Incidental Happenstance (16 page)

            “I have to say this, but I’ll only say it once, because your heads are obviously already full of yourselves,” she said with a grin. “I’m a huge fan, I love your music, and it really is an honor to be in the same room with all of you. I appreciate the welcome, and…” she noticed them all grinning at her. “I’ll just shut up now, before I make an ass of myself. Thanks.”

            “Dylan, did you ask this girl if she has a sister? I like her already,” Ty spoke up. “I’m glad to hear you’re a fan, and glad that you gave our man Dylan here such a good time last night. He’s been actin’ like a little kid all morning, and frankly, we’re all glad you’re here, because we were getting pretty sick of it.”

            Dylan stepped over and put his arm around Tia. “I really wonder sometimes why I picked a bunch of assholes like you to travel around the world with.” He turned to Tia. “Seriously, they give me shit all the time, they snore, they hog up all the good food…”

            “Now you know that we have to keep you in good shape, brother,” Bo chimed in. “We all know you ain’t the talent in this organization, so we need to exercise a little control, that’s all.”

            “Yeah, right. Well, as much as I’m enjoying your company,” Dylan said, flipping them the bird, “I’m going to take my lady on a little tour, and have her help me with the sound checks. You think they got the amps hooked up yet?”

            “I just got the call a couple minutes ago that they’re ready,” Angelo answered.

            Dylan led Tia out of the common room. “Sorry about that,” he said. “They can be a bit obnoxious at times. Most times, actually.”

            “Are you kidding me? They’re great! You guys genuinely like each other—that says a lot after all the years you’ve been together.”

            “Yeah, they’re my family, pretty much. A great bunch of guys, really. Just a pain in the ass sometimes, is all.” He stopped and looked at her. “They were right about one thing, though. I have been talking about you all morning. I’m so glad you’re here.” He took her in his arms and pulled her close. She breathed in the scent of him, something dark and earthy and fiercely masculine. Then he dipped his head toward hers and kissed her full on the mouth with no subtlety; there was a definite hunger behind the kiss, and she returned it with equal fervor.  When they broke apart, he took a huge breath and shook his head. “Damn. I have to stop doing that right now, or I’m not going to be able to focus on anything else.”

            She smiled up at him. “That would be OK with me,” she said, “but the fans wouldn’t be too happy.”

            “Yeah, and the fans pay the bills,” he replied, leading her out onto the enormous stage.

            She had never been on such a huge stage before. Looking out at the tens of thousands of seats she felt flutters in her stomach, despite the fact that they were all empty. A few workers milled about, picking up forgotten trash, sweeping aisles, and wiping down seats. The InHap crew was at work setting up lighting, speakers, the mixing booth, and the stage—a huge backdrop of monitors was being erected at the rear, static cameras were placed, the drum kit was being set up, and marks were being placed on the stage in two colors of tape so that the transition between opening band and headliner would go seamlessly.

            Dylan took her hand and walked her to the X that marked where his mike would be. “Pretty awesome, huh?” he said.

            “How do you do it?” she asked. “Honestly, how do you walk out here every night, knowing that tens of thousands of people are here to see you, and not die of fright?”

            He tossed her that crooked smile from the corner of his mouth. “Don’t you know the big secret?” he asked sarcastically. “You just picture everyone in their underwear.”

            She slapped him on the arm playfully. “Seriously, don’t you get nervous?”

            “Every single night,” he admitted. “But once I get on stage and start singing, nothing else exists. It’s just me, the audience, and the music. And then it doesn’t matter how big or small the audience is—I want to do my best for them.”

            She leaned against him and he encircled her waist with his arm. “You do, Dylan. I’ve probably seen twenty of your concerts in the past six years, and you always put on a great show.”

            “You mean to tell me that I’ve been in the same space with you twenty times and never found you?”

            “Yeah, well, the lottery system sucks, remember? I’ve never been close enough to the stage to even see you clearly.”

