Jennifer's Triad

by Laura Anne Turner

  She pats my knee with her right hand for a moment, and a heat wave shoots through my body. Again I’m surprised by my physical reaction, but it’s definitely not an unpleasant sensation.

  “Well, as it happens I need a new band anyway. I quit last night.”

  “What a coincidence,” Nellie exclaims. “If that isn’t a good sign, I don’t know.”

  “Maybe!”

  “So why’d you quit?”

  I sigh heavily. “Well, I’m not absolutely sure myself. What happened is that last night I had a huge fight with Robin, my old band’s drummer. Now, I’ve had issues with him for the longest time. He’s Emilia’s ex-boyfriend, and he can be a total asshole. I mean, he treats girls like shit.” I shake my head. “I can’t even imagine how the girl he’s with now, Andrea, can put up with him.”

  Nellie nods. Why are those little gestures of hers so adorable?

  “Anyway, last night Robin was late for our rehearsal. And Andrea came in with him, crying, just like Emilia used to do. And then Robin and I got into it. Pretty soon we were screaming at each other! He wound up calling Emilia and me dykes and cunts and stuff, and said he didn’t want to play in a ‘cunt band’. That was more than enough to make me quit! And Emilia quit, too.”

  Nellie shakes her head in disbelief. “I’m not surprised you two quit,” Nellie says. She makes a wry face. “Guys have called us a ‘cunt band’, but actually playing in a band with a guy who says that…Yeah!”

  I look at her curiously, waiting for her to explain that, but she falls silent and concentrates on driving.

  We’ve left the city behind us, and are now driving through the countryside, through long stretches of pastureland that’s barren and brown now that it’s winter. Nellie turns left onto a dirt road, which leads to a single homestead. There’s a farmhouse with an old stable or barn not far from it.

  “This is our place,” Nellie points to the farmhouse. “And the old barn over there is where we rehearse. Our closest neighbors are practically out of sight, so we can make as much noise as we want!” She grins.

  There’s a hedgerow surrounding the homestead. Nellie drives through the big, open entrance gate, and I notice there are two cars parked in front of the farmhouse. One’s a silver-grey convertible, a Mazda or something. The other car is an old, dented BMW 3-series. Nellie parks her own Audi next to the Mazda.

  “Here we are,” Nellie says. “You can leave your bass in my car for now. Let’s go inside first see what Bette and Ina are up to.”

  We get out of the car and walk to the farmhouse. Nellie opens the front door, and we get inside. There’s a long hallway leading into the interior of the house, and a wooden stairway to our left. It’s quite obvious the house has seen better days, with the darkened wallpaper in the hallway hanging loose in some places, and there’s a musty smell in the air.

  Nellie leads me deeper into the house, where a door stands open at the very end of the hallway, and from where we can hear music and the sounds of female voices. My heartbeat quickens as we come closer to what Nellie says is the living room.

  Before we enter the room Nellie stops and turns to me. “Don’t be nervous, Jenny!” She smiles and squeezes my hand, and it’s a very pleasant feeling.

  “Hi guys,” Nellie says as we enter the living room, “here’s Jenny.”

  The living room is enormous. It has half a dozen full-size windows, allowing me to look out onto the fields and pastures outside the house, and letting plenty of light come in. The room’s pretty much of a mess. Hardly one piece of furniture seems to match, except for a brown leather sitting room suite in the middle of the room. There are books, journals, and newspapers covering the coffee table, and spilling out on the floor, which is covered by a threadbare carpet that must have been expensive once. Empty beer bottles and coffee mugs are sitting on top of the papers that cover the coffee table. But on one wall there’s a new flat screen TV, and underneath it is a state-of-the-art sound system with speakers in the room’s four corners. I’m surprised to hear Pink Floyd playing.

  Bette is sprawled on the brown leather sofa, her head resting on a cushion, one arm covering her forehead. Ina is lounging in the armchair next to the couch, wearing faded jeans, and a blue hoodie. Her blonde hair looks disheveled, and she clutches at a coffee mug with both her hands, looking like she hasn’t had enough sleep.

