If I were a drinker, Rita said to herself, this is probably what a hangover would feel like, a little achy and very nauseous. She skipped Sunday morning breakfast and went about doing her share of the housework (ninety percent; among his other personality traits, Big Bob was a lazy shit). Sundays would also be the time for homework and studying, but she had taken and squeezed by all her finals and was just playing out the string on her junior year. A day like this would typically result in time spent with Maryann, but that seemed doubtful at the moment. Eddie, on the other hand, had a full day lined up, dinner at home with parents and grandparents and practice with the band in Tommy's garage from three o'clock to whenever. The way you often hear football and basketball coaches saying they loved the practice, hated the games, that's what Eddie thought about his music. That was, though, in direct contrast to the other members of the band and probably the vast majority of musicians and performers of all kinds. The rush supplied by a live audience gives entertainers a reason to reach for, and the capacity to attain new levels of performance. But, Eddie never heard and barely noticed the audiences they played to (with Rita being a major exception) and unlike practice, where he was allowed to experiment, embellish, mess around and even solo, gigs needed to be played straight. Even straighter for the drummer than the guitar players, so for Eddie, Sunday afternoons and any other times the guys got together to practice were what he loved to do best. He didn't really know it but he would be more alive at band practice than in any other part of his life.
As soon as all the guys were together Tommy told them he had some really important news to lay on them.
"I just got off the phone with a guy named Rich Kramer. He's the manager of the Bourbon Brothers. He said they're making plans to go on the road in a few weeks and that the band that had been set to go out with them broke up. He said he'd been looking for a replacement for a while and he'd seen us at Glennie's (a little bar in Queens they'd played a month earlier) and then again at Rosco's. He said a couple of the Brothers were with him at Rosco's and they liked what they saw. They want us to open for them when they start their tour in July. Two months, five, six nights a week. I told him I'd run all this by you guys when you got over here. He's coming over at seven-thirty to make us an offer. What do you think?"
Rather than cheering and hand slapping as one might expect, there was stone silence, as in astonishment. Finally, Eddie, the usually unflappable Eddie, said, "Jesus Christ, you ain't shittin' us are you! This is unbelievable!" The mood became festive and stayed that way for a few minutes until Tommy brought them back to earth.
"You guys did hear me. It's five to six nights work a week for two months and he gave me the impression we're gonna be away from the Island (he meant Long Island, not Shelter Island) for probably all of that time. You'll have to quit or get time off from you jobs (Tommy had just finished his sophomore year in college, Mike and Brian had nothing jobs in a discount drug store. Eddie had the most to lose.), but this is an unbelievable chance for us."
"How much does it pay?" the guy with the most to lose asked.
"I don't know Easy, we'll find out that stuff tonight." I think we've got to find a way to do this or what the hell've we been working for?"
Brian and Mike quickly said they were in "no matter what it paid." Tommy said he understood but admonished them not to say that "or anything" when Rich Kramer came over.
"What do you say, man," Tommy said to Eddie.
Eddie knew he'd wind up losing his job, make his mother cry and possibly screw up his relationship with Rita.
"I'm in."
Rita saw Maryann walking to first period. "Hi kid", was met with a decidedly detached "hi", as Maryann barely broke stride.
"You ok?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." Silence and the same paced walk. Rita decided to back off for a while. She'd seen Maryann like this before and had learned time would heal the wound. She ate lunch with a couple of boys, one of whom congratulated her on Eddie's "big news."
"What big news," Rita asked.
"You know, the touring job his band got," he said.
"Oh, yeah, that. Ah, thanks," she said.
Not having to go to work that day, Rita got off the bus near the I.G.A. She very rarely went to Eddie's store while he was working, mostly because she usually was working at the same time but also because she knew it wasn't right to bother him at his job. But today she wouldn't wait until five-thirty to call him.
As soon as Eddie saw her he had a good idea what had happened. He signaled her to go around to the back of the store. When he came outside he was wearing a big smile. Rita wasn't.
"Hi, honey," he said and attempted to kiss her. She backed up a step.
"Stop it, Eddie. Why didn't you tell me the band had a job, a tour, whatever. What DO you have?"
"I wanted to tell you in person tonight. I was gonna call you," Eddie responded.
"When did you find out?" she questioned, still not smiling.
"Last night, this guy, he's the manager of the Bourbon Brothers, came over to Tommy's and made us the offer. We get $200 a show and they pay for a room in a motel. It's fantastic, don't you think?"
"Why didn't you call me last night?" she asked. "How long will you be gone? Will you be able to come home sometimes? And who the hell are the Bourbon Brothers?"
Eddie explained the details as best as he knew them, skipping over her original question about why he hadn't called. The tour was from June 28th through the Labor Day weekend. It was mostly in upstate New York and Pennsylvania, so they probably wouldn't be getting back. Maybe once or twice he said, reading Rita's mind.
"What about your job here?" Rita wondered.
"I'm gonna talk to Mr. Burger today," Eddie answered. "I've gotta do this, you know. Don't you think so?"
"I'll miss you," Rita said, her eyes filling up.
"I'll miss you, too, but it'll be okay. I'll get back at least a couple of times," and more convincingly, "we'll talk on the phone every night."
Eddie had to get back inside so they agreed to call each other
later to decide what to do that night, one of their remaining
eighteen summer nights.
Questions? Comments? Please send e-mail to jbearden@ieee.org
Material Copyright © 1998-2003 by Jim Bearden