I’m going to be a rock star. Callie’s beautiful voice was crystal clear over the huge sound system. The audience raised their hands above their heads clapping and singing along to the words. I watched from the side of the stage. She was so affected by their show of love. Tears glistened in her eyes like glittering, blue jewels. My girl was moved down to her soul, as her eyes swept over to mine, I gave her a nod of approval. I was with her 100%.
I was grateful the recordings were going so well. The studio was coming here tonight. This song was already hitting the national charts. It was moving up the charts with a bullet. In the next day or two it was going to hit number one. And once that happened all hell was going to break loose---- in a good way. Callie was already becoming a household name, and the CD was almost finished. Tonight’s recording of ‘Dancing with Tomorrow’ would be the final song and we would be finished recording the live album. I couldn't wait to get in the studio with the tapes and mix it all down for a perfect first album.
The success of ‘Rock Star’ would certainly guarantee the smash hit of the album. I bet we had more than one #1 song. Our roadmap to stardom was perfectly laid out in front of us. I knew what we needed to do next and put in the call,
“I radio, may I help you?” the woman sounded so chipper for this early in the morning. Her energy affected me as my heart did a little flip.
“Yes, my name is Hunter Lightfoot and I manage Callie and The Turtledoves. Can I speak to your promo department, could you tell me who heads it?” I tried to match her level of energy. I was really excited for this call.
“Oh, that’s Louise, Louise Hall. Hold on I’ll put you through.” I was expecting to be put on a hold but then she added, “Umm, I just want to tell you I love her song.” whispered this unknown receptionist but wow that just did something to me, and my confidence soared.
She put me on hold and after only a few moments the phone went live. “Hello, this is Louise Hall. How may I help you?” She had a midwestern accent. I hoped she saw the value in what I had to offer.
“Yes, my name is Hunter LIghtfoot, I manage Callie and the Turtledoves. Nice to meet you, Louise.” I had been thinking about how cool it would be to hire a PR person for the road. Yes, the label had someone working back home on our careers, but we needed someone more immediate here to help. It was definitely something to think about. Maybe I should hire someone to follow us.
The silence was deafening. I had hoped to get a small reaction from that. “We’re performing at the Lakeside and wondered if you’d be interested in doing a story before we left Chicago. An interview or...” Before I could finish Louise finally jumped in saving me from further embarrassment.
“That’s a great idea, I’ll come myself. Can we have access to Callie before and after the show? I’d like to do some video for online, too. For our website. What do you say?” She sounded eager to jump on our band wagon. My heartrate ticked up with excitement. Boom boom.
“Sure, I can arrange that. How many passes do you need? I can leave them at the box office for tonight.” We had been given a block of tickets for our personal use. Normally, we didn’t do much with these kinds of tickets, but Louise made me think I’d been wasting them. Damnit. Stupid manager, I chastised. Stupid, stupid manager. I hated lost opportunities and needed to get square with myself.
“By the way, Hunter, how about if Callie comes into the station tomorrow and records a radio promo, you know one of those tape recordings of her saying to listen to QWR I Radio? What do you say?”
Brilliant, I didn’t want to seem to green eager. “Sure, I think we could arrange something. I’ll speak to Callie about it. The show starts at 8 pm----how about you come by earlier, say 6:30? Would that give you enough time to get what you need?”
“That’ll work, text me the address, see you then.” The phone went dead. I was over the moon with joy. This was something I should have done all along. At least I figured it out in time for our show tonight. I got to grab a hold of anything I could to promote the Doves and the success that preceded them. I needed to capitalize on it now, not later.
After the phone call, I went out to where everyone was hanging at the front of the bus. Callie looked at me, eyebrows raised in question. She and I were so in tune, we didn’t need words for her to know something was up.
