VII.

“Good night North Bend!”  Douglas shouted as he strummed the last chord on his guitar.  The crowd cheered, just as it had done in Roseberg the night before, and in Grants Pass the night before that.  With every show Douglas had gotten a better feel for stage presence, and had gotten a better response from the audience.  Eugene was the only show that Douglas felt awkward at.  Douglas had never played at a show outside of Colman before, and Eugene was the first stop on the tour.  He got up on stage as nervous as he was the first night, but still played amazingly.  He didn’t talk to the audience though, he couldn’t get the words out.  The second night, at Grants Pass, he played very conscientiously at first, and then really came out towards the end.  At Roseberg it was a snap for Douglas, as well as the rest of the band.  They were really being held back the two previous nights, their singer and guitarist not taking any risks, not having any fun.  At North Bend Douglas just tore out all the stops.  The band went absolutely crazy, and the crowd still thought they were just okay.
“Up next is Plan B, enjoy.”  Douglas said as he walked off stage with the rest of the band.
“I just don’t get it Douglas!”  Candice said, slamming her fist into the wall.
“Hey, don’t hurt yourself Candice, we need to play tomorrow.”  Douglas said, then continued, “And it’s just one show.  Maybe the people here aren’t used to our style of music, not everybody is going to like it.”
“Yeah, but Douglas.”  Eric said from behind, “People do like energy, and we had tons of it.”
“We can have energy all day long, but if you don’t like the sound you’re only going to think its okay.  We’ll wow Springfield tomorrow, and you’ll see what I mean.  But for now let’s head back to the bus and just get in a good nights sleep.”  Douglas said as he walked toward the exit.
“I guess that’s okay.”  Candice said, and she and Eric followed Douglas out.  “You know, Douglas, I was thinking.”  Candice said.
“Hmm?”  Douglas inquired using only his vocal chords and a glance in her direction.
“I was thinking for our last show, since it’s going to be in June, we could do a Christmas song as a cover.  Like, it would still be an oldie, but maybe sung in a different voice or something.”
“You know, Candice, that’s not such a bad idea.”  Douglas said.
“I’m in for it.”  Eric said, “Christmas is my favorite time of year.”
“Well la-de-da, Eric.”  Douglas said and laughed.  “Just jokin’ man.  You guys got any ideas for songs?”
“Well, I really don’t feel like doing any of that cliché crap, like Rudolph the goddamn reindeer.”  Candice said, sounding a little annoyed.
“Everybody hears those, lets do something like Carole of the Bells.”  Eric suggested.
“No, that’s heard a lot too.”  Douglas said as the group reached the bus.  “Let me think on this, I’ll figure it out before tomorrow morning.”
“Sounds good Douglas.  I figure anything you’re willing to sing is worth us playing, so we both trust you.  Isn’t that right Eric?”  Candice said with confidence.
“Like I really have a choice.  If I said no, Candice would break my neck.”  The three laughed as they sat in their own seats, Candice being the only one to share a seat, and she shared her seat with Rich.  Douglas closed his eyes as he lay on the bus seat and fell asleep shortly after.  The band had put a lot of energy into tonight’s show, so everybody was exhausted.  Douglas woke for only a moment when the bus started, but slept like the dead the rest of the night.  He awoke mid afternoon as the bus stopped in front of the club.
“Alright, you guys are supposed to be here at five, and it’s three now.  So go eat or shop or whatever, just be here on time.”  Phil said as he opened up the door.  Douglas sat up, rubbed his eyes and the first thing he thought of was his stomach.  He then found out that he really had to pee.  Douglas shot up and bolted to the door to find a place to eat.  He looked left, he looked right, and he spotted a 50’s looking diner, which he immediately rushed for, like somebody running from a hungry dog.  Douglas burst in the door and ran up to the counter, asking the closest waitress where the bathroom was.  She pointed to the door at the end of the counter with a shocked look on her face.
“It’s f-for paying customers o-only sir.”  The waitress said rather nervously.
