by Mimi Milan
His eyes grew wide. Mouth opened, he turned to his manager shook his head in response.
“Yo, Eddie, I had no idea.”
“You mean you didn’t know that I’m deaf?” Rachel asked, quickly recognizing his look of shock. It was the uncomfortable one she often received whenever someone first learned of her hearing impairment. She would assure him it was not an issue, though. “I was sure Song Lynn or whoever arranged for me to sing onstage would’ve told you. But no worries! I promise I am good for the job.”
“Good for the job?” Eddie mouthed.
“Yes, sir.” She almost raised her hand in a salute, but quickly remembered she was a civilian now. “I may have lost my hearing, but not my voice. I promise I’ll make a great backup singer.”
“A great wha—”
“Excuse us, honey.” Jimmy Lee stepped between her and the musician, pushing Eddie back into his dressing room. “Mr. Rivera and I need to have a quick talk. Why don’t you relax for a minute? There’s a table right over there with a bunch of food on it. Go on and help yourself.”
Rachel glanced over her shoulder to where Jimmy pointed and noted a table filled with a variety of beefy sandwiches, chips, cookies, and any number of soft drinks. It wasn’t exactly the kind of food to make a meal of, but she was feeling hungry despite the nerves beginning to coil in the pit of her stomach. She started towards the table, casting one last look behind her. She wasn’t entirely sure what was going on, but one thing was certain…
Contrary to the lyrics of his rising hit, Eddie Rivera looked less than pleased that she had stepped out of the shadows and into his life.
3
“Have you lost your mind?” Eddie stormed across the dressing room and plopped down onto the leather couch. “I can’t ‘do’ a deaf girl. The media would eat me alive. They would accuse me of taking advantage of someone with special needs. I’d be labeled a monster!”
Even he thought he sounded crass. The look on Jimmy’s face said he thought the same thing. “Which is why you aren’t going to ‘do’ her.”
“You know I didn’t mean it like that.” He sighed audibly. “Why did you bring her back here?”
“First of all, I didn’t realize she was… special.” Jimmy calmly explained. “You heard her, though. The girl can sing... and she wants to do it. Not that we would take her out on the road or anything, but we could definitely use her for some backup. In fact, we’ve got a few days to spare. I’ll look into renting a studio for a few hours. Then… BAM! Instant hits.”
Eddie sized up his manager. Realizing what the man was getting at, he groaned. “I don’t know. I mean, she’s got the chops and all. Do you really think it’s a good idea, though?”
“Eddie…. Eddie.” Jimmy patted the rocker’s face like a kid who had yet to wise up to the way of the world. “Have I ever steered you wrong? I mean, think about it for a minute. Okay? You want to make it to the top, right? What better way than with a deaf girl who can sing? Seriously, you heard her. She’s got an amazing set of pipes. With your music and her voice, you could record a couple of amazing tracks. It would be dynamite. Add to that the fact that she can’t hear… man, the public will eat that up! You’d go from ‘Eager Eddie’ to some bleeding heart overnight. It’d be sensational.”
Jimmy raised his hands overhead and wiggled his fingers as if trying to conjure some magical vision from above. Eddie watched, his head laying against the back of the sofa to stare at the ceiling. What if Jimmy was right? What if this Rachel girl was his ticket to the top? After all, she really could sing. She was a looker, too. Even a blind man could see—
He frowned. He would have to learn how to be a little more considerate about what he said and did with someone like Rachel around – not only because she was… different… but because she could potentially learn a lot more about his life than anyone else ever did. Well, anyone other than his manager. Jimmy kept quiet about his personal narrative – the childhood he had survived, the ladies he liked to entertain, and so much more. But the money was good, so Jimmy was too. Who knew what Rachel’s expectations would be, though?
Then again…
He thought back to when he first opened the dressing room door and caught her standing there, shocked into silence. She hadn’t been staring at his lips this time – an obvious faux pas he made while on stage. He cringed at the thought that she had only been focusing on the words he spoke. Surely, he wasn’t losing his charm. Was he? He could still seduce any woman he wanted to – including her. Not that he did, of course. Right? The media would have a field day with a story like that. Maybe helping out some poor soul could work in his advantage, though. Plus, her eerie vocals paired with his really would be astonishing. A few carefully arranged songs would climb the charts in no time.
