On the Road with Jersey Line: The confessions of a Wardrobe Assistant

Turn Back Time

I began throwing my clothes into my suitcase, frantically moving around the room.  I tried calling the airlines to change my flight, but there were no seats available.   My stomach was churning and all I could imagine was the worst.  Who was she?  Why was she answering his phone?  I was hoping this was all a nightmare, but I had already been living in one for months, and there was no escape. 

My mind wandered back to the very start of the tour.  We had left LA for New Jersey, and we were staying in Ronny's home in Woodbridge.  The band was promoting their newest record "New Beginnings".   The tour was scheduled to begin in Philadelphia, where Joey had just opened a new Bar.  The night before the concert, the band was planning an Invitation Only VIP grand opening of "Jerseys". 

During the recording of New Beginnings, Ronny and me had been out promoting his second solo record. He felt that Joey booked the studio time purposely to conflict with his schedule. Ronny felt Joey had something to prove. His attempt at a solo career outside the band had paled into comparison with Ronny's. He was jealous, and ambitious enough to start thinking that he didn't need his long time partner and collaborator.

There was also the entrance of Jimmy Shields into the picture. Although a producer, he began to step into and onto Ronny's toes, co-writing songs with Joey and playing acoustic guitar on several tracks when Ronny wasn't available.

Ronny had written some beautiful songs for the record, but Joey was insistent on doing most of the songwriting himself, and Ronny was showing up most days only to find out that Jimmy had already recorded the guitar parts and Dick had been brought in to sing harmonies.

I was busy working with the band's design team on costumes,  so I wasn't readily available to him, and the rift between Ronny and Joey in the studio was starting to affect our relationship and home life. 

I would come home in the evenings to find him locked up in his home studio, where he had been working on his third solo record.    I ended up eating dinner alone, and I would be sound asleep by the time he came to bed.  I was beginning to worry that we were headed for a breakup and I was scared.   Although I was deeply in love with him, and he with me, it just wasn't enough.  We needed some time together as a couple, and there was no time to spare. 

I could feel an air of desperation in our lovemaking.  It was like we were clinging to each other for dear life, like Jack and Rose as the Titanic was going down.  Only I was the one who was drowning and Ronny was fighting to stay afloat.  Instead of falling asleep in each other's arms, he would get out of bed and pace the room.    I couldn't reach him,  it was too late. 

The days leading up to the Philadelphia show were frantic.  We were barely speaking, and I was busy getting the costumes labeled and loaded.  Double checking each bandmates bags to make sure the costumes were correct.   My assistants were moving behind me, closing the bags and signaling to the crew as each bag was cleared to be loaded.   I turned around to find Ronny standing  in the doorway, with a forlorn look in his eyes.  He smiled at me.  "Hey baby", he opened his arms, and I rushed to him, closing my eyes and breathing him in as his arms closed around me.  "I miss my baby", he whispered in my ear, his hands stroking my hair.  He lifted my face and our lips met.  I wanted to stay locked in his embrace forever.  "Can we go home?" He asked. 

"Yes, baby", I said.  I knew there was still more work to be done, but I trusted my assistants to do it.  We left the workroom holding hands.  It felt like it did at the beginning of our relationship.  I felt a new sense of hope as we drove home. 

Back in the workroom, Nobody noticed the hatbox that had fallen behind the work table, the hatbox containing Ronny's prized Stetson.    It was still there, unnoticed as the doors to the truck closed.   The missing Stetson was only one of the many things to go wrong on this tour.  Fasten your seatbelts kids, it's going to be a bumpy ride.