Baby, I'm the Guitar Man
Chapter 25
XXV
"Alex, Kyle, Jim, and Kathleen should all be here on Earth somewhere in this time," Michael thought to himself, as he walked down a quaint little tree-lined road aptly named, "Country Lane," outside of Nashville, Tennessee. "But Tess… How am I going to find Tess? She was one of us. The four of us were never created on Earth in this time, so she won't exist. I already saw Ava on Antar, so Liz couldn't mean for me to find Ava. She said Tess." Michael shook his head and looked at the name over the entrance of the ranch he had come to:
~Sweet Guitar Man-sion~
"This must be it," he thought, as he attempted to open the large iron gates. The gates appeared to be locked. Michael thought about using his powers, but he saw someone about a hundred yards away, inside the fence, getting off of a horse. The man patted the horse on the side then rubbed his hand up and down its nose for a moment… then he took out a couple of sugar cubes and held them in his hand, and the horse took them.
Michael yelled at the man, but he got no response, though he was pretty sure that the man had seen him. Deciding that he would need to be more direct, Michael called the portal.
"I should have told it to take me directly to Alex in the first place instead of saying take me to where Alex lives. That could mean his house, his town, or even his planet. I have to be more precise with my instructions. It would have saved me a walk."
Michael stepped into the portal and stepped back out right beside the man who had just got off the horse. The man looked at him. He was obviously surprised, but he hid it pretty well…
"Whatever that thing is, I hope you don't market it to the other fans, guy. I'll never get any peace and quiet."
"I needed to talk to you," Michael said.
"Yeah, they all do," the man replied. "Whatcha want… an autograph? You got a pen?"
"No," Michael said… "not an autograph. I want to talk to you, Alex Whitman."
Alex stopped what he was doing and looked at Michael. "I haven't heard that name in a long time, stranger. Kinda sounds good, though! I'm Joshua Sweet now; you know, 'The Guitar Man.'"
"Yeah, I figured it out," Michael said… "Sweet Guitar Man-sion."
Alex chuckled.
"So you're some kind of heavy-duty fan. I reckon not one in a hundred fans knows that Joshua Sweet's not my real name… even since the Country Music Awards last month."
"I take it you did okay?"
Alex smiled and looked at Michael. "Okay, so you're not a fan, I guess… Who are you?"
"My name's Michael… Michael Guerin."
"Did we ever meet, Michael?"
"Yeah, but it was sort of in another lifetime… You know what I mean?"
Alex chuckled again. "Yeah, I think I do."
"I don't think so," Michael said. "But that's understandable. I'm having trouble wrapping my mind around it, too. Do you remember Liz Parker and Maria DeLuca… from Roswell High?"
Alex looked at him. "Liz and Maria? Yeah, sure I remember them! I haven't forgotten my friends just 'cause I got famous. Okay, maybe I don't ever see them anymore… we all moved on in different circles, you know?"
"Yeah."
"I read something in the papers about Liz attending some big conferences in Norway a few months back… something to do with some research she's working on. She's at Harvard now, I think."
"Head of Molecular Biology Research at Harvard," Michael said.
Alex seemed impressed. "Well, I always knew she'd go far. I guess Liz and I were the only ones who had a clear idea of where we wanted to go in life… only I chose guitar, and she chose the stars… to study, I mean. Hey, that would make a good song! 'I chose guitar… but you chose the stars," Alex started singing. "I need to work on it a bit. That could be something though, pardner! Thanks!"
"Don't mention it," Michael said. "…and I mean that," he thought to himself.
"So is that where you got that fancy gadget of yours? Liz made it for you?" Alex asked.
"No, not her branch of science."
"Oh, well, it looks like a pretty handy gadget anyway."
"It has its uses," Michael said. "Like going back and forth to my planet."
Alex slowed down then stopped and looked at Michael for a moment…
"That's not very nice, pardner, making a musician think his ears are going bad on him. I'm pretty sure you said 'your planet???'"
"Yeah, you heard right," Michael said.
Alex started to chuckle then began to laugh. "Oh, I get it! Those Candid Camera people put you up to this! I should've known. We pulled a good one on old Dwight Yoakum for them a couple months back. Alright Dwight! You got me back!" Alex laughed.
Michael reached up and snapped a twig off the tree they were passing under and passed his hand over it. It turned into a classic-style, rosewood electric guitar. He handed it to Alex. Alex turned it over and examined it from every angle… then he strummed it…
"Damn, man! This is good! You couldn't maybe put the name 'Gibson' on it… right here… could you?"
Michael passed his hand over the tuning head, and the name 'Gibson' appeared on it. Alex looked at the guitar… then at Michael… then at the guitar… then at Michael…
"Listen, you wouldn't be needin' a job with a lot of travel wouldja?"
"I've already got that," Michael said.
"Oh, yeah… your planet… Long commute?"
