“Don’t worry about it. We’ll just dance the slow ones,” he laughs. “Let’s go to that club I was telling you about. The dance floor will probably be so crowded that we won’t be able to move much anyway. We can just hold each other and sway to the music.”
“Okay, but if I make a fool of myself, it’s your fault.”
The next Saturday night we go to the Lopin’ Lariat. What a lousy name for a club. We get seated in a nice booth and order beer. I notice a flyer stuck into the napkin holder and take it out and look at it. It’s a list of the bands that will be performing in the next few weeks. Two weeks from now a band called The Real Americans will be playing. Oh, my God, could this be my Johnny from home, my best friend in the whole world. It has to be. How many other bands could there be with that name. I take the flyer and stick it in my purse. I’ll look into it tomorrow.
Tony loves the country music and the band that is playing is pretty good considering that country is my least favorite genre. We have a nice time and I manage not to embarrass myself on the dance floor.
“That was fun, Libby, let’s do it again some time.”
“Sure, but next time can we try ballroom dancing? I’m getting better at that after dancing with Waldo. I’m thinking about asking him to give me lessons.”
“You won’t need Waldo; I’m really good at ballroom. Leave it to me; you’ll be a pro in no time.”
“Sure Tony, just like you taught me to dance that western crap.”
“No, I mean it, Lib, I’m good, you can ask anyone.”
“Fine, you can be the one to give me lessons then.”
The next day I call the Lopin’ Lariat and ask them if they can tell me the name of the bandleader for The Real Americans. They tell me his name is Johnny Rainwater and the band is from Eagle Valley, Washington. I knew it. I’m ecstatic; I can’t wait to see him. What in the world is he doing in San Francisco? I decide to be there the night he opens.
Johnny is one of my favorite people in the whole world. I met him in my senior year of high school when we were both trying out for The Mikado. We had an instant rapport, became friends, and have stayed close ever since. I think of him as the big brother I never had. He’s gorgeous, half-Sioux, and half French Canadian; a big cuddly teddy bear of a man with a tremendous baritone voice that gives me goose bumps when he sings, and he’s a really good bass player too.
Three days before the opening, I tell Grandma that some friends of mine from home are in town for the weekend. I want to see them. Will she watch Angie Friday night?
“Of course, sweetheart, I think it’s wonderful that your friends are in town. Feel free to invite them here.”
Thanks, Grandma, I’ll do that.”
On the night of Johnny’s opening, I dress in brown leather pants, a cream blouse, and red vest, with high-heeled cowboy boots. I tell Grandma not to worry, I’ll only be gone couple of hours. When I get to the club the door is locked, they won’t let anyone in until 9:00. I go around to the back and there’s guy unloading a pickup.
“Get the hell out of here,” he tells me. No one is allowed back here.”
“I’m looking for Johnny Rainwater. If he’s here, tell him his little sis wants to see him.” A few minutes later the back door opens and he’s standing there, bigger than life.
“Little sis, little sis, is that really you?” He runs downs the steps and grabs me in a big bear hug, swinging me around and around. “Oh, my God, I can’t believe it’s you, what are you doing in San Francisco?” He hugs me so hard that’s it’s hard to breathe and kisses my face.
“I guess I could ask you the same thing. How did you get here?”
“We had a gig in L.A. that didn’t work out so our manager found this one for us. Why are you here?”
“My Grandma lives here. After Red dumped me I had a rough time of it so I came here to get away from it all.”
“Come on, let’s go inside, and catch up. So how are you, what are you doing now? Are you doing any singing?”
“I’m okay but life here is boring. I only have one friend and I’m not working. Grandma keeps me busy with her charity work but it’s not enough. I haven’t sung since I left Eagle Valley.”
“Come sing with me next Saturday. I’ll clear it with the owner. We can practice here all next week during the day. What do you say?”
“Oh, geez, Johnny, I don’t know, I’ll think about it. It would be great to be back on stage though.”
