It comes with the territory, and I’ve tried to embrace that. I don’t harbor any illusions about what these girls want. If I wasjust some guy they bumped into at the grocery store, they wouldn’t look twice. It’s the whole fame and celebrity thing, and as long as I remember that, I get along just fine.
Since the problem at the fitting, there have been no other issues with Mia. She worked hard at rehearsals. If I hadn’t been watching for it, I wouldn’t have even noticed the little spasm she has every time she has to singGirl, that bod makes me wanna applaud. Despite a concern she might cop out at the last minute, she’s here.
The three girls are sharing the hotel room next to mine, and as we get unpacked, I can hear their laughter through the walls. I’m glad they’ve become fast friends, and I’m not at all lonely in my room with an extra bed.
I hop in the shower to wash off the travel grime, pulling on my shirt just as Paul knocks on the door.
“Wheels up in three,” he says.
These particular wheels happen to belong to a white Eurovan. We’re not classy enough for a stretch limo, and honestly, those things have no business being in the tiny streets of Europe, anyway.
The girls pile in, followed by the audio guys, Paul, and me. Another Eurovan full of equipment and more people waits behind. In a couple of days, we’ll have our tour buses to take us all over Western Europe, but for now, this van is what we’ve got.
We’ve got two shows in Prague, both at the same venue: a medium-sized concert hall in the city. I’ve actually played here, but it’s different being the headliner.
We spend the next couple of hours blocking things out and running through the setlist while the sound guys do tests and go over the tech rider.
Everyone is jetlagged and a little glassy-eyed by the time we wrap up. Kelly and Rose are lying on the stage floor while Mia sits cross-legged next to them. We’ll have to do more tomorrowduring the day, but we’re in decent shape given how quickly this is coming together.
“Van’s waiting out front,” Paul says as he strides onto the stage. “Sound guys need another half hour or so, but you guys are done for the night.”
Mia gets up, tightens the sweater around her waist, then puts out her hands to help both Kelly and Rose. She seems a lot less on the verge of keeling over than they do.
“Please say we have fourteen hours of sleep blocked out tonight,” Rose says to Paul.
He grimaces, and her shoulders sag as she shuffles toward the door.
Kelly slings a lifeless arm through Mia’s and starts walking, but Mia doesn’t follow.
“I think I’ll walk, actually,” she says.
Kelly stares at her like she just stated her intention to visit Mars.
“I want to see a little of the city,” Mia explains.
Paul looks thoughtful but ultimately nods, then looks at me expectantly.
“I’ll come back with the sound guys,” I say. “I want to talk to them about that first transition.” I’m feeling weirdly nervous. The sense of responsibility for the show is settling in. There are a lot of people involved in bringing everything together, but at the end of the day, my name is the one on the posters and tickets. In people’s minds, the buck stops with me, even if that’s not the reality.
Paul heads out with the others, leaving Mia and me on stage. Part of me is slightly uncomfortable with the thought of Mia walking to the hotel at this time of night. But she’s also a grown woman who can make those choices for herself.
Except she’s not leaving. She’s looking out over the empty seats.
I come up beside her. “What do you think?”
She blows out a long breath through rounded lips, and I chuckle.
“This is nothing to you, huh?” she says with a wry smile.
“No.” I look around the venue at all the seats that’ll be filled tomorrow night.Hopefullyfilled. “Definitely not nothing. I’m nervous too.”
She shoots me a look of skepticism. “You don’t have to pretend just to make me feel better.”
“I’m not. I mean, I’ve played in front of crowds bigger than this, but never as the main act. And I don’t think I’ll ever get over worrying something embarrassing will happen. No one will show up, I’ll fall on my face, my pants will fall down… Stuff like that.”
She narrows her eyes. “So, your pants falling down would be embarrassing, but your shirt coming off…”
I smile, happy to see a little sass coming out despite her nerves. “One’s a costume malfunction. The other’s part of the show.”
