Chapter 1 #2
Sweet Dreams. The sign hung in neon pink above the doors, against a silver background.
I glanced at the exterior noticing it had been spruced up since I was last there.
Gone were the faded pictures on the walls and the peeling, cracked paint that had once covered the building.
Now, the paint looked fresh, vinyl pictures covered the walls to make it seem welcoming to those going inside.
Joel made a comment about how posh it looked, but I ignored him.
The moment we had arrived, my palms began to sweat.
It felt ridiculous to me that I was so nervous to enter a building, but it wasn’t just any building.
It was the place where we had started to live our dream at long last. It was the place we had met Kate.
Taking a breath, I pushed open the doors and headed inside, the others hot on my heels.
I studied the interior with awe. The years had definitely changed this place, and for the better.
The stage area where we used to perform was now double the size it used to be, allowing for better movement on stage.
The restaurant section of it appeared to be about the same but everything had been given a facelift, just like the exterior.
I frowned as I wondered what had made them change. A new owner perhaps?
“They’ve spent a lot of money on this place haven’t they?” Joel whispered to us, as tactful as he ever was. I was grateful we were the only ones who could hear him. Before I could warn him to be careful with his words, we were interrupted by a woman in a crisp white shirt and black pencil skirt.
“Hi there, welcome to Sweet Dreams. Would you like a table?” she asked politely. I shook my head.
“No, thank you. Is the owner here? Or manager? We’d like to speak with them please,” Benny asked, causing the young woman to eye us warily.
“Is everything alright? Perhaps it is something I can help you with?” she queried, pushing for some kind of answer from us. I smiled warmly at her.
“Don’t worry, we’re not making a complaint. We’re due to perform on the stage at the end of the week so just wanted to come and say hi first. We go way back with this place.”
Immediately, her whole body relaxed and she flashed us a small smile.
Telling us to wait while she fetched her boss, she turned around and strode away from us.
I chuckled. Poor girl, we hadn’t meant to alarm her but I realised it was inevitable with how we had worded that.
I stood chatting with Benny and Joel as we waited, my back to the restaurant so I was confused when the guys froze from what they were doing and their faces went slack .
“Hi, I believe you wanted to speak with me,” a voice sounded from behind me, followed by a sharp intake of breath. I’d recognise that voice anywhere. I turned in the direction of the newcomer, her face pale as though she’d seen a ghost.
Kate.
She appeared thinner than before, more tired but other than that, there she was.
Exactly the same as she always had. Long, dark brown hair tied up in a bun, a blue shirt and black trousers covering her body, piercing blue eyes gazing at me in shock.
I stood for a moment, unable to believe my own eyes.
I never thought she would have come back, let alone to the same restaurant.
Benny coughed awkwardly behind us, causing me to give a little shake of my head as I stared at her.
“Luke? What are you guys doing here?” she asked, her hands going to the hem of her shirt and smoothing it out as she spoke.
“We came to see the manager or the owner, whoever was in charge, ahead of our gig on Saturday. I’m guessing you’re the manager now?” I replied, gesturing to the name tag with her name on it. She nodded her head briskly.
“Yeah, that’s right. You will need to speak to Ted, he’s the one who booked you in.
Come with me,” she answered, her eyes darting to the young woman who had fetched her for us before marching away.
I strode swiftly after her, not caring if the guys kept up with us or not.
I couldn’t believe it. Kate was right in front of me after all this time!
What could I say though? I wondered where she had gone, what she had been doing all of this time.
As I watched her, albeit from behind, I noticed the tension in her shoulders and that gave me some comfort.
Knowing that we had this effect on her meant that she still felt something for the band.
For me. Perhaps she might tell me why she disappeared.
We reached the bar when Kate called out, asking this ‘Ted’ to make an appearance.
A man in his thirties poked his head out from an office door off to the side of the bar, frowning when he saw us all stood there.
He slipped out of the office, closing the door behind him before making his way over.
Giving us a once-over, he addressed Kate first while keeping us in his line of vision.
“How may I help, Kate? Is everything alright?”
She glanced over in my direction before answering him.
“Yes, everything’s fine. This is the band you hired for Saturday night, Midnight Kiss.
They wanted to speak with you,” she announced, stepping to the side so the gentleman could take over.
His face brightened instantly when he realised who we were.
Beaming at us, he held out a hand and shook our hands as he introduced himself.
“Oh, how lovely to meet you! You guys are rock gods right now. I’m Ted Castle, I believe you used to work with my father,” he greeted us warmly.
Ted Castle. I remembered him vaguely, stuck in the office working on the accounts.
Hmph. At least he seemed friendlier than his dad.
Old Mr Castle was a curmudgeon at the best of times, only just tolerating us because we brought in the crowds and the money.
He’d also been the one to tell me that Kate had left town for good.
I glanced curiously at her, wondering if she’d actually left or if Mr Castle had lied to me.
Benny cleared his throat, reminding me that I needed to speak. I smiled at the man in front of me.
“Yes, yes we did,” I replied. “He let us play here regularly so it’s going to be a real treat to come back to where we first began.”
From the way Ted Castle’s eyes twinkled, I had obviously said the right thing. He gestured dismissively to Kate.
“You can go now. Thanks for fetching me.”
Kate smiled awkwardly at us, her eyes on my face as she turned to leave but I reached out, grabbing a hold of her arm.
“No, wait!” I burst out, panic flaring up that I might not see her again. Kate stopped, peeking up at me beneath her long lashes, fear plain to see on her face. I let go of her arm as if it were on fire.
“S-sorry,” I stuttered, “I didn’t mean to grab you. What time do you finish?”
“Six,” came the short reply.
“Ok, well I’m going to come back and see you at six.
Alright? We need to talk,” I told her, holding her gaze until I saw her give in.
She nodded her head once, then turned and walked away.
When my attention returned to Ted Castle, I could see he was surprised by my actions but like a smart man, he didn’t ask any questions.
Instead, he invited us to join him at a table over near the window so that we could discuss the set up for the upcoming shows. Our manager had booked us in at the Sweet Dreams venue for at least four of our gigs over the summer so it would be good to get everything straightened out in advance.
Every so often, I glanced in the direction that Kate had gone but I didn’t see her again. I smirked when I realised she was hiding from us.
‘You won’t be able to hide from me later, Kate.’