Chapter 17

Mack came and sat down beside her.

"Quite a night,"

"Sorry about that," Marilyn said.

Mack laughed.

"Sorry? We probably made our nut for the week just tonight. That means the weekend's ours. A few more nights like this and we might finally get ahead."

"That would be good."

"You know, the first time you put on that dress, I fell for you." Mack said.

Marilyn's heart pounded. No, not now you fool. But he couldn't read her mind, and she couldn't think of the words to say.

"That song we sing in the second set? Don't you have a sister?"

"Humming a few harmonies hardly means I'm singing it." Marilyn wanted to get up and run. Her legs wouldn't move, her arms barely held her weight as she leaned on them. Why did it have to be on this stage? It was always about the stage with Mack.

"That's your song," Mack shifted and Marilyn tensed in case he put his arm around her.

"I don't have a sister," Marilyn's heart ached. She knew what was coming.

"You're the sister, Marilyn. I saw you in that dress and-"

"and what? You magically knew I was a girl inside? You never said anything. I tried to tell you and you ran away. As far as I remember you wrote the song for somebody you had a crush on."

"The lyrics changed." Mack hunched his shoulders. "Haven't you noticed?"

She hadn't until this moment.

"You bastard," Marilyn made her anger push her to her feet. "You ran off all those years ago wrote a fucking song about it." She shoved her scars under his nose. "This is what not having you around did to me." Marilyn was screaming now, but she didn't care. All the pain of her abandonment poured out of her and it was beyond her power to stop.

"I going to go audition for that talent show. I'm going to win and go on tour, and every night I'm going to think of you here, worrying about making your nut."

"You can't quit," Mack said "I need you."

"No, Mack, Cher and Crysta need you. You aren't fucking that up on my account. I'm not going to be anyone's Ophelia."

She headed out the door.

"Knock 'em dead, kid," Bo said. His head lay on his arms. He was shaking, but whether from laughter or tears she couldn't tell.