  When Bette sees me, her face lights up, and she pulls herself upright, gracefully. She grins at me like a cat. “Jenny,” she screams, jumps from the sofa, and closes the distance between us fast enough to startle me. She wraps her arms around me in a tight hug, and kisses my cheeks, left and right, one, two, three kisses. Then she holds me at arm’s length, smiles at me warmly, her blue eyes sparkling. “Welcome to ‘The Coldhearts’, Jenny. I’m so glad you could make it today. It’s a pleasure having you here.”

  “It’s, uh, my pleasure,” I reply feeling a little overwhelmed. “I’m really flattered you were thinking of me!”

  Bette lets go of me, as Ina comes up to us, and she hugs me, too. I’m surprised to see her eyes are bloodshot and swollen. She looks like she’s been crying. I feel so sorry for her. I hug her back and cuddle her a moment.

  Ina sighs and breaks our hug. “We didn’t think about anyone but you, Jenny,” Ina says, her voice surprisingly soft. “We think you’re perfect, that you’re ready to become one of us.”

  Somehow, I’m deeply touched by Ina’s words.

  Nellie speaks up, startling me a little. “Hey, you two, you know Jenny doesn’t have infinite time today. I think we better start her audition.”

  “Yeah, you’re right, Nell. We’d better start rocking! Take Jenny to the barn, we’ll be there in a minute,” Bette says.

  Nellie smiles, and without saying another word she takes my hand, and leads me through the long hallway back to the front door of the farmhouse. I’m surprised and touched by Nellie’s tenderness. It makes me so happy. And I’m amazed at how Nellie, Bette, and Ina all seem to love me without really knowing me.

  I take my bass from the backseat of Nellie’s car, and we walk over to the old barn. There’s a huge wooden barn door, but Nellie opens a smaller door to the left, and we enter a kind of hallway with high wooden beams that looks like it hasn’t changed from when it was still a barn. Then Nellie lets go of my hand, and opens another door to our right. She enters the room before me and says, “welcome to the innermost sanctuary of The Coldhearts.” She extends her arms wide in a dramatic gesture.

  I gasp in awe and involuntarily bite my bottom lip. The room I enter is a modern recording studio. Everything’s there, amplifiers, speakers, microphones, drums, a mixer console, a computer, and digital recording equipment… ‘The Coldhearts’ must have invested a fortune into it.

  Nellie smiles at me with her lips and her eyes. She’s so adorable and sweet, and my heart swells. I like Bette and Ina, but…I just love Nellie. She’s special, somehow. Where does that thought come from?

  “Wow, Nellie, this is – amazing, just wow,” I manage to say.

  “Let me set you up before the others get here,” she says, pushing buttons and switches, while I take my bass out of its case, and begin tuning it.

  The door opens, and Bette and Ina enter, their guitars in hand. They take their positions, and Nellie sits down behind her drum kit. Then Bette starts preparing me. “Okay, Jenny, we usually open our set with a song called ‘Cold Is This Heart of Mine.’ I nod, and Bette shows me the chords.

  It’s a fairly easy song for me to play. Bette nods and grins. “Okay, Jenny, that’s good. Now let’s try it all together.”

  And we do. Nellie counts us in. And we play together! I make a few mistakes, but still…it works!

  “Yeah! That was fucking awesome,” Bette says, grinning like crazy and giving me a high five.

  Ina grins and high fives me, too. “You’re one of us, Jenny. I mean, if you want to be.”

  I can’t help grinning back at them.

  After we play two more songs, we
’ve all started to get a little warm. Bette pulls her sweatshirt over her head. Her black tank top shows off her toned arms and killer abs, along with her full breasts. Her tight yoga pants show off her tight butt, too. Ina in her plain white t-shirt is nearly as hot, her own toned arms showing her tattoo sleeves. Nellie behind her drum kit is wearing a white ‘The Coldhearts’ tank top, and she’s slender and graceful, and elegant somehow. I can’t suppress a smile, and a very warm feeling spreads in my chest. I love these girls. They are all so gorgeous and sexy, every one of them in her own special way. And yet, my eyes are drawn to Nellie again and again.

  The next song we are rehearsing is a hard rock version of a song called ‘Drive’, which I first heard on the American TV show ‘The L-word’. ‘The Coldhearts’ played that song during their New Year’s gig, but playing it with them sends a shiver down my spine.

