Haunted (6 page)

“Wait, Sherry? I do have two questions for you.”

She swallowed a drink of some kind audibly. “Hit me. What do you need?”

“The first one is a little embarrassing, but, uh, what should I bring to wear? I mean, are we talking business casual or formal or anything? If so I’m totally going to need to go shopping.”

She laughed loudly. “Oh girl, that is a good one. Have you seen them yet? If you showed up in formal wear they would freak out and think they were going to a funeral or something. Just be yourself, that’s who they asked for!”

That was so not helpful and I told her so.

“Really, Jaylene. As far as I know the only thing on the agenda is hanging out at the St. Germaine. They may have some friends in to play, they may go out in disguise, you never know with them. They are quite the pranksters when they want to be, but I’ve warned them that you would probably not appreciate that. Be aware, however, that they only mostly listen to me when it comes to that stuff.”

“I can handle that, I think. I’ve worked with all guys since I got into tattooing so I think I’m sort of prepared. Ok, that’s question one. Question two is kind of a big picture question...Who is/was Margaret Boudreaux?” It had been bugging me from the start, but I’d been preoccupied mostly with the details of actually going.

Sherry was quiet for a minute, her voice solemn when she came back on. “The official answer is that Margaret Boudreaux was formerly the manager of the band. She passed away in December.” She was quiet again, probably thinking about what else to tell me. “That’s really all I should say. They will tell what they want you to know when you get there. Ok? I’m sorry, Jaylene, that’s the best I can do.”

“No, it’s fine, thank you. I guess I wanted to be prepared, but it’ll be better coming from them. I better go pack, uh, some clothes.” My heart pounded even harder now that I’d said yes. Maybe I should get my blood pressure checked, was 26 too young to have a heart attack?

“Thank you so so much, Jaylene! Now about getting over there. Mr. Doucette has agreed to pick you up and bring you over with your things. It might be a little secret agent-y but he’ll be using his company vehicle. Provides good cover.” Daryl ran a roofing company, so did that mean I would be going in through the roof? “Yes, it does mean you’ll be going up like one of his employees. Another one will be bringing your gear in the front. Just tuck your hair up, and he’ll give you coveralls. It’ll be fine.” I snorted.

“Of course, I’m climbing a roof. No problem. All joking aside, is the press really that bad? I mean, are these guys that famous?”

Sherry laughed again in disbelief. “Honey, where have you been? Maggie’s Bones have topped the Billboard Rock charts three times, have two gold albums, and have toured with Avenged Sevenfold, Papa Roach, and they even toured Europe with Megadeth on their Gigantour.”

Ok, those bands I had heard of and I knew they were rock’s recent torchbearers. This was much bigger than a group of guys from Louisiana. “guess I’ve been under a rock? I don’t know, I mainly listen to whatever’s on my iPod, mostly older stuff. I did listen to them a little last night and they have a decent sound.”

“Some good stuff for sure. Definitely. I think they’ll win you over during your stay. They are completely irresistible. In more ways than one. I should tell you that although you are safe from harm, you won’t be safe from
charm,
so be careful.” She snickered as I thanked her again and we hung up.

Charm? I’m sure they wouldn’t waste it on me. I blew my bangs out of my face and grabbed a duffel to pack my things. My wardrobe consisted of shorts, tanks, boxers and tees to sleep in. I even threw in the two sundresses I owned, thinking I might need them. Nothing fancy because I didn’t own anything fancy. Just then I heard Mackenzie at the door.

“Jay, you in there?”

I opened the door and she pushed past me. “Ok, what did you pack? Tell me there’s something in there that a girl would wear for the love of the gods!” She started throwing my clothes out of the bag. “Boring. Boring. GROSS!” She turned to look at me when the bag was empty. “If I didn’t know better I’d think you were wearing your little brother’s clothes! You can’t go stay with rock star boys dressed like a hobo! C’mon, love! We’re going shopping!”

