"It's not cool to kid me, Eric," I say.
"No joke. Your tour went over really well, and you sold a lot of albums at the gigs. And at your last NYC gig, there was a representative from Arista and he really liked your songs. And your personality, and your look and basically everything about you."
"You're fuckin' kidding me," I say calmly.
"Do I look like I'm messing around here, Roger?" Eric asks. Well, no, but does he ever? "He's going to be here in an hour. He's going to talk to you about some contracts, maybe an advance. Some more shows. Possibly a single and music video. He'll hook you up with an agent from the company to help you out with anything you're not sure about. They might want to use a few new songs…"
"Eric, shut the hell up and let me think!" I shout over him. He looks at me in shock. "You couldn't tell me this in advance?"
"Well, I didn't want you to get nervous," he says quietly.
"That, or you don't want to lose me?" I ask.
"Roger, I love having you, but we are getting a lot of money from them if you sign," Eric says.
"You mean they really want me?"
"They really want you." I feel a grin creep up over my face, so big it hurts. Before I know it, I'm jumping up and down. Eric is smiling like an idiot at me. And suddenly I have the idea that maybe, just maybe, I'm going to make it.
The footsteps on the stairs are quick and light.
The door bangs up and Roger's standing there, looking at if he just won
a million bucks. He runs over to me, pulls me up and gives me a bear
hug.
"Uh, Roge? What happened?" I ask, my
voice muffled by his tight embrace.
"I just…I want to thank you Mark, for pushing
me into this. For giving me the courage to get past Mimi and do this
and…"
"Roger! Explain!"
"I just signed with Arista Records," he whispers.
I stare at him. His eyes are shining with excitement, I'm not sure
I've ever seen him this happy.
"Arista? Arista, like, Whitney Houston?
Arista like the Grateful Dead?"
"That would be the one," Roger says calmly.
"OH MY GOD!" I shriek. "Roger,
that is so amazing! I knew you could do it, I KNEW you could!"
He sits down and smiles at me. "Hold on, let me get my camera…you
look so unbearably sexy right now, I need to film this."
"Sexy? Mark, did you just call me sexy?"
he calls as I run into my room.
"Oh, don't act like you're surprised…" I say,
grabbing the camera. "You are going to be attacked by the girls.
You know you're sexy."
"I am, aren't I?" he says, thoughtfully
running his hands over his goatee, then through his bleached hair.
It's longer than it used to be, all the more to his advantage. He
cracks up, laughing so hard he can't sit up straight. "Look, sit
down, we need to talk."
"What about?" I ask.
"All of this and what it means," he says.
"I know what it means. Money, fame,
success, traveling," I list off.
"No, Mark, stop being so selfless for once
in your life and think about the chances you will have." He's
looking at me with that goofy smile on his face. That one he used
to get whenever he liked one of my films. What is he talking about?
"What chances will I have from your record
deal?"
"I was talking to the executive guy.
They're going to want a music video for my first single. And I've
been thinking about it, and thinking about it, and I want it to be 'Your
Eyes'…"
"I thought you didn't want to do that?" I
say.
"…but it's not going to be the same song I
sang at the funeral. It's going to be sweet and touching, but it's
not going to be the same. Because in essence, that song is not formatted
to be a single. So, I'm going to rework it a little, add some lyrics,
maybe make it a little more radio friendly, and it's going to be my first
single. I might even write a whole new song to go along with what I already
have, I'll have to see. It is still going to be this amazingly, touching
tribute to Mimi, but the people who hear it are going to know that.
And that's where you come in."
"How?"
"You're going to shoot the video. I'm
not going to tell you what to do or how. I just want you to use any
old footage you have of her and of me and her. Maybe we can cut to
me singing the song here in the loft, empty on a stool. You know
that episode of "Full House"? Where Jesse has a video for 'Forever'?"
Jesus Christ, when did he start watching "Full House"? "I want
it to look like that. It's going to be so much her, the song is going
to be so different, but it's still going to be her. It can never
NOT be her." He looks at me. "So, will you do it?"
I think about this for a second. My best friend, who just signed
to a major record deal, wants me to make his music video. It can
be all I need. It can be everything. Not only that, but it
can bring us even closer than we've become since all of this started.
I look at him and I grin.
"Of course I will!"
