“Well, since you’re going off to New York for the Letterman show and you’ll probably be traveling a lot, I thought you’d want to spend a little time with … .”
Delilah turned to me and smiled. “Oh, Joey, We’re going to be spending a lot of time together. You’re coming to New York, too. You’re my manager. I can’t go anywhere without you.”
This time, Vincent the Hammer didn’t burst through the door, and I didn’t hesitate. I kissed her. She kissed me back. I was right. It was the best kiss of my life.
Dimples trumpeted again, and I put my arm around Delilah and we headed for the stables. I paused at the corral fence and glanced back at Dimples. I swear she winked at me.
Epilogue
Delilah wowed Letterman and within weeks she had a record contract. We spent most of the following year on the road and even opened a couple of times for major acts – the kind that sell out arenas.
Vincent the Hammer wasn’t overjoyed about me and Delilah living together, but Delilah convinced him that I was the reason she was a star. That and she told him he didn’t have anything to say about it. She was his only daughter. He gave in.
A few months ago, we changed the name of the band to Delilah and the FBT Band. Everyone was coming to hear Delilah anyway. Besides, after Hakim left to go off to college – he settled on Harvard – and his sister went back to high school, we had to recruit new musicians so no one objected.
Of course, we still stop in at the bar whenever we’re in L.A. Toughie’s managing the joint now and Ralph’s the bartender. The place has gained quite a reputation as a great place to hear live music and is full just about every night.
The bar’s success has overjoyed Grassman and helped him cement his relationship with Agent Viola. We bumped into them the last time we were in L.A. and I noticed that she was wearing a huge engagement ring. I guess it really was true love.
We get to Vegas now and again so Delilah can visit Dimples who has become a media star. I told Irving the ink-stained wretch about the mutual distain that Shaq and Dimples had for each other and he smiled.
“I can make that work,” he said and promptly cast them together in a series of highly successful laundry detergent commercials. They still don’t like each other, but Dimples is getting the best treatment of her life, Shaq is getting rich, and Irving is getting promoted to CEO of S&M.
We don’t have to worry about Royal Rob when we’re in Vegas. The last I knew, he’d gotten crosswise with some other Sin City mobsters and had taken off for Miami with a show girl. No one’s heard from him since.
Me and Delilah? Well, I’ve lost my allergy to rugs and I’m not glancing over my shoulder for runaway wood chippers anymore. Delilah loves singing and her fame seems to grow by the month.
In other words, life is good. Or, as I said at the very beginning, it’s all marketing.
Chuck Freadhoff - Free Booze Tonight Page 20
