I spent the night with the Kennedys, and they couldn't have been any more hospitable. Gray and I sat in the living room and talked until four in the morning when we fell asleep sitting up on the couch, watching television.
On account of me being so tired the next morning, the remainder of my time in Chicago felt somewhat surreal. I came down with a sore throat during my flight home, and I was feeling run down and completely out-of-it by the time I got back to Memphis.
I had a nice time with Gray, and it was so good to see Shelby and be back home, but getting sick on the way home threw an unexpected curveball at me. As much as I wanted to see Gray in Chicago and get the job on the television show, that whole scenario was scary for me. Perhaps worrying about it made my sickness even harder to deal with. Either way, I was sick. I laid low for the next four days, and before I knew it, the weekend had arrived and it was time for the fall festival.
***
I walked toward the festivities, holding hands with my little Rainbow Bright.
"Oh, y'all look so cuuute!" Mom said, hugging us. She knew we were on our way, so she met us in the field that was used for a parking lot. "I didn't know you were gonna dress up!" she said. "I'm so glad you're feeling better."
I looked down at my outfit. I wore an all black outfit—black slacks and a blouse that I already had in my closet—but I added a few cat accessories including ears, a tail, and some catlike face paint.
"Shelby wanted me to," I said.
"Yeah, and we made fuwwy eaws and tail, and then she put a nose and wiskews on hew face, see?"
"You mean this is a costume?" Mom asked in a shocked tone, looking at Shelby. "I thought Rainbow Bright just had a big, giant kitty cat!"
Shelby giggled. "Nope, it's Mom," she said. "See?" Shelby lifted up my hand as if to point out my regular skin and human features.
"Oh my goodness you two did amazing on these costumes!" She tugged us along. "Come on. There's a bunch of games over here and a really big slide.
"A willy big slide?" Shelby asked, jumping with delight.
The annual fall festival was held on the outskirts of town. An old man that went to my uncle's church had a bunch of property east of Memphis, and he always planted a field of pumpkins near his apple orchard specifically for this event. There was apple cider, barbeque, music, and games, and most of the kids (and a few of the adults) were dressed up in costumes.
"You look like you're feeling all better," Mom said, as we continued to walk toward the action. She knew I had been sick and had brought me some groceries and soup.
"Better," I said. "Much better."
"Have you talked to anyone about the show?" she asked. "Did you hear anything?"
"She talks to mistew Gway evewy day," Shelby said. "And I talk to him, too. We both do. He said he can't bwing Woxy ovew to ouw house because she's too old, but he will bwing me to the zoo sometime. And he said his bwothew has a dog and two cats and I can meet them if I go to his house."
Mom knew about the sitcom and the possibility that we would end up in Chicago while filming it, so she had been asking me for updates constantly.
"The directors finished up with the casting calls this week, and we're just waiting on them to decide about the rewrites. Kevin wants to work with Gray, but they wanted to see what other options they had before considering the rewrites."
"So, you haven't heard?" mom asked.
"No. I talked to Gray last night, but he hadn't heard anything yet."
"She talks to Gway evewy night—even when she has a sowe thwoat."
"Mister Gray," I said.
"Mistew Gway."
"Is he coming tonight?" Mom asked.
I shook my head. "I told him not to worry about it since I've been sick all week. I wasn't even sure if I would come, honestly. I felt so bad the last few days that I wasn't sure if we would still perform tonight."
"Are you?" mom asked.
I nodded. "I woke up feeling a lot better this morning. I told Uncle Jacob we'd play a short set and see how my voice held up."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what is this?" Shelby asked.
"That's the slide I was telling you about!" Mom said in a silly voice, grinning with wide eyes at Shelby. "And you should see all the games with prizes! I think you can even win a goldfish!"
I stared at the awe-inspiring tube slide. It was a huge, round, plastic tube that must have been fifty feet long and three stories high. The only reason we had missed it was because the tree line was blocking it from the street and the parking lot. The gigantic tunnel was secured to a huge wooden structure with a staircase that stretched along the side of it. The whole thing was hand-built and sturdy enough to support the weight of all the people who were standing in line on the stairs.
"That is the biggest slide in the whole wide wowld!" Shelby said.
"Yes it is!" Mom said. "Shug and Doozy went down it twice already, and it's the biggest ever!"
Shelby giggled like that was the funniest thing she had ever heard, and I glanced at my mom who nodded seriously, telling me with her fingers in the air that she and my father had done the slide twice already.
The three of us headed straight to the slide. I walked up there with Shelby, but she was too scared to go down it, even on my lap, so we just walked back down the stairs together.
"Too high?" Mom asked with her palms in the air asking what's wrong.
I smiled. "Too high," I said. "It's super high. Once you're up there, it's even higher than it looks from over here. Plus, it's colder up there with the wind blowing and everything. It's intimidating for a three-year-old."
"I'm sorry," Mom said, reaching out to hold Shelby.
I looked around, realizing there was lots of other stuff to do besides riding the slide. "I have a few minutes before I have to go on stage," I said. "We could play games or eat some food if you want."
"I willy, willy, willy want to win a goldfish," Shelby said hopefully.
"Why don't you let me take her to do that?" Mom said. "Your dad's right over there. We'll take her to get some food and play a few games, and then we'll come watch you sing. I already put our blankets and lawn chairs in front of the stage. I would tell you to drag your brother up there with you again, but I don't think he's going to make it tonight."
"I figured they be tired after the honeymoon," I said.
Mom smiled at me like I should go have fun.
I reached out to tuck Shelby's hair behind her ear. "Be good for Shug," I said. "I'm gonna go find my band, and I'll see you in just a minute. I'll wave at you from the stage."
