Milk and Cigarettes

Chapter 39

I'll never forget Saturday, September 7th, 1991. It was the day of our first real gig. The day that I would soon mark as the day that changed everything. I remember the sun was out and there were massive white clouds cluttering the sky. It was warm enough that Leo bought me a pair of $3 shorts from Wal-Mart and himself a new t-shirt.

"What time's the gig again?" I asked as I licked my vanilla ice cream.

Leo glanced up at the clock which hung on the wall of the ice cream parlor. "8:00. River will pick us up around 7:45, I think. So...let's head back to the motel soon."

"Okay." I nodded. "Should I wear this?" I motioned towards my new jean shorts, gray t-shirt, and dirty sneakers. I felt silly and out of place.

"You can wear whatever you want. You'll rock that stage no matter what you wear, baby." Leo held my hand across the table and stroked it with his thumb.

I smiled as a warm sensation filled my heart. "Well..." I grinned, looking around the room.

Leo chuckled. "What?"

"Can we maybe drop by a thrift store on the way home?" I smiled to myself, as this wasn't the first time I had caught myself calling the motel 'home'.

"Of course! Of course." Leo smiled. "Whatever the rock star wants." He winked which caused me to giggle.

•

We arrived at a large thrift store after a generous teenage boy picked us up on Melrose Avenue. I entered the building and excitedly scurried into the women's section as Leo followed behind. I walked up and down the aisles, gathering heaps of clothing on both arms, as I had already filled up both of Leo's arms.

"Here, I'll try these on and you can go find something for yourself." I said as we made our way towards the fitting rooms.

"Me? No..." Leo chuckled. "No, I'm okay. I'm not really into shopping."

"Come on! It's our first performance!" I pleaded, mainly because I wanted to see how he'd look in a leather jacket.

Leo rolled his eyes with an ornery grin before setting my clothes into the fitting room. "Okay."

I closed the curtain and hurriedly threw the items of clothing on, anxious to see how I'd look since I'd been wearing baggy t-shirts for about 3 months. The first outfit I put on was a sleeveless, black velvet dress that cut off mid-thigh.

"Leo!" I called out as I peeped my head from the curtain. He soon appeared out of an aisle in front of me. "How does this look?" I walked out and spun around in a circle.

"Oh..." Leo fanned himself with his hand as he raised his eyebrows. "pretty fucking, baby. I won't lie."

"Really?" I laughed. "Okay, get in the room next to me so I can see your outfits too."

We continued popping out from our fitting rooms and revealing our outfits. Everything that either of us put on was a shock since we had altered between 2-3 outfits the whole summer. In the end, I ended up buying the black velvet dress, a denim jacket, and red platform sneakers. Leo got a black leather jacket, a Simpsons shirt, and black laced up boots. The total came out to $12.75 and we both turned to each other in shock.

"I can't believe we didn't come here sooner." Leo whispered as he paid.

"I know, seriously."

We happily carried our plastic bags out of the store and stood on the curb with our thumbs out.

"I'm so excited to put my new clothes on tonight!" I exclaimed as speeding cars zoomed past us.

"Me too! It's going to be amazing." Leo smiled as he wrapped an arm around me.

It took 20 minutes until a kind middle aged man stopped and picked us up.

"Where you two headed?" He called out over the noisy wind since his car was a convertible.

Leo answered as I let out a loud laugh. "Bates Motel."

The man chuckled as he nodded his head. "Good luck there, son. I heard the owner is a nut."

"Thanks for the heads up!" Leo sarcastically replied. "No, but uh- it's actually called Greenwood Motel."

"Oh, I know where that is. So, what're you two doing out here in the likes of Hollywood?" The man looked back towards me and then to Leo.

"We ran away." I said loudly through the wind. "We sing for money."

"Is that right?" He asked as Leo nodded with a confident smile. The man slowed down as he pulled up to the motel.

"Yeah. We have a show tonight, it's our first one if you'd like to come. It's at the Neon Lounge." Leo grinned as he stepped out of the car and I followed.

"I'll be there, kiddos." He smiled as he held out his hand. "I'm Steve by the way."

"Leo."

I reached my hand out and shook his. "Wendy."

"Leo and Wendy. What a pair." He winked and drove off as I turned to Leo.

"He was really nice. His smile made me think of John Travolta's." I began walking towards our room before Leo grabbed my hand and pulled me back.

"Wendy...I saw his business card on the dashboard. He's a music producer."

"Wait-wait, what?" I quietly asked as a sudden burst of adrenaline hit me.

"I know. Shit, River's going to piss himself when we tell him we got a producer to come to the show."