She dipped her head to her guitar, tears blurring her vision, then she sucked in the emotions and spoke again.
“Safe travels, Marion.”
She started with “Leaving on a Jet Plane,” imagining her best friend in the sky with Daniel at her side. Did Marion see the way Daniel looked at her? Did she realize she held her breath when he spoke? The romance of it all made Sassy smile as she switched keys to “Never My Love.” She and Marion loved that song.
“I have a very good friend with a really nice car,” she said after that, glancing at Tom. He nodded appreciatively. “He thinks I don’t know who Elvis Presley is.” The audience laughed, and she played a quick, complicated riff on her guitar, smiling coyly the whole time. “So this is for him. ‘All That I Am,’ from Elvis’s movieSpinout, is about a race car. Does that work for you, Tom?”
After that, she played Louis Armstrong’s new one, a poem to goodness and to all the best parts of life. “What a Wonderful World,” she was certain, was going to become a hit.
When that was finished, she took a deep breath then smiled broadly at the audience. “My last song for tonight is something a little more upbeat,and I hope you take the message home with you. Thank you again for helping the Canadian Red Cross with your donations. I hope you all had a gas tonight.”
She started to play, then she caught a glimpse of Davey’s happy face in the wings. He was beaming and swaying and singing along.
“All we need is love! Whap-bap-buh-duh-duh!”
After it was all done, and her whole body was still pulsing with adrenaline, Sassy set her guitar aside and smiled at people approaching the stage. She couldn’t get off before well-wishers came to congratulate her, shaking her hand or hugging her. She knew a lot of the hippies, but there were others as well. Women and men dressed in business suits, and some in between, like Tom.
“I dropped another hundred dollars into the box,” a stranger in a white collared shirt said. “Great cause, great show.”
“Out of sight,” exclaimed a girl she recognized from the TADP protest. “I was totally bawling. You’re like Joan Baez, only sweeter.”
“Your brother’s an idiot for fighting,” a long-haired man in a headband told her gently, “but he’s got a dynamite sister.”
“He’s not an idiot,” Sassy bridled. “He’s trying to do the right thing, just like we are.”
“Right on,” the man replied, looking sheepish. “No offence meant.”
“None taken,” she said. She was aware that a lot of people in the room felt the same as he did. “Thanks for coming. I really appreciate it.”
Tom waited behind the cluster of fans, distracting her. She was overwhelmed by all the attention, but really, she was dying to hear his thoughts.
“Well?”
“Incredible, Sassy. I knew you were good, but that was unreal. Your dad would’ve been so proud.” He glanced around at the noisy crowd. “You probably have other things to do besides that celebratory drink. We could do it another—”
“Don’t you dare back out now, mister,” she purred, lifting one eyebrow.
That brought out the Sean Connery flash. “Tonight it is.” His eyes darted to just beyond Sassy’s shoulder, and he lifted his chin so she’d look.
“Oh! Tom, this is Davey, the mastermind behind tonight. Davey, this is Tom.”
Davey stuck out his hand. “Hey, man. Sassy talks about you a lot. Thanks for coming.” Then he faced her, and something in his expression drained all her joy. “Uh, Sass, can I speak with you a moment?”
“Lay it on me. You look like somebody died.”
His mouth opened, and for a panicked moment she feared he might cry. “Somebody bagged the cash.”
Sassy stared at him, disbelieving. “No. How could that happen?”
“It’s gone, babe. I had it safely hidden behind the counter, I thought. It was tucked behind a bunch of boxes. I was only away from it for a second, when I came out to watch you. When I got back, it was gone.” His face squeezed tight with regret. “Somebody must have seen me. I’m so sorry.”
She was having trouble getting her brain to work. Who, in this generous audience, would be so desperate as to steal from them?
“You’re sure?” she asked feebly.
“I’ve looked everywhere. Like a hundred times.”
“All the work you did,” she said, feeling slightly ill. “What a waste.”
