Chapter 9 #2
Jess squeezed her again, towering over the petite woman. “You know anything you make is my favorite. Can’t wait.”
“You want to stay to watch?” Tania gestured at the court where Chrissy and Shay’s match was getting underway.
Jess looked at the group of other players hanging in the stands, Lee’s laugh drifting over the crowd.
And there was Vivienne, tossing her hair and looking as perfect as ever in the center.
She just didn’t have the energy for all those people right now.
“Nah, I’ve got the early shift tomorrow. I should get home.”
“You sure? Might be fun to … hang out for a bit.”
Jess shook her head. “Let me know how your shoulder is doing. See you tomorrow, T.”
They hugged, then Jess made her way down the sidewalk, to her dog, his stuffed crab, and their quiet apartment.
Jess worked Friday morning, then came home, showered, and put on her green bikini and jean shorts. She threw her phone, keys, and cash in her belt bag, then added ChapStick and gum, kissed Fleming on the head, and headed back out to meet Tania at a taco truck outside the festival.
They sat on wobbly folding chairs and inhaled their food while Tania chatted about her family—“My cousin Amaya is studying abroad in Madrid. I’m so jealous, I didn’t get to go in college but she’s begging us to visit.
Oh, and when you come for dinner on Tuesday just ignore my cousin Marco.
It seems he’s got quite the crush on you”—then they scanned their tickets to get wristbands and made their way in.
The opening act looked young—a ragtag ska band comprised of a pack of twenty-year-olds in Hawaiian shirts—but they made up for their lack of life experience in enthusiasm and volume.
“I’ll grab drinks,” Tania yelled over the horns. “You want to snag some spots up front?”
Tania went to get in line at the beer tent while Jess pushed her way through the mass of bodies—another benefit of her height and wide shoulders.
The typical festival crowd gave way before her—university students in Birkenstocks, teenagers on their phones, and lots and lots of skin.
She came up to a woman in a white bikini, applauding the ska band as they took their final bows, with incredible posture—confident and commanding—long, shiny black hair, and a pert nose. …
It was Vivienne.
“What are you doing here?” Jess blurted.
Vivienne made a slow, smooth turn, as if she knew Jess was there even before she spoke, her lips curled in a smirk. “You kidding me? Backyard Chickens? They’re my favorite.”
Jess put her hands on her hips. Of course Vivienne would mock her. “Mm-hmm. What are you really doing here?”
Vivienne shrugged, giving up the charade. “Lee wanted to come. Symphony is playing after them or something.”
“There’s a symphony playing?”
“No, the band is called Symphony.”
“Oh. That’s kind of a dumb name, isn’t it?”
Vivienne smoothed her hair. “Well, it’s no ‘Backyard Chickens,’ that’s for sure.”
Lee appeared, carrying two cans of hard seltzer. “Oh, hey, Jess.” She handed one to Vivienne. Her partner, Toni, was with her.
Jess nodded at the two of them. “Hey, guys … and congratulations, Toni!” Jess’s eyes flicked to Toni’s midsection but she wasn’t showing yet.
“Did you come with Tania?” Vivienne asked.
In answer, Tania appeared and handed Jess a beer as she greeted the others. “?Arriba, abajo, al centro, pa’ dentro!” Tania chanted. They tapped their cans together in the middle of the circle.
Vivienne took a long pull of her seltzer and wiped a drop from her lip. “Thank God we don’t have the early game tomorrow. You guys don’t play till Sunday, right?” she asked Jess and Tania.
“That’s right,” Jess replied.
Vivienne was about to say something else, but her words were lost in the roar from the crowd as the Backyard Chickens appeared.
Jess raised her drink and whooped along with everyone else, skin tingling in anticipation. This was her fourth time seeing them live and each show only got better.
Four women took the stage—two white sisters with wavy ginger hair, and two Black sisters, one with her curly hair piled on her head in a faux-hawk and one with long braids.
All four of them were beautiful, with glowing skin and huge smiles.
Jess loved them all dearly, although Serama, the lead singer and the one with the faux-hawk, was her favorite.
“Hello Sunside!” Serama cried. She thumped the count on her guitar before they dove straight into “Sunday,” a song about being by yourself and reflecting on what you really want from life.
Jess cheered again in response. The white bikini next to her caught her attention as Vivienne turned to raise an eyebrow.
“They’re hot,” Vivienne mouthed over the noise.
Jess’s cheeks flushed as she nodded.
Vivienne cackled and raised her drink, too.
By the second time through the chorus of “Sunday,” Vivienne was dancing. By the third, she was singing along.
Jess danced and sang along too, to every word of every song.
It took her awhile to realize that the veil she’d been living under for the last week had vanished.
The world was sharp and clear around her again.
… The hum of Silkie’s bass in her blood, the steady thump of Wyan’s drums in time with her heart, the comfort of Fay’s harmonies wrapping her in warmth.
She swore Serama smiled right at her, eyes bright and sure.
There was the odd whiff of vanilla underneath the smell of sunscreen, beer, and sweat.
And, every time Vivienne’s shoulder brushed her skin, an electric current down her arm.
Jess sang and danced and drank and felt better than she had in a long time, perspiration gathering at her temples and in her cleavage, cheeks hurting from smiling. The only bad moment was when their set came to an end.
They left the stage with one last wave, Jess wistful and happy and warm.
Vivienne whistled after them, then gave Jess an approving nod. “Okay, I’ll give it to you. The Backyard Chickens were pretty great.”
Jess wiped a trickle of sweat from her forehead. “Told you.”
“Are you guys going to stay for Symphony?” Vivienne’s skin shimmered in the stage lights, a trail of stars dusting her curves.
“Yeah,” Jess said, brain loose, veins buzzing. “Yeah, we can stay.”