You Made Me Love You
The cab ride from Clark’s apartment to the club gave Lois time to get her raging emotions under control. She couldn’t quite believe that she’d been a millimeter from ripping his clothes off and carrying him over her shoulder to his bedroom and forgetting about her sister and the band and other three women who’d dedicated their lives to making it to the big time together. She couldn’t believe that she’d been willing to throw away her entire life and her career for any man, even if Clark was that man.
At the same time, she couldn’t quite believe that she hadn’t done it.
She took a deep breath, held it for a slow ten-count, then blew it out. It was a meditation technique she’d learned somewhere, and once again it helped her focus and regain control of her emotional state. And she knew she’d need that control during rehearsal. How she was going to play while Clark was sitting at the soundboard, so close and yet so far away, she didn’t know.
And she didn’t know how she’d conceal her turmoil from her friends. She couldn’t even blame it on her cycle, since they all knew those intimate details about each other and they knew it wasn’t her time. Maybe she could claim a bad headache or that she thought she might be coming down with something.
Oh, yeah, she was coming down with something. It was a heart condition. Probably a terminal condition, too.
*****
After an hour, Ramona called a ten-minute break in rehearsal and walked over to Lois to speak privately. “Hey, Lo, you okay? You’ve been about a half-second off beat ever since we started. And that’s just not you, not at all.”
Lois frowned and shook her head. “I know. I’m sorry. I just – I think I might be coming down with something.”
Ramona reached up and felt Lois’ forehead. “You don’t feel feverish. Is your stomach upset? Maybe it was something you ate.”
Ramona was surprised when the bass player seemed to pale slightly. “Yeah,” she responded, “maybe that’s it, something I ate at lunch.”
That didn’t quite sound like that was the problem to Ramona, but she played along. “Okay, we’ll try to wrap this up as quickly as possible, then you go lie down in your dressing room. It’s not as comfy as a bed, but it’s better than nothing.”
Lois tried to smile. “They’re better than the dressing areas in that dive in Fort Worth. Remember changing clothes behind that blanket in the hallway?”
Ramona laughed softly. “And that little worm who kept trying to sneak a peek at us? Wasn’t he the manager’s son?”
“Son or nephew or something. I never figured it out for sure. I just never liked him, but the gig paid well and we got great reviews.”
“Yeah, those were the days, weren’t they?”
Lois’ eyes snapped into focus. “Yeah. And we’re headed for better days now, aren’t we?”
“I sure hope so. That money guy will be here again tonight and Toni told me he’s going to make a decision one way or the other. If we can get an album of our own recorded and pressed, we can probably lock up a booking to open for a name act next year. And maybe that will give us an ‘in’ with a major distribution label, and if that happens we’ll have the money to make a couple of videos and get ourselves some major exposure.”
Ramona leaned closer and her voice dropped in pitch and timbre. “We’re this close to our big break, Lois, we’re so very close that I can almost taste it! If it happens like I hope it will, in a year or two we’ll be on the cover of Rolling Stone and we’ll be calling our own shots. We’ll have major venues begging us to play for them. But we have to stick together for that to happen, and it has to be all of us. You understand?”
Lois’ face hardened. “Yes. I understand. And you’d better know and believe that I want what you’ve just described as much as you do. If we don’t make it, I won’t be the reason. I’m not Jennifer.”
Ramona nodded and moved back. “I know you aren’t Jennifer, and I never thought anything else. I just had to be sure where your head was.” She put her hand on Lois’ arm. “And you needed to know where it was, too.”
Lois nodded back. “I know. This band is important to me, Ramona. I’m not hurting our chances for the big time for anyone or anything.”
Ramona smiled. “Good. Go stretch your legs and get something to drink. We’ll see if we can wrap this up and lock in for tonight.”
*****
The second half of the rehearsal had gone much better than the first half. Lois and Shamika had found the pocket and stayed there, even while Lois was singing her featured solo. Even the monitors had sounded better than usual.
