A Beautiful Melody (6 page)

Friday night feels like it takes forever to arrive. I’
ve been dying for it to come but as soon as it arrives, my nerves make me wish that I had longer to prepare.

“You’re going to be fine,” Stephanie tells me as she sits on the edge of my bed and watches me fling cl
othes about as I try to decide what best to wear.

“God, I’m sweating.
I haven’t even stood on stage yet and I’m sweating! My bow’s going to end up sliding out of my fingers and hitting some poor bastard in the eye ball. They’ll never let me up there again!” I moan, throwing yet another dress on the floor. None of them look right.

“Calm down. How many times have you performed before? You’ve never choked, and you’re not going to choke now.
You’re like the Rain Man of music. The moment you heard those songs you knew them. Plus, you’ve been practicing with the guys all week. It’s going to be amazing.”

I stand back from my wardrobe and survey the mess I’ve made of my room. I run my fingers through my hair, frustrated with myself for not thinking about what I was going to wear tonight.

“I should have bought something new to wear,” I whine. “I don’t have anything!”

Stephanie laughs as she looks at the mountain of clothing on my floor.

“Nomes. I want you to stop this nonsense. I’m going to choose your clothes, and you’re going to go and take a shower. Gary is going to be here in twenty minutes, and then we’re leaving. You don’t have any freak out time left. So go.”

“God, you’re such a mum now. When did you become the responsible one?” I ask, half in jest as I concede defeat and head for the bathroom.

“I was always the responsible one,” she grins, picking through my clothes and starting to match items together.

I laugh as I close the bathroom door, turning the shower on with a shaky hand. I try to breathe and calm down. I’ve gotten myself into such a state, that when I look in the mirror, my face is bright pink.

“Ok, you can do this. It’s like riding a bike. You never forget how to perform. Right?” I say to my reflection, still feeling very unsure as to whether or not I’m capable of playing in front of a crowd again.

Quickly,
I shake my head and my nervous thoughts away. Steph is right – I don’t have time to freak out or I’ll be late. I test the water temperature and quickly remove my clothes, stepping into the shower recess and allowing the water to pour over my body.

Closing my eyes, I try to picture myself on stage, strong and confident. Singing and playing at my best. In my mind, the crowd is loving me. Then my doubts take over and the crowd starts to boo me off stage.

Rapidly, I open my eyes and shake my head again. “Just stop, this isn’t helping,” I admonish myself. “Everything will be fine… Everything will be fine.”

***

“Where is she Marcus?” Theo glowers. “She’s supposed to be here by now.”

“She will be Theo, relax
. She’ll be here,” I assure him as confidently as I can, although I look at my phone furtively, silently hoping I’m right.

As if hearing my prayers, she burst
s through the door, all breathless and well… gorgeous. I can see immediately what took her so long. She looks absolutely smoking hot in a short girly looking skirt, that’s purple like her violin. They show off her tan legs perfectly, my eyes can’t help but drag down the length of them, pausing at the pair of killer black heels she’s got on her feet.

“Seriously, i
f you fall over in those things, I’m not catching you,” Theo spits out. It’s the first thing anyone has said. The rest of us are just staring at her open mouthed. She’s got her hair pulled up into a messy bun and her face isn’t overly made up. It’s just enough to make her look like she’s glowing.

“It’s ok Nomes, I’ll catch you,” Lachlan smiles.

“Thanks,” she smiles, fidgeting slightly. I think Theo has made her feel a little self-conscious now. Fuck he can be a dick.

“You look gorgeous
, Naomi. You’re going to knock them all dead tonight,” I tell her with a wink, glad when I’m rewarded with a huge smile.

“I hope so,
” she admits.

“Alright ladies. Enough gushing,” Theo interrupts, clapping his hands together. “We’ve got just enough time to finish setting up before they open the doors
. So let’s get this finished.”

