Daylight

Viv’s POV

I was really getting to like those post-show barbeques—maybe a little too much.

I realized I’d have to start cutting back after I saw the tremendous amounts of Tennessee BBQ that had been prepared for us in Nashville.
Good God, just the sight of it was enough to make me groan—first from desire after the mouth-watering smell reached my nose, then from the terrible revelation that I’d need a new wardrobe if I kept eating like that.

Jesus, definitely not a win-win situation.

I grabbed some baby back ribs anyway and chowed down while silently cursing my slower metabolism.
I watched Bobby and Steph playing their sickeningly cute game of feeding each other messy little bites of food, following almost every one with a kiss.
Ugh.
Ah well, I reasoned in my head, a woman can’t always stay young and thin. Why fight it?
Because getting old and fat sucks, that’s why, I argued back.
I mentally flipped myself off and grabbed another beer.

On the way back to the AP trailer, I saw Pet scarfing down some BBQ with one of the Madmen. I was always amazed at that kid’s appetite.

Sighing, I walked up to them. They were so absorbed in their food, in fact, that they didn’t see me right away.
Pet was licking her fingers—very ladylike, darling—when she finally came back to reality and caught sight of me loitering nearby. She hastily wiped her greasy hands on a paper napkin and beckoned me over excitedly.
“Hey, I haven’t seen you,” she hollered over the crowd noise with a big grin, standing to try and embrace me without touching me at the same time. “How are you? How’s the whole AP thing going?”
I smiled back. “Just great. Now, if the heat would only let up…” I remarked.
“No kidding,” Petula responded. “Sal was convinced we’d all die today for sure. Hey! Have you met Joe McCullough, from the Madmen?”

Joe was watching us a little warily, as if he weren’t sure what to make of our exchange.

Pet turned back to him, and, without waiting for me to answer, she blurted out, “Joe, this is my Aunt Viv Nordstrom. As you can see, she’s with AP. And Viv….”
“We’ve met,” Joe said, a little too politely, standing to shake my hand. “The first day, remember?”
“Of course,” I said, giving him my best professional smile. “I met your manager, Peter, too. How is he? Where is he?”
Joe shrugged. “He’ll be round to give the post-mortem soon, I expect. Have you eaten?”
I picked up a few more napkins off the table. “Oh yes,” I chuckled. “Tonight’s probably spoiled me for the rest of the tour. I love barbeque.”
“We don’t get much of it in Manchester,” Joe responded, “definitely not the like of this, anyway.”

His voice sounded warm, but insincere, and his smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. I wondered what I’d done wrong. Petula didn’t seem to notice.

I decided to cut my visit short. “Pet honey, we’ll catch up later,” I said into her ear, touching her shoulder. I straightened up and smiled at her companion. “Joe, I guess I’ll see you around. I think I have an interview set up with you guys, but I’ll need to find Peter before that can happen.”
He looked up at me. “Yeah, I’ll tell him. See ya then.”
I walked away then, trying very hard to analyze the odd look on Joe’s face.

Joe’s POV

It had been a pretty fair evening, all things considered, once I’d got Pet away from her drunken mate Sal on the bus. We’d been talkin’ a bit about our families and where we were from—just the usual getting’-to-know-you sort of convo—when the lady writer from AP walked up to say hello.

…And she was Pet’s auntie?

I couldn’t fucking believe it.

When Viv left, I had a bad taste in me mouth, and it wasn’t just the cheap beer. Bloody hell, how was it fair for her band to have someone like that in their pocket?

The more I thought about it, the more gutted I got, till I couldn’t hold back no longer.

“Pet,” I began.
She finally looked up from her plate. “Yeah? what?” she asked.
“The lady writer from AP…she’s related to you?” I answered, hopin’ I’d got it wrong.
Sad to say, Petula nodded at me.
“She is, yeah,” she remarked with a proud smile. “She’s my mother’s sister, my godmother, actually. Cool, huh? I’m so happy for her, she was after a job with AP for years….”