“I’m starving too, I’ll be right back honest.”  Douglas called as he darted for the restroom.  He shut the door quickly, not bothering to lock it, unzipped his pants and as he reached the toilet did a little hop to pull out his pork sword and let it go.  Feet shoulder width apart and head tilted back, Douglas let out the most satisfied sound somebody could hear coming from a bathroom.  After the trickling urine sound had ceased, Douglas flicked once, twice and put it away.  Anymore than twice is just playing with yourself.  Douglas walked out of the restroom to a bunch of stares from everybody in the diner.  “Sorry, I haven’t used the restroom in at least twelve hours, so I had to really go.”  Douglas said, his face beet red.  He found a booth close to him and sat down in the red leather seat.  A brave lady walked over wearing a yellow dress with an apron tied around it and asked Douglas if she could help him.  “Why yes,” Douglas said and looked at the woman’s name tag, “Sherryl.  I’d like two sausage, two eggs, and four pancakes.”
“Alright.”  Sherryl said after writing down his order, “Anything to drink?”
“A cup of OJ.”
“We’re actually all out of OJ.”  Sherryl said, looking like she was about to dart to the door if Douglas freaked out on her.
“Oh, okay.  A cup of coffee then, Sherryl.”  Douglas said and could actually watch the nerves melt off of her.
“Alright, that will be ready for you in about twenty to thirty minutes.”
“Sounds fantastic to me, I’ll be right here.”  Douglas said with a smile.  Sherryl came back quickly with his coffee and some creamer, then walked away to help the rest of her tables.  About ten minutes after Sherryl had left Douglas’s side, she came back and refilled his coffee, and as she was walking off again a group of teens, nineteen by the looks of most of them, walked into the diner hastily.  They looked pretty freaked out, some looking disappointed.
“Joey’s such a dillhole.” A kid in the group with long curly hair said sitting down at a booth close to Douglas’s.  “What the fuck was he thinking?”
“Dude, if I don’t get this cash,” another kid, this one with short spiky blonde hair responded, “I am so fucked.  I need this cash to pay for school, and if I don’t get into school I’m going to end up working at some car garage or something.”
“Relax man, you’ll get the cash somehow.”  The curly haired kid said indignantly.
“Fat fucking chance, asshole.  I’m going to have to sell my bass to be able to pay for fucking classes.  Shit man, my career is over.”
“Dude, why’d Joey have to go driving after he went to that party last night?”  A third kid, a tousled haired youth piped up.
“Like it fucking matters, he’s a shit bag and that’s the end of that.”  The blonde shouted.  Douglas, at this point had forgotten about his coffee and was staring at the teens as they were talking.  Sherryl walked over after a few minutes and sat his pancakes in front of him, but all Douglas did was stare.  After a few more minutes, Douglas felt a chill wash over him and turned his head away.  Outside was a man staring back at him.  He was dressed in a black sweatshirt and black jeans, with tousled black hair.  Douglas’s eyes went wide as the man continued to stare.  Douglas knew that he was being tested.  He stood up and walked the few tables to the youths and as he approached the teens looked at him.
“What do you want, man?”  The third kid said quickly.
“Heard you guys were having some trouble, anything I can do to help?”  Douglas said as he shoved his hands in his pockets.
“Piss off man.”  The blonde retorted as he gave Douglas the finger.
“Fine, I won’t help you play your gig.”  Douglas said and walked off slowly.  He heard the teens chatter quickly and then they called him back over.
“You can help?”  The curly haired kid asked.
“You need a guitarist?”
“No, we need a vocalist.”
“So happens I’m both.  How long is it going to take?”
“Not long, maybe an hour.”
“When does it start?”
“About a half hour.”  The teen replied, and Douglas looked at the ceiling for a moment.
“Any of you got a car?”  He asked quickly.
“Yeah, why?”
“I gotta be at the club at 5.”
“You playin’ there or somethin’?”
“No, I’m sweepin’ the floor.  Duh kid, you think it’ll happen?”  Douglas asked and the kids all looked at each other.
“Yeah, we’ll get you there on time.  What’s the catch?”
“I don’t know, come to the show or something.  You’ll be in for a treat.”
“Don’t see why we couldn’t.”
“Kick ass.  Now I’m going to put these pancakes in a box and you’ll have to drive me to the place.”
“Sounds good.”  The blonde said, a smile quickly appearing on his face.

IX.

Douglas jumped out of the car when the blonde stopped in front of a slightly run down house.  The car felt like it was going to explode on the way over here, and the fact that the kid was the most insane driver he’d ever met didn’t help the situation any.  Douglas now knew what it felt like to be in a 50 car pile-up without actually being in one.  The other three teens got out of the car and walked up to the house, Douglas following closely behind.
“So, guys.”  Douglas spoke quickly, “What kind of a gig is this?”
