Chapter 79: Eye Candy

Sky pleaded with me, “Please come. I’ll pay for everything. You’ll have a ball, meet all sorts of interesting people, and we can hang out. Ii need you.” She’d just asked me to be her escort to the National Music Awards or NMAs held in March of each year. This was also Sky’s national launch into the realm of being some kind of music star. I was surprised since she’d never really sung in public before, much less on national television.

Having an unknown singer as one of the star performers at the NMAs was a high risk move by Columbia Music, but she said that all the executives there thought she was a winner, so to speak. True, she was filling a slot some other singer had backed out on, but it was still Sky’s slot and they were making the most of it. Apparently, the record company owned the ‘slot’ and putting Sky in it, was how they wanted to use those few minutes.

The company had three other A-list stars also singing at the event, and had paid handsomely for the privilege to have the four slots. Sky told me that they also had bought some national advertising slots around her time slot to promote the Valentine Sky album.

“What are you singing?” I asked, stalling as I thought about whether I should attend.

She nodded, “Yeah, it’ll be obvious when you hear. They’re having me sing one of the songs I wrote entitled ‘Valentine Sky’. It’s one of the tracks on the album, too – the title song.”

I took a big breath. “Sky, I will be honored to be your escort at the NMAs or any place else you want to go. I just have to ask whether you might want a younger man. Everyone will think I’m your father or grandfather.”

She laughed, “No they won’t. They’ll know you’re my lover, and besides I’m going to be singing the song to you. I might make you blush, but by the end of the evening at the event everyone will know that I love you and that we are intimate.”

“Details?”

Sky opened up an email on her iPhone and passed it to me. It was the dress code and lots of other details about the NMAs. As I read, she filled in details. I wondered whether my tuxedo still fit.

We flew to L.A. on the second Thursday in March. We’d have two nights to get used to the time zone before the NMAs, but we were traveling west, so that was better. The studio was treating Sky like she was already a star. I silently crossed my fingers that they weren’t disappointed in some way. I guess I worried that she’d clutch-up in some way with all the pressure to be perfect with her song.

Friday, there was a dress rehearsal at the immense theater where the National Music Awards would be held. I dressed in sharp casual clothes, and went with Sky. We were shown where we’d be seated, and I took my assigned seat while Sky went and changed into her costume. This was a dress rehearsal, including the thirty-piece orchestra.

The afternoon unfolded as predicted, and Sky sang her heart out, even to only the one hundred people assembled at that point for that part of the rehearsal. There wasn’t a false note or hiccup. She meshed perfectly with the band, and was done. She slipped back next to me still in costume.

“I have to go and change, then we can go to dinner. There’s a party thrown by the record company tonight. The dress is casual, so you’re perfect.” She got up and left. I wondered about the wildness of the parties she’d told me about from her first month in L.A. I guessed that some people would think of the parties that the Extended Family held every weekend as wild.

We ate at a nice Italian place. Sky was nervous. I tried to calm her. She told me, “The other three singers from the company will be there tonight: Cal Wiley, Molliana, and even Taylor Sweet. They’re all so good – and established. I’ve met Molliana and she was so nice, plus she can sing like an angel and she’s so sexy. I think that she’s becoming my role model.”

Sky got increasingly nervous because of the famous and important people that would be in the audience when she had to sing, and, in some ways, be her competition on stage. I tried to divert her angst by asking about the evening’s party that some of them would attend.

I held Sky’s hand and explained that a multi-billion-dollar record company only placed bets on sure things – and that she was a sure thing. I told her that there was no way she could fail and that a thousand people were all supporting her. I said that her stardom was right up there with the others, only people didn’t know it yet, but they would by the next evening.

I guess my words helped Sky relax a little. We drove up into the hills using the GPS on the rental car that I’d obtained at the airport. A valet took the car and we went into the mansion. The place was mobbed, but Sky knew a few people and introduced me to some band members and several producers. Her agent, Jane Chechik, was there, too; a nice woman that seemed to know everybody, but kind of brushed me off when she learned I was a writer.

I nodded at Molliana, the superstar performer, although I’d never met her. I must have intrigued her because she came over to talk to us. Sky introduced us and mentioned I was an author and her boyfriend. She asked what I’d written and I gave my elevator spiel about the recent books on Polyamory and Relationships. She was intrigued, and we had a longer discussion, although she was often interrupted by people wanting a piece of her attention.

Molliana said to Sky, “You’ll have to get used to this kind of stuff. After tomorrow night, everyone is going to want to talk to you, stand with you, have their picture taken with you, and even fuck you. You have to learn to say no, and you have to get some backbone about insisting on your own way. I’m willing to help if you need it. I really mean it; just call me. I’d be proud to be one of your mentors. Taylor Sweet helped me for a while as my star started rising.”

There was a trading of cellphone contact data. I was surprised at how friendly the well-known and popular singer Molliana was with Sky. I smiled and bowed to her, and told her that I liked her as a person as much as a singer. My comment actually got her attention and earned me a kiss on the lips.

