The High Notes: A Novel(42)

“I was hungry too,” she said softly. “Sometimes my dad handed me a can of beans, and that was it. And it wasn’t a big can.” She smiled at him, sharing the memory of hardship, although she thought his sounded even worse. “It was great when I started singing in restaurants and bars. They used to feed me in the kitchen sometimes. A waitress called Sally at my first gig used to give me a plate of food to eat in my dad’s truck. He’d leave me out there for hours, all night sometimes, no matter how cold or hot it was. Harry said that was why he hired me for my first job, because he felt so sorry for me. Maybe my dad counted on that too. They never wanted me at first because I was so little and so young, but my father always managed to talk them into it, and they hired me.”

“It’s hard for people who grew up in normal lives to understand childhoods like that. My ex Frances grew up in New York. Her father was a doctor, and she thinks the world owes her whatever she wants. It doesn’t work like that. If you grow up that poor, you’re grateful for whatever you get later, and you appreciate it.” He already knew it was true for Iris too. She was so grateful for everything he did for her, especially the puppy.

They went on talking about the tour, and after that, he took her back to the hotel. Her ribs were still tender, but she sang anyway. She wasn’t a diva, and he knew she never could be, she didn’t have it in her. She was just a good woman with a heart of gold.



* * *



—

The next day, Boy told him he’d be thrilled to be on the tour, and was happy Clay had asked him. It was going to be a fast one, five cities in fifteen days. Iris was used to it, and it sounded easy to her. She was already thinking about which songs she wanted to sing, and probably some new ones she hadn’t even written yet.



* * *



—

The day Boy moved out of the hotel, Iris went with him to help. He had bought some basic things, like linens and what he needed for the kitchen. He bought four of everything for the kitchen, because the place was small and he couldn’t imagine having more people to visit him. They went to Ikea in New Jersey together in Iris’s old battered Ford and bought the rest of what he needed. They could barely fit it into her car, but they managed. He even bought a rug that looked like a quilt.

“A touch of home,” he said to her, “the women in Tennessee make beautiful quilts.” Despite their difficult childhoods, their roots were still strong.



* * *



—

She had almost finished recording her album by then. She only had two songs left to do, and they went quickly. They worked late every night, as they were all eager to finish.

Clay spent a fortune on publicity for the album, and it sailed to the top of the charts. Iris was proud of it, and Boy was too. They both had hit songs on the charts at the same time.

The tour was still two months away, and Clay’s publicity department booked her onto a number of television shows, which she found terrifying, but she did them anyway. Clay went with her whenever he could, but sometimes he was too busy, and then she took Boy. Clay was her staunch protector. He’d watch her on the monitor in the greenroom, and hang on her every word. He was surprised by how well she handled it, and she talked about the tour when she was on TV.

Star was going on the tour with them too, since she was in Boy’s backup band. She was excited about it. They were openly a couple now. Everything was new in his life, thanks to Iris, who had taken him with her to meet Clay. He never forgot that. He could have still been in Nashville, playing in bars where no one listened to the music. He still talked to Annie and the boys in his band from time to time.

Iris called Pattie. She was having a hard time with her mother still sick, Jimmy to take care of in the daytime, and waitressing at night. Her spirits had been in the tank since she’d gotten home. She couldn’t see any way out, to ever leave Biloxi again. She couldn’t even get away for a weekend. She kept promising she would, but she had no one reliable to leave Jimmy with. She felt like a prisoner.

Iris was loving the success of her album. It was a tremendous ego boost, and she loved walking into places where they were playing her songs. It made them all so meaningful.



* * *



—

Clay had promised to go on the tour with her. It was two weeks out of his life and he could manage it and stay in touch with his other clients by phone. He wanted to be there for Iris, to make sure nothing went wrong. With him on the tour, everyone would be much more careful, and he wanted it to be perfect for her.

They were going to start in Las Vegas, then head to L.A. He had already invited his daughters to opening night in L.A. and they promised to come. He wanted to introduce them to Iris. Ellen was going to come down from school at Davis for it. From there, they’d head to Houston, Washington, D.C., and their last city was New York. They were already selling tickets, and the advance publicity had been great so far. There was tremendous buildup and excitement, and hype, and because her album was doing so well, ticket sales were increasing exponentially.

Clay had promised to go shopping with her. He wanted her to have all new clothes to wear onstage. He knew she liked wearing simple black when she sang, but he thought that dresses that showed off her figure and were dressier would be appropriate and make the evening seem more special than a black blouse and black jeans, which was what she usually wore.