Today People

by Barbara G. Tarn

  "Yeah, right, with all the fans and groupies that are willing to follow you to your room!" Kyle retorted.

  "Not really, that's just sex. I obviously need more sex than you do, but that's all."

  "I love Betty. I don't want any other woman."

  "Good for you."

  "Thing is... I think I can't have both her and the band."

  Mike stared at him, puzzled. "Hang on, Kyle, what do you mean? You want to quit?" he asked, incredulous.

  Kyle sighed. "I love you guys, but I have a home to go back to and I miss it. I want to start a family, so I don't think I'll be able to tour like this anymore."

  "Kyle!"

  "What? I'm not leaving in the middle of the tour, but I'm considering retirement when it's over. Maybe you can ask Ricky to come back."

  "No way! You're our bass player!"

  "We'll see." Kyle averted his eyes and turned his back on him. Mike switched off the light, still shocked. The band was falling apart once they had finally reached success?

  ***

  During another sound-check, Debby's stalker fan, Jerry, managed to enter the venue with two other girls. Bonnie saw them first.

  "Debby!" she warned.

  Debby saw them too. "Shit!" she muttered.

  But Jerry was holding hand with one of the girls, and they recognized the other as his sister.

  "Hi, Debby, I know I'm not on your guest list anymore because of my dreadful past behavior, but Joyce allowed me to come in to apologize," the fan said. "I also wanted you to meet my girlfriend, Angie."

  Debby was stunned for a moment, then looked at the other girl. "Nice meeting you, Angie. I'm glad to hear you distracted him from his obsession."

  The girl, in her late twenties, smiled. "It wasn't easy, I can tell you! But as we're both obsessed with a band member, we thought we could cure each other. And it actually worked!"

  "Really? Who were you obsessed with?" Debby asked.

  Angie looked back to check Joyce hadn't followed them. "Benny," she whispered.

  Benny blushed, Debby smiled, and Mike smirked.

  Bonnie kept an eye on Randy, Jerry's sister, who was staring at Kyle.

  "So will you put me and my sister back on the guest list, adding Angie?" Jerry asked. "You know we're your most faithful fans since the beginning!"

  "Yes, me and Angie will be good girls from now on, and Jerry promised to behave," Randy quipped in with her most innocent and propitiatory smile.

  "OK, you'll be on the guest list," Mike said.

  "Do you still have parties, Mike?" Randy asked.

  "Nah, my roommate doesn't allow me." He glared at Kyle who shrugged.

  "Really? Bad boy, Kyle, I'd to the special thing with you!" Randy chided.

  "Only with him?" Mike asked, hopeful.

  "You know he's my favorite!" Randy replied. "I had an offer from someone else, once, but I didn't want to end up in bed with him... The result was no more passes, no more guest list..."

  "Some men can't take no for an answer," Kyle said, looking teasingly at Mike who snorted.

  "It wasn't me, babe!"

  "No, it wasn't you," Randy smiled. "You guys blacklisted my brother for the opposite reason!"

  "He was kind of a stalker!" Mike said. "I won't let anyone disturb my girls!"

  "I apologized, I think," Jerry said. "No more stalking, but let us enjoy the show. You guys rock!"

  "Tell Joyce to give you the passes," Benny said.

  "Great! We'll see you tonight at the show, then!"

  All three left. Debby sighed with relief.

  "OK, stalker fan out of the question," Bonnie said. "Who's next?"

  "Bonnie!" Debby protested.

  "Just kidding!"

  Mike stared at both, puzzled, but they ignored him.

  "You can have the new bass player when I'm gone," Kyle said.

  Bonnie stared shocked at him.

  "You're not going anywhere," Debby said.

  "I'm leaving at the end of the tour," Kyle announced. "I have a life outside the band."

  "We know that," Bonnie could hear the panic in her voice and hoped he wouldn't. "You could still be on the records and we'll use a replacement on tour, what do you think?"

  Kyle pondered. "Might be a solution, I'll think about it."

  ***

  Mike pretended to read a music magazine while Kyle was on the phone. The call wasn't going to well, and Kyle slammed down the phone, muttering, "Damn!"