“Birthday party.”  The blonde kid answered, and Douglas felt like laughing.  Lucifer could have forced him to perform at a hospital, a church, a KKK meeting, and the gig Douglas gets is the one thing Lucifer pointed out at the beginning of this whole ordeal; a birthday party.
“Sounds good.”  Douglas spoke softly to the teens, enjoying the overwhelming irony of this situation.  The curly haired kid reached up and knocked on the door, and it quickly opened, the group finding a disgruntled mother behind the door.
“I thought you’d never show u-who’s that?”  The older lady said quickly.
“Some guy we met at a diner.”  The curly hair kid said and shrugged.
“So now you guys are just picking up strangers to play in your band.  This is nice, real fuckin’ nice.”
“Nice language, babe.”  The blonde said, mouthing off to the mother.
“Hey, kid, you’re too young to be watching Sixteen Candles.”  Douglas said, smirking.
“And who are you?  My father?”  The blonde said turning, the same smirk on his face as he walked inside.
“Where’s Joey?”  The mother asked, he nostrils flaring in rage.
“In the hospital.”  The third teen said solemnly and followed his other band members inside.  Douglas followed shortly behind them, as the mother slammed the door shut.
“Oh, by the way.”  Douglas said and turned quickly.  “I’m Douglas, Douglas Terrian.”
“I’m Patricia.”  The mother said quickly.  “Don’t break any of my shit.”
“Probably won’t, but I can’t guarantee anything.”  Douglas said and strutted off, hands in his pockets.  Douglas saw the teens walking outside and followed, walking through the sliding glass door and out to the back yard.  Judging from what Douglas had seen of the inside of the house and looking at the back yard, the family that owned this place was probably well off.  The backyard had a huge pool, a spa, and still had room for a quite large party.  This told Douglas that he was playing for a bunch of stuck up rich kids who knew nothing about real music and only listened to rap.  But you can’t judge a crowd by the backyard.
Douglas walked up to the teens, now standing close to a portly blonde kid and pulled the curly haired kid aside.  “Hey, man, I don’t want to be the boring chap, but I gotta get the hell out of here as soon as possible, so lets get this show on the road, alright?”
“Yeah, dude, that’s what we’re doing right now.  We’re talkin’ to the birthday boy to see where we should set up.”  And almost on cue the rest of the teens turned around.
“We’re setting up near the diving board, facing the rest of the yard.”  The blonde teen said.
“Mkay, Tom.”  The curly kid said.
“His name’s Tom?”  Douglas said quickly.
“Yeah, didn’t we introduce ourselves?”
“Uh, no.  So now I know Tom, and you are?”
“Fred, and the other kid is Alex.”
“And what do you play?”
“Guitar, Tom plays bass and Alex plays”
“Drums, got it.  So you guys got a mic or something or am I going to have to yell.”
“Yell, but we’ll play quietly.  We’re just background noise.”
“Until we actually start playing.  We’ll see what happens.”
And with that, Douglas waited for the teens to get set up.  They looked like they knew what they were doing, like they’d played a few shows, or at least practiced for a few years.  He talked to all the jailbait, just because he could, he really didn’t expect nor want to get laid by these pint-sized prostitutes, but Douglas figured it couldn’t hurt to let them entertain some notion of him in bed.  Just because Douglas Terrian is that arrogant.
After about 10 minutes, the band called Douglas over, at which point Douglas asked the question “What do you guys play?”  The teens looked at each other and then looked back at him.
“What?”  Fred asked.
“Like, what songs, dumbass.”
“Oh, dude, we have to play covers, you don’t know any of our crap.”
“Good, at least you’re going easy on me.  What are we going to play first?”
“Take on me.”  Tom said.
“It may not sound pretty, but lets go.”
Douglas turned around and let the band do what it does best, which was play covers of old 80s songs and do some covers of recent 90s songs.  Luckily Douglas knew all the songs.  After about an hour, Douglas stopped letting the band play and told him he needed to get to the club now.  Douglas turned around and told the kids at the party that he and a few other bands would be at the club in town tonight, and they should all go, blah blah blah.  Y’know, shameless advertising.  And with that, Douglas was off to the club, the teens in the band getting done what needed to get done, and part of his agreement with Lucifer fulfilled.  For now at least.

X.

The moment the car was stopped enough for Douglas to jump out, Douglas jumped out and was running to the door.  As he reached the door, Douglas was pushed away by one of the bouncers, to the cry of Douglas.