We finish preparing the stage
as Theo talks quietly with the venue’s sound guy. Our band is doing well, but at the moment we are responsible for all of our own equipment, sound, bookings and everything else promoting a band entails.

Theo has taken on the crux of it. He’s got a good head for the business side of things. Admittedly, we wouldn’t be where we are without him.
Although, I don’t really tell him that, because I don’t want him thinking he’s the boss or anything. But it’s true. He’s like, our music industry guru. I have no idea how he does it.

When everything is checked and ready, we
all head out to the back room to wait until it’s time to get on stage. We don’t say a huge amount. All of us guys just try to make normal conversation in an attempt to put Naomi at ease.

She’s sitting on a stool and bouncing her leg up and down frantically,
occasionally blowing out steadying breaths and complaining about the heat in the room.

I exchange glances with Theo
, who just looks at her and shakes his head. Suddenly, I find my knee bouncing too – shit, if she blows this, I’ll never hear the end of it. Theo will murder me.

“Five minutes,” we’re told by someone from the venue. We’ve been waiting almost an hour and I’m dying from nerves. I’ve taken to pacing the small room, trying to keep my arms away from my body to lessen the amount of sweat that’s pouring out of me. I know. Gross, right?

I silently thank Stephanie for choosing a black fitted singlet top for me. At least I don’t have to worry about sweat stains. Oh god. I’m dying right now. I’m not sure I can do this.

The guys had been trying to talk to me in between their own pre-show warm up routines, but they gave up after about ten minutes of my incoherent bumbling. Now they’re just sitting around, exchanging raised browed glances as they watch me freak out.

“You’re going to do great. Stop worrying
.” Jack attempts to soothe me. This is like the fiftieth time one of them has tried… well, except Theo. He seems to have waves of contempt rolling off him each time he looks at me. I keep seeing him shaking his head at me. But I can’t calm down. I can’t keep still. I just need to get through this night.

I guess this is like getting back on the
proverbial horse. You’re nervous that you’re going to get thrown again, but once you do it, you get your confidence back – right? I’m hoping that’s how it will be. I mean, it’s not like I’ve ever been booed off the stage, I’ve always performed well. But the last time I did something like this was in high school. Most of the stuff I did at Uni was more classical in nature. I was part of a string section – and I didn’t have to sing.

Oh god, that reminds me – is my voice warm enough?

“Let’s go,” Theo says, standing from his seat and picking up his sticks as he moves toward me, dipping down to pick up my violin case. “Calm. The fuck. Down,” he growls into my ear, as he hands my case to me.

I swallow the thick ball of saliva that’s lodged itself in my throat and
nod at him quickly, our eyes locking as he looks at me intently, his eyebrows raised. I realise he wants some sort of answer. Wait. What was the question?

“I’ll be fine,” I tell him in a small voice, wrapping my sweaty palm around the handle of my case
as I take it from him. “I promise.”

He lets out a slight grunt and heads out the door, closely followed by Jack
, and Lachlan - who gives me a pat on the shoulder and a few encouraging words.

“Come on,” Marcus says, sliding his arm around my shoulders. “Let’s go make beautiful music together.”

When we get out on the stage, I look out and try to find Stephanie and Gary in the crowd. The lights are dim, and in front of the stage are tables and chairs. My eyes find them to the left of the stage, seated at a table they’re sharing with Amy and Erica. They give me a little wave, and I feel glad to have the support of them there.

As I ready myself to start, I look around the room. Every table is full, and
the standing room on the upper level is jam packed with people.

I let out a slow breath as I hold my bow and violin at my side. This is it. Show time.

My attention goes to Marcus as he clears his throat and leans into the microphone. “Good evening,” he says. A few people cheer, eliciting a beautiful swoon worthy smile from our front man. “Thank you ladies. This first song is called ‘Fragile’.”

I close my eyes, and focus on the sound of him strumming his guitar. This song i
s primarily guitar and gentle drums. The rest of us don’t come in until the chorus, and I don’t sing on this one either, it’s all Marcus.