Best of all, she hadn’t needed to talk directly to their hunky sound tech all afternoon.
She glanced to the soundboard where Clark – no, she had to call him Charlie while they were here – was shutting down the board and locking the cover in place. She caught his eye for a moment, then he turned away and disappeared into the back hallway. His face looked like he felt caught between a rock and a hard place, a situation which didn’t allow for contact between them on any level.
For a moment she was angry with herself. They were both acting as if they’d had an affair and had ended it on bad terms, and they hadn’t really done anything! She had all the frustration and guilt of an affair and no memories of their time together because they hadn’t had any time together.
That sucks, she thought.
But it was better this way, she grimly insisted to herself. Never mind the sting in her heart where the connection between her and the tall dark handsome stranger felt twisted and torn. Never mind the sense of loss and the emptiness in her chest which reached out to him for fulfillment. It wasn’t going to happen. There was no sense in torturing either of them.
Lois unplugged her effects pedal to save the battery and made sure of her amp settings before locking her bass in its case. Lucy called to her, “Hey, Sis, you want to grab a bite to eat? We’re heading over to some new place Connie found in the phone book, the Fudge Castle. They’re supposed to have the best chocolate in the state.”
Lois shook her head. “Thanks, Punky, but I think I’d better not put too much pressure on my stomach tonight. But let me know the next time you go and I’ll get there first.”
“You sure you’re okay? It isn’t like you to pass up chocolate.”
Lois smiled. “I’m fine. I just need to rest a bit. You go have some fun.”
“Okay. See you at seven-thirty!”
“Will do. You guys don’t eat so much that you get sick!”
Lucy laughed and waved as she ran towards the others. She watched her sister and their friends all but dance off the stage as Lois wandered towards the empty dressing room to lie down. It was so wonderful to be part of something like this. Even if they never really made it to the big time and became famous and scandalously successful, the whole experience would never leave her. And she’d never regret one minute of the time they’d spent together.
Of course, she wouldn’t exactly be upset if they did break out nationally. Or even internationally. She’d always had a yen to play in Australia. A European tour or two would be nice, too, and she’d love to go to one of those clothing-optional beaches in France and dare Connie to go topless just to see if she’d actually do it. Then they could –
She suddenly realized that a man close by was almost shouting in angry tones, and a woman was responding in fear. She quickly checked her surroundings and sensed no one, so she hugged the wall and edged closer.
Wanda Detroit was back on the job.
There. The voices were coming from one of the unused offices, and she could hear what they were saying.
“– don’t understand where you got that idea!”
“Because your name ain’t Wannamaker, that’s why! It’s King! And you been takin’ notes! See here? I got ‘em!”
“Johnny, those – those aren’t mine! I don’t know who put them in my locker!”
“I can read, Linda! You ain’t some down-on-your-luck waitress! You’re a reporter! You been spyin’ on me!” Then she heard a hard slap and a gasp. “Nobody spies on me and gets away with it! You ain’t tellin’ nobody about my business!”
“Johnny, please! I didn’t – “
“Yeah you did! But you ain’t never doin’ it again!”
“No! Johnny, please, no – “
Great. Linda was in deep trouble, and Lois was the only one around who could or would help her. Maybe she could slip away and find a phone in time to –
“Don’t move and don’t talk or I’ll shoot you.”
The piece of metal poking her in the back convinced her to do neither. She didn’t place the voice, but anyone who’d put a pistol in her back this time of day inside the club wasn’t a common mugger.
From behind, her assailant grabbed her hair and pulled her head up and back. “Walk forward and open that door.”
She did as she was told. She saw Johnny Taylor standing over a quivering and weeping Linda King lying huddled on the floor. Johnny looked up, eyes blazing, and shouted, “Who let you in here?”
Lois’ captor pushed her further into the room. “I found her outside listening, Johnny. I don’t know how much she heard, but she was actin’ like she was gonna try to do somethin’ about it.”