Shelby nodded and took off with my mom.
I went straight to the stage so I could see to it that everything was in order. I found the other members of the band and made sure everybody was accounted for. They teased me for being a cat, and I teased them for not dressing up.
I had planned on revising the set list to narrow it down to six songs instead of ten. I had performed at this event before, and it was always really low-key, so I knew it wouldn't be a problem. By the time we were ready to go on, I had changed my mind, though. The crowd was bigger than it had been in years past, and they seemed excited and rushed to the stage area when Uncle Jacob announced that our band would be coming up.
Adrenaline took over the instant I set foot on the stage, and suddenly, I felt absolutely no remnants of my sickness—in fact, I felt great. We played good old-fashioned boogie-woogie songs so everyone could dance on the lawn, and I broke a sweat even though it was a cool evening.
We ended with a song called Be My Baby, which was one of my top three favorite songs of all time. The crowd was extremely generous with their applause, and I finished the song, bowed, and walked off of the stage with a huge smile on my face.
"That was so good, my baby girl!" my mom called when I made my way off of the stage.
"Where's Shelby?" I asked, looking around. I knew she had been there for my whole set because I could see her from the stage.
"Your daddy and Uncle Max took her over to try to win a goldfish. They couldn’t get it earlier. I told them to just stop and buy her one at the store because it's almost impossible to get that little ping-pong ball to stay in the cup. I think they probably spent twenty bucks already on something they can get for thirty-five cents at the pet store."
"She doesn't need a goldfish anyway. I don't know where we'd put that."
"Uncle Max and Aunt Betty told Shelby they have a nice fishbowl at home and would give it to her if she won a fish."
I laughed, shaking my head as we walked toward the games. "It's no wonder she wanted to go play again."
"Hey Jane, you sounded good up there, baby!"
I turned to find Mrs. Miller, one of our family friends. She was really old and sweet and I stopped so that I could hug her and thank her for the compliment. A few other people came up when I was talking to her, and they all had nice things to say about how much they enjoyed the music. I was really thankful for the support.
Mom and I headed toward the goldfish game once we were done talking with that group.
"I think you should really do the slide," she said. "You might as well go ahead and do it while your dad's looking after Shelby."
I was about to tell her I didn't want to wait in the line, but I glanced at the slide and realized the line was much shorter than it had been before. There were only about ten people on the steps, and I smiled at mom.
"I guess I might as well, huh?"
She smiled and nodded. "It really is fun," she said.
I turned to head in that direction, and Mom hollered at me, saying I should just meet her at the goldfish game when I was done.
I recognized some of the people who were in line, and I talked to them while I was waiting my turn. Earlier, when I was at the top of it, I had been trying to talk Shelby into sliding, so I neglected to take in for myself how very intimidating it was.
Henry Vinson was stationed at the top of the slide, making sure everyone took turns and left a long enough gap in between each person so that there wasn't a pile-up at the bottom. I stared at Henry with a look of panic as I sat at the top of the tunnel, waiting for him to tell me it was my turn.
He was in communication with someone at the bottom of the slide, and he smiled at me once they gave him the thumbs up. His smile faded once he saw my look of panic.
"I cannot see the bottom of this thing," I said.
He laughed. "If I had a nickel for every time I've heard that tonight. It's not that bad. My grandkids have been up and down this thing all night."
I smiled. "Who built it?"
"Mr. Woods had it built. It's just a pipe he had at his factory. It's really not as bad as it looks."
"Is it safe? I said, staring down into the dark abyss below me.
He chuckled. "No casualties so far."
"Let's go, Jane Bishop!" someone yelled from the line, teasing me.
"I'm working up the nerve, here!" I said, pretending to scowl at them from over my shoulder and making everyone laugh.
I looked into the dark tunnel and counted to three in my head before scooting off of the edge. It was smooth and fast, and it took my breath away at first, but I knew, even as I was riding it, that right when I got to the bottom, I would climb the steps and do it again. I couldn't help but giggle as I slid to a stop, landing on a big pile of straw. I was still smiling as I stood up and dusted off my pants.
There were several people standing nearby, and I glanced at them, intending to comment on how fun the slide was. "That was so fu—"
I was incapable of finishing my sentence because the person staring back at me was none other than Gray Kennedy."
I couldn’t believe my eyes.
"Are you here?" I asked, since I actually feared I might be seeing things.
He had on a beanie, which was why I didn't recognize him right away. He looked great in it. His smile was breathtaking. He was wearing jeans and a black shirt layered with a jacket, and he leaned against the rail, grinning at me before standing up straight while holding his palms in the air.
"I think I'm here," he said, smirking at me. "I seem pretty here to me."
"What are you doing here?" I asked. I high-stepped out of the hay and exited the gate, feeling absolutely desperate to make it to the other side of the fence where Gray was standing.
"What in the world are you doing here?" I repeated shaking my head in amazement as I approached him.
"I drove here," he said. "To listen to my girl. I didn't know you were dressing up, though. You look so cute as a cat."
I walked straight into his arms, feeling all the relief in the world as a result of his touch. "Did you get to hear any of the set?" I asked. "How long have you been here?"
"I caught about half of it, I think. I can't believe you sounded so good after being sick last week."
"I feel so much better now," I said. "And even better now that you're here. I can't believe it. I'm so glad you made it. I thought you had a meeting today with the network."
"I did, but we wrapped it up early, and I got in the truck and came down here."
"I'm so glad you did," I said, gazing into his dark eyes. "How'd it go at the meeting? What'd they say about the show? Is it good news?"
Gray shrugged. "I guess that depends on what news you were hoping for."