            He pointed down to two chairs that didn’t match the rest of the seats in the stadium. They were front and center. “No? Well you have good seats tonight. Those are yours.”

            “Holy shit,” she replied. “I actually won’t have to watch the monitor to see what you look like!”

            “I want to be able to see you, too. I told you, I’m dedicating this show to you, and I mean that. So you have to tell me some songs that you want me to play for you, and I’ll do my best to get them on the set list.” 

            “Oh wow, that’s a tough one!” she exclaimed. “I love so many. Of course, my first choice is the one you haven’t done in concert—ever.”

            “
Pull You Up
.”

            Tia nodded. “It’s always been a favorite, but after last night, when you sang it to me, it’ll always be my absolute favorite song.” A shadow crossed his eyes. “But I understand why you don’t play it. It was for your sister, and it’s too personal to play live. It’s more than enough that you sang it for me last night; better even. Forget I even mentioned it.”

            “You know, I actually wrote it sitting next to her hospital bed when I was seventeen years old. She loved hearing me strum the guitar and of course had her favorites that she’d always beg me to play for her, but she asked me to write her a song that was just for her…and that was what she got. I only got to sing it for her once before she died. It was hard even playing it in the studio when we were recording the album.”

            “I completely understand…”

            “Singing it to you last night was the first time I’ve sung it for anyone since it was recorded.”

            She was touched, and astounded. “Oh Dylan, I didn’t realize…”

            “But hey.” He took both her hands in his and pulled her close. “After last night, maybe it is time. It would honor her memory, too, and make a statement about me letting go of the past.”

            “It’s too much to ask. I shouldn’t even have mentioned it. Really, forget it.” She tried to switch gears. “A concert dedicated to me? Even one song dedicated to me, sung by you, is more than I ever dreamed. How about, “
Time and Again
?” That’ll get the audience moving. Not that you have to do anything more than step out on the stage to make that happen,” she added.

            “I can definitely put that one list. And I’ll think about “
Pull You Up
.” No promises, but I’ll think about it. I don’t even know if we can pull it off live. It’s been a long time, and we’ve never rehearsed it.” His mind obviously wandered.  “Maybe I could do it acoustic.”

            Again, he’d said “no promises.” It reminded her that her time with him was short, and that she shouldn’t waste a minute of it. She didn’t want to think about saying goodbye to him, maybe even after this night was over, and she shook her head to blow out the sadness that was already starting to form there. “Don’t even worry about it,” she said. “I have plenty of other requests.” She started listing her favorites, and d astoundetook a notepad out of his pocket and started taking notes and nodding.

            “I’ll talk to the guys about the set list. We mix it up every night, so most of these shouldn’t be a problem at all. We usually decide at the last minute, pretty much, depending on everyone’s moods. I told them that this one was for you tonight, so I’m sure they’ll agree with whatever I give them. Especially on “
Into the Blue
” and “
Seepage
.” We all love playing those live. Now, let’s go do a sound check, shall we?”

            “Excuse me, Dylan?” a voice spoke from behind them.

            Tia turned and saw a woman approaching. She was perhaps in her early thirties, but her Asian heritage kept her face flawless, making her look much younger. She was a tiny thing, perhaps just over five foot tall, with dark hair and deep-set slanted eyes.

            “Ah, there you are, Jessa!” Dylan remarked. “I’ve been wondering when you were going to make an appearance.” He turned to Tia. “Tia, I want you to meet Jessa, my personal assistant and the one who keeps me sane. Jessa, this is Tia.”

            She looked warmly at Tia and extended her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she said formally.

            “Nice to meet you, too,” Tia smiled.

            “So, what’s up?” Dylan asked.

            She pulled a Blackberry from the pocket of her ill-fitting vest. “I just wanted to let you know that dinner’ll arrive around 5, and that I was able to move the interview to 8:00 am tomorrow, like you asked. And the studio called. They’ve arranged your flights and accommodations for shooting starting on the 15
^th
of September, and are planning to announce your co-star publicly in the next couple days. They wouldn’t even give me hint—believe me, I tried.”