“Yeah?” growled Johnny. “Too bad for her.” He yanked Linda to her feet and shoved her towards Lois, who caught and steadied her. “Okay, George, you know what to do.”
Lois looked over her shoulder at the kindly older man who’d watched the front door to the club since the band had arrived. Except he didn’t look all that kindly at the moment, especially with a large-caliber revolver in his fist. In fact, his eyes had morphed from their normal gentle smile to hard and flat and murderous.
Johnny had given the order, but George was going to kill them.
George nodded. “Come on, girls, we gotta go outside.”
“At least go a couple of blocks away,” muttered Johnny.
“Got a good spot already picked out,” said George. Then he waved the pistol at the women and stepped backwards through the door.
Lois helped Linda step through the door and down the hallway. Linda was sniffling and stumbling from side to side until George grabbed her by the back of the neck and slammed her against the wall. “Shut up! You give me any trouble and I’ll make it hurt real bad. Now walk!”
Lois desperately looked for a chance to dodge away, to turn and attack the older man, but he was too cautious and too experienced to allow her any opportunity to turn the tables. They pushed through an old fire door that Lois would have assumed was rusted shut, but it swung open silently and the trio stepped out into the afternoon sunshine.
Lois glanced up and realized where they were. The club was in the older part of Metropolis where the streets and alleys wound around in a rabbit warren where drug dealers and pimps ruled – with permission from and tribute paid to the Metro Club, of course. There were places here where a couple of bodies wouldn’t be found for days. And that was where George was guiding them.
George was going to kill her.
Lois didn’t want to die. She didn’t want to miss the band’s coming success or the camaraderie of the group or watching her sister grow up and blossom both as a musician and as a person and she almost cried when she realized she’d never have another chance to kiss Clark –
“That’s far enough. Against that wall.”
Linda leaned against the pitted brick and whimpered for her mother. Lois looked up and saw George screwing a silencer onto the muzzle of the weapon. Won’t work, she thought, the pressure from the muzzle velocity and large powder charge will blow up the silencer and you can’t use one of those on a revolver anyway because it still makes a big bang because of the space around the cylinder and someone –
George lifted the pistol and pulled the trigger.
A sudden wind blew her hair back and she jumped back against the brick.
She waited for the pain to hit but it didn’t.
She waited for another shot but it didn’t come either.
She peeked out from under her closed eyelids and saw George lying on the ground out cold.
Lois slowly moved away from the wall and let Linda slide down to the ground. She had either been shot or had passed out. George was breathing but otherwise not moving. Lois quickly checked herself and decided that she hadn’t been shot. She turned to check Linda, but Clark was kneeling beside her, checking her for wounds. Then Lois saw George’s pistol on the ground behind Clark.
It was crushed into scrap metal. Smoke still drifted lazily from the cylinder and the bent silencer.
She looked at Clark. Why was Clark here? HOW was Clark here? He shouldn’t be here, no, not at all. “Bill Henderson is on the way,” he said calmly. “I called the police before I left the club. Are you okay?”
“Wh – who?”
“Bill Henderson. He’s the detective who told us about Christie.”
Her mind refused to turn over and she stared at him blankly. “Lois!” he hissed. “Are you hurt?”
She shook her head slowly. “Good,” he breathed. “Listen to me now. I need you to tell the police that the Silent Vigilante was here and that he saved you.”
Her head twisted and her eyes bulged. “What – Vigilante – you – “
He grimaced. “Yes, it’s me. I didn’t have time to put on my disguise. I promise that I’ll tell you all about it later, but right now I have to disappear before they get here.”
She nodded briefly, then pointed at Linda. “What about – is she – “
“She’s not hurt, she just fainted. I’m not surprised. In fact, I’m surprised you’re as coherent as you are.”
Lois’ brain was starting to kick in again. “Yeah, well, I’m very surprising at times.”
