Six Miles From Nashville (18 page)

“You play?” Betty asked.

She opened the door further and allowed them inside. “Take a chair. There ain’t much left in here. I pawned off everythang that wasn’t nailed down. As for your question, I do play. My old pap taught me. I have played since afore I could talk.”

“Why did you leave the guitar behind? Are you on drugs or something?”

“My old man had the cancer. I did all I could to help him get better. He died anyway. There ain’t no way I can get that guitar back.”

“Would you be interested in trying out for our band? “ Bill asked.

“Me? Sure.”

He headed for the door. “Let me get my guitar from the trunk of my car. You can show us what you got now.”

While he was out of the room, Betty observed the skinny woman. “Is it just you, or do you have kids?”

“My
mama took ‘em from me. I didn’t try to keep her from doin’ it. We were out of food, out of money.”

“Do you have any food now?”

“I get by.”

Betty saw the hunger in her eyes, but realized that pride was the only thing Carol had left.

Bill returned with the guitar and handed it to Carol. She twisted the tuning knobs gently and  set it to play her audition for Betty and Bill.

She played intricate instrumentals with both a country flair and Spanish fingering. Her interpretation of the old classics was marvelous. She also played from the latest songs on the pop list. The girl was
versatile.

“Would you consider working for us?” Bill asked.

Betty added, “We would get your guitar from the pawn shop and pay your wages according to the musician’s scale.”

“Sounds fair,” she said.

“Good. Let’s go get that guitar and go celebrate at the steak house,” Bill said.

Carol crumpled to her knees and cried. “I was about to give up hope. The good Lord hear
d my prayer today. How did you know about me?”

“I had a feelin’ about the owner of that guitar. We might ask about the people who left some of the other instruments. I figure that the finer ones indicate that the owner had some skill,” Betty said.

Bill nodded his head and said, “It is worth a try.”

Before the week was through, they had their band assembled. The band was made up of people who gave up everything to launch their dream. Because of the second chance afforded to them, they gave more than a hundred percent to make the sound the best it could be.

Chapter 20

Betty froze at the sight of the crowds at Fan Fair. It had only been going on since 1972, but the number of people milling around was staggering. The atmosphere was charged with anticipation. Bill took her hand and led her onto the stage as the musicians took their places. The applause of the crowd brought an immediate smile to their faces.

They began with the ‘feel good’ song Betty had written and then launched into one that featured Bill. People listened and supported them with applause. Some of the band members’ wives stayed with the records and tapes in the booth just outside the performance site. They sold out of their products before the night was over. One of the wives put out a paper for orders. She collected money for both the order and postage. Bill was amazed at the re
sults. People loved their songs.

They stayed behind to watch
Sonny and support him in his performance. Betty took notes on how the band was set up and made a list of the songs he sang so that she could determine the kinds of songs he started with and how he ended the session. There was so much to learn.

She even observed his stage presence. He didn’t only stand behind the microphone. He moved out to the edge of the stage and waved to the crowd as he sang. He
ended with a ballad and sat on the edge of the stage, directly in front of his fans. After he finished, he spent time in the booth with his products in it. They offered tapes, records, tee shirts, caps, and coffee cups.

As they headed home, she spoke to Bill about all of this. He listened intently.

“I think we need to have a meeting with the band and their wives to talk all of this over. If the girls want to run the product booth, we can give them a cut of what we take in. The label will provide shirts and other things for our booth. We can all work as a team.”

It seemed that the band knitted together like a large family. Most of them had seen hard luck and were grateful for
the opportunity to live out their dream. Each time they performed, the sound became better. They liked the music and the money.

They worked hard and it showed. Betty enjoyed
camaraderie that she had never experienced in her life before. She had never been happier.

One night after
rehearsal Gage found her on her way to the car. She hugged him tightly. He was surprised at her free spirit. She seemed to be unencumbered. He had never seen her look so beautiful.

“Betty, you are a vision. This life must
be treating you kindly.”

“I love it.”

He looked at her with wonder. “The fame isn’t getting to your head is it?”

“I guess I would have to be famous to know.”

“You are funny in your old age.”

“It’s better than being blue.”

“That’s for sure,” he said.

She studied his face. “How are things with you these days?”

“I miss you.”

“Surely not, else you would have been here sooner.”

“I will wager that Johnny hasn’t been here since I have.”

“That’s true. He has so many responsibilities that he can’t get away from. I feel sorry for him.”

