“
Well, how long has this
been going on?” said Beverly
Greg wished that Cynthia had not brought it
up. “A few years.”
“
Oh, Greg,” said Beverly,
“that’s terrible. You need to work things out with him—like in
today’s sermon. You need to forgive each other. Life’s just too
short.”
“
I know,” said
Greg.
“
We need to go to his
birthday party,” said Cynthia. “Then you’d have a chance to sit
down and talk to him.”
No, no, no! Greg wanted to
scream it. But he knew Cynthia was right. It would be a waste of
time trying to talk to his dad. But, for Cynthia…he would
try
.
**********
“
This is not gonna work,
Sondra,” said Val. “I said you could stay here for a few weeks, but
you’re eating up all my food.”
“
What?” Sondra kept her eyes
on the TV, reaching into the family-sized bag to grab another
potato chip. “I’ll pay you back.”
“
Okay.” Val didn’t
move.
“
Right now?”
“
Yes, right now—before you
eat the whole bag.”
Sondra sat the bag down beside her on the
couch, reached into her purse, and pulled out a five-dollar bill.
“Here you go.”
Val snatched it out of her
hand. “And from now on, buy your
own
food.”
“
Fine. I will.”
“
And I’m gonna need some
money for rent and utilities.”
Sondra muted the TV. “You’re kidding.”
“
No, I’m not. Look, I barely
get by as it is. I can’t afford any extra expenses.”
“
Okay. How about fifty a
week?”
“
Seventy-five.”
Sondra gritted her teeth. “Fine.”
“
In advance.”
Sondra’s nerve endings began to tingle—the
way they always did right before she performed her magic act. In
the blink of an eye, she could transform a living, breathing human
into a corpse. She slipped her hand into her purse, and felt the
large, cold pocket knife. In less than a second, without even
thinking, the knife would be out, the blade exposed. Val would
barely see the flash of metal before it ripped into her chest and
punctured her heart.
She saw Val collapse to the floor—in her
mind. She would have to leave town. Her plans would be destroyed.
It’s just not worth it, she thought, taking a slow, deep breath.
She retrieved the seventy-five dollars from her purse and handed it
to her evil witch of a mother.
**********
“
Shouldn’t we test out these
popcorn machines?” Lenny could almost taste the buttery
stuff.
“
We just ate hamburgers two
hours ago,” said Craig. “And I’m sure they work just
fine.”
Their voices echoed in the
huge metal building that was becoming
Billy-Eye’s Arcade and Dance Barn
.
“
But what if they don’t?
Daddy’s gonna be mad.”
“
Okay, yeah, I guess you’re
right. So, where’s the popcorn?”
Lenny’s blank look gave his answer.
“
Well, I guess it
was
a good idea to
try out these machines—so we’d realize that we don’t even have any
popcorn!” He punched Lenny in the arm.
“
Hey, nobody told me to buy
the popcorn.”
“
Well, can’t you figure out
anything for yourself?”
“
Hey, did you hear
that?”
“
Don’t try to change the
subject.” But then Craig heard it too. “Somebody’s
knocking.”
“
I
told
you.”
Craig walked across the wide-open concrete
floor, and unlocked and opened the door. He was going to be rude to
whoever it was. It was Sunday afternoon—why was somebody bothering
them? They needed to get some work done.
Then he saw her. She was
beautiful—mid to late twenties, short thick blonde hair. “May I
help you?” And oh, how he wanted to
help
her.
“
Yes. I’m here about the
auditions for the house band.” She had a slight accent. It was
sexy, European.
“
Oh, I’m sorry. Registration
is tomorrow…at 1:00 PM. You’re not from around here, are
you?”
“
Yes. I live in Little
Cypress.”
How was this possible? Craig
thought he had met every available woman within a fifty-mile
radius. He had
dated
most of them.
“
So, I’ll come back
tomorrow,” she said, and then turned to walk away.
The sexiest butt he’d ever seen was leaving
him. “What’s your name?” he blurted out.
She stopped and turned around. “Cindy. Cindy
Banya.”
He walked out to her. “I’m Craig.” He held
out his hand.
“
Good to meet you, Craig,”
she said, shaking his hand. “So, I guess I’ll see you
tomorrow.”
“
Could I buy you a cup of
coffee?”
“
Okay,” she said, holding
out her hand for the money.
How long has she been in this country? he
wondered. “No. I meant—”
“—
I know what you meant.”
She grinned. “Come on—we’ll take my car.”
“
Great.”
As they walked toward her little
convertible, he said, “What’s the name of your band?”
“
Well, I’m not
actually
in
a
band right now. I was hoping to hook up with one that needs a good
drummer.”
“
I like your accent. Where
are you from?”
“
I grew up in Dallas. My
family and I just moved here a few weeks ago.”
Craig felt better.
That’s
why he had
never met her.
“
My parents are Russian.”
And then, in a perfect Texas twang, she said, “But I’m a true-blue
Texan.”
“
Yes, you are. And a
beautiful one.”
“
Thank you. Now, where are
we going?” she said, as they got into her car.
“
You ever been to
The Buttard Biscuit
?”
“
What’s that?”
“
You’re in for a treat,
Honey. It’s my family’s restaurant. Our biscuits are better than
cherry pie.”
“
Sounds great.”
Lenny walked out the door just in time to
see his brother and some blonde driving away.
