by J. M. Nevins
Maxine snapped away as the band had fun taking shots with Kit front and center. They hovered around her like worker bees eager to serve their queen. Maxine was completely entertained with the whole scene unfolding before her camera. This was the stuff their dreams were made of. She could have never predicted that she and Kit would have ended up this way when they first met at ten years old. She loved it and wondered where they were headed next. From her viewpoint, it looked like it was only up from there.
Kit slinked up to the stage carrying an electric guitar and waited until the band finished their soundcheck. She watched them intently and waited for her cue. Diana, Sully and the band had planned a little surprise for Jimmy’s thirtieth birthday. They had planned a luau birthday party to take place immediately after the show at a local Honolulu resort. He had no idea.
Sully was engrossed in conversation with Jimmy. She snuck by catching Sully’s eye in the process. She plugged the guitar into the amp and nodded to him. Sully gave Sean a visual cue and he called out for Jimmy. Sully looked at her and grinned.
Within seconds, Kit and the band launched into ‘Top Jimmy,’ by Van Halen. Jimmy heard the song and turned from his conversation to watch the band. He folded his arms across his chest and laughed. The stunt reminded him of the good ol’ days in their crappy rehearsal studio out in the San Fernando Valley. After the closing line, the band and Kit shrieked in unison, mimicking the song, “Oh, Jimmy!” Sully immediately launched into singing Happy Birthday afterward and they all joined in.
When they were finished, Jimmy laughed and waved. He nodded and clapped. “Thanks guys and Kitty-Kat. That was awesome!”
Sully walked over to Kit and hugged her. “I always love playing with you like that. We need to sing and play more songs together. Maybe we could write some stuff too.”
She smiled. “Yeah, I’d like that. Do you think Jim liked it?”
He chuckled. “I know he loved it. And tonight will be really fun.”
The dancing orange flames of the tiki torches lit the path to the private luau for the band and some of Jimmy’s closest friends and family. Sully and Kit walked hand in hand, trailing behind Jimmy who still had no idea what he was about to walk into. When he turned the corner and walked in, the crowd yelled, “surprise!”
Jimmy laughed and looked at Diana, exchanging a smile. He turned to Kit and Sully and shook his head. “I’m sure all of you have been conspiring, haven’t you?”
Kit giggled. “Yep. Diana did most of the legwork, though. We helped with the final push of getting this all together.”
He grinned and nodded. “Thank you.”
Sully sleepily opened his eyes and grinned. He rolled over, hoping to see Kit and found she wasn’t there. He frowned and sat up, looking around. He grinned again noticing her out on their balcony enjoying the panoramic view of the Pacific Ocean.
He got out of bed and headed out to join her. As he stepped onto the balcony, he understood why she was so transfixed. The view was scenic and completely stunning as the early morning sunbeams danced on the flowing waves of pristine, turquoise blue water. The lush, green palm trees slowly swung to the beat of a gentle breeze. He wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed her on the cheek. “Good morning. How long have you been out here?”
She turned to face him. “Just long enough to fall in love with it. Babe, we should buy a place here. It can be our vacation home!”
He chuckled. “I love the idea. We’ll add that to the list of all the other things we need to tackle after this tour is over. That list is growing by the minute.”
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t I know it.” She let out a content sigh as she gazed into his eyes. “First things first, you and I need to set our date.”
He smiled. “I like that idea. Let’s do it today, before we have to head out to soundcheck.” He was leaning in to kiss her, when someone pounded on the door. He growled and glared into the room. “Doesn’t anyone knock anymore? Why does everyone have to pound on our door?” Kit chuckled as he released her and headed into their room.
He flung the door open, shaking his head. Danny stood before him. “Sully, where’s Kit?”
She tied the belt on her robe tighter and stood behind Sully. “I’m right here. Danny, what’s up?”
Sully frowned. “Yeah.”
Danny sighed. “A team of medics just arrived. They’re in Jimmy’s room. Diana called them about twenty minutes ago. Their room is right across from mine, so she gave me a heads up, but I think I’m the only one who knows.”
