It was the weekend before Randy called, but it was the news Big Bob and Julie wanted to hear. As soon as Julie could start working, Mrs. Brodsky's home would be Robert's day care center. When Big Bob asked how much Margaret would charge, Randy put her on the phone. As he handed Margaret the phone he referred to Big Bob by his last name.
"Hi, this is Margaret Brodsky. Randy just told me you're Bob Willis. You're Rita's dad?"
"Yeah, you worked with my daughter at the store. Small world, eh?"
"Yes, it certainly is." Margaret gave Randy a look. "Does your friend have a job to start right away?"
"I've got to make a call, but yeah, I think she will. By the way, what do you charge?"
"Gee, I don't know. That's not why I'm doing it. Just give me what you think is fair."
"Wow, thanks a lot. I'll call you as soon as I confirm Julie's job." He got her phone number and hung up. By Sunday afternoon Rita had the job and Robert was set to be dropped off Monday morning. The only problem was that Margaret felt strange about getting involved with Rita's father. She'd only recently had lunch with her and had learned of Rita's change of address and reasons why. She felt stupid for not connecting the two (now) very easily connectable stories.
On Sunday night she decided to call Rita at Eddie's. She tried on and off for two hours before deciding it was too late. What she didn't know was that night was Eddie's first night without a gig since he'd left and he'd spent it talking first to his parents and then, for a long time, to Rita.
Eddie had kept his word about calling nightly though this was their first extended conversation. He felt everything was going great; good crowds at the state fairs they'd played and the few bars they worked were packed. Rita got the feeling that the other guys in the band were ecstatic and that Eddie was enjoying himself about as much as his easy going, never-too-up, never-too-down personality allowed.
"How are you feelin'? How's our baby?" Eddie's question didn't come as early in the conversation as Rita would have preferred. She assured him she was doing fine and changed the subject. She was following a plan mutually developed by herself and Sherry Brown, designed to let Eddie enjoy himself with a minimum of discussion of the future. There would be time enough and a set schedule to follow upon his return. For now they'd let him be Easy Eddie Brown, drummer man. Kid.
Very few times in life are what they're cracked up to be. But there are exceptions and for Eddie, being on the road was what he'd heard about and more. There were the enthusiastic crowds and the excitement to be sure, but it was the enthusiasm and excitement, not to mention quantity, quality and variety of the young women (and young girls) that shocked all the guys in Eddie's band. And not just leftovers from the Bourbon Brothers either. In fact, the Bourbon Brothers were now all in the thirties and, frankly, were not as appealing physically as Eddie, Tommy, Brian and Mike.
After ten days on the road, everyone except Tommy had had sex with more women than in their entire life. If Tommy had been with anyone, no one knew for sure and he wasn't saying. What he did say was that the guys should be careful of who they messed around with. "You got problems with age and the law, fathers, boyfriends and disease," he said on several occasions. He went so far as to buy large quantities of condoms that he passed out after the first night. Only everyone's respect for him kept them from laughing out loud at his warnings. As for taking heed, he might as well have been telling a starving man to check for nutrition content. The boys were in sex heaven and were clearly making the most of it. Twos, threes and larger sex groups filled in the spaces when they weren't involved in one on ones. It was wild, everything they had dreamed about and more.
Eddie did have pangs of conscience for a day or two but
rationalized his way through them. In the simplest of terms, he
decided he was having an extended bachelor party. When he shared
his "realization" with the guys, Mike and Brian laughed and
wholeheartedly agreed. Tommy didn't laugh, and while he said
nothing right then, Eddie was certain he didn't approve. Eddie
was right, but typically for him, he underestimated Tommy's level
of disapproval.
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Material Copyright © 1998-2003 by Jim Bearden