On Monday morning, after all the Wildcats had gone for a run, they got their showers. They waited together in their suite’s living room to go to GLOW.

As they rode the elevator down, Tiffany was grinning. “This works out really well. We get a makeover today and tomorrow we’re back to the Tonight Show.”

Gina turned to Lisa. “Speaking of that, we need two songs. What are we going to play?”

Teri had already thought about it and interjected. “Well, the last time we were there, we did Summer Song and Run, Run, Gone. How about if we do Show Me Some Love?”

Tiffany was shocked. “Our strange disco hit?”

Gina chucked. “Well, shocker. It’s a dance hit and a download hit, too. And don’t forget the space twins doing their R rated heavy breathing.”

Teri laughed. “Maybe we can give it a punk vibe.”

Tiffany shook her head. “Before tomorrow night? We don’t have a place to practice.”

“How about if we go to 30 Rock early? We can use the their show stage.”

Lisa was smiling at her sister. “Okay, and what’s going to be our second song?”

Teri was throwing ideas out. “How about Revenge Of The Blondes? Maybe Downward Spiral or 2:30 Blues? Or we could get crazy and do Fur Face.”

Everyone laughed, then looked at Lisa. She was thinking about it. “Fur Face! We’d be doing two unusual songs on a Tuesday night! But giving them something so different, it’s bound to go viral all over again.”

“What do we do about the lyrics?”

Gina clapped. “If the censors catch it, they’ll bleep one word. And it’s so cool that Tiff gets to do her rap!”

Teri laughed and clapped. “I have an idea. How about if Jimmy wears a costume and plays Fur Face with us?”

Lisa turned to Richard. “Can you make arrangements, so we’ll rehearse after lunch at 30 Rock? And mention to Jimmy that he’ll need a costume for Fur Face?”

Teri was smiling. “Let’s get him the lyric sheet and he can sing with me!”

Richard smiled and gave her a thumb’s up!

When they walked into GLOW, a representative met them at the door. “Hi everybody. I’m Marigold and I’m your hostess and guide. We’ve heard that Grace and Jenn are getting complete consultations and makeovers. And the Wildcats are having individual consultations, too. Jenn, Grace? These ladies are here for you.”

Teri watched Jenn and Grace walk away with two women wearing smocks. Then she turned around met her consultant Bebe.

Bebe smiled. “Teri, we’re going to go downstairs while the estheticians and cosmetologists take a look at your girlfriends.”

Teri followed Bebe downstairs to a corridor which led to a private area. She sat Teri down and placed a large soft-lighted magnifying mirror over her face.

After putting on gloves, she ran her fingers around her face. “Honey, you have been doing a great job taking care of your skin. It glows!”

Teri smiled. “I’ve been following your instructions and using everything you’ve supplied.”

“That’s wonderful. Do you have enough product?”

Teri nodded. “I’ve got plenty.”

“Well, keep up the good work! Now, We’re going to stain your eyebrows again and we want to do an oil treatment on your hair. Who does your coloring?”

“Our drummer’s sister has a salon in Allentown. She’s been doing my hair.”

“It looks good. I like her work. Would you like us to do anything?”

“No. I really like what she’s been doing. After I got longer extensions my girlfriend gave me braids. It’s fun to have another way to style it.”

Bebe grinned and touched her hair. “Okay. We can let your hair down and play with it. Maybe we can come up with a few more ideas that you’ll be able to use on the stage.”

“That would be cool. I like the idea of changing it up.”

After an hour of playing around with different hair styles, Teri had a big smile on her face as they walked back to the entrance. She gave Bebe a hug. “That was great and thanks for taking photos of everything we did.”

“I forwarded those photos to you. And we can brainstorm more solutions in the future. Your silver is awesome and longer extensions give you more flexibility. And if you ever want to look at new shades, let me know. I would love to help.”

About that time, Jenn came out with big smiles on her face. She jumped into Teri’s arms. “Oh, baby! That was so much fun. What do you think?”

Teri gave her a big kiss. “It’s great! You did something with the color that makes you hair look three-dimensional.”

Jenn grinned. “They worked with color and shine. I love it. It’s still my color but it’s brighter. And their hairdresser used thinning clippers to reduce the bulk, too. I never thought that would be the direction to go, but I’m really happy.”

Teri looked closer. “And your skin, lashes, and brows all looked like you got the GLOW treatment, too.”

Jenn hugged her. “I love what they did by shaping my eyebrows and tinting them. It’s just striking enough to make my skin look prettier, too. Thank you for treating me to a wonderful day.”

Teri laughed. “GLOW is doing their best to keep us happy. Before we leave today, I’m sure they’ll ask for more photos and maybe video work, too. Richard said they want to come to the theater on Thursday to see if they can shoot more live action of us playing to use in their commercials. As the Wildcats become bigger, they see us attracting young people who want quality products that are ecologically sound.”

Jenn turned to Teri and laughed. “You’re starting to sound like a testimonial!”

Bebe laughed. “You said it, Jenn. “Quality products that are ecologically sound.” I’m going to share what Teri said and I’m sure they’ll want to record it.”

Then, all the Wildcats sat for stills and a couple videos of them just clowning around. It was all very lighthearted.

After they all said goodbye to Grace and Gina, Richard asked them if they still wanted to travel down to the financial district and see the 9/11 Memorial. Everyone did. Phil picked up assorted sandwiches, fruit, and waters to snack on. GLOW had provided them with some new makeup products and updated all their wash regimen.

