Teri was excitedly talking to Jenn on his phone. “Seriously, our first festival is only about two hours away. It’s in Holmdel, New Jersey at the PNC Arts Center. We’re rolling out our new tour bus for the ride over. You really need to come with us.”

“When?”

“Saturday. We go on at four o’clock, but Richard wants us on-site at noon. We leave at ten in the morning. He said that a lot could happen at a festival, and things can change. Plus, we have new roadies and a box truck full of equipment to set up. I don’t know. This will be everyone’s first festival. Phil called it a shakedown cruise, kinda like launching a ship and taking it out for a trial run.”

“Sounds like you’re going to be busy.”

“Well, you and I will have time for each other on the way to the show and then the whole way into New York City. We’re going to check in to a hotel and stay the night. We meet with the GLOW people for lunch. Oh, yeah. And Richard said that they would love to work with you, too. I know that Grace is going to come over to get an evaluation and a makeover.”

“Seriously, they don’t mind me taking advantage of their time and products?”

“Nope. After that, they shelled out to have us sign an exclusive with them. It’s kinda fun.”

“I don’t remember you saying that after your first session with them. That’s when they did all those crazy photographs for your magazine cover. I remember you were not happy looking all girly.”

Teri sighed. “Yeah, but a lot has changed since then. Back then I was having trouble admitting what was happening to me and well, you’re right. I fought it.”

Jenn smiled. “I love you, Rock Star. I love my girly.”

Teri laughed. “Well, then. Say yes. Festival, New York, and then home again.”

Jenn was nodding as she said yes. “Uh-huh. You really didn’t have to sell me. I love a good adventure.”

On Friday, the Wildcats were supervising all their equipment being loaded into packing crates.

Teri stared at the big crates holding their amplifiers. He turned to Zoe. “I love the idea that each crate was sprayed with the word WILDCATS in white stencil on each side.”

Lisa smiled. “All our mics and stands are packed. Everything we used in Atlanta would be there and ready for Saturday’s festival performance.”

Gina stood with Tiffany as her drums were all packed. She whispered, “Goodbye, little drums. I’ll be seeing you soon.”

Tiffany turned and stared at her drummer. She put her arm around her and gave her a squeeze. “It’s okay, roller derby girl. Your drums will be fine without you for a couple of days.” Then she thought about it. “Jeez, Gina. I can’t believe I’m even trying to give you sympathy for some freakin’ drums. You really are a moron!”

Gina stood on her tiptoes and kissed Tiffany on the lips. “Oh, no, sweetie. You’re the moron for caring about my stupid drums. I’ll probably be able to use somebody else’s drums at a festival instead of unpacking mine.”

Teri watched them load in racks of clothing in covered clothing racks. She turned to Richard. “Why are we packing so much Jersey Girl stuff? We’re only doing one show?”

Richard smiled. “It’s all about wardrobe malfunctions. If a heel breaks or a zipper sticks, we’re set up for replacements. Plus, the truck doesn’t have to follow you back home. They can drive to your next show and wait for you.”

Teri smiled. “Just like NASA. Always carry a spare. Redundancy.”

They watched their three roadies roll the crates around from the back of their house and up into a medium-sized box truck. Their new roadies were all young and excited. Each of them could drive the truck and everyone would learn how to operate the sound board with Phil.

Zoe gave Lisa an elbow. “Lots of roadies. Won’t Tiffany be excited?”

“And how about those poor guys? Their eyes are bulging out of their heads watching Beautiful Barbie. They were almost tripping over their own feet trying not to stare at her.”

Zoe shook her head. “I don’t know, Lisa. You got a lot of looks, too.”

Two minutes later, Tiffany came walking over and leaned into both of them. “Dibs on the one with the beard. He’s mine.”

Zoe and Lisa laughed. “I’ll tell you what, girl. Take them all out for a test drive and let me know.”

Phil was smiling. “Are the three of you drawing straws for the help?”

Lisa chuckled. “Are you looking them over? Which one do you like?”

Phil blushed. “Too old to play, but not too old to dream.”

Zoe got out her iPhone. “Good line, Phil.”

Teri watched as each of the men checked off a big list that Phil had created. After everything was packed, it was all padded and strapped down for the road.

