Today People

by Barbara G. Tarn

  "I do!" she protested. "I love you!"

  "Yeah, right, high school sweethearts forever!" He scoffed. "C'mon, Debby, we're grown-ups now! But you still live for the band. And now add the fans and the fame..."

  "For God's sake, Ricky, you know I share the room with Bonnie on tour, I don't sleep with the boys!"

  "I don't care! You're with them more than you're with me! Now you even want to move in with them, fine, go ahead, but without me!"

  "What about the wedding?" she asked, nonplussed.

  "You didn't want it in the first place, so why bother? Stick to your friends and leave me alone!"

  He stomped out of the room, leaving her speechless.

  3.

  Debby has been my best friend since primary school. We grew up together in the same neighborhood and I consider her my sister. She's the better looking and more outgoing between the two of us, so she gets more fans, but I don't mind. Sometimes I wish I could be like her, but I'm not, and I have more than enough fans on my own anyway. She's been with Ricky since high school and they stayed together even after he quit the band. I guess they love each other, but they look like they're walking on different paths. Dunno, he's got this steady job, wears a tie every morning, works nine to five, etc, but as long as Debby wants him this way... I guess it's none of my business anyway!

  After the breakthrough and MTV interview, we shot the second video (yeah, the glamor girl in it is Carrie – and yeah, we had to pay her), then we were ready for our first world tour as headliners.

  Carrie was off to Los Angeles, trying to pursue an acting career, so Mike agreed to meet her there. Kyle and Betty had the usual endless-kissing good-bye because she hates touring with us and just waits for him at home. She says it's because she has to work to pay the bills, but I think it's because she's too lazy. She came with us on the very first tour as opening band, but I guess she got bored and decided never to do it again. Shame on her.

  ***

  "Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?" Bonnie asked, sitting next to Debby on the tour bus. The boys and Joyce were busy, and Bonnie knew something was wrong with her childhood friend.

  Debby sighed. "Yeah."

  "What did Ricky do this time?" Bonnie insisted, frowning.

  Debby looked startled. "How can you tell it's Ricky?"

  "You came alone." For the first time, Ricky didn't show up at the departure. Something must have gone wrong.

  "He's working." Debby shrugged and averted her eyes.

  "So is Betty, but she came," Bonnie replied. "Besides, everything else is fine so he must be the problem."

  Debby hesitated and looked at her at last. "Right," she muttered. "Right, he is."

  "So, what did he do this time?" Bonnie was happy with herself. She had managed to make her friend talk. Talking about it would probably help Debby. "You know he's jealous."

  "But he knows I love him!" Debby sighed, frustrated.

  "Aw, c'mon, Deb, be honest." Bonnie grinned. "Your first love is something else."

  Debby held her breath, and then exhaled, defeated. "True, my first love is music, but he knew it all along, since the day I refused to quit the band for him!"

  "As I said, he's just jealous," Bonnie said. "Not of you personally, but of the whole band, and of the success we have finally reached."

  "He was one of us, could still be, if he wanted to. He just doesn't want to be part of this family, I guess!"

  "He made a choice a long time ago, and he probably resents it now, but is too proud to go back."

  "He's doing well in his job, he's having a career, we could afford to start a family..."

  Bonnie stared at her friend, puzzled. "So, are you going to start a family?"

  "No. Not with him," Debby grumbled, depressed.

  "Oh my God, you split!" Bonnie realized. "That's the problem, he told you to fuck off!"

  Debby winced. "You could say that."

  "Damn!" Bonnie slapped her hand on her tight. "I used to like him a lot, I was so happy for you when you got together, but he's changed, Debby, he's not the guy you fell in love with anymore. Trust me, you'll be better off without him."

  "I guess you're right. Even if I thought I'd finally marry him at the end of the tour."

  "Well, you might end up meeting someone else, somewhere out there, and live happily ever after!"

  Debby smiled weakly. "Maybe a fan, what do you think? And we have very nice roadies too..."

  Bonnie grinned. "Why not! Some of them are married, but I think a couple are single... hey, how about that stalker fan, Jerry, wanna date him?"

  "God, no! But I think I might enjoy being single again."

