Chapter 10: You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine...

Cat walked into the hotel suite in Franklin, just east of the I65, only to find Sid, who was her roommate during their tour in middle Tennessee, racing around like a crazy person.

“Sid! What ARE you doing?”

“I’m packing.”

“Oh, fer gods sake! We have a couple days off before our next show, and I thought that we were going to kick back and see some of the sights. You know that Broadway, the main street in the downtown area, is a real hoot. They call it ‘Nash Vegas,’ because of all the neon signs on the honky-tonk bars.”

She thought for a second, “or is someone in your family sick or something?”

“No,” Sid called from the next room. “I’m catching a flight out of BNA to Los Angeles. It leaves in a little over three hours.”

“What are you going to L.A. for, as if I need to ask? As if we haven’t all heard you moaning about your lost love for the past six months?”

“I’m going to beg and plead with Charlie to find a way for us to be together.

“I really love him. He’s my soulmate, my other half. I’m warning you; I may have to give up touring if that the only way for us to be together. Become one of those reclusive artists who only records in the studio and stops doing live appearances.”

“Are you CRAZY,” screamed Cat, “After all the work that we, and I mean WE, not just YOU, have put into making the group a success. And for a man who you haven’t even had SEX with?”

“Yes, he’s the one,” smirked Sid, “If you had a man like him, you’d probably be at home, barefoot in the kitchen having his babies.”

“You know, I think that maybe I’M the crazy one, joining your band and spending the last couple of years trying to make it big, only to have our ‘leader’ give it all up because she has a case of the hornies!”

“And I would be bare assed in the bedroom, not bare foot in the kitchen,” added Cat.

“Well, I’m not leaving the band yet, and I hope I won’t have to. But Charlie and I have to find some sort of compromise.”

Sid continued to pack, until she looked at Cat and asked, “Will you drop me off at the airport?”

Cat laughed, “Sure, why not. But then I’m going out on the town. I’ll probably pick up some dude wearing boots and a cowboy hat, and no one will see me for the rest of the weekend!”

Then off they went, up I65, changing freeways a couple of times (thank goodness for nav systems) until they were on the I40 east, getting off for the BNA terminals.

As she dropped Sid off at the curb, Cat shouted, “Good luck with your boy! Let us know if you’ll be back or if we are gonna have to replace you!”

Sid just waved her off.

Sid entered the building and went up to purchase a ticket on the next non-stop flight to LAX. She didn’t bother to check her luggage, since she only had the one carry-on bag. Once checked in, she went through TSA security and began walking down the terminal to her departure gate. She was determined.

As she approached the gate for the flight to Los Angeles, she noticed something of a disturbance in the people coming off the flight from Burbank.

“No ma’am, you don’t have to replace my shirt. Yes, I will have the staff at my hotel take it to the dry cleaners. Yes, I know that formula stains are notoriously hard to remove. Yes, he is a darling child. No, his crying didn’t bother me at all.”

She looked, because she thought that whoever the poor man was, whose shirt had been ruined, sounded just like Charlie. In fact, when she looked closely, the figure looked like a rather bedraggled Charlie.

Just then a large, heavy man passed her and saw her interest in the two people.

“I’d keep away from them. I was seated next to them. Her kid is a pain in the ass, and the dufus is anti-social. Wouldn’t talk at all.” Then he walked on.

“Charlie?” she called.

The man suddenly looked up and saw her. His face lit up.

“I’m sorry ma’am, but my girlfriend has arrived to pick me up,” and disentangled himself from the very kind and concerned mother.

He too had only brought a single carry-on bag, and he walked towards Sid dragging his bag behind.

“Sid, wow you came to pick me up. How did you know I was coming in? Did Herb call you?”

Then he noticed that she too had baggage.

“Oh,” he said weakly, “You are going someplace else. I’m sorry, I should have warned you.

“I came back hoping to talk to you and maybe finding a way for us to be together. I’ve been so lonely since you’ve been gone. I’ve missed you beyond my ability to understand. I think I love you. No, I know I’m madly in love with you.”

At first, Sid was confused. She hadn’t come to pick HIM up, she was going to track him down in L.A.

Then she took matters into her own hands, and let go of the handle of her bag, and grabbed him in a hug, no matter how rumpled and formula stained his shirt might be and kissed him in the middle of the terminal. It must have been a good kiss, because there was applause when they were finished.

A paparazzi who had recognized Sidney, clicked a photo of the kiss that he later sold to a fan mag to be used accompanying a short piece about the sensational new singer, Sidney Barron, and her mystery lover. It didn’t take them long to track Charlie down, and it was even more exciting when it turned out that the man who had arranged the music on her album was now her lover as well.

“I wasn’t here to meet your flight; I was going to fly out to L.A. and beg you to be with me. I mean, if Loretta Lynn and Dolly Parton and their husbands have been able to make it for 50 or 60 years, then why can’t we?”

Without further ado, Sid and Charlie walked out of the terminal. Charlie called a car to pick them up and take them to the hotel, while Sid, always frugal, got a refund on the price of her ticket.

The limo that Charlie had called arrived and whisked them to the hotel.

They didn’t get as much talking done during the drive as one might imagine, as they spent the time in the back seat of the car making out, holding each other and enjoying the closeness together after being apart for so long.

In the suite Sid and Charlie looked at each other.

“What do you want to do?” asked Sid.

Charlie smiled as he looked down at her, “I’ve missed you so much, and I realized I was just being stupid and afraid. But now, I want to stop being an ass, and make love to you. After a shower, though. Why, what do you want?”

“The same. I don’t even care if you shower, but if you want to, we can take a shower together first. But I need you. I’ve missed you so much too.”

The next morning, as Cat dragged herself out of bed, she heard strange noises coming from Sid’s room. Not that they were truly strange, just strange coming from Sid’s room. Sid was supposed to be in L.A. Cat looked for any texts telling her that Sid had arrived. None.