Bandstand Novelization

Welcome Home My Hero

As the lights come up I glance to my right and my left. This is it. Our final gig. We're here to play our hearts out, go big or go home. 

Placing my hand on the mic I close my eyes and take in the heat of the footlights. The music swells as we go into the final verse. The final chance of the night to belt out all the emotion of the past week, the past year, the past decade.

Now our wait has ended. Our years of yearning. 

I picture Michael rounding the corner, running down the sidewalk. I open my eyes, they're brimming with tears. 

And I'm at my doorway, my love returning.

I take a deep breath.

Welcome home, my dear
. Welcome home, my sweet
.

Welcome home, my hero
. Welcome home, my heart.

I suck back the tears, careful not to restrict myself for the finale.



Welcome home.

Michael's face.


Welcome home


Donny's smile.

One more deep breath, eyes shut.

Welcome home.

The audience is applauding before I can even finish. When I open my eyes I see couples holding each other, singles standing with tears in their own eyes.

Donny joins me at the mic while the boys take their bows from their spots.

"Thank you!" Donny shouts into the crowd. "Thank you!" He's sweating, perhaps he'd gone off on his own little riff that I hadn't heard?

A young soldier with a scar across his forehead yells from the front, "You guys are gonna clean up in New York next week!"

"Thank you!" Donny and I say in unison.

"No," Another soldier shouts,  "thank you! You make us all real proud!"

Donny rubs the back of his neck, like he does when he feels guilty. He slides over the