“Mackenzie! It’s eight at night! Where the heck do you think you’re taking me?”  

Her grin was completely evil, mischievous. Uh oh.

“I just got off the phone with Sabrina and she’s meeting us at her shop.”

“Are you nuts? Her stuff is outrageous!”  

Mackenzie was shooing me out the door and down the steps to the back of our building.

“Oh, nonsense! She’s got some great vintage stuff. She’s already pulling some for you to try on.”

I groaned loudly. “Ugh! What did you tell her, Mackenzie? You’re not supposed to say anything about what I’m doing!” I’d had to tell her that I’d be gone for 17 days, she figured out the rest. I stomped down the street next to her, sulking.”Mackenzie,” I even tried whining to get out of this. “You know I hate shopping!”

“You’ll hate it even more if you go in there feeling uncomfortable because you’re dressed like a sweaty, prepubescent boy. You have the cutest shape and gorgeous long legs! What if you decide you like one of these guys?”  

I looked away before she could see me blush.

“You DO! Oh, it’s D isn’t it? You always go for the stoic types! Oh, he’s sooooo hot! Hey, maybe now you’ll be able to give those nipple piercings I gave you a test run!”  

I socked her in the arm.

“Hey! You got me drunk! It was on a dare or else I NEVER would have let you do that!

She rubbed her arm but was laughing hysterically.

“You’re just lucky I didn’t dare you to let me pierce your labia ha ha ha!”  

I swung to sock her again, but she jumped out of the way so I just crossed my arms over my chest and sulked even more.

The truth was, I actually kind of liked my piercings. My breasts were fairly average, and I don’t know...I guess the tiny barbells I had through each nipple just added a little something. And once they healed, they felt kind of nice. The only other out of the ordinary piercings I had were my upper ears, my tragus, and a tiny diamond stud through my left nostril. I’d seen Mackenzie pierce some interesting things, but never had the desire to take my body modification any further. The nipples never would have happened if I wasn't incapable of backing out on a dare. Luckily, that’s the most danger I’ve ever been in. So far.

Mackenzie had me laughing by the time we got to Sabrina’s boutique, French Market Stitch. I loved her style but was always too afraid to try to pull it off myself. Sabrina and Mackenzie had gone to high school together and had quite a collection of stories about their escapades! Sabrina had welcomed me into their circle of friends immediately, making me feel more accepted than I ever had by any girls growing up. Sabrina was 5’4” and busty, with fire engine red hair in a pinup ‘do. Like Mackenzie, her makeup was always perfect and her clothes, while covering more skin than my shop mate, were just as flamboyant! Tonight she had on a black, knee length pencil skirt and white blouse with a sweetheart neckline and red polka dots. She gave me a big hug, took in my “hobo wears” as Mackenzie called it and shuddered.

“My Lord! It is about time we cure you of your fashion statement!”  

She ushered us inside, locked the door, and walked me over to her elaborate dressing area, complete with a raised platform surrounded by mirrors. I was starting to get into this girlie stuff just a smidge when Mackenzie put a glass of champagne in my hand.

“What’s this for?” I was more of a cookies and milk kind of partier, but I did like the occasional glass of bubbly.

“A toast. To our lovely Jaylene! May she finally get in touch with her feminine side and finally let a boy touch her feminine side.”

The two of them clinked glasses and high fived. I was tired of fighting them so I allowed them to dress and undress me for the next two hours like a very apathetic mannequin, ignoring their continued jabs about my boring cotton undergarments.

Most of the clothes were ok, not too fancy, and were definitely comfortable. Sabrina knew enough about me to choose wisely. There was an adorable red dress that was too good to pass up. I picked out a couple of halter-tops and a couple of pairs of capris. Mackenzie was allowed to pick out two outfits for me and Sabrina chose two sleeveless button down shirts. I figured I would work in my “hobo wear,” and save these clothes for when I wasn’t tattooing. I wasn’t trying to impress anyone. However, I guess what Mackenzie said earlier was sinking in. At my age, there was no reason for me to dress like an adolescent boy all the time. I did like feeling girly sometimes. And being around Devon made me want to feel womanly.

