Brian chugged half a bottle of water and returned to the stage. The rest of the band got a ten-minute break in the middle of the show. He was not so lucky. Or perhaps he was the lucky one who got the entire stage and thirty thousand fans all to himself. He approached the microphone on the ego riser at the center of the stage.
"It appears I've been deserted again," he said. He glanced at the side of the stage. The audience that mattered to him had disappeared, too. No Myrna. No Dad. At least his mom was there. She waved at him from the crew of men surrounding her. Nothing new there.
Myrna's absence unsettled him the most. Had he been too hard on her? He should have talked to her before the show. Let her know he wasn't too upset about her calling his father a has-been.
"I was going to play the first riff I ever learned for you tonight, but—"
"He never could play it right," his dad's voice interrupted from backstage.
The unmistakable riff of Winged Faith's hit song "Mystic" blared through the speakers as Malcolm O'Neil headed across the stage in Brian's direction. Dad was playing on Sinners' stage. Too stunned to find his guitar, much less play it, Brian stared at him in disbelief.
"Close your mouth, son. You'll swallow a fly."
Brian snapped his jaws together, a smile spreading across his face until his cheeks hurt.
"Ladies and gentlemen, our surprise special guest, Malcolm O'Neil of Winged Faith," Sed's voice announced from behind the scenes.
The crowd cheered and Malcolm grinned. "Well, are we going to play them a song, or are we going to stand up here looking stupid all night?"
Brian's answer was to play the intro to "Mystic" with a few dozen extra notes per measure.
"I told you he never played it right," Malcolm said into the mic, but he grinned instead of scowling.
"Just spicing it up a little, old man."
Malcolm laughed.
They played the intro together, Malcolm in the traditional style and Brian with his additions. The crowd ate up every moment. When Eric and Jace joined them after the intro, Brian spun around, startled. Sed sang the opening verse so perfectly, Brian doubted even his father could tell the difference from the original. And then Brian spotted Trey and Myrna standing backstage by the amplifiers. Both of them looked entirely too pleased with themselves, laughing and hugging each other excitedly. So Myrna hadn't deserted him and he suspected she had something to do with his father's change of heart. He turned back to the crowd, playing beside his father, his heart full to bursting. He wondered if Myrna knew how much this meant to him. Probably, but he'd tell her anyway.
The song ended much too soon. His dad handed his borrowed guitar over to Trey. Before he left the stage, Dad grabbed Brian by both ears and touched his forehead to his. "I'm proud of you, son. I don't think I've ever told you that."
"I'm proud to be your son, Dad."
Dad grinned and released him. "That woman of yours is relentless."
Brian grinned. "Pretty terrific, isn't she?"
"Don't let her get away."
"Not a chance."
Malcolm took a bow and trotted off the stage. Brian saw his mother launch herself into his dad's arms and kiss him passionately, her entourage of attentive males entirely forgotten.
Brian decided they'd skip those dinner plans he'd made earlier. Mom and Dad looked like they needed some alone time, and God knew he wanted to express his gratitude to Myrna.