the story ends with Chapter 25

Chapter 23

Everyone was quietly listening to music or watching movies. The exception were Smith and Lisa, who’d headed to the back of the bus and closed the door to the small lounge. Whenever one of the others would glance back down the hall to the closed door, they’d smile. They loved it.
When Lisa met Smith in North Carolina, they’d both discovered love for the first time. For days, they looked like they were in heat. And now, even months later, their need for each hadn’t cooled. The Cats enjoyed Lisa’s happiness and their carrying on, so headphones had become standard operating procedure on the four-hour trip.

Teri was focusing on her rock opera. Tiffany had suggested the young Vampire lovers should be from opposite clans. Teri had read Romeo and Juliet in eleventh grade English Literature and had gone back and downloaded Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 film version of the story. Then she rewatched the Twilight series. After wiping the tears from her eyes, she decided that her two young lovers should die together at dawn as the sun rose. Everyone knew Vampires could not walk in the bright sunlight. Teri briefly wondered who had made all those laws about mythical creatures up. Unless of course, the stories were based on reality.
She briefly wondered if her story could take place in an alternative universe like the Sooky Stackhouse books that HBO turned into True Blood.
That’s as far as she had gone with her idea. Teri knew they should both be young teens. Taking a page out of Twilight, the girl could come from a clan that drains human blood for their eternal life. And the boy could come from an animal-draining clan who refused to kill humans. All the clans gathered at the annual meeting of the Council. It was where leadership would decide which clans got the juiciest territories.
She decided her whole story would take place there.
But Teri knew she was taking herself down a rabbit hole. She’d become obsessed with her tale, almost imagining the innocent, young female to think like her. Of course, she kept coming back to the fact that this was a young love between a young woman and a man.
She’d decided that the two young vampires would be strangers. They’d both be in the woods, away from all the noise and posturing of the adults. Because these Canadian forests were so dense, they were heavily shaded. Sunlight was weak in the shadows of the large pines. Both teens were celebrating the opportunity of being outside in the daytime.
And this story would have a change in the rules. Her vampires were born and aged until adulthood when they could magically stop. Teri looked at her phone and how much time she spent on this project. She knew she should have stopped. She wasn’t in the business of novel writing, but this was becoming obsessive. She couldn’t stop thinking about these two kids. She even saw her opening scene.
Phoebe was staring at a bubbling stream winding through the fern-covered rocks. With her sharpened senses, she watched trout come to the surface to eat water bugs. She was focused, lost in the experience.
When Tobias happened upon her, he was mesmerized. And until Phoebe noticed him, they had remained in their own worlds. Teri thought that’s where the scene should begin.

Soft gentle light freeing me
to walk in the day
Watching trout swimming in a brook
chasing after mayflies.

Suddenly sensing another’s presence
like mine
No heartbeat
But a strong mental image
Inside his mind.
I saw him staring at me

Preparing to flee
my escape route carefully designed
Some of us kill our own,
not for food but for sport

I posed to run until he spoke
No, stop.
His voice soft and gentle
I intend no harm
Caught up in your beauty
Only wanting to know your name

“Hey, what ya doin?”
Teri looked up to see Zoe staring down straight at her. She shivered in her gaze, immediately thinking about when they’d been together. She shrugged, “I don’t know. Writing a story outline and words for a song.”
“Let me see.” She snapped her fingers in jest.
“Yes, my lady. Whatever you wish.” Teri only wished to be her sex slave this morning. She was bored to death; all she could think about was her sister and Smith rolling and tumbling in the back of the bus.
Zoe smiled and leaned over to kiss her nose. “Good girl.” She gently took the tablet and read her outline and the lines of prose.
Zoe handed it back. “I see the opera, but where’s the rock?” She snapped her fingers in 4/4 time.
Teri paused for a minute. “Uh-huh. I forgot. Left a big hole there. Thanks. Now, how can I thank you?” She hopefully stared at the beautiful redhead who glowed with her pregnancy.
Zoe laughed and plopped down next to her. “You need a signature hook, maybe a measure or two long, that can intertwine with whatever song you design. So you get that cohesiveness.”
Teri was nodding. “Okay, I see that. Classical composers did that, repeating a recognizable melody or song in each movement.” She sighed. “I guess it’s back to the drawing board.”
Zoe put her hand on hers. “Don’t scrap that. It’s good. Save it.”

