After taking the week off, the gang had all planned to appear Monday morning at the band house. Zoe was driving her dad’s four-door pickup. She’d picked up Tiffany from Mike’s and watched while they said goodbye. Gina drove her dad’s new Mercedes. She’d chauffeured Lisa from the airport in Philly.

Lisa entertained Gina with her tales of Smith and his mountain-top home. “It’s hard to leave. His place is like living on an island. Just the two of us. So romantic.”

Gina smiled. “I wonder when the island will start getting claustrophobic and losing that romantic feel.”

Lisa looked carefully at Gina as they drove out to the band house. They had an hour's drive ahead. “Everything OK between you and Grace?”

Gina nodded. “We’re OK. I had a good time playing in New York. I sometimes wonder when the shoe will drop and she will tire of me. You know. I wonder what I’m bringing to this relationship.”

Lisa shook her head. “No, I disagree. I think Grace is totally in love with you, and maybe it’s just five days of waking up together that felt like a routine you weren’t used to. I suggest you find time for yourself while Grace works with patients. Maybe you need to busy yourself, too.”

Gina paused and nodded. “Good idea. I like that.”

Zoe's big truck was already there as the Mercedes pulled into the circular drive. As they unloaded their bags, Tiffany appeared at the door. “Welcome to my lovely home. Unfortunately, I’ve given the servants the day off. So y’all need to wrestle your own bags.”

The four of them greeted each other with hugs and kisses. Zoe turned and looked around, “Has anyone seen Terry yet? I would have thought he’d be the first one out here and ready to rehearse.”

There was much head shaking until Lisa said, “He’s probably still sleeping. I’ll go up and check.” She headed up the steps to the third floor and his bedroom. Sure enough, she could see his body under the covers. She went over and gave him a gentle shake. “Hey,” she said, “rise and shine, Little.”

She was surprised to see his face pop up. He looked straight at her, and she couldn’t miss his makeover. His hair was much longer and all white blonde. Waves of curls fell onto his face. His eyebrows had been shaped into high curves, and he had thick curled extensions added to his already-dyed lashes. Lisa looked and felt stunned.

“Hey, sis! What time is it?” Terry rubbed his eyes carefully with his long, pink-fashion nails. He croaked. Then, seeing all the other Wildcats standing in the doorway, he blew them kisses through his plumped pink lips. He giggled, and his earrings jingled. They looked shocked at his new appearance.

Lisa wondered about his new look, and even more so when she saw he was sporting a ring in his nose. “Uh, let me check.” She pulled out her phone. “It’s ten after eleven. You look wasted.”

Terry was fumbling with the covers that were twisted around his body. When he sat up, Lisa saw he was wearing a tiny pink babydoll nightgown that did not cover much. He looked confused as he rubbed the other form under the covers.

Lisa watched as the other person threw back the covers and sat up. She was surprised to see that it was a large, naked man. He was pale, and you’d think he’d been fighting at first glance. There were pockmarks and scars all over his face, yet there was no sign of blood. He grinned at Lisa, then reached for Terry, grabbing her around the neck with large, meaty hands.

Terry’s heartbeat increased so quickly that he was near passing out as the man grabbed and encircled his delicate neck. He felt paralyzed as the hands squeezed. He couldn’t breathe or yell. He stared at the familiar face, wondering how Amos had gotten into his bed! A naked Amos!

Terry’s scream woke him up. He breathed a sigh of relief when he realized it was a nightmare. Looking around the empty bed and room, he wondered where Jenn had gone. A second later, his question was answered when she walked into the room with a towel wrapped around her body and one wrapped around her head. She still had the toothbrush in her hand.

“Hey, I heard a noise. Are you OK?” She looked at his face. “Were you having the same nightmare again?”

Terry nodded and started to get up. He needed to use the bathroom. As he walked by, he hugged and kissed her. She smelled minty and sweet. “Yeah, something like that. But this one was crazier. This time, Amos was in bed with me. It looked like he’d risen from the dead. Maybe he’s trying to get me into the grave by scaring me to death.”

Jenn dropped her towel on the chair and fished out a thong to wear from the half-empty drawer. “Hey, you need to do some laundry. Do you want some help?”

Terry said, “Nah, that’s not in your job description.”

“Well, it’s only fair since I wore half of the pile we brought back from Florida.”

As Terry stepped into the shower and adjusted the temperature, he shrugged. “Let’s do it together after we eat something. And, oh yeah, we are rehearsing today, tuning up for the shows this week.”

“You’ve got to be excited to get back to playing live.”

“Yeah, it’s an itch that needs scratching. I’m ready to rock out. But promise me you’ll be backstage with us all weekend.”

“I’d love to. Sounds like fun. But I might have to invite your buddies to join us at the Rendezvous one night. After all, they will be on the roof on Wednesday afternoon with the band.”

Terry was thinking about hanging out with the guys in full Tasha mode. He wasn’t quite ready to wear stilettos and a short, tight dress onstage. “Jenn, we’ve been over this, but all this is a downer.”

“I hear you, but you must just let go of your hangups so the friendship can break through the walls you’ve erected.”