I pushed back from me plate, no longer very hungry.

“So, it must be convenient, eh?” I heard meself say.
She looked puzzled. “How’s that?”
“Well, for your band, to have someone at AP who knows you,” I pointed out.

Her eyes narrowed as she considered.

“You think this was planned?” she asked. “That since Viv is at AP, that we're guaranteed some kind of great press? Is that right?”
I folded me arms across me chest. “If the shoe fits….”

Her mouth dropped open. “I can’t believe we’re having this conversation,” she said in wonder.
Then she got gutted herself.
“How dare you!” Pet exclaimed. “I—I don’t believe this. You’re like just about everyone else on this tour—thinking we’re some kind of—novelty act because we’re four females who play music together. And that we need someone 'on the inside' to get somewhere?”
“I never….” I began, but never got further.
“You’ve seen us play,” she persisted. “Do we look to you like we’re just fooling around here?”
“No, but….”
“Damn right we’re not! We are lucky,” she hissed at me, “to be on Warped. We’re honored! And you are lucky to be here too. This may not be a headlining tour, or even a spot as an opener to a national act, but it’s a huge deal to us! We’ve been playing together in the hopes of getting at least this far, and we’ve made it. We made it because we have talent, and drive, not because we know someone.”

She finally paused, her face all flushed. “And what would make you think that if we succeed, that you don’t? This isn’t a competition.”
“Of course it is—it always is,” I defended, but again never got further.
“And you think we have an unfair advantage, being girls?”
Sometimes me mouth thinks faster than me head. “In a way, yes.”
“That’s just stupid,” Pet said in disgust. “If anything, it’s harder: nobody wants to take us seriously! We’ve put up with this shit almost the whole time we’ve been a band. You’d think after all these years, people would forget about ‘girls-versus-boys’ and just concentrate on the music, but I guess that’s not happening.”
She stood up, ready to flee.

I caught her wrist, trying to get her to stay. She shook her arm free and tossed away her beer bottle.
“Pet, I—I never meant…” I finally said.
“I know, but you said it anyway,” she answered with tears in her eyes.

She ran off to their bus, and in me first smart move of the night, I didn’t try to follow.

Pet’s POV

Nobody even noticed me as I made my way back to our bus. It was late—much later than I’d thought. Tito was waiting for me, closing the door behind me as soon as I sat down, and pulling out of the bus lot so we could get a head start on the way to the next venue in KC.

Everyone else was already in their bunks and asleep, or nearly; except for Shoshi, who seemed to have been waiting up for me.
“Hey there, baby,” she said softly as I reached my bunk. “Rough night? Where’ve you been?”
I winced, remembering Joe asking me the same thing hours ago. “Sorry, Shoshi, I got distracted and lost track of time. It won’t happen again, I promise.”
“I’m not worried about that,” she said gently. “I was afraid you’d forgotten. But we’re on our way now. What happened?”
I rubbed my forehead. “I had dinner, and I was talking to Joe McCullough.”
Shoshi smiled. “Let me guess: he found out that you and Viv are related?”
I looked up at her in shock. “Were you following me and I missed it?” I muttered.
“No,” our manager answered, “it’s just that you look upset, and if it had to do with Joe, I thought it might be because of Viv."
I closed my eyes and rubbed them. “Why are guys so stupid sometimes?” I wondered out loud.
“No idea,” Shoshi said, shaking her head. “They just are…like the rest of the world.”
“Very profound,” I sighed. “Hey, Shosh, what happened to you earlier, just before we went on stage? I thought you were gonna keel over.”
She was quiet for a minute. “It was just that God-awful heat,” she finally said. “Don’t worry about me, Pet. Just get some sleep. Tito and I will keep each other company for awhile. Maybe he’ll even let me drive for a few hours.”
“I heard that,” our bus driver called back. “And I’ve seen you drive, Ms Levi, and I know you want these girls to get to KC in one piece. So leave it to me.’

We all laughed, and then I got into bed and tried not to think of all Joe hadn’t said.