  ‘Whatever you want I’ll give it to you, but you’re gonna have to ask me…’

  Bette’s eyes are on me while singing. She smiles seductively, and I look down, focusing on my bass. Then when I look up again, I lock eyes with Ina. There’s a sly grin on her face.

  ‘Your mouth waters stretched out on my bed…’

  The song has a heavy bass line, and I need to concentrate on playing the chords, but my eyes wander to Nellie. She drives the song forward, playing her drums with skill and power, and then our eyes meet, and as the corners of her mouth move upward, I feel my legs grow unsteady…

  ‘Your fingers are trembling and your heart is heavy and red…’

  Jesus Christ, this feels like actually having sex.

  ‘I’ll hold you up and drive you all night…’

  The air in the room has changed palpably. It’s suddenly thick, and heavy, and hot. I’m sweating profusely, even though I pulled my sweatshirt off earlier, and am only wearing a black tank top, and my black jeans.

  ‘I’ll hold you up and drive you all night…’

  Bette’s voice is pure sex, her eyes devouring me. It doesn’t matter which one of the girls I look at, they’re all fucking me with their eyes.

  ‘Yeah this has just begun, because we even haven’t gotten started yet…’

  Finally, the song is over, leaving all of us covered in sweat.

  Ina laughs softly. “I think we need a break,” she says, wiping sweat from her forehead with her arm.

  “Yeah, I guess,” Bette agrees, her voice husky. “What would you like to drink, Jenny? Water, Coke, Beer? We have a fridge over there.” She nods over her shoulder.

  “Water, just water,” I reply.

  “I’ll get you one,” Ina says, leaning her guitar against the wall. “What do you guys want to drink?”

  I’m mildly surprised they all stick to water or soft drinks, no beer and no booze, and no drugs either. They are obviously taking this seriously.

  “How do you like things so far, Jenny?” Ina asks, handing a bottle of water to me.

  “Oh, it’s amazing! Everything feels so good and right…” I stop and drink. “And the metal version of ‘Drive’...” I shake my head, at a loss for words that could express what just happened.

  There’s a brief silence, and then Nellie breaks it to say, “It was my idea to cover that song and make it metal.” She caresses me with her eyes and voice, and I feel my legs grow weak again. “Glad you like it.”

  Bette chuckles, and I look at her a little startled. “Oh, Nellie here may look quiet, but, she’s a smoldering volcano, and she’s a genius,” Bette adds, and the tone of her voice tells me she absolutely adores Nellie.

  “Oh Jenny?” Ina says, and I turn to her. “Next time we’re going to shoot a few pictures of you”.

  I look at her uncomprehendingly.

  “We’ll want to post a few pictures of our new lineup on our Facebook and Twitter accounts, and on our website. Our fans are going to want to know about you.” She winks. “I’m sure a lot of girls will come to your first gig next Saturday just to see you.”

  “I’m not used to that at all,” I answer, my stomach tightening.

  “Don’t worry, Babe!” Bette says, putting an arm around my shoulder. “You’ll look great with the rest of us. And you with your jet-black hair and your curves…” She playfully touches a loose strand of my hair, smiling. “You’re going to catch a lot of girls’ eyes.”

  I start to feel uncomfortable with her body so close to mine, and with her touching my hair. She’s a little too much like Sherinia to make me comfortable.

  Nellie seems to notice my discomfort, and says, “And you should go to the boutique where Ina works to pick out something to wear on stage.”

  “You work at a boutique?” I ask Ina, intrigued.

  “Oh yeah. We have lots of things for metal girls and Goths!” Ina replies. “I’m sure we’ll find something that would look absolutely stunning on you. I mean you’re stunning anyway, no matter what you wear.” The flirtatious Ina is back, and I suddenly smile at her. She smiles back at me. “Maybe I’ll bring something for you to wear for our photo shooting next time. What’s your size?”

  I tell her. And then Bette claps her hands, and says, “Okay, my bitches, let’s get back to rocking!”

  We start rehearsing again, and by the end of this afternoon I’m pretty sure I can handle at least half a dozen of their songs. And then we’re done.

  “Jenny, we need to schedule our next rehearsal. Are you going to be free Monday evening?” Ina asks. “Bette and I can’t make it earlier, and Nellie’s going to be at college all day.”