Teri remembered sighing during her FaceTime session with her counselor, Grace. “I’m so bored. I hate it. It’s not like I imagined. And my mind spins, but I’m stuck. I want to write music or arrange something. But being on the road has become a full-time job. I’m used to my music ideas float to the surface perfectly formed. But now I’m realizing that it only seems to happen when I’m relaxed and there’s lots of time.”
Grace was making notes. She looked up. “When did this frustration start?”
Teri thought. “Back in high school, writing songs was just part of my life. That was me, attending classes, writing songs, and playing video games with my friends. And then my life gave me a one-eighty’s worth of change. Jenn and the band happened, and my life changed.”
“Right. But the biggest change was when you discovered you were intersex. But you adapted and started writing again.”
“Sure. That has really taken a while to deal with, but you’re right. It’s okay. But all of that took place back in Allentown. I had everyone to help me. I mean, we had the house and the recording studio. We stayed home. I had lots of quiet time.”
“So you see the pattern, right?”
“Sure. It’s here. Being on the road is all encompassing. It’s a twenty-four-seven experience. And I’m discovering I’m not productive.”
“You’re productive. You get up each day and work. But this is a world that demands different things. I believe that you’ll adjust. You will find a rhythm to find time to write. The rest of the Wildcats don’t have to adjust. Gina and the girls are used to the road. It’s what the Wildcats did before you came along. And I know that their lives were a lot tougher last year at this time. They only took time off when they didn’t have work.”
Teri forgot for a second that Grace and Gina had been together for years. “I never pictured it like this. I guess maybe it caught me off-guard. I’m missing Jenn and stuck on a bus. It’s become a treadmill and I’m the hamster.”
Grace finished writing and looked up. “Time. It’s going to take some time but you’ll figure it out. You can’t get angry or resentful of what is happening. And you have a week’s break coming up. And I know you’re seeing Jenn this weekend.”
“Are you and Gina doing anything special?”
“We are. We’re headed up to the Berkshire Mountains. We’ve rented a car and a cabin. I’m looking forward to the quiet retreat with Gina.”

Teri stared out the window. Glancing at her watch, she calculated that another hour had passed. As she closed her Word document titled Rock Opera, she looked to see Richard get out of his seat. He’d been riding up front with the driver, spending all his time on his phone. He looked around counting the Cats. “Uh, where’s Lisa?”
Tiffany laughed. “She’s in the back lounge ballin’ Smith.”
Richard frowned. “We’re going to have some guests coming on board. It’s not the perfect setting for an interview, but it’s what they wanted.”
Gina looked up. “An interview?”
Richard shook his head. “This comes from the top. Wiggins and Gimli called this. A news crew is coming on board at the rest stop. They’ll be filming a segment called Riding the bus with the Wildcats as a promo for a show we’re doing next week.”
Tiffany was already standing. “You’re kidding. Like in thirty minutes? Not a lot of time to get cleaned up, Richard.”
Everybody stood up a once and headed to the two bathrooms and their bunks. As they did, Gina laughed and said, “I’ll go throw some cold water on the dogs and give them the word.”

They watched the three come on board when they were refueling. Camera woman, sound guy, and a young, pretty woman wearing too much makeup. She reached out her hand, shook, and turned back to her camera operator. Suddenly, the interview started.

“Hi, I’m Heidi Thompson from the Channel Nine Newsplex and I’m on the Wildcats tour bus. This is the rock band that’s storming the nation. These women have three of the top downloads on the Billboard Twenty and are touring the country the old fashion way. They’re in Chicago tonight and next week they’re coming to Cincinnati! Hi, ladies!”

The cats could be heard saying hi.

Heidi turned and looked straight at Tiffany who had changed and brushed her hair. “I recognize you. You’re Tiffany Lundgren, the bass player for the band. And I’ve seen a segment of one of your shows where you play a cello and perform a Bach Concerto. Whose idea was that?”

