Right Girl

I first saw her across the parking lot. Her straight brown hair went all the way down her back, ending just before her butt. She was looking back and forth between her left and her right, as if searching for someone. Her boyfriend, maybe? Or maybe just a girl she came with to the show.

Then her eyes landed on me and she smiled. Was I the one she was looking for? I soon found out, for a second later she came walking over to me. When she reached me she said, “Hey, Pat! I loved the show.”

I smiled at her. “Thanks. I’m glad.”

She must have mistaken my honesty for sarcasm, for she replied, “No. I really mean it. I know you probably hear that after every show, but I really do mean it.”

“I know.” I laughed. “Seriously, I believe you.”

Then it was her turn to laugh. “Gosh this is awkward.” Her eyes closed for a second and she shook her head slightly. “Anyway,” she continued, opening her eyes again, “I didn’t come here just to tell you that.”

My breath caught in my throat, and I really don’t know why. I had just met this girl, and now--what? Did I really think she was going to say something, I don’t know…cute? Romantic? I shook my head. “You did?”

She nodded her head. “Yes, I--I did.” She was silent. “Look, I’m just going to come out and say it. You’re a really sweet guy. Honestly. I mean, I’ve never talked to you, but I can see how much you love what you do and how much you adore your fans and...just don’t get worked up about John and Garrett and Kennedy getting all of the attention, okay? You’re great. There wouldn’t be a band without you. I mean, the drummer keeps the beat.”

“I, uh, thank you,” I said. I was speechless. “But really, it’s a group effort.”

The girl laughed. It was a pretty laugh, and I couldn’t help but want to hear it again…and again…and again. Was that so wrong? “I realize this, Pat, but I didn’t come here to make this speech and have you put the issue off. I really want you to see how amazing you are.”

“I--I’m certainly not--” I tried to refute her, but she stopped me.

“Yes, you are, Pat. You’re my favorite, you know that?” She blushed.

“No, I, um…I didn’t, actually.”

She smiled. “Well you are.”

It was silent for a moment, and I knew that if one of us didn’t say anything soon, she would walk away. “I have to ask,” I started. No one else was waiting to talk to me, so I figured I could take the time to ask her this. Besides, I really wanted to know the answer. “Were you looking for me earlier? Like, before you came over here? I saw you looking around and I wasn’t sure who you were looking for.”

The girl nodded. “Yeah. I came here alone. I was originally supposed to come with my best friend Marta, but she bailed at the last second, but I obviously wasn’t going to not come just because she couldn’t. So…yeah. I was looking for you.” I opened my mouth to say something, but she went on. “I guess it’s kind of funny, you know, how I came here with a plan; talking to you and all. But now that it’s happening, it’s not like I imagined.”

“It’s not?” I asked.

“Don’t get me wrong,” she said, waving her hand in front of her face. “You’re almost exactly how I imagined you to be. And now I’m embarrassed because that sounds so weird. Gosh, um…it’s not like I go around imagining what band guys are like in real life, but--”

I held out my arm and gently touched hers. “Hey, it’s okay. I don’t think you’re weird.”

She laughed. My stomach turned to mush (as cheesy as that sounds), just because I got my wish: I was able to hear her laugh again.

And believe me, it was just as great as the first time, if not better.

“Well that’s a relief. Look, um, I have something to give you.” She paused, taking out a folded piece of paper from her jacket pocket. “Here,” she said, handing it to me. “Promise me you won’t read it until you get back to the bus, okay?”

I nodded. “I promise.” The girl turned to go away, but I knew I couldn’t let her leave just yet. Call it intuition, but I had a feeling I wasn’t quite done talking to her yet. “Wait, um…may I ask what your name is?”

The girl turned around. “Maybe if you read the note you’ll find out.”

With that, and a smile, she turned around and walked away. I was dumbfounded, and I just stared at the note, contemplating just opening it now. I shook my head. A promise was a promise.

A few other people came to talk to me before we all had to head back to the bus, but it was okay. I wasn’t really interested in talking to anyone anyway. I know that sounds bad, but the whole time I was standing there I couldn’t get my mind off of that girl and the note I still had smushed into my hand. I could feel sweat leaking onto the note and I internally laughed. This girl had such an effect on me that it was hard not to laugh. How crazy is this? I asked myself. I mean, I was sweating over a girl I had just met an hour ago.

When Kennedy called me back to the bus, I didn’t waste any time heading back. I wanted to know what that note said, and the sooner the better. When I walked up the steps into the bus, everyone was already looking through the various things fans had given them. John in particular had many, many cards and was smiling as he read through them. Kennedy, I could see, had a phone number written on his right arm. I shook my head, forcing myself to concentrate on the situation at hand. It took a minute for me to get up the nerve to bring the note into my gaze, and when I did, I just stared at it for a moment. Jared, seeing this, came over and asked, “What is it, bro? Is that all you got tonight?”

I nodded. “Yeah.”

“Thanks sucks, man.” I didn’t say anything. “Why don’t you open it?”

I took a deep breath and carefully unfolded the note. It read: 830-229-6398 Call me. Kasey My heart started thumping in my chest, and I was afraid the rest of the band could hear it, that’s how loud it was thumping. I caught Jared looking at the note and tried to shield it from him, but it was no use; he’d seen it.

“Oooh! You guys! Pat got a girl’s number!” he shouted.

All heads turned to me. I couldn’t help thinking back to what Kasey had said earlier that night. “Don’t get worked up about John and Garrett and Kennedy getting all of the attention, okay? You’re great.” I’m pretty sure she was trying to tell me that I needed to understand how appreciated I was, despite being the lesser-liked band member. The voices were buzzing around me. The whole bus was erupting with “Are you going to call her?” and “This is huge news!” John’s voice broke me out of my trance. “So, are you going to call her, dude?”

I smiled. “Yeah. I think I will.” I retreated to my bunk and pulled out my cell phone. I didn’t even question it, I just dialed the number and pressed call.

It turns out, life has a funny way of working out. It’s hard to explain, but the best way I can put it is this: you can either strike out or hit a home run.

And oh boy was this a home run.