy?”

He shook his head. “She just served to wake me up, make me realize I wasn’t dead yet. I’ll always be grateful to her for that.”

“And me? How do I serve?”

He pulled her close and nestled his face in her sweet, lavender scented hair. “I don’t want temporary, May Lyn,” he whispered in her ear. “I want forever.”

Taken aback, she leaned back to stare at him. “This is…this is our first date, Donny. Second if you count the day you got me at the airport.”

“And?”

“And…well…you can’t be serious.”

“How long did it take Chad?” he asked.

“Uh…for what?”

He chuckled. “Don’t play dumb. I think you know what I mean when I say I want forever.”

“Donny…”

He placed his fingers on her lips. “You don’t have to say anything yet. I just wanted you to know that this isn’t a game for me. I play for keeps, not for cheap, fleeting thrills. I’m not a player. Never was.”

“Cindy told me,” she said.

“Told you what?” Donny asked, just as the slow song ended and a fast one started. They walked off the dance floor heading toward the bar.

“That you liked my dress. Something about women in gowns which brings out the romantic side of men, I think. Either that or somehow you figured out I’m not wearing any underwear.”

Donny burst out laughing. “See? I love that about you,” he said.

“What? That I go panty-less occasionally?”

He laughed. “Yeah, that must be it.”

©2013 Glory Lennon All Rights Reserved