“I’ll take that as a yes, now give me your phone number and I’ll let you know when I’ve got the okay from the owner. Right now I have to get set up, but stick around and listen to us.”
“I was planning to and thanks, Johnny.”
I listen to them play for over an hour and the band he’s got together is just as good as the one he had back home. The drummer, Wade Frazier, is the only member from his original band; all the others are new. When they take a break, Johnny comes over and walks me out to my car. “I’ll call you tomorrow. Start exercising that voice.”
The next day he calls and says we’re all set. The owner is even going to feature my name in their radio ads. He wants us to start practicing tomorrow afternoon and every afternoon this week. I wasn’t going to tell Grandma and Tony about this but now I’ll have to since I won’t be here to watch Angie. I break the news to them at dinner. Tony looks astonished. “You sing? I didn’t know you could sing. I’d like to hear you. Where are you singing at and who’s the band?”
“At the Lopin’ Lariat and the band is The Real Americans. They’re a Native American group. The band leader is from Eagle Valley and has been one of my best friends since high school.”
“Oh, my,” Grandma says. “You’re in for a real treat, Tony. That man is a fantastic singer and so is Libby, I think I’d like to go along too. We’ll have to find a babysitter for Angie.”
“Don’t worry about babysitters, Jessie. Angie can stay at the school daycare in the afternoons. On Friday, I’ll take her to my folks for the weekend. I’m really looking forward to this.”
So am I. I just hope my voice is as good as it used to be and that I can learn those stupid country songs. I want to do Johnny proud.
CHAPTER 23
The next day I go down to the Lopin’ Lariat to practice with the band. Johnny is the only one there. He tells me the band partied hard last night and they may not show up at all but we can run through a few numbers that he has on tape.
“I want to do Unchained with you one more time. That and Danny Boy. Can we get away with that?”
“You bet we’ll sneak them in somewhere. Let’s see your list of the other songs you want to do.”
“Most of them are Patsy Cline with one or two Tammy and Loretta thrown in. I’d like to do a duet with Wade, the Patsy Cline, and Jim Reeves number Have You Ever Been Lonely.”
“Terrific, Wade will love it. He hasn’t been getting much front time lately so this will give him a shot in the arm.”
We spend the next hour rehearsing our two duets. The rest of the band finally straggles in and I ask Wade if he will do the Patsy Cline/Jim Reeves number with me. It’s a resounding yes. Wade has the talent to mimic any male country star and he always wants to show it off. Then we strategize on the sequence of songs for each set. My being there are has knocked them off course. They’ll start out the first set as usual with Johnny doing Proud Mary to get the audience in the mood to dance. I won’t come on until the next to last song, with my version of Crazy. Once we get the set sequences down, I head for home, optimistic that I can pull this off.
On Saturday night, I drive myself to the club an hour before we’re set to be on stage. Tony will bring Grandma later. Unbeknownst to me they have invited everyone and their uncle to come hear me sing. When I peer out the curtain to see what kind of crowd we have I’m amazed at the number of senior citizens. Fred is here, so is Henry and his wife, Grandma’s attorney’s and financial advisors, and to top it off José and Isabel. I hope there’ll be room for the young crowd or t
here won’t be much country line-dancing going on.
The first set goes well, and I get a good round of applause for my rendition of Crazy. At the beginning of the second set, the owner of the club comes over and tells us there’s a couple in the audience who are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. The husband would like to request that we sing Unchained Melody in honor of his wife. Yes, this is just what I’ve been waiting for. Now these people will get to hear how great Johnny can really sing. Johnny tells him that we’d be glad to. Then he steps up to the microphone. We both nod at the elderly couple.
He says, “I’m Johnny.”
“And I’m Libby.”
“We have a young couple here tonight who are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Berg, sitting right over there,” he points at them. The crowd claps and cheers.
“Mrs. Berg, your husband would like to dedicate this next song to you,” I say.
