The week of the concert was exciting; it was hard for Deanne, Roxy, and Sam to wait for the concert. Samantha used a program to give her phone more room for pictures and better tools for taking them. Their tickets from Teri were for the first row slightly to the side where Teri played. They had a dozen red roses that the girls would throw onto the stage when Teri had solos and Teri was in her furry costume singing Fur Face. Sam knew the band was very good and the Wildcats were older than they were. The Wildcats were vivacious and better than her dreams. She loved watching Teri; she went a bit wild when Lisa or other Wildcats stepped forward and were close enough to see them close up. Lisa, Teri’s sister, even asked as one song ended “Who’s Samantha?”

All Sami could do was scream, “Me!” once and long. Lisa knew Teri was close to stepping forward to begin a song. Samantha threw one of her roses had a water pick; which Teri used twice as a pic on her guitar, before throwing it to a stagehand. Sami was so hyped she thought of trying to get on stage; Annette pushed Deanne to pull Sam back. Deanne said, “Go, Sam!” John encouraged Annette, “Let the girls be.” Finally, Roxy pulled Sami back, and then Samantha, Roxy, and Deanne danced to numerous songs and were getting hoarse singing along. Three Wildcats sang, “Take me higher… I want to, I want to, take you higher… Baby, baby, baby, Light my fire… I wanna take you higher…” Samantha took it as an expression of where her emotions were taking her.

Annette said to John, “I bet all three are getting turned on.” John said, “How did you guess that.” “Because I would be if I were them.” She nuzzled John and gave him a big kiss. “Mmm.”

Someone came to them near the end of the concert, “Three of you come with me… Parents they’ll return to the left side of the stage…” Shortly after the concert, there was a time the Wildcats gave to them, despite their being exhausted from their performance. Teri was perspiring profusely and drank some water so, as not to dehydrate. She asks, “What did you think Samantha? Glad you came… you’re one I write to and I read your stuff.” Teri signed her poster. Lisa signed a Wildcat group picture as did Zoe and Tiffany. Jenn asked, “How do you like My Rock Star? …You wanna be like her?”

“In my dreams maybe,” Samantha echoed. Jenn smiled; Teri and Jenn said, “Dream big. Being you is good.”

While the girls got several selfies with them; Deanne covered for her again, “Don’t mind her, she, we have dreamed of this but it seems unreal. Teri’s guitars and keyboard were soon in the area. The Wildcats talked with other fans. Sami was awestruck by how well and how many instruments Teri played. Teri hugged her, and Samantha asked, “Can I have one of these towels?” She had gotten one of Teri’s soaked sweat towels.

Teri despite being drenched in perspiration, was beautiful and Samantha told her she was jealous. Teri said, “The key is to be comfortable with ourselves. Having other women, who compliment and encourage us is very helpful.” He says, “I like your pink hair as well as the blue hair of your girlfriend Roxy. Are the colors for the concert or are they for everyone?”

Samantha, Roxy, and Deanne took a bunch of selfies focused around Teri. Some pictures caught other Wildcats. Teri picks up a dry towel, wipes herself off her face, signs it, and gives it to Samantha who holds it so she can get a picture of Teri, the towel, and her. Two posters were signed, one by Teri and Jenn, and the other signed by the band.

A woman tells the girls it’s time for the group to wrap things up, they need to leave soon. Samantha squeezes another out hug from Teri, this time, realizing she felt Teri’s breasts against her. She was surprised but also felt guilty, “Oh, my!”

Returning to the front of the concert hall and seeing the Tremble parents greeting them, made their return surreal. John seeing their faces aglow, smiled and was ready to hug the bunch of them. With the house lights lit. Annette said, “Can you believe this place was packed full and rocking?” The three looked around and were amazed that they had sat up front.

Samantha said, “I can’t remember if I even thanked them for the tickets and the backstage passes. It was awesome to see and speak to them. I bet Teri wished she could have changed out of her top and cooled off. She was toweling off the sweat with everything on!”

Annette asked, “So, you’re sure she is a girl?” Deanne responded, “Mom, it was obvious on stage and clearer in her presence. Roxy’s holding a sweat towel that Sami asked for. The original one she asked for was sloppy and drenched.”

Sam says, “Thanks, thanks, thanks; Deanne see what you started. I got to be a crazed girl here tonight because of you!” She looked to Deanne’s parents, “A big thank you, Annette and John!”

Deanne said, “I don’t know about everyone else but I’m hungry.” Sami said, “Food?”

Annette said, “A little while ago someone came out and gave me this pass to help us get into this eatery. I suggest we go there.”

