Page 56 of Musical Games
And Sam.
She dominated his consciousness. She was stuck to his every thought like glue, interwoven tightly into the very fabric of his being. Late afternoon she disappeared upstairs with Fiona, returning an hour later transformed from a goddess into the whole of existence itself. She was dressed in an off-the-shoulder skintight gold dress that finished just below her knees, and her blonde hair was tied up with tendrils curling around her neck. She glimmered and glowed brighter than an Oscar statuette, and he was blinded by her beauty. He stared at the floor as Zoe and his mother fussed around her. He couldn’t ignore her. He had to say something. But what?
‘Well, son, what do you think of our Sam? Doesn’t she look an absolute picture?’
He glanced at Sam and swallowed. The room fell silent. He could hear the ticking of the clock getting louder and louder.
Think!
Sam was looking expectantly at him.
‘Erm. You look very nice.’
Her face fell a fraction.
Embarrassment burned through him. ‘Like a movie star.’
Her expression froze.
Nooooooooooo!
‘Absolutely. You could give Kirsten Bjorkstrom a right run for her money,’ added Fiona, making everything a million times worse.
He stood. ‘I’ll take a quick shower and change.’
He ran up the stairs, swearing at himself under his breath. How could he have been such a fucking idiot? Sam acted in a UK soap and dreamed of Hollywood. In two sentences, he’d not only reminded her that she wasn’t where she wanted to be, but his sister had rubbed salt in the wound by bringing up Kirsten Bjorkstrom; a blonder, thinner, younger version of Sam who was also starring in a blockbuster and already had an Oscar to her name.
He was completely out of his depth. He wanted to say or do something to make it better but knew he couldn’t be trusted not to make everything worse. The one thing he could do was show up for her. Doing the concert was the only concrete way he wouldn’t let her down.
Jamie sat on a chair,his guitar on his lap as if facing a firing squad. The biggest room in The King’s Arms was packed with people he didn’t know, acting like they would have been the most important person there had the King of Hollywood not been in attendance.
Brad Bauer sat at the front, legs spread, smile wide. Kirsten Bjorkstrom was next to him, revealing most of her thigh through the split of her dress, her arms squeezed into the sides of her chest to emphasise her cleavage. She stared at Jamie and rippled her fingers in a coquettish wave. He was going to be sick.
Fiona pushed her way through the crowds and stood in front of him, blocking him from everyone’s view. She was carrying a wastepaper basket lined with one of Liam’s nappy sacks. Jamie glanced gratefully at her, took the basket, turned his back and threw up in it. When he’d finished, with the efficiency of a new mum, she handed him a glass of water, tied a knot in the top of the bag, pulled it out, replaced it and carried his offering out of the room.
Sam was standing slightly in front of him, adjusting her microphone. She moved it so she stood directly between him and Kirsten. Kirsten forced another person to change seats with her. Sam changed her position again and took the mic off the stand.
‘Ladies, gentlemen, commoners and the legend that is Mr Brad Bauer, welcome to this very special concert put on tonight for you by myself, Sam, and my right-hand music man, Jamie!’
Everyone in the room cheered and clapped. She was dazzling.
‘Jamie and I have been inspired by Brad and his masterpiece to write the music you will hear tonight. Count yourselves lucky, ladies and gentlemen; you are the first, the very first, to have heard these songs.’
‘And they’re bloody brilliant!’ yelled his mother from the back as everyone laughed.
‘So, without further ado, we’re going to start with the title track from the album, “The Heart of Scotland”. This one’s for you, Mr Bauer.’
She turned to Jamie and gave him a wink. This was it. He looked down at his guitar and closed his eyes. Everything was quiet. It was just him and Sam and their music. He could do this.
* * *
As Jamie pluckedthe first notes, Sam’s heart started beating again. No matter what happened after tonight, they’d done it. They’d written an album in just over a week and Jamie had stuck with her every crazy step of the way. She sang with relief, joy and gratitude. The faces in front of her faded as his voice joined hers. It was perfect. She moved to the side so she could see him better, not even worrying about Kirsten Bjorkstrom any more. She performed to the crowd, but she sang for him.
When ‘The Heart of Scotland’ finished, she watched his eyes snap open as the room erupted. He held her gaze and smiled, a still point of connection amidst the chaos. Brad was on his feet, punching the air and yelling ‘hot damn!’ over and over again. She laughed, the sound lost under the screams and whoops, and Jamie’s smile got wider. She gave him another wink and turned back to the mic to introduce their next song.
In the end, they’d managed to complete nine songs altogether. They played ‘The Heart of Scotland’twice as an encore and by the second time, the audience was singing along with every chorus. Sam’s eyes pricked with tears as she watched the biggest men in the room crying and hugging each other. She knew it wasn’t just the free bar Brad had provided that had brought out this emotion. She and Jamie had done this.
As they stopped playing for the last time, their chorus still continued like a rugby chant. Brad sprang forward like an overexcited panther, his assistant following with a notebook and pen. He was the whole reason Sam had started this insane journey and yet now he was in front of her, she couldn’t remember why she had ever thought he was the answer to any of her prayers.