“I’m with Rank you doof, let me in!”  Douglas shouted, bouncing back, and as he finished his sentence the door opened, Candice standing behind it.
“You’re late, thank god we haven’t sound checked yet.”  Candice said, waving her hand for him to get inside.
“Sorry, helping out some kids.  We need more fans you know.”
“Yeah, I know, but we can’t get more fans if you’re not here to sing.”
“I know, I know, I’m here now.”  Douglas said as he stepped inside, and got a hard knock to the chin.  As Douglas recoiled, hand in front of his face, he noticed Eric with a scowl on his face.
“Don’t be late again Douglas.”  Eric said and turned away.
“Okay, lesson learned.”  Douglas said, rubbing his chin.  He stood up next to Candice and watched Plan B finish up their sound check.  Just like every other gig, it was Plan B first, then Rank, and right before the show it was Betabet.  It was sound check in order of importance, Douglas felt, but more like reverse order.  Douglas started walking toward the stage when he remembered he didn’t have his stuff.  Then, as Douglas was turning away, Candice grabbed him by the arm and showed Douglas that all his gear was in the corner.  What loyal and hard working band mates he had.  Douglas got up on stage after grabbing his guitar and plugged himself into the amp, then walking over to the microphone.  Playing warm-up riffs was child’s play, Douglas thought, so he went right into a wailing guitar solo until the sound guy in the back gave him the big thumbs up.  Eric started playing arpeggios right after Douglas got done until the sound guy gave Eric a thumbs up, and then was Candice, playing a bitchin’ drum solo until, again, a thumbs up was seen.  Douglas then turned and asked if the band wanted to warm up with a few of their songs, and of course the band said yes.  As Douglas belted ‘Yourself’ and ‘Number One Dropout,’ the sound guy worked his magic a final time and now Douglas’s levels matched the rest of the band’s.  Douglas then unplugged his guitar, and left the stage with it.  Douglas sat against the back wall of the club until the show started and then stood off stage to watch Betabet.  Shortly after the show started, Douglas noticed a figure standing next to him and jumped a little, looking to his side and seeing only Candice.
“Oh, hey Candice.”
“You know.  I really hate their music.”
“What?  Why are you listening to it then?”  Douglas said and chuckled.
“It’s for him.”  Candice said and nodded to Rich.
“You really like him, don’t you?”  Douglas said solemnly.
“Yeah.  I don’t know if the feeling is mutual though.”
“Talk to him about it.”
“Don’t want to put him on edge.”
“That’s just stupid Candice, talk to hi-“
“It’s not stupid Douglas.”  Candice shouted, interrupting Douglas.  Douglas looked at her, shocked.  “If he has me on his mind, then he won’t play half as well as he does.”
“I thought you hated the music.”
“I hate the music, I don’t hate him.”
“I don’t see how that works.”
“Now that, Douglas, is stupid.”
“No, Candice, it absolutely is not.”  Douglas said, turning to look at her.  “Think of it this way.  Rich, obviously, likes the music he’s playing.  If he didn’t, would he play it?  No.  It’s in his personality.”
“Yeah but”
“There’s no buts, Candice.  It’s in his personality.  When I go out on stage, I don’t just play music, I play what’s in my soul, what makes me, me.  So when Rich goes out there, he’s showing himself, unadulterated.  If you don’t like it, you don’t really know Rich.”
“Are you saying that I should leave Rich because I don’t understand him?  Because you’re fuckin’ nuts.”
“No, you’re fucking nuts.”  Douglas said, looked at Candice and smirked.  Candice looked at him for a few moments and then smirked too, looking quickly at the ground.
“Now’s not the time for sex jokes, Douglas.”
“I know, but I’m also not saying to leave Rich.  Talk to him.  If you have feelings for him, talk to him.  If he doesn’t have the same feelings, then I don’t know.  Continue to sleep with him, or boink some groupie or something.”
“Very sensitive Douglas.”
“You’re welcome.”  Douglas said and went back to his wall to grab his gear and walked back just as Betabet was getting off.  “Well Candice.  Shall we?”
“I think we shall Douglas, lets kick the crowds ass.”
“Lets wow ‘em Eric.”  Douglas called back as he walked on stage.  Eric came running from the shadows with his bass in hands.
“Five stars, Doug.”  Eric said and ran past Douglas.  “Last one out gets the seat on the bus with the bar in the middle of it.