“Don’t mistake pity for love,” he said.

She peered into his eyes. “I do love him, but I don’t know if that is enough. We both have things we have to do.”

“Does that mean I have a chance with you?”

“That depends,” she said.

“On what?”

“How many girls have you got waiting for you at your stops along the way on your route?”

His face reddened. “Where did that come from?”

“Well, I don’t know anything about you. I don’t know where you are from.”

Bill opened the door to the rehearsal hall and saw Gage talking with Betty. He jogged over to him and shook his hand. “Good to see you, Gage.”

“How are you doin’? I been thinkin’ ‘bout you.”

“I still mourn Sweetie, but this new work helps take my mind off of the sorrow.”

“She was a good woman.”

“Betty and me have been writing songs that remind us of her. I think she would be pleased.”

“I am sure,
” Gage said.

They went to a cafe nearby. Bill watched Gage carefully. There was something about the man that bothered him.

The look on Bill’s face was not lost on Betty. It felt odd to her to be sitting with Gage instead of Bill.
This crush has to stop. He is still mourning Sweetie. Shoot, I am too. What kind of friend am I?

Gage didn’t like the way Betty could barely drag her eyes away from Bill. He draped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her to him. The girl was an amazing find. If word of her kept spreading, she was bound to become rich and famous. It would set her up
as prey for unscrupulous men. He wouldn’t stand for that.

The conversation became stilted between the three of them. Because of the stress of the meal, she excused herself and went into the bathroom to splash cold water on her face.

Bill and Gage finished dessert and drank their coffee making small talk as long as she was away from the table. Neither man wanted to tip his hand to the other. That day Bill made a decision that would change everything.

Gage walked Betty home. When she didn’t invite him to come in, he settled for a lingering kiss. He left for home soon after she shut the door on him.

The next morning Bill stood in the courthouse in Nashville. The clerk approached him and asked, “Is there something I can do for you?”

“Is there a way to check to see if someone has a police record or is married without letting them know?”

“Marriage
licenses are listed in our books. You could look at our micro phish machine. All you have to know is the name of the person you are wondering about.”

He sat behind the
micro phish screen and scanned many documents. His heart stopped as he spotted the name “Gage Marrow”. Gage was married. His breath whistled through his teeth. “How am I going to tell Betty about this?”

He took down the name of the bride and the date the marriage certificate was issued. He needed to see if the wedding actually took place. For Betty’s sake he hoped that Gage had never followed through with the marriage. If th
ere was a wife, the poor girl was probably in the dark as much as Betty. There was no telling how many girls Gage had on the side.

He went to the pay
phone on the street corner and dialed directory assistance. He asked for the name, Gage Marrow, and was promptly given a number. He jotted it down and dug into his pants pocket to get another quarter. He deposited the quarter and dialed the number. A woman answered the phone.

“Hello, Mrs. Marrow?”

“Yes.”

“Mrs. Gage Marrow?”

“Yes, that’s my husband.”

Bill didn’t know what to say. He thought of something he needed to know. “Do you have insurance to take care of you and your children?”

“No sir, our kiddos are pretty healthy. We have been blessed that they have such good health.”

“I see. Thank you, Mrs. Marrow, goodbye.”

“Goodbye.”

He replaced the receiver and tried to weigh the information he had just learned about Gage. He knew it wouldn’t be welcome information to Betty.

All day long he struggled with how to approach her. She was young and naive. This might just break her heart. He thought of Johnny Davis and wondered why he stayed away so long. The boy was a numbskull for letting Betty go so easily.

He knocked on Betty’s door. This was not the information he wanted to share with her. He didn’t want her heart to break. He thought that she might be in love with Gage. He hoped not.

She opened the screen door and stepped aside. “Come on in. Do you have something for me to work on?”

“Not this time.”

“It’s kinda late for you to show up without something.”

Bill’s voice was tense, “I checked up on Gage.”

“Gage? “

“I found out that he is married and has children. In fact, I talked to his wife on the phone this morning.”

“Why did you do this?”

“To protect you. Something didn’t seem right with him last night.”

“How did you find this stuff out?”

“I looked in the public records and then I got the phone number. The wife answered the phone and I asked if she had children. She said she did.”

Betty sat on the piano bench and rested her back against the piano. The thought that Gage was lying to her all these months made her blood boil.

“I hate to say this, but my mama was right. Gage isn’t to be trusted.
Why would he come after me?”