Michael nodded. "Seven galaxies."
"Well, listen, I've got a concert at eight o'clock tonight. Why don't you come? I'll get you in free. We can talk more in my dressing room. I've really gotta go and get ready right now, but I do want to find out why you came here lookin' for me."
"Alright," Michael said. "How do I get there?"
Alex thought about it. "Never mind. Come with me. You can wait for me in the house and we'll go together in the limo."
[center]**********[/center]
Michael sat in the front row watching the Dixie Hens and other warm up groups. Everyone seemed pretty quiet and well-behaved for a concert audience. But occasionally someone would scream out, "Where's the Guitar Man? We want Josh!" and the audience would applaud or appear to get anxious. It was starting to get downright noisy, in fact.
Michael was just about to stick some paper wads in his ears when, suddenly, the noise level increased by about a hundred fold without warning. Instinctively, Michael dropped the paper wads and ducked, looking around for what had brought on all the screams. Then he realized that it was Alex walking out onto the stage. He had on a cowboy hat and boots, tight jeans, and a fancy shirt. Michael had to admit to himself that he was actually a bit impressed by Alex's gallant look and confidant stride. As Alex walked up to the microphone, he and his backup band launched straight into his big crossover hit, "Sweet Guitar Man," and the crowd went absolutely wild. Michael looked at the roof. He was sure that all this noise would surely bring it crashing down at any moment. Fortunately –or perhaps not- the music was loud enough to be heard over the roar.
Soon, the crowd had quieted to only about a category 7 hurricane, as more people began to listen to the song. Michael noticed that, all through the audience, there were girls holding up signs saying, "Marry me, Josh!" "Sweet Josh, Be Mine!" and "Josh, you can play my guitar all night long!" Michael shook his head and finished putting the paper wads in his ears. He could still hear the song… and the screams.
As Alex wound up the song, the screams increased in pitch again to a feverish crescendo. Alex smiled and thanked the fans for coming out for him. Once it had quieted down a little, he continued…
"I have a new song for you. It hasn't been recorded yet, and the guys and I haven't had much time to practice it, but I'd like to try it out on you all tonight."
Apparently, the crowd liked the idea. They went wild again with applause. Alex smiled and nodded at his band, and the guys struck up an intro. Alex picked up the microphone and seemed to look straight into the eyes of every fan there, melting their hearts, as he began to sing…
I don't know your name… Don't know who you are
You came in a dream from some place very far.
I still see your face, I still feel your hands,
I remember your grace,
As in the summer night we danced.
Our passions were aflame… We gazed together at the stars
And though I don't know your name, Darling…
You belong in my heart…
But if you were from Venus, then I was from Mars…
It seems that between us we were a universe apart
It's not what I wanted… I know you felt it, too…
Our hearts were haunted…
We were both left feelin' blue.
But it'll always be us… living here in my heart
Though I hold this guitar, Darling…
And you hold the stars.
Oh, it was sta-a-a-r-gazing with you I fell in love
You must have been an angel sent from Heaven up above!
I don't know where you are or even if you're real…
But when you walked into my dream, I knew,
My heart you came to steal.
You were far more than a vision… Something pulled out of the air
Our hearts were in collision… You were the answer to my prayers
If this guitar that I hold… could even start to take your place
I'd never let it go,
And my blues I'd all erase
But like every good dream… fairies n' unicorns so rare…
The sun a new day brings, and you just disappear…
For my life's in this guitar, Darling,
And yours is in the stars.
I could never love another… since you brightened up my sky
My aching heart just flutters… like the stars twinkling on high
And I stare up at the heavens… where I'm certain you must live
I know I must have rolled all sevens…
To win a dream that felt like this
You're my star lover… You're my angel in the sky
You make me st-st-stutter… You make me want to sigh
So why am I holdin' this guitar, Darling,
When you're sittin' on a star?
Oh, it was sta-a-a-r-gazing with you I fell in love
You must have been an angel sent from Heaven up above!
I don't know where you are or even if you're real…
But when you walked into my dream, I knew,
My heart you came to steal.
Sta-a-a-r-gazing with you I fell in love
When you walked into my dream, I knew,
My heart you came to steal.
"Thank you! Thank you!" Alex said, smiling, as the crowd went wild with applause. "That was called 'Stargazing.' I guess you can look for it on our next CD. What do you think? Should we record it?"
The audience let out such a round of applause, whistles, and screams that Michael had to cover his ears with his hands on top of the wads of paper he had already put in his ears. Alex went on to play fifteen other songs from his various hit CD's, and the crowd kept screaming and applauding from the beginning to the end. After ending the concert, Alex sang three encores for the crowd, who just wouldn't stop applauding; but finally, he had to call an end to it and return to his dressing room. Michael was waiting there. He could still hear the screams and applause all the way from back here in the back of the building.
