Chapter 8: A Glimmer of Hope
Just two days later, Massimo was again challenged by news of Elsa's tour. In fact, he finally heard what he had been wishing for months.
"Midday news flash. After having dazzled us with her first two albums highlighting her new era, and her new film, signed Warner, Elsa Mars adds another layer. She announces for the first time this morning, to the Hollywood Reporter, the imminent release of her new album, this fall. She announces, and I quote "A compilation of very personal songs that invokes a lot of her dark journey". We are all impatient to hear her new tracks. She also announces a brand new world tour to promote this new album. She will be passing through all the biggest amphitheaters in the world. The tour will begin in Europe at the end of January. Demand seems to be high, as tickets for the first European dates went on sale at 8am this morning, and already, after 4 hours of being on sale, she already has several sold out dates, even before the release of this new album. A major comeback for Elsa Mars, who has spent the last few months promoting The Fame Monster and BTW on a tour that ends this summer. New dates have even been added in the United States. Elsa will once again be in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, Tampa, Houston, Dallas, Chicago, Denver, Vegas, Phoenix, Seattle, Portland and San Diego. To get tickets for Elsa Mars' The Fame Monster tour, please visit the amphitheater near you."
With the last sentence barely finished, Massimo put on his shoes and prepared to go buy himself a ticket. He hadn't been able to get a ticket during Elsa's first visit, so he didn't want to miss his chance this time. He arrived at the Zappos Theater ticket office and saw a huge line. He waited his turn patiently. He finally got a seat at the 2nd concert of 2 that was taking place in town in almost 2 months.
On the day of the first concert of the series of 2, Massimo decided to go to the theater even though his ticket was only for the next day. Sometimes, tickets would become available at the last minute. Maybe he would be lucky enough to attend it too. Unfortunately, he had not been able to get a ticket.
The concert seemed to be going extremely well, the crowd was delirious, Massimo could hear it in the lobby of the theater. At the end of the evening, when the room was emptied of Elsa fans, Massimo was wandering around, playing with the confetti on the floor with his foot.
"Sir, excuse me, can I help you?" A man's voice said in the distance.
"No, I'm fine, thank you. »
"We have to pick up our equipment, I think the audience is supposed to have left by now."
"Yes, excuse me. I was admiring the stage and all the sets. It's impressive. I'm a carpenter, so I admire the work of my counterparts."
"Oh, well in that case, come over here, I'll show you. My name is Thomas. I'm a carpenter too."
"I'm Massimo. It's really incredible to see all the potential you can put into your work."
"Isn't that the case in your work?"
"Not exactly no."
"We're coming back tomorrow. If you want, I'll give you a ticket. We have a section in the balcony, reserved for our guests. You'll come in advance, I'll show you how we work. It's crazy before a show, we all work very hard, it's like an anthill."
"I already have a ticket for tomorrow's concert. Row R."
"It's a better seat than the balcony anyway. I'll leave your name at the ticket office. Arrive around 6:30 p.m." Thomas smiled.
"Thank you." Massimo smiled, then he went home.
The next day, Massimo prepared himself meticulously. He was going to try everything to see Elsa again tonight. Unfortunately, he hadn't been lucky enough to get a seat in the front row or at least, near the stage. He was going to be rather far away. But he was still going to try something. He didn't know what, but he was going to try. He listened to Elsa's albums on repeat. He had been doing it since they came out. In the meantime, Elsa had released a single from her next album, which he had obviously bought too. He was in front of the mirror, satisfied with his look, then left on foot for the theater.
Massimo arrived at the time agreed with Thomas, in front of the theater. Thomas showed him behind the scenes as promised. Massimo remained very attentive. Maybe he would catch a glimpse of Elsa. He didn't see Elsa, but he came face to face with Josefina. He recognized the woman immediately.
"Hello, ma'am. You are the manager of Elsa Mars, aren't you?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Excuse me for bothering you, but I have a letter that I would like to send to Elsa. Could you please deliver it to her for me?" Massimo asked, handing the lady an envelope.
"Yes, of course, I often give her letters from her fans." She said, taking the letter?
"Thank you very much."
"And what's your name?" she asked him, smiling.
"Massimo. Massimo Dolcefino." He answered, taking off his hat in respect.
