maybe ten feet from where he stood, half hidden by the curtain. He couldn’t see her clearly but there was something that drew him to her. He took a couple of steps and stopped as the soft stage light revealed the most beautiful girl he had ever seen looking straight at him. Her beauty shocked him, the way a miracle would. He finally smiled, and she smiled back. Her smile was so dazzling that he almost made a mistake. Eddie started his organ lead and Ruben switched to open chords. He had the last part of the lead and put everything he had into it.
After the lead, Mark picked it up. “I-I-I-I-I need your love. I need your love. God speed your love to-o-o-o me-e-e-e-e.” Ruben looked at her and saw her smile and mouth the word “WOW.” Ruben smiled and mouthed “thank you.”
After the song ended, someone yelled “Fun, Fun, Fun.” Mark said into the mike, “’Fun, Fun, Fun’ by the Beach Boys. This is Ruben’s song. Come on, man. It’s your turn.”
Ruben loved doing this song. He stepped up to the lead mike and Steve tapped it off. The crowd was having a great time. Every time the band sang “fun, fun, fun,” the crowd screamed it also. During the guitar lead, Ruben looked over in the corner and she was gone - his heart sank. But then he thought, Take it easy, man. She’s around. She’s probably dancing and realized he felt a twinge of jealousy.
At their next break, Ruben went looking and saw her talking to a boy, her back to Ruben. He thought, I’ve got to talk to her. He stood back a couple of seconds, trying to get up the nerve to say something. He finally thought, do it, you idiot.
He walked up behind her. In the dim light, her hair looked jet-black. It hung down to the middle of her back and was thick and curly. Ruben tapped her on the shoulder and she turned.
“Oh, hello,” she said with that dazzling smile. “My name’s Esther Rosenberg.” She extended her hand and, as he took it, something shot through him. He felt himself shaking inside and tried to calm down.
“Hi,” he said, trying his best not to look or sound stupid. “My name’s Ruben Barlow. I saw you and wanted to say hello.”
“I’m glad you did.” Her eyes looked as black as her hair. She turned to the guy she was talking to. “This is my brother, Ben. Ben, Ruben.” Ruben extended his hand but Ben shot a threatening glance that said, “You touch my sister, you’re a dead man.” Ruben didn’t care. He was just glad to know Ben wasn’t competition. Esther caught the exchange and took charge. “You, sir, are an excellent musician.’
Ben spoke with a hostile edge to his voice, “My sister has played the piano for years. She’s great.” His tone was saying that his sister was a real musician.
Esther touched Ben’s check with a perfect hand. “Thank you, dear brother, but I think we’re in the presence of true talent here. Is your family musical, Ruben?”
“My mother was singing opera with a touring company when she met Dad. She’s forever trying to get me to learn notes and play classical music.”
Esther mouth fell open. She reached out and touched his arm. “You mean you can play like that and you don’t read notes? How can you do that?”
“I never thought about it. It just happens.”
Just then, Bull opened the stage door. “Time, Ruben.”
“OK, Bull. Thanks.” The door was still open when Ruben looked back at Esther and could fully see her beauty in the new light. He took in a sharp breath.
“Are you all right, Ruben?” asked Esther.
Ruben had to tell her or he would never forgive himself. “Please, please, please don’t think I’m too forward, and don’t think this is a line. I’m saying this in front of your brother and I swear this is the truth. I’ve felt all day that something great was on the way and you’re it.” He closed his eyes and wanted to kick himself for calling her an “it.” He opened his eyes again - she was still there, smiling at him. He took a deep breath and continued. “I’m seventeen years old. I live with my mother in Hanford. I’m Jewish. My father died five years ago and I’ve never had a girlfriend. But I think you are the most beautiful girl I have ever met in my life. And I would very much like to see you again.” Now all he could do was wait.
Bull still had the door open and was listening. Ruben never did stuff like this and this chick was beautiful. “I’ll tell the guys it will be a minute,” and closed the door.
Esther looked at her bother who was staring at Ruben with open hostility. He began to move toward Ruben but Esther stopped him and said, “Ruben, thank you for saying those wonderful things. I am also seventeen and Jewish and I would be very happy to see you again. You go play, and I will be waiting for you at your next break.”
Ruben couldn’t believe it. He wasn’t smiling, he was grinning. “OK. OK.” He opened the door but turned around and came back. “I’ve got to go play, now. Promise you won’t go anywhere.”
She laughed, “I promise I’ll be here.”
“OK. OK.” He knew he was acting stupid but didn’t care. Ruben was absolutely smitten. When they started playing again, she was in the same place. They played, ‘Johnny Be Good,’ ‘Little Old Lady from Pasadena,’ ‘Come a Little Bit Closer,’ ‘Glad All Over,’ ‘Twist and Shout,’ ‘All Day and All of the Night,’ and ‘You’ve Lost that Loving Feeling,’ with only seconds between songs. Ruben saw several guys asked her to dance but she turned them down.
When it was time for the next break he found out where she lived. She said she would not stay for the entire dance because her parents wanted them home at ‘a decent hour.’ She asked if he could see her the next day. The band always took Sundays off unless there was some kind of gig or emergency. There were none so they agreed he would come to her house at three in the afternoon.
After the dance, their manager, Del Santos, walked up and said, “Great job tonight. Everybody loved you.” He distributed one hundred and fifty dollars each and said, “Next weekend, you’re booked at the Rose Garden in Pismo Beach Friday and Saturday so you’ll have to leave right after school. We’re doing two nights for three grand total. Some guy from the Rose Garden was here tonight to check you out. You impressed him. I’ll reserve some motel rooms for you and call Corky with the details. See you later, boys.”
Ruben drove home thinking about Esther. When he got home and opened the door, he waited for his mother to get up as she always did. He sat his guitars down and watched her appear at her bedroom door, her robe pulled tight around her ample form.
“Everything alright, son?
“Everything’s great, Mom. Can I talk to you for a second?”
Holding her robe together with one hand, she walked toward him. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, Mom, nothing in the world.” He couldn’t hold back any longer. “I met this girl tonight, Mom. I think I’m in love.”
His mother reacted as expected. “Well…ah….eh….what’s her name?”
“Esther Rosenberg. She Jewish and lives in Fresno. She’s a classical musician and I’m going to see her tomorrow at three. I’m going to meet her parents, I guess. I already met her brother. I don’t think he trusts me yet, but with a sister like that, who can blame him?”
When he finally went to bed, he fantasized long into the night.