Kit’s eyes widened. “What? Why?”
He shrugged his shoulders. “Not sure. Jim woke up this morning screaming in pain. Said something about his abdomen. I dunno. You two get dressed and head over.”
Kit and Sully silently complied and found themselves throwing on anything they could get their hands on, in order to expedite their arrival to Jimmy’s room.
Sully stood back as the medics brought Jimmy out on a gurney. He was drenched in sweat and looked weak. Sully and Kit exchanged a concerned look. When Diana rushed out after them, Sully dashed after her.
She glanced over at him and strained to smile. “Hey, Sull. You want to take the limo and follow the ambulance?”
His eyes widened. “Ambulance? What the hell is wrong?”
She continued her rapid pace following the team onto the elevator. She looked at him and yelled out before the doors closed. “They think it’s his appendix.”
Sully groaned and looked down the hallway at Kit. He yelled. “Let’s go to the hospital. C’mon!”
Kit exchanged a look with Danny. “Hospital? Crap!” She ducked into their room, hastily grabbed her purse and jogged down the hallway to meet up with Sully while Danny headed to Sean’s room to brief him on the turn of events.
Sully sat in the waiting room at the hospital resting his elbows on his knees. He shook his head in disbelief. It seemed no matter what he or the band did, the tour was turning out to be one step forward and two steps back.
Kit sensed Sully’s heavy contemplation and reached out to rub his back. She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. “Jimmy will be ok. I’m sure the doctor will come out soon and tell us that.”
As Kit finished her sentence, Diana materialized and forced a grin. “Thanks for coming, you two. I’m really relieved you’re here.”
Kit stood up and hugged her tightly. She pulled back and looked at her. “Is Jim ok?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “He’s heading into surgery. Emergency appendectomy.”
Sully looked up, his steel blue eyes wide. “What? Oh my God, I had no idea he’d have to have surgery.”
She nodded and swallowed hard. “It was a close one. They said if he had waited even one more hour, his appendix would have burst. The doctors are confident he’ll come through the surgery easily. They’re optimistic about his recovery. Would you two stay with me until he’s out of surgery?”
Kit grinned and squeezed her hand. “Of course. I’m gonna need to make a call, though. I think Danny was going to brief the team and the band, but I want to make sure things are squared away. Hang in, D. I’ll be back.” Sully took Diana into his arms and hugged her as Kit walked away.
Sean looked over at Kit and Sully as they entered his room later that afternoon. The entire team had assembled along with the remaining members of the band. They were waiting for the latest update. Sully forced a grin. “Ok, everyone. The good news is that Jimmy will be fine. His surgery went well and he’s sleeping things off in recovery. But, he’s off the tour for six to eight weeks. Six is the earliest he’ll be back.”
Bryan’s eyes widened. “Six weeks? Damn.” His aquamarine eyes frantically shifted from Sean to Kit and then back to Sean. “Are we cancelling tour dates?”
Sean stood before the group with his arms folded in front of him. “Possibly.”
Kit’s eyes widened. “Possibly? What kind of answer is that? Sean, there has to be some alternative. C’mon, there are thousands of
great guitarists that can sub for Jim for six weeks.”
He shook his head. “I haven’t found one yet, Kit. The guys on my wish list are either already booked, are out of the country or are tracking on albums. I’ve run into nothing but dead ends. We only have one option to keep this tour afloat.”
She looked at him. “At this point, whatever the option is we must exercise it. Cancelling dates is not a good idea. Who’s our one option?”
He stared into her eyes. “You.”
Her eyes widened again and she heard Sully chuckle. Before she could respond, Bryan jumped up and nodded enthusiastically. “Yes! Of course! That’s a fantastic solution.” He smiled at her. “C’mon, Kit-Kat. Save the day. You know all our songs, all our harmonies, you’ve checked for Jimmy before. It’s the perfect solution!” He laughed excitedly.
She swallowed hard. The last thing she wanted to do was let the band down, but performing as a lead guitarist for a world renowned rock band for a minimum of six weeks was not her idea of enjoyable. She felt paralyzed with fear. Playing on the stage of Madame Wong’s years ago was one thing. Playing on the stage at Budokan, the legendary arena where Gypsy Tango was slated to record their live album in a few days was quite another.