He grinned lopsidedly. “You are that. Look, are you going to tell my secret?”
She closed her eyes for a moment and shook her head. “No. Not now, at least. I owe you that much and more.”
“Thanks.” He stood and kissed her quickly, then scooped up the wrecked pistol and began untwisting it. He glanced up to see her staring wide-eyed again. “I’ll, uh, explain this later too.”
She nodded. “You’d better.” She frowned as a thought came to her. “Hey, how did you know I was in trouble?”
“Your heart rate went through the roof. It was over one-fifty and getting faster when I started following you.”
Her jaw dropped. “You – you can hear my heart beating?”
“Uh – yes, I can. And before you ask, no, I don’t hear everyone’s heart, just yours.”
“Oh.” She shook her head in amazement. “I think that talk is going to last quite a while.”
He grinned again and dropped the restored pistol near George’s hand but not close enough for him to grab it. “If he wakes up before the police get here – “
Lois bent down and grabbed a piece of broken brick. “I got that covered.”
He hesitated, then said, “We’ll talk later, I promise.”
And he was gone.
She pinched her forearm to make sure she wasn’t dreaming and felt the sharp pain. Then she tapped the piece of brick against the wall and heard the thunk and felt the impact through her hand. Okay, this wasn’t some dying fantasy, then. She really had seen Clark save her from certain death. She wondered for a moment if he would have revealed himself to Linda, but then pushed that thought away. It wasn’t fair to him.
But they’d have to talk.
A moan from the ground drew her attention. Linda lifted her head and said, “What – what happened?”
“The Silent Vigilante saved us.”
“Oh.” Linda shifted on the ground, then groaned, “Oh, no.”
“What? Are you hurt? What’s wrong?”
Linda lifted her face to Lois’ and burst into tears. “I peed my pants again!”
Lois grinned in relief. “Maybe you should take up a less demanding occupation.”
*****
Lois was fuming. “I already told you twice, Inspector! This guy came out of nowhere and took George’s gun away from him and knocked him out and then ran off.”
“And you didn’t get a look at – at ‘this guy’ and you can’t describe him at all?”
“No! I thought I was about to get shot and killed! It happened really fast and I didn’t think about checking anybody for identifying marks or tattoos!”
Henderson’s mouth twitched and Lois thought he was about to smile, but he didn’t. “Look, Inspector, I’m supposed to play two sets with the Mountaintops tonight. Can I go? Do you have enough information from me or don’t you?”
Henderson looked up at Linda, who was wrapped in a blanket and sitting on the curb beside a female officer, wearing a vacant expression on her face. “I sure wish the other lady there could tell us how she happened to be here with you.”
“I told you that too! Her name is Linda Wannamaker and she’s a waitress at the Metro Club and Johnny Taylor’s current girlfriend! George brought both of us out here to kill us because Johnny Taylor told him to!”
“And why did he do that?”
“I don’t know! All I heard was them arguing about something! Then George put a gun in my back and forced me into the room where Johnny told him to kill both of us!”
Henderson nodded. “Okay, so we go in and arrest Johnny now and – “
“No!” she shouted. “You can’t! Not yet, anyway! His sister would shut down the club and we wouldn’t get to play and we’re auditioning for a guy who wants to invest in the band and we have to play for him!”
He sighed and shrugged. “Then what do you suggest we do?”
“Let us start our set at eight and do a couple of songs. As soon as we do, you come in with your warrant and arrest Johnny. Seeing me on stage will upset Johnny no end and he might say something incriminating to you. By the time you come in, we’ll know if we have that deal or not, and Johnny will be right there waiting for you.”
Henderson stared at her for a long moment. She didn’t flinch. “Are you always this forceful, Ms. Lane?”
“Only when I don’t get my way.”
He snorted. “I can believe that. Okay, it’ll take at least another half-hour to get the warrant worded correctly and get a judge to sign it, maybe a bit more, so if you hurry I think you’ll be able to start your show. Just don’t count on finishing it.”
