*Before…

Rayne leans on me hugging me. “Well we might be able to make a dent in that at Christmas.”

Jake looks at us. I shrug. “I’ve had ideas for downtown maybe with shopping but us actually having something like a winter carnival or something like that downtown to bring people in. It’s just some ideas and hopefully I can get to talk about that with the town's chamber of commerce.”

He laughs. “Well let me know because I’d be down for something like that too. I’ll throw my voice in with yours.”

We hug and we all head out and we head for home.

Tonight was good.

It felt like we’ve been away for longer than we have here but this felt good.

Which will help in the long run as we have a lot of things to do in a short, short time.

*And Now…

We all get our things together and we head for home and then there’s the whole thing of us unpacking and setting things up again for us to practice tomorrow and then it’s getting ready for tomorrow and tomorrow night.

It’s late but we’re still up and we’re still awake and alert from playing and everything so it’s that and more coffee and social media as Carmen calls each of us down for our costume fittings for both of the shows.

As hurried as we are in doing the final fittings and everything it was really fun.

Then in between all of that I’m cooking and browning off ground beef with a little onion in it and then get all of that drained off and then it’s time for showers and getting ready for bed.

I’m anxious and hyped up and so is Rayne and we sort of take the edge off of all of that with snuggling up together and quiet talking and kissing.

Lots of kissing.

And I really like being snuggled especially when I’m the little spoon.

And despite the excitement and the super list of stuff in my head that’s going on for things to do it’s really a good sleep.

Morning came pretty quickly and with it all of us getting ready for the gigs.

The Pine Tree as well as The Cat and both were two totally different gigs.

Coffee came first and someone sprang for this really expensive Jamaican Blue Mountain stuff and it smelled super strong right from the first grinding.

Kimmie and I cooked and we made biscuits/scones and we had both jams and stuff out for them but we also cooked a little bacon too and did some poached eggs. Kimmie had like some other things never poached an egg in her life.

Mom liked poached eggs on toast, and I do too it’s something that just stuck with me.

But this is sort of a discount eggs benny so it’s poached eggs and redneck hollandaise.

That's a cup of mayo, and a teaspoon of dijon mustard with melted butter and lemon juice folded into it. No it’s likely not the same but I’ve never had real hollandaise much less made it.

We all eat and get coffee’d up and then Rayne then Rayne and I get dressed and we head over to The Cat where Sawyers is at and they’re setting up.

That’s part of the deal we made here past playing.

Danny has fencing he can use to keep this from getting crashed and snuck into as we’re really trying just for a girl focused LGBT+ Halloween event here and he’s setting up a few rides like the Scrambler and The Merry-go-round and his Mini-coaster and Tip-top and there’s a few games that will be doing the prizes thing and there will be all of the food and stuff coming from his concession trucks.

The fences are going up and there are cloth sheets there from Josie with ads for The Cat and for the Event and for Go-go’s and her place but also there’s some mini-booths going up and a bunch of stuff that honestly you usually only see in other places and Pride.

We have Pride here it’s just that we don’t really have one of any size or scale really.

People are running with this and the show and it’s a pretty good feeling.

And it’s not just us getting set up for the gig but we help out others in getting set up as we’re unloading and taking things into The Cat.

And once we’re inside there’s lots of work there too. Not only us are playing and we help out the people hired in-house with set up, to the lights, to power testing and taping down cords to... checking for blind spots in the venue where something might happen. I mean we don’t say what but we all know some messed up stuff can happen to people in bars and concerts in the darker spots of a venue.

We’re just playing it safe and then it’s getting ready for the bands coming in and getting ready for everything.

That’s actually really exciting.

There’s acts coming in and some of them I recognize like The Numchuk Girls, Edith Porter, Solange, The Cantina Girls, Meredith LeBlanc and there a bunch of others that look fun and cool and of course Hannah and K&T are there, well her and Hanners.

There’s some intros all around and we’re breaking it up into the time slots and timing the intermissions and bathroom breaks.

Then it’s everyone getting ready and it’s late afternoon when we head to The Pine Tree to get ready for our show there before coming back here.

We arrive in plenty of time to get changed but also we help out making this perfect for the guests coming in because this is going to be sit and eat in special dinners with our little dance floor if they want to use it and us playing for them with a tailored song list for the show.

I am not used to this style of getting ready and there’s lotion, and then lots of body spray so that it doesn’t mess with the dress.

Oh yes, very much yes a dress and I’m in pink too.

It sounds cliche but this is that pearly soft pink and the dress was custom fitted by Carmen for me and it’s a real like grown up slinky pink evening gown styled dress that has these really fine spaghetti straps and I’m using a strapless bra to go with it and to give things a boost.

It’s the full deal, the make-up, the dress, stockings, heels and it’s so strange really how good this makes me feel.

I look good.

And not just stage good but just good, like a girl dressed up nice and more...since well it is stage clothes and make-up.

But it feels good to like I got myself more sorted or like more put together and things.

The others are getting really dressed up too for this formal show and we’re getting dressed up really fancy like we’ve never done before with a gig and certainly not ourselves.

Kimmie is astounding in a black satin number that has a choker and this sleeveless turtleneck and a leg slit it’s very much that kind of thing I think she might wear to a recital when she was home and she has fishnets and a slitted skirt so she has room for the foot pedals and she looks amazing.

Rayne is in this stunning midnight blue/black velvet dress with a deeply plunging neckline that has it look like she might spill out of her dress and I’m not sure the magic that Carmen worked for it to stay there but it does and yet offers aching looks at her. And another set of leg slits skirts for that effect and these long amazing heels that look amazing and dangerous to walk in all at the same time.