Sully grabbed her hand and grinned. “I know what you’re thinking, Kit. Don’t let those insecurities get the best of you. You can do this. You’ve been practicing in your room every day we’ve been on tour. You play at Jimmy’s level, maybe sometimes even better.”
She shook her head and faced him. “Sull, that was years ago. I haven’t played a full set in forever. I don’t know that I’m prepared for a two hour show.”
Sean stared at her. “So, are we pulling out of show two in Honolulu tonight or are we all heading to the arena for soundcheck?”
She could feel all eyes in the room on her. She couldn’t let them down. She reasoned she would have to dig deep and connect with the old version of herself—the version that was a beast with a guitar the moment she stepped onto a stage.
She gulped and looked at Sean. “We’re heading to soundcheck. I have something I can wear for tonight, but you need to get me a stylist and a wardrobe for the next six weeks. I want my favorite Strat restrung today by a phenomenal tech and I want my rig shipped out from home. Jim’s amp is cool for a temporary solution, but I want my Marshall stack. And you need to get Frank to help us out again with management. My personal rehearsal and workout schedule is not gonna jive with my managing duties.”
Sean grinned. “Done and done. Expect to meet your stylist when we touch down in Tokyo.” His grin spread into a wide smile. “Welcome to the Dangerous Curves tour, lead guitarist, Kit McKenna.”
She shook her head and looked at Sully. “Am I crazy for doing this?”
He chuckled. “No. You’re saving all our asses is what you’re doing. And I know you’ll do a bang up job.” He grinned. “We’ve always jammed well together. We’re just taking it to the next level.”
She grinned. “If this is such a good thing, then why do I feel like I’m gonna barf?” He and the band burst out laughing.
The guitar tech handed Kit her newly restrung Fender Stratocaster. He nodded. “Most of the show will be on this guitar. Jimmy uses his Tele for three songs throughout the set. I’ll make notes for you on the set list.”
She frowned. “Where is the set list?”
He grinned. “Not sure. Sully is making last minute changes… again.”
She rolled her eyes and yelled loudly. “Sully!”
He strolled over to her casually and joked. “We haven’t even started out soundcheck yet and already you’re yelling at me?” He giggled. “What have I done now?”
She gave him a buccaneer grin. “Babe, you cannot keep making changes to the set list. It’s driving all of us crazy.”
He wanted to play with her. “Us? Oh, look at that. You’ve sure changed your tone since our band meeting an hour ago. Now you’re one of us, huh?” He snickered and pulled her toward him. “I kinda like it.”
She giggled and pushed him. “C’mon! Seriously, where is the set list? Do you want me to do a good job tonight? I need to know which guitars Jim uses for which songs. And his tech is trying to tell me that, but can’t without a set let. Make my life easy, babe. Ok?”
He nodded and smiled. “Well, if you put it that way, of course. Let me go grab the revised set list.”
As he left the stage, Sean approached, chuckling. “Y’know, the band has been complaining about Sully’s last minute set list changes all tour. They’ve been pretty frustrated with him over it. Nice to see you got him to change his ways. Exactly what we needed, Kit-Kat. You’ll do just find filling in for Jim.”
She shook her head. “I want you to still keep looking for another guitarist. Don’t stop that search.”
He sighed. “Kit, I’ll do that because you want me to, but the guys have a certain level of familiarity with you and how you play. We may lose a show or two if we have to integrate a new guitarist they don’t know. We all know you have chemistry with this band on stage. It’s only six weeks and then we have a break for the holidays before we’re back out in January. And when we go back out then, I’m sure Jim will be fully recovered. Just do this for the band, Kit. They’re all really excited about it.”
She sighed. She didn’t want to let them down, but she also didn’t want to be responsible for mediocre shows. She looked at Sean. “Ok, but if I botch soundcheck right now, then we’re pulling this show and pushing back dates in Tokyo. I’m going into this cold with no rehearsal.”