“Were you satisfied with the help that they offered you?” Phil was curious.

Lisa opened a water and drank. “They’re wonderful people and their products are great. They’re expensive but they have a great philosophy about the Earth and whoever is using their products. I have no problem associating our names with GLOW.”

Tiffany started talking about the 9/11 Memorial. “I’ve never seen it and while it’s a somber experience, I think we need to respect all the first responders who sacrificed their lives trying to save the people that died in that terrorist attack. Just sayin’.”

Teri giggled. “Without Gina around, no one is teasing Big Word Barbie for saying somber.”

Tiffany laughed and smacked Teri hard on the bicep. “Uh-huh. Thanks for picking up the slack, Little Shit. And please note that I can also use another word, sober. I haven’t had a drink since we all talked. It’s a pain in the ass, but I’m surviving.”

As the Cats were applauding, Zoe hugged her. “You are so strong, baby. You’ve done this all by yourself and I love you for it.”

As they drove along, Lisa watched the traffic. New York was such a different world compared to the small city they lived in. She started thinking about her trip with Smith to see his home and meet his parents in Tennessee. Even though it only had been a few days, she missed him. He’d flown out to meet up with the band. EBR were going to rehearse for their planned pop up shows in LA in four weeks.

She knew that they were rehearsing and also finishing up an album of new songs. It was all being done in New Orleans with the help of Bill Wiggins. Teri was in touch because she was helping them with arrangements to revitalize their old material.

Lisa talked with him every day. It was strange how two musicians could lead their own separate lives, still have so much in common, and continue to work at their relationship.

Teri got her sister’s attention after looking in her eyes. “Hey, sis. Are you thinking about Smith?”

Lisa looked at her sister. “Yeah. How’d you know?”

Teri nodded. “You get this dreamy look on your face and you’re smiling.”

As they slowed down and stopped to get off their shuttle, they looked at the memorial for the first time. Everyone got out and walked around. Teri and Jenn held each other’s hands tightly.

Teri whispered to Jenn, “This reminds me a lot of the Holocaust Museum. The vibes are church like, sacred grounds. It’s chilling to think about what happened here.”

Jenn nodded. She turned him around and kissed him. “Are you going to Montgomery, Alabama on this tour?”

Teri shook her head. “I don’t know, why?”

“There’s another museum there that I’d like to see. It’s the National Museum for Peace and Justice. They call it the hanging museum.”

“You’re kidding!” Teri looked at Jenn’s face. “No, you’re not kidding.”

Jenn smiled. “It’s dedicated to memorializing all the deaths from hanging. Each death is documented and there are special sculptures, too.”

“How many people?’

“You mean hung?” Jenn wiped her eye. “Eight hundred five.”

Teri was shocked. “That’s crazy!”

Jenn nodded. “So’s this place and so it the Holocaust Museum in Washington. All this terrible treatment and deaths were caused by people. People did all of this, not alien invaders from Mars.”

Teri shook her head. “This really is too much. All this craziness. It’s like all this hate and terrible things are everywhere. Just like I read about in the South. It’s too much.”

They sat down and watched the water splash over the granite. They listened to the silence and collected their thoughts. Finally, they headed back to the shuttle and sat down. One at a time, all the Wildcats returned.

Tiffany was mopping the tears from her face. “I feel terrible over what happened here. It’s crazy how people do terrible things if their religion says it’s okay.”

Zoe hugged her. “It’s the worst! Powerful people telling everyday folks to hate each other, convincing their followers to kill anyone who’s not like them.”

Teri held Jenn tightly. “Oh, Jenn. It’s all so crazy. I never knew any of this stuff when we were back in Allentown. Everyone got along.”

All Jenn could do was nod.

Zoe pointed. “The Wildcats need to do something for the people who suffered over 9/11. We need to do something for the first responders and the people who lost family here.”

Teri was busy googling. “I totally agree. Maybe we need to hold a free concert honoring them.” She turned to Richard. “Can we do that?”

Richard smiled. “We can. We certainly can. As you know, Phil and I live in the city, and this is where our hearts are. We would like nothing more than to have a concert honoring all the first responders and all the families that have lost loved ones to any violence that’s happened in the city. That’s going to take a little planning and preparation.”

Phil was nodding. “Central Park. We can have reserved seating for everyone who contacts the radio stations and they’ll send them tickets. We don’t have to ask for any money and we can coordinate the whole thing with the Mayor. How about if we wait until the weather is cooler? Early October would be great.”

That night, after the band had a sound check in the Greenwich Theater, they were still talking about the memorial. Gina summed it up. “The world sucks. People listen to our music to get away from the sadness. I think they’re frustrated because they have no control over their lives. We’re the ones handing out a ticket to help them escape from their daily lives to rock out and enjoy themselves.”

Tiffany shook her head. “Hell, there’s not much we can do, is there?”

Lisa hugged Tiffany. “Well, we talked about donating part of what we earn to a local charity each week. I just talked to Richard and he said that whatever we give, Warner’s is going to match. If we announce that we’re giving away ten percent of what we earn on this tour, the record company will do the same. We can choose a local charity and announce it at the beginning of each show. ”

Zoe was excited. “You know, if we contact that charity in advance, they might want to have a representative and a table in the lobby. They can provide information and maybe even collect donations, too.”