  "She's not coming?" Mike asked.

  "She says her boss won't give her the days off," Kyle answered nervously.

  "I don't think she wants to fly anywhere, and you know she hates touring."

  "Yes, but she always joined us, at least at mid-tour!"

  "She hates traveling."

  Kyle sighed. "I don't think that's the point. I don't seem to be able to talk to her."

  "That was definitely a short phone call for you standards," Mike had to admit.

  "Maybe I should go back and talk to her in person?" Kyle sounded worried now.

  "Are you crazy?" Mike protested. "Maybe she's just trying to make you edgy, so that when you go back and ask her to marry you, she can surprise you with her acceptance!"

  "Maybe I should have asked her before I left," Kyle said gloomily.

  "Are you kidding? Debby and Ricky split when they decided to get married! Forget it, pal, and allow me to bring a couple of friends in this room."

  "No way, Mike, I'm not that desperate yet!"

  Mike shrugged. "You don't have to be desperate to meet Mandy."

  "Mike. I'm not interested," Kyle said, determined. "They're just groupies, and I love Betty."

  "And I love Carrie, but she's not here..."

  "Mike!"

  "OK, suit yourself..."

  ***

  The show was wild. Not for the first time, Mike, Benny and Kyle picked a couple of girls from the audience to come on stage and dance with them.

  After the show they did their usual Meet & Greet – fans belonging to the official fan club had special passes to meet the band. The fans were more excited than usual and half a dozen girls threw down the barriers and jumped on Benny before security dragged him to the van with the rest of the band.

  For the safety of the band, the Meet & Greet was canceled and the van drove away, leaving disappointed and screaming fans.

  In the van, Joyce held Benny with a worried expression.

  "Are you all right?" Mike asked him.

  Benny looked shaken but answered with a sigh, "Yeah, yeah..."

  "Now you know why I hate crowds!" Bonnie grumbled.

  "Benny, you won't start having panic attacks too, will you?" Debby asked, worried.

  "Don't think so." He closed his eyes in his wife's embrace.

  "Leave him alone," Kyle snapped. "In the next interview we should ask our fans to be more respectful."

  "It's the first time it happened!" Mike protested. "Maybe it's just this town, don't blame it on all of them!"

  "If I did, I'd stop doing the Meet & Greets," Kyle retorted. "That's not what I'm saying anyway. Remember Helen? And now it's Benny, it's getting dangerous for everybody."

  Joyce pursed her lower lip. "It will be in the papers and on the internet anyway, so we'll have to make a statement."

  "As long as you don't write 'Don't touch my husband'!" Mike said, sarcastic.

  "Very funny, Mike," Joyce replied. "I guess Kyle's suggestion is just perfect."

  "I hate crowds," Bonnie muttered.

  "They're part of your job, so stop complaining," Joyce told her. "I'll have security double-check the barriers next time."

  "Sounds fair," Debby said. "No one wants to be killed by a loving fan, or die crushed at a long awaited show!"

  "I won't let anything happen to anyone in the band, I promise," Joyce concluded.

  5.

  Joyce was already in bed when Benny came out of the bathroom with his glasses. He took them off and left them on the bedside table.

&nb
sp; "Tired?" she asked as he slid in bed next to her.

  "A little," Benny admitted.

  "You knew it would be like this," she smiled.

  "Yeah, year after year after year... writing, recording, touring... still, sometimes I miss my church." He sighed.

  "Why is that?" she asked, puzzled.

  "Because it's a quiet place," he explained. "There isn't much quiet, or privacy, in my life now."

  "There is quiet and privacy in this room now," she grinned.

  "I know." He took her in his arms. "You're my sanctuary."

  "Benny, if you wanna quit, just say it," she said gravely. "I'm sure the guys can go on without you."

  "No, I can't go on without them," he said. "I never had such good friends."

  She smiled against her will. "You're too kind as usual."

  "I've had other friends," he said, thoughtful. "I have brothers and sisters. But this band is different, it has a special chemistry."

  "OK, we stay with them if they make you happy." she nestled in his arms with a sigh of satisfaction.

  "Am I the only talent in the band for you?" he asked.