We only kiss when we’re all alone,

When n
o one can see us.

I should
take you home.

He’s mesmerising, so much that I almost forget to ready my violin on my shoulder when it’s time to join in. Luckily, the sound of Theo hitting out his intro to the chorus, snaps me to attention, and I quickly ready myself, closing my eyes and playing along as he sings.

When you whisper to me,

I want your words to be true,

But you know we can't be,

Not like this. Not like this.

Why did you sing your song to my heart?

When you knew we were fragile right from the start

The moment I start playing, I’m focused. I don’t miss a beat. I come in and out of the song at the correct places
. I let the music flow through me, and marvel at Marcus and Theo’s cohesion. Really this band is the two of them, the rest of us are just here to support their talent.

This past week rehearsing with them has made me really appreciate the minds behind the music. Each note is so careful, so deliberate. Each quiet pause, adds to the emotion of the song
. When I finish playing my part in the last chorus, all instruments stop and Marcus sings the last two lines in silence, finishing with the same music he played for the intro – there’s just guitar, gently twanging out its beautiful melody to an enraptured audience.

As he finishes
, the audience pauses for a beat before erupting into cheers and applause.

“Thank you,” Marcus says into the microphone. “
I’d like to introduce you all to the band. To my left, on bass, is Lachlan.” The crowd claps and cheers as Lachlan gives them a salute and a smile, his handsome, dimpled, and unshaven face causing more than a couple of girls to whoop a little louder than necessary. I grin when I see him wink and point at a couple of them.

“On the keyboard is Jack.” Applause and cat calls ring out again. Jack holds his
hands up and laps up the adoration.

“On drums, is my brother Theo
. He writes most of our songs.”

Theo does a short beat on his drums as the crowd cheers for him
. When I look at him, I expect him to have his usual scowl in place. But he’s actually smiling, it’s a good look for him, and I find myself wishing to see him happy like that when he speaks to me.

His eyes fall on me, and I realise that I’m staring, caught up in the joy he’s displaying. When our eyes lock, my heart leaps up in my chest and it’s as if the air is somehow charged in the distance between us. Although, it migh
t just be me experiencing it, because his smile lessens before his eyes shift to something on his drum kit that he quickly starts adjusting.

A pang shoots through me, and I find myself looking away quickly, embarrassed that I was so openly gawking at him. Taking a deep breath, I set a smile on my face and focus on Marcus, who is waiting for a pause in the applause to introduce me.

“And tonight, we have someone new to introduce you to. The gorgeous woman with the fiddle, standing to my right, is Naomi.”

I grin and nod my head as the crowd cheers for me. Stephanie, Gary, Erica and Amy let out loud cat calls and thump their
fists on the table, causing my grin to become so broad, it’s closing my eyes and I can hardly see. I resist the urge to look behind me, even though I can feel Theo’s eyes on my back. I don’t want to see him scowl and ruin this moment.

“Now, it’
s her first night with us. So, you need to let us know if you like her stuff so we keep her. Do you think you can do that?”

The crowd cheers
, letting us know that yes, they would happily rate my performance tonight.
Geez, no pressure there
, I think.

“I’m sure she’ll dazzle you,” he says in a low voice, close to the microphone as he looks directly at me. Somethi
ng passes, silently, between us, it’s in complete contrast to what happened just before with Theo. When Marcus looks at me, he displays want and admiration. But Theo, well… I don’t really know what it is – it’s not hate. But it’s not anything good either. It’s just raw emotion, and I don’t know what to make of it.

Marcus
keeps his eyes on me as he announces the next song.
“This one is called ‘It’s a Crime’.”

Jack plays the intro to the music before Marcus starts to sing. It’s just the two of them together, piano and voice.