Phil turned to all of the Wildcats as they stood and watched. He said, “They are just figuring everything out this time. Before long, a load or an unload will be quick and efficient. The only problem with festivals is theft. For some reason, fans think it’s open season on souvenirs. But it’s mostly stuff they can grab and carry. That’s why the valuable stuff rides with us in the bus. I can’t tell you how many guitars get stolen by the audience in a season.”

They just watched and listened as Phil continued. “Eventually, as your schedule gets more demanding, we will have two identical sets of your equipment leapfrogging across the tour, so one truck will be set up and ready for you to play while the other truck is heading to your next location.”

Teri shook her head. “Is that cost-effective?”

Phil smiled. “Sure. If you fly from Chicago to Denver or Los Angeles for a big show, it’s cheaper to have two trucks driving across the country. Shipping everything by air is awkward and expensive. Renting equipment becomes a logistics problem of whether the stuff will be available and what kind of shape its in.”

Teri was trying to understand all of this. She knew that none of them had any idea of what the logistics were to make a national tour work. She simply said out loud, “This is a big deal.”

After the box truck was full, it was parked at the end of the driveway and out of the way. Then, they heard an airhorn and a huge, shiny bus was turning into their circular drive. Everybody stopped to watch the driver swing this oversized machine into the drive. After he was in, they heard the airbrakes and then the hiss of it stopping.

The doors opened and out walked a short man with a big grin on his face. “Hey. I’m Randy. I’m looking forward to driving the Wildcats across the country this summer. Now, who is everybody?”

Gina popped right up. As she shook hands with Randy they both stood there together at eye level. “I’m Gina and am excited about your bus. It’s beautiful.”

“And so are you, Miss Gina. It’s a real pleasure to meet you. What do you do?”

“I bang on the drums.”

“Well, I’m looking forward to hearing you bang.”

Tiffany laughed. “Oh, Randy. You’ll have lots of opportunity to hear Gina bang on and off the bus. She’s a regular free spirit!”

Gina looked over at Tiffany. She was still grinning. “Randy, you’re going have to do your best the understand Tiffany. She has a drool problem. Just have extra paper towels available.”

Tiffany looked like she was going to swat Gina, but instead turned and gave Randy a big smile. “Oh, Randy. It is my pleasure to meet you. You’re just going to have to ignore our drummer. She’s a great percussionist but very limited.”

Randy walked around the bus opening the doors that gave the roadies access to the storage areas.

Their guitars and cello were to be carefully loaded into the tour bus. All their individual remote units and foot pedals for the guitars were also packed on the bus. Any items that were too valuable would travel with them.

All the Wildcats watched with open eyes, they all realized that this was it. It’s real, now.

Richard turned to them. “Oh, yeah. We need to make room for Jessica and Mac. They’re going to become part of the tour, too.”

Teri smiled at Lisa. Jessica Jade had saved her life when Amos had kidnapped her and taken her to Sea Isle City, New Jersey. Mac and Jessica did security in New Orleans for the whole band. And then there were the missions that the Nelsons had been on. They’d rescued mothers and children who needed to escape forever. In some of those adventures, bullets had been flying. They shared those experiences between the two of them and knew they could never talk about it.

Randy nodded. “No problem. We have two excellent bathrooms complete with hot showers. We can sleep twelve without a problem.” He turned to the women, “Would you ladies like a tour?”

Everyone was smiling and nodding. They all lined up and followed Randy up the steps. “This is the lounge. In a pinch, we can fold the sofas down into two double beds. Our lounge contains a simple kitchen with a two-burner stove, a high-tech coffee machine, a freezer, and a large refrigerator. I was told that you’ll have a commissary truck, and your food will be made. So, the bus can be loaded up with snacks and beverages. I’m assuming that your chef will fill our bus with your requests.”

Tiffany smiled. “Randy, how big is the freezer? Will we have room for ice cream?”

Zoe laughed. “C’mon, Tiffany. Tell the truth. You want to put frozen margaritas and daiquiris in there.”

Tiffany shrugged. “I was asking about ice cream, but now that you mention it, that sounds good. But thanks for reminding me.”

