Sheet Music - A Rock 'n' Roll Love Story

Sammy shook his head and continued to laugh.

“I should have known better, but she’s so damn…” Michael shook his head.

“Hey, you don’t owe me an explanation.  I’m not your keeper.”

“Brian can't find out about this or I'm dead,” Michael said, taking another box from the trunk.  “We had to sign contracts stating we'd have no personal contact with our bands so Brian can't find out about this.  He's already threatened me once.”

Sammy chuckled again.  “If Brian sees the two of you in the same room, he’s going to know.  Trust me.”

“Really?  Is it that obvious?”

“Just a bit.”  Sammy picked up his bass guitar case.  “Well, if nothing else, I’d say judging by the look on your face, the sex was worth it.”

Michael smiled.  “You have no idea.”

Sammy grinned and shut the lid to his trunk.

“She’s not the situation I wanted to talk to you about,” Michael stated.

Sammy spun around and faced Michael.  “Then what is it?”

“The guitarist in this band is a prick.  He’s been giving me a hard time about the changes I’ve been trying to put in place.  I’m certain he’s going to have some serious issues with you joining them today but, too bad.  I’ll deal with him, but I wanted to give you a heads up about what’s been happening.”

Michael began walking towards the door.  “Oh, and not that this will mean anything to you, but the guitarist I’m talking about is the ex-husband of Annie.”

“Man, you really like living on the edge!”  Sammy shook his head and opened the door.  “Do the guys in Annie’s band know what’s going on between you two?”

“Nope, no one does and that’s the way it has to stay.”

“That’s what you think,” Sammy said under his breath.

Inside the auditorium, Buzz and Ivory were almost done setting up the stage.  They stopped when they saw Michael and Sammy approaching them.  Annie came out of the bathroom and flanked Michael and Sammy, giving the appearance that they had all arrived together.  Gary sat idly on top of an amplifier, his guitar still in the case at his feet.

“Jesus, did she come in with him?” Buzz muttered under his breath, the memory of Saturday night’s fight still fresh in his brain.  He looked over at Ivory and shook his head.  Ivory reached into his pocket and sparked a fresh joint, clearly uncomfortable with the situation.

Michael climbed the stage stairs two at a time and quickly surveyed the area.  Sammy followed, bass guitar case in hand.

Annie stood to the side and wondered if Michael had informed Sammy of the hornet’s nest he was about to walk into.

“Okay, I’m glad to see everyone is here,” Michael stated, pushing the damp hair off his forehead.  “We’re going to mix things up a bit today and see if we can get a stronger sound out of you.  First, I’m adding a bass player,” Michael announced, waving Sammy over to his side.  “This is Sammy Isaacs.  He’s played with us on and off for years.  He has the best ear for bass in the business so he’ll mesh with you guys perfectly.  He’ll be helping you guys out for a while.”

“Excuse me?” Gary snipped, jumping down from his perch.

“Sammy, you can plug in over there,” Michael directed, ignoring Gary’s remark.  “Secondly,” he continued, staring straight at Ivory, “I want you to start leaving the dope at home.”

Ivory dropped the joint from his mouth and snuffed it out on the floor with his foot.  “What the hell, man?” he cried in protest.

“I guess the temptation is too much for the ex-junkie,” Gary snarled, in Ivory’s defense.

Michael’s head swung around to face Gary.  “I’m going to forget you said that because you’re obviously misinformed.  Now, shut the hell up and let me finish.”  Michael glared at Gary for several awkward moments until he felt satisfied his voice had been heard.  Then, without removing his eyes from Gary, he added, “And lastly, I want Annie out front on lead vocals.”

“Who the hell do you think you are, Wade?  You can’t cruise in here and change our whole fucking band around to suit your own needs,” Gary spouted, taking two steps closer to Michael.

“Don’t make this personal, Gary.  I think you should read your copy of the contract.  I have the authority to change anything I want about this band until the contest is over.  After that, you can do whatever the hell you want.”

“You made it personal, Wade.  Not me,” Gary shouted, taking two more aggressive steps toward Michael.

“If you’re smart, you’ll stop right there,” Michael replied, his voice a low steady growl.  “Like I already said, you’ve been misinformed.  Now, can we get on with this practice or would you like to stand around and waste some more of my time?”

Annie took her place at center stage and strapped on her guitar.  She didn’t dare look over in Gary’s direction and Michael was thankfully out of her view too.  The pressure in her chest was overwhelming.

For the next hour Annie sang her heart out and tried her damnedest to dodge the daggers shooting from Gary’s hateful eyes.  This was the worst environment she had ever played in, even worse than after their divorce.  As far as she could see, no one was going to come out a winner in this situation.  Either Gary softened and accepted Michael’s musical direction, at least until the contest ended, or the band was going to break up over it.  She saw no other solution.  For the very first time, she regretted submitting their demo tape into the contest.  Then Michael caught her eye.  He smiled encouragingly and she melted.