Teri clapped. “That’s so great. We’re lighting a candle in the darkness.”

Zoe patted Teri. “There’s a lot of worthy projects out there that we can help. We’re moving to the right side. I want our Wildcats to be associated with the good in people. It’s great that with our success, we’re trying to pull people up.”

Tiffany was frowning. “I just read that someone’s leukemia medicine is fifteen thousand dollars each month without insurance.”

“We’ll, I read about Mark Cuban, this billionaire from Shark Tank. He’s starting his own pharmaceutical company to reduce the cost of prescriptions for people.”

“Yeah, we need to shine a light on how much people need.”

“There’s a football player in Kansas City who started an after-school trade program for teens.”

“Yeah, he’s a Kelce just like his brother who played for the Eagles.”

“Yeah, he’s the wide receiver who dates Taylor Swift.”

“See, the guys who came from humble beginnings give back. It’s the rich suckers who want to ignore the poor people and worry that someone’s going to take their money.”

“Well, the Wildcats need to do as much as we can. We’ve been donating what we earn from our website downloads to charities. And now we can point a finger to a lot of charities wherever we go.”

“That’s going to take a lot of legwork to scramble around and do that.”

“Warner’s said they’d send us lists of where we can donate for every place we play. Bill Wiggins is making all this possible. You know what side he’s on.”

Tiffany laughed. “I’m so ignorant. I used to see these big mansions and think those people must be great ‘cause they made all this money and have all this power. Now, we’re turning it around showing people what money can really do to help people. I like that.”

Zoe smiled. “Even though my dad built a fortress to live inside of for us, he donates a ton of money every year. My dad, the criminal, is a good guy.”

“Didn’t you say he retired from all that illegal stuff?”

“Oh, yeah. Years ago. When I was a baby, my mom made him promise to stop all that stuff. And he’s stuck by his promise. He’s a legal import and export guy now.”

The next day, they headed over to 30 Rock to practice for their show. When they walked into the stage for the Tonight Show, they were surprised to see Jimmy Fallon standing there waiting to greet them.

“Hey, Wildcats! When I heard that I get to sing Fur Face with you, I had trouble sleeping. I even had the Roots run through the song with me so I could get all the words memorized.”

Teri was staring at Jimmy marveling how excited he looked. “Uh, we were hoping to practice both songs for the show, but it would be great to do Fur Face with you now since you’re here.”

The band directed the stagehands and they were getting their setup perfect. They were surprised when all the members of the house band, The Roots, filed in and take seats in the audience. When Teri waved to QuestLove, he waved back.

She couldn’t help but gush. “I want to thank you for your advice on how to expand my new vinyl collection.”

QuestLove laughed. “I’ve got a few doubles in my collection that I’ll send you when you get off your tour. Maybe you can come up to my place and see my collection.”

By the time they were done talking, the Cats had all put on their Fur Face jumpsuits and turned to see Jimmy wearing a big furry lion costume. Everyone fussed over how beautiful it looked.

Then they rehearsed. As they went over the lyrics, Jimmy surprised had his lines memorized. It was decided that he and Teri would swap out lyrics and sing the chorus together. After practicing the song several times, they were all pleased.

Jimmy was excited. “This is so great, guys. We’re closing out the show with your song and I get to thank you and say goodnight wearing my lion suit. It would be great if we can all wave together as we sign off.”

After Jimmy left, they decided to use The Roots to help add more sound to the psychedelic part of Show Me Some Love. They rehearsed with the house band until Lisa was happy with the song. The director used his stopwatch to make sure they could fit everything into tonight’s show.

After returning from their hotel, they all relaxed and got changed. She had so many outfits to choose from and decided to dress up for the television show. Jenn helped her to choose. She chose gray leggings, and a white belly shirt. On top of that she wore a short black shiny leather jacket. She did her hair in a short pageboy style with large hoop earrings. She wore high tops but brought along a pair of black high heels, too. She also brought along her honey-bunny outfit in a garment bag.

They stood together back behind the curtains and listened to the show. They were on after the monologue and Jimmy’s first guest, Samuel Jackson. They talked through two segments and then Jimmy talked about the band.

“They’ve been everywhere, folks. You’ve seen them here, on Ellen, and now they’re out on tour with a new double album. This is their second visit to the Tonight Show, so please welcome the Wildcats!”

Tiffany's bass and Gina's club beat opened together and never stopped. The two instruments were the backbone of the hypnotic dance number. Teri played chords, then Zoe’s lead guitar took center stage with a dreamy solo.

Lisa started whispering, “You can't lose if you don't try. If you don't try, you can't lose.” She paused then whispered, “You gotta give it a try. You gotta give it a shot. You gotta give it a shot, you’ve got to give it a try.” Lisa's voice faded in and out, becoming another instrument.

After a minute, Tiffany smiled and looked at Teri. She cooed, “Oh, Teri. You look so beautiful tonight. Oh, Teri. You look so sexy tonight.” Teri started moaning and breathing hard. Then she started saying “Oh, Tiffany” over and over again.

With the two guitars, the bass and the drum doing their club song, Lisa kept chanting the words and Tiffany and Teri kept carrying on.

As the song continued to swirl around, The Roots began to use their brass to swirl in and out.

