it's an interstitial fault, so there could be small earthquakes in this area, or at least aftershocks from one,” Maryann said.
The other three stopped at stared at her.
“Skipper, I mean, Jason told me.”
“You jinxed us, Maryann,” Leah said. “That's just great. It starts with an earthquake...”
“Oh, come on,” Nora said, and resumed walking toward the stage. The rest followed.
The DJ had already gotten the audience ready for a party, so the band found an enthusiastic crowd waiting for them. Although it was hard to see anything outside the stage lights, the club appeared to be pretty full. Their first set went without any problems. After an hour or so, they stopped for a break and the DJ took back over for the duration.
The band went to the bar to get water as all of them had done at least one song.
“You guys are pretty cool,” said a good-looking young man wearing a trendy take on a tuxedo. He was wearing a white mask that contrasted with his dark complexion. “I like the costumes. Clearly you're a fan of classic music videos and Robert Palmer.”
“Thanks!” Maryann said brightly. “There are four of us. How could we resist?”
He laughed. “My name's Derek and I'd like to buy you a drink.”
“Which one of us?” Maryann asked.
He looked down the bar. “All four of you. Order anything you like.”
They all ordered water or unsweetened tea.
“So, did you make that offer because you were pretty sure we weren't going to order cocktails with another set coming up?” Nora asked.
“Why can't I be both generous and smart?” he asked, taking a sip of rum.
Maryann laughed.
“Not again,” Leah sighed.
“You know how she is,” Isabella replied in a low voice. “Although it looks like Nora's trying to break this party up.”
“It won't work. It never works.”
“So, Anna, is that your real name?” Derek asked.
“It's my stage name.”
“So what's your real name?”
“Nuh-huh. Not while in costume,” Maryann replied.
Nora rolled her eyes. “Every time,” she sighed, and moved away, leaving Maryann with Derek.
Leah was checking the weather forecast while she chugged her water. “That is a nasty storm system coming across the lake. I said she jinxed us.”
“You're being paranoid,” Nora said dismissively.
“And that's weird,” Isabella replied, suddenly sounding worried. “Leah is not paranoid. I'm paranoid. But she's not.”
Nora lowered her voice. “You really think something's wrong?”
“I don't know.” She glanced at Leah's screen. “But I think she's right; that's a nasty storm system and we need to get through this and get to our hotel. I think we're going to be snowed in.”
“Great. Snowed in, in Buffalo. Yeah, that's fun.”
“Hey, I only told Anna over there that this might be fun,” Leah said, looking at Maryann. “And she seems to be having fun.”
Maryann laughed at some joke Derek told.
“Every time,” Nora sighed.
“At least we got a drink out of it,” Isabella said. “I'm going to talk to the manager about the storm moving in. I don't know this area; maybe these sorts of things blow over or something.” She finished her unsweetened tea and started to push her way through the crowded club. It took her a few minutes to get to the manager's office. She saw him inside listening to a radio.
“Excuse me, Mr. Linkowski, but it looks like there's a storm coming. We're from out of town, so I was wondering if we should cancel the show and head out,” she said.
He was in his early forties wearing a black fashionable suit that was in a style too young for him. He was also wearing stylish, bold glasses. “If you want to forfeit part of your pay,” he replied.
“Seriously, it looks bad.”
“It'll be fine. Storms like this don't hit so close to the lake. Now, when it gets south and hits that colder air away from the lake, that area is going to get hammered. But we'll be fine. Finish the show. Heck, do an encore. It'll be fine and the crowd's having fun.”
“And when the crowd has fun, they keep paying for drinks?” she asked.
He sort of shrugged. “It's just business, Ms... you know, I can't tell you apart except for the, erm, for Lenore.”
“I'm Belle, and thanks.” She returned to the bar and found Leah talking with a young man and Nora surrounded by a small mixed group asking her questions about her singing and the band. “We finish the show,” she said.
“Hey, that's great,” said the man talking with Leah. “I'll buy you a drink after the show, Lee, right?”
“Yep, I'm Lee.”
“Lenore, you want to dance?” asked one of the young men talking with her.
