Judy’s self-control slipped to a dangerously low level as she watched Michael perform the last set of the show. He’d written a new song, a ballad about a girl with laughing brown eyes and long, dark hair the color of midnight. It was a song for Nita. Judy knew that Michael was falling for Nita, and he had no idea that she was only out for a good time while her boyfriend was gone.
Michael looked very serious as he strummed his guitar. His eyes were shining, and his voice was rich with emotion. He was singing about the girl of his dreams. But Nita wasn’t the girl of his dreams . . . unless Michael was having a nightmare!
Despite Judy and Berto’s precautions, Nita and Michael had managed some time alone together. Those times had happened right here at Covers, where they both felt they were safe. Berto had told Judy he’d discovered them kissing, in back of a flat during rehearsal. And Judy had seen them hugging in the parking lot, and in the hall. Even Carla had seen them exchanging long, intensely passionate glances outside the office, and Andy had caught them embracing outside the kitchen door. Everyone at Covers had noticed that Nita was Michael’s new girlfriend. Michael was very open about it, and so was Nita. They weren’t bothering to keep their relationship a secret.
Judy and Berto had talked it over, and he’d decided to confront his sister tonight. He planned to give her a little lecture about how wrong it was to get involved with two men at the same time. He would say it wasn’t fair to Ramon. Nita should either call things off with Ramon and go out with Michael, or break up with Michael to save her relationship with Ramon. Either way, Nita would have to make a choice. Berto and Judy agreed on one thing—they both hoped that Nita would choose Ramon. For different reasons, of course.
Judy thought about their date at the zoo. She might have had a good time if she’d gone only with Berto, but watching Nita and Michael walking around all afternoon holding hands had been a real bummer.
When they’d arrived at the zoo, they’d parked under a shade tree at the very back of the parking lot, and walked toward the entrance. On the way, they’d encountered the usual crowd of vendors in front of the entrance, selling trinkets. The vendors all said their proceeds went to charity, but Judy had been very skeptical, since she’d never heard of the charities they claimed to represent. When Judy had been approached by a woman in a white nurse’s uniform, asking for donations to something called Human Relief, Judy had demanded to know exactly how her donation would be spent. The nurse, who Judy was sure wasn’t really a nurse, had hemmed and hawed, then she’d rattled off a glib answer about Judy’s global sisters and brothers in need. Judy had stared straight into the woman’s eyes, all ready to reply that she was an only child and she didn’t have any brothers and sisters, global or otherwise. But Michael had come up beside her to drop a dollar into the nurse’s bucket. Since she hadn’t wanted Michael to think that she was uncharitable, Judy had dropped in her dollar, too.
When they’d walked through the turnstiles, Michael had turned to Nita and asked her what she’d wanted to see first. Nita had told him that she simply adored birds. Judy hadn’t been interested in birds at all, but she’d marched right along at Berto’s side to spend a boring half-hour in the aviary. After that was over, Judy had suggested the reptile house, but Nita had shuddered and admitted that she couldn’t stand snakes. They’d gone off to see the gorillas instead, and Judy had spent another half-hour on an uncomfortable bench, watching a grandfather gorilla pound his chest while two females groomed each other.
The big cats had been next, but the day had been too warm for any lively exhibitions. The leopards had been dozing in the sun, the jaguars had plodded around listlessly, and the lions had been napping inside their cave.
The whole afternoon had been a waste. Flamingo Island had smelled horrible, the koala hut had been so crowded they’d had to wait in line for twenty minutes, the polar bears had been too sleepy to swim, and the elephants had stood so motionless, they’d looked as if they were stuffed and mounted. To make matters worse, Nita and Michael had actually seemed to be enjoying themselves. They’d walked along, holding hands and carrying on a lively conversation, while Berto and Judy had plodded along behind them, looking glum.
After Covers had closed on Wednesday evening, Michael had suggested they all go out for a bite to eat. They’d ended up at a little Mexican place where everyone had spoken Spanish. Nita and Berto had cracked jokes with the waiter, and Michael had joined right in. He’d taken three years of Spanish in high school, and he’d done a great job of holding his own. Unfortunately, Judy had taken French, and she’d been totally left out of the conversation. She’d also been totally left out of the food. The menu had been written in Spanish and she’d ordered a tripe burrito by mistake.
On Thursday afternoon, they’d all gone to a preview house, a place Judy had never been before. Nita had received four tickets in the mail, and she’d explained that it was just like a movie, only better. They’d spent two hours watching pilot episodes of television situation comedies, or sit-coms as they were called in XL.A. The theater seats had been equipped with recording devices, and the announcer had asked the audience to press various buttons to register what they liked or didn’t like about the shows. The red button had indicated extreme dislike, and Judy had pressed it down for a solid two hours. Perhaps the pilots hadn’t been that awful, but watching Michael and Nita laugh at the jokes and nudge one another had put her in a terrible mood.
And now it was Friday, the fifth date in a row for Nita and Michael. They were slated to go to another midnight movie, and Judy had read the reviews. The reviewer had said it was a touching, sensitive story of a love that survived despite terrible odds. It was the type of movie she might have wanted to see with Michael. There would be plenty of opportunities to hold hands and hug. But Michael would be with Nita.
At least Berto had promised to confront Nita tonight, and Judy hoped he could shame her into dropping her relationship with Michael. Berto had told her he hoped his sister would listen to reason, but that didn’t guarantee success. Judy was so busy worrying about Berto’s upcoming talk with Nita, she totally missed her light cue at the end of Michael’s love song. The moment she realized it, she quickly dimmed the lights, but the old light box wasn’t built to handle any sudden changes. There was a loud snap, the stage went completely dark, and Judy groaned. She’d blown a fuse!