Randy pointed out the big screen TV complete with hard drives full of movies. “We are hooked up to a cellular antenna on the roof and if we are sitting, get great reception. When we dock and plug in, we have all the connivances of home. Ask and we shall see that you get it.”

Randy led them from the lounge to the bathrooms that were across from each other. “These are wet showers. You close the door, and it seals enough to use the hand held nozzle to get a shower. That’s the good news. The bad news is that we have limited water. If we aren’t hooked up, I’ll show you some water conserving tips as we travel. Another piece of good news is that Phil and Richard have an up-to-date CDL license to drive the bus. So even on long trips we don’t have to stop except for fuel.”

“Now, let’s look at the sleeping quarters. We bunk in double decker three-quarter bunks. A three-quarter is larger than a single and smaller than a full-sized mattress. We are equipped to carry four people in a section, and we have three sections. That’s twelve people in total unless you want to squeeze in and share. I can tell you that it’s been tried by better people than me. We can close off top bunks and still accommodate six people or use the bottom bunks as seats, too. I think you’ll find that the top and bottom are the same. Equal headroom and the curtains seal so your air is constantly being filtered and recirculated. It’s not stuffy sleeping in here. The nicest part about our air system is a huge charcoal filter that cleans the circulating air. I heard that Zoe is pregnant and doesn’t want to be exposed to second-hand smoke. If you close the bathroom door or seal your bunk curtain, that smoke doesn’t go anywhere. I know that’s a crude description but it’s good when someone has a gas problem. And finally, we have a small lounge in the back. Sometimes it’s nice to have a place to getaway and talk with one or two people.”

Randy smiled as they all looked over the small lounge in the back. It was big enough for two people to sit and talk. Teri looked at Zoe and smiled. It was big enough for the two of them and a couple guitars. They could write back here while traveling.

All Teri could think about was trying out a bunk with Jenn and seeing if they could travel together sleeping back there.

Phil talked. “Uh, now that you’ve seen what we have here in a forty-two foot bus, you know why you’ll be staying in hotels when you play more than one night in a town. The bus works, but a hotel shower and bed is much better. I promise you that everything will get old fast. I also know that the original four Wildcats will see this as the Taj Mahal compared to the old van parked outside the band house.

Richard said, “You won’t see the catering truck until we’re on the road and leaving the east coast. By July you will be in full swing and that’s when we pick up a second bus for the crew, too. For short hops, the crew will all ride in the box truck and sleep in with us. If we stay in hotels, they’re in the hotel, too. No one will be treated like a second class citizen here.”

The ride over to Holmsdel was uneventful. The box truck followed the bus, and Jessica Jade and Mac were in a large SUV bringing up the rear. As they were all climbing aboard, Teri whispered to Jessica. “Why aren’t you riding with us?”

Jessica smiled. “Our SUV is a floating arsenal and everything is hidden well. Even though Mac is fully licensed with his private security business, this way we can watch what happens from here.”

“Is anything going to happen?”

“Nope. Maybe a drunken fan or someone throwing a beer can. I’m not anticipating anything worse, but we’ll be ready.”

“I’m really looking for to a chance to catch up. I miss you.”

Jessica smiled. “I’m impressed the way you’re handling the whole intersex thing. You look pretty comfortable in your skin these days.”

Teri smiled. “Yeah, thanks. It’s all getting better. I’m feeling good about myself. Grace has been helping me a lot.”

As they climbed off the bus, they were in secure area set aside for the performers. Their bus was parked in a shady area, but no hookups. The box truck and the roadies were parked much closer to the stage and there was a crew helping them unload their essential equipment. The best thing was that none of their amps had to come off the truck because the stage was shared by all the performers.

“We’ll unpack your guitars and Gina’s snare drum closer to the time you go on. Everything you need including your ear plugs and your foot pedals will be on the stage waiting. They even have a baby grand piano and a full-sized Hammond B3 and a Leslie speaker ready to go.”

The Wildcats were happy to hear all of that and Richard said, “We are having a catered lunch provided by the venue. Lot’s of choices for all of you. You can really enjoy lunch because you’ll have plenty of time to digest your food. You’ll be encouraged to grab an early dinner before we leave. We want to check in our hotel in New York before eight. That way, we’ll be able to head out to some clubs and enjoy some bands ourselves.”

