Crescendo

by Laurie Larsen

  “When I first quoted a payment per gig to his agent, he laughed at me.” She lifted her shoulders and let them fall. “Like, literally laughed. Then he gave me a number, except that number was double what I’d offered. We negotiated, and we finally got to somewhere in the middle.” She sniffed and looked at all of them, one by one. “Not equally in the middle. Closer to where he started than where I started.”

  “But still lower than his original price,” Robbie clarified.

  Haley nodded. “I guess price negotiation is not one of my talents. I’m sorry, guys.”

  Blake rubbed her hand in both of his. “Don’t be ridiculous. We know you did your best and we know it’s 100% better than any of us could’ve done. Right, guys?”

  They all murmured their agreement.

  “So where did we end up?”

  Haley shook her head. “We can’t afford him.”

  Jake asked, “Even with the new rates we’re getting?”

  She shrugged. “The new rates are getting us closer. But my plan was to pay you and Robbie more than him, since he’s new. And a stand-in for Blake.”

  Robbie said, “That’s nice of you, but not necessary. We’re already getting a raise due to the new venues on our schedule and more gigs. What if we split the pay equally among the musicians?”

  Haley stared at him a moment, then slid to her feet, got her folder out of her bag and studied it. She pulled up her phone calculator and tapped into it. Then she shook her head. “No. I mean, by the time we pay for band expenses – gas, rooms on occasion – then I’ve still written in payment for me and Blake ...”

  “Take me out of it,” Blake said. “I’ll be getting money from Frontier Fire. I don’t need Ace in the Hole’s money.”

  She looked at him, then looked back at the calculations and tapped a little bit more. “Me neither. Since I’ll be accompanying you on tour, Blake, I’m on Frontier Fire’s payroll, too.” She used her pen to circle a number. She looked up. “Closer. But not quite there.”

  Robbie swore and came to his feet. He walked around the garage. “He’d do a great job. And he was by far the best one we auditioned. No one else came close.”

  Jake added, “And we have a gig in nine days. And he’s available.”

  Blake said, “I’d hate money to be the stopping point if we’re close.” He glanced at her scribblings. “How close are we?”

  Haley ran a palm over her forehead.

  Blake had an idea. “Hey, I’ll contribute part of my summer earnings back to Ace in the Hole.”

  Haley stared at him, motionless. “Seriously?”

  “Of course. I’m still a band member and I want Ace in the Hole to succeed while I’m gone. I’m willing to pay to make that happen.” He smiled and patted her on the back. “Work it up.”

  Haley went back to her figures and worked another half hour. At the end, everyone gave up a little. Blake and Haley gave up their portion of the band’s profits. Blake donated a chunk of his Frontier Fire earnings. And Jake and Robbie agreed to earn less than one third of the band’s earnings. Making Sam the highest paid member of Ace in the Hole, at least for the next five months.

  It was a lesson in compromise and sacrifice, but they got to where Sam’s agent wanted them to be.

  When she realized she could make it work, Haley’s eyes went wide. “You guys are amazing. I can’t believe you’re willing to pay Sam more than you’re going to make.”

  “Hey Haley,” Jake said, “we’re used to being broke. It’s only because of you that we’re where we are today.”

  Blake added, “Who knows? Maybe with Sam in the lead, and me coming back with my Frontier Fire experience, Ace in the Hole will shoot to the big time later this year. Then, the sacrifice will be worth it.”

  Haley wrapped an arm around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss, while his bandmates whooped and hollered. “I’ll call him and offer him the deal,” Haley said with a beautiful smile, and marched out of the garage.

  They watched her leave. “I have a good feeling about this,” said Robbie. Blake nodded. He had a good feeling about all of it, and not just the band.

  Chapter Twelve

  THE LIMO PULLED TO the curb outside the airport and Randall, Frontier Fire’s manager, turned to face the ten bodies inside.