We stumbled home, still giggling, around 1:00. After our shopping binge we went across the street to see Sabrina’s boyfriend Kurt perform with his blues-rock band. I grew a little melancholy when I thought of not seeing my girls for 17 days. It was strange. I’d never really had close girlfriends growing up so now that I did, I hated to let them go. I was sure Mackenzie would find a way to text me for hourly updates, and if I wasn’t careful, I’d find her climbing in the back window!

I woke up early the next morning and tried to remember just how I’d been talked into all the shopping! Sabrina didn’t want money, she wanted to trade work, and so we planned to meet up after my job with the Bones to get started on a design. The barter system was alive and well in the Quarter. It had come in handy when I needed stuff fixed around the building; something Daryl had taken advantage of on more than one instance.

I enjoyed the walk over to The Praline Connection to meet up with Shannon and Grandma. The morning was cool and misty. The break from the heat was nice. I’d cleared my schedule for the day to spend time with them so I didn’t have to worry about being gone from the shop.

The ladies thoroughly enjoyed the cooking class. They met me at the restaurant and regaled me of stories from the class. They agreed with me on the quality of the fried chicken and they even tried the Alligator Sausage! We walked from there over to my shop and apartment, which they politely admired. I was proud of Shannon for not finding any dust spots, or at least not sharing that she did. Mackenzie dazzled them both and they became fast friends. I seemed to be surrounded by women who could dazzle. I felt like a fizzle around them.

Grandma started to get tired, so I called them a cab to take them back to their hotel. She was going to a bingo hall that night and she needed to take a nap. We hugged goodbye and I promised I’d come home for Christmas this year, hoping that would appease them.

Shannon got in the cab last and gave me one last hug. “So you really are ok? You’re happy? You certainly look like you’re in your element,” this she said with an exaggerated laugh.

“I’m really happy here. I also just got offered a traveling opportunity so I won’t be in the shop for a couple of weeks, in case you have trouble getting hold of me.”

She looked surprised.

“What will you be doing?”  

I wasn’t sure how much to tell her so I said, “Tattooing a group of people in the music business. It’s a good opportunity for me and for the shop.”

She smiled. “Well, I guess you are doing well then. I love you sweetheart. Happy Birthday.”

I thanked her and told her I hoped she was taking care of herself. A kiss on the cheek and a slam of the cab door and they were on their way out of my life for the time being. It had been nice seeing them and now I needed to get my head together for my next adventure!

Troy came in early that evening to go over plans for the shop in my absence. I told him who was coming in and for what. He looked over my drawings and told me numerous times how happy he was with what I’d accomplished, even going so far as to praise my work and to mention the possibility of me tattooing him after I was finished. He was crashing with friends while he was covering for me. It felt weird to know someone was going to be in my space. I knew Mackenzie would be there so no funny business would go on and I’d get Daryl to come by, too. He was a good spy!

I also had to finish packing my gear. Daryl was coming over to pick me up at 10 a. m. so I had plenty of time to take Mackenzie out to breakfast at Ye Olde Coffee Pot in the morning. Sleep did not come easily, so I read a horror novel until around 3:00 a.m. before finally shutting out the lights. I dreamt about ghosts and guitars.

The next morning I was tired but wired with excitement and nerves. What if we didn’t get along? What if they hated my work? What if this little experiment was a failure and I disappointed the guys? Or even worse, what if I disappointed Daryl? These guys were obviously important to the people around them, and apparently, millions of fans!

Mackenzie tried to help over breakfast, but as someone who’d never failed at anything she had little to go on.

“I spent my life disappointing people, how the hell am I supposed to not disappoint the band?”

“Wow, that negativity is doing wonders for your complexion! Jay, you are so talented! So what? You decided to do what you love instead of what could have paid you handsomely? On second thought...No, can’t let yourself be tempted by the green devil.” She shook her head and made a sign of the cross. Then she folded her arms on the table and leaned in, giving her perfect cleavage a little lift.