“Sure. But our break's almost over.”
“No problem. There's a lot of time after your show is over,” he said, escorting her to the dance floor.
Maryann was still talking with Derek.
Isabella sighed and took Nora's empty seat at the bar.
“Don't worry,” Leah said. “I'm sure someone will stop by soon. Lots of single guys here.”
“You want me to be like Anna over there?”
“No. She's in love again. This is just fun.”
A young man walked up next to Isabella. “Hey, I like your music. Can I buy you a drink?”
“See?”
She rolled her eyes at Leah, but turned to the young man. “Sure. Just water with ice, please.”
“Nothing stronger?”
“Maybe after the show.”
“Ah, of course.”
“So, do you think this will be an exciting night, Anna?” Derek asked Maryann.
“Every show is exciting,” she replied.
“Well, I mean that there's this storm coming, and there was that earthquake earlier... It just seems like something should happen.”
“Oh, I keep hearing the storm will pass by,” she said, not noticing he mentioned the earthquake. “I'm not worried. I'm sure if we get snowed in, it won't be too bad.”
“You really aren't from around here,” he said.
“Well, I try not to worry anyway. Life's too short for a lot of worries,” she said with a winning smile.
He smiled back. “I think I like you, Anna.”
“Thanks!”
“Anna!” Isabella called in a couple of minutes. “Show time!”
“Sorry, I've got to go,” she said to Derek.
“Well, come back when your show's over and I'll buy you a real drink,” he said.
“Sure!” She joined the others on the stage and they started their second set.
The storm hit with such force Isabella nearly dropped her drumsticks and she did drop the beat. The others heard her drop the beat but didn't know what it meant. A few minutes later, the power flickered off and the music died. There were several minutes of confusion as the lights gradually powered back on, but they were considerably dimmer than before.
“This place has emergency lighting?” Nora asked.
“I don't know. It could be tied into a hospital or university or something,” Isabella replied.
Nora strummed the guitar but the sound was weak. “It's not enough for our instruments. Now what?”
“I think we should figure out what's going on,” Leah said.
“You guys hold down the stage,” Isabella said, standing up and handing the drumsticks off to Leah. “I'll go find the manager.”
Leah stared at the drumsticks a moment. She could hear the uncertain murmur of the crowd, so she took off the guitar and sat down at the drum set. “Hey, everyone,” she shouted, hitting the cymbals. That got the audience's attention. “It's time for an awesome drum solo!”
Isabella found the manager in his office on the phone. Several staff members were already gathered around him. He seemed ag
itated before he hung up. “Alright, I need to make a few announcements,” he said, standing up. He straightened his glasses and walked out on stage.
Leah saw him raise a hand so she ended her solo.
“Can everyone hear me?” he bellowed.
“I'm pretty sure Canada can hear him,” Leah murmured to Maryann.
“Okay, here's the situation. We're in the middle of a blizzard and the cops are telling everyone to just stay where they are. It's not even safe to send the plows out.”
The crowd started to murmur nervously.
“We're going to be stuck here for about six to twelve hours. We've got emergency power, though, and we've still got drinks and a band.” He turned to the band. “You can keep playing, right?”
“I think we've got some acoustic instruments in the green room,” Isabella said.
“Great! So, we're going to make the best of this, people! Like I said, we've got drinks and a band. All cocktails are now half-price! I've got a landline and radio in the back, so I'll monitor that and keep you updated. I'm sure the band will even take requests, right?”
“Um, yes?” Isabella said.
“Great! So we're snowed in! So what? It's Valentine's Day, it's a party, and we're going to have fun.”
A few people clapped nervously.
“And here's your band back,” he said, exiting the stage.
“Hey, everyone, we've got a little problem with the instruments, so we'll need just a minute to go get some old fashioned acoustic guitars,” Isabella said, projecting her voice since the microphone wasn't working. “Also, we'll take requests. We can't promise we'll be able to actually play them, but we'll try.”
“What are we going to do?” Nora hissed.
“Keep the people happy and make the best of a bad situation,” she sighed. “I'll get the DJ and see if he'll record the requests for us. His equipment isn't going to work with this emergency