“Hey everyone, I just got off the phone with I Radio, and they want to do a story!” Everyone started cheering, this was amazing news. “They’re coming by to interview Callie, but don’t be surprised if they have questions for any one of you. You ready for that?” My eyes swept between the Doves. I made a note to tell the security team about our visitor. They were essential for keeping her safe at every show and needed to be notified about this kind of thing. I wouldn’t allow them to record Callie’s show either and needed enforcement of our policies.
“Oh my god, Hunter, what should I wear?” Callie looked like she was suddenly gripped with terror. I had no clue what she should fucking wear----just don’t be naked, right? Who cares what she wore? Then it dawned on me that this was why she needed a girlfriend on board to help with these kinds of decisions. I couldn’t care less, now, could I?
“We’ll figure it out babe, don’t freak out. You’ll do great. We’ll go over everything, so you’re prepared. We’ve got some time.” Relief flooded her beautiful face. I'd better get going on that job description. We still had many shows to get through and I wanted her to feel comfortable from here on out.
After I went over some things that could come up in the interview I said, “Babe, I’ll help you decide what to wear,” I went to her small closet and started rummaging through her clothes. I found a cute little sexy summer dress, it was light blue with stars covering the material, “How about this?” I held it up with a broad smile.
“Sure, that’s fine, if you like it, I like it.” Callie took the dress from my hand and hung it up near the bathroom. “I’m going to take a shower and get ready, okay?” She bit her lip. I noticed she did that a lot when she was nervous.
“Babe, stop biting yourself. You’re gonna do a fantastic job today! Just be yourself. Don’t worry, Louise is going to love you.” I took her in my arms and gave her a soft squeeze.
I had a ton of shit to get done. Even though we had been through a lot, there were miles to go and an endless sea of people to handle. First on my plate was finding that personal assistant. I posted the job description and already had so many respondents. I was overwhelmed by the hordes of women who would love a job with us. I had to weed through the many applicants. They all sounded the same. They were big fans who wanted to hang out with my girl. That gave me an uggy feeling, a nauseous, tummy thing. I wasn’t looking for a fan, goddamnit.
I ran across an email that stood out, “My name is Leanne d’Sure, and I live in Minnesota. I have to be honest, here, I don’t know who the Turtledoves are. But I’ve always wanted to travel the country. Would you give me a shot?”
I closed my computer and sat back in my seat sighing as I mulled over the women I had chosen to interview. Would it be a mistake to pick someone who wasn’t in the industry? I ended up picking five women including Leanne, for Callie to meet. I called each of them with the same spiel, “Hi, I’m Hunter, I manage the Turtledoves. Can you come in and meet us? We are interviewing on Wednesday, what time would work for you?” I scheduled each one, and I booked them to come by to meet me at a coffee shop close by. They had to pass the smell test before they could even get close to Callie. My inspection would only be their first hurdle. I wanted to protect her after everything she had been through.
Wednesday came and I took off, “I’m going now, babe. I’ll let you know who seems good enough for you. Well, no one will ever be good enough, but you know what I mean.” I chuckled as I kissed her sweet cheek. “We’ll find someone perfect for you.”
“Good luck,” Callie said with a bright smile.
It might take more than luck today.
But I knew someone would stand out and become Callie’s ne
w best friend.
Callie needed this, and I wasn’t going to let her down.
Chapter 67
Callie
“Hi, Louise!” I offered my hand to the gorgeous woman who knocked on our bus door. She was more than a bit older than me, maybe in her early forties, but she clearly took care of herself. She was tall and thin, and I felt dumpy sitting next to her. She had long, auburn hair and beautiful, large, lipid blue eyes that looked at me quizzically. We both had coffee cups sitting in front of us and as she took a sip of hers, she said,
“Callie, how’s the tour going so far?” Typical. Such typical questions, puh. I’ve been asked the same shit a million times. I had hoped she’d come through with an interesting, different approach to this interview. I wanted to make a big splash and told myself to chill the fuck out.
