Chapter 4: Having Fun Yet?
Around 4 PM that afternoon, Melody woke up and felt like her old self again. The sedative had worn off completely, she wasn't nauseated anymore, and she felt ravenously hungry. Getting up, she took a shower and cleaned off the remnants of the previous day, attired herself in a knee length skirt that was boldly colored in tones of green and blue. Melody wasn't a fashionista by any means, but she did know an abstract patterned skirt needed an unpatterned top. She selected a white top that was sleeveless and had a deep V neck line, adding the amber heart necklace and fake diamond studs in her ears. Instead of the typical braid she wore for so many years, Melody pulled back the hair at her temples and just before her ears, pinning it back with rhinestone barrettes.
"Good enough." she muttered at her reflection. She was due to perform that night and kept her makeup bag in the trumpet carrying case Alan always had. Their instruments were locked up at the venue already, so they didn't need to worry about them. Melody put on a pair of sandals and went over to Alan's side.
The venue that week was a big corporate affair, put on by Maury Sline's record label Central Line once a year. Sline told them because of their influence and escapades running around over the continent, they were in demand. The corporation had voted unanimously for a blues showcase of their artists and some from other record labels, with the stipulation that the Blues Brothers be signed on. Some of the hype surrounding them had been due to Buster, now that he was growing up and looking more attractive to young teenage girls, some of it was because of Melody, providing a bit of eye candy to the males, and the rest of the hype was because of the music.
"Alan?" he didn't respond to her entreaty, so Melody smirked and leaned down, glad she had brushed her teeth earlier. Giving him a deep kiss, he woke up fully and wrapped his arms around her back, pushing her down so he could get more of her. Giggling, she teased him a little bit, but it didn't go any farther than that.
Alan nearly whimpered when she broke the kiss, still straddling him. Melody smirked as she playfully squeezed his hips with her pelvis.
"Did those drugs give you some nice side effects?"
"Maybe," she teased, squeezing him again. "all I know is that I did not put on these clothes to have to take them off again so soon! It can wait until later."
The trumpet player rested his eyes on her V neck shirt, licking his lips and giving her a wink. "Nothing has to come off, just unbuttoned for a few minutes."
"I said not now." Melody slid to one side rather ungracefully and fell off the bed. "Crap!" Alan burst out laughing as he saw her lying on her back with one leg still up in the air. She jumped up and smoothed her skirt out, giving him a little flash in the process. "Who's laughing now?"
"Awww," he whined. "I never have any fun!"
"Bullshit! Get up! Rehearsal time's coming up at 5."
"I don't wanna play unless I get some of this," he goosed her. Melody yelped and turned around with a big grin on her face. "in the janitor's closet again?"
"We'll see. No promises," the engineer smacked Alan's ass, the smile never leaving her face. "now back that gorgeous can of yours down to the elevators!"
"Yes ma'am." Alan saluted her as they locked up the suite and went down to the venue.
Rehearsal went very well for the group and they were permitted two hours to go to supper and do whatever they want. Mack, Buster and Elwood went out to a Penn and Teller show while some of the band went to catch the pirate show at the Mirage. Lou, Tom, and Duck stayed with Melody on the stage. Duck was replacing a snapped string, Tom was doing riffs on his trombone, and Melody was helping Lou to unstick one of the keys on his sax.
"Yeah, just wiggle it this way," Melody instructed him and the key popped open. "glad I took classes when I did!"
"So things between you and Alan have never been better, right?"
"Damn straight, Lou." she put her tools away.
"Well, maybe it's time to put a ring on it."
"God, you and Buster! I don't want to get married, Lou."
"Why not?"
"It's gonna seem silly."
"Keeping me in the dark here is silly," he retorted. "c'mon, Tom and I won't tell anyone."
"Fine." Tom joined the two sitting on the edge of the stage with their legs dangling.
"Suppose we do get married and he sees someone else he would prefer to me?" Melody asked so casually the two horn players were taken aback.
"The first step is engagement, Mel. Besides," Tom continued, seeing she was about to object. "after all this time, I don't think he'd want anyone other than you."
"How can you be so sure?"
"How can we not be? He still blushes like a schoolboy when you turn up, he always talks about you. You complete his world. He does the same for you, I can see it."
"Some things really are best seen at a distance," Melody muttered. "guess I can't argue about it."
"Don't even try with us," Lou joked. "we've both been married a long time."