Tiffany smiled and spoke. “The arrangement was developed by Teri. She also wrote the song Chances that is featured in that part of our performance.”

Heidi turns towards Teri. “Teri, Chances is a song you wrote for the movie of the same name.”

Teri nodded and smiled. “The whole band wrote the song Chances. I just bring them an idea and they turned it into the song.”

“Well, I think that you’re being modest. Your name is on Run, Run, Gone!”

Teri visibly sighed. “I wrote Run, Run, Gone! in eleventh grade. But Summer Song and Show Me Some Love were band songs. Everything we write now is developed and written by the band. Zoe and I find the ideas and take it to the band. Then it becomes a song.”

“As in a hit song! Right?”

Teri smiled and waved his hand over the Cats. “These women were playing together for four years before I came along. All I did was arrange a few numbers. They’re the talent.”

“Well, If we asked them, I’d think they’d give you more credit. What do you say, Lisa? You’re Teri’s older sister.”

Lisa laughed. Teri had always been referred to as Lisa’s younger sister. And now she was being referred to as Teri’s older sister. “Sure. My little sister is gifted and we’re lucky to have her.”

“Was Teri the little bratty sister that kept borrowing your clothes for her dates? Was she a terror?”

“Teri’s always been a brat. But she never showed any interest in my clothes until she started playing with the band. But you have to know, our mom still likes me more.”

Everyone was laughing and they smiled knowingly to each other over this woman’s comment about Teri borrowing Lisa’s clothes for dates.

But Lisa was not skipping a beat and immediately injected, “Speaking of clothes, all our clothes are made by Jersey Girl. They’re a great sponsor of the Wildcats.”

“I heard they even made your Fur Face outfits. I think the posted views on Instagram and YouTube of Fur Face are in the millions. Does it get old?”

“What?”

“You know, like wearing the Fur Face costumes, playing the same songs, and doing the same act every night?”

Zoe looked at Lisa, then spoke. “No, it’s the reverse. We love playing to our audiences every night. And we’re having fun out there on the stage. The feedback from the audience is what charges us up. This whole tour is a dream come true for all of us.”
As Teri listened to Zoe defend their choices, she realized that touring and playing to a different crowd each night was its own reward. She’d been looking at this change from the wrong perspective. She realized that she was being selfish.

“Zoe, what would you do differently?”

There was silence until Lisa smiled. “We’re having fun. Ask us again in three months. The tour ends on Labor Day. We’re helping Ellen run a benefit show over that weekend at the Hollywood Bowl.”

“You’re involved in doing a benefit. The Wildcats are a generous band when it comes to helping all the communities where they play. Don’t you hand out a lot of checks?”

Tiffany leaned in. “We do. All the money we get from fans downloading songs from our website is donated to various charities. Every show we’ll play this summer, well, we give ten percent of everything to a charity in that town. And Warner’s, our record company, matches what we donate.”

Gina was sitting alongside Tiffany. She leaned in and smiled. “We’re planning a show in Central Park this fall to benefit first responders and the families who were affected by Nine Eleven. And in the spring, we’re doing a one-day festival where the proceeds benefit local charities in Philly.”

Well, Cincinnati is certainly looking forward to seeing and hearing you next week at the Riverbend Music Center on Wednesday.”

After they dropped off the TV people, they watched them get in their van and drive away.
“That was painless. I guess it’s good advertising.”
Teri turned to Richard. “What’s with Teri wearing her older sister’s clothes to go out on dates?”
Gina laughed. “They’re clueless. Nobody even researched us before they dropped by. That was just a puff piece to announce our coming to Cincinnati.”
Richard smiled. “Their ignorance was fine. We aren’t looking to make Teri’s life the theme of our tour. We don’t need any drama or sideshows. We just keep playing, recruiting new fans, and pushing our new music.”
Zoe nodded. “Since we’re on that subject, how are we doing? We’re spending an awful lot of money promoting this tour.”
Richard grinned. “Remember when I mentioned that Warner’s was underwriting the tour. That means they’re paying for everything tour related. They knew they were going to lose money but never saw that as relevant. In William Wiggins mind, they are giving birth to a unique super group.”
Tiffany stood up. “No! Now we’re a super group?”
“Well, not yet. In a few years and a few more gold records and you’re going to be Fleetwood Mac or the Eagles of your generation. You’ll be filling stadiums soon.”
As Lisa turned to walk away, she uttered those famous lines from the movie, Jaws. “Well, we’re going to need a bigger boat.”

