The Prince of Punk Rock (60 page)

She planted her feet firmly on the floor
and looked him straight in the eye.
 
“They want me to divorce you.”

“They really said that?”

She could hear the shock in his
voice and didn’t want to imagine his reaction if she told him everything.
 
“They said a lot worse, but I won’t repeat
their hateful words.
 
I don’t care what
they said about me.
 
I don’t care that
they called me a whore and think I’m some kind of deviant.
 
I care about what they said about
you
.
 
And about Angel.
 
And I will never forgive my parents for
that.”

Later that night Ella and Maggie
both called and vowed to make their parents understand and apologize, but the
damage was done.
 
It’s not easy to
recover from the despicable insults hurled at the people you love most in the
world, especially when they came from people who claimed to care about you.

Tommy sat on the bed next to her
and rubbed her shoulder.
 
He didn’t need
to say anything.
 
The empathy and
understanding written across his face was all the support she needed.
 
She leaned into him and rested her head on
his shoulder.
 
He put his lips to the top
of her head and smoothed her hair down with his hand.
 
It only took a few minutes before his touch
brought her serenity.

Some things were unforgivable.
 
Maybe, in time, when the evil things her
parents said to her weren’t so fresh and hurtful, she could think about
forgiving them.
 
But first they needed to
apologize and it had to be sincere.
 
They
made no attempts at an apology, and if that’s how they really felt about Tommy
and Angel, she needed to sever ties.

Chapter Forty-Eight

North Carolina
,
Georgia
,
Florida
,
Louisiana
.

They hit
Bourbon Street
after last night’s
show.
 
Hand Grenades, served in their
comical green plastic containers, proved to live up their reputation as
New Orleans
’s Most
Powerful Drink.
 
Jessi’s head was about
to explode.
 
Aspirin and black coffee
were an immediate necessity.
 
She glanced
over at Tommy and Angel, still in their clothes and unconscious, before
crawling out of the cramped bed that was beginning to feel like a prison.

One of the dancers was sitting at the booth in the kitchen. It was
Courtney, Angel’s friend.
 
Courtney was
beautiful,
talented and successful.
 
She followed her dream and made it a reality.
 
Jessi admired her.

As soon as Courtney saw Jessi, she
brought her hands from her lap and placed a garment on the table.
 
“I was waiting for you.
 
I split the seam on my top.”
 
She unfolded the material, exposing the
frayed stitching at the side of the bodice.
 
“Can you fix it?”

“Sure.” Jessi examined the raw edge
of the material.
 
“Is it too tight?
 
I could let the seam out a little if it's
restricting your movement.”

“Maybe.
 
Should I try it on?”

“Go ahead.”
 
As she waited for Courtney to change into the
black studded top, she grabbed the pin cushion from her sewing kit in the
bedroom.
 
When she got back to the
kitchen, Alyssa was in the booth drinking a cup of coffee.

“I made coffee.
 
You look like you could use some.”

It was exactly what Jessi
needed.
 
The sight of her garment in need
of repair, made her forget that her head was about to split open.
 
Jessi made the outfits for the dancers, and
the record company paid her for them.
 
They were her first commissioned designs. They were the first garments
that ever bore her name on the label.

 
Jessi slid into the booth next to Alyssa.
 
“What was all that noise out here last
night?”
 
Drunken laughter woke her
sometime around 5:00 a.m.
 
At first she
thought it was the TV, but she recognized Jimmy's slurred speech.

“Jimmy had another groupie on the
bus last night. I don't know how anyone gets any sleep around here.
 
We got Jimmy and his groupies who don’t know
how to control the volume, you three in the back bedroom rocking the bus so
hard I’m surprised it hasn’t tipped over yet, oh, and now the two male dancers
are hittin' each other.
 
This place is a
fuck fest.”

“You forgot to include you and
Damien.
 
I don’t know what the hell you
guys are doing behind that curtain – and I don’t want to know.”
 
The noises coming from their bunk were
mechanical and crackling, probably some kind of sex toys and by the groans
coming from Damien, it sounded like Alyssa was torturing him with them.

“So how's operation ‘Get in Angel's
Pants’ going?”

“Shhh!
 
Someone’ll hear you!”

“I didn't know it was a secret.”

Alyssa was a prankster.
 
Don’t let her find out your weakness or your
sore spot, because she will tease and harass you mercilessly for her own
enjoyment. “I've given up on that fantasy.
 
It’s not going to happen. But I came close a few times.”
 
She almost told Alyssa about the double
penetration, but knew it would be like giving her a loaded machine gun.

“Too bad.
 
I thought you were going to be the first
woman on the planet who turned a gay man straight.
 
You’d be famous.”

“Must you fuck with me when I have
a hangover?”

Alyssa sipped her coffee.
 
“That’s when it’s the most fun.”

A naked pair of tits shuffled past
them.
 
It was obviously Jimmy’s groupie
who decided clothing was optional today.
 
She didn't look at anyone either. Her face was camouflaged by a tangled
mass of red hair and she didn't bother to cover herself as she walked by.
 
She had no shame.
 
She tried the bathroom door, but Courtney was
in there trying on the top that needed alterations.
 
The girl waited, without making eye contact,
tapping her bare feet on the laminate floor, dancing to abate her bladder.

Courtney stared at the massive fake
breasts and pillow hair that brushed past her and into the bathroom, as soon as
she opened the door.

“Who the hell was that?”

“Jimmy’s latest conquest.
 
Let’s look at the top. Hold your arms above
your head so I can see how much room you need.”
 
Jessi pinched the fabric and secured it with a straight pin.

“You know, Jessi, I've worn clothing
made by some of the country's top designers and you're right up there with
them.
 
Why don't you have your own line?
Why aren't you selling retail?”

She was still making custom guitar
straps, but it was hard to keep up with the orders.
 
She tried to teach her sister Ella how to
make them, but there wasn't enough time before the tour.
 
“I plan to. I just need a few months to get
my degree first.”

“Look at this.” Alyssa called from
the booth.
 
“There’s another pair of tits
on parade.”

A second silicone-breasted groupie
walk passed them.
 
This one was a little
more modest.
 
She wore a thong.
 
She mumbled something through the bathroom
door and it creaked open and she stepped inside. They came from the living
area, not the sleeping quarters.
 
Jimmy
must have moved the party to the couch last night instead of trying to cram
three people into his bunk.

“You don't need a degree,” Courtney
said.
 
“You name is recognizable.
 
People know who you are and you can afford to
open your own shop.”

“I know. It’s more a matter of
principal.
 
Plus, I always promised Tommy
I’d go back and finish college.
 
Education is important to him.
 
He
was really upset when I dropped out.”

Jimmy’s two groupies exited the
bathroom together, holding hands and looking awfully chummy.
 
They still didn’t bother to cover their
perfectly round breasts, or anything else that might catch a breeze.

“Here come the silicone sisters,”
Alyssa commented.
 
“Put some clothes on,”
she fired at them as they walked by, but they both ignored her.

Jessi went back to adjusting Courtney’s top.
 
She imagined what it would be like to design
full time, to create a full line of rock and roll inspired clothing with her
name on the label.
 
It was her dream,
before she was lured in by the excitement of the stage.
 
She needed people like Courtney around to
remind her to go after her dreams. Courtney was right.
 
She didn’t need her degree.
 
She already learned construction.
 
She was skilled at putting together intricate
designs and working with a variety of textiles.
 
She just needed the time to open a store so she could finally be able to
break into commercial sales with the guitar straps, and design the clothing
line that was already making its way down the runway in her head.

Chapter Forty-Nine