“Fuck you too Eric.”  Candice said, walking next to Douglas on stage.  “Douglas?”
“Yeah Candice?”
“Thanks.”
“Not a problem, Candice.”

XI.

The show at Springfield wow’d the crowd, and the band was back in shape again.  Nobody was frustrated after the show, everybody could feel a certain buzz in the air than was different than at the other shows.  Especially when the band got outside.  A crowd had formed outside, and club security was pushing them back as best as they could.
“You better just push through.”  One of the guards called back, pushing a group of young-ish girls back a ways.  And so they did.  Betabet, Plan B and Rank rushed through the crowd towards the buses, and the crowd followed, though many tapered off.  Mike was talking to his bus guy very secretively with Plan B loosely gathered behind him.  Mike turned for a second and pointed to the crowd of fans quickly before turning back to the bus driver.  Douglas walked to the big yellow bus and stood by the door until he figured out what was going on.  Plan B’s bus driver walked over to Douglas’s bus and told Phil to wait about an hour before getting ready to go.  Douglas looked at Plan B inquisitively and saw them all walking away with different girls.
“Well, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.”  Douglas said and walked toward the crowd.  As he walked away, he saw Candice and Rich walk toward the back of the bus, and it didn’t look like Candice was lookin’ to get any.  “Good girl.”  Douglas said as he turned back toward the crowd of mostly girls.  As he got closer, the crowd ran up to him, and Douglas started to beam.  Douglas had never gotten this kind of attention before.  All the girls where touching him, others wanted his autograph, which he was kind enough to do, and all where asking him questions.  He had an idea, one that he hoped would work.  He looked at the girls gathered around him, and finally grabbed the hand of one girl reaching to touch any part of the great Douglas Terrian.  He pulled her gently through the crowd and wrapped his arm around her waist, asking softly in her ear “How old are you babe?”
“19.”  The girl said with a blush, resting her head on his chest.
“You got a car?”
“Yeah.” The girl said softly.
“Wanna earn yourself a pair of fuzzy dice?”  Douglas said, looking down and smirking.
“Who says I haven’t?”  She said, and ran her hand over his junk.
“I don’t have a condom.”
“Don’t need one, I’m on the pill.”
“Best thing since sliced bread.”  Douglas said before waving his goodnights and leading the young lady away from the crowd.

XII.

Having vented his sexual frustrations, it was on to the next town, and then the next and then the next.  Douglas did feel slightly disgusted at his actions, but it had been a few years since he decided he wanted to get laid, so he didn’t feel too bad about it.  He didn’t sleep with any other strangers after that night, since he and Rosey Palm were meant for each other forever.  After Springfield, it was a rush to Klamath Falls, and then a few days on the road until the band reached Nevada.  The crowds were smaller and smaller, but the interest in the groups grew enormously with each show through the state.  Douglas guess friends were calling friends or something, but he didn’t really care.  He just cared that people were enjoying the music.
Through Winnemucca to the armpit of America, Battle Mountain, to Carlin and Elko, the clubs just seemed like a blur.  The band was running lower and lower on funds for food, so they were eating less and less, eventually just buying packs of bagels and carb loading before the shows.  It seemed to work, except for the grumbling sound coming from everybody’s stomachs.  Douglas couldn’t wait to get back to Colman and eat his weight in crappy buffet food, but that day was still a good 20 days off.
Through Ely, Caliente, Boulder City and Tonopah the band kept eating the bagels, and actually started liking the taste of the generic brand bagel.  The bands started talking more and more about the food they were going to eat when they got back home, and to home they were heading.  The next show in Bishop rang in the home stretch, and rang in the bigger shows.  More people showed up, knowing Plan B was playing.  More and more people were screaming for Douglas and Eric, and more and more of the guys in the crowd were ogling Candice, but Rich and Candice seemed as happy as ever.  Douglas had noticed through the rest of the tour that Rich was looking like he was growing closer and closer to Candice, and almost disgustingly so.  But he paid no mind and kept teasing the jailbait girls with his sexy body and almost as sexy voice.  The closer the band got to Sacramento, the bigger the crowds got.  Lines were forming outside, waiting for people to leave the clubs so the unlucky ones outside would get a chance to see Plan B live.