Lisa had a chance to look at the lineup online this week. “I saw some bands I really want to hear. Bill Wiggins encouraged us to look for some new talent to invite to be our warm up for a couple of shows.”

Zoe shook her head. “I only wish someone had grabbed us up like that. I would definitely have wanted to tour behind the Wildcats.”

Teri and Jenn were walking around looking at everything. There were lots of vendors and the music was great. The atmosphere was mellow and they never felt paranoid. Of course, all the Wildcats had little pocket buzzers that would go directly to Jessica in case of a problem. They were the only couple on the bus. Smith was in Los Angeles practicing with EBR, Mike and Bruno had to work, and Grace said she’d see them tomorrow.

Jenn leaned into Teri. She was looking at a handmade silver bracelet that Teri was all set to buy. “You know, this is all a dream. I mean, I’m here with my girlfriend walking around a festival and tonight I’m headed to New York. Pretty cool.”

Teri kissed her. “And don’t forget you get a consultation and a makeover with GLOW tomorrow.”

As Teri was paying for the bracelet, two young teens came up to them.

“Excuse us, Teri. We knew the Wildcats were playing at the Festival and we came all the way from Cape May just to hear you. I know we’re disturbing you and Jenn, but would you mind a selfie?”

Teri was always surprised to be recognized, but they even knew Jenn’s name. They seemed like nice girls and she smiled. “Sure. What are your names?”

One girl was blushing when she said, “My name in Annabel and my best friend’s name is Ocean. We’re both in tenth grade.”

“How’d you get here today?”

“My mom drove us. She’s over there trying to give us some space when we recognized you guys. I’ve read everything there is to know about you.”

Ocean couldn’t stop grinning. “I’ve downloaded all your songs and I bought the double CD of your new album. We were listening to it in the car on the way here.”

Teri was trying to remember the last time he saw a CD player in a car. “That’s cool.”

After they took their selfies, Teri handed Annabel three passes out of her backpack. “Here. These will get you backstage when we play today at four. Come early and you’ll be right there on stage when we play.”

“Oh, thank you so much. Would you mind autographing our passes?”

Teri wrote a big heart and Annabell on one and did the same for Ocean. Then she signed them both. The girls were so excited that they couldn’t wait to show Anna’s mom.

As they were walking away, Teri checked over her shoulder hoping that they hadn’t attracted any attention.

Jenn leaned and whispered, “Teri, that was the nicest thing I’ve ever seen anyone do. I’m sure those girls will remember this moment for a long time. You are so sweet. Oh, and thank you for the beautiful bracelet. I’m going to find a special way to thank you tonight.” She kissed her cheek and gave her a hug.

Moments later, Teri spotted Jessica smiling at her. She and Jenn walked over. “Hey, guys. Funny running into you here. Have you been following us?”

Mac smiled. “Jess can’t take her eyes off of you, Teri. I’m starting to get jealous.”

Jenn turned to Mac. “Me, too. I can’t complete with Wonder Woman.”

Mac laughed. “Well, I’m sure she’ll return Teri in one piece when she’s done with her. At least, I hope so.”

The four of them strolled the grounds while a band was playing on stage. Teri was doing her best to listen to them. She turned to her friends. “What do you think of the group on stage?”

Jenn nodded and Jessica said, “I like their lead singer. She’s a dynamo.”

Mac also added, “Their guitar player is pretty good, too. And the fact that they have a violin in a rock band is pretty cool.”

“Yeah, Richard told us to scout some new talent to open for us. So that’s our job.”

Jessica laughed. “That, and eat lunch. C’mon, kids. I’m getting hungry.”

Together, the four of them showed their passes to two large guys with security written in fluorescent green letters on their back and chest and walked into an enormous tent that seemed to go on forever. The first thing that struck them were the delicious smells. As they approached the massive tables, Jenn steered them towards a man making sandwiches.

He looked up and grinned. “Hey folks, what can I get you?”

After five minutes, the four of them were unwrapping cold cuts on an Italian roll. “Naturally, they’d have hoagies in New Jersey!” Teri bit into hers and smiled. “It’s good!”