Tiffany and Teri’s passion talk continued in the background. The two women's orgasmic sounds slowly faded, and Lisa's chanting started up again. This time it was the more positive refrain, “You gotta give it a shot, you gotta give it a try.” As the beat grew stronger, Lisa’s chanting grew louder. The audience at the Tonight Show was chanting along with her. It kept growing in intensity until everything stopped. Lisa yelled out, “We’re The Wildcats, America, show us some love!” followed by an incredible roar of applause and cheering.

The stage went dark, and the Tonight Show went to commercial. When it came back, the Wildcats were all lined up on the couch with Tiffany in the chair closest to Jimmy.

Jimmy held up the album cover which they had made on Ellen’s show. It had their wildcat tattoo on Gina’s butt. The enlarged photo left you wondering exactly where it was. “So, you guys have a big double album and are out on a cross-country tour all sponsored by Warner’s. That’s a big deal.

Tiffany smiled. “And we are having a blast, Jimmy. We’re playing here for a couple of days and then doing a big summer tour.”

Jimmy smiled. “Speaking of summer, I see where you’ve released a few of your tunes from your album as featured radio singles. I know you have Summer Song out. What else do you have?”

Tiffany was having fun being the center of attention and the Wildcats were having fun watching. “Well, Jimmy. We’ve got Show Me Some Love.”

“That’s what you just played, right?”

“And we’ve got Run, Run, Go out there, too.”

Jimmy counted the song titles off on his fingers. “I count three songs, right?”

Tiffany nodded along with the other Cats.

Jimmy was grinning as he reached behind his desk. “Did you know that all three of your songs are on the Billboard Top Downloaded Twenty-Five?” He held up a big frame that had their songs on it.

Tiffany was shocked to hear this and, in her enthusiasm, stood up and hugged and kissed Jimmy. She only realized what had happened while she was standing there. The rest of the Cats were excited about the Billboard acknowledgement and laughing at Tiffany’s unplanned enthusiasm.

Jimmy turned to the audience and the TV cameras. “And now you know why I love my job!”

“Okay. So tell me about your charity work.”

Tiffany shook her head. “That’s really a question for Zoe or Lisa.”

Jimmy looked at them and finally Lisa answered.

“Okay. So, we’ve been donating all the money that’s been sent in for our download sales to charity.”

“Is that where you ask people to send in what they think the downloads are worth, right?”

Lisa nodded. “Right. And now that we’re on tour, we’re giving ten percent of what we earn to different charities in each place that we play. And our record company is matching that.”

Jimmy nodded. “Oh, wow. That’s impressive. You women rock.” He looked at the director and smiled at them. “So, we have time for one more song, right? What are you going to do for us?”

Tiffany grinned. “It’s a surprise for everyone.”

“Okay. When we come back from commercial, the Wildcats have a surprise for us.”

Everyone left the stage to change. Even Jimmy Fallon disappeared, too. When they returned, the Wildcats were all lined up on stage in their furry suits. As the guitars, drums, and bass started their heavy metal spoof, Teri in her honey-bunny costume and a big lion with a large mane also appeared with mics in hand. As they both sang, each taking turns, people started to realize that Jimmy Fallon was the king of the jungle.

The audience was amazed when Tiffany in her pink poodle costume did her rap. The Roots all cheered her, too.

When the song was over, Jimmy still in his lion suit, with all the Wildcats gathered around him, yelled out, “Thanks to Sam Jackson, and our Wildcats! They’re now on tour and have a big double album out, too!”

As Jimmy was saying goodnight, all the Wildcats started hugging and kissing him as the band played Fur Face.

They all laughed at the uproar they had caused on late night TV. They were going through all the television and radio sites realizing that they were hot on the airwaves. Richard said that their downloads were humming along on the Billboard top twenty-five and all three of they songs were climbing to the top.

Bill Wiggins called and congratulated them on a great show. “You guys are all they are talking about today and your record sales are going through the roof.”

Richard mentioned that they had Wednesday off and weren’t playing until Thursday night. When Teri and Jenn indicated they wanted to walk around New York, Jessica and Mac suddenly appeared as their escorts. Tiffany and Zoe shared a limo back to Allentown to see their boyfriends, and Lisa decided to tour with her sister and Jenn. Naturally, Gina disappeared uptown to spend more time with Grace.

On Thursday, the band all gathered to have an early dinner. Gina found them a neat place that served Afghan food. They all sat at a round table and the waiters brought out bowls of different vegetables, then upended them on this oversized pizza tray covered with a thick, spongy bread. Gina showed them how to tear off pieces and scoop up the different foods.

Tiffany was having fun. “Everything’s so different. But I know that one is lamb, garlic, and onions. Mmm. I’m going to burp and fart all night on the stage.”

They all enjoyed the sweet tea as they washed everything down. Then they ate all sorts of fruit desserts. After dinner, the shuttle took them back to their boutique hotel where they all got showered and dressed to go to work.

As they gathered in the lobby, Teri marveled at the beautiful outfits that Jersey Girl provided. Because Tiffany was playing the cello tonight, she wore Capris and a matching top in black silk. Naturally, she had on four-inch stilettos. With her white, blonde hair piled on top her head, she was the tallest member in the band.

Lisa wore a cocktail dress that looked like she was going to the prom. Little spaghetti straps held up a glittering red mini dress that had at least two red petticoats under it causing the skirt to stand out from her shapely body. Naturally, she had glittering red stilettos to match.