Johnny signals to the band and starts singing the first verse. I sing the second verse and we keep trading off the verses with our voices overlapping on the harmonies until the end where we join our voices in a crescendo.
The crowd goes crazy. They’re on their feet clapping and cheering. I look over at the Berg’s and Mrs. Berg has her face pressed into her husband’s shoulder, sobbing. Johnny and I both bow and thank the audience, and then he takes my hand and leads me down off the stage to where the Berg’s are sitting.
“I always request that song for my wife,” Mr. Berg says. Thank you so much for doing it. That is one incredible arrangement you have there. I’ve never heard it before.”
“Our pleasure,” I tell him. “I hope you have many more years of happiness together.”
I look over at Grandma and Tony. Grandma is pumping her fists in the air and Tony is sitting there with a shocked look on his face. Guess we blew them away. The rest of the night goes great. For our last number we do Danny Boy, Johnny’s signature song from back home. It’s another standing ovation from the crowd.
Once it’s all over, I join Johnny in his dressing room for a beer. “I’m quitting the road, Lib,” he tells me. “I’m going back to Eagle Valley. We’ve got one month left on our contract and then that’s it. I can’t stand the way my manager and agent are manipulating me. My wife wants to divorce me and I never get to see my kids. I thought I wanted to make music my career but this just isn’t worth it. If I go back home I can get a job at the lumber mill and play on weekends. I’ll be able to be with my family.”
“So now you see why I have always hated this business. I love to sing, but I can’t put up with all the managerial lies and manipulations.”
“What are you going to do, Lib? Are you going to stay here or come back home? You’ll always have a place in my band if you come back home.”
“I don’t know yet, Johnny, but I’m not all that happy here. I need a job, a career, something that’s meaningful.”
“Let me know what you decide. I’ve got your number and I’ll keep in touch with you, babe. If you ever want to get a message to me, just call my folks. I talk to them every Sunday.”
I throw my arms around his neck and kiss his smooth brown face. I don’t want to leave him, this man who has been my best friend for more than 10 years, this man who’s been like the big brother, I never had.
CHAPTER 24
September 1972
After singing with Johnny, I’m more restless than ever. I think more and more about going back home but I don’t know how to tell Grandma. Then fate takes it out of my hands.
She and Fred tell me they want to take a trip around the world. They will be gone for almost a year. Do I want to come with them? It will be the trip of a lifetime. I tell them no, this is your trip of a lifetime.
“Grandma, please don’t get upset, but I think I want to go back to Washington while you’re gone. I’m kind of homesick, I want to go back and see some of my old friends, maybe get a job.”
“You do whatever you want to sweetheart, Fred, and I will support you in whatever you want to do. Just remember, this is your home; you can stay here as long as you like, or come and go as you please, but always think of it as your home. If you leave, Tony is going to be here to take care of things. So don’t worry.”
That’s another reason I want to leave. There is no way that I want to live here alone with Tony while they’re gone. He’s been asking me to go out with him all the time and I’ve been putting him off, but there’s no telling what I might do with Grandma gone. I could easily succumb to him if he wanted to take our relationship to another level. He’s just too sexy and too damn nice, plus I love him to death as a best friend.
For the next month, we are all busy planning our futures. Grandma and Fred pour over travel pamphlets and make their arrangements. I contact the local newspaper in Eagle Valley and have them send me their current issue so I can get a head start in looking for a place to rent.
Tony is disappointed that I’m leaving. “I wish you would stay, Libby, I feel like I’m really starting to get to know you, and I’ve been hoping we could get to know each other better.”
“I’m sorry, Tony, but I‘m not happy here. I don’t have any friends except for you, Angie and Waldo. All of the women I’ve met who are my age are bitches. I don’t want to be a rich socialite, doing nothing but charity work and going out to lunch with the girls. I need a job. I need something to stimulate me intellectually. There’s something else that I’ve never told you. When I came here, I was running away from a couple of sad situations, I had a boyfriend, he was the love of my life but he just up and disappeared. I’ve never known why, I want to go back and see if I can get some closure, so I can move forward with that part of my life.”