“Tell me honestly, Jay. Are you happy here? Doing what you are doing?”

I nodded, “Of course! This last year has been the best! Maybe it was just my stepmom’s under reaction to the shop that has me in a funk, I don’t know. I love it here, and I love working with you, Kenz. I don’t know what I’d do without you!” She reached over to grab for my hand but I covered hers with mine. “I just can’t shake the ‘what ifs’? Maybe I’m supposed to be doing something else with my life?”

“Maybe you are, and what you are about to do is going to help determine that.” She waggled her eyes at me and leaned in even closer. “Yeah, what you are about to do! Have you lost sight of the fact that you are going to be holed up with five, count them, FIVE tattooed, pierced, talented, extremely HOT guys! For 17 days! I so envy you!”  

Of course with Mackenzie it would come down to that. I couldn’t think of it that way, though, and I told her so.

She groaned obnoxiously.

“You are such a party pooper!”  

We paid the check and walked back over to the shop, giggling the whole way. She’d had a dating dry spell for quite a while and was trying to decide how much trouble she wanted to get into before I returned.

Daryl was waiting for us in his van back at the shop. “I hope you’re packed. We gotta jet, chère.”

I unlocked the door and gave him an exasperated sigh. I’d chosen one of my new outfits to wear today: a pair of white capris with bright orange and lavender flowers, an orange cami, and tan sandals. Daryl noticed the difference immediately. He complimented me, which made me squirm, and it took a grave look from Mackenzie to keep me from running upstairs to change.

He packed my travel kit with my machines, inks, gloves, paper towels, cleaners, Aquaphor, lamp and a few other tricks of the trade. I carried out my duffel and my folding table, which got me a growl from Daryl. He was chivalrous and couldn’t stand seeing a lady lift heavy items. I smiled sweetly at him and he couldn’t stay mad for long.

When everything was loaded in the van, he reached in and handed me a set of way-too-big coveralls. “You got a cap you can tuck all that gorgeous hair into?”  

Mackenzie handed me one of our shop caps and I wrapped my ponytail up inside.

“Well, girl, you go have your adventure and promise to call me every day so I know you’re ok.”

It was a rare, serious moment from my shop mate, and as we hugged, I shivered to think about being away from my main support here in town. Heck, my main support system period!

“Thanks for everything, Kenz. Even if I don’t always seem to go along with your crazy schemes, I’m so glad you are in my life. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

She sniffled and pulled back. “Shut up, Jay! You are going to smudge both of our makeup!” She gave me a playful push towards Daryl, blew us both a kiss and headed back inside.

Daryl and I climbed in the van for the less-than-five minute drive over to the St. Germaine. The plan was that we would park on the Ursuline street side and set up the ladders to look like we were going up on the roof. We would have to carry my supplies, with the exception of the table, up the ladders to the balcony to look more realistic. Definitely a plan a dude would come up with. I honestly don’t think people would even notice if we just strolled in the front doors, but Daryl insisted stealth was the way to go. Because I looked so like a roofer in these ginormous coveralls that could fit two more of me inside.

After we parked on the side street, Daryl raised his ladder and then motioned for me to go ahead of him. I gave him one last beseeching look, praying he’d decide this was a bad idea. Instead, he slung my tote over my shoulder with my equipment in it, and stepped around back to hold on to the ladder. I sighed loudly and started to climb, hoping my uncoordinated ways would not cause me complete humiliation. I climbed the ladder looking down at my feet the whole way to make sure I didn’t miss a step, my shoulder killing me from the weight of my bag. When the street looked really far away I looked up to see how much progress I’d made. Marcus’ hazel eyes were right in front of my face on top of his shit-eating grin. Startled, I slipped down a step on the ladder and he suddenly dropped the grin and reached for me, grabbing my arm and shoulder strap.

“Here, let me get that for you. You alright?”  