Teri jokingly lifted her sister’s skirt to reveal her glittering panties that matched her dress. She gave her an okay sign.

Zoe wore white linen pants and a black tuxedo shirt where the sleeves were chopped off to reveal her strong arms. Her red hair was up in a high ponytail and she had on green stilettos, too.

Gina wore a workout outfit that consisted of silver Capris and a sleeveless top to match. She had silver high top sneakers, too.

Teri wore tight gold Capris and a belly shirt to match. She loved the way her ruby belly button stone looked. The sleeveless top revealed her tattoo around her bicep. She also wore gold hightop sneaks. She never compared her skinny body to the women she played with nightly.

As they stood backstage, Lisa looked at her phone, it’s time to go to work. Does anyone want to take away these people’s blues by rocking the house?”

They all cheered. As they gathered in a circle, Tiffany wrapped her arms around everyone. She blew kisses and smiled. “You are all my best friends, and I love all of you. You make me a better person. Well, maybe except for Gina, who is a pimple on my ass.”

Zoe patted her on the back. “You know, Tiff. Someday, they will publish a book of your thoughts and well wishes. Someday people will read them and understand just how lucky we were to be in a band with you.”

“Let’s intersperse Tiffany’s words of wisdom with Gina’s Barbie thoughts. It would be a best seller!”

Tiffany’s response was to stand up proud and let loose a large burp. “Seriously, you are all so lucky to have me!”

As everyone laughed, they walked out onto the dark stage. After Gina was in place, she started stomping down on her pedal making her bass drum at a fast pace. As Phil turned up the volume of their PA, her drum sound echoed off the theater walls. Then, she started slamming down on her snare and cymbals as the lights came on.

As people applauded, the Cats all raised their hands over their heads and started clapping, encouraging everyone in the theater to clap along. The crowd rose to their feet cheering and clapping. Lisa turned and smiled at the Cats. She knew this was going to be a great night!

Zoe came up to her mic and pointed and yelled out, “Teri Nelson!”

A spotlight found Teri standing on the left-hand side of her sister. Teri started windmilling using her right hand on her strings while she used her left hand to touch each individual string on the fret board giving her sound a more complex flavor. After she had it all going, Teri started wringing out notes that reverberated off the walls of the theater.

Now, the rest of the band joined in and ran through a powerful version of Run, Run, Gone. From there, they went into Downward Spiral. Lisa stood at the mic and smiled. “Let’s invite Teri to sing an old song she wrote back in high school called, Got A Job. In those days, she seriously worried whether a high school music major would ever find a real job. She’d worry about having to wear a green dinosaur outfit and hold up a cardboard sign advertising the local car wash.”

Eating car exhaust,
And twirling a sign.

Screaming incoherent rages,
At fast moving diesel trucks.

I’m dancing around realizing,
I hate this job.

Minimum Wage
No take home pay
I dread the day
I have to say
I got a job!

After they had run through three more Wildcat’s songs, Zoe stepped on the end of Electric Cars, playing her Gibson Flying Vee. She was shredding the opening chords to the Kinks, All Day, and All Of The Night. Tiffany sang the lead and the whole band came in on the chorus.

The audience never sat down. And when they came to a stop were still on their feet applauding. Lisa came to center stage wearing her signature red mini dress and towering stiletto heels. She blew kisses and did a three hundred and sixty degree turn before grabbing the mic from the stand.

“Thank you, New York!” She used her thumb to point at her sister. “We told my little sister, Teri, that she had to leave her Phillies garb at home because we didn’t want to receive any death threats from Mets fans, right?”

The people laughed and jokingly booed. “We’re the Wildcats from just down the road in Allentown, PA. We’re so excited to play for you tonight. And we want you to all know that ten percent of everything we make will be going to the Boys and Girls Clubs of New York!”

After people got done applauding, Lisa continued. “Let me introduce some of the band. Playing back there on the drums and looking oh-so-sexy in her blue spandex is Gina! Gina loves Roller Derby, bar fights, and mediation. Her favorite position is Downward Dog”

As everyone laughed, Lisa smiled. “And over here on my right is Tiffany. She’s everyone’s favorite bass player, but I’m going to let you in on a secret. She might have beautiful blue eyes, perfect skin, and long blonde hair. But Tiffany Lundgren is not from Sweden. No, she’s from Cherry Hill, New Jersey! So if you speak Jersey, show her you love her by sending her a raspberry and a Jersey salute.”

As Lisa said this, Tiffany automatically gave everyone two big middle fingers with a grin on her face. She also blew them a raspberry through her microphone.

At this point, Teri walked over and snatched the mic out of Lisa’s hands. “Okay, everybody. I’m the little sister and I’m Teri. But my job is to introduce my older sister. This is Lisa. She’s the heart behind the Wildcats. You should know that before they became rock stars, Lisa, Gina, Tiff, and Zoe were on the volleyball team that won the Pennsylvania State championship. So watch out, they’re still fierce. They’d been together for over four years when I grabbed hold of the rocket that blasted the Wildcats out into the world.”

Lisa grabbed the mic and smiled. “Finally, I need to introduce you to Zoe Finley, our lead guitarist. For a fiery redhead, Zoe is a calm woman. You’re safe around her. Well, just a warning, don’t piss her off!”

Lisa looked at her sister. “My little sister talks too much for a kid that just graduated high school. But boy can she sing and play. Let’s get her back to the mic to play the blues for us. Teri wrote this one called Two-Thirty Blues.”

