Frankie milked his moment until one of the stars of the current film arrived and the press moved on. Frankie reached for my hand. “Let’s go in,” he said. “That was a good run.”
I nodded, aware of the popping of flashes as we walked the rest of the way into the theater. Once out of range of the photographers, we went through a security check and were escorted to our seats.
My throat tightened again as I surveyed the room. Despite arriving fairly late, it would be an hour or more until the film began. We still had to watch the interviews taking place outside, now showing onscreen. Then the traditional introduction of the cast and speeches about everyone’s brilliance and talent.
Frankie was animated, anxious, I knew, for his own premiere next month. I hadn’t been around during its filming, as that was concluded over a year ago. I would narrowly miss the shooting schedule of his next movie too.
Rotten luck on that. Not that I could afford to miss that much class. I did have to graduate. Still, I craved the chance to be on a movie set, brought in by the director. That was access.
I kept a natural, mildly pleased expression on my face as we were greeted by other industry people arriving at the theater. I desperately wanted to take out my cell phone and get one last selfie among the glitterati, but I knew that was out of line for my position and didn’t dare embarrass Frankie, even now.
As the lights finally dimmed, I paid little attention to the film and thought ahead to the after-party. Frankie sat close, his arm draped around me. I wondered who he had fallen in love with. He wasn’t for me, really, twice my age and not exactly my type. But he was kind, and funny, and I would miss him.
Now I was getting all blue. I couldn’t be photographed that way.
Surely there would be someone at the party who would find me interesting. Maybe not as much as Frankie, but I could live with less.
I just had to find him.
Chapter 4: Chance
The boys from the Sonic Kings were raucous and animated in the two hours it took to get to the gig. Purple Sunglasses, whose real name was Paul, navigated their VW van through an impressive neighborhood of mansions flanked with palm trees.
“You wanna hang with us for the night, Tennessee?” Paul asked. “Free food and booze if you help with setup.”
I didn’t have any better offers, and who knows, maybe fate would shine on me at the party and I’d figure out my next move.
“Sounds good,” I said.
We turned on to a long tree-lined street. I’d seen a lot of things in my expedition across the country, but never anything like this. Enormous mechanized gates stood like sentries over the winding road. You caught little more than glimpses of the homes themselves, as leafed-out bushes blocked the view.
We pulled up to a driveway with its gates thrown wide. Dark had already descended, but the front lawns were brightly lit with floodlights aiming down from the trees.
One of the other band members whistled. “Whooee, look at these digs.”
The van coughed and chugged its way around a circle drive where a couple valets were setting up a stand.
“Curbside service,” Paul said. “Sweet life.”
“How’d you get this gig anyway?” I asked.
“Movie director dude is a friend of a friend. His big premiere downtown is tonight.”
A valet opened the side door uncertainly. “You with the caterer?” one asked.
“We’re the band!” Paul said with exuberance. “Where do we unload?”
The valet pointed to a side driveway that wound to the back.
“We’re in!” Paul said as we circled the house. “We’ve got a stage and all here.”
We pulled up next to a truck where two men were unloading an ice sculpture of a dinosaur. Must be related to the movie, I figured, unable to stop grinning. I never expected the final destination of my trip to be as good as this.
We all clambered to the back and Paul passed me a cymbal box. The grounds outside the van were unreal, as big as a park, immaculate and green. Little white balls of light were strung all over the place, crisscrossing tables with red tablecloths.
“Totally prime,” Paul said, surveying the yard. “These people have money to burn.”
The stage was just past the pool, which was full of floating flowers. All around, perfectly clipped hedges lined meandering sidewalks.
I could get used to this.
We set the first load on the edge of the stage, and Paul took off to find somebody in charge to ask about power. I headed back to the van for more gear, puffed up and pleased to be here. I didn’t care if I was schlepping.
After a few loads from the van to the stage, we had all the gear laid out. Paul sat on the stage, plugging in amps and mikes. The drummer assembled his set.