The High Notes: A Novel(44)
She was going to give three performances in Las Vegas. The timing was perfect with her album high up on the charts, along with Boy’s singles. Clay had told them both that this was just the beginning, and they were both heading for the stratosphere. They all thought that one of Boy’s singles might win him a Grammy. Kids were playing it nonstop all over the country.
They were performing that night, but there would be plenty of time to get ready when they got there. The plane would be following them for the whole tour. Iris had never seen such luxury, or known such comfort. Clay thought of everything to make her happy. She had Rosie in her little pink bag traveling with her. It was the first trip she’d been on. Iris took her out of her bag after they took off, and held her in her lap. Clay smiled watching her with the puppy. Boy called her “Cujo” because she loved to try to “attack” him, despite her tiny size and nearly microscopic teeth. She loved to play with anyone who paid attention to her. She had a bag full of toys, and a wardrobe of little pink coats and sweaters.
The meal they were served on the plane was as lavish as everything else. Joanne had selected the menu for them, with enough steaks for the men, salads for those who wanted them, a vegan plate, and sandwiches for those who only wanted a light meal. Clay had a turkey sandwich, and Iris ate a delicious McCarthy salad, which the flight attendant said was just like the one at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Star had the vegan plate since she was a vegetarian, and Boy and all the band members had steaks.
“I wish it were a longer flight,” Boy said to Clay when they were an hour out of Vegas. He hadn’t even had time to watch a movie, he was enjoying the plane so much, and chatting with the members of the band.
Iris went over some new songs, and made changes to the sheet music, and then listened to some tracks on her computer, checking out different arrangements she’d recorded. She wanted to polish the material right up to the time of the performance, and they had rehearsal scheduled at five, at the hotel. They were going to play at the MGM Grand, which was a huge venue. The size didn’t matter to Iris, just the quality of the performance.
“Do you ever stop working?” Clay asked her when he woke up from a short nap.
“Not if I can help it,” she said with a grin. Her drawl always seemed stronger when there were other Southerners around. In this case, Clay, Boy, and two members of the band. There were a lot of soft Southern drawls and mountain twangs in the group, with Tennessee, Kentucky, and Texas represented, which wasn’t unusual on the music scene.
An hour later, they all looked excited when they landed in Las Vegas, and shifted into action. Clay and Iris got into an SUV with a driver, and the others got into a van, waiting for them when they landed. They headed for the Wynn hotel, which was at one end of the Strip, but they had the van and SUV to get them anywhere they wanted to go. The boys had all agreed to play a quick hand of poker at the hotel casino when they got there. Iris wanted to do a little shopping, and Clay had a meeting at the MGM Grand. Everything was set up. He just wanted to go over it one more time, and meet the woman who ran it. He had the checklist Joanne had given him, but he knew it by heart anyway. He’d been on countless tours before, and the stage managers and assistant producers would handle everything, and all the technical details. They were using local equipment and technicians, and not bringing their own, which wasn’t necessary in a sophisticated location like Las Vegas.
They took off to the heart of town, and then headed toward the hotel to drop their things off.
Once again, Clay and Iris had the two best suites in the group with a view of the city and the desert beyond. And Clay’s suite was right next to hers.
“You can call me if you need anything,” he offered, “or we can leave the door between the two suites open, and yell if you need help.”
“That’s what Boy and I did in New York. It felt friendlier and not so lonely.” But she wouldn’t have time to get lonely here. She’d be too busy, and performing at night. And all the others were staying one floor down. She and Clay were on the club floor with more services, and a butler to wait on them.
“What’ll I do with him?” Iris asked Clay in a whisper when they checked their rooms. The butler in full livery was standing by, waiting for them.
“You’ll figure out something.” Clay grinned at her. “Have him press your dress for tonight.”
“It doesn’t need it,” she said.
“Unpack? Shine your shoes?” She was the least greedy woman he’d ever met. All the other women he’d brought to Vegas on dates had made a beeline to Chanel and every expensive store in the shopping area of their main floor lobby, and charged it to him. Iris was just passing time. All she really wanted to do was see the stage and begin rehearsing. She couldn’t wait to get started.
Clay left shortly after they got there, and Iris went out for a walk, the others were all in the casino, having fun before they got to work. For Iris, it felt odd being back here. It had been home for a while. She took a cab to the house where she’d rented a room, picked up the box she’d left there, and took it back to the hotel, to go through it. She still had clothes in her storage unit, but nothing she really wanted, and she didn’t have time to go there.
She slit open the small box, and was shocked to see what she had saved. Some pictures of people she had toured with and had forgotten, some sweaters, a pair of shoes that looked out of date now and she wouldn’t wear, some letters that had no major meaning to her, two books, and some old notebooks with songs she’d written the music to, but had never developed further. They seemed like such meager bits of a life. She put most of it in the trash in her room, and the butler took it away. In the end, she kept the notebooks, although nothing in them was of much interest, one of the sweaters, and a framed photograph of her dad in his rodeo days, standing near the bullpen. He looked handsome and young, and not dissipated as he had when she’d last seen him. He hadn’t looked that good in a long time. It made her wonder again if he was in Las Vegas. But whether he was or not, she doubted she’d see him again. Unless they ran into each other while she was here. If he couldn’t get money from her, he had no interest. He’d made that clear.