Chapter
4
Sondra arrived at 1:00 PM
sharp.
Billy-Eye’s Arcade and Dance
Barn
was located on Highway 87, north of
town. She was not impressed. It was nothing but a huge commercial
metal building with the name painted in big lettering across the
front. There were about fifteen cars in the small gravel parking
lot—mostly older models like hers.
She walked in, and saw a line of people
standing at a closed office door. Clearly, they were band members
waiting to register for an audition. A couple of the guys had their
electric guitars strapped on their backs.
Sondra was quite familiar
with Billy-Eye and his two sons. She’d eaten her share of
Buttard Biscuits
growing up. And she still remembered the time in high school
when Craig walked up to her in the hallway and asked her for a
date. She had nearly laughed in his face. He was just a kid—three
grades below her.
A couple of years later, when she found out
about his reputation as a stud, she wished she had accepted his
offer. She would have given the little punk the ride of his
life.
While she was still thinking about Craig,
the office door opened, and he walked out.
He glanced at the long line of rockers.
“Okay, we’re about to get started, Guys.” Then he spotted Sondra at
the back of the line. The blonde six-footer was not easy to
miss.
“
Sondra Crench? Is that
you?” He walked up to her.
“
How are you,
Craig?”
“
Well, I’m impressed that
you remember me. So, you’re here to sign up?”
“
Yeah.”
He checked out the young men standing in
front of her. “Are these guys with you?”
“
No.”
“
Well, where’s your
band?”
“
I’m working on
it.”
“
Follow me.”
She hesitated. There were at least thirty
people in front of her in line.
“
Come on,” he
insisted.
She followed him into the office.
“
Hey! That’s not fair,”
somebody yelled.
“
Look,” said Craig to the
crowd, “
I’m
doing the hiring, so
I
will decide what’s fair.
Understood?”
Nobody said a word. He closed the door.
There were four metal chairs facing a large
wooden desk. Craig offered her a seat. The leather executive chair
behind the desk gave Craig a superior position from which to look
down on lowly band members sitting in old metal chairs in front of
him.
He surprised Sondra when he grabbed one of
the metal chairs for himself, and dragged it right in front of her.
When he sat down their knees were nearly touching.
“
It’s great to see you,
Sondra.”
What’s he doing? she wondered. Is he going
to register me or make a move on me? “Yeah. It’s been a long
time.”
“
So, what have you been
doing with yourself?” He acted as if he had all the time in the
world.
“
Living in Houston, playing
clubs. Sometimes solo, but mostly with a band. I sing lead, play
rhythm guitar. Write songs.”
“
I always loved it when
you’d perform at the annual high school talent show. I just knew
you’d get a big record contract some day.”
“
Nope. Came close a couple
of times. But it’s a tough business.”
“
I’ll bet. So, are you
living here in the Golden Triangle now, or did you come back just
to audition for (he cleared his throat and used his movie trailer
voice)
Billy-Eye’s Arcade and Dance
Barn
?”
“
That’s good—you sound just
like one of those announcers. I saw your ad in the paper, and
thought this might be a cool gig.” He was asking too many
questions. But she really wanted the job. And giving him a bloody
nose was not likely to help her get it. “I’ve got plenty of work in
Houston,” she lied. “But this just sounded like fun.”
“
But you don’t have a band
right now?”
“
I can get one together
before the audition. It’s not a problem. And I’m writing a couple
of songs especially for this place.”
Craig smiled. Original songs
for
Billy-Eye’s
. If they were good catchy songs, that would be a big plus.
“Can’t wait to hear them. Do you have anybody in mind for your
band?”
“
Yeah. There’s a bass player
I used to work with in Houston.”
“
Have you talked to him
yet?”
“
Her
. I left a message, but she
hasn’t called me back yet.”
“
So, are we talking an
all-girl band?”
“
Yeah.”
His face lit up. “Then I have a suggestion
for you.”
“
What’s that?” She didn’t
really want to hear it. Nobody was going to tell her how to put her
band together. She’d been in the business for fifteen
years.
“
Yesterday I met this girl
named Cindy Banya. She’s a drummer.”
“
How old is she?”
“
Late twenties, I
think.”
Then she’s not a
girl
, thought
Sondra.
I’m
not a girl. We’re
women
. But, of course, Craig is
just a big
boy
. And he’ll probably never grow up. “Have you heard her
play?”
“
Well, no. But I’m sure she
very good.”
“
She’s hot, isn’t
she?”
“
Uh, yeah, she
is.”
“
Look, Craig, I’ll give her
a listen, but she’d better be a rock-solid drummer, or I’ve got no
use for her.”
“
Oh, I’m sure she is. And a
sexy girl band would stand a much better chance of getting the job.
So—“
“—
I get it. When can I hear
her play?”
“
Tonight. I’ll set it
up.”
“
Okay.”
He reached across the desk, picked up a
clipboard and pen, and began to study the audition schedule. “Let’s
see…we want to give you a good time slot…”
“
Is everybody auditioning on
the same night?”
“
Well, we had hoped there
would be enough bands to spread them out over three nights, but—you
saw the line out there. It looks like we’re going to be able to do
everybody on Friday night.”
“
I want to go
last.”
“
Okay. But the kids might be
pretty tired by 11:30. And some of the younger ones might have
already gone home.”