Gypsy Road

Back Home Again

Once we arrive, I help the boys take their equipment inside. We are greeted by the manager of the club as soon as we enter the doors.
"Welcome. You must be Cinderella." He smiles and shakes hands with all five of us. "Please follow me."
Tom nods in acknowledgement and we all follow in a clustered line. He takes us through a winding path of crowded people to a room that is labeled BACKSTAGE--AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY BEYOND THIS POINT.
"Here we are. Go ahead and do whatever you need to do before you play. And these men here..." He motions to 4 security personnel standing towards the back door of the stage. "They will help you set up and get all your amps and stuff fired up and ready to go."
"Thanks." Tom nods.
"No problem. Good luck!" He exits the room, closing the door behind him.

"Not bad. Not bad at all." Fred says as he slides his way over to a red leather couch in the corner of the dim room.
Eric sits down next to him, popping his feet up on the table. "I could seriously get used to this."
I smile and grunt in agreement, and set myself beside him. Tom soon after slides in next to me on the other side. The personnel take Tom's guitar and hook it up to a rather large amplifier, and then do the same with Eric's bass and Jeff's guitar.
"Fancy." Tom smirks. "I don't even have to set up my own damn equipment."
Jeff puffs on his cigarette and replies, "Yeah. This is going to be really easy to get used to. If we make it up there with the guys like Aerosmith and Bon Jovi and all of them, that is."
"Yeah," Tom mutters, "well boys, it's about that time. Let's start tuning up."
"Sounds like a plan," Eric replies, pushing himself off the couch and picking up his bass.
Tom plays some riffs to warm up, and Eric does the same. Jeff finally stands and starts tuning his guitar, and Fred squeezes in some final practice with his drum pads.

"Hey, Donna, watch this!" Eric smirks. He spins his bass over his shoulder and it slides around his back and lands back into his open palm. Then he does his signature kick-and-spin that he always does during shows.
"Impressive." I smile, crossing my arms.
There's a long pause of silence between us until Tom speaks up, throwing his hands down to his sides, his eyes focused on Eric. "Eric, man, you've got to do it tonight. I'm gonna kill you if you don't, you've been waiting and waiting for the right time. I'm telling you, tonight is perfect. Just do it, now is the time, my friend."
Eric just looks at me and winks. "Yeah, yeah I hear you. I guess you're right."
I give a puzzled look to Jeff who stands on my right. "You got any clue what the hell those two boneheads are talking about?"
"Yeah," Jeff replies, "And I ain't telling you nothing yet."
"Damn it, Jeff." I push him playfully.
"Well, I am not gonna be the one to spill the beans. They'll pummel me if I do."

The security personnel walks out from the stage door, and speaks in a low voice,
"Alright guys, it's time."
"Let's rock this place." Tom smiles.
The personnel leads me to the side stage as the curtains open, and the boys are finally visible to the crowd.
"Ladies and gentlemen, tonight's performance comes from a band from the suburbs of Philadelphia. Please welcome to the stage, Cinderella!" A man's voice says over the speakers lining the huge auditorium. In the blinding lights of the stage, I see Tom sling his guitar over his back, approaching the microphone at the front center of the stage.
"Thank you all for coming out to see us tonight. We've been working real hard the last couple years and still haven't made it yet, but people out there like you make it worth it. This first one we like to call Once Around The Ride." The crowd erupts in cheers and applause. Tom slides his guitar back in front of him, and Fred counts off. The sound erupts out to the audience as soon as they begin. I cheer and jump up and down even though I'm only on the side of the stage. Soon the song is completed and the crowd claps, and I see a couple metal horns thrown in the air here and there.
Almost immediately after the first song, the boys begin Shake Me. I smile since I love this one, and they always make it so fun for the crowd. The crowd's interest begins to grow and grow throughout every song. Once they play out the finale, the audience erupts louder than ever. I jump up and scream; I'm so proud of them. I throw my metal horns out at Tom and he throws them back.

Eric walks up to the front with Tom, and Fred and Jeff come with him. They bow together, Tom shouting out, "Thank you Empire Rock Club! Thanks for an amazing show; you guys sure are a wild crowd. We are glad you came out and supported us. Have a good night!"
The curtains flow over the front of the stage, the deafening roar of applause surely telling us they have a serious chance out there.
I lead the boys back to the backstage room we were in before. Eric swipes the beads of sweat off of his brow, and then unexpectedly pulls me into a tight embrace. I look up into his eyes, they're gleaming with joy. He smiles and laughs, then carefully let's me go.
"Buckle up, buddy." Tom smacks his shoulder, smirking.
"You bet, Tom. I'm doing it. Right here, right now. No ones gonna stop me now," He says determinedly.
Jeff plops down heavily on the couch with Tom and Fred. He hands his guitar to a security personnel who is taking the equipment and carefully packing it up for us. Eric takes his bass off of his shoulder, passing it to the personnel passing by.
"Listen, ah, Donna. I need to talk to you."
I try to ease the mood and smile lightly. "Alrighty. What's on your mind, Eric?"
"Look, ah, I've been meaning to say this for a while now, but I couldn't find the right time. But Tom's right, now is the time. I feel very strongly for you, ever since I met you, I've felt this way..." He pauses, looking down at the ground and quickly back up. "So uh, I guess what I'm trying to get at is, do you feel the same? Do you want us to be together like I do?"
I throw my arms gently around his neck. "Eric, I thought you'd never ask. Of course I do."
He sighs happily, running a hand through his sleek blonde hair. Then he looks into my eyes, his hand caressing my face. I put my arms around his shoulders, then he places his other hand on my hip. He leans down and kisses me ever so softly. I hear Tom, Fred, and Jeff cheering from the couch. Finally we pull away, and Fred steps up to us, clapping and smirking at Eric.
Tom claps a hand on Eric's shoulder, and smiles at me.
"Great job, man. I couldn't have done it better myself. And take care of her, because if you don't, I'll kill you," Tom's voice gets more serious towards the last sentence.
"Don't worry, I will. She means a lot to me too, you know." Eric smiles.

The security personnel hand the boys their stuff and help us pack up. The manager shakes our hands on the way out again.
"That was an outstanding performance, guys. And I gotta tell you, I've got a friend who wants to speak with you about possibly, ah, signing you guys first thing in the morning if you'd be interested."
"Are you serious?!" Jeff says in a squealy, excited voice.
"As serious as I get, my friend."
"Holy shit!" Tom exclaims, running a hand through his hair and smiling the biggest smile I've ever seen.
"Right on!" Eric high fives Tom and smiles happily.
"Well I'll be damned." Fred folds his hands on top of his head.
I smile widely; finally things are going the right way. Finally someone out there sees how good these guys are and they are finally getting what they've worked so hard for the last few years.