She nodded. “Thanks, Inspector. I assume that you won’t be arresting my sister or me any time soon?”
He shrugged again. “Not unless one of you breaks the law.”
She finally smiled. “I won’t. And she won’t if I have anything to say about it.”
*****
Lucy was frantically pacing backstage when Lois trotted into the curtained area. She grabbed her older sister and hissed, “Where have you been? We go on in eighteen minutes!”
“Hey, Luce, I’m just glad to be anywhere right now. Where are the others?”
“Tuning up in the dressing room. What’s going – “
Lois grabbed her and yanked. “Come on. I have some news.”
Lucy barely kept her balance as she stumbled after her sister. The only reason she didn’t fall was because she literally ran up against the dressing room door and pushed herself upright. “Lois, what’s going on?”
Instead of answering, Lois slapped the door. “Let us in! I have to tell you something.”
Shamika’s face appeared in the doorway. “Lois! Girl, am I glad to see you! Toni come by and said you might not be here but wouldn’t say why, just Johnny told her. Where you been?”
Lois pushed the door shut behind them and looked at each of the women in turn. Then she all but broke down and she hugged them all, starting with Lucy.
Shamika was the last in line and she almost stepped away, but Lois lunged for her. “No you don’t, Sham,” Lois said. “I need this right now. I need you guys right now.”
Shamika returned the hug and said, “Okay, if you say so. But you wanna tell us why you so uptight?”
Lois moved back and dashed at her eyes. “Look, I don’t have time to tell you all the details, but we need to change the order of the set. I want to do the Heart song first instead of closing the first set with it.”
Ramona narrowed her eyes. “I don’t suppose you could tell us why?”
“Because I don’t know how long we’ll be able to play before someone shuts down the club. The police – wait a minute, okay? The police are coming to arrest Johnny Taylor for two attempted contract murders.”
Lucy grabbed her sister’s arm. “How do you know this? Why are we switching up the song order?”
“Please, Punky, just trust me, okay? Have I ever lied to you before?”
Lucy frowned. “You said Tim was old enough to travel with the Fast Lanes.”
“What? Oh, come on! Forget about Tim! I was wrong, but I didn’t lie!”
Lucy glanced at the other three and realized that they were all waiting for her to finish with Lois. So she released Lois’ arm and nodded. “Okay. You don’t lie, at least not to me. I believe that you think you know what you’re doing.”
“And I don’t have time to tell you all of this, but – “ she stopped and bit her lip, something that Lucy hadn’t seen her do in years. “This is something you all need to know. Charlie King isn’t Charlie’s real name. He’s Clark Kent, an undercover reporter for the Daily Planet. He was sent here to get the goods on the Metro Gang in general and the Taylors specifically.”
Lucy felt her jaw drop and her eyes bug out. She stared at Lois as if she’d just told the entire group that she was really a man in very good drag.
Connie finally managed to say, “So – you’re saying that Charlie – I mean, Clark – has done his job? And the gig is done?”
“Pretty much,” Lois smiled ruefully. “I hope the Styles Club still wants us early.”
Connie nudged Ramona. “Huh? Oh, yeah, Styles, yeah, they still want us. We, uh, we can probably start as early as Friday if we get out of here tomorrow.”
“I’m confident that’s what will happen.” Lois glanced at her watch. “Look, we have about ten minutes before we’re on. I want to walk out last, plug in, and hit the opener right away. Can we do that?”
Ramona shrugged. “As long as I get the chance to set up my synth for the horn parts, yeah, we can do that. I don’t suppose you can tell us why you want to start with that particular tune, do you?”
Lois grinned. “I have a very specific reason, one which I will share with all of you as soon as I have the time, I promise.”
Connie smiled. “There’s a lot you’re not telling us, Lois, but I guess we can cut you some slack for the time being. You okay with this change, Sham?”