“I’ve been having a great time. This bus is awesome, Joni Mead donated it to our cause.” Louise looked at me with surprise etched across her face. I explained the whole ‘situation’ with my parents' car crash and even told her about Gaby coming along. I hoped Joni didn’t want her bus back until we got home. I edited out what happened with Tenny, I didn’t think that was appropriate for public consumption.
“How generous of her.” Louise seemed impressed by the entire story. I kept talking and talking, I couldn't stop. I thought this was going to be tough, but Louise made it so easy to open up to her. I spilled my guts, talking about almost everything that had happened. I was just about to tell her about #yournumberonefan when, thankfully, Hunter walked in.
I silenced my big mouth. Fuck, he didn’t look so happy with me. I’ve been spilling the Tee[SO36]. I told him I needed a confidant[SO37], but maybe a radio interview wasn’t the best place for me to unburden myself. I freaked out about all the info I had just revealed and bit my lip until it bled. I got to stop biting myself. It was such a bad habit. But what really concerned me was how easy it was to disclose all my personal business. Did I really want the public to know what I had been through?
“Callie, did you tell Louise about the songs you and the Doves have written while we travelled the country?” Hunter looked at me with raised eyebrows. He was directing the interview in a better, safer direction, away from the personal shit and back to why KBR 1radio was here. Louise looked over at me with a small smile. She knew what he was doing, damn, she sure did. She looked disappointed that story time was over.
“We wrote ‘Dancing with Tomorrow’ right after....” I blinked and took a deep breath to center myself. I could do this, I just needed to stay focused on the things I wanted her to write about. “Right after the show in Colorado Springs. We always play and write here at the table. Let me introduce you to the Doves.” I looked around and found Ted lurking in the shadows.
“Hey, Ted, grab Marko, I want you both to meet Louise.” I gave him a bright smile and the two of them came up to the front of the bus to shake her hand.
“Would you two join us?” Louise preferred her hand to the seats at the table. Ted scooted over and Marko took the opposite side of the booth.
“Sure, what do you want to know?” Ted asked. He looked sexy in his low-slung jeans and an old faded black hoodie. He had that rocker look that the ladies loved with his dirty blonde hair combed to the side, scruff on his chin. He looked incredibly cute with his hair falling over his light green eyes. Louise noticed for sure. She looked between the two brothers, but I could see she was smitten with Ted. It made me chuckle to myself.
“So, Ted, how did you become a Dove?” She asked, batting her eyes at him. Oh my god, she was flirting with him! She sure was fucking ballsy about it, not even trying to hide her attraction. Not that I really cared, I mean he’s a big boy ..he can take care of himself.
“Yeah Ted, why don’t you tell Louise here how you became a Dove?” I laughed. Honestly, I couldn’t wait to hear what he had to say.
“Well, it was actually Callie that brought us all together. Marko here is my brother, and we were looking for a third to play with us. We didn’t have huge dreams, never thought about a summer tour like this, that’s for damn sure. But Callie infected us with her enthusiasm. We caught the bug when we started playing together.” Ted smiled his shy, sweet smile and Louise fell in love just a little bit. Or maybe, in lust.
“So, you met when you were how old?” She leaned into him, banking every word he said. Wow, I never saw anything like this. I wondered if Ted was planning his great escape. Or was he attracted too?
“Let’s see, hmmm, I was thirteen and Callie was twelve? Is that right?” Ted’s eyes swept to mine, and I nodded to confirm. He smiled a sexy as sin smile and continued his story looking Louise in the eyes. “Marko and I advertised for a singer, but that turned out to be a lesson in futility. Then we went to one of Callie’s shows, we caught her set at an open mic night. Right?” He looked at me and we nodded at each other. Then he added, “We’ve been best friends ever since.” We smiled at each other. Maybe Ted was flirting with Louise[SO38], now what the fuck should I do? I decided nothing, I’d do nothing. He was making it clear he was single. “We came up with the name together.” He added, touching Louise’s arm.
