“Remember our anniversary? You asked me why I loved you. Mr. Price, bless his heart, I think initially just felt sorry for me. And Liz had her own agenda,” Heather said wryly. “But you are the first person in my life to actually make ME believe I was really worth something. You’re the first person to make me believe that I even COULD be loved . . . that I might actually deserve to be loved. I just wish I could make you realize just what that means to me.”
Laurie had never heard Heather so emotionally exposed before. True, they had talked about their insecurities, problems and desires, but this was at a whole different level. “You have the rest of our lives to figure out how to tell me,” Laurie whispered. “Because that’s how long I’m going to stay with you.”
The two of them settle into a comfortable silence, with Heather’s head resting on Laurie’s shoulder. Both girls enjoyed the presence of the other, listening to the hum of the jet engines as they hurtled through the air towards the ranch, their friends and their life together.
———————- —————-
A warm August night . . .
———————- —————-
Heather had never heard anything as loud as a crowd of fifty thousand screaming people before. She had been AT concerts that big, but standing up on the stage was like standing in a whole other world. And the stage lights were blazing down like stars that had far too close to earth. And for a brief moment, she was standing in the absolute center of the universe.
Earlier that evening, Lost in Texas had gone out to play their five-song set in their opening for the Eagles. With each song, the girls got the crowd a little more into the show. They had started with “The Itch,” which got the younger members of the crowd riled up, and then they followed it up with “A Devil and an Angel,” “Where the Buffalo Roam,” “Dinner at O’Malley’s” and they finished off with their trademark tune, “Lost in Texas.” By the end of the set, they had most of the stadium on their feet. They knew that their friends and loved ones were out in that crowd somewhere. But for a moment, their family had grown to include tens of thousands of new members. They had gotten a great roar of approval when they finished their set and took their first ever big-league bow. It wouldn’t be their last.
They had gone backstage where they were going to watch the headliners do their thing. There was a man waiting there representing the record label with the necessary paperwork for them to sign. Mary looked it over and approved everything before the rest of the girls signed on. They would be going into a professional studio with an actual producer to work on their first official album. The company was fine with their material so far, but wanted them to produce a more polished form of it. The sound quality on their demo CD was less than stellar. The girls were all screaming and hugging and were rightfully excited. But their evening wasn’t over yet.
They hung out in the back and chatted with all the people who made the tour happen and listening to the Eagles play. At the end of the show, Don Henley was jokingly complaining to the crowd about his voice giving out. He grabbed a camera and took him into the back with the entire crowd watching the big screen over the stage. He meandered into the back to where the still excited local band was hanging out. He had wandered up to Heather and asked her if she would mind helping him sing one last song. Heather almost went into shock. The only reason she was able to move was that the Eagle’s front man grabbed her by the arm while the rest of the band gathered around her and pushed her towards the stage. Suddenly, she was out on stage with one of the biggest bands in rock history. Then someone handed her a microphone. Mr. Henley told the crowd that he felt that the young woman on stage with him had one of the most spectacular voices he’d heard in a while, and he was wondering if the crowd would mind them finishing off the evening with a duet. The crowd roared its approval.
Heather’s head was still swimming. She couldn’t do this. She didn’t even know what the song was. It was like that dream everyone has about showing up for class and having to take a test he or she hadn’t studied for. But when the music started, she knew it was a song she could sing. Anyone who had listened to a jukebox or radio in the last twenty years knew the opening for “Hotel California,” and Heather was no different. From the moment that Don Henley let the words “On a dark desert highway,” escape his lips, Heather was in the zone. She got the nod after the first verse, launching into the second with “There she stood in the doorway.” If she WAS actually dreaming all this, she was going to milk it for all she could.
When the song ended and the crowd erupted, Heather found herself with her face in her hands, much like when she had sang karaoke that first time almost a year earlier. All the members of the Eagles actually gave her a quick hug before she waved to the crowd and ran off stage and directly into the wait arms of her girlfriend. The other band members quickly swarmed the two of them. Heather heard them yelling jubilantly, but their voices quickly blurred into an incomprehensible stream of gibberish. The only thing she heard clearly was something Laurie whispered into her ear.