"So what'd you think," Alex asked Michael. "Did it go alright?"
Michael cupped his hand beside his ear… "Huh?"
"I said, 'how'd you like it?"
"Huh?"
Alex grinned and pushed Michael's hand away from his ear. "Yeah, they can be a little loud, can't they? But it's good to feel appreciated."
Michael smiled and nodded. "So you've really made it, huh, Alex? They loved you out there! What would you rather have really… this… or what you were singing about in that new song?"
"In Stargazing?"
"Yeah."
Alex smiled. "I've had the fame. It's great, but it doesn't keep me warm at night… well, not the same way…"
"Why do I get the idea, Alex, that that was more than just a song? What if I told you I knew who that girl was… the one who walked into your dream?"
Alex looked at Michael. At first, it appeared that he was going to make a joke, but something seemed to be telling him that Michael wasn't joking.
"Alright… Anyone else, I'd say they were just guessing… but someone who can just pop out of thin air like you did back on my ranch… well, I'm listenin'."
"Her name's Isabel."
Alex's eyes grew larger, and his face softened. "So you really do know her?"
"Yeah."
"Who is she? Why did she come into my dream like that? Why have I never seen her again? How can I find her?"
"Whoa! One question at a time, Alex!" Michael laughed. "She's Isabel Evans."
"I don't know an Isabel Evans. She told me her name was Isabel in the dream, though."
"She has… had… the ability to enter people's dreams," Michael said.
"What do you mean, 'had,'" Alex asked. "She doesn't anymore?"
"She doesn't exist anymore… not in time as we know it. I think somehow she reached out to you from wherever she is in time. She may not be aware of her own existence, but somehow she seems to still have some awareness of you. Don't ask me to explain that. I have absolutely no clue how it can be. I only know that Kryys –That's my son- told me that he can be here in some kind of way because he's aware of himself while the others are not aware of themselves, so they don't exist."
"How can I find her?"
"That's why I'm here, really, Alex… to help you find her, and help her find you…"
Michael explained to Alex, as best he could, what had happened and told him about the life that he and Isabel had had together in their own time… on Antar.
"So, what you're sayin' is, this time I'm in here is some kind of unreal time or something," Alex asked.
"Oh, it's real enough, Alex," Michael said. "It's just not what was meant to be. It's like digging a canal from a river to somewhere else. The new waterway is real enough. It just isn't the way it was originally meant to be. You could go on living in this time."
"I don't want to," Alex said. "If I had the life you told me about with Isabel… I don't want this. I want that life. How can I get it back?"
"I'm not sure. What I do know is that I have to make everyone aware of their other life, and they have to want it to make it happen again… and I have to keep my memories of everyone alive… or that other life will disappear forever, and this one will be the only one."
"Wait a minute," Alex exclaimed. "I've got lots of pictures of me around here! I'm giving them out all the time! I'll give you one. You keep looking at it! Promise me! Don't forget my face!"
Michael laughed. "I'm starting to remember a lot of things again that I had nearly forgotten. I guess that's why Liz told me I had to find you. Now I've gotta go find Kyle."
"Kyle… Valenti? The sheriff's son… from Roswell?"
"One and the same."
"Was he up there, too?"
"Yeah."
"Did he marry that new girl… what was her name… Tess? They seemed to be getting pretty hot there for awhile?"
"No. How do you know about
Tess? She was one of the four royals. Her DNA wouldn't have been brought to
Earth, since Ava was never killed. So she shouldn't have existed in this time."
"Well, there was somebody named Tess at Roswell High. A blonde… sort of a bombshell… you know? Good-looker."
"Sounds like Tess," Michael said. "She didn't have any powers?"
"What kind of powers?"
"You know, like warping minds or putting broken pottery back together?"
Alex looked at Michael strangely. "Tess? No way!" Alex laughed.
"How can it be the same Tess," Michael wondered. "But it must be… Who else could it be?"
"Will I see you again," Alex asked.
"Well, let's hope so," Michael said, "…either in this time or in the original one."
Michael called for the portal… As it appeared, he stepped in then was gone. Alex waved. Then he sat down and picked up his guitar, with thoughts of Isabel running through his mind…
I could never love another… since you brightened up my sky
My aching heart just flutters… like the stars twinkling on high
And I stare up at the heavens… where I'm certain you must live
I know I must have rolled all sevens…
To win a dream that felt like this
You're my star lover… You're my angel in the sky
You make me st-st-stutter… You make me want to sigh
So why am I holdin' this guitar, Darling,
When you're sittin' on a star?
Oh, it was sta-a-a-r-gazing with you I fell in love
You must have been an angel sent from Heaven up above!
I don't know where you are or even if you're real…
But when you walked into my dream, I knew,
My heart you came to steal.
Sta-a-a-r-gazing with you I fell in love
When you walked into my dream, I knew,
My heart you came to steal.
tbc