“When did you start writing music?” It seemed to me this interview had gone sideways. Louise was much more interested in talking to Ted than she was anyone else. I wanted to bring the discussion back to me, but that was selfish, wasn’t it? Maybe this was exactly what Ted needed. Marko sat quietly, not offering one word of history. I started to feel sorry for my buddy then realized this was exactly what he wanted.
“Marko and I wrote all the time. When we were seven and eight years old, I remember a song we wrote, our first. Got us writing more songs after that. Marko, remember that song?” They both chuckled like this was a private joke between them.
Louise asked, “Can I hear it? Oh, I'd love to hear it! Please...” She begged. It made me fall to pieces laughing so hard. If I remembered that song, of course they did, but I wasn't sure they’d want to play it for her. Before I could think of a way to save them from this travesty, Marko spoke for the first time.
“Hey, Ted, why not? Hmmm. go ahead, sing it for her.” Marko chuckled, I think he noticed the flirting and decided to help Louise out. I didn’t know what he was hoping to accomplish. But this was becoming too funny. “I’ll play with you.” He offered pulling out his sticks.
“Please, Ted, “ Louise batted her long eyelashes, and put her hand on his arm squeezing lightly. Ted was doomed. Right from the start, fate was against him.
Poor Ted, he looked at me and said, “Only if Callie plays with me. Would you?” He was going to do it? I decided to accompany him on guitar. I pulled out my instrument, the Gibson, my baby. I strummed the first notes to his song. It wasn’t anything special until you understood that an eight-year-old wrote it. I remembered the first time I heard it, I thought it was brilliant! I'd found my musical match. I wanted to write with him after hearing it, the song sealed our future.
Ted’s voice began to fill the front of the bus with words penned so long ago. “I hate school, I don’t wanna go anymore.” I smiled remembering back to the day I met these two. We became the Turtledoves after they sang me this exact song. I was blown away by their talent. I had big dreams and they were going to help me achieve all of them. “I’m gonna quit, I don’t need to go anymore.” Hearing it again made me feel so sentimental for those innocent days when we were young, and star obsessed. Before tours and stress and shows. Before stalkers and babies.
When Ted finished the song, Louise stood up and applauded like we were in a stadium, and she was giving him a standing ovation. I wanted to bust up laughing but held myself back. I didn’t want to do anything inappropriate to fuck up this interview.
“Hey, Louise you want to get out of here?” Ted asked, holding out his hand to take her hand in his. He pulled her up and beside him. He looked over at me and gave me a quick nod. The two of them walked off the bus together.
“Hunter does that mean the interview is over?” Hunte
r doubled over with laughter.
“I think so babe, I think we won’t see them again until the show.”
We all busted up laughing. Yeah, Ted was getting busy, and I laughed so hard I felt my gut split.
I hoped he was ‘safe’ and walked back to the room, laughing all the way.
Chapter 68
Hunter
I had interviewed all five girls and reduced the list to three that I wanted Callie to meet. The one who wrote she didn’t know the music, Leanne d’Sure,[SO39][kg40][SO41][kg42] made it through the first obstacle. I was intrigued by her enthusiasm. The other two had passed the test as well. They loved the music, but they weren’t fanatical about it. I thought they could handle themselves. They seemed cool. All we needed was someone who wanted to board our bus with bad intentions. I had to be uber cautious. Callie had already been through so much, and I wanted her to have a friend who was a safe bet.
I did an extensive background check on each one just like Detective White showed me.
Callie and I sat at the café waiting for Leanne. “Honey, what do you think? I wasn’t wowed by the first girl. I hope this one is a better fit, right?” Callie looked over at me with concern etched across her pretty face. We had talked the whole subject to death already, going over what we were looking for.
Leanne sauntered in and sat down at our table. She and I had already spent some time together and now it was Callie’s chance to see what she thought. Leanne was a cute little girl, around my age, dressed in a short skirt and tiny t-shirt with the words “The Doors” across her chest. Her hair was dark and wavy falling over her shoulders. She seemed very sweet and sharp as a tack.
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