Luckily, Judy was prepared. She grabbed the flashlight she always kept in her pocket and replaced the fuse. Then she brought the lights slowly up again. But when she glanced out on stage, she realized that Michael was nowhere to be seen.
“Damn!” Judy swore softly under her breath. She whirled around and gasped as she bumped straight into Michael. Thank goodness he didn’t look mad, but she had no idea why he was grinning.
“Sorry, Michael.” Judy started to apologize. “It’s my fault. I guess I was thinking about something else, and . . .”
“It doesn’t matter.” Michael interrupted her. “I wanted to get off stage in a hurry anyway. Have you seen Nita?”
“No. I suppose she’s out on the floor, waiting on . . .”
“I’m right here.” Nita stepped out from behind the screen. “Are you ready, Michael?”
Michael nodded, and turned to Judy. “Okay, Jude. Wait for us to get out on stage, and then bring the lights up full.”
“But . . . but, why?” Judy was confused. The show was over, except for Michael’s encore.
“Nita’s helping me with the encore tonight. Just light it the way you usually do. I’ll take care of the rest.”
Judy nodded. What else could she do? And then she watched with a sinking heart as Michael picked up another stool and carried it out on the stage for Nita.
Carla stepped behind the screen to join Judy, just as Michael got Nita settled on her stool. He sat down next to her, gave her a little hug, and grinned as the audience applauded. Judy knew why they were applauding. Nita had laughing brown eyes and hair the color of midnight. They knew that Nita was the girl he’d described in his ballad.
“What’s going on?” Carla turned to Judy with a question in her eyes.
“I don’t know. Michael just said that Nita was helping him with the encore tonight.”
“But she’s a waitress! She doesn’t sing, does she?”
“Search me.” Judy shrugged. “I really don’t know her that well.”
Michael began to strum his guitar. He was staring straight into Nita’s eyes, and Nita was smiling.
“She’s grinning like the cat that ate the canary,” Carla sighed with disgust. “She probably thinks she won the contest.”
Judy nodded. “Maybe she did. She certainly looks smug.”
Then Michael started to sing to Nita. It was a new song he’d written about a man who’d found his one true love. Judy listened to the lyrics for a moment, and then she turned to Carla. “I wish I hadn’t blown that fuse at the end of Michael’s set.”
“Why?”
“Because it would look deliberate if I blew another fuse right now. And I’d love to!”
Carla laughed. “I think you should do it anyway. You can always say the light board has a short.”
“Should I?” Judy touched the switch with the tips of her fingers. “Really?”
“Go ahead, Judy. Live dangerously. Do it!”
“Michael’s going to kill me.” Judy winced a little. “He’ll never believe it wasn’t deliberate.”
Carla picked up the· special carbon dioxide fire extinguisher that hung next to the light board. “Sure, he will . . . especially if I say there were flames shooting out of the box, and I sprayed it down with this thing.”
Judy stared at Carla for a moment, and then she nodded. “Okay. But if you ever tell anybody . . .”
“I won’t. I promise.” Carla glanced out at the stage again, and clutched her stomach. “Hurry up, Judy. All this sappy love and devotion is making me sick.”
Judy’s fingers tightened on the switch. She hoped Carla was right. Michael would never forgive her if he suspected she’d blown a fuse on purpose. “Get ready with that fire extinguisher, Carla. Here she blows!”
With one shove, Judy pushed up the lever to its maximum position. There was a loud pop, and everything went black. Almost immediately, flames shot out from the light box. Carla gasped, and began to douse them with the spray from the fire extinguisher, but the flames kept right on coming.
“Oh, my God!” Judy grabbed the second fire extinguisher and pressed the release. The flames were still leaping from the center of the light board. They battled the blaze for a moment, and then Judy shouted at Carla.
“I’ll take over here. You go out and trip the circuit breaker by the side of the building!”
“I’ll do it, Jude! Just keep spraying that foam!”
Michael raced from the stage, and ran toward the emergency exit at the rear of the building. A moment later, the lights in the showroom clicked off, leaving them in absolute darkness. Several people in the audience screamed, and Judy heard Mr. Calloway’s voice, telling everyone to stay calm. The powerful flashlight that Mr. Calloway always carried winked on, and he began to lead the audience toward the exit.
The flames were almost out now, and Judy turned to Carla. “I can’t believe it, Carla. There really was a short!”
“And how!” Carla’s voice was shaking. “It’s a good thing it happened now, when we were prepared. I’d hate to think what would have happened if we hadn’t been ready with those fire extinguishers.”
The last flame fizzled out, and Judy gave a big sigh of relief. “We’ve got it, Carla. Everything’s under control. We’d better go out and tell Mr. Calloway.”
“Right. And first thing tomorrow morning, I’d better call an electrician. I think that old light board has had it.”
Judy switched on her flashlight, and the two girls linked arms as they walked through the deserted showroom. They were almost at the door when Carla turned to Judy.
“I don’t think that Nita will ever get up on stage with Michael again. I saw her running for the exit, and she looked completely freaked.”
“Good.” Judy began to smile. “I don’t think Michael will ever sing that song again, either.”
“Why not?”
Judy’s smile widened until it stretched out happily across her face. “It’s the title, Carla. It was just too appropriate.”
“What is it?”
Carla looked curious, and Judy laughed out loud. “It’s called “The Flames Of Love.”