He nodded. “Fair enough. And I understand your plight, that’s why I booked time at a rehearsal studio a few miles from here. After check, you’ll go there and you can play your heart out until the show. Sully has agreed to accompany you and I bet the rest of the band would too. We’ll even have your dinner delivered there. How about that?”
She grinned. “Thank you. That makes me feel better.” She reached out and squeezed his arm. “Ok, the tech has the set list. Let me get with him.” She winked as she walked away.
Sully was warming up and stretching backstage when Kit walked in. The band catcalled and whistled. He looked over and smiled wide. She was wearing the same outfit from the Billboard Magazine shoot. They had let her keep all of the pieces. She thought she’d never wear them again at the same time, but it seemed to be the perfect getup for the show. She teased up her red tresses and plastered them with hair spray, hoping it would last throughout the show. She had done her makeup heavier than normal, recalling her stage makeup tricks from her past. She met Sully’s eyes and grinned nervously.
He smiled and headed over to her. He took both of her hands into his and stared deeply into her eyes. “You got this. You’ll do great. Follow my lead and everything will be fine. Remo’s got your back too. We’re golden.”
Sean walked into the dressing room and did a double take when he saw Kit. He grinned. “My, Miss McKenna, I do love your alter ego. You’ll crush it.” He winked at her as his walky-talky called out loudly. “Band to the stage. We need the band to the stage.” He nodded, pointed to the band and Kit. “That would be you. Move!”
Sully brushed past Kit and gave her a playful swat on the butt. “Showtime, babe. To the stage.”
She stood in the wings feeling the adrenaline rushing through her veins. She hopped up and down in place in hopes of taking off the edge. She noticed the stagehand flicker a small Maglite beam from the other set of wings across the stage.
Sully nodded and put his hand in. The band followed suit and stared at Kit until she complied. They yelled “GT!” Sully confidently strutted out to the center of the darkened stage. Kit threw on her coral pink metallic Strat and took her mark.
She glanced over at Sully, straining to see him in the dark, as they stood on stage. He had his head bowed and she grinned. He was getting into his zone. She was transfixed on watching him as she heard the first few notes ring out on Bryan’s keyboards. She then realized starting the show was al
l on her. They were waiting on Jimmy’s introductory guitar riff—her responsibility tonight. “Shit!” she murmured under her breath and started playing the first song in their set.
When she struck the first chord and the lights came up with the audience cheering and screaming at the top of their lungs, she was sold. She was immediately sucked into the experience. She laughed and exchanged a look with Sully. She suddenly became determined to give this audience everything she had. She surrendered fully and let the music take her wherever it wanted to go.
CHAPTER 20
As the last song in the set came to an end and Kit struck the last chord on her Fender Stratocaster, she felt a mixture of emotions rolling through her—relief for making it through the bulk of the show successfully and an overwhelming sadness that it was over. Only two encores stood between her and the finish line. She was amazed how quickly two hours had passed. When she was in it, time and space had ceased to exist.
She glanced over and noticed the guitar tech waiting to pounce on her to swap out guitars for the upcoming encore. She quickly took the guitar off, surrendered it and trailed the band off the stage. Her body surged with adrenaline and she couldn’t wipe the triumphant smile off her face. Playing on stage with her most beloved band had been the ultimate high.
Once she reached the wings of the stage with the rest of the band, Sully spun around and pulled her into his arms. He picked her up and swung her around. She laughed loudly and held onto him tightly.
He put her back down and gazed into her eyes. “You killed it out there tonight! You made all of us proud and I know Jim would have been impressed. Bravo, baby. Bravo.” He pulled back from her and started applauding her. The band followed suit, offering congratulations as they waited for the audience to reach deafening levels of cheering paired with their endless ‘GT’ chant before heading back on stage to perform their encores.
When the back-to-back encores concluded and the show was finally complete, Kit descended the steps of the stage, feeling a deep sense of satisfaction. A contented grin spread across her face as she ran through the highlights of the show in her mind. When she took her last step onto the backstage floor and looked up, she noticing Sully eagerly awaiting her along with a few others.