  "I think you could go solo any time," she said. "If Kyle really quits and the band falls apart, you still have chances to make it big."

  "Wrong. I don't exist without them. They spin my creativity. Without them, I wouldn't be singing and playing. I'd be a lawyer, or a minister."

  "Do you really think you'd be a minister like your father if you hadn't met them?"

  "Definitely. You picked us up because of me, but as I told you then, I tell you now: I'm in a band, and I'm not going solo, because I can't make it on my own."

  "And I'll stick to you, no matter what you choose to do. I married you, remember?"

  "Yes. I love you." He kissed her.

  "Love you too." She kissed him back.

  "How about a baby at the end of the tour?" he suggested.

  "I'll think about it," she teased.

  They smiled at each other, kissed good-night and switched off the lights.

  ***

  When they reached Las Vegas, Mike decided it was time to party. He entered the hotel, his arms around the shoulders of two sexy girls, blonde Sally and black haired Louise – two local groupies that had promptly answered his call.

  While they waited for the elevator, he noticed another girl seated at the bar, in jeans and no makeup, the opposite of the two girls with him.

  Mike brightened. "Excuse me for a second," he told his glamorous friends. A new face, and someone Kyle might actually like.

  He walked to the girl in jeans. "Hi. Are you waiting for someone?"

  She stared at him, hostile. "Yes, my boyfriend."

  He hesitated, uncertain. "I'm..."

  "I know who you are, the hotel and the whole town have gone crazy for you guys," she retorted. "But we're not all fans, you know."

  "I'm sorry... Listen..."

  She looked past him and brightened, waving at a young man who joined her.

  Mike stared at the reunion with envy, then went back to the elevators and the arms of Sally and Louise. He kept looking towards the bar and the girl with her boyfriend until the elevator door closed.

  When he reached his floor, he banged on the door of the room. "It's me, open the door!"

  Kyle opened, but didn't look happy.

  "Hi-ya. Remember Sally and Louise?" Mike grinned.

  "Yeah, I remember them, hi." Kyle let them in and picked up his bag with a somber face.

  "Hey, where are you going?" Mike protested.

  "Looking for another room," Kyle said, avoiding eye-contact.

  "No, no, you stay here, I'm doing this for you, mate!" Mike protested.

  "I don't need this, Mike!" Kyle snapped.

  "Yes, you do!" Mike insisted. "You're depressed, and you're supposed to be having fun!"

  "I'm not depressed!"

  "Another very short phone call, and you say you're not depressed? Come on, man, it's all over your face!"

  "Yeah, Kyle, let us take care of you!" Sally batted her long eye-lashes invitingly.

  "We'll make you forget whoever is depressing you!" Louise added with a purr.

  "So, what do you say?" Mike asked, hopeful.

  Kyle barely glanced at them. "I say good night."

  He walked past them and left the room.

  Mike sighed. "He doesn't know what he's missing! Well, ladies, where were we?"

  Sally and Louise smiled expectantly.

  The morning after they were awakened by a banging on the door.

  Louise rose, but Mike stopped her with a grunt. "I'll get it."

  He put on his jeans and went to the door, half asleep. It was the girl in jeans.

  "I believe you're late – your band-mates are all having breakfast. I saw them downstairs before coming up," she said, sarcastic.

  "What time is it?" he asked, still puzzled.

  "Eight AM."

  "Who elected you room service?"

  "Nobody. I thought I'd do you a favor, even if you don't deserve it. I saw your roommate asking for another room last night."

  She saw Sally and Louise dressing over his shoulders. "Hi there!" she waved at them, then looked back at Mike. "You better hurry, your manager doesn't look tender."

  "She isn't," Mike grumbled. "Not with me."

  "I wonder why." Sarcasm again.

  "Why are you so mean to me?" he protested.

  "You're the bad guy of the band anyway." she shrugged.

  "Still, would you go out with me?"

  "I'm sorry, but unlike my colleagues, I don't date rock stars."

  She turned her back on him and left.

  "Why, what do you do?" Mike called after her. "Hey! Shit."

  He closed the door and stared at Sally and Louise, who were now ready to go.

  "Thank you, ladies, I guess the party is over. Ouch, my head!"