            “You’re awesome, Jessa. Thank you.”

            “No problem.” 

            “And Jessa, one more thing?”

            “Yes?”

            “I want to make sure that Tia has full run tonight, OK? Let security know that she has full access, in case I get called away. And keep her company while we have the pre-show meeting. I don’t want her to get bored and run off on me.” He winked at Tia, and smiled at his assistant. “There’s a lot of testosterone back there, especially right before a show. Make sure she isn’t smothered.”

            Jessa smiled warmly at Tia. “I can do that, especially if it keeps me away from that feeding frenzy. I’ll check back with you in a little while.”

            “Sounds good.” Dylan took Tia’s arm and led her to one of the X’s marked on the stage with blue tape. “This is the back-up mike. I’m going to grab a guitar and play the opening for “
Lost in You
.” I know you know that one.” Tia nodded, fondly remembering last night’s karaoke performance. “I’ll start, and you chime in so we can check the sound levels, all right?”

            “Got it!” she said enthusiastically. Even without a crow it was intimidating being on such a huge stage in front of so many seats. Dylan signaled to the sound guy in the booth set up about fifty yards from the stage. When he got the thumbs-up, he started strumming the intro. Tia joined in with the harmony, and adjustments were made to ensure even and optimal sound.

            After several attempts, the sound guy gave another thumbs-up, signaling that the mikes were synced properly. He launched the song again, and this time, Bo and Ty joined them on stage, adding in the drums and bass to the mix.

            “You’re right, Dyl. She is pretty good!” Ty chimed in. They ran through the song a couple more times before switching over to a livelier tune. Angelo joined them, and Tia took a seat at the edge of the stage to watch the rehearsal as the rest of the sound guys wandered in to complete the warm-ups. After a few minutes, Jessa joined her.

            They watched in silence for a few minutes, and then Jessa spoke up. “Aren’t they just awesome?” she said absent-mindedly. The question was definitely rhetorical—her feelings were clearly conveyed in the countenance of her face and the sparkle in her eyes.

            “Yeah, they sure are,” Tia agreed. “So how long have you been working for Dylan?” she asked.

            “Oh, just over a year now,” she replied. “I started as an intern, and just loved it. He’s so nice, and so talented, and so…nice. He never treats me like a peon, you know? Not like some other big stars. I have a friend who works for Bryce St. Cloud, and she’s always complaining about what an asshole he is to her. Dylan’s never been like that. It’s a great gig.”

            “I just met Dylan last night,” she admitted. “But still, I know what you mean. He’s the real deal, isn’t he? Just a good person with a big heart—almost too good to be true.”

            “Exactly!” she agreed. “He doesn’t get into all that ‘star’ bullshit. He tells me like it is, and I do the same with him. I felt comfortable with him right away. With all of them, as a matter of fact. They’re a great bunch of guys, and really easy to work for.”

            “So, do you travel with them, and all that?”

            “Yeah, I go pretty much wherever Dylan goes.”

            Tia felt a twinge of jealousy that this woman got to spend so much time with Dylan. “Is that hard?” she asked. “Don’t you have a family, a boyfriend?”

            “Nah. It’s just the band. And just Dylan when he’s filming a movie.” Tia looked at her questioningly. “But it’s a choice I made. I love my work, and couldn’t imagine doing anything else, really.” She looked at Tia, and saw the questions in her eyes. “I know. Why would I give up my own life for someone else’s, right?” Tia nodded. “Well, this
is
my life right now. I get to travel all over the world, go to all the best shows, live the good life…I don’t know. I think eventually I’ll meet someone and move on, and have a family…but it isn’t yet. Right now, I love what I do, and I’m getting pretty good at it, so I figure, what the hell?”