“Hello? Earth to Eddie. So what do you say?”
Eddie sat back up and squinted at Jimmy. “You really think this is a good idea?”
“Are you kidding, man? Abso-freaking-lutely. Your songs are gonna rock the music world. That is, if we play this right. Rather, if you play this right. No putting the moves on this one. Okay? I know she’s cute and all, but find someone else to play footsie with. Alright? We’re only in town for a week, so it shouldn’t be too hard.”
Jimmy was right. The two of them were equally motivated. Money moved his manager and Eddie was inspired by… How could he put it? The search for the “right fit.” Whether it was the perfect woman, perfect place, or perfect circumstance, he couldn’t quite say. It was what kept him going, though. He needed to adopt Jimmy’s outlook this time around, though. That would steer him down the right path, and straight up the charts.
“Okay, man. Bring her in.”
Jimmy jumped up and raced over to the door. He opened it, called out, and then slapped his forehead. Wearing a sheepish look, he glanced back at Eddie. “Oops, I forgot. Hold on while I get her.”
He rushed out the door and returned a minute later with Rachel in tow. Eddie stood to greet her.
“Sorry about earlier,” he said. “Ol’ Jimmy and I had to work out the details about you and me.”
Rachel’s brows pinched together. “You and me?”
“Yeah. You know… the details about us working together.”
“Oh, right.” She laughed nervously. “Of course, that ‘you and me.’”
Eddie gave her one of his award-winning smiles – the ones he saved for the women he wished to woo. Rachel’s eyes grew wide and he almost wished she was there for something more than singing. Desirous thoughts began to creep into his mind. However, Jimmy clearing his throat quickly brought him to his senses. He silently chastised himself for allowing his mind to so easily wander and focused on the task at hand. “So do you think it’s something you would be interested in?”
She nodded vigorously. “Oh, yes. Very much.”
“Good. Then why don’t you have a seat and we’ll chat a bit. Something kind of like an interview, because it might be good to get to know one another a little bit if we’re going to be working together. Don’t you think?”
“Definitely,” she said and glanced around the room. “Wow. It’s different than I thought it would be.”
Eddie followed her line of sight. “Yeah, my dressing room is a little more modest than most.” He pointed to various spots around them. “There’s the mirror and makeup stand – yes, Ol’ Jimmy forces me to wear makeup—”
“Gotta’ keep you looking good, boss.”
“—and over there is the couch to kick back and a table,” Eddie walked over to the sofa, sat, and lifted his feet. He placed them on the smooth glass top in front of him, “for tired soles after grueling performances.”
He had tried to sound dramatic, but she looked less than impressed. Instead, she stared at his black combat boots with one brow raised and he suddenly felt very conscious – like a small boy caught doing something naughty. He quickly sat back up, pulling his feet off the table to pat the dark leather cushion beside him. “Why don’t you have a s
eat right here and we can get to know one another? Jimmy will scratch us up some grub.”
Jimmy turned to leave. “You got it, boss.”
“I just snacked on some of the food outside,” Rachel stated. “Met some of the guys you played with tonight, too, but they said they were only here for this gig.”
“Right. We tend to hire local talent wherever we go. Works out better that way because it keeps costs down and keeps things fresh,” Jimmy explained. “The public stays interested, wondering what new face they’re going to see with Eddie. It’s a good deal for the talent we hire, too. They have the chance to earn a little extra cash and build up their C.V.”
“That’s good, I guess.” Rachel smiled tentatively.
“Sure is, sweetheart.” Eddie leaned back, his arm stretching out along the back of the couch and behind Rachel’s shoulders. He glanced up. Noticing Jimmy’s frown, he quickly pulled his arm back.
Old habits die hard.
Eddie cleared his throat. “Okay, so no food. We can get you something to drink, though. Maybe a glass of wine?”
“I don’t drink.”