Shamika smiled and stretched one corded arm around Lois’s shoulders and all but lifted her from the floor. “Hey, I’s just the drummer chick. You tell me what song and I play it.” She looked directly into Lois’ eyes and lowered her voice. “You just fill in the blanks when we got the time, okay? Otherwise maybe I don’t feel so cooperative next time.”
Lois smiled back and twisted away from the taller woman. “Sham, you’re a big old puddy tat and we all know it. But I promise to fill in all the leftover blanks as soon as I have a chance to.”
Ramona nodded. “Okay, we start with the Heart song and if we still have a job after that, we start the set list like it was set up before. Connie, you go tell Charlie – I mean Clark, right? Anyway, tell the sound guy about the new opener.” She opened the door and paused. “I’ll go set up my keyboards, and you three come up when you’re ready. Lois can tune back here and walk onstage at eight sharp.”
Connie looked at the sisters as Ramona shut the door behind her. “You know, when I said playing with you two would be fun, I didn’t anticipate it being this much fun.”
Lucy sighed and crossed her arms. “Neither did I, Connie, neither did I.” She shook her head ruefully. “Go tell what’s-his-name what we’re doing. I’ll make sure Lois doesn’t disappear again.”
*****
Lois peeked through the curtain at two minutes before showtime and saw Johnny Taylor at the sound board talking to Clark. Johnny seemed to be telling him something that confused Clark – it was nice to call him Clark in her mind instead of Charlie – and Johnny seemed to be growing more angry with every shake of Clark’s head and shrug of his shoulders. Finally Johnny threw up his hands and stalked off to his office.
Good. At least he wouldn’t see Lois before they started playing.
Then she saw Toni Taylor tap Clark on the shoulder and ask him something. Clark shook his head and shrugged again, and Toni frowned and started after her brother.
Then Lucy caught Lois’ eye and nodded. It was time to start the show and lay a shock on Johnny Taylor and hit him where it hurt him the most, right in the ego.
Lois stepped out from behind the curtain carrying her bass and crossed to her amp. She picked up the cable and plugged in, flipped the standby switch off and tapped the strings to make sure the amp was working. When she heard the answering thumps from the amp, she turned to Connie and Shamika and nodded. Shamika tapped her sticks to start the song and all five of them exploded into the intro chords. Connie’s distorted guitar merged with Lucy’s rhythm licks and slammed the club’s guests onto the dance floor and into frantic activity as Ramona’s synthesizer blew the horn licks out across the floor.
Lois grabbed her bass and played as if she’d just been given a new lease on life. Then she stepped up to the microphone and sang with all the verve and strength of someone with everything to live for.
I'm so tired of these men trying to impress me with nothing
The same old routine and the smooth fancy talking
Now I know and believe that I found it for real
'Cos you're good and you're kind and you care how I feel
I had a tall dark handsome stranger I've had the devil in disguise
I've been attracted to the danger But I was never satisfied
And I know what I like And I like what I see in your eyes
Oh, you're so beautiful
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the substitute doorman slowly retreat into the reception area of the club. Beyond his shoulder she noted the presence of four stern young police officers carrying twelve-gauge riot shotguns, each with eight rounds in the magazine and extra ammunition strapped to the stocks. And she also noted the presence of the dour Detective Inspector William Henderson leading them.
I've been pushed I've been pulled I've been put out and trod on
Just by taking my chances I finally caught on
When I see in your eyes all the love shining through
I'm glad I held out for somebody like you
I had a tall dark handsome stranger I've had the devil in disguise
I've been attracted to the danger But I was never satisfied
And I know what I like And I like what I see in your eyes
She changed her line of sight and saw several tough guys back out of the club’s hallways and passages with their hands held outward and slightly above their waists. Then she saw more uniformed officers holding riot guns herding them inward. The crowd’s focus began to shift from the band to the disturbance at the edges of the main floor.