I nodded and allowed him to take my bag.

“I told Daryl this was a bad idea.” At the top now, I looked at the railing and tried to figure out how I was going to swing a leg over the side without becoming a splat on the sidewalk. I spoke out loud to myself, “Well, at least if I make a mess the street sweepers will be by in the morning with their lemony-fresh dish soap.”

“Can I give you a hand?” Marcus was back, reaching out for me.

I looked up at him like “really?” He reached down and plucked me off the ladder and swung me over the rail.

“Wow, Marcus! One would think this ain’t your first rodeo!”  

He smirked and looked down at me. He was not much taller than me, maybe four inches, but obviously much stronger.

“You insinuating I’ve helped a girl over a balcony before?” He put his hand to the scruff on his chin. “I might be guilty of something like that.” He chuckled and I just rolled my eyes.

“Well, you’ve probably blown our cover now. Who would believe a roofer had to be lifted over the railing?”  

Daryl was coming up behind me and I watched as he effortlessly climbed over the railing. He handed me my duffel and I grabbed my work tote from Marcus.

“Where should I put my stuff?”  

Marcus led me through an open door onto a gangway and to the right. Inside the building looked much bigger than from the street. The gangway circled the upstairs, leaving an opening that looked down upon a dance floor and the bar and stage below. Upstairs there were several doors, probably leading to other rooms, and across from the balcony was a large room with pool tables, large couches and a huge flat screen TV. I stumbled and dropped my duffel. I was in complete shock. The rest of the guys were singing along to the TV and Star was even up dancing along.

“You ok?” Marcus had come up behind me.

I turned to look at him, my face must have given away just how completely thrown I was.

“Is that...” I started and he finished, “Big Time Rush? Yeah! We love this show!”  

I continued to stare in disbelief. Then he opened his mouth and started to sing a tune dripping with adolescent boy pop musings. The “a-o-a-o” bits had me dropping my jaw in utter confusion. Aren’t these guys supposed to be Metal singers?

Mage and Jade hadn’t noticed me watching. In unison, they jumped up and started dancing with Star. They were copying the routine from the TV in perfectly synchronized moves. Marcus pushed past me and joined them. These four tattooed and pierced guys in their black board shorts and varying degrees of shirtlessness were up dancing and singing their hearts out to this boy band madness. It was kind of the cutest thing I’d ever seen. They finished the song and started high-fiving each other.

“You can pick up your jaw now,” Daryl laughed behind me. “I told you dese boys was harmless.” He chuckled as he passed me on the narrow walkway carrying the rest of my equipment. “Your room’s over here, dahlin'.”

My room was on the far right at the end of the gangway. When I walked inside the doorway, I was pleased. The natural light in here was amazing at this time of day. There were two windows, one to the back of the building and one looking down on Ursuline. The room was spacious, had a simple queen bed at the back corner and an elaborate drawing table had been set up for me under the other window. The ceilings were at least 9 feet with large support beams running across and two ceiling fans kept the air moving nicely. I heard a loud thunk behind me and I turned around to find myself face to chest with Devon, who had been absent from the BTR tribute moments before.

“I brought your table. Would you like it set up?”  

I shook my head. “No, thank you. I won’t need it until we get started with the tattoos.” I couldn’t stop staring at him and I felt like a complete dork. But then I realized he was kind of staring at me, too.

“Um, there’s a bathroom through here.” He pointed to a doorway on the left.

I looked inside and there was a claw foot tub with an industrial showerhead rigged up. The bathroom was in a sad state, like someone had started to remodel and quit in the middle. I noticed a door at the other side.

“An adjoining room?”  

Devon nodded. “That’s where I crash. The other guys’ rooms are on the other side of the rumpus room.”

Daryl came in with the rest of my things. “Here you go, chère. You got what you need, yeah?”

I nodded. “Thanks for getting me over here, I think. That was an adventure.”

He chuckled. I swear I even saw the corner of Devon’s mouth turn up, but I couldn’t be sure.