Both men stared at her like some foreign creature that had crawled out of an abyss of abstractions. Who was this wisp of a woman? She couldn’t hear, but could sing like an angel. She wanted to be a singer, but didn’t desire the life of one.
Or did she?
“Oye, amor. I thought you wanted to be a singer.”
“I do.”
Eddie measured her words and then carefully spoke. “Do you know what kind of life you would be living if you became one?”
Rachel nodded. “Yes, sir. I would be living a life that includes singing.”
Eddie sighed. “You know all that stuff you hear about on T.V. and read in magazines – the stuff about sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll?”
Rachel nodded.
“There’s some truth to that.”
A look of disdain marred her features? “Why? Do you do drugs?”
Eddie squirmed at the idea. “No,” he admitted. “There are plenty around in a person wants them, though.”
“Well, I don’t.” She stared at him for a long moment and then straightened up to her full height. “I believe we all choose the path we wish to live. I can have the life of a singer without living precariously – just like you.”
Her response teased out a small smile. With all the women he had met in this business, he wasn’t exactly a saint. “If you say so, amor.”
“I do, sir.”
Eddie waved off the formal response. “Mira. You don’t have to call me ‘sir.’ Eddie is fine.”
Rachel’s eyes narrowed. “And you may call me Rachel.”
He picked up the unspoken message. He could keep pet names like “amor” to himself. She was there to sing and nothing more. “Very well, Rachel. I’m glad we have an understanding. Now, if you don’t mind that interview, I would love to get to know you better.”
Rachel hesitated only a moment before nodding for him to go ahead with his questions. “What is it you would like to know?”
Eddie pursed his lips, wondering the best way to ask the question pressing him the most. Deciding there was no simple way to ask, he shrugged and went straight to the heart of the matter.
“How is it you can sing when you can’t even hear?”
4
Well, he certainly wasn’t the most tactful. That much could be said. Then again, Rachel could appreciate someone who got straight to the point. She had been raised to face problems head on – like when her father passed away, leaving the family destitute. Her mother sat all the children down and explained that there was too much debt for them to continue on as they were.
Rachel studied Eddie for a moment and then decided she might as well lay it all out since they were going to be working together.
“I had just turned fourteen when my father died,” she began.
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Thank you,” Rachel said and continued. “I had an older brother and two younger ones, too.”
“So you were the only girl?”
Rachel cocked her head.
“I don’t mean to keep interrupting. It’s just that you started a little different than what I was expecting.”
“You mean I was supposed to tell you about how I was born this way? Something like that?”
He shrugged, slightly embarrassed. “Please go on.”
She nodded. “Like I was saying, I had an older brother and two younger ones. So I had always been something of a tomboy. When my father passed and my mother learned just how much debt he had, she said there was no way she could keep on the hired hands.”
“Hired hands?”
“We own a small farm not too far from here,” she explained. “It’s got a big sign out front that reads, ‘Linden’s Land.’”
“Hey, I’ve seen that sign.” Eddie’s eyes lit up, his excitement to have seen the place mildly amusing her. “I remember it because I used to dream about living somewhere like that when I was a kid. Anyway. We were on the tour bus, driving through Mill Springs. It was a pretty little place – a small white house with big green pastures surrounding it; flowers all out front and a couple of horses off to the side.”
“Yep. That’s it,” Rachel confirmed. “That’s my home. And it is a pretty little place, too. It it wasn’t always that way, though. After my mother said we couldn’t afford employees anymore, I figured she would sell the farm. She said it just wasn’t in her, though, and that it would’ve broke my father’s heart to know our birthright had been sold off. You see, according to my mother, there are only three things of any real value in this world. Faith, family, and farms.’”
“So what did she do?” Eddie asked.
“The only thing she could. She pulled us all out of school to help out on the farm. Of course, that doesn’t mean we forsake our studies or anything. We just did them at home instead.”
He chuckled. “Eh, I don’t know if I could sit in the same house I did chores in all day.”
“We didn’t just sit there,” she explained, enjoying the opportunity to share sweet memories of her childhood. “We’d get up real early in the morning to do our chores – collecting eggs, milking the cows, feeding the animals. Then we’d all hustle into the house for a hearty breakfast. On winter days, she’d use the oven to warm up the house. We’d eat fried ham and eggs, buttermilk biscuits and hot sawmill gravy. To keep us warm on the inside. It’s what my folks like to call ‘living countrified.’”