After lunch, they all got texts from Richard reminding them to be back stage at 3:30. Until then, they wandered around some more. Teri had fun buying records. She’d started collecting vinyl and enjoyed thumbing through the racks.

Finally, Teri turned to Jenn. “I’ve got to go get changed.” They went back to the bus and Randy unlocked it.

Jenn grabbed her arm and turned to her girl friend. “Whatcha wearing?”

Teri grinned. “You’ll like this. I picked out my own clothes.” She unzipped a garment bag with a paper tag with her name on it. Inside was a Phillies shirt custom tailored for her. It was bright red with the big P on the front. On the back it said Nelson and a big smiley face where the numbers would have gone.

After she pulled off her tee, she adjusted her bra. Then, she pulled on her shirt. It stopped at her mid drift and revealed a navel jewel in matching red.

Jenn’s eyes grew wide as she gently touched Teri’s skin. “For real?” Her hands caressed Teri’s soft skin.

Teri shivered from her touch. She shook her head. “It’s attached using some of Isabella’s glue left over from when I wore enhancements. Good for a couple weeks. I’ve got glue and solvent in my bag.”

Jenn kissed her. “I think it’s sexy. Mmm.”

She pulled on black exercise tights and bright red high topped sneakers. Taking a minute to curl the ends of her silver extensions, she grabbed them all up and pulled them through the back of her team baseball cap.

Using a hard mirror, she freshened her mascara and rubbed a little lip stain on. Naturally, all her products were from GLOW. Finally, she spritzed a bit more perfume on.

Jenn kissed her gently. With a gleam in her eyes, she whispered, “I can’t wait to ravage you tonight.”

As they opened the door from the back lounge, all the other Wildcats were getting their stage outfits on.

They were all talking and laughed when the two of them emerged. Lisa was laughing. “Randy was talking about privacy curtains. I guess we’ll need them eventually.”

Zoe smiled. She looked at Teri. “This far north in Jersey, you’re going to hear some catcalls from New York fans.”

One at a time, they all walked from the bus to back stage. Phil, Richard, and the three roadies helped them with their remote transmitters and ear plugs. The roadie with the ponytail handed her Stratocaster over and helped her get her strap fastened. He smiled, “Go Phil’s.”

They made sure their ear monitors were good, then walked out on stage. It only took a second to make sure the volume on her guitar was right, then she looked across to everyone. Zoe yelled out, “Your turn today, Teri!”

Lisa smiled. “Play lead and sing lead, too. I’ll work the keys.”

Teri looked for Jenn in the wings. She was standing with Annabella, her mom, and Ocean. Everyone was waving and clapping.

She looked around and nodded at Gina. She counted off with her drumsticks as Teri started playing. She was playing a slow, Texas version of “Two-Thirty Blues” as if Robert Johnson was playing. As she struck her strings, she realized that she was live and on stage in front of thousands of people and not downstairs in their music room.

After the band were all plugging away, Teri approached the mic, smiled, then sang, “I’ve got the two-thirty blues baby, can’t get them off my mind.” After he sang the first and second verses, he ripped off another guitar solo and then yelled into the mic, “Take it, Zoe!”

Zoe replied with her own sixteen bar riff and the pointed back to her. Teri nodded and did an four bar riff and Zoe answered it back. They swapped guitar riffs and then Teri started the third verse, more chorus, and then, as they were about to finish up, Gina stated slamming down her drums hard and loud.

Phil knew that it was the introduction to “Run, Run, Gone!” so he increased the drums, so they dominated. At that point, Lisa stepped away from the keyboards and came to center stage. Lisa, Zoe, Teri, and Tiffany joined her downstage and started to clap overhead. When Zoe began a wild lead, the rest of them joined in. When Lisa picked up her mic stand and screamed as loud as she could, everything was rocking.

It was obvious that there were a lot of Wildcat fans out there because everybody was screaming RUN along with the song. It was also the signal for everyone to get up on their feet and start dancing.

Before they went out on stage, Teri sought out Lisa at lunch. “Hey, sis. I was thinking. I was worried that our crowds might become bored with us using the same opening every time. Do you think that’s a problem?”

