Chapter 122 - Just A Singer

"I'm here to support my wife and her film."  Jon tells a reporter that stops them outside of the Mead Theater, the venue that Julia and Monica secured to debut her rockumentary.  

"Have you seen the final cut?" the young reporter asks, with a cumbersome microphone in her hand.  The station identifier was for WPLJ.  "How do you think your fans will like it?"

Jon can't help but smile.  He's a little nervous knowing that no one has seen he finished product, but he has complete confidence in his wife.  "No, no - no one has seen the final version."

"Are you concerned?"

"Not at all."  Jon stands there, distracted by the fans that are lined down the sidewalk.  Monica is at his side, his arm around her.  As they came around the corner both are very surprised at the sight they see.  Several fans have lined up, waiting to queue.  

"Monica, are you nervous?" asks the young female reporter, "What do you think the fans will think?"

Monica stands next to her husband, her Versace dress elegant but not to flashy.  She feels that she compliments Jon and he compliments her.  Her hand is firmly on his waist, "I'm a little nervous, but I think everyone will like it.  It's the band, being a band.  It's a group of men, being men."

"Is there stuff that will shock us, surprise us?"

Monica chuckles, "There are a few surprises, but if you know these guys, it will just be fun."

"How come no one has seen the final cut?"

Jon interjects and simply says, "She didn't want anyone to see it and we respected that."

"You're not concerned that she edited it in just a few days, but there are several months of footage?"

"Why would that be concerning?  She knows what she's doing."  He gives Monica a gentle push, letting her know to start walking.  He knows that Monica, being the polite woman that she is would stand there and talk to the reporter until the very last minute.  

"We trust her explicitly."  Jon adds.  "We'll see you inside."

Monica takes a few steps and says to the young woman, "Thank you."  Jon and Monica make their way into the theater.  

As they enter the main part of the theater, they are greeted by the rest of the band and their families.  Jon can see a few guys from the road crew, all appropriately dressed.  David brings them a glass of champagne.   They accept them and Jon whispers to Monica, "Damn, you went all out for this."  

"I didn't do this."  she tells him, looking around totally impressed at what Julia and the theater staff have pulled off in such a short time.  "I had no idea that they were doing this."

Being bumped from behind, they hear, "A toast.  We need a toast."  Richie has obviously had more than one glass of champagne.  He raises his glass, and everyone in ear shot follows his lead, "To my baby girl Monica and all of her hard work.  Baby girl, we all are so proud of you and we thank you for putting up with our asses to get this footage."  he winks at her, "We know we can be assholes and hard to live with, but you have proven it possible."  He takes a deep breath, swallows hard and continues, "So, I believe if you can put up with me, with us, through all of this - than any woman can put up with me.  Babe, I love you and I look forward to seeing this amazing film that you've put together."  Glasses clanked and sips of champagne were taken.  Everyone but Monica participated in the toast.  She quickly wondered if anyone would notice that she didn't take a drink.    

"TO MONICA!"  everyone cheered.

The group scattered as the witching hour was close.  They could see that the public was being let in and security is obviously an issue.  "Jon, Jon!"  the could hear.  "Richie....OMG, it's Richie."  The madness was beginning and they knew that they needed to hide.

Fame wasn't brand new to them, having experienced a little of it already.  But a night like tonight was proving to be a little unexpected.  A few members of the road crew that they now employee have worked for the Scorpions and for Kiss on a security level.  To Jon's surprise, they seen the need for security and jumped into action.  

"This way..."  Josh says, grabbing Monica and Jon by the shoulders, "Let's get you backstage."  Without hesitation, Jon and Monica follow his lead and watch as Richie, Alec and David are ushered backstage too.

Securely backstage, the guys thank the hired hands for having jumped into action and helping them avoid a disaster.  The guys that aided them we happy to have been of help and accepted the accolades.  "Thanks, you guys were a big help."  Alec admits, downing the glass that remained in his hand.  "Who would have thought?"he jokes.

"Right, was that fucking crazy or what?"  Richie boasts, obviously buzzed.  "That shit was nuts."

"It wasn't too bad."  Jon states, "I imagine it will only get worse."

"Much worse."  Monica laughs.  "Wait till you see some of the footage I captured, you have no idea."

"Meaning?"  Jon leans over and kisses her on the head.  "Did you capture crazy?"

"I captured a lot more than crazy.  Just wait."  she can't help but smile.  They have no idea what goes on in and around a venue when they are preparing, playing and being ushered away.  "You have quite the following and I'm not saying that that is always a good thing."  her laughter gets harder.

"What?"  Richie whines, "Tell us."

Monica shakes her head just as they are told, "It's show time."  She looks over and sees Julia holding a flashlight in her hand.  "Follow me an I'll get you to your seats.  We had to pull in a couple NYPD officers off the street, so hurry."

They all look at one another and do as they are told.  Monica can hear David behind her, "They needed cops?  What the hell did they need cops for?"

The hustle and bustle behind the stage is even more chaotic than at a Bon Jovi show.  At a Bon Jovi show, the chaos is controlled.  Here they have no control.  They didn't event think that they would need control.  The reaction to the release of this is nothing that they could have even expected.  They are just 5 guys from New Jersey that play in a rock and roll band.

They break the subconscious security of a side stage curtain and are face to face with the massive crowd that over fills the theater.  They can see the three NYPD officers holding back the fans that are trying to get to the front row, the seats that are saved for the band and Monica.  The families are seated in their seats, waiting for the show to begin.

The screams from the stands are deafening.  David and Alec feed the madness by giving shy little waves.  The band takes their seats and Monica heads onto the stage, where she plans to introduce herself and her film.