Teri started playing a big B.B. King style lead and the band kicked in behind her. As soon as she and Zoe had swapped off sixteen bar leads, Teri started singing. Lisa moved over to the piano and the band played an up tempo number that had everyone up and on their feet. But before the song ended, Zoe started the guitar lead to Sweet Home Alabama and Lisa played piano and sang.

While everyone noticed that the two Nelson sisters looked and sounded alike. But while Lisa was wearing a cocktail dress and high heels, Teri was wearing tight shiny, gold spandex and matching sneaks. Her silver hair was up in a Mohawk, and you could see the shaved sides of her head and the multiple piercings on each ear. No one could miss the tattoo on her bicep or her pierced nose and the ruby in her navel.

As they finished the first set, Tiff leaned into the microphone and said, “We’ll be back in a few minutes. In the meantime, get those iPhones ready for a YouTube moment when we get back.”

As they walked off, everyone was clapping and yelling. The PA was instantly flooding the room with cuts off of the live side of their new album.

After walking off, they toweled off and started to slip on their furries costumes. Barbara had designed them so that they were hooded jumpers that unsnapped on and off. They even had furry slippers to go with them. They could put them on top of their outfits.

As they walked out, the stage lights got a little brighter and everyone rushed to pull out their phones. Zoe and Tiffany took their positions on the right and Lisa grabbed her guitar and quietly checked her tuning. She walked left and stood in front of Teri’s amplifiers. Lisa pressed on several of Teri’s foot pedals, finding the one that made her chords sound distorted.

Teri waddled up to her mic at center stage and they listened for Gina to countdown. She yelled from her drum platform in her best Lawrence Welk imitation, “A One, And A Two” and began her drumming. Right on cue, the phones went on and the band began playing. It was a showstopper and got even wilder when Tiffany slipped her bass behind her back and began her rap.

As the crowd screamed with joy as Fur Face ended, the stage dimmed to find the stagehands pushing out a grand piano. Teri sat down and began to play the intro to J.S.Bach’s Concerto for Cello and Piano in D Minor. When another spotlight found Tiffany sitting on a stool holding her electric cello. She played and everyone grew silent.

A few minutes later, a third spot found Lisa at center stage singing the words to their new song Chances. Teri and Tiffany accompanied her mournful rendition. As she sang, Tiffany’s spot disappeared and then Teri’s, too. As Lisa sang, Zoe’s electric guitar began a Jimmy Hendrix’s feedback hum and Tiffany reappeared with her electric bass in hand. Gina started a four-four time and the whole band rocked the number.

When each member of the band stopped, all that was left was Tiffany at center stage playing her cello. When she finished, the place erupted.

The band continued to rock the house. As they were finishing up the second set, Teri suddenly felt sharp pains in her stomach. As they started to hurt worse, she felt anxious. As the band walked off the stage, she knew they had ten minutes to reappear back on stage for an encore. She handed her guitar to one of the roadies, Ben, and rushed to the bathroom.

She flew into a stall pulling down her Capris and panties, then felt her whole body fall apart. She gripped her knees as she felt the pain roll through her. Teri moaned as another wave of nausea roll through her body. It felt like everything just blew out going a hundred miles an hour.

Zoe had seen her run and followed her into their backstage bathroom. She listened to the moan and waited a heartbeat. “Hey, how are you doing?”

Teri squeezed her eyes closed and tried to make the pain go away. “I don’t know. It’s like my insides want to come out. It kinda hurts, but it’s just in my stomach.”

Zoe nodded even though Teri couldn’t see her. “Okay, do you feel hot or dizzy?”

Teri evaluated herself. After everything had cleared out, she was much calmer. “No fever, I’m not hot. And it’s strange. I don’t want to throw up or anything. I’m not dizzy but I feel like I need a diaper. It’s embarrassing.”

“Okay. Are you still going or has it all stopped?”

“No. It stopped. It’s almost like I just got this overwhelming need to go but it seems to have passed. Honestly, I got frighten and worried that I was going to lose it out on stage.”

“Okay, but you didn’t. Right?”

Teri was using all the toilet paper and cleaning herself up. “The whole thing was frightening. I’m worried that this might happen again. I don’t know what I can do.”

Zoe was trying to think if something like this had ever happened to her. “Well, after you’ve cleaned yourself up, come on out. Maybe after you stand up for a minute, we can see how you feel.”

Teri opened the door to the stall and immediately went over to the sink and scrubbed her hands. She shook her head and laughed. “Whew, that was so crazy! What do you think? Is it going to happen again?”

Zoe shook her head. “Sounds like a touch of bad food or something disagreed with you. But if you’re feeling okay, we can walk around and see how it goes. We’ve still got a few minutes before we’re due back on stage for our encore. We have time to see what your tummy is going to do.”

Teri felt panic. “Zoe, do you think I can finish the show? I really want to be out there. I don’t want to be sitting back here.”

Zoe shrugged. “You can try. And if you start feeling this pains again, just slip off the stage.”

Jenn saw them talking and walked over. She heard them talking and grabbed Teri’s hand. “What happened?”

Teri shook her head. “All of a sudden, out of the blue, I had to go to the bathroom, like an explosion. Scary stuff.”

Jenn looked concerned. “How are you feeling now?”

“Kinda okay. Worried it might happen again.”

