“Angel, I’m meeting Maddy. I need to get ready.”
“She can wait,” said the little girl, still sniffing back tears. “I want to watch The Little Mermaid with you.”
“I want the Jungle Book!” yelled Jesse. “Jungle Book! Jungle Book!”
“You can watch both with me,” said Annie calmly. “And maybe even The Aristocats too. It’s my favourite.”
“No like cats,” declared Jesse firmly.
“Well, you can go to bed after the Jungle Book,” countered Lori. “And Melody can watch The Aristocats with Annie.”
“Won’t you watch some of The Little Mermaid with me?” pleaded Melody, her blue eyes filling with fresh tears.
“I’ll make a deal with you,” suggested Lori, desperate to restore peace and harmony for Annie’s sake. “Let me go and get changed then I’ll watch twenty minutes of the film with you before I go.”
“Ok,” relented Melody with a reluctant sigh.
In a small dressing room backstage, Jake methodically worked his way through his well-practised vocal warm-up routine. He’d already changed into his stage clothes, opting for his trademark skin tight ripped jeans paired for the night with a soft black shirt. This was Garrett’s big night and he was keen to melt into the background as much as possible.
A gentle knock at the door interrupted his routine. For the briefest of moments, he allowed himself to believe it could be Lori but his hopes were dashed when he heard Riley call out asking if she could come in.
“Door’s open,” he replied before starting the vocal exercise again.
Slowly, the door creaked open and Riley slipped into the room.
“I was getting nervous back there on my own,” she confessed shyly.
“You’ll be fine,” promised Jake warmly. “And you look every inch the rock star.”
“Thanks,” replied the teenager, blushing.
When Maddison had arrived at the theatre at lunchtime, she had cornered Riley, quizzing her on what she was planning on wearing. Neither Jake nor Garrett had given Riley’s stage wardrobe a second thought and realising this, Silver Lake’s domineering tour manager had taken immediate control. Within an hour, Maddison had several new potential outfits delivered to the theatre, had a hairstylist on-site and a makeup artist on the way. Now, his former student stood before him transformed into the tiny rock goddess in the making that she was. Her hair had been expertly cut into a sharper pixie style and the green dye refreshed so that it shone a healthy emerald green to compliment her eyes. She too had opted for a largely black look, choosing skinny ripped jeans and a green and black vest tee. A pair of studded stiletto-heeled boots had added a few inches to her height.
“You look fabulous,” complimented Jake. “Maddison did a great job.”
“Yeah she did,” agreed Riley. “But she scares the crap out of me.”
Laughing, Jake admitted that Maddison had that effect on most folk initially, him included.
“I think poor Garrett is more nervous than we are,” revealed Riley quietly. “I heard him chucking up as I came down the hallway.”
“This is a big challenge for him,” said Jake. “Playing live like this scares the hell out of him. He’s fine when he’s the guest. Just don’t ask him to be the star. I’ve no idea how Jethro talked him into tonight.”
“Jethro’s a sweetheart. Reminds me of my friend’s grandpop.”
“He keeps Maddison in line,” revealed Jake with a conspiratorial wink. “But you never heard that from me.”
A knock at the door interrupted their conversation.
“Ten minutes, Mr Power!” yelled Maddison sharply from the far side of the door, “Get your ass out here!”
“Showtime,” said Jake with a nervous smile. “Let’s do this.”
“Showtime,” repeated Riley quietly.
As he walked towards the stage, Jake could feel his stomach churning with nerves.
“Is she here yet?” he asked Grey, who was already positioned at the side of the stage.
“I haven’t seen her,” replied Silver Lake’s bass player. “But she’ll be here. Trust me.”
“Not got much choice,” sighed Jake, running his hand anxiously through his tousled blonde hair.
“Relax, buddy,” soothed Grey, placing a reassuring hand on Jake’s shoulder. “Just focus on your set.”
Nodding, Jake moved towards the stage. The house lights were dim and he could sense the air of expectation that was hanging over the audience. None of the advertising or press releases had named the support act for the evening. He’d put no merchandise out but speculation had been rife on social media. From his position in the wings, he could see that several of the dedicated Silver Lakers were seated in the front row.
A single beam of light was directed onto the plain black backdrop then slowly the curtain dropped to reveal a simple Jake Power logo.
As the cheers and whistles of the capacity crowd echoed round, Jake walked confidently out on stage and lifted, Katherine, his beloved acoustic guitar from her stand. With the adoration of the audience still ringing out, he began to play the distinctive intro to Silver Lake’s Dragon Song.
Shortly after eight, Lori stepped out of a cab in front of the Gramercy Theater, taking a moment or two to steady herself. Already she was regretting putting on her high heeled boots but, despite her baby bump, dressed in her black leggings and draping low cut tunic, she felt like a rock star’s wife. Carefully, she made her way into the theatre, her access all areas pass smoothing the way. As arranged, Jethro was waiting for her beside the door to the backstage area.
“Cutting it fine, Mz Hyde,” he scolded playfully as he hugged her.
“Jake’s the support act?” gasped Lori as she heard the familiar strains of the acoustic version of Depths.
“Yes, ma’am,” confirmed Jethro, smiling proudly. “He’s nervous as hell but he’s three songs in.”
“Does he know I’m coming?”
Jethro nodded as he ushered her into the restricted area.