  “Okay team, just a reminder. I’ll gather your ID’s and get us all checked in, then I’ll come back and get you and we’ll go to the private room TSA has provided. We’ve gotten approved to go through Security as a group, separate from the masses.”

  The crowd murmured their approval, and Haley made a mental note. She was going to learn a lot about managing a band tour by observing Randall in action. Everyone handed over their drivers’ licenses, and Randall paired them up with boarding passes, then he jumped out of the limo. Haley glanced back at the band members. Excited voices filled the enclosed space inside the limo, along with the occasional outburst of laughter. She turned to Blake, sitting beside her.

  He squeezed her hand in his lap. “This is it.”

  She beamed a smile at him. “The day we’ve been working toward. You’re going to be awesome.”

  He leaned close and rang his tongue over her ear. She gasped at the unexpected sensation.

  “Hey now, you lovebirds. None of that since our significant others aren’t here.” One of the back-up singers, the one named Sophie, piped up. Haley saw that she sported a smile. She was being funny. The last thing Haley wanted to do was misstep on this big tour and do something to annoy the band. Blake, sure, he had some leeway to do whatever he wanted since he played an important role on this tour. But her; she was feeling a little inadequate and didn’t want to make waves.

  “Sorry!” she giggled.

  Blake pulled her into his arms, so she was practically sitting on his lap. She resisted by pushing against his chest, but he retorted, “Just because your partners aren’t here doesn’t mean I can’t love on mine.”

  Sophie laughed and pointed playfully at them and then turned her attention back to her conversation with her co-back-up singer, Max. Haley found her way back to her own seat.

  “You okay, babe?” Blake’s forehead frowned with concern as he studied her face.

  Haley looked into those deep blue eyes and found her peace there. “Yeah, sorry. I’m feeling a little insecure here, that’s all.”

  “Why? You belong here as much as I do. You got me the contract!”

  She shrugged. “But you’re the one with the singing talent. You’re the one they want. And Randall is already here to manage the tour. I’m not sure I’m needed here as well.”

  Blake shook his head. “I need you here. I want you here. You’re helping me deal with all this craziness. Got it?”

  She lifted her chin so she could look into his eyes again. Lord, she loved the color, reminding her of a Husky dog’s light blue. “Okay.” She tore her gaze away from him and looked around the interior of the limo as they continued to wait. “I really need your help learning the names of all the band members. There’re so many.”

  Blake chuckled. “Yeah. Way more than Ace in the Hole.” He leaned closer and murmured in her ear. “Okay, starting to our right and moving counter-clockwise. That’s Moose. He plays electric guitar.”

  Haley held back a laugh.

  “Yeah. I don’t know his real name, I assume it’s not Moose, but that’s what he goes by. He’s got fire in his fingers. He’s gotta be one of the best electric guitarists in the business. Next is Harry. He plays fiddle on some songs, and mandolin on others. He’s not on every song, but he adds some great sounds when the song calls for it.” He subtly pointed to the next man in the circle. “That’s Ricky, the drummer. Easy enough. Then, Len. He plays bass guitar.”

  “You guys don’t have a bass player in Ace in the Hole, right?”

  “Right. We also don’t have a full-time keyboard player, and that’s the next person, Lola.”

  “Oh! I didn’t realize the band had a female instrumentalist.”

&nbs
p; “Yep, Lola plays keyboards, then of course that takes us to Sophie and Max, the back-up singers. And there you have it. Frontier Fire.”

  Haley’s head swam. She wondered if she’d ever remember the names, and what faces they belonged to. “You forgot one.”

  Blake’s face showed that he knew her meaning.

  “Blake Scott, the lead singer,” she murmured. “Have you ever thought about how exciting it is for you to be here? I mean, think about this.”

  Blake snorted. “I can’t think of anything else. I just hope I do the songs justice.”

  She reached and placed her lips on top of his. “You will. You do. I’ve heard the rehearsals. You sound fantastic.”

  He was about to respond when Randall returned.

  “Okay, gang. We’re all checked in. Let’s move as a group to the TSA screening room.”