Jenn watched her standing up and walking around.

Teri mumbled. “I’m kinda afraid to drink any water. I don’t want to start any leaks.”

Lisa, Tiffany, and Gina were now all standing around listening. Tiffany looked at Gina. “Well, if the tour takes us to Afghanistan, no more food for you.”

Teri was nodding and telling them how her stomach opened up and how she was lucky to make it to the bathroom.

Lisa hugged her. “You can just sit back here and let us finish the encore. It’s okay if you don’t feel up to it.”

Teri shook her head. “Okay, thanks. But I’m going to try. But if I explode out on stage, the stagehands will have to come out and reassemble me for tomorrow. You know, like Humpty Dumpty.”

Gina laughed. “Maybe we should have you stand on a tarp. You know, easier to clean.”

Tiffany hugged Teri and turned to Gina. “And that’s another example why you’re such a gross human being. The poor girl is feeling bad and you’re cracking jokes.”

Gina looked at Teri. “Tiffany is right and I’m sorry. I’m not being very considerate. But the bottom line is, how are you feeling?”

Teri shook her head. “Okay, I guess. I don’t feel those pains, and nothing is upset inside. I guess I just have to pay attention to any pains. But I want to play.”

Everyone hugged her and then they all paid attention to the sounds coming from the audience.

The crowd had been chanting Wildcats, Wildcats while they were gone. When they all walked out, Teri began the intro to Journey’s Don’t Stop Believing on her guitar. The audience roared their approval as Lisa started playing the piano. Tiffany took the lead and encouraged everyone to sing along. Even though Lisa once said they were not a girl band who played ‘Taylor Fuckin’ Swift,’ they rocked out a version of Shake It Off. The band filled the last half hour with everybody’s favorite chart toppers. They finished with Show Me Some Love doing the whole psychedelic midsection with reverb and Teri and Tiffany playing the space twins. It was obvious that they were all having a good time. They closed with Lisa yelling, “New York, show me some love!”

Teri wasn’t feeling any more distress but was starting to feel a bit lightheaded as they ended. She was surprised when she walked off the stage to see two paramedics standing there with a gurney and an IV pole. As she was about to walk away, Richard took her hand. “Zoe told me what had happened and I called a private doctor in the city that we use. He immediately called in the EMT crew. All they’re going to do is give you a saline solution and get some fluids in you. We’re not taking any chances.”

Jenn stood right there besides her. Lisa held her sister’s other hand while she lay there on the stretcher. Tiffany covered her with a blanket and tucked it in under her. She leaned over and kissed her. As the rest of the Wildcats fussed over her, the EMTs took her blood pressure and her temperature.

“Ma’am, all your vital signs are great and we’ll let the IV do its job. But you seem stable enough now. I would recommend that you take it easy tonight and get lots of bed rest. Hopefully, this was a moment that’s past, but if not, Richard has the doctor’s number and ours. We can get a crew out here immediately.”

Teri was laying there listening and nodding. She glanced over and saw Jenn was staring at her with a little shock in her face. “I’m all right. I don’t know what happened. Maybe it was a touch of bad food. I’m just glad that no one else got sick.”

The stagehands helped pack up the Wildcats valuables and locked them away in their safe until tomorrow night’s sound check. After thirty minutes, Teri carefully climbed down from the EMTs portable bed and walked out holding Jenn’s hand.

Teri shook her head smiling at the band and waved them on. “Go on out without me. I’m looking forward to just laying down and sleeping. Everyone else go out and have a beer and a burger while you think of me.”

Phil stood with Teri and Jenn. He addressed the band. “I’ll see that they find their way back to the hotel and keep you posted.”

The three of them walked the three blocks back to the hotel and rode the elevator to the top floor. As they walked into the suite, Phil nodded. “Okay. I’m going to go out and buy you Gatorade. It should provide more electrolytes.” He turned to Jenn. “Are you hungry? Do you need anything?”

Jenn shook her head. “I’m good. I’ll make sure she drinks a bunch before bed and hopefully she sleeps through the night.”

They said good night to Phil and Jenn held her hand while she led her into the bedroom. “C’mon, baby. You need a shower. We’ll brush up, and then you can get you under the covers. Maybe a little more sleep will do you good. Tomorrow, you’re getting a less exciting diet and more rest.”

Teri laughed. “Okay, mom. As long as you sleep with me, too.”

Jenn laughed. “Well, if you can be a good girl and do as you’re told, I’ll hold you all night. I just want my honey-bunny to be all right.”

As they were toweling off, Jenn studied Teri. “How are you feeling? Your stomach, okay?”

Teri shrugged. “Sure, I’m fine. Honestly, I don’t know what it was. I feel okay. What are you thinking?”

She nodded. “Your mom’s a nurse and works for your doctor, right?”

Teri nodded.

“Well, I think it wouldn’t hurt to share your experience and see what she thinks. I don’t know where we go from here.”

The next morning, Teri lay in bed and was thinking of lyrics.

Under covers
Warm in Bed
Curled up sleepin’
No one’s peepin’

I ain’t moving
from this cozy spot

Turn off the phone
shut off the alarm

I’m not leaving
Cause I’m heading back to sleep again

The next afternoon while everyone was sitting in their oversized living room together, Zoe called out. “Hey, Richard.”

“Sure, Zoe. What can I do for you?”

“After we finish this weekend, where do we go?”