“What’s that mean?.”

“C’mon and see my point of view. Think about high school, Terry. Hangin’ out was a natural thing. No thinking about it, right?”

Terry nodded. Now that his hair was out, dried, and moisturized, he was finger-combing it. “Yeah, I hear what you are saying, and I see a parallel with New Terry and the guys. I’m guessing they’re as uncomfortable as me.”

“Mmmm. Yeah, some guys are trying to understand what happened to you. They’re starting to believe in magic, like a Netflix or something on the SciFi channel. But I defended you. I reminded them that you’re intersex, not an alien. I reminded them that this transformation is scientifically supported. I pointed out that intersex people are part of the population.”

“Yeah, I Googled it, too. 1.7 percent of the world population shows signs of intersex.”

“Terry, that’s like two percent of the world. So you count.”

“When I hear you say two percent, I think about the milk Amy bought for us when we got older. No more whole milk anymore. But this whole intersex thing is crazy! I thought I was a guy a couple years ago and so did my friends.”

“Yep. But you and I both know that you’d already started your puberty. You didn’t know that your system was pumping estrogen through your body a while back.”

“OK. But you said a couple of the guys thought my whole flip was magic. I get that they’re having a hard time adjusting. In the meantime, why did you say a couple of the guys? You inferred that someone was thinking differently when they looked at me. What are you talking about? One of my friends? Tony, Brian, Don? C’mon, not happening.”

“Hmmm. Well, I’ve got eyes, and I was observing all the interactions you’ve had. And it’s interesting how now you're referring to them as friends and that you’re not one of the guys. Face it, Rock Star. You’re recasting them as friends, and you know why?”

“Yeah, you’ve been very right. My relationship with them has changed. I’m in the same category as you are. But who’s the third guy, and what’s he thinking?”

Jenn kissed him. “You’ll see real soon. I'm just giving you a heads-up. I think it’s cute.

Terry just stared. He needed help finding steady ground here. One of his friends felt differently about him? As in, like him? He was standing there, lost in thought when he heard somebody tuning a guitar downstairs in the music room. “Oops, look at the time. Sleeping in can be dangerous.”

“Well, you needed the sleep. Now, go down and play. I’ll bring you a couple tocos for breakfast.”

Terry smiled, kissed her deeply, then headed down for rehearsal.

When he reached the studio, he was greeted with hugs and kisses. If this had happened initially, he would have been blushing red and embarrassed at how excited they could make him. Now, it was an excellent way to greet someone. After those hugs, he felt better instead of ashamed that he lusted for Gina, Zoe, and Tiffany.

Lisa pointed to him as he finished tuning his second guitar. “OK, Mozart. Do you have any ideas to turn the band around for the next couple of shows?”

Terry smiled. “I do.”

Lisa clapped. “OK, let’s start the ball rolling. We have to play tunes from our album, which can be downloaded in a few weeks. A bunch of cuts will be on Warner’s release. Our live set consisted of nine songs for the movies, and then we added Show Me Some Love, Summer Song with the Gospel refrain, and Run, Run, Gone when we played in New Orleans. And then we added another twenty-one songs to the mix. So I count thirty-four.”

Tiffany sounded disappointed. “I thought we were supposed to have more than that ready to go.”

Terry smiled. “What you see is what you get. We have some future songs like Tarzan and Cheetah, Love ‘em or Leave ‘em, and I’ve got an idea for a substitute Love 'em or Leave 'em for Paint It Black. We can still use Tiffany's Bach piece, and as the intro to Love 'em. A new song means we can take credit for it. Bach gets a credit but no royalties check.”

“Three more? Is that enough?”

“It has to be for now. We should not play something that isn’t perfect. Thirty-four songs at five minutes each is 170 minutes. That is three hours of material.”

“And the Rendezvous songs can be covers, our favorites, and the audiences’ favorites. We have to play certain songs every time we play. And I guess we should talk to Richard and Phil and start to pick out songs that might become liked enough to download.”

Tiffany held up her hand. “May I say something else that I think is very important?”

Lisa almost laughed. “Of course, Tiffany. What do you have to say?”

“Uh, nothing personal, Terry. You write great songs, sing like your sister, and play all our instruments better than we can. But you’re starting to become dead weight. I think we should vote to kick him out.”

“Ah, yes,” Gina called out. “The Gospel according to Truth Barbie. If we vote Terry out, can I have his money? After all, I did discover him.”

Terry shook his head and smiled. He looked over at Zoe and started counting. As he reached four, he began playing notes, bending them and getting as much sound as he could. He heard Tiffany lay down a walking beat, and Gina worked her snares. He smiled as he listened to the Hammond organ and the Leslie speaker working.

After a few minutes, Tiffany upped the pace, and the music changed. Zoe was playing all the leads, and Terry was just chording out a counter-melody. He watched as his sister stepped up to the mic.

I’ve got the two-thirty blues, baby.
Can’t seem to shake them off my mind.
Those two-thirty blues, baby.
Well, I get them all the time.

Terry always shivered whenever he heard his sister’s voice. He’d always forgot the beautiful tones she’d create from each note. She could bring his songs alive.