“Oh, Libby, I’m sorry that happened to you, but you’re right, about the closure. I don’t want you to go but maybe it’s the best thing for you to do. Just know that I’ll always be here waiting for you when you decide to come back.”
“You’re one of the best people I’ve ever known, Tony, I adore you. Your friendship means everything to me. Let’s please keep in touch. I don’t want to lose you.”
“I don’t want to lose you either, sweetheart, and we’ll definitely keep in touch.”
On September 15, I leave a sad Tony and Angelita behind as I get in my red convertible and head north.
“Call me every night while you’re on the road, so I know you’re okay,” Tony tells me. “I sure don’t like the thought of you driving all that way by yourself.”
“I’ll be fine, Tony, and yes I’ll call you. You take good care of Angie and be good to yourself too, Tony.”
The long drive back to Eagle Valley is uneventful and takes me three days of boring driving. Once I get there, I find a motel with kitchen facilities that I can rent by the month until I find something permanent.
Later that night I lie on the bed in the motel room and wonder about my future. Have I made the right decision? Only time will tell.
The next day I go looking for a permanent place to rent. I find a singlewide mobile home in a mobile home park that’s out of town, where the owners, Chris and Barb Wilson, also operate a horse breeding and boarding facility. This will be perfect, I’ve always wanted to have my own horse, and now I’ll have a place to keep one.
I spend the rest of the week looking for used furniture, going to yard sales and scouring the second hand stores. I luck out at one of the second hand places where I find everything I need that they’d just gotten in from an estate sale. I buy all of the living room and bedroom furniture and move into the mobile home.
Next, it’s off to find a job and once again, I luck out. One of the real estate agencies in town is looking for a part-time secretary, 3 days a week. I apply for it and get it. The broker is an older man who has two women salespersons working for him, and they’re nice. One of the women is married to Red’s cousin, Ron, and that gives me a concern but I don’t know her. She wasn’t married to him when I left Eagle Valley so she probably doesn’t know
anything about me. I think I will be happy here. Things are finally starting to look up.
Once I am completely settled, I call Tony and tell him all my good news. He says he’s happy for me but wishes I were back in San Francisco.
“I miss you, Libby. What would you think if Angie and I made a trip up there to see you?”
“Sure, Tony, you’re welcome anytime. Just give me some advance notice.” He says he will, but they never make the trip.
For the next eight months, things go amazingly well. I buy a horse; a 20-something year old Arab gelding, that I name Danny. The doctors would have a fit if they knew I was riding but I don’t care. Danny is gentle and safe and I always wear a helmet so I figure what they don’t know won’t hurt them.
My broker encourages me to get my real estate license and I do. One day I list a gorgeous piece of property. Two irrigated acres that overlook the Eagle River, with a fabulous view. I know that if I lived there I would never want to leave, so I buy it. I decide to put a house on it and finally have my own place.
Instead of having a home constructed, I buy a four bedroom, 2-bath modular and have it specifically designed so I can rent half of it out, similar to a duplex. The renter and I will each have two bedrooms, a bath, and a living room at opposite ends of the house. The utility room, kitchen and dining area and another small room are in the center of the house and will be shared space.
I hire a real estate management firm to handle finding the tenant. They’ll take 10% of the rent but will do the advertising, background checks and handle any problems that come up.
I can’t wait to get settled in my new home.
CHAPTER 25
My house is finally here. They brought it out 3 days ago and the contractors are busy getting everything set up. I got a sneak peek at it and it’s going to be beautiful. There are vaulted ceilings in the living room areas, plush, plush carpets throughout, granite countertops, and top of the line kitchen and bathroom fixtures. I am going to have a full-length deck constructed in the back so we can sit outside and enjoy the beautiful view.
Where Does My Heart Belong? Page 8
