The High Notes: A Novel(59)

There had been a lot of press about the event, and Clay was having it filmed. It was going to be unforgettable. They were all proud of what they were doing, and everyone had pitched in. But Boy and Iris had worked the hardest on it, and they made a point of having rehearsals. They didn’t want their performance to be less professional than the more established stars.

T-shirts had been donated to be given away free, with the slogan “Never Forget Madison Square” and the date.

Boy and Iris got there three hours before the event to check everything. Clay would come a little later with Ellen, and Jimmy was coming with Zoe, his sitter, in case he got restless if it went on for too long. Clay’s group had front row seats. They all knew it was going to be very emotional, especially for the families of the victims.

Iris was looking frazzled when Clay arrived with Ellen, Jimmy, and Zoe. They had set up trailers outside Madison Square Garden to provide enough dressing rooms for all their stars, and there were a million assistants and technicians everywhere. They had a commissary truck for them if they got hungry. Clay was used to catering to them, and knew how to keep them happy, and make each of them feel important and special, whatever it took.

The final countdown had started an hour before the event, when Margie walked in, and Clay was stunned.

“What are you doing here? I thought you were doing a wedding.” He was truly shocked and didn’t expect her, but he was very touched.

“Mom said she could manage without me.” She tried to sound casual and disengaged. “And I figured I would never hear the end of it if I didn’t come.”

“What she’s trying to say”—Ellen rolled her eyes at her sister—“is that she wanted to come, but doesn’t want to give you the satisfaction of saying so. Why don’t you just admit it?” Ellen goaded her. She hated the way Margie treated their father, as though he was always at fault and guilty of something.

“I’m glad you came,” Clay said warmly, and hugged her, and then introduced her to Jimmy.

“Hi,” she said coolly.

“I’m happy to meet you,” he said politely, and shook her hand the way Pattie had taught him. He was a very well-mannered child, and so far no trouble at all. He was sweet and sometimes very funny, without meaning to be, with his thick Mississippi drawl, which brought out the Texas in Iris. Iris was getting a crash course in parenting, and was surprised that she liked it.

The show started half an hour late, but no one seemed to mind. There were two people assigned to get the stars out of their trailers in time to go on. The police had cordoned off two blocks of the street to make room for their trailers. They were doing all they could to make the event go smoothly.

Iris and Boy looked at each other right before he went on as the opening act, and gave each other a hug for good luck.

He walked out on the stage with a list in his hands, so he wouldn’t forget anyone.

He stood very quiet for a moment, and smiled at the audience. And then he spoke in his Tennessee drawl, which made him even more appealing.

“We’re here to honor the people we love tonight, the people we lost, the people who got hurt, the people who matter to us because we’re grateful they’re alive.” He glanced at Star in the backup band and she smiled at him. “We’re here so we never forget how much we loved those people, and love each other. And we’re here to have fun tonight too, and celebrate! I can’t believe the stars who are here tonight. And you are never going to forget this concert. I’m going to read off a list. You know who they are and what happened to them.” And then he began reading the names of the forty-eight people who died and the thirty-eight who had been injured, and when he got to his own name on the second list, he said “that’s me!” And as soon as he finished the list, he opened with his first song, which was mind blowing. His biggest and best and loudest. His own Nashville band was there too, to pay tribute to him, and they joined in. The sound was amazing, and rocked Madison Square Garden. It was a great beginning. He ran through his entire repertoire and ended with a duet with Iris, and he was followed almost immediately by one of their biggest stars, who gave a dazzling performance. The audience was going crazy. Another big name followed. And then Iris, who ripped everyone’s heart out, and brought Boy back for two duets. Her final song was about the people they had loved and lost, and was dedicated to Pattie. And before anyone could sink into too much sorrow, a huge headliner from Vegas took over and rocked them to their core.

There were rhinestones and sequins and every kind of bling and glitz onstage. Some of the sexiest stars in the business performed that night. The entire concert was three hours long without an intermission, and no one was bored for a minute. There were screams of ecstasy from the crowd every time a bigger star than the last one came onstage. Then the choir performed the best gospel they’d ever heard, and Iris sang with them, and hit all the high notes. The crowd yelled and cheered her and shouted Iris’s name, and then the entire cast came out to sing the finale of “Amazing Grace,” and invited the audience to sing with them. There was hardly enough room for all of them, and they were waving to the audience and dancing onstage. They played five encores, and by the time it was over, the entire audience had had an experience never to be matched and that they would never forget. Clay had brought Jimmy onto the stage at the very end and he was singing his heart out too, holding Clay’s and Iris’s hands, and she beckoned Ellen and Margie to come up too, and much to Clay’s amazement, they came up and joined them. Even Margie was singing, and had tears in her eyes as she held her father’s hand.