Between that and her make-up and the sexy black tumbled thing going on with her hair my heart ache thumps as I look at her.

Then there’s Brooklyn simply looking devastatingly hot with her red hair and all of the curls and the waves all set and done just right in this amazing semi-crimped style that just fits all that color and all that length and she’s in this deep sexy red mini-dress that matches the guitar and with her heels and just everything she looks like...she looks like rock and roll and like fire.

I look at all of them as we’re getting together and taking pictures and some are separate and some are together and I say.

“We need to do this again, not just for a gig but for ourselves and going out or something and we really should do this look for photos and things with a serious professional photographer and things too like portfolio pictures.”

Rayne says. “We’re doing fine but that would be fun at some point and I’d like to even do actual album covers or something.”

Kimmie nods… “Harder to do online with downloads but we can do posters, like send in to us for a poster and we can actually spend some of what we save by going online and do a really decent poster.”

We’re talking even as we’re going out front for set up and our sound checks and the staff are all getting ready too and are paying us compliments and there’s a good chunk less for seating and more room for dancing for all of this but we still had room for Mike and Molly to set up stuff to record and things for our tips.

Then people start to come in and we draw the curtain over us and we wait until they start up with meal service and then Mr . Walker is introducing us.

I wave to the crowd. “Hey everyone thanks for coming in and having us, I hope you enjoy our first formal show.”

There’s some applause and we start light.

Acoustic guitar with me playing and Brooklyn in the back but Rayne singing *More Than Words* By Extreme.

Oh and with this deep, french accent kissed voice of hers.

I know it doesn’t seem halloween themed and that’s because we’re not doing that. Mr. Walker is having this for people not into that sort of thing, folks that want a break from it all even.

Personally I like Halloween but I can also see too how it can get a little much for some folks especially if these folks have kids or are like in the business with holiday stuff.

Like a store, I can imagine that if you worked for a department store there would be things that you’d get sick of as holidays every year.

So that’s our opener and we get some applause right off the top too as it’s an older song, it’s old and loved balad rock and it’s something that people know.

Then we go from there.

*Washed Away* and *Forever and Always* and *Oncology* By Starlight Butterfly.

Three of ours is a row.

It feels different too, this applause for these versions that are more slowed down and deeper, that sort of private concert kind of listening and the feedback is really good too.

Then we hit them with a duet of Rayne and Myself singing *Wish you were here* by Pink Floyd.
And I’m not playing or Rayne but Brooklynn is doing that perfect slow intro using the guitar and doing that rocker chick really slow jam.

Yeah it’s good.

And the songs well...Okay maybe not halloween but we’ve definitely got a bit of a goth or pre-goth edge to our theme tonight.

Then we follow that up with *Everybody Hurts.* By REM and you know you’re having an impact when people are not eating but are listening and even singing along.

Then they’re done eating and instead of dessert they’re finishing drinks and heading to the dance floor as we keep playing without a halfway break and we get into playing.

*Calling all Angels.* By Train and after that we follow it up with *Carousel* and *Tingle* and *Everything* By Starlight Butterfly but all in slower renditions of what we normally play this like with that sort of slow Jazz singers doing rock songs at a nightclub kinda of vibe.

Then Rayne’s back on the mic stand and singing as we cover *Still Loving You.* By The Skorpions and switching out their accents for her french one.

It works really nicely too.

Then it’s switching out again with her getting her bass and we do a cover of *Black Magic Woman* By Santana.

It’s not a fast song to begin with at all but it is a good song for the night and the vibe we’re doing and Rayne really gets to highlight herself again in the intro with the guitar as well and I sing...well I kinda sing it to her because she is definitely my Black Magic Woman.

Then we go from that to a slow dancing style for *Walking after Midnight.* By Patsy Cline.

Then we finish out the set and the night with us doing. *Keep the Faith.* By Starlight Butterfly and *Washed Away* By Starlight Butterfly and because the night is this slow, rock, deep, dark romance thing we end the show with us covering *Who wants to live Forever* By Queen in a long slow cover by Rayne.

Then we’re done… it seemed so short but we played a lot of songs and slowed them down and drew them out and gave everyone a nice time to go with their food.

The rest of the time there is mixing and mingling with people as we pack up our things as they’re all having dessert and coffee and cake or cake and another drink.

It was actually really nice and it was pretty hard to do all of that and to keep to a schedule to unhook and clean up in the middle of things and be nice and calm and mannerly to people while and then thanking everyone involved again before heading off for our gig at The Cat.

It’s a lot to process with us not going through the usual post show stuff as we get out of there and head to The Cat. Instead it’s quick looks at the video recordings and counting up the tips and then the cheque for the job and we did very good with the tips, we got actual old school cheques as part of our tips and big bills too. It’s a big deal when most of the bills are twenties.

I mean a different gig and a whole different crowd tipping the act with a twenty seems like a very impress your date kind of thing.

All of that gets shunted into the back of our thoughts as we pull in and the rides are going and there’s a bit of a crowd outside but way more inside as the sound of playing is just cranked to the max through the walls of The Cat and I can make out the sounds of The Numchuk Girls belting out *Chop Suey* by System of a Down.

There’s fans screaming at us as we’re getting out of our van all decked out in our slinky and sexy clothes.

That’s pretty cool really.

Everything looks and sounds like it’s working so it’s pretty cool too.