She had been singing as long as she could remember. She loved it and people loved to hear her sing. She sang in the church choir, her school’s choral group and often accompanied her brother’s band when they had private party engagements. Once she graduated high school she began accompanying “The Rowdy Rogues” on a more regular basis. More and more the people clamored for her to sing some solo numbers and it wasn’t long before the band became “The Rowdy Rogues” featuring Ms. Darla Snow. During one of their regular gigs a talent agent for one of the big agencies heard them and wanted to offer them a chance to audition for Jed Johnson a well-known record company producer. Mr. Johnson was looking for an act to open for Mickey Rorek an up and coming country singer. They jumped at the opportunity. Arrangements were made to make a demo for Mr. Johnson. If he liked what he heard he would fly them to Nashville to meet with him and Mickey Rorek.
The day of the audition demo they were instructed to play a ballad, a rocking tune, and they wanted a country hymn featuring Darla. Billy, Darla’s brother, asked if it would be alright if Darla sang a song he had written in addition to the hymn. If time allows was the answer.
Six weeks went by since the demo and they didn’t hear a word. They were pretty discouraged. Late one Friday night in between one of their sets Billy was handed a card. The card read:
Meet us at The Carlisle, PH Suite 223 when your set is over.
Jed Johnson
He thought this was a pretty cruel joke and he didn’t even tell the guys. When the evening was over and they were packing up their gear a guy, dressed in jeans and a well cut western shirt approached them. He explained he was a driver and was here to transport them to Mr. Johnson. The guys all looked at Billy as he handed one of them the card he had been given earlier. They walked outside and into a very large black limousine. Some of them were still unsure but when they pulled up to the Carlisle they started to believe. They took the private elevator and when the door opened it was directly into a suite that was larger than most of the guys' apartments. There were floor to ceiling windows that overlooked the city below. A good looking well dressed man came forward extending his hand to Darla.
“I’m Jed Johnson, Ms Snow”. Darla shook his hand and then introduced her brother Billy, lead guitarist, Kenny Dunn, guitarist, Benji Moss, base guitar, and Garrett Lee, the drummer. He invited them to sit down. He told them he had heard the demo and liked what he heard but the situation had changed. He explained that Mickey had listened to the tape and was fine with them being his opening act but he wanted to do a solo number with Darla during his act. Darla didn’t know what to think and looked to her brother Billy. Billy nodded. When they were shaking hands, one of the doors opened and in walked Mickey Rorek. Mickey came over and shook hands with all of them and then gave Darla a kiss on the cheek.
“You have the voice of an angel” he told her.
The party broke up about 4:00 am with the promise to meet the next day to go over some contracts. Jed Johnson asked if they had a business manager he could contact. Billy said he didn’t but that his brother-in-law was an attorney and he would represent their interests.
When all the t’s were crossed and the i’s dotted the band was contracted to be the opening act for Mickey Rorek on his new tour which was to start in two months. The record company put them up in a house in Nashville so they would be available for rehearsals, and costume fittings for Darla’s number with Mickey. The close proximity of their quarters brought into focus that Garrett was falling in love with Darla. She had been around all the guys since she was a little girl and all of the guys treated her like their little sister, Garrett included. Sometime during the last year he realized his feelings toward her had changed. He was always a glib talker, but not to her anymore. He always flirted with the groupies. Not anymore. The biggest clue was the boner he got every time she accidentally brushed up against him. He went to Billy and told him how he felt. If Billy objected, he would back off. Billy told him if it was okay with Darla it was okay with him but he better not break her heart. Garrett promised.
Garrett had no idea how Darla felt about him. He took her aside one day and asked her if she would have dinner with him. Darla liked Garrett. He reminded her of her daddy, loving but fair and very strong willed. They went out the following night and began going out together more often. She told Garrett he was a fine man and that one day would make a fine husband but she wasn’t ready for that just yet. Her dream was to have a musical career and this was her chance.