  They exited the limo. They were only exposed to the public inside the airport for twenty yards before they were again secluded, and in that short time, a dozen observant fans hooted and hollered with shouts of “Frontier Fire!” The experienced band members waved and smiled as they jogged after Randall. Haley held on to Blake’s arm and they followed behind.

  The plane ride to their first tour stop, Cincinnati, went smoothly. Fans recognized the more familiar band members, and occasionally engaged them in conversation. Moose or Harry would chat comfortably, most of the conversation centering around Josh Lakely’s accident and what they were going to do without him on the tour.

  On arrival at Cincinnati Airport, a limo whisked them away to the Downtown Hilton where they each had private suites reserved. Haley wheeled her suitcase into the luxurious room and looked around, flopped on the bed and let out a breath. Closing her eyes, she said a quick prayer, “Dear Lord, thank you. Thank you for all this. Never let me take this for granted. Help me to always remember to thank you for all the blessings in my life.”

  She let her mind drift to what she was doing prior to this huge shift. Working the nine to five grind at the office. An occasional night out. It was a decent life. But this was so much more exciting. Hard work at the community college meant answering phones and making photocopies. Her work here was so much more energizing, and she saw a direct link from her efforts to where they were today – on the first stop of Frontier Fire’s concert tour. It was pretty amazing.

  Her mind shifted to her dilemma with her parents. She hadn’t dwelled on it since it happened because she’d been so busy with the band and she didn’t want to be sad. But her parents had disowned her, was that the right word? She knew they were trying to teach her a lesson, to maybe teach her to appreciate the Witherspoon dynasty more than they evidently felt she had been. But to push her out of the family fortune? Was she still a Witherspoon, in their opinion? She’d always been somewhat of the black sheep in the family. She was the only one of her siblings who didn’t go to college and go to work for the enterprise. Did that mean she was dispensable? She was their daughter, for goodness sake. It was that easy to push her out from under the family umbrella?

  But she recognized the irony of the timing of their ejection. They were punishing her because she flitted from one interest to another without any true plan or commitment to her work. But look at her now. She was a successful band manager for Ace in the Hole, and she was accompanying her “client” Blake Scott on a top-notch concert tour. In her mind, that was pretty committed. Pretty successful. It was more than she’d ever accomplished before in her life.

  Well. She would rise above. She would continue to work her hardest, to achieve results, to do well. And when she no longer needed her parents’ assistance, she would prove that she was completely self-sufficient.

  The feeling of acceptance in her heart made her optimistic. This was unusual for her. Because as much as her parents’ punishment seemed ill-timed and incomprehensible, she was doing okay on her own. She was succeeding. And maybe that’s exactly what they had in mind?

  A knock on the door brought her out of her deep reverie. “Yeah?” she called while she scrambled to her feet.

  “It’s me,” came Blake’s voice.

  She went to the door and opened it. He stepped into the room and pulled her into a tight embrace. Closing her eyes, she rested her cheek against his chest. He made a growling sound in his chest and the vibration tickled against her ear. She chuckled and looked up at him.

  “Do you believe this?” His smile was like a sunrise lighting his face.

  “No, I really don’t.” She tilted her head back and they joined lips. He caressed her cheek with one finger and she savored the shiver that ran down her spine, generated by his gentle touch.

  They broke their kiss and stood silently for a moment. Then Blake said, “Randall wanted to meet us for dinner and go over some information about the first concert.”

  “Wow. Should we go then?”

  He nodded with a smile and gripped her hand.

  BLAKE WANDERED OUT from the green room backstage to stand directly behind the thick closed curtain. From here, he could hear the murmuring of the crowd without being visible to them. He stood alone in the dimness and let the crowd’s energy revitalize him. He closed his eyes and drew deep breaths while he let their voices, their movements, feed him.

  This was a technique he’d often used in his bar gigs, but tonight was taking it to a whole new level. There were ten thousand people out there! Nerves stabbed his system and his hands started to tremor, his breath no longer solid.