After getting her hotel room, she texted Jenn. ‘Stafford Hotel, and the address’.
Her immediate response was ‘Five minutes. I’m just getting off the El.’

Teri opened her door, and Jenn threw herself into her arms. Still holding her girlfriend, she turned and walked into the bedroom and tossed her on their bed. Then Teri jumped on too and started taking her clothes off.

About an hour later, there were holding each other and kissing softly.
“Oh, my God, Rock Star. It’s only been a week. Why was I missing you so much?”
“Uh, yeah. All I thought about was you.”
Jenn buried her face into Teri’s neck. “You smell so nice. Something new?”
“Yeah, I changed my body wash. Do you like it?”
“Always have. That’s what Zoe uses.” She immediately felt Teri jerk her body.
Jenn turned around, smiled, and looked her in the face. “Well, what’s she like?”
Teri was stuttering and finally blurted out, “It’s a kinda complicated thing but yeah, she’s dreamy.”
Jenn laughed as she struck her on the shoulder. “Well, I hope you learned something new to bring to the table.”
Teri grabbed her arms and flipped her over. She grinned and then disappeared below the covers.

Later when they were showering, Teri was afraid to bring up Zoe and how it had all happened. Jenn didn’t bat an eyelash over her infidelity.
“Okay, so I have to talk about it, okay?”
“Sure, baby.”
“You’re not upset that I had this moment with Zoe? It doesn’t bother you?”
“It doesn’t bother me for a couple of reasons. When I asked you told the truth and didn’t lie to me. I like honesty. And thing is that Zoe had to have her reasons to fool around with you. I can’t see initiating something with her. You lust for her, but you’re totally intimidated by her. So, I am not upset. Seriously, I expect you to fool around with all of them during the tour. But those are safe affairs. You’re not trading me in for any of them.”
Teri was thinking about what she just said.
“Hey, Rock Star. I figured out a way to monetize my relationship to you. I am officially an influencer.”
Teri was looking at her in the mirror while she put her hair up in a ponytail, curling her bangs. She loved the cute, punky look with her hair up revealing her shaved sides and all her piercings. As she fixed her makeup, she said, “Shoot.”
“Okay. So, I cleared this with Richard and he talked to Wiggins. Nobody cares. Both said it should help publicity.”
Teri shook her head. “You have to explain all of this to me. Talk slowly.”
“Okay. An influencer is someone who creates a following on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. That’s gonna be me. Once I get a following, I start to model Jersey Girl clothes and Barbara pays me.”
“How do you get a following?”
“I’m your girlfriend. I started posting pictures of the Wildcats and me. You know, digging up old shots mixed in with band shots that Richard provided me with. I’ve only posted for seven days but have almost one hundred thousand views and ten thousand followers already.”
Teri shook her head. “Sure. You’re so beautiful, of course people would want to look at you. I guess using the Wildcats as an attention getter is smart. I hope it works.”
“The most views were a Fur Face shot where you were all still backstage waiting to go out. That got a super number of views and new followers.”
Teri shrugged. “If everybody is behind this, awesome. How are you keeping track of all of this?”
“I’m keeping a photo journal of every posting and a spread sheet or each entries response. I’m figuring in a few weeks I’ll have a handle on what people want to see. After that, maybe I can market the photo book, too.”
Jenn kissed Teri’s lips carefully so not to spoil her makeup. “Now what are you wearing?”
“A mesh mini dress. But I need your help.”
“Sure, what?”
Teri handed her a widemouth jar. “Uh, I want you to spread this under the mesh where I can’t reach.” Teri slipped on the body suit shaped like a short dress. All she wore under it was a silver thong.
Jenn looked at the contents of the jar. It was some sort of cream full of silver sparkles. “Is this all you’re wearing?”
“Uh-huh. It’s kinda like a mesh minidress. Everything else is just glitter.”
“I can’t wait to see this.”