As the tour got closer to the start date, Mickey Rorek showed up more and more at the band rehearsals. He was paying a lot of attention to Darla, always standing close, touching her whenever possible, but the day he gave her backside a pat Garrett lost his cool. He told Mickey to keep his hands to himself, she was his girl. Darla told Garrett to back down she could handle it. She turned to Mickey and told him it was hands off. Mickey just grinned.
“Well, aren’t you a lucky sonofabitch, guy” he told Garrett.
Mickey was not used to being told no by anyone especially not by any one of the female persuasion. He was a tall, good looking guy who had a way about him that just oozed sexuality. It wasn’t like he had a special thing for Darla, he just didn’t like that she didn’t fall all over him the way other girls did. He knew just how to get his way.
At one of the costume fittings, Darla noticed the dress she was wearing for the duet with Mickey had changed. The front was open to show off her cleavage, the back was so low it came to just above the crack of her butt and the slit was right up to the top of her thigh. In addition, the material was so clingy that she wouldn’t be able to wear any undergarments. She was uncomfortable about it and expressed it to the costume designer. She was told to take it up with Mickey and Jed Johnson, she was just following orders. She went to Jed, although he was sympathetic, he told her to grow up. This was show biz and the more skin that showed the more PR they would get. He told her she was not the star of the show and she couldn’t start being a diva just yet. She just sucked it up and did what she was told. This was her ticket to the big show and she wanted in.
She never said a word to anyone else because she knew that both Billy and Garrett would be livid when they saw her in that dress. She managed to keep it under wraps until opening night. After they finished their opening set, she went back to change for her duet with Mickey. When she finished dressing, she left the room to wait backstage for her cue. When Garrett saw her he freaked out.
“You can’t wear that on stage. It’s not decent. Are you even wearing any undergarments? The stage is backlit everyone will be able to see right through that material. There is no way you are going out there wearing that. Billy come over here and see what Darla is wearing. If you’re daddy saw you in that he would spank your bottom. Actually, if you go out there like that I will spank your bottom”.
Just then her cue came up and she looked at him, told him she was going out there and started walking out on stage. He grabbed her back, she pulled out of his hold and walked out. As she walked out there were lots of catcalls and whistles. Garrett was right, she thought, I might as well have been wearing nothing. Mickey was enjoying the view and held out his hand as he guided her to the stools set out for them. Suddenly, Garrett was there in front of them. He pulled Darla off the stool, sat down and turned her over his knee. He started spanking her. The crowd went wild and Mickey just stood there watching this whole scene. Garrett just kept spanking her behind. When he was finished, he put her down and told her that now she could show her red ass as well as everything else and stomped off the stage. Darla was stuck to the floor. She couldn’t make her feet move. Finally, she just ran off stage too. Mickey decided to do the duet number as a single and was just starting the song when Darla came back out on stage. She sang her part as if nothing had happened. The audience applauded loudly and when the song finished Darla took the mike and apologized to the crowd for what she called “the unfortunate incident”. They rest of the set went off without a glitch.
When they went backstage Mickey sought out Billy and told him Garrett was through. He wanted him gone and if he didn’t like it he and the rest of the guys could join him. All he really wanted was Darla anyway. Billy didn’t think twice. He told Mickey they were a package deal and you either take all or none and that included Darla. Darla heard this whole exchange. A million thoughts ran through her mind. She wanted a career, if she left with her brother and the others was she throwing away the only chance she may ever have. She looked down at the dress she was wearing and thought about how it made her feel. She thought about what Garrett had said about her daddy and the dress she was wearing. Just then Mickey came by and gave her a slap on her butt. That did it. She whirled around and slapped him in the face. He raised a hand to slap her back when she kicked him in the shins.
“I told you to keep your hands off me, I meant it”
“That sonofabitch can take you over his knee in front of thousands of people and you don’t react. I give you a slap on the butt and get a face slap and kicked in the shins. Well, baby, you can pack up your things and head out with the rest of them.”
“I’m already gone”, she yelled at him.
When she got to the dressing room, she removed the dress and hung it on the rack. She packed her stuff and as she was walking out the door, she went back and took the damn dress. I earned it, she told herself, besides you never knew when it just might come in handy.