  "It's been years..." Bonnie teased. "Will you be able to deal with it?"

  "How dare you? What kind of friend are you?"

  "Your best friend, of course... count on me!"

  They smiled fondly at each other and hugged.

  "Hey, can I join?" Mike asked from his seat.

  "Fuck off, Mike!" Debby replied playfully. Bonnie smiled, glad she had helped her friend to get over the breakup.

  ***

  The first show was great, exhilarating.

  "Just think, all those people were there only for us!" Bonnie said as they took refuge in the van that took them to their hotel.

  "Yeah, you didn't miss a beat in spite of the crowd!" Mike congratulated her.

  "How's the stage fright, Bonnie?" Kyle asked.

  "I'm living with it. It's the crowds that scare me." She shrugged, averting her eyes.

  "Don't worry, we'll shield you, like we always did!" Mike promised.

  "Thanks, guys... If I were shortsighted like Benny, it would be less daunting!"

  "You can't count them, but you can hear them, Bonnie," Benny replied, amused. "And I'm wearing contacts now."

  "So, how do you deal with stage fright?" she asked.

  "I let the music take control."

  "Right, when the music takes over, we just can't stop!"

  "That's how you go on, following the music?" Debby inquired.

  "I know, I'm shy, nervous, hate crowds, but the music gives me feelings nothing else does!" Bonnie declared.

  "You were the most unlikely to stick with us, and still... Here you are!" Mike hugged her.

  "Yeah, well, I must thank my personal bodyguards." She stared eloquently at both Mike and Kyle.

  "We'll keep away the people, don't worry," Kyle promised.

  "And if they're waiting for you at the stage door?" Mike asked.

  "That's when you should come in, unless you decided to quit the bodyguard job!" Bonnie replied.

  "Mmm, I don't know, I'll think about it!"

  "Hey, I'll take care of her." Kyle grinned. Bonnie felt her cheeks burn.

  "That's unfair, I was planning to ask for a reward!" Mike protested.

  Bonnie kissed his cheek and did the same with Kyle.

  "Will this do?" she asked. "None of you is single anyway."

  Kyle nodded with a smile, Mike shook his head with a sigh.

  ***

  Mike had started sharing the room with Kyle when Benny had married Joyce. They got along fine, except when Kyle called Betty.

  Mike stared, exasperated, at his roommate as he finished his phone call. Kyle hung up with a sigh.

  "Thank God!" Mike exclaimed. "Can we sleep now?"

  "Sure." Kyle lay down, switching off the light.

  Mike pondered. "What did she say about Ricky not coming to say good-bye?" he asked in the darkness.

  "Were you listening?" Kyle chided.

  "Kind of hard not to!" Mike retorted.

  He could hear Kyle scoff.

  "He didn't come because he broke up with Debby," Kyle said.

  "Oh. Shit," Mike muttered.

  "Did she tell you anything about it?" Kyle asked.

  "No." Mike sighed. "Guess she told only Bonnie."

  "What should we do?" Kyle insisted. "Behave as if we don't know anything? "

  Mike sighed again. "I'll
think about it. Ricky is an asshole, maybe I should call him."

  "Don't," Kyle warned. "You're not Debby's brother, it's none of your business."

  "It is if Debby decides to quit the band to win him back," Mike replied.

  "That's highly unlikely, or she wouldn't be here," Kyle observed.

  "Right. G'night..."

  ***

  The band was doing the sound-check. The venue was still closed. Still two girls entered, one tall but not very attractive, the other plump.

  "Hi, guys! We did your laundry!" The tall and unattractive girl handed a bag to Mike.

  "Thanks, Francie," Mike said, grateful. "We never have time, always on that tour bus!"

  "You never have time to go shopping either, do you, Mike?" she teased.

  "Your socks had holes, I repaired them," the other added.

  "Thank you so much, ladies, you'll always be on my guest list!"

  "It's a pleasure, Mike..." The groupie stared at him with a mischievous, if unattractive, smile.

  "Are you done, Mike?" Debby called. "We don't have that much time left before the show!"

  "Sorry, we'll let you guys work. See you at the show!" The two girls left.