Please get out of the way

This is not what it looks like

I’m in the wrong place

I’m not
looking for you

Toward the end of the first verse, Theo comes in with a slow double boom, emanating
from the bass drum. This is the first song I’ll be singing in as well as playing. My violin comes in at the beginning of the second verse and stops just before I sing,

Please don’t fight… me

This was all Theo’s idea, instead of having me harmonise with Marcus during the chorus, he felt that if I took on the role of the woman the song was about, it would create a more intense emotion. Marcus sings back to me as if we’re arguing.

Don’t steal my heart

When you know it’s been broken

The song continues with me
singing, begging him not to fight my advances and him singing in return about why the woman can’t have his love.

As the music swells, he becomes louder,
more insistent, as we both sing,

I will fight,

I will fight,

I will fight you.

He draws out the last note, and as he finishes, I sing a single word.

No

I play the final notes out along with Jack on the keyboard. It’s a slow and solemn song. It leaves me feeling as though I just lost something, and I wonder where the lyrics come from.

The crowd cheers again, whooping and hollering at us.
As I lap up the attention, I can’t believe I was studying to play classical violin. The applause from a classical theatre is so much more restrained than this and I suddenly understand why a lot of musicians have such big egos. This feeling is amazing.

The rest of our set flies by, and the show is over far too quickly. Before I know it, we’
re done and Marcus is taking me by the hand and waving at the crowd as we leave the stage.

People congratulate us on a great show a
s we head backstage. They are so complimentary towards me, and I can’t seem to get the grin to leave my face. Even though I desperately want to seem cool right now.

“That was probably the best damn show we’ve ever done,” declares Jack, the moment we are in the back room. “We’ve never had a crowd that excited. We’ve got to keep her Theo.”

“I know,” he says, his eyes glancing down to where Marcus is still holding my hand. I don’t know why, but I immediately let go, feeling a little like I just got caught cheating on a test.

He doesn’t say anything else, he just walks out of the room.

“Where is he going?” I ask.

“Probably to get paid. He’s very efficient with these things,” Marcus explains, turning toward me. “Anyway, let’
s forget about my permanently sour-faced brother for now. How did you feel up there?”

“Like a rock star,” I laugh.

“Better than the school stuff we used to do huh?” he adds, mirroring the grin I’m sporting.

“Yeah,
and better than anywhere I’ve ever played.”

“Well, get used to it Nomes. We are going to go off!” Lachlan prophesises. “I can feel it in my bones.”

“Yep, they loved us tonight. Good things were already happening for us, but now we’ve got a sound that the others don’t have. We’ve got her,” Jack puts in, pointing at me with his bottle of beer, handing one to me at the same time.

I gratefully accept it, taking a thirsty drink of the cold amber liquid.

“She’s got a name you jerk,”
Lachlan laughs, taking a bottle for himself and throwing another to Marcus.

We all toast to our great show and continued success.

“Well, I have to go and visit the ladies,” I announce, setting my bottle aside and standing to make my way out the door.

“I’ll show you where they are. Don’t go out to the general area, you’ll be so bombarded with admirers that you won’t get back here,” Marcus informs me
with a grin.

We head down the narrow hallway, weaving our way past stacks of chairs and other backstage paraphernalia.

As we round the corner I see an open door that obviously leads to a bathroom, judging by the tiles on the floor in the doorway.

“I’ll wait here for you,” he informs me in a low quiet voice.

I turn to him and smile, ready to let him know that he doesn’t need to. But the look in his eyes has my words evaporating before they’ve made it out of my mouth.

“You really were great tonight,” he practically whispers, tucking a wisp of hair that’s come loose from my bun, behind my ear.

The gentle brush of his fingers against my cheek causes my eyes to flutter closed for a moment.

“You were pretty great yourself,” I whisper, my voice husky and thick as I speak. I can’t help the way I feel around him. I’m right back in high
school, loving every bit of attention he gives me and silently begging for more, even though I’m not sure I actually want it.

“I’ve missed you, you know?” he tells me, lightly brushing his fingers down the side of my face and looking at me intently.