Chapter 13
It had been another great concert. This time Gennie got to see it all from the sidelines. There was always something happening behind the scenes. She decided that when she was back in her real world she would always appreciate the immense effort it took to put on a show like this. The heat hadn’t been as oppressive in Denver as it was in Dallas last week, so everyone was a bit more lively…and a lot less sweaty.
Mike and John made their way back to the bus directly from stage. Robby lingered behind talking to one of the techs inside the building. They were hurried to get on the road after the show so there wasn’t much time to visit with fans after. But Gennie interceded on their part, if only briefly. She sat at the table, looking out the window at the mass of girls standing by the gate while the guys cleaned up a little. John walked toward her from the back of the bus and peeled off his shirt. He plopped down on the couch across from her. Mike came out with a fresh shirt and shorts and sat in the chair.
“Why don’t you go out there?” She had always wondered what went on in the bus afterwards. This was somehow very anticlimactic. She felt bad for the clamoring crowd outside.
“We’re sitting here with you, isn’t that enough?” John wanted to know. He seemed a little cranky. ‘Maybe that’s why he needs his quiet time’ she thought.
She looked to Mike who was just observing this interaction, wondering where it might go. She got a sly smile and slid her hand into her purse. She pulled out her video camera and aimed it at the two. She’d gotten a cursory lesson on its operation during the show. She figured that going out there would be preferable to staying in here being videotaped. “Now do you wanna go out there?” she snickered deviously.
“She has you, man.” Mike laughed and shook his head; his hands held up in surrender. “I’m goin’” and he got up to visit the crowd.
John looked at her over the top of the eyeglasses he had recently put on. “This isn’t fair, you know. But I’ll do it. I’ve only got a few minutes. When Robby gets back we gotta go. Ok?” She wasn’t sure if she had upset him or not. Had she just abused her position, whatever it was? She hoped she hadn’t pushed too far, on this, her first night. He pulled the shirt back over his head and headed for the door. As he walked past her, Gennie’s uncertainties were put aside when he flipped her off with a shit-eating grin. “Get your ass up. You’re comin’ too.” He grabbed her arm and pulled her outside with him. They were only able to chat with fans briefly, but Johnny, like Mike, was every bit the gentleman, smiling for pictures, signing autographs, and granting requests for kisses. Evidently he was not upset, or if he had been, it was quickly forgotten. Upon Robby’s return, they made a hasty getaway to the bus, which soon sped down a dark highway on the way to Minneapolis.
“I’m sorry if I pushed you into doing that.” She apologized, more to John than to Mike who seemed to be Ok with it.
He smiled at her. “It’s no problem.” He shook it off. “But, y’know, I would like to know why you’re so interested in our fans.” He let out a sigh and frowned, “ I actually had to write a thank you letter a few days ago. I understand you’re behind that.” Robby chuckled at the recollection. It seems John thought it an odd request.
She giggled. “So you did do it. Cool.”
“Yes,” he pouted with all the belligerence of a little boy.
Thinking of him as an obstinate child made Gennie laugh, she tried biting her lip to keep quiet and not piss him off any more, but it wasn’t happening. The harder she tried, the funnier it seemed and the more she laughed. “Sorry,” she giggled.
John got up and walked to the sitting area in the back of the bus. It used to be where he or anyone could get away from the others and do his own thing. Other than the toilet, it was the only place with any privacy. Now it was set up as Gennie’s temporary room. He leaned back on the couch that was now her bunk, staring at the ceiling. He wasn’t mad at her, not exactly, but without knowing someone, how do you know your limits? Robby approached him.
“Is there a problem? She’s not trying to piss you off y’know.”
“I know. I’m not pissed.”
“She doesn’t know that though.”
“That’s the problem. I don’t want to have to go around explaining myself all the time, y’know. We need to know where we stand.”
Robby nodded his head. “Sounds fair.”
“But how do you figure it out? I mean…she’s only here for a week.”
“You’re asking me to figure women out? Dude, you oughta be better at that than me! You were raised by ‘em.” Robby also leaned back on the makeshift bed. “I don’t have a problem. I like Gennie just fine.”
John considered this. “Me too, y’know. She’s cool… But…I don’t know…you think she’s easily offended?”
Robby gave him a wide-eyed look, one that definitely questioned John’s intentions. “My god! What are you gonna do?” he gasped laughing.
He realized Robby’s imagination was probably wandering to things far more devious than John ever intended. As he caught the joke, he started laughing too. “No, no, Dude, no, nothing freaky,” he wrinkled his nose. “Just find out what she thinks is funny. Push her buttons a little.”
Robby agreed. It was a game he could play along with. They had limited resources on the bus, but John would come up with something. He thought about it as he dug in his bag for his comfy clothes- baggy grey cotton pajama pants and an old tshirt. As John changed, Robby walked back up front, grabbed a beer and took a seat in the chair facing Gennie and Mike who were sitting at the table getting acquainted, having a chat over a bottle of Bud. Moments later, John reappeared.
“We’re in for the long haul tonight. If you want to change, go for it.” John announced with a wave of his arm toward the back.
“Uh…well…where?” she asked. She hadn’t been given the tour of the bus. But as spacious and comfortable as it seemed, she doubted she could get lost.
John’s eyebrows shot up and he gave Mike a shove to the back of the head. “You mean this asshole never gave you the tour? C’mon I’ll show you.” The shit-eating grin and the middle finger reappeared, this time directed at Mike, who returned the favor. Gennie got up from her seat as John stepped over to the fridge to get a Bud for himself. As he threw away the cap, he leaned over to Robby and mumbled something in his ear.