“Your heart is beating so loud,” the girl said. Heather wasn’t sure why she was able to make that out amongst the noise, but she didn’t care. But it was true. She felt her heart pounding like a big drum and she could feel the blood pulsing through her veins.
————- ————————
A little later that evening . . .
————- ————————
Eventually the clock struck midnight, the coach turned back into a pumpkin and it was time for Cinderella to leave the ball. The band was loading up their gear into their cars, soaking in what they had just been a part of. A bunch of people had actually come over to talk to them and ask when their CD was likely to be released. Their family and friends who had been in attendance had come over to talk to them and congratulate them. Most of the band relished the attention, but Heather found herself completely exhausted. She had just placed her guitar in the backseat of her beat-up, Volkswagen Thing when she felt someone tugging on her shirt. She turned around, thinking that maybe it was one of her band-mates. It wasn’t.
In front of her was a young girl, no more than thirteen or fourteen years old. She was a gangly looking girl with an Eagles tee-shirt that was a size too large for her, and her big brown eyes were looking up at Heather from beneath a shock of brown hair. A couple, who Heather assumed were the girl’s parents, was standing nearby. The girl was looking at Heather shyly. She held up what appeared to be an autograph book and a pen. The girl’s name was written on the front of the book; Sarah Smith. Heather was perplexed. ‘This girl isn’t asking for what I think she is, is she?’
“Would you sign this for me?” came the girl’s voice in a whisper. Heather smiled down at her.
“Sure,” Heather responded. She took the pen in her shaking hand. ‘What’s that about?’ she wondered. “First one of these I’ve ever done,” she said. “Did you enjoy the show?” she asked. The girl nodded her head wildly.
“I want to be a musician when I grow up!” the girl said excitedly.
“Good to hear!” Heather said as she started to write. “Rock’n’roll?”
“Yep!”
“Good. We need more girl rockers,” Heather said warmly. She finished her autograph. It read: ‘To Sarah. To the very first person who ever asked me for an autograph. You are now OFFICIALLY my favorite fan. When you’re ready sign YOUR first autograph, keep me in mind! Thanks, Heather Englund.’ She handed it to Sarah. “I hope I did okay,” she said.
The girl looked incredibly pleased and suddenly threw her arms around Heather’s waist. Heather couldn’t begin to describe what she was feeling. Then Sarah met her gaze again.
“Someday, I wanna be as good as you,” she said, then rushed off to join up with her parents. The girl’s mother waved and mouthed the words ‘Thank you,’ as their delighted daughter grabbed both her mother and father by the hand and dragged them towards the car. Heather waved back, then slumped back against her car.
“That was a wonderful thing you just did,” came a voice from behind her, making her jump. Heather didn’t even have to turn around to recognize that voice.
“Hi Jane. I’m glad you guys were able to make it.”
“We wouldn’t have missed it for all the world.” Jane wrapped her arm around her young friend’s shoulders. “You were magnificent today. You know that, don’t you?”
“I was alright,” Heather returned bashfully. “I wasn’t the only one out there.”
“Maybe not, but you were one of the most popular topics of conversation. I’m proud of all you,” Jane said as she kissed Heather on the forehead. “But whether you want to admit it or not, you ARE something special Heather Englund. And that young girl was only one of the many people who have realized how special you’re going to be.”
Heather hugged Jane hard. “You know,” she whispered, “I think I realize why Michelle and Freddie love you so much.”
“I know, I know,” Jane said. “I’m irresistible.” The two of them looked over at the assembled mass. Laurie was talking with her father when she noticed that she was being looked at. She smiled at Jane, but positively glowed when her gaze met Heather’s. “Go ahead,” murmured Jane. “I’ll see you at the restaurant.” The gang was going to assemble at a local Italian restaurant where an entire room had been reserved for them, and the celebration was probably going to continue well into the night. But at that exact moment, Laurie had broken off from the main group and was heading over to the car. She stopped to give a quick hug to Jane and gave the older woman a friendly kiss as Jane headed back over to join the group. The hug Laurie gave Heather was much longer and the kiss was much sweeter.