Gonna Sell The Bitch's Car Ch. 05

One Saturday Freddie got us tickets to the Grand Ole Opry. It was great. Some of the legends were there, along with established acts, and talented newcomers. Freddie had played there three times.

We talked, we held hands, we kissed, sometimes pretty intensely, but we slept in separate rooms.

I think both of us wanted to be really sure.

I did insist we go home once a month. We stayed in my house and spent most of time with my parents. Dottie loved her. She would smile at me when Moira wasn't looking, and the first visit we had she slipped a small note in my pocket.

"Read it when you're alone."

It was three words. "She's the one."

I still have it.

.................................................

In a bar band, you usually play a place three or four nights in a row, so the pace is pretty slow. Get there, set your equipment. Leave the big stuff and secure the instruments at night, and you were set.

In a tour band, you usually arrive in town the day before, sometimes the day of, the show. Your crew sets you up, you come onstage, fine tune your instruments, and play. Then you hang around backstage or go back to your room.

When the show is over, your crew tears it down, packs it up, and the next day you do the whole thing in another town. After awhile it stopped being an adventure, and unless you were on stage it was pretty boring.

It was getting harder and harder to sleep in the same room. At first it was pajamas, but it gradually changed to silk gowns and shorty pajama sets. There was always a steamy goodnight kiss. The feel of her firm body under those gowns didn't help me sleep well. I took a lot of cold showers and used a lot of hand lotion.

It all came to a head in Oklahoma City, the next to last stop as a warmup. They had tornado warnings out, and that's a big deal in Oklahoma.

The show was over, and we had just gotten to bed when there was an enormous flash of lightning followed by a deafening boom of thunder. I was mostly asleep when Moira dove into my bed, scooting under the covers and hugging me tightly.

"Did you see that?"

She sounded like a little girl.

I put my arms around her and held her.

"Relax honey, it's just a storm. We'll be fine."

But we weren't. The wind was blowing so hard you could feel the building sway, and we were seventeen stories up. She had flipped on the TV, and there were reports of multiple tornadoes in the immediate area. Moira started to cry.

I had read somewhere the safest place to be in a tornado was the smallest room in your house, because the smaller it was, the more structurally stable it would be. I got her up and carried all the blankets into the bathroom, putting them into the tub. Thankfully, it was a big tub.

I snuggled us down and wrapped her in my arms.

"Hush now, I won't let anything happen to you. I have too many plans for you."

I gave her a big kiss and she returned it. I was rubbing my hands over her back, her smooth arms, and the sides of the body under the satin gown she was wearing. After a couple of minutes she pulled back and hugged me tighter, murmuring into my chest.

"What kind of plans?" It was spoken in a flirty voice, but had undertones of seriousness.

I had stopped caressing her, and she took my hands and started moving them again. I was more than willing to continue.

"Sure you want to hear them?" I tried to keep it light, while at the same time trying to force love through my hands and voice straight into her heart. She nodded into my chest.

"I plan on loving you for the rest of your life. I plan on making your life so happy you can't wait to see me or hear my voice, and never being out of arms reach for the rest of your life."

I felt the trickle of tears slide down my chest. I lifted her face up until we were nose to nose.

We felt the building lurch and she flinched and burrowed deeper into my embrace.

"Most of all, when this night is over, I plan on you wearing the ring I've been carrying around in my pocket for the last two months. Marry me, Moira, make us complete."

She was so surprised she forgot to be scared.

"Are you sure?"

Not the answer I wanted.

"Well, since you put it like that, let me think about it for a few more years. I'll get back to you."

I had forgotten how large the hands were on that small body. She started pounding on my chest.

" Out, out, get out of the tub! I want my ring, and I want right now! Move your ass."

"But honey, what about the storm?"

"Fuck that storm! Ring! Now! Move!"

I went back into the bedroom and got the ring out of the suitcase I had hidden it in. I messed with her head a little.

"Damn, I could have sworn I put it in the dresser. maybe it's in my jeans, no, no, maybe it's in my suitcase."