Heaven must have sent you I know
You're so good to me I feel good with you
I'd be such a fool to let you go
There's something about you I can't live without you
As Connie began her first solo, a bartender sprinted to Johnny’s office and stuck his head in. Johnny nearly knocked him down as he burst out of the office. Then she saw him do a perfect double-take as he glanced towards the stage and saw her. He skidded to a complete stop and stared as if seeing a ghost.
She was singing her heart out now, aiming it directly at Clark. And somehow she knew that he heard and understood what she was trying to say to him.
I've had fast talking good looking men at my door
Now I'm a wiser woman than I was before
Her eyes sought out Clark. He was standing behind the board and smiling, and she wanted to believe that he was smiling at her. None of the others knew that both of them were undercover crimefighters, her with words and Clark with his special talents. And she was sure he had more talents than he’d allowed her to glimpse. She couldn’t wait to find out just what they might be.
I had a tall dark handsome stranger I've had the devil in disguise
I've been attracted to the danger But I was never never never satisfied
And I know what I like And I like what I see in your eyes baby
Lucy and Ramona joined her in singing harmony on the last chorus as Henderson stood beside an astonished Johnny and pulled a document out of his inside coat pocket. Lois thought she read the words “murder for hire,” “drugs,” “murder,” and “conspiracy” on the policeman’s lips. Wanda Detroit had helped bring yet another evildoer to justice.
She hoped Christie would rest a little easier now.
I had a tall dark handsome stranger I've had the devil in disguise
I've been attracted to the danger But I was never never satisfied
And I know what I like And I like what I see in your eyes
Oh, yeah
They vamped over the last chorus as Connie let loose some more scorching guitar lines as Henderson snapped handcuffs on Johnny’s wrists and gave him to two uniformed officers who roughly escorted him out of the building. Then they hit and held the ending major chord as Shamika unleashed a torrent of percussion from her drumset. The patrons near the middle of the floor burst into applause and cheers, but the ones near the outside started moving towards the exits.
Henderson lifted a bullhorn Lois hadn’t noticed that he held and spoke into the sudden silence. “Ladies and gentlemen! This is the police. We have just arrested Johnny Taylor, the manager of this club. By order of Judge Ernesto Sanchez of the Sixth Judicial District, this club is closed for the purpose of executing search and arrest warrants. Each of you will be allowed to leave as soon as you identify yourselves – with valid documents – to the detectives at the main doorway, and yes, we will be contacting some of you later. We apologize for interrupting your evening and ask that you be patient as we do our jobs. Thank you.”
Lois stepped back from her microphone as Clark began shutting down the sound board. He looked up and caught her gaze, then smiled warmly. That connection between them seemed to shimmer in the air as Lois smiled back at him.
Connie tapped Lois on the shoulder and said, “Looks like the Marines have landed. Is this what you thought was going to happen?”
Lois smiled and nodded. “Yes. It is.”
Connie didn’t know it, but Lois wasn’t talking only about Johnny Taylor’s arrest.
Ramona flicked off her keyboards and turned off her amps. “Looks like we’re going to Gotham early after all. Everybody shut everything down and start packing, but don’t leave the stage unless you want to meet some policemen.”
Connie perked up. “Well, policemen get lonely too, don’t they?”
“I think they’re a little busy at the moment.”
“But they’re here and I can talk to them and get some phone numbers, can’t I?” Connie shrugged. “Hey, it’s better than looking for dates in the classifieds.”
Ramona frowned at her. “Connie, I’m warning you – “
Connie laughed. “You are just too easy, Mona.”
Ramona shook her head. “That’s what they told me about you, too.”
Lois sighed to herself. If only everything in life could be easy.
-----
Lyrics to “Tall Dark Handsome Stranger” © 1990 Albert Hammond Music; written by Albert Hammond and Holly Knight
Performed by Heart on the albums “Brigade” and “Greatest Hits: 1985-1995”
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this song by Heart on YouTube
