Chapter 17

Erin wore a candy stripe dress of red and white out onto the stage for her first performance in months with the exception of the 911 tribute of those chicken ass Arabs crashing into The World Trade Center. Rick was fitted with his prosthetic leg which cost seven thousand dollars which Philip paid for. Her father admired veterans and it was pocket change to him. In Forbes magazine it said he was worth almost ten billion dollars and the sixty year old man started giving it away. Set aside two billion each to his kids and Beth. The rest he doled out to many charities to help the poor. Philip and his young wife Beth sat in a luxury box Shelly had built for them only. Rick was with them sitting where Erin could see him at any time.

"We got married in a fever," Erin and Ernie, cheek to cheek, sang out the opening to Jackson. The fifteen hundred packed in every conceivable space, voiced their pleasure that Erin Mathison was back. She left Ernie's side and skipped across the stage with Le Roy and now five huge buddies stood with arms folded challenging anyone to try to rush the stage and cause her any harm. Shelly had a large guard at the back door to prevent people from sneaking in or creeping into Erin's dressing room. Shelly volunteered to expand it but Erin vetoed the thought. She had her shower, her vanity, a small closet full of changes for two nights of performances and her recliner to rest and for Rick to give her a quickie if she felt she needed it. Natalie now did her hair during breaks.

"These boots are made for walking, and that's just what they'll do. One of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you." The din was louder than before. Erin insisted starting at eight and quit when she felt like it. She had so much pent up energy she was going to go past 4am tonight. Her husband was healthy minus one leg which didn't bother her. Her mother was in heaven (or so she believed), Rick's business was doing great and all he had to do is bids on construction and sign contracts after Maxwell flew down in a private jet with Joyce at his side to make sure that neither party was cheating the other. He was in the box too with Joyce. His glasses were steamed up as he watched her prance across the stage, turn her back to the audience and flip up the hem to show she wore no panties. The men went wild. Maxwell was there to negotiate with Shelly a new contract for Erin.

The tapes she made by Lone Star were selling like hotcakes across the entire country. Their favorite was when her back was turned and she pulled out a soaking wet ribbon from her pussy juices and hand it to the young man a half year ago. She was going to ask Maxwell if she could get busted if she did it again.

"I told you she is good," Joyce whispered in Maxwell's ear then put her tongue into it. No one saw it. Joyce wasn't as daring as Erin but she pulled surprises on her husband from time to time.

Maxwell could only nod as he watched Erin do her thing.

She pointed to a lonely looking boy sitting at the bar nursing a beer to come forward. When he came his face was two inches from the glass while hers was just about the same. "I want to be loved by you, only you all night tonight," she made up her own words to the tune but the crowd or the boy didn't care. She reached behind and pulled a ribbon out, rubbed it on her ass and gave it to him right in the middle of her song just for him. The boy looked like he was about to cry. She signaled with her eyes for an equally lonely girl to step forward without breaking the tune of the song. She kissed a ribbon and handed it to her. "I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU MAN AND WIFE!" She shouted to everyone. "Ummmmmm, you may kiss your bride," she told the boy. "Go on, it doesn't hurt." When they both pecked. "You can do much better than that. Kiss each other like you're in love." Embarrassed they did much to the cheering of the others. "Now you grab your drinks and sit by each other for the rest of the evening, hear?"

They nodded as the staff had a small table for two set up with chairs wired together so they couldn't be pulled apart.

At the break, Erin got out of her candy stripe dress, showered, dried off then sat down to put new makeup with Natalie working on her hair. "You were great," she said. "Pronouncing them man and wife was pure genius."

"I'm glad you liked it. That's going to be a part of my act every once in while from now on. I put them together and now it's up to them."

"Clever," Natalie had her hair dry and was fixing it the way Erin had instructed. It was no big deal for Natalie, she owned her own beauty shop and business was brisk. Natalie had only Erin to thank.

"The olive ribbon and outfit," she made up her mind. "High heels, I think I brought the olive ones along."

"I see them," Natalie said, finishing up her hair and setting out her getup. "I want to thank you for everything," Natalie massaged her shoulders as Erin finished up with two extra coatings of lip gloss.

"Getting me a job here to waitress helping me to buy my shop, spreading the word how good I'm at doing hair and makeovers, and in a round about way setting me up with Nick. Thanks for getting him that carpenter's job for us. Rick hired him right on the spot."

"If Nick doesn't do a good job, Rick will fire him right on the spot," Erin smiled. "Ummmmmm, panties this time. The white satin ones."

"You are so beautiful," Natalie praised her watching the red nest disappear when the panties fit her snugly. "I'd die for a body like yours."

Erin grabbed her by the shoulders and looked her in the eye, "Baby, you are beautiful in your own right. Don't down yourself. I think your are gorgeous both inside and out. Everyone is different, everyone is unique, so don't look down on yourself if you can't sing. You are a goddess in your own right. The way you fix hair makes me envious, not jealous, but envious you can do it so much better than me. In ten years or so I won't be able to do this, but while I can I'll go as far as I can. Dress please, it wraps around from right to left."

Natalie got it and started by putting her right arm into the sleeve.

"Baby, you've got to use what God gives you. I've been given the right man for me. He may not be for every girl, but for me he's perfect. Maybe Nick will be perfect for you or another guy will come along and sweep you off your feet."

"I love Nick now," Natalie admitted. "If there's another, I don't know what to do then." Natalie had the dress fitted perfectly around Erin's stunning body. Erin sat down and rolled up a pair of thigh high silk stockings.

"I keep forgetting putting these on before the dress. I don't wear stockings very often. Duh!"

Natalie fell to one knee and helped her on with the four inch heels that completed the outfit. She fit the small belts around her ankles.

"Perfect," Natalie pecked her cheek.

"Microphone?"

"Right here," Natalie handed it to her. Erin returned the chaste kiss with one of her own. Just then both heard Ernie and the band tuning their instruments.

"See you after the show." Erin winked.

"After the show," Natalie smiled.

Ernie started singing Amigos as Erin came on stage to thunderous applause. Once more they were face to face singing the song as if to each other. During one of his parts alone, she leaned in by his ear. "See me after the show, I have some more ideas for you and your band." He nodded as she broke into her part of the tune.

Amigos brought the house down. Then she switched to Enya's Orinoco Flow. She used hand gestures when it came to directions on the map of the song. The crowd loved it and shouted for her to sing it again. She nodded to Ernie and she sang it through almost if she didn't stop the first time. As the deafening applause continued she recalled Enya had received an Grammy for it. Then she broke into a song by Enigma called "The Principles Of Lust" then followed with "Let Me Ride." She then sang two new songs she heard only this week and love them. The first as Gothica and the next was Running. The crowd screamed for encores for both tunes but she refused promising them she would sing them the next performance. Ernie seemed perplexed because she sang the music from a CD and did not use the band. These were real pros that provided the music from the last two numbers and there was no way they could equal that!