She was standing in the door of the bathroom, literally hopping from one foot to the other,flinching every time she saw it lightning. I started feeling a little guilty so I held the box up for her to see.

"Ah, found it."

She grabbed me at the door and dragged me back to the tub. After we had settled in with her more or less on top of me. She tilted her head back and kissed my cheek.

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"Are you going to give me my ring?"

"No, it's not yours yet."

"What do you mean it's not mine yet? Why not?"

"Because I've haven't heard an answer yet. All I've heard is 'I want my ring'. That's not an answer."

She wriggled around until we were face to face.

"Ask me again. All this talk made me forget the question."

'Well in this case I can't get down on one knee, but Moira O'Sullivan(she had taken her maiden name back after the divorce), will you marry me?"

"OH, that question. I'd like to think about it for awhile, but since that pretty much all I've thought about for the last four months, I believe I can make an informed decision."

"Yes, Wiley Patterson, I would love to marry you.

Now give me that ring, and I mean right this second."

So we got engaged in a bathtub on the seventeenth

floor of a hotel in Oklahoma City right in the middle of an F2 tornado.

It wasn't candle light around a king size bed, but we made do.

I slid the soft gown over her head, it was the only garment I had to remove. Her breasts were small, firm, and were capped by the most sensitive nipples I had ever encountered. She told me later they were so sensitive that she would sometimes have small orgasms when Erin fed.

I didn't get to explore her fully that night, but I did learn she was a true redhead, reaffirmed but her soft, neatly trimmed bush. I also learned the trips we made to the gym in various cities had paid off with a nice firm butt.

She loved being nibbled and licked. When I ran my tongue from just below the back of her knees to the tops of her thighs it sounded like she was purring.

I also found her hands to have a lot more talent than guitar playing, and her mouth could do more than sing.

We were cuddled in exhaustion when she noticed the storm had passed, but we were happy where we were.

.............................................

We were late getting to breakfast. Everyone stopped eating and stared.

Cheers broke out. Nikki, our violin player, was dancing around, singing.

"I won, I won! Pay up, suckers."

We kind of stood there, with the deer in the headlights look, before Moira asked what she was talking about.

Jimmy was grinning.

"The 'When are they finally gonna do it' pool. I

thought it wouldn't happen this soon, you guys are kind of slow sometimes. On the bright side, it looks like I win the engagement pool."

All the girls immediately went into full marriage mode, and dragged her off to admire the ring and start talking about wedding plans.

We gave our last performance as a warmup band the next night and went home. The headliner wasn't sorry to see us go, we kind of tore the crowd up. Papers and magazines were interviewing Freddie more and more, and he gave a lot of credit to us.

By then he had released 'Walking After Midnight' and it became his third top ten hit in just seven months. He was suddenly the 'hot' act in country music. and his management team was already putting together his first headliner tour.

................................................

We all went home for two weeks. Moira and Dottie made and remade wedding plans. When the smoke cleared, it was to be an outdoor wedding, in the little state park I was so fond of. You could rent an area for group events that included a large pavilion. We tried to keep it small.

I invited my shrink and her wife, my lawyer and a few more of my old college friends. Moira had a few close friends she used as bridesmaids, and the balance of attendees were somehow music related. I did invite my favorite nurse and a few more from the hospital.

Jimmy was my best man. Freddie, Al, Frank, and the rest of the men in our band were ushers. Beside her old friends, Sarah, Amber, Jenny, and Nikki were also bridesmaids. Dottie was matron of honor, testament to how quickly they bonded, and my dad gave her away. Her mother was ill and they couldn't make the flight, but we promised part of our honeymoon would be spent in Ireland with them.

People were amazed we were getting married so quickly. The truth of the matter was Moira got pregnant the first night we made love.

She hadn't been with a man in a long time so she went off the pill. We were both so excited protection never entered our mind.

It was kind of funny. The first serious discussion we had after getting engaged was about children. I was almost thirty two, and she was almost thirty five. We knew the older we were the more dangerous it was for her to get pregnant, and we both were hesitant. I wanted kids, and Moira said she was ready to be a mom again. We agreed that after our first year we would seriously look at adoption, at least two. Looked like the first one was going to be homemade.

