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brushed against my
leather jacket sleeve. It still gave me a little thrill, and since it was
cheap, I’ll take it. “What did I miss?” I asked her.
    Without missing a beat she said, “The quarterback ran
a Statue of Liberty play and the running back went for an eighty-five yard
touchdown.”
    “Really?” I said.
    “No,” she said with a grin, “I don’t have any idea
what I even just said.”
    I laughed, “Wow, you sounded so convincing.”
    “I am looking forward to the half-time show,” she
said, sipping her cocoa.
    “Why? Who’s playing?” I asked her.
    “Oh, I don’t know, I just have to pee.”
    This girl is something else. I was now not only
surprised that I came to a football game, but I was also surprised that I was
so happy about it. I’m sure I must look like an idiot, sitting here with a grin
on my face that looked like I’d slept with a coat hanger in my mouth the night
before. But, I couldn’t stop smiling and she made me not even care about that.
    I pretended that I had to pee too, just so I could walk
with her to the bathrooms. I waited outside for her, and since the women’s
restroom line looked as bad as the concession stand, I was in for a long wait.
As I leaned up against the brick wall next to the bathrooms, I saw a guy I used
to play set with in a club the summer before last.
    “Hey! Brock! How the hell are you man?”
    “I’m doing well Joe. How are you?”
    “I’m fantastic man. I’ve wanted to get a hold of you,
but I lost your number. It’s amazing I ran into you like this! I’m playing at
Aqua and I need a good vocalist. Well, my band has a trial run at Aqua and if
it goes well, we’ll be officially offered the gig. Are you available?” Aqua was
a new night club in town, and it was turning out to be a really popular one.
Even if I wasn’t available I would have said yes.
    “Hell yes, I’m available. When?”
    Joe laughed, “We start next weekend. I was going to
have a listen to a female singer that my keyboard guy recommended on Tuesday,
and then we’ll probably jam together on Wednesday. The wife sings too but she
doesn’t want to commit to it every weekend. I know you’re going to school man,
but it will all be in the evening. I know you’re good, if I like the girl maybe
we can work out a schedule if we get the full gig.”
    I was ecstatic. If it had been during the day, I was
ready to quit school. Not really, but hell yes! I was going to be singing at
the hottest club in town. “Where are you getting together?”
    Joe handed me a card with an address on it. “It’s a
storage garage; my brother-in-law owns it. It keeps us from getting kicked out
of our neighborhood, so the wife likes me to run practices there.”
    A voice cut in from out of nowhere, “You got that
right. Last time he practiced in the garage I think three people called the
cops.” It was his wife Lyndie . I always liked her.
She and Joe had gotten married young. They weren’t even thirty yet and had
already been married ten years and had a couple of kids.
    “Maybe it wasn’t the volume they were complaining
about…if you know what I mean,” I said with a laugh.
    “Hey boy, watch yourself if you want to play with me.”
Joe barked, but with a grin.
    I said hello officially to Lyndie and we chatted for a few minutes before they left to go back to their seats. I
must have still been grinning when Molly came back out because she looked around
and said, “What is so dang funny? You’re always grinning like the Cheshire
Cat.”
    I wanted to hug someone I was so excited, and I really
wanted it to be her. I didn’t go there though, not yet. I didn’t want to scare
her away already. Instead, I told her about Joe and the club.
    “Wow, that’s great,” she said, seeming genuinely happy
for me. “Aqua is supposed to be a really fun place.”
    “I went there the night they opened. It’s nice. They
didn’t have a very good band though,” I said. I couldn’t help grinning