Richard smiled and opened his iPad. “So I’m looking at your website under Summer Tour. From here, you leave the theater on Sunday afternoon, and we take the bus to Mansfield, Massachusetts. You’re going to play on Monday night at the Xfinity Center.

“From there, you’re flying to Detroit for two nights playing at the House of Blues. Phil and the guys will beat us to Detroit. They’ll set everything up and ready for a sound check.”

“Oh, I wondered about Phil and where he was. Is he going to teach the guys how to do everything?”

Richard smiled. “After that, you play Saturday night at the Chicago Theater. The following week you’re playing out in the farm belt - Indiana, Ohio, and Nebraska. We might try out the bus for that trip. The box truck will always be a jump ahead getting everything ready.”

Zoe raised her hand. “I’m looking at our website. It looks like we’re playing four nights a week.”

Richard answered her question. “Right. Those other days are travel days and some down time. Our first vacation from the tour is Fourth of July week. Seven days of freedom. And then you can see that we start right back up again.”

Lisa got it. “This is such a great pace. It’s not even close to the old tours. We’d play at one place all week. Sundays and Mondays were travel days. No days off unless we couldn’t get a booking.”

Teri turned and looked. “You couldn’t get a booking?”

Lisa shrugged.

Richard continued, “Jumping ahead, you’ll be all over Colorado, South Dakota, Washington, and Oregon. then by the end of July, you end up in California. You have several weeks in California, including three one-night stands at the Troubadour, Whiskey A Go Go, and the Greek Theater. After that, you get a week off. When you return, we’re going to spend a week rehearsing for the telethon.”

Teri listened and shook her head. “How many shows are we going to do between now and Labor Day?”

Richard was nodding. “Forty-Six. We are seriously rethinking the second leg which would have been September and October. You proposed a fund-raising day in Philly and the concert in Central Park. Central Park could be scheduled at the end of September or the beginning of October. You’re Philly day will probably be scheduled for the Spring.”

“Why” asked the Cats.

“Your Philly concert will use one of the stadiums and the Eagles and the Phillies are still playing. Spring will also give us enough time to deal with all the preparation you want to do. And it would be more efficient to hire an event company to help us out since you are taking charge of this all day events.”

Richard shook his head. “Now that we’ve run the charity idea past Bill Wiggins, we’re arranging you handing a check to the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Five Boroughs. We’ve checked it out and the presentation will be on Saturday afternoon.”

Teri’s head was swimming. She shook her head and decided to start an Excel spread sheet mapping their lives out for the next five months. She didn’t want to sound ignorant and knew she needed to take a look at their tour schedule.

“Richard, have you heard from Ellen’s people recently?”

“Yes, they are starting to put together a list of artists that want to be involved and trying to figure out the television rights. Evidently, HBO and ABC are buying the package. They want to record the whole festival and break it up into segments for broadcasting. Their people are handling all that. But the band is definitely slated for the house band. There are some artists slated to do a solid thirty minutes and are bringing their tour off the road to do this. You folks will be able to take a breather whenever that happens.

Teri and Zoe just shook their heads.

Zoe looked at Teri. “I don’t know. It sounds loose to me. Kinda like our tour. I would have thought there’d be more planning.

Richard nodded. “I agree. The biggest problem is fitting the Wildcats into a slot. You’re too big for clubs and not ready for stadiums. Right now, you have no problem selling five to ten thousand seats, but both Gimli and Warner’s aren’t sure how big they can get. They really are still afraid that places won’t sell out.”

Richard did smile. “If you head out to Europe for the Winter, they will have all those dates fixed on calendars. Bigger arenas and sold out shows all over Europe and Asia. By the time the Spring rolls around, you’ll be back in the studio working on another album to show off next summer.”

City. Maybe allow people to make donations that will be earmarked for specific charities. It would be best to do it in the Fall when the park cools off a little.”

Zoe smiled. “We’re already committed to helping Ellen on Labor Day Weekend. The Wildcats are the house band for a lot of acts over a two day period, right?”

Gina was laughing. “That’s out in Los Angeles. It’s the last day in August and the first day in September. We can arrange to be out there as part of our tour schedule, right?”

Richard nodded. “Yep. We’re coordinating the logistics now, so you’ll be out on the West Coast then.”

Gina nodded her head and turned to the band. “Well, we were talking about an all-day concert fundraiser in Philly in September, right?”

Richard nodded. “I’ve heard the talk. Get me some details, and we can work it all out.”

Lisa laughed. “Could the end of our tour finish up in New York? We could be in Central Park entertaining all the first responders and the families and anyone else who wanted to attend a free concert? How about right after Thanksgiving?”

She turned to Zoe. “You are going to be one pregnant guitar player by then. You might need a high stool!”

Zoe reiterated. “You know, the doc told me that as long as I’m doing it now, I don’t have to stop until I want to stop.”

Richard smiled at the women standing there. “Yep. It would be terrific to do a few selfless acts while we are out on tour. I’ll start coordinating it now with Wiggins and Gimli. It’s all good.”

Lisa raised her hand. “You know, I like the idea of performing to help raise money while we’re on tour. Do you think we could do something every week wherever we are?”

Zoe agreed. “Sure, we give up money to local charities.”

Tiffany laughed. “I like that. With all the money we’re supposed to make, thousands will go to charities.”

Teri laughed and clapped her hands. “What a great way to start a tour!”