The whole band played for us before the regular wedding band we hired played. Love songs, sung by Freddie and Jenny. Because Freddie was getting so popular we even had a few reporters show up. They were polite, though, and even attended the reception.

We ended up in a few fan magazines, background to Freddie being interviewed, and we got some really nice additional wedding photos out of it.

................................................

We spent two weeks in Ireland with her folks. It was a blast. Her parents were nice, and the small town they lived in treated us like celebrities.

That was probably due to her mother bragging about the country music star Moira was becoming.

It seems American country music had a big following, and the video of 'How Could You Love Me' was very popular. A local TV morning show even had us on, introducing us as "The up and coming music star and home town girl Moira Patterson, and her husband." It embarrassed Moira to death but it was all I could do to keep from laughing as they gushed over her. We even went to the local pub a few times with her folks and played with the house band.

..............................................

When we got back home we had to go right to work.

With Freddie, I had picked out the songs for his western swing tribute album. Three Bob Wills tunes, a couple from Milton Brown, a great Mexican polka 'Jessie' from the Texas Wanderers, and two more from lesser known groups. Freddie wanted an original, and by then he was convinced I could write anything on demand.

I came up with 'Moonlight In Tennessee', a slow waltz. Freddie actually helped, along with Moira, and of course she did the arranging.

Most of the band had gone back home while Freddie did personal appearances and the talk show circuit, so we laid most of the instrumental tracks down at my little studio. I took some of my songwriting money and expanded it.

Finally, we went back to Tennessee to add the vocals and polish it up. We spent most afternoons rehearsing to get the live sound tight, and many of the evenings on the record. I was very protective of Moira, but she would laugh and say she was fine, she wasn't far enough along to worry about anything but morning sickness. I still kept a close eye on her.

Finally it was done, and we took a short vacation before starting the tour.

................................................

When we first came back to Tennessee I was pleased to hear from an old friend. It was the nurse I had grown close to while Kara was dying.

"Wiley honey, how are you? Dottie gave me your number, I hope you don't mind. I hear you finally got married, congratulations. Yes, we're all fine, thanks for asking. We live here now, my husband and I work at St. Judes'."

"Remember how you used to come and sing for the kids? We get all kinds of entertainers here, but most are just here for a photo op. What I wouldn't give to see you come through the door with your guitar."

She rambled on for awhile, and after inviting us out to their house hung up.

We did go to see them. Her kids were all grown, two were nurses, one was a doctor. It was a pleasant evening, and as we drove home Moira was pensive. I asked her and she said she hoped we would be as in love when we got their age. I kissed her and told her to ask me that again in about forty years.

A few days later she asked me, out of the blue, if I missed going to the hospital to play for the kids.

"Yes I do. It was a big part of my life for a long time, you know. What we're doing, what we've become, it's very satisfying. But it wouldn't make the least bit of difference to those kids if Elvis himself came to see them if he could make them smile for a few minutes, and give them a bright spot to remember in their normally gray lives."

I didn't think anymore about it until three days later when she handed me a package.

"What's this?"

"It's your minstrel suit, I got your Mom to ship it up. I talked to Cora[the nurse], and she said come anytime. So, when are we going?"

Damn, I wish I could love this woman even more.

We set it up for a Thursday, simply because it was my favorite day of the week. I surprised Moira by handing her a package.

"What's this?"

"It's your costume. You don't think I'm going around in tights while you wear jeans, it would spoil the effect."

It was a dress, green satin. The skirt was layered to look like leaves, while the top was form fitting and had one shoulder bare. There were matching tights, and silver slippers with little bells. Even with her three and a half month bump, she was so beautiful it made my eyes water.

"What am I?"

"Silly girl, you're a genuine fairy, come all the way from Ireland to spread cheer and give comfort."

She twirled before the mirror. With her red hair, green eyes, and slightly pointed ears, she looked like she had just stepped off the pages of a story book.