"Massimo? Massimo, the master craftsman? The one who made Elsa's legs?" she asked with a stunned look.
"Something tells me Elsa told you about me. I'm just a simple carpenter." He answered with a smile.
"Does Elsa know you're here?" Josefina asked, admirably hiding her inner enthusiasm.
"No, actually, I've been desperately trying to reach her for months. But trying to communicate with a star is far from easy." Massimo laughed a little.
"Is it indiscreet of me to ask if this is just to meet an old friend or if it's more than that?" » Josefina asked.
"I love her, I don't know if she'll want me after so many years, but I want to try. I'll blame myself for the rest of my life if I don't try. Life gives me a second chance to be happy, and it's only with Elsa that I can be happy."
"I thought you were sick."
"My doctor tried an experimental treatment."
"And did it work?" Josefina asked, visibly curious.
"The doctor said it was a miracle." Massimo smiled.
"I can't believe you're here. Elsa will be very happy to see you again."
"Do you think so?" Massimo asked, blushing slightly.
"Of course. What do you think?"
"I don't know. I really screwed up with her. Every chance life has given us, I screwed up."
"Are you going to the concert?" »
"Yes, I have a ticket, Row R."
"It's too far for Elsa to notice you. We don't have any more tickets for the front rows. She doesn't have much time before the show, unfortunately we're a little behind schedule today. So, you'll watch the concert from your seat and after the show, you'll come backstage. I'll wait for you at the bottom of the stairs to the left of the stage."
"Are you going to take me to Elsa?" Massimo asked with all the hope in the world in his eyes.
"Yes, exactly. Anyway, if she saw you in the room, Elsa would give me a sign during the show, a sign to give you a full VIP pass. Here's the pass." Josefina said as she gave a VIP pass to the visibly moved man in front of her.
"Thank you so much." Massimo thanked her.
"If there's anything, ask for Josefina. Nice to meet you. See you after the show." Josefina said as she walked away.
Massimo stood there, motionless, barely able to believe what was happening to him. Thomas came up behind him at that moment.
"Hey man, there you are. Come on, I'll show you the stage mechanics tests. You'll see, it's really fascinating to see. Did you think Elsa's tour stage was really impressive? Wait until you see the whole backside of the mechanics."
"Is Elsa going to be there?" Massimo asked.
"No, the sound check was done early this afternoon. Elsa is in the press room right now. She must have finished the interviews, so she's meeting the fans who bought meet and greet packages. Then she locks herself in her dressing room to eat and get ready for the concert. »
"Oh okay. She's really busy before a show."
"Usually, not that much. It's true that for the past few days, she hasn't had a minute to herself, since she announced a new album and a new world tour and released a new song. But today it's worse. There was a major power outage that lasted a good 2 hours. So everything was delayed."
"And after the show, is she really busy?" Massimo asked.
"Much less. She goes back to her dressing room and relaxes a bit. Usually, she comes to have a drink with the whole team in the big dressing room too. She has to wait for the audience to leave before she goes out. She goes out the back. A car is waiting for her in the underground garage. Usually, about ten fans are waiting for her near the garage door. She often stops the car. Sometimes she even gets out of the car to go see her fans. Otherwise, she opens her window and signs autographs for about ten minutes."
"Wow, that's pretty impressive." Massimo said.
"Yeah, really. I was pretty impressed at first too. And just working for Elsa Mars. My wife and sister were especially jealous." Thomas laughed.
"I guess, Elsa Mars is a real star." Massimo smiled.
"Are you a big fan?" Thomas asked.
"Yeah, one of her biggest, I'd say." Massimo said, smiling.
Meanwhile, in Elsa's dressing room.
"Wow. They're pumped tonight. It's going to be an incredible show, I think." Elsa said as she entered the room.
"I know, I heard them screaming. And that was meet-and-greet only. Imagine later, when the room is full. I really have the feeling that the crowd today is going to be special." Josefina said.
"I think so too." Elsa smiled.
It was now almost 8pm. The show was about to start. Elsa's fans were quietly settling into the room. Massimo was already settled in his seat. He was looking at the stage in front of him. It was partially hidden by a large red curtain and on each side of the curtain, there was a large picture of Elsa. He was looking at the picture. He was looking at Elsa. He couldn't help but think back to his meeting with Elsa. The first time he had seen her, 29 years ago.