Melody laughed and felt better about the whole issue now that it was resolved. She'd gotten more self confident in the years they'd known her, but Lou and most of the band knew that Melody always underestimated herself. When they first met her, she'd seemed very self assured and confident and she was, but not in issues of the heart. Because of her inadequacy or perceived inadequacy regarding her relationship with Alan, Melody had little bouts of self doubt and the am-I-good-enough-for-him questions. She simply didn't believe that she was worthy of a man's love, thinking there was always another person who was better than she was, of whom Alan would like more.
Tom and Lou regarded her problems like they always did, a very matter-of-fact conversation in which they'd politely tell her she was wrong, reassure her with their own experiences, and then Melody would start to perk up again. The engineer was doing just that, putting her things away and whistling.
"Pardon me," a blonde lady walked into the wings, looking like a Dolly Parton imitator. "are yeh Melody Calloway?"
"Indeed I am. What can I do for you?"
"Ah tell yeh honey, it's a real pleasure to meet yeh!" the lady chirped in a fake Texas accent. "Ah just bought an Audi A8 and ah would love to know what y'all think of it!"
Melody's jaw dropped open. She'd heard of A8s but they were extremely rare in Chicago. "Could I drive it?"
"Of course yah can!" the lady plunked the key in her hand. "No drag racing, mind ya!"
"Tom and Lou, come on! We're gonna have some fun!" Duck smirked and waved goodbye at them as he went to check out some of the other landmarks around the city.
The A8 was rare in the midwest as older folks with more money tended to own them in the southern states only. Melody had only seen one in Chicago with Oklahoma license plates on it. She was stunned by the long silver monster, aristocratic in length and bearing. Tom got in the backseat with the lady, Lou rode up front with Melody as she gleefully inserted the key and turned it on. A low purr emitted from the engine, making her think of a cat's purring.
"Let's have fun!" she put it into drive and circled the strip a few times. Alongside a casino where cars were parked around the block, Melody pulled up beside a Land Rover and shifted the car into park. "Watch this, guys!" she had seen it done on Top Gear where they went to Reno. She revved the engine a few times, then the Land Rover's car alarm went off. Tom, the lady and Lou burst into laughing as an irate owner turned the alarm off and flipped off Melody. "It's not my fault your car isn't German!" she mocked, glad it was dark enough so her face was hidden.
"God, that was fantastic!" Tom wiped his eyes as Melody did it to several other cars on the strip. She drag raced a Corvette down at a red light and almost won, tried drifting in a parking lot which was very different from the BMW she'd drive at races. Melody accelerated, turned the car one way and then the other, kicking out the tail end of the car which produced some wobbling but not much.
"It's all wheel drive which means you can't drift in it. Damn!" she swore, hitting the steering wheel. "If this was rear wheel drive, we'd all be singing a different tune!"
A cop pulled in nearby and Melody shrieked, "Hit the deck!" and they all crouched down low so they could not be seen.
"Well by gum, that was some of the best fun in mah life!" the lady said when the cop pulled away and went back out into traffic. "Ah thank yeh so much, but ah got to get this back to the parking lot. I'm a big fan of yers Ms. Calloway and ah love to see yeh at the races when ah'm in Chicago."
"Any time! I'm glad you love my driving." Melody shook hands with the lady and they left the lot, walking back to the Bellagio.
On the way back, several hookers were prowling about a block away from the Bellagio, looking for new clients. One of them accosted Tom, saying how much she loved the tall men and railroading him.
"Hang on there, honey," Melody did her best to imitate the A8 lady. "me and Big Daddy Pimp work this town! He's one of ours so hands off!" she rescued poor Tom who's face was beet red, and walked away, ignoring all the shouting. "Hey Lou, I noticed when you were younger you had long hair so you looked like Jesus. Now you look like Einstein."
"Is that a compliment?" he started guffawing as they rounded the bend and entered the lobby.
"Sure." she teased. "So what's the costuming going to be this time?"
"The band has to wear black pants and shoes-that'll never change, and we need to wear dark blue button up tops with a black tie that's got a matchng blue vertical stripe on it." Tom told her. "You can change backstage over here." he showed her the portable hanging rack with her outfit on it. "The rest of the guys should be here in about ten minutes for warmup."
"All right." she changed into the black skirt and tights, put her sandals on, glad they were black as well, and got into the blue sleeveless top. She obviously didn't need to wear a tie, so she put a black velvet band loosely around her throat which had a pewter pendant of an ivy leaf. Her hair was already done up, she dabbed on silver eyeliner, a bit of bronzer, a dab of blue eyeshadow, and dark blue-pink lipstick like she always did. Beside her microphone onstage she put her water bottle, knowing she'd need it before long.
