Luscious Lips

Chapter 1 Mindy had been waiting for this concert for months. So when the announcer came over the loudspeaker and said, “Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Tammy Sweet!” she nearly leapt out of her skin with joy. When Tammy took center stage under the spotlight’s glare, the gigantic crowd went nuts, but nobody screamed louder or more enthusiastically than Mindy. “Isn’t she amazing, Danny?” she yelled to her date. Danny nodded robotically. “Yeah, just great. For two hundred bucks a ticket, she better be amazing.” Mindy laughed, then brought her attention back to the stage, watching her favorite singer’s every move, the snake-like dance she did at the start of the song, the shimmy of her hips, and, of course, that soft, seductive voice. Tammy was everything Mindy wanted to be. For the rest of the evening, everybody else in the arena disappeared as far as Mindy was concerned. Even her date, Danny faded away as Tammy Sweet seemed to aim her achingly pretty voice at her and only her. By the end of the show, she was bouncing around, screaming for more. Her date was a little less enthusiastic. On the car ride home, he rolled his eyes when Mindy could only talk about one thing: Tammy Sweet. “What I love most about her music is that her songs are all about taking control of your life instead of just being a passive victim, you know what I mean?” “Yeah, that’s great,” Danny groaned. “Mindy, would you like to –“ “And another great thing about her is that she’s so confident in her beauty and her strength. I’m telling you if I had a daughter, I’d want her to grow up to be just like Tammy Sweet.” Danny smiled and stared at her. Mindy was so rapt in her talk about Tammy she hadn’t even noticed that Danny’s car had stopped in front of his home. “So… Mindy, I know it’s late and everything but, would you like to come in and have a drink or something?” Her face froze, mouth wide. “Well… to be honest, Danny, I hardly know you. You seem like a nice guy and everything, but…” Danny dropped his head in defeat. “I understand,” he sighed. “I guess we better get you home then.” The ride to Tammy’s apartment was uncomfortably silent. Danny hadn’t done anything wrong. He was handsome, made a good living as the manager at a local diner, and he’d always been nice to her. She just didn’t get the feeling in her gut when she was around him – that feeling both her older sisters talked about when they described dating the men they later married. Moments like these were sad and puzzling for Mindy. Lately, she had started to wonder if she was the problem. When they arrived at Mindy’s apartment building, Danny leaned toward her, aiming a peck at her lips. Mindy turned her head, causing the innocent kiss to land on her cheek. “I had a really wonderful time tonight, Danny. Thank you so much for the tickets.” Danny gave her a smile that was obviously forced. “The pleasure was all mine.” “You know, Tammy’s got a new album coming out next week. Maybe we can go to the mall together when it gets released…” “I don’t think so,” Danny said. “I think I’ve done enough competing with Tammy Sweet.” Mindy laughed. “Yeah, I guess I get a little excited talking about her. So… I’ll be seeing you around sometime, right?” With his eyes at the dashboard, he grunted, “Maybe.” Mindy stepped out of the car and walked into the building, watching Danny pull off before she even got to the door. She’d seen this enough to know it was a sign that there would be no more dates with him. This was nothing new. *** The frustration and sadness Mindy felt after her date with Danny melted away after Mindy stepped into her apartment and put on her favorite Tammy Sweet CD. Tammy’s music always had a way of lifting her out of a dark mood. And sometimes it inspired her to create music of her own. Although it was almost two in the morning, Mindy scooped her guitar out of the corner of her room and started strumming a few random chords. A series of words fell from her lips, “Sometimes the night feels empty… then you come along…” The lyrics brought a smile to her face and sent her scrambling through the mess on her desk in search of a pencil and scrap of paper. A new song planted in her head always felt like a pet she had just adopted. She needed to feed it and nurture it until it could survive on its own. But the new tune in her had tonight was stubborn. It was hard to pull the lyrics out of her soul. After a while Mindy gave up and went to sleep, her eyes still dancing with images from the concert she’d seen hours ago. *** The alarm clock yanked Mindy out of bed too early. She was just in the middle of a deeply pleasant dream that starred her favorite pop singer. Tammy Sweet had taken her by the hand to guide her through a lush, vibrant meadow. She didn’t know where Tammy was leading her, but she trusted her. “Come with me, lady. I’ll take you to the place you belong…” Mindy had no idea where this mystical place was, but it had to be nicer than being a short order cook in Crooksville, Florida. The dream had made her happy, but by the time she’d taken a shower and stepped into her waitress’ uniform on her way to work, the smile had disappeared from her face. *** The day at Jimmy’s Dinner was as boring as usual. Her boss could be a grouch whenever work wasn’t properly done, but this wasn’t usually the case with Mindy. Her great cooking was loved by the customers. Still Mindy couldn’t help but spend most of her days wishing she could be at home, strumming her guitar and writing songs. That was who she really was. She only wished she could have had the courage to get there. Halfway through her shift, on break, she got a text from her mother. Your little sister’s got big news for us. Come on over for dinner. Mindy’s head buzzed with guesses of what this big news would be, but in the end, she figured it could only be one thing. Little Sandy was getting married to her boyfriend Mike. Getting married was what the Drayford girls did. Mindy’s two older sisters did it – both before turning twenty, and it now seemed inevitable to that her little sister Sandy would reach the altar before she did. Mindy’s reaction to the news was mixed. She was happy for Sandy, knowing her little sister had wanted to be a wife and mother for as long as she was old enough to push a carriage. But being the only unmarried Drayford girl would be lots of pressure. Mindy also wanted to be a wife and mother someday, but with her dating problems, she feared it would take forever to get there. *** As usual for these family gatherings, Mindy wound up doing most of the cooking – not that she minded. Cooking was something she loved almost as much as writing songs. The news was made official shortly after Sandy got there, and everybody exploded with glee when she flashed the enormous rock to the girls in the Drayford clan. Mama cried along with Mindy, but Mindy’s tears meant something different. She felt like she’d been left alone in the wilderness of the dating world. After her sisters left, Mindy stayed behind to help clean up. “Looks like almost all your girls are getting hitched, Mama. Only one stubborn single daughter left.” Mama laughed. “Oh, I’m sure you’ll settle down one of these days – soon as you stop being so picky.” “Picky? All I want is somebody who suits my needs. You know, attractive, smart, ambitious.” Mama sat there, arms crossed. “Mmmm-hm, sounds to me like that last fellow you were dating. What was his name?” “Danny.” “What happened to him?” “He uh... lost interest in me. I guess I just wasn’t pretty enough for him.” “Oh, nonsense!” Mama grabbed her daughter by the shoulders and aimed her face at the full-length mirror across the hallway. “Look at that adorable thing. Those beautiful blue eyes. That strawberry blonde hair. Now who’s going to turn down a pretty lady like that?” “Danny, that’s who.” “Come on, Mindy. You know how you are with boys. You push them away like you have no interest.” Mindy thought for a second. A troubling idea popped into her head. “I guess I don’t have any interest. I haven’t found a guy who makes my heart pound like you see in the movies.” Giving her head a vigorous shake, Mama said, “That’s just because you haven’t met Ted yet.” “Who’s Ted?” “Ted is this real handsome fellow who’s from Park Falls but he’s in town this week because of his job. Now I’ve taken the liberty of lining up a date for the two of you over at –“ Sensing what was next, Mindy held up her hands in protest. “No, Mama! Please.” “Oh, come on. You haven’t even met the man.” She dug through her purse, seeking something. “Take a look at how handsome he is. And on top of all that, he’s got a real stable job.” Mama pulled out a photo that had been cut out of a newspaper. “Just take a look at him and tell me what you think. He’s only going to be in town for a few days. You don’t want to miss the chance to meet your soul mate, do you?” The guy in the picture didn’t look bad. But what really caught Mindy’s attention was the headline above it. Local Park Falls Man Finds Success with Tammy Sweet. “Tammy Sweet?” Mindy asked. With a smirk, Mama said, “I had a feeling that part would catch your eye. He’s a sound technician with her and he’s been touring all around the world. So you better catch up with him or the next thing you know, he’ll be in Taiwan or someplace.” “Do you think he could introduce me to Tammy Sweet.” “I imagine so, but more importantly, what do you think of him?” “Well… I guess it wouldn’t hurt to meet him.” “Fantastic! I’ll tell his mother you’re interested and he’ll give you a call.” Mama was delighted to hear of Mindy’s interest. She leapt around the living room as if she’d learned her fourth daughter was now getting married. After helping Mama with the dishes, she took off and drove home with a glowing face. The prospect of meeting Tammy Sweet thrilled her. But in the meantime, she could barely even recall the name of the guy she was going on a date with. *** Ted called the next day and they set up a date at a seafood restaurant called Captain Annie’s. The place was nice, bordering on glamorous, and Ted was as tall and handsome as he looked in the photo. But this wasn’t Mindy’s biggest focus. Seconds after shaking hands, she said, “So… Mama tells me you’re a sound technician for Tammy Sweet. What’s that like?” “It’s not a bad job if you can deal with the stress. I mean it can be a pain in the you-know-what when you have to pack up from one city to the next in only a few hours, but I really –“ “What’s Tammy like?” “Aw, she’s a real sweetheart, so nice to everybody – even the crew. And you know, just between you and me, a lot of famous people treat their crew like dirt. Like that country singer from Ohio, what was his name again…” “Are Tammy’s eyes as pretty in real life as they look on…” Mindy stopped herself. “I’m sorry. I’m probably sounding really rude right now.” Ted laughed it off. “Naw, that’s okay. I get that all the time when I tell people who I work for. Hey, maybe tomorrow before we all take off for the next city, we can stop over at the hotel and you can meet her.” “You mean it?” “Sure, let’s do it. Tammy’s always nice to fans.” The rest of the evening went well with Ted sharing amusing tales of life on the road with Tammy and her band. But as the date came to a close, he was being overshadowed by somebody who wasn’t even there. She gave Ted a warm hug before they said their goodbyes, but in her mind, she was hugging Tammy Sweet.