He directed his attention back to Gennie. “The tour starts here.” He planted his feet firmly at the entrance. “I can’t do it properly, because if we stepped outside now… well…it’d hurt. But I digress.” He stood at the front of the bus facing her. “Over here on the right is the TV.” He pointed with his bottle. “Below it is the fridge and our little kitcheny area.” He took a step forward as if he was entering a whole other room. “Here on the left is our swanky black couch and a chair right next to it.” He did a 180 and faced the table where Mike and Robby now sat. “If you disregard these sorry ass motherfuckers here,” Robby raised his brow at this mention causing John to grin immensely. “What? Ya gotta problem with it?” He took a breath and went on. “This is our table, you know what those are for.” He looked at Gennie over his shoulder, “You got these Oklahoma, I guess.”
She looked him straight in the eye and deadpanned, “No, I’ve never seen one before in my life. We can’t all be from Buffalo, you know.” Mike got a kick out of her giving it back to him like that. Robby laughed and John gave her a playful shove, “Get outta here.”
He assumed his tour guide role again and took another few steps past the main area. “Over here is a storage closet. Lots of crap in there. Enter at your own risk.” And turning the other way, “This is our lavish lavatory, er, the crapper.”
“Everyone does it!” she shrugged with a silly laugh.
“That they do….but not in here. Got that?” He led her down the corridor with curtains on either side. “These are our copious accommodations,” he announced sarcastically as he pulled back a curtain and gestured toward the narrow sleeping space. “One for each of us, me, Mike and Robby” He smacked a curtain on each to illustrate. “And lastly,” he walked to the very back, “is our sitting area where we go for privacy. There’s a couch and a stereo and a TV and it’s pretty posh back here. It’s where we escape from each other…and the world. Y’know,” he pointed to the fabric lined walls, “no windows. But this week it’s your room. Pretty cool, huh?”
She eyed the room approvingly. Her bags had already been placed on the floor beside the couch that was her bed. “It’s nice. Thanks for giving up your space for me.” She felt a little guilty about it. “If you ever need to come back here, y’know, for privacy, you can.”
John took a swig from his bottle and swallowing, grinned, “I already did.”
She smiled back and he turned to leave, “Get changed or whatever, and come back up front.” He did a little wave behind him as he left, giving her some space.
She delved into her suitcase to retrieve her sleepwear. This had been a major consideration. How could she be comfortable and sufficiently modest without being frumpy? On a trip to the lingerie store, Gennie found the perfect solution. A deep purple pair of silky cotton pajama bottoms with a matching stretch cotton camisole top. She changed and headed back to the living area where the guys were already watching videos. John had made some popcorn and placed it on the table in front of Mike and Robby before he grabbed a hand full and sunk into the chair, slinging his legs over the side to watch TV.
“What’s on?” she asked.
“The South Park movie.” Mike answered.
“If this offends you, we don’t have to watch it,” Robby declared as he scooted off his seat at the table and made his way back to change. “I know a lot of people hate this.”
She laughed at the thought. “Ha! I might be offended if you didn’t like it!”
“Cool,” John said never taking his eyes off the screen, “Have a seat. We have a film festival planned. We’ve got lots of tapes, since we don’t get to see much TV,” he lied. “If it bothers you, you’ve got a TV in the back, Ok?”
“Ok.” She agreed as she walked past him to sit on the couch.
John turned to look at her, “Nice jammies.”
“Thanks,” she said, unsure whether he was being sarcastic or truthful. From her seat she spied the stack of tapes on the countertop. It was a diverse collection, but one undoubtedly selected to test her mettle. There was everything from hockey and auto racing to The Man Show and Howard Stern to…well…porn. She didn’t see how she or any of them could stay awake long enough to watch them all. It was already late and there were hours of tapes. She wanted to tell them right then and there that she could handle it. They weren’t going to bother her, but she wasn’t sure how to do it with out seeming bitchy. She did notice that John and Robby spent almost as much time watching her reactions to things as to the show itself. This must be what their whispered conversation had been about earlier. It was their own inside joke. After half an hour of their scrutiny, she leaned over to Robby who was now next to her on the couch. “This doesn’t bother me at all. Is there anything else you’d like to try?” she whispered quietly. She then smiled sweetly, letting him know she was in on their scheme. “If I go to bed because I’m tired, I don’t want you thinking it’s because I’m squeamish, or offended, or worse, a prissy girl.”
Robby decided to test the waters, but without anyone else realizing. He didn’t want to ruin John’s plan. He countered, quietly of course, with “Do you like hockey?”
Playing along with the whispered conversation, “Love it, but I have to say it’s much better live than on TV.”
He nodded in agreement. “Auto racing?”
“Gimme a break. I’m passionate about it. Anything but NASCAR. Give me CART, Indy or Formula One any day. What do you have over there?” she asked, pointing her chin toward the stack. Now she was testing him.
“Gran Prix of Monaco”
She responded by biting her lip and wiggling her eyebrows, to which he giggled- silently.
She decided not to drag this out any longer. She leaned closer. “I watch the Man Show sometimes. The only people who are offended are those that don’t get it. Howard Stern is alright. Sometimes he’s funny and sometimes not. He seems like a nice guy to me. He just wants to get people riled up, but he can be entertaining.” She shrugged. “Now porn is not my thing, per se. But it certainly doesn’t offend me…well most of it. It can be…useful, I suppose. But yes, I would feel uncomfortable sitting here with you guys watching it. That would just be weird!” She crinkled up her nose and pulled back her lips in a funny disgusted look. “And then every noise I heard all night, I’d be…y’know… wondering.”
Robby heard all he needed to hear and burst out with laughter. He turned to John and Mike and announced, “She’s cool. But dude,” he turned to John, “I wouldn’t recommend the porn this evening. You’re a restless sleeper.”