To Clovis, Fresno, Merced and San Jose.  The bands were really starting to feel the pinch of their funds.  There were days Douglas would go without eating; scorning the days that he bought such extravagant meals in diners.  He was starting to loose energy at the shows, but the crowds still came, and the crowd was as excited as ever.  Word was starting to spread about Rank through the grapevine, and once the band reached Modesto and Stockton fans new Douglas’s name, and the girls were writing his name in very obscene places, and by obscene I mean their tits.  And by places, I also mean their tits.
Finally the last show arrived, and the bus pulled into Sacramento.  The first thing Douglas did was hit up the local gas station store.  He pulled out the last of his money and bought a bag of bagels and walked back to the bus where the other band members where lying around, waiting for sound check.
“I have an announcement.”  Douglas shouted from the bus steps.  The people in the bus looked up at Douglas quite annoyed at the effort they were putting forth to lift their heads.  “This is our last show on the tour, so I thought I’d treat the people in this bus to a bountiful meal.”  Douglas said and looked at the clock on the dash of the bus.  “We have about an hour until soundcheck, so I think we should take this time to savor each other’s company, and these delicious delicious name brand bagels.”  And at the words delicious, name brand, and bagel the eyes of the band members grew brighter.  Douglas walked by with the bag of bagels and handed them out one by one until there was only one left, and that one was for Douglas.  “Now, before we eat, I think we should say grace.”  A groan filled the bus as he said those words, but quickly the bus was filled with the sounds of ravenous wolves as Douglas quickly said “Rubadubdubthanksforthegrub.” And shoved a good deal of bagel into his own mouth.  The group talked of their favorite clubs, their favorite days on the road, and some of the less shy folk shared their favorite women.  It was all in good fun, and when it was time the group grabbed their gear and hoisted it inside the club, performing sound check as they always did.  The three groups in the back were goofing off, waiting for the show to start, and eventually it did.  Betabet put on their best show yet, and Douglas watched as Candice started enjoying the music.  He walked up to her side and stood there for a moment before starting the conversation.
“You like it now don’t you?”
“You were right Douglas.”
“I know you are, but what am I?”
“You like it, Doug?”
“Can’t stand it.  It’s a bunch of noise.”  Douglas said, looking at Candice with the widest grin.  They both laughed and walked back stage to goof off with Plan B.  As Betabet finished, Douglas grabbed his gear, and followed Eric on stage, Candice having run to her set and starting touching it like it were her newborn child.  Douglas stepped out onto the middle of the stage and took a deep bow before starting the set that the group had done so very many times before.  The band played with the usual amount of energy, and the band went absolutely nuts over them.  Crowd control had to throw a few rowdy gents off the stage, and stopped a few unruly mosh pits.  The people in the crowd were now starting conversations with Douglas, and he was playing off of them, rather than the other way around.  It was a nice change in pace for Douglas, and a nice change in pace for the band.
Finally the time came to play the last song, and Douglas put his guitar down on stage for a moment.  “Alright guys, I want you to calm down for a second.”  Douglas said into the microphone.  “Today is June 20th, and its also the last day of the tour.  We decided at the beginning of the tour to play a very special song on this day, and this day alone.  We’re not bull shitting you either, we haven’t played this for any club.  But first, I want you to give another big round of applause for the Betabet.”  And so the crowd did.  “And I want you to give a round of applause to Plan B, who always perform spectacularly.”  And so the crowd did.  “On a side note, I’d also like to dedicate this song to a special girl of mine.  I haven’t talked to her in a few years, and I hope she still thinks of me.  I know I still think of her.”  The crowd let out a loud “aww” before Douglas could continue.  “This is Blue Christmas by the late and great Elvis Presley.  I hope you enjoy.”  Douglas turned to the band and counted them off.  The last great song of Douglas’s first tour had started, and was quickly approaching its close.  He was looking out into the crowd as he sang, not really paying attention to them at all, reaching into the very depths of his soul to sing this one last song with a fierceness Douglas never thought a Christmas song could ever have, when he heard a soft voice singing with him.  Douglas, thinking he was hearing things continued singing until the song was over.  “Thank you Sacramento, and goodnight.”
Douglas took a very deep bow, and as he bent over, a quite attractive girl stood in front of him.  This girl had very red hair, was of moderate height, and said to Douglas, over the applause, “How dare you play that song without me?”  Douglas took a knee, mouth agape for a moment, and then the widest smile appeared on his face.  If Douglas wasn’t in control of his facial features, his mouth would have torn his face in two.
“Why if it isn’t Merideth.”