  ***

  The tour bus was quiet. Mike was asleep and Joyce on her cell phone. Kyle was very thoughtful and Benny stared at him, worried – the night before a bold fan had dared to leave lipstick on the bass player's lips. Kyle's reaction had been cool, but Benny knew what he was going through. Bonnie and Debby pretended not to look, while he leaned towards Kyle. "Do you wanna talk?"

  "No, I..." Kyle sighed. "Yeah, I guess I could use some... maybe just talking about it might help."

  "Is it about our latest Meet & Greet or more?"

  "You mean that girl?" Kyle shrugged. "She's part of the job, I guess. I'm just wondering."

  "You don't want this job anymore," Benny said.

  "I'm kind of tired of all this," Kyle admitted. "When we met at that barbecue, we weren't really expecting success, were we?"

  Benny sighed too. "I guess not. We all need a break. We'll take a few months off before the world tour. I want a family too."

  "But your wife is a band member. My girlfriend... I don't know." Kyle shook his head.

  "She's not using you for her career like Carrie, at least!"

  Kyle glared at the sleeping Mike. "Mike is too sex oriented to care about having a family anyway."

  Benny smiled. "C'mon, don't be too hard on our rock 'n' roll guy."

  "I'm not, I mean, I like him, he's a great guitar player, but we don't seem to have the same ideas about women."

  "He loves Carrie, in his own way. What about you? Is it Betty?"

  "Yeah."

  "What's happening?"

  "I don't know. She doesn't seem to communicate with me anymore. We've been apart before, but it was never like this."

  "What do you mean? How do you tell the difference?"

  "It's like we have nothing to tell each other anymore. She mentioned a serious talk, but said it wasn't urgent, and we could have after the tour, but..." He shook his head, doubtful.

  Benny pursed his lips, thoughtful. "How long have you been with her – ten years? Marry her or break up, Kyle, you can't go on like this forever."

  "I don't want a breakup, and certainly not on
the phone. We'll have to talk face to face and work this out."

  "We still have a lot of shows to do."

  "I know. Can you ask Joyce to schedule a day off for me sometime, so I can fly back and talk to Betty?"

  "I'll see what I can do."

  "Thanks, pal, appreciated."

  ***

  Apart from these minor personal problems, the tour was great. We had a cameraman following us almost everywhere to film footage for the third video, which would probably be a live shot. Sales of the CD were rising and fans were also looking for the older stuff after they heard it on stage.

  Then we reached Los Angeles and Mike disappeared for the day in search of Carrie. We had to change the schedule that night 'cause he wasn't in the mood for singing when he came back. I'm quite close to him and he trusts me, so he told me what had happened earlier with Carrie.

  ***

  Mike came into the room with a big smile and flowers. Carrie was waiting for him, sexier and more glamorous than ever.

  He stepped forward, but she stopped him with a slow gesture of her hand before he reached her.

  "As you can see, you're not enough for me anymore," she said. "I'm in a hot new movie..."

  Mike's smile vanished. "Thanks to our video."

  She ignored him. "And soon I'll be a star out of your reach, Mike, so stay away from me."

  "But..."

  She shooed him away without even looking at him.

  He backed away, leaving the flowers on a table. That night he was very silent and Bonnie went to him with a worried look on her face.

  "What's up – how come you won't sing tonight? Carrie didn't show up?" she asked.

  Mike scoffed. "She showed up all right! She's a movie star, now, so she had to get rid of me!"

  "That bitch!" Bonnie fumed. "We're not glamorous enough for her majesty? Have you seen who she's dating now?"

  "No, I don't care. The show must go on, so I'll play, but don't ask me to sing."

  "I'm not asking you anything. You're better off without her, Mike."

  "I know, just give me some time, will you?" He looked at her with a puppy look.

  "Sure." She smiled fondly at him.

  Debby joined them. "Kyle says he can do some of your songs, and Benny will do the rest," she announced.

  "Thanks."

  Bonnie went back to the other two, leaving Mike and Debby alone.

  "If you're wondering why you wasted so much time with a brainless sex-bomb, think about who did it for even longer than you," she said.