thought about that. “Yeah. I guess you’re right. I’m sorry, Georgia. That has to be tough.”
“Yeah, well, mom and I do alright.” Georgia took another drag and French-inhaled the smoke very slowly. She leaned over and flicked the ashes in the ash tray.
“Why did he want you to stay a virgin until you were married? And don’t tell me this is the first time the issue has come up. With all the girls you must meet? You’ve probably had a thousand chances like this.”
“Actually, this is the first time it’s gone this far. I was never this tempted before. But I think he wanted me to understand how special making love can be between two people who are totally committed to each other. And I mean no offense to you. Believe me, if I hadn’t made that promise, I’d be on you like love on a puppy.”
Again the French inhale. She stared at Ruben like he was under a microscope. “What did your father tell you about girls?”
“He said that there was good news and bad news about women.”
She smiled. “What’s the good news?”
“The good news is there are only two things you need to know about women.”
She let out a short laugh. “And what are those?”
“Well, that’s the bad news. Nobody knows what they are.”
Georgia thought that was the funniest thing she had every heard. She threw her head back and laughed and Ruben laughed with her. They laughed hysterically and when they calmed down, they started again. They talked until three in the morning, laughing and telling each other secrets.
When he finally got ready to leave and was standing by the door, she said, “I want to give you something.” She pulled him down and kissed him long and hard. Then she attached her lips to his neck and sucked until it hurt. “A Georgia trademark,” she called it.
The last thing she said to him was, “I would be your girlfriend in a hot second, but I don’t know if I could live without sex. Let’s talk from time to time, I really enjoyed this.”
Chapter 2
By the time he was ready to leave his house for the dance, it was two in the afternoon. He had to go over to the lead singer’s house and work out a couple of new songs the band wanted to learn. The band would meet early at The Mag and rehearse them.
He called the lead singer, Mark, and told him he would be there in twenty minutes. Then he called Mike, his brother, who attended UCLA on a football scholarship, to see if he was in his dorm. Mike was there. He told him about Georgia and his brother whistled over the phone. “Close call, little brother.”
After hanging up, he checked his wallet and saw, after getting his share from last night’s gig, he had about two hundred dollars. He took out one hundred and fifty and went back in his room to retrieve the money can off his shelf. After last night’s take, he had about eight hundred cash and thought he better give this to his mother so she could put it in the bank for him.
“Got to go, mom.” He handed her the wad of bills, mostly hundreds. “Would you deposit this next time you go to the bank?”
“OK,” she replied. “What about dinner, son?”
“I’ll get something on the way. Mike said to give you his love. I just talked to him.”
“Well. That’s nice.” She was always gratified to hear that her sons talked to each other. “Do you want something to take with you? I could make you a sandwich.” She always went through the whole gamut of food she could make him.
“Really, mom, the breakfast was great and I’m still stuffed.” He leaned down and kissed her cheek. “See you when I get back. Love you.”
She patted his cheek and smiled. “Love you, too, son.”
After leaving Mark’s house, he arrived at The Mag a little before seven. Ruben left the acoustic in the trunk and brought in his Gretch, gym bag, and show clothes. Corky was already setting up equipment and had his little brother, Bull, with him. Bull was a big, strong kid who liked playing roady with his brother. He thought it was a good way to meet girls, and it was.
The stage was a huge wooden affair with a front that curved outward onto the dance floor, giving the Mustangs plenty of room to move around. Corky and Bull had set up the PA system and all the amplifiers. Steve, the drummer, had already arrived and was adjusting his drums. As the other members arrived, each began tuning up and running through scales and riffs.
When everyone was satisfied they were in tune with each other and the sound check was finished, Mark said, “Rube and I worked out those two songs and wrote down the chords.” Mark handed sheets of paper to Vince, the bass player, and Eddie, the organ player. That’s all they needed.
“Let’s try Unchained Melody.” The band had decided to learn it because people were always asking for it. It was the same situation with ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs.
Everyone knew exactly what to do. The drummer tapped his sticks together three times and they played the intro. When Mark started singing, he nailed the notes and the runs. He almost sounded better than the original.
After they finished, they played it three more times and were satisfied. They did the same thing with the other song. Ruben expressed his concern about people being able to dance to it and Eddie said they’d play it later on after people in the crowd drank the booze they snuck in. The Mag didn’t sell liquor, but security turned a blind eye to people who brought it in, which most people did.
The doors were going to open in about thirty minutes so they stopped to change, feeling they were ready. By the time the doors opened, almost four hundred people were waiting outside and more were walking up. Usually, they got one thousand to fifteen hundred people at these dances at four dollars a person, then sold soft drinks and snacks at jacked-up prices. The promoters hired local biker gangs for security. In Fresno in 1966, The Mag was the place to be on Saturday night.
Anyone who has ever played in a band knows that the first song will tell you how good you will sound that night. The first song the Mustangs played was ‘Gimme Some Lovin,’ and they knew tonight was something special. Corky usually walked around the dance floor on the first song and listened for any adjustments in volume that needed to be made. At the end of the first song the band saw him mouth the word “perfect.”
After ‘A Hard Day’s Night,’ ‘Good Loving,’ and ‘Help Me Rhonda,’ the crowd was screaming, clapping, and whistling between songs. Some pushing broke out but security quickly stopped it. They played ‘Have Mercy’ and took a break per their contract. When they returned, they played ‘Kicks,’ ‘Hit the Road Jack,’ ‘Honky Tonk Woman,’ and ‘Mustang Sally.’ Then someone yelled out ‘Unchained Melody’ and Mark took the microphone.
“Did I hear somebody say ‘Unchained Melody’?” There was an immediate roar. “We can play that, and this will be the first time we play it at a gig. ARE YOU READY?” The crowd responded and Steve tapped it off. By this time, girls lined the stage, resting their elbows on the railing and whispering in each other’s ear.
If you were facing the stage, Ruben was on the far right, his normal spot. Mark always took the middle, and Vince, the bass player, took