"Damn!" Buster fussed with makeup nearby. "Mel, help me!"
"All right, kid. You see this foundation here?"
"Yeah."
"Too dark. To determine the right shade for you, rub a little on your arm right here. If you can see your natural skin tone through it, it's the right one." Buster found his shade and reached for a brush but she stopped him. "Use a sponge. It'll be more neat and even on your face."
"OK." he checked his reflection. "Thanks, Mel."
"Anytime, Bus." she turned around and ran straight against Alan. "Oh, where did you come from?"
"I was looking for you." Alan turned her back towards the wings and marched her into a little alcove. "What do you say?" he pulled at the zipper of her skirt.
"Did you do nothing today but sleep and jack off?" she laughed as he wasted no time in necking. "Don't smear the makeup and we don't need to take all of our clothes off."
"No?"
"Nope. I got on thigh highs." they shut the door and drew the shade down.
"Yeouch!" Melody said about 20 minutes later, putting a hand up to her heart.
"What?" Alan had pulled himself back together and he helped her stand up from the small desk. In response, Melody opened up her shirt and displayed her left breast, which was bleeding.
"Nasty. I'll grab the first aid kit," he left and came back, tearing it open and administering to his girlfriend's injury. "how did it happen?"
"What do you mean, how did it happen?!" she laughed semi-sarcastically. "I told you to go easy on my girls, Alan. They were sore and you made it worse by acting like a freakin' dog!"
"Oh, fine," he finished bandaging and Melody rearranged herself. "next time you get hurt there, call me first." he said with a wolfish grin on his face. Melody just laughed and left the alcove, shaking her head. Her boyfriend followed her, fresh from a rendezvous and the musician was now pink in the face. It was a tradition that they had started at Queen Moussette's, enjoying a sexual romp before showtime. The duo agreed that the coitus before showtime helped to alleviate stress and boost their morale, so they didn't see any reason to stop.
"There you two are," Elwood came up to them. "we go on in 2 minutes so places!"
"Yipe!" both of them ran for their places, picking up their instruments and microphones as the MC greeted the crowd and the band struck up Love Light.
Buster's solo song was by James Frey called How To Save A Life, a number he'd chosen because it demonstrated how much his voice had grown since first joining the band. Murph played the song and Willie joined in with a steady beat, Buster opened up his mouth and crooned the song perfectly. Elwood and Mack led the applause as the teenager smiled and bowed.
"And now ladies and gentlemen, Melody Calloway with Karmastition!" she put on her shades and went to center stage, returning Buster's high five and the music started.
"What goes around comes around, what goes up must come down. Now who's cryin', desirin' to come back?" Melody finished the song as Elwood, Mack and Buster were her backup singers. The horn section had to play the song out and they were done. Elwood started Rubber Biscuit, a crowd favorite, so Melody, Buster and Mack joined the horn section in doing backup vocals.
"What do you want for nothing? A rubber biscuit!"
Towards the end of the show, Melody sang Skyfall, of which she was nervous about, as she hadn't sung it on stage in a long time. She did not betray any of her nerves onstage, nor did Alan or anyone else know of her nervousness at all. The band played her in and Murph began the piano intro. Melody knew nobody could see her eyes because of the shades, so she closed them and concentrated on the words and the music.
When she was done, she looked up towards the ceiling and could swear that she saw Jake hovering there. He gave her a big grin and a thumbs up, then she seemingly heard his voice in her ear, saying he was proud of her. Melody hadn't sung that song since he died. In a blink, Jake was gone and the applause startled her.
"That was the most soulful song I've ever heard from you!" Elwood proclaimed. "Come on, give her a hand!" applause crashed over her in waves as she smiled and bowed. The encore song was Melody's favorite, Messin With the Kid, and since she wasn't needed for that tune, she sat down in the wings, a little overwhelmed at first, but soon brimming with pride. She was called out to take bows with the band and when it was over, they all felt like they were on top of the world.
"Mel, I can't believe you did that!" Elwood buttonholed her as they were leaving. "I've never heard you so soulful, so in tune with the music before!"
"Elwood, you won't believe this, but I think I saw-"
"Jake?" he supplied. "I think I did too."
"Really?"
"Yes indeed. He's looking after us, Mel." Elwood hugged his friend tightly and pecked her on the forehead. Both of their eyes were a little wet, but it cleared up quickly as they walked back to the hotel.