It took the group half an hour to get there, and longer to find parking. Showing the pass, they were waved inside and told they needed to wait a moment. Moments after that they were seated and there was a commotion and people with them on the main floor looked up and applauded. They didn’t get a good look, but they were a group of young women, a lively group. ‘They thought it might be the Wildcats.’

They ordered their food and then went to the women’s restroom. Roxy and Sam were singing songs from the concert and they got back to the mirror. A college woman said, “Those are Wildcat songs; were you at the concert?”

Samantha joyfully said, “You bet we were; right up in front of the Wildcats. We even got to go backstage to see them.”

Sydney Lauer said, “You have a northeast accent; where are you from?”

Roxy told her, “We’re from New Jersey?”

Sydney asked, “Why did you come here; will they be at PNC Art Center in New Jersey next week?”

Their eyes popped open wide, “They hadn’t announced their other tour dates at that time,” said Roxy. “It was great to be here anyway! We’ve been to the Garden State Art Center. It’s nice but this was great.”

We were on our way out of the Women’s room when Tiffany came walking in. They easily recognized her and said, “Hello Tiffany!” They kept walking not knowing for sure if she heard them. Annette went to the Women’s room after the girls, and Tiffany asked, “Weren’t you the Mom of three girls in the front row of tonight’s concert?”

She said, “I thought, I was crazy when some women said hello to me as I came in here.”

“No, you’re not crazy, but you are terrific. It is a lot easier for us to recognize you from the concert than you recognize your fans. Two of the girls are mine and the other is Samantha, Roxy’s girlfriend. She came with us to see the concert… Excuse me, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be keeping you. Congratulations on a great concert.”

Tiffany said, “She’s the trans girl who has written us through Teri. Tell your daughters thanks for being encouraging of Samantha. We guess her parents are accepting enough; we believe your daughters and you have helped her, and we appreciate that… Oh, by the way, we heard Deanna’s voice; come after graduation she could be a traveling volunteer for next summer?”

Annette walked away thinking, ‘I’m not trusting my daughter one summer, one night with the Wildcats on the road. I was a groupie.’

The five of them enjoyed their meal and were happy Annette had talked to Tiffany. That night the girls slept in one room together; reminiscing more than sleeping. They woke late in the morning; Roxy and Sami snuggled together.

Mrs. Tremble wanted to go where Martin Luther King, Jr. had preached. They had gotten there too late for worship, but they were still plenty to take in. Deanne said, “I wonder if the Wildcats got to see places like these?”

Annette said, “Only if someone scheduled it beforehand. They wouldn’t want to disrupt a worship service and turn it into a circus. It was then, that they learned Mrs. Tremble had followed a band one summer when she was going to college. She said, “I didn’t mean to mention that, and I’m not saying anything more. Roxy and Deanne teased her to a point but knew to back off. The rain stopped them from going to the Braves game. But they did make it through the World Coke-Cola Center.

That night they got to sleep at a decent time and were up early to catch their flight home.

Once home they called into a radio station advertising the upcoming Wildcat concert. They got first to speak to a person at the station; after they told them they had been to the Atlanta Concert; they got to talk with the DJ on air. DJ Stormy Halvers said, “I’ll be speaking to them at the concert; I’d like to drop your names and find out if they had talked to you as you say.”

Deanne said, “That’s fine with us. Since you don’t seem to think we did; what will you do for us afterward?”

Storm asked, “What would you like?”

Samantha spoke, “Why don’t you call ahead? If they remember us it would be nice for you to buy us five tickets to this concert.”

They were cut from the live broadcast, but the person saying goodbye said, “We’ll see,”

Deanne made a website and a blog, ‘Wildcat Sightings’ on which she posted our selfies with Teri and others in the group. The signed sweat towel became an item getting many likes and a few offers to buy it. Friends from Roosevelt High School and others were taking notice of them. That had been one of their hopes.

They heard back from the radio station, but since they were a small sponsor they were prohibited from doing anything more.

Annette said, “Your website and blogs would do well to invite others to this concert to share their reactions to the Wildcats, what songs they liked, and who their favorite Wildcat was. They opened a section they called ‘Jersey for the Wildcats.’ It would get many hits from Wildcat fans, and this concert in particular.

Samantha, told Deanne and Roxy, “I liked what Teri said, ‘“The key is for me to be comfortable with myself.” She said, “Seeing Teri has made me think even more about finding myself.” Hugging Roxy and then hugging Deanne, she said, “I’ve been blessed with you two, your parents and my Mom. Looking back, and being in the play helped ground me in being a girl.”

The End