“Sounds real nice… cozy.” He smiled. “What did you all do the rest of the time? You know, like for a school break or something.”
“My studies didn’t really take much of a break. Although on summer days, we mostly ate hot cereals topped with fruit and honey – the kind of food that could be made quickly so the stove wasn’t on too long and the house wouldn’t overheat. Then we would do three hours of homeschooling before heading back outside to work or run down to the River Bend Creek to go swimming.”
“Interesting to hear ‘river’ and ‘creek’ in the same name like that.” He laughed. “It’s almost like someone couldn’t decide which it should be.”
She understood his mirth and agreed. “It was kind of like that, too. One end of River Bend is small and thin – great for small children looking to wade in for a while. But the further down it goes? Well, it gets wide and wild once it’s past the bend. Of course, no one goes swimming down that way. It’s mostly for the likes of kayaks and rafts.”
“So… no indoor heating and you homeschooled?” He asked, as if taking inventory. Then he shook his head. “I couldn’t imagine doing something like that.”
“Why not?” She asked, waiting for him to exchange a story of his own. It would be nice to get to know the real Eddie Rivera, and not just the one that shined on stage. Especially if they were going to be collaborating together. Eddie’s lips drew into a thin line, though. He shifted uneasily.
“Let’s just say I didn�
��t have the kind of home life that encouraged that kind of studying.”
She considered his words for a moment. Determined to learn more about him, she pressed on. “Then what kind of home life would you say it was?”
“The one that prepared me to grow up fast,” he snapped. His brows drew together, a look of irritation suddenly replacing the easy-going one he had moments earlier.
“Oh! Okay,” she quickly said, nodding as if she knew what he meant even though she really didn’t at all. She certainly didn’t want him thinking she was pushy or prying. It was important they form a good relationship.
For work purposes, she silently added. She would have questioned her need to make such a distinction for herself, but couldn’t ignore his brooding. Suddenly sullen and staring away, off into space, he looked hopelessly lost.
Searching for a lifeline, she glanced over to his manager. However, Jimmy seemed completely engrossed with whatever was on his cellphone. She was obviously going to have to navigate these waters on her own. She turned back to Eddie. Hoping to smooth over any misunderstanding, she said the first thing that came to mind – the beginning of the answer to his first question. “Well, I had a fast life, too. From cooking to cleaning, outside chores and studies, there was always something to do around the farm. I guess that’s part of the reason I joined the army.”
“You were in the military?” Disbelief laced his words. She grew indignant.
“Does that sound so difficult to believe?”
Eddie hesitated. “No. I mean, it’s just… Well, I’ve known of women serving in the forces. You don’t seem like the sort, though.”
Rachel frowned. Who was this man to question whether or not she was army tough? She had gone through the training like every other good soldier – fought right alongside them and…
She sighed. Well, kind of fought right alongside them.
Eddie quickly continued, “I didn’t mean for that to sound like you couldn’t or shouldn’t be in the army.”
“No. I understand,” she said. “And you’re right. I wasn’t really army material. I thought it would be the best way to get an education, though. You see, I didn’t like being at home. In fact, I hated the place. I looked at it like us owning a farm destroyed all our dreams. See, before my father passed, I had singing lessons. I even learned to play the piano some, and for the longest time, that’s what I thought I’d do one day – be a musician. More specifically, I thought I’d be a singer. But all that changed after daddy was gone. There was no more money for stuff like music. I couldn’t even get a part-time job somewhere to save up for it on my own, because I was busy with chores. Then mama said there wasn’t any money to send us off to college, either. That’s when my brother, Billy, got it in his mind to join the army. We were out in the stables, brushing the horses, when he told me about how they would pay for a college education. So he was joining and going to get him one. It sounded like a good idea. So when I turned eighteen the following year, I did the same. Only thing is that neither of us got the education we thought we would. I came back with hearing loss… and Billy didn’t come back at all.”