We got off the elevator and Cora was standing there with a huge smile.

"Come on! I promised these people a treat."

She showed us a lounge we could change in, chattering the whole way.

"Wiley, remember when you were fourteen and I told you some day I would be listening to your songs on the radio? This is one time in my life when I can take great joy in saying I told you so."

We changed. I looked at her and realized that for the rest of my life I would be standing in the shadow of her beauty. And I was more than okay with that.

We carried our gear to the ward day room. Heads turned as we passed.

The kids stopped chattering when we came in. They

didn't know quite what to make of us. Cora made the introductions.

"Kids, remember the minstrel we read about in the storybook yesterday? Well, this a real live, genuine minstrel, and he brought a special friend all the way from Ireland. This is Moira, queen of the fairies."

Wow, now she was royalty.

We played the simple songs, the silly songs, the songs they liked. They liked me, but they flocked to her, touching shyly, almost in awe. she patted hands and hugged everyone. Occasionally I would see tears in her eyes and knew she was thinking of Erin.

One little girl, maybe three or four, sat quietly in a corner. She would smile occasionally, but never joined in. We took a short break and Moira asked Cora about her. We knew from experience the bald head was a bad sign.

"That's April. She's here all alone. Her father is a single parent and has two more at home. Because he has to support the other two and there is no other relatives, he has to leave her alone for extended periods of time. It's killing both of them."

She asked what the father's name was, and told me to get my mandolin.

She walked up to the little girl.

"April, you know I'm a fairy, right? The Queen, actually."

She nodded her head, shyly.

"One of the advantages of being the queen of the fairies is the ability to read thoughts from a long distance. I've been getting a message from your father, Tim."

Her eyes got wide at the mention of his name.

She reached down and stood her up.

"You have to stand for this message. Now, hold your arms out."

Moira held her arms out wide and April did the same.

"Your dad says to tell you he misses you terribly, and he loves you this much."

She held her arms out even wider.

I knew instantly where this was going, so when she started singing I was right there with the mandolin.

"I love you this much/my heart melts at your touch/and I'll be strong enough, 'cause I love you this much."

She had modified the lyrics a little to fit the occasion, but it sounded just as good.

It was our lullaby, we used to sing it to each other almost every night we were on tour.

She took her hand and put it in the boy standing beside her and almost hypnotically he reached for the child beside him. Soon everyone in the room, kids, doctors, parents, were holding each others' hands as widely as they could.

By the time she had done all five verses, most had tears in their eyes, one, a doctor in his late fifties, was crying openly. He said later he was thinking of his wife, who had just passed.

Moira had been twirling slowly, as as the last chords lingered she knelt and picked up April, who was crying, well, like the baby she was.

"Your Daddy loves you April, be strong for him."

She nodded, and then buried her head in her shoulder and tried to hug her harder.

.................................................

The spell was broken by a voice at the door.

"What's all this? I didn't know there was another act here. Does this mean I don't have to do this, Bob?"

It was Freddie's producer, along with one of his other clients, a young woman with a minor hit who he was thinking about producing. He was there as a favor to her manager.

She seemed indifferent, and a little stoned. I could tell from the look on Bobs' face her chances of working with him were getting slimmer.

He told her to go on home, and one of the agents' asssistants stayed to try doing damage control.

He followed us as we said our goodbyes. It took awhile, seems everyone wanted to thank us, hug us, I even got a kiss or two. Cora made us promise on pain of death to return soon.

As soon as we got changed Bob charged into the room.

"I suppose that was one of yours?"

I only nodded.

"I've got the perfect singer, she's---"

"No, the only one who gets to sing this is Moira. No one else, don't bother. If she wants to record it she will, otherwise it stays a private lullaby."

Both looked at me with stunned faces.

Bob tried to bluster.

"We agreed, I get first choice, remember?"

"No, you offered me a retainer but I didn't take it."

"Most songs it won't matter, but some are special to me, and I'll choose who sings it. No discussion."

And that's how Faerie was born.