They both looked at Teri standing in front of the mirror. She was wearing glittery, four-inch silver stilettos, and the very short, mesh mini dress. While she was almost nude, the body paint made it seem okay.
“It’s so beautiful. You’re so beautiful. You look like a runway model. Whose idea was this?”
“Barbara has a new designer and she’s amazing! This is the first design. We want to see how practical this is to wear on stage. I’m the guinea pig.”
“Not real practical as street wear, but moving into the next level with haute couture, huh. But you look crazy gorgeous. I want you to sex me up after the show looking like that.”
Teri laughed. “It’ll ruin the sheets!”

As they were riding down the elevator together, Jenn whispered to Teri. “You know my mom, my sister, and her boy toy are going to be backstage tonight to watch you play.”
“Uh, I guess they’re going to get a good view of me tonight.”
Jenn patted her butt and ran her hand across a lot of soft glittery flesh covered in a body stocking. “Oh, don’t worry, baby. Everyone’s gonna get a good look at you tonight.”
All the other Wildcats grinned when they saw her. Tiffany was the first to speak. “Oh, Little. You look like Cher had a baby angel named Teri. I am jealous. I know Barbara told me that they have a new designer, but I can’t wait until she designs something for me.”

The show opened with Teri appearing in a single spotlight. In the bright light, it appeared that she was a glowing figure with a silver ponytail. Their cameraman showed her standing there holding her glossy white Stratocaster. Her image was floating on the long screens on either side of the dark stage.
Teri smiled. As people were applauding, she began Jimi Hendrix’s intro to Little Wing. As she pulled each note from her strings, she swayed with the music. She stretched her solo for four measures then came to her mic and in a perfect voice began singing the song.
As she played and sang, Tiffany and Gina joined her on stage playing as spotlights lit them, too. As soon as the trio finished Little Wing, Gina started pounding on her drums and it brought everyone to their feet as Lisa screamed and the entire band began Run, Run, Gone!
The crowd never sat down as Teri began playing the beginning to Downward Spiral. After fifteen minutes, the audience was still up and clapping along. A quick nod to each other and they played straight through the whole first hour. As they stopped, Tiffany stepped up to her mic and said those special words, get your phones ready when we come back.

They were coming off the stage, laughing and kidding each other on how well it was going, when Teri saw Jenn standing there with her family. She started over but stopped to reach for a bottle of water. After unscrewing the cap and getting a drink of water and a towel, she walked over.
Jenn came up and grabbed her arm. “C’mon, baby. Let’s meet the judge and jury.”
Teri laughed. “A hanging judge, huh?”
“Nah, but my mom was a little taken back by your costume. I don’t know if it was envy of your outfit or the love of your body, but she didn’t take her eyes off of you.”
Teri was looking at the other woman, who evidently was Jenn’s older sister, Julia. She was tall and had a true punk anime haircut. If anything, Teri thought that they both looked beautiful. Her sister was tall and lean.
The guy she was standing with was beautiful. He looked like a magazine model for Italian menswear. He had broad shoulders, a square jaw, a two-hundred-dollar haircut, and a solid body. Teri estimated that he was six-three.
Jenn’s mom was grinning as she hugged Teri. “Well, you looked and sounded beautiful out there tonight. The whole band was amazing. We all had a good time dancing along with the audience.”
Teri found herself blushing and realized that her breasts were responding to the cool air backstage. The mesh dress did nothing to conceal her and decided to just go with it. Rather than cover herself up, she stood taller. At five nine in four-inch heels, she was almost as tall as the boy-toy.
Julia grabbed her boyfriend’s arm and pulled him forward. “This is Patrick. I don’t know who was staring harder, Patrick or my mom. But I think that Patrick has a better chance.”
Teri looked him in the eye, and he smiled. “It is a pleasure to meet you.”