Molliana finally asked Sky, “Just who is Jim in your life? I know he’s not a relative the way you kissed him earlier.” She was smiling at me as she asked.

Sky pulled my arm against her body and hugged me. “He’s the best lover in the world that any girl could have; he’s my life anchor; and he’s the nicest man ever. We’re in a wonderful polyamorous Family together.”

I said, “Hyperbole notwithstanding.”

Molliana laughed. “Maybe I’ll have to test some of those statements. In the meanwhile, it’s nice to meet you, Jim.” She put her arm around me and gave me a slight hug.

The three of us chatted, and then some younger men behind us started to entice some of the other women with them to do lines of coke off the glass coffee table. One of them hailed to Sky and Molliana.

Sky looked at me. I said, “One sure way to kill a career before it even starts. Don’t do it.”

Molliana said to Sky, “Listen to the man. He’s right. That group is nothing but trouble. I don’t know how they get into these parties, but they do. They always have lots of shit with them, too. Bad scene.” We moved away, uncertain about which way to go.

I suggested to Molliana, “Want to show me the pool or backyard. I bet this house has one.”

Molliana looked pleased with the diversion and led us through the throng of people towards the rear of the house.

The pool was small, and I realized that the house lot was relatively tiny, too. The house and driveway in front occupied most of the land. A sculptured wall graced the other side of the pool away from the house, and water cascaded down the wall like a waterfall. The effect was pleasing and did divert one’s attention from the smaller size of things.

I asked, “I know this is a company party, but whose house is this? It’s obviously a private residence.”

Molliana explained, “This is Cal Wiley’s. He’s singing tomorrow night, too. He’s such a legend in the industry. I got to sing a duet with him last year, and it’s something I’ll never forget. He’s so mellow and such a nice man.”

I nodded, “I didn’t know, but I have many of his albums.”

“He’s here. If he catches those guys doing coke, he’ll toss them out of the party. I did note that he has a lot of security here tonight.”

When we went back inside, the cadre of young coke sniffers were gone. A maid was carefully spray cleaning the table where they’d been doing lines.

I did get to meet Cal Wiley, but just long enough to thank him for his hospitality and for being so nice to Sky. He gave her a polite hug, and wished her well with the launch of her first album. He also assured her that she had his support and best wishes.

Sky and I left the party at that point and drove back to the downtown area where our hotel was.

Saturday evening were the NMAs. We slept in, had breakfast in the hotel, and then went to the theater where Sky managed to get a rehearsal room to practice her song. I listened for a while, until I had the words completely memorized to the song, and then I wandered around the large building.

I heard other singing down the hall from another rehearsal room – female voice. I went and peeked in the small window in the door. Molliana was inside doing exactly what Sky was doing. She saw me peering in the window and waved, and I waved back. I left her alone.

I went into the actual theater and checked out our seats. Because Sky was performing, we were on an aisle. They were superb seats, actually. I just had to steel myself to listen to all the acceptance and thank-you speeches, the things I usually muted on TV when I watched such shows.

Sky had a late-afternoon appointment with a hair dresser and a makeup artist who shined up my sweet little lover and made her look even more beautiful. I walked around shopping while Sky was occupied. Knowing our schedule didn’t include a lot of food, I also had a snack and picked up a salad for Sky. She’d taken to eating like a bird.

We were back at the hotel at four-thirty, and we connected with our assigned limousine at exactly 5:15 p.m. The arrivals at the NMAs were planned to the second. Two ushers helped me and Sky from the long car that then raced away. We walked up a red carpet and were ‘announced’ by one of emcees. We didn’t say anything, but did wave and smile a lot. We weren’t considered ‘A-list’ – yet, but I knew that in less than a few hours, Sky would change that.

Inside the theater doors, we were offered water or a glass of wine. I took the wine and Sky stuck with the bottled water. There were also some small hors d’oeuvres being passed around.

Molliana joined us with Patrick North, her escort. I wondered whether he might be her boyfriend, but they were kind of distant emotionally from each other. Both girls were in modern ballgowns. Patrick (not Pat) and I were in black tuxes. He turned out to be her bodyguard and since he was about as big as a house, I thought he was well placed. I also thought that he was probably packing some serious weaponry around his body.

After about a half-hour we were urged to go and take our seats. We joined many others filing in. We ended up standing as our aisle slowly filled. Sky seemed nervous so I gave her another pep talk and then did a Mindfulness exercise with her right in the middle of the noisy theater.

Sky was the third singer of the night. A comedian was the emcee, assisted by a bevy of pretty girls in long, slinky evening gowns who carried the award trophies and the cards with the various awards written on them. The comedian did his monologue to warm-up the audience, and then a couple of awards were handed out after a reading of the nominees and then the suspenseful opening of the envelope.

An usher came and collected Sky and took her backstage to prep for her performance. I remained seated and tried to look pretty when the TV cameras seemed to pan in my direction.

Finally, the emcee started to introduce Sky Bright – the newest, prettiest, hottest, most sweet sounding, original new artist to grace the stage of any theater. He told the name of the song and stated that Sky had written the piece on Valentine’s day.