Lisa smiled. “I can see what you’re thinking, but try to look at a different point of view. You’re playing the same songs every time, but from your fans point of view, they are not coming to every show. Each of our fans want to hear us play their favorites and honestly, they want to hear them in a familiar way. That’s what they know.”

Teri nodded. “So when we play “Run,” the only changes we could make would be to do it again and invite them to sing it with us. And I guess our solos.”

Lisa smiled. “Just like Show Me Some Love”. They really want to hear you, and Tiff carry on. Honestly, they aren’t as moved by your meaningful words as much as the two of being sexy silly.”

“Sexy Silly. That’s a new phrase.”

“Well, it seems to have worked. It’s what catches everyones’ ears.”

As Teri played “Run,” she glanced over to Zoe who was nodding. That meant she would begin “Downward Spiral” and step on the ending to “Run.” Terry nodded and as Zoe started, she faded out “Run.”

They were told to play for an hour and in Teri’s mind it went by too quickly. As they were walking off, she turned to Lisa. “That hardly seemed like a warmup. Seriously, we came all this way for sixty minutes.”

Lisa smiled and reminded him. “Our main goal is to promote the record. I’m sure we’re going to find ourselves out in the wilds before this tour is done. But today, we did play the entire album and mentioned it several times.”

“Wildcats Lite,” was all Teri said.

As they were driving up the Garden State Parkway, Richard called out. “Uh, angels?”

“Everybody yelled back, “Hi, Charlie.”

“Want to play in Greenwich Village tomorrow night? We can play in a large converted movie theater. We can play Sunday night and it will look good for Warner’s.”

Gina called out, “How big is it?”

Richard looked at his laptop. “Three thousand people. If you say yes, they will start advertising it on the radio today as a one night only, “An Evening with the Wildcats.” We can extend our rooms for another night or move everything down to the Village.”

Everyone looked at Gina. She shrugged. “The Village is a pretty laid back place. Of course, your hotel room size is not a given down there. It could turn out to be pretty small.”

Richard nodded. “I’m betting we sell out in an hour. Would you like to do Monday, too?”

Everybody laughed. Lisa smiled. “I knew there was a reason to have extra outfits.”

Tiffany smiled. “It’s a good thing that Mike isn’t here cause by Monday night I’m going to be turning my undies inside out.”

Richard laughed. “Nah. I’ll have Barbara send a complete daytime nighttime wardrobe up here for you. Even clean panties, Tiff.”

Zoe smiled. “Hey, it means that Phil and Richard get to sleep in their own bed!”

Phil sighed. “Ah, a quick fix of civilization.”

Lisa laughed. “I’m in. Both nights. We can come home at a leisurely pace on Tuesday. Maybe get some bagels and all the fixings for breakfast and pizza for lunch.”

Richard shook his head. “Carbs, carbs, carbs. At least they work it off. So, it’s set. We’re appearing at the Greenwich Theater on Sunday and Monday nights. Are you going to need a room, Gina?”

“No, I was planning on sleeping on Park Avenue anyway. Can’t disappoint my honey.”

Teri turned to Jenn. “Welcome to the tour. Do you need anything?”

Jenn paused. “Maybe some underwear, but I fit in most of your stuff. So, I’m good.”

“You’re going to get bored.”

“No. I can download some good books and maybe do some walking around with Jessica and Mac. Who knows? But, I’ll be fine. Will you be hurt if I don’t attend everyone of your shows?”

“Nope. I was just asking Lisa if are shows are getting repetitive. She said no, because the fans want to hear our hits. It’s just going to get boring for us and you. Heck, I don’t blame you. I just want to know you’re safe in the big city.”

Jenn laughed. “You can pin an Apple AirTag to my underwear so you’ll always be able to find me.”

Teri kissed her. “As long as you stay in your underwear.”

Jenn made a fist and hit her on the bicep. “You are still so not a girl.”

As they were pulling up in the back of the Greenwich Theater, the manager came walking out to greet them. He was smiling. “Hey, Wildcats. We sold out the first show in a couple of hours and it looks like Monday will sell out soon.”

Teri could only shake her head. This was becoming unreal.