  I take a moment to remember my schedule. “Monday evening works for me, I’m not working on Monday.”

  “Oh great. Maybe Nellie can pick you up on her way from college?”

  Nellie nods. “Sure. I can pick you up around five on Monday.”

  I smile and agree. Before we leave in Nellie’s car Ina and Bette give me hugs and kisses. “Thanks so much for coming over today,” Bette says, stroking my back. “You’ll see we’ll fucking rock the house next Saturday.”

  I grin. When I take my leave I really feel like one of them.

  While Nellie’s driving me home, she breaks our comfortable silence to ask, “So Jenny, how do you feel about your first day as one of ‘The Coldhearts’? And how do you feel about Bette?”

  “Well, I did have a girlfriend who was pretty much like Bette. So she isn’t exactly strange to me,” I reply.

  “I see,” Nellie, says, looking briefly at me, before she turns her attention back to the road.

  “Apart from that… It’s amazing playing with you, I mean, your hard rock isn’t quite the music I’m used to, but it rocks, and I love it!”

  “Good! That’s what I was hoping to hear.” Nellie reaches over, squeezes my hand, and again my body reacts to her touch. “And you understand, ‘The Coldhearts’ isn’t just a band, it’s a kind of family. We all love each other.”

  “And I kind of feel like… I love all of you, Nellie,” I say. And I know it’s the truth.

  Nellie smiles at that, and her smile makes my stomach tingle. We stop talking, but we don’t stop smiling, and our comfortable silence lasts for the rest of our drive until we arrive at my place. Nellie stops the car at the curb. She leans in, puts her arm around my shoulder, pulls me close, and kisses my cheeks. I feel the softness and warmth of her lips on my skin, and smell her fragrance. It is intoxicating, and I recognize it – it’s ‘Black Opium’. As before, my body betrays me, and I begin to feel things I shouldn’t feel about her.

  “See you on Monday, Jenny. Remember, I’ll pick you up around five.”

  I nod and smile.

  “I’ll call you or send you a text before I leave school.”

  “Thank you for everything, Nellie. Have a good weekend.”

  “You too, Jenny. Oh wait, before I forget.” Opening the lid of the armrest between us, she takes a CD out of it. “Here, this is our album. You might want to play along with it to practice.”

  I take the CD from her, smiling. “Oh thanks, Nellie. I’
ll do that.”

  I hug her one more time, before I get out of her car. She waits till I’ve opened the front door to go inside. She waves back at me, returning my smile, before she pulls the car into traffic.

  +++

  When I get home from my waitressing job at one o’clock on Sunday morning, I see the lights are still on in Emilia’s apartment. That’s not exactly unusual, but I can’t help wondering if she’s been waiting for me. Using the key she’d given me months ago, I tentatively open her apartment door, and I’m shocked and thrilled to see my friends Martin and Maria lounging on the sofa. Emilia herself is sitting on her desk chair not far from them. There’s an empty bottle of red wine and three glasses on the little coffee table. They must have killed the bottle while waiting for me.

  I let out a little excited squeal, and I rush in. I hug and kiss Emilia, before I turn and hug Martin and Maria.

  “My God, Martin, what are you doing here?”

  Martin laughs happily. “Well Blackie, you didn’t answer your phone, so I thought it best to come over and see you. Only I forgot that you’re usually working on Saturday night.”

  I let out a long sigh. “I’m so sorry, Martin, but I’ve had such a crazy day! I knew you called, but I’ve been so busy. I haven’t even had time to check my voice mail. Oh, wait! Hold on a minute!”

  I hurry to the kitchen and come back carrying a tall stool, and take a seat next to Emilia.

  “Emilia told me how busy you were, Blackie,” Martin says, and I notice Martin’s mood seems to have changed. He’s become strangely reserved, the tone of his voice is just...odd.

  I shrug. “Well, yeah! I guess Emilia told you about ‘The Coldhearts’ wanting me to audition for them? I was really shocked when Nellie called me today. I had no idea they were looking for a new bass player.”

  Martin is staring at me, and I start to get annoyed, and I stare right back at him. Finally he lowers his eyes, staring at a point close to the tips of my shoes.

  “What is it, Martin?” I say quietly.