“It was worth it to watch you on dat ladder dere.”

I raised my eyebrow at him, wishing I could look as fierce as I wanted to. 

“Here, let me give you back these ridiculous things.”

I took off my hat and shook my hair out and then I unzipped the coveralls and stepped out of them. I handed them over to Daryl, who was trying really hard to stifle a laugh. I followed his eyes over to Devon’s, which were so wide you could see the entire whites! He made a choking sound and started backing out of the room, his cheeks turning a nice shade of rose.

“Um, I'm just going to go let the guys know you are getting settled in and, uh, we’ll see you in a few. Uncle Daryl, thanks for bringing her over.” They shook hands and Devon hurried out the door, pulling on the collar of his white tee.

“The boys might be harmless, chère, but you ain’t gonna be if you keep undressing in front of them. You better keep your clothes on, girl, or you be givin’ them heart attacks, you.” I socked him in the shoulder and he scooped me up in a big hug.

“I’m teasing you, suga. I’m outta here. I’ll be around, but you call me if you need anything.”

I kissed his cheek even though he was a rascal and I told him as much.

“Can you swing by the shop a couple times and check on Mackenzie? Make sure Troy isn’t getting too comfortable?”  

He nodded. “Affirmative. I’ll take care of all that. You just take care of my boys here.” I nodded back and waved good-bye.

I looked back at my room and decided to unpack my clothes into the chest of drawers and small wardrobe at the foot of the bed. I sat down for a minute to collect myself. I was really here. And I really needed to go out there and face them.

I stepped out onto the gangway and walked over to the rumpus room, where they were all flopped on the huge leather couches, still watching BTR. Devon was sitting in a chair in the corner tuning an acoustic guitar.

“So were you guys just practicing your boy band moves in case this whole rock n’ roll gig doesn’t pan out?”  

They all turned around and said hello, shaking my hand again and leaning in to kiss my cheek. Devon remained in the corner, looking up once and catching my eye. He nodded and that slight, slight smile was back. I just smiled back at him, trying not to get lost in his blue eyes again.

“You don’t watch this show? You’re missing out. They’re fun! We actually went to their concert out in California last summer. They put on a good little show, they do.” Star was non-apologetic in his BTR admiration.

“I’ve not seen the show before. I really don’t watch much TV.”

They looked at me like I’d grown a second head.

Mage started in first. “No TV? Man. Well, the show is about these four guys from Minnesota that audition to start a group and...”

“Mage if you’re going to tell the story, tell it right.” Star was adamant. “Only James was auditioning for real, the other guys were just along for support, but when the producer chose Kendall, he said they all go or none of them go. Then they moved to Hollywood to become superstars!” He was quite proud of himself for getting the facts straight.

“I had no idea. Well, the music is ok I guess, for a kid show.”

They started singing again and I was just thrown by how adorable they were! No pretenses, no trying to act tough or cool. Not at all what I thought of a rock band. And they had all the vocal parts down!

“They’re kind of like us, I guess,” said Jade. “We were all friends growing up and went to California together to make the big time, too.” The other guys got that sad smile going on again.

Marcus came in with a basket and a small cooler. “Lunch, people. Come and get it.” He set the stuff on the large, square ottoman between the couches and the guys all grabbed for sandwiches and drinks. He slapped their hands away. “No way, dude. The lady goes first.” He smiled sweetly at me and gestured for me to take my pick of the spread.

I thanked Marcus and walked around the couch to peer inside the basket. I pulled out a turkey, avocado sandwich and grabbed a Diet Coke from the cooler. The guys were watching me with big smiles on their faces, waiting for me to get settled. I took a spot at the end of one of the couches.

“Thanks, guys. I appreciate this.”

Marcus nodded at the others and they dove in. The tenacity with which their limbs were flying and the tangle of their bodies had me thinking about what a mosh pit looked like at one of their shows. Devon waited until they were through before walking over and taking what was left.