  No. He couldn’t allow his own weaknesses to steal this opportunity from him. He continued to breathe and concentrate on drawing energy from the crowd, and in his mind, he transitioned to saying a prayer to God: help me, Lord. Give me strength. Don’t let me blow this. Help me do well.

  Before long, the rest of the band members wandered out. He was ready. He was at peace. He was in good voice, and his nerves had settled. Moose, the electric guitarist, patted him on the back. “Have a good show, man,” he murmured softly. On his way up the pedestal to the drum set, Ricky gave him a thumbs up. Blake hoped his face provided them with a feeling of confidence that he had this. He wasn’t going to mess up their first tour gig due to his inexperience.

  He was playing in the big leagues now and he was ready.

  Once they were all in place, still hidden behind the curtain, the crowd’s cheering shifted into overdrive. The energy level catapulted through the roof with loud screams and applause. Blake knew the slideshow featuring pictures of Frontier Fire in concert in their prime was playing on the screen, and then it moved into the current day band. The other band members were a little bit older and maybe a little bit grayer, and there was a short introductory section of Blake as the new lead singer. Nobody knew him, but they were Frontier Fire fans, so they were willing to give him a chance and accept him.

  Before he knew it, the curtain started to rise, and the unencumbered wall of sound hit him full force. The lights wouldn’t let him see individual faces, but he certainly got a feel for the massive crowd. The band members started playing one of the band’s classic fast songs that was certain to whip everyone into a frenzy with its iconic opening bars and lyrics. Blake could probably sing this one in his sleep and he put a smile on his face and started singing on cue.

  His amplified voice rose miraculously over not only the din of the crowd, but also over the instrumentals. He expected this – he knew it would be like this, but it amazed him that any little sound out of his mouth could be heard by ten thousand people. He finished the first verse and moved into the chorus. It seemed like all his audience was singing along with him. His heart pounded with the immensity of the moment. He’d asked if he could hold an acoustic guitar and the band agreed to allow him one, but not mic it. It was more of a prop so he’d have something to do with his hands. He strummed along, knowing it was not contributing to the phenomenal sounds they were producing, but doing so increased his comfort zone.

  He finished the first song and the band modulated straight into the next. Yes, he knew this
one too. Another fast song to keep the audience whipped up, on their feet, screaming and singing along. He flipped the guitar onto his back, grabbed the microphone off the stand and moved to one side of the stage. The fans cheered and reached out their hands, and he realized he could multi-task: sing, walk, bend over and give high fives, which resulted in ripples of pleasure from those he touched. The stage was set up with several walkways into different parts of the crowd – Randall had briefed him on all this last night – and as he gained comfort he moved to all of them. Tomorrow night, maybe he’d leave the guitar behind. He didn’t need a prop to make him feel less awkward. He was living a dream and he wanted to make the most of it.

  The second song ended, and it was time for him to talk to the crowd. His heartrate increased. Funny that he was more nervous about talking to ten thousand people than singing to them. But he walked back to the mic stand, secured it in and gripped it with both hands. “Hello everyone!” he yelled into the microphone. The crowd’s volume increased as everyone responded back. “Thank you for coming tonight.” He learned quickly that he needed to pause between each sentence to allow time for the rabid fans to quiet down or else they’d miss his next sentence. Good problem to have. “You guys are our first audience since coming out of hiatus. Thanks for being here!”

  The crowd went wild at this news and eventually Blake could continue. “I’m Blake Scott, and no, I’m not the singer you normally see up here. I’m sure you’ve heard that Josh Lakely had an untimely injury and couldn’t join the band on this tour. We’re praying for Josh’s recovery, so he can join the band just as soon as he’s able.” The audience cheered their approval. “Meanwhile, I’m honored to be singing all these classic Frontier Fire songs for you.” The volume increased. Blake took it as a good sign that they’d heard him sing two songs and they were already cheering for him. Hopefully they were in good hands for a strong concert. “Happy to be here.”