  Mike sighed.

  "Why do you like groupies so much?" Bonnie asked. "These two are even ugly!"

  "Francie does the best blow jobs of the nation. And Susan... no, I'm not telling you."

  "You're disgusting."

  "I'm a guy."

  "You're disgusting anyway," Benny said.

  "Hey, I don't have a wife following me on tour, I do as I please!" Mike protested.

  "Leave our rock star alone!" Kyle teased. "We really don't have that much time left anyway!"

  Bonnie glared at Mike. "I could take care of your socks too, you don't have to show them to strangers."

  "But you can't really wash them," Mike shrugged. "Hey, I got a free laundry, stop blaming me!"

  "As long as you don't let them on the bus," Debby warned.

  "I won't, promise. Well, unless Mandy shows up, of course."

  "Bastard," Bonnie muttered.

  He showed her his tongue and smiled. She couldn't help but smile back. They finished the sound-check and went backstage to prepare.

  The crowd was particularly wild that night. At the very beginning of the show a fan was crushed against the stage and security took her backstage, passed out. Another couple of girls got hurt, but were soon back up front when they realized they'd miss the show.

  The show over, the band joined the recovering fan. She was still very pale, but also excited at being so close to her idols. She told them her name was Helen.

  "Are you OK?" Benny asked, worried.

  "Yes, thank you. You guys literally took my breath away!"

  "Not us, the other fans more like!" Mike grumbled.

  "How are your ribs?" Debby asked.

  "Not broken, thank God. But it kind of hurts here." She lightly touched her breasts.

  "Can I take care of it?" Mike suggested with a bright smile.

  Helen blushed. "Uh, no thanks, I'd rather have Kyle doing it..." She stared hopeful at the bass player.

  "What am I supposed to do?" he asked.

  "May I have a hug, please?" she begged shyly.

  "Oh, sure."

  He hugged her, she sighed and closed her eyes against him.

  Debby took a picture, then one more with both smiling, then gave the camera to Joyce, who took pictures of Helen and the whole band.

  "Time to go, guys," the manager said. "Sorry for the mishap, Helen, hope this short meeting makes up for it."

  "Oh, sure, thank you..."

  Helen was escorted outside, her eyes still on Kyle who sighed when she was gone.

  "Don't you dare complain!" Mike threatened.

  "I'm not," Kyle assured.

  "Good."

  "But now I'll have to spend an hour on the phone with Betty," Kyle teased.

  "No, you won't!"

  Kyle laughed at him and he relaxed.

  4.

  Debby was putting on makeup for the show, alone. Bonnie hated makeup and Debby always arrived earlier at their dressing room.

  Kyle knocked and came in.

  "Hi!" she greeted, surprised. "I'm almost done!"

  "Sure. I'm not Joyce, don't worry," he said.

  "Cool."

  He hesitated. "Betty told me about Ricky. Do you want to talk about it?"

  She glanced at him through the mirror and shrugged. "Not really. He's history."

  "Are you sure?" he insisted, worried. "It's been a long relationship."

  "I'm fine, thank you."

  "OK. See you in five."

  Bonnie arrived at that point and glanced curiously at Kyle, but he left.

  "What did he want?" Bonnie asked.

  "Betty told him about Ricky."

  "Oh. So he knows."

  "And so does Mike, I think. I don't care."

  "Let's make it official, then. I'll break the news to Joyce and Benny if you wish."

  Debby shrugged. "Sure, go ahead."

  "Is that all?" Bonnie insisted. "Kyle came here only to tell you he knows?"

  "He was sweet, he thought I needed to talk. But I don't want to think about my past relationship at the moment."

  "Poor Kyle."

  Joyce put her head in. "Time's up, girls!"

  Still something was awkward between Debby and Kyle after that short talk and Bonnie noticed almost immediately. "What's wrong between you and Kyle?"

  "Nothing, why?" Debby answered, puzzled.

  "He's, like, stopped talking to you." How can you not notice?

  Debby pondered. "I think he's embarrassed."

  "Maybe he would like to talk about his relationship!" I wish he talked to me about it!

  "With me?" Debby smiled. "Just because I ended a years-long relationship?"

  "That could be a reason."

  "I don't want to discuss Ricky. He's history, Bonnie, I don't want to remember or whatever."

  "Fine. But maybe Kyle wants to talk about himself." And I'll never be able to ask him if he wants to talk.

  "Well, he has kept his private life with Betty, he's not living for the band like me."

  "Or me, dear. I don't have a life outside this band."

  "But Kyle does. He's a stage animal all right, but he never shared his life with Betty with us before."

  True, so totally true. I wish he were more open with us.

  "Maybe he'd like to talk to someone now," she suggested.

  "Or maybe he doesn't believe I'm totally over Ricky, or he doesn't accept it and wants to discuss it," Debby replied.

  "You're not shy. Why don't you ask him?"

  "I don't want to make things worse. Maybe he thinks we don't have much in common anymore, or that I'm an easy girl who didn't really love her boyfriend."

  "That's not good, he keeps to himself too much." Bonnie frowned. "We should all get along or find someone else!"

  "Do you have someone in mind?" Debby asked, amused.

  "Me? No. I like Kyle. I'm just sorry we don't seem to be able to communicate."

  "Well, he's always like this on tour, spends all his free time on the phone with Betty."

  "He really loves her, huh?"

  "If you listen to Mike, he loves her too much."

  Bonnie shrugged. "What does Mike know anyway... He never calls anyone, not even his mother!"

  "But I think he loves Carrie, in his own way."

  "A very twisted way in my opinion!"

  "The very same way he loved you, actually. Truly, madly, deeply. But she keeps him at bay, just like you did."

  "I didn't!" Bonnie glared at Debby who smiled, amused.

  "You did, and you know it. You loved him, but you weren't ready for him, so you screwed up."

  "Oh. Guess you're right. You think I should try again?"

  "You don't love him anymore, so why should you?"

  "In fact I'd rather try someone else," Bonnie muttered.

 
Debby stared at her. "Really? Haven't heard that in a long time! Who is he?"

  "I'm not telling. He's not free anyway."

  "Hope it's not Benny again."

  "I'm not telling."

  "O-OK..." Debby relented and Bonnie hid a sigh of relief. Her secret was safe.

  ***

  The band, along with Joyce, met a local band of three young men who sat surrounding Bonnie and Debby. One of them seemed smitten with Debby, who accepted his attentions with a smile. After the show, the two girls retired to their room, still exhilarated.

  "These guys are great!" Debby said. "I must tell Joyce to sign them up when we get home!"

  "Really?" Bonnie teased. "Are they that talented, or is it because you like their guitar player?"

  Debby snorted. "Gee, Bonnie, what's wrong with it? He's nice!"

  "Tell that to Mike!"

  "Yeah, can you believe all the possible excuses he found not to leave us alone?" Debby shook her head, amused.

  "Maybe he's jealous," Bonnie suggested.

  "Of what? I'm not his girlfriend!" Debby protested.

  "Then tell him, not me!" Bonnie shrugged.

  "I will! I will date someone some day, and I don't want him to interfere!"

  "Good! Now let's go to bed! Did you get your guitarist phone number or not?"

  Debby showed a piece of paper with a mischievous smile. Bonnie shook her head, but she was happy to see her friend's mood so improved. The tour was definitely doing good to Debby. Ricky was forgotten, and she might start dating again.

  ***

  In the meantime Kyle and Mike were also having a discussion before going to sleep.

  "You saw Debby's love story begin, didn't you?" Kyle asked.

  "Yeah, so what?" Mike shrugged. "It's over, thank God. They both changed and moved forward."

  "Then why don't you let her date again?" Kyle insisted, serious.

  "That was an asshole!" Mike declared. "He can't even play!" His ego felt crushed that his old friend had smiled to another guitar player.

  "You're not being objective," Kyle chided.

  "I care about my girls, and I want to protect them," Mike declared.

  "They don't need you protection, they can take care of themselves."

  "Really? What do you know?"

  Kyle shrugged. He pondered before speaking again. "Don't you believe in eternal love?"

  "I believe in love, Kyle," Mike sighed. "I am in love at the moment."