Chapter 39: The Other Paul Reappears

October – Year 1

When we were done taking care of one another and after Erin cleared out the shower with another fart, we got dressed in our KC casual cloths. I called Mike and told him what was happening and asked if he wanted to join us. He was tired and Alice wanted to go home. So he told us that he would see us on Sunday before we left for home.

We pulled into the parking lot at Lester’s and the place was packed. I pulled into the back and parked under a sign that said ‘Band Members Loading Area Only’. We got out and walked to the back door. When it opened there stood a rotund, dark skinned black lady with the biggest smile my wives had ever seen.

“Mr. Paul! Lester told me you was coming. It is so good to see you!”

“Mizz Maddie! How’s my favorite cook in the whole universe?”

“I am old, fat and out of shape, but I can still shake my moneymaker!” Mizz Maddie proceeded to dance around the kitchen to the sounds of the music.

“Lester said you was coming and that he had a surprise for you. He said that you had two wives AND that they knew about each other! Are these them?”

“Yes ma’am. This is Lynn and this is Erin.” I pointed to each one as they reached out to shake hands.

“Damn girl, we don’t shake hands here, we hug! And if I am going give my bean recipe to one of you it better be a good hug too!”

“Well I am the one asking.” Erin smiled and held out her arms.

“Can you cook?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“And big titties! Damn Mr. Paul, you did good.” Erin blushed so brightly I thought her face would pop.

“Hi Mizz Maddie, I’m Lynn. I am the one in the family that is not completely crazy.” She held out her arms and the two hugged.

“Oh, I like her. Can you cook?”

“Nope! That is why we married Erin. I take care of the business from the neck up.”

“Turn around, girl.”

Lynn spun around and looked at Mizz. Maddie.

“Bingo! Mr. Paul was always a sucker for a smart girl with a nice ass. And you appear to have both.”

“Well thank you kindly. If you don’t mind I want to get a seat and throw my face down into that coleslaw again and get some more of that catfish.”

“Tell the server that you want Maddie’s catfish and I will take care of you myself.” Mizz Maddie smiled her huge smile and walked to the kitchen door and stuck her head out and waved at Lester. He waved for the band to stop cold and the room got quiet. The only time Lester stopped a band was if they played Mustang Sally, in which case the gig was over. He walked up to the mic.

“Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, others,” he laughed that evil laugh of his, “it has been a very long time since this man, this dear friend of mine, was here. So tonight and tonight only we are changing the name of the band. Victoria Station is no longer Victoria Station anymore tonight. Tonight, here for the first time in over three years, ladies and gentlemen, They Only Look Dead.” Part of the crowd gasped in remembrance.

“I guess that is my cue! Go and sit and relax and get me an ice tea, I am going to need my throat wet.”

“Me to, but that is later.” Erin smiled and she and Lynn were directed to the front tables by Lester. I walked up to the mic and called out our normal opening song, an original song, from the ‘old’ days. I counted it out and off we went. The crowd went nuts as they realized who I was. In the ‘old’ days I was pushing 400 pounds and had a long dirty Fu Manchu moustache. But the voice was still there and the first note out of my mouth brought down the house.

We finished the first song and as the crowd went nuts, I smiled and shook hands with the guys and fist bumped the drummer. The next song was a medley of “Keep Your Hands To Yourself” by the Black Crowes and “Bang A Gong” by T-Rex. At the end we got the audience singing along and then had some fun at the end when we stopped playing and only some in the audience was singing along.

I nagged at the audience and called them out for us doing all this work and they sat there with their mouth full of food.

“OK! Everybody swallow! You know what I’m talking about.” I looked and pointed at Lynn and Erin, who both blushed. “Let’s try to finish this thing right. We are up here playing our asses off, and if you remember me from three years ago, you can see that I got no ass! But you folks are sitting there eating and talking and not singing along! So we are going finish this song again and this time I want to you sing like you are having too much fun to hold in.”

I counted out “1-2-3-4” and broke into the last phrase again.

_”My honey, by baby don’t put my love on no shelf.

She said...”_

I quit singing and the whole place sang out.

“Don’t hand me no lines and keep your hands to yourself!”

Big chord on the end and sustain. I waved my arms and looked at the band. When I dropped my arm, they hit the last note hard and stopped. The place went nuts.

I thanked everyone and asked for a hand for each of the guys in the band. The guitar player got up on the mic and yelled out my name to another round of applause. I sat between my wives and applauded the band with everyone else.

Mizz Maddie and Mr. Lester came out and kept the applause going. I stood and bowed and applauded the band again.

“Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Paul O’Dell will only be in town for tonight. Would you like to hear him back together with They Only Look Dead again?” Thunderous applause.

“Paul, I didn’t know that you were this good.” Erin looked at me with wonder. I kissed her.

“Come on Paul.” Mr. Lester waved me up and the applause got louder. I looked at my old bandmates and they all waved me up, so I got up. Lynn and Erin both kissed me and joined in the applause. We played for the rest of the night. We did long unplayed originals and popular covers. It was like we had never broken up. Near the end of the last set, I turned to the guys and thanked each of them and talked about the last two songs. Then I turned back to the mic.

“Thank you so much. It has been three years since I sang with any band and that last band was this one. I see some familiar faces out there, thank you for remembering. What would you like to hear that the guys might still remember and we haven’t done yet?” Several titles were shouted out, but two were the most common and they were the ones we had talked about.

“Ok. It seems like the two big ones are two of my favorites. Hang on and let me see if these old guys remember it.” I turned around and the band collectively flipped me the bird, just like in the old days.

“I guess that means I am an idiot and of course they remember the songs. So first we would like to do the Fenton Robertson/Boz Scaggs classic “Somebody Loan Me A Dime”. Boys, let it fly.”

We did the slow R&B classic and all of the guys got to air out their skill and there were tears in some eyes, including my wives. It was good stuff and again the applause was deafening.

“Ok. Thank you so much. For some really sick and twisted reason, this last song became our signature song. I don’t know why. But we always used it to introduce the members of the band and we will do that again. It is a happy little ditty by Tampa Red called “I Wanna Play With Your Poodle”.” I counted the beat and off we went again.

The song is a mid-speed blues swing and the crowd always loves it and at the end they get to participate and as usual it just tore up the place. It helps that the words are designed to say one thing and mean something just as dirty as can be. I guess that is why it was always a crowd favorite. All of the guys in the band were introduced with a verse of the song and then got to do a solo and when we were done it was bedlam. I took a bow and gave it all to the band.

I never saw myself as The Guy. I was just the voice, like the drummer was the drummer and the keyboard player was the keyboard player. I guess that was why we always got along so well. I went back to sit with my wives and they had finished their food and had mine boxed up. I was told that my wives had been drinking the free drinks that people were buying me and both were pretty feisty. I thanked the guys in the band and gave Mizz Maddie a big hug and she gave me a big kiss. Mr. Lester hugged me and told me to get out of his place before he charged me for the food.

“What? No man, that’s not right. You work hard for your money.”

“Paul, we made more than enough money during your set. You always got people to enjoy themselves and they would drink more and eat more and tonight was no exception. Are you good to drive?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?’

“Man, people have been buying drinks for this table all night.”

“Lester, how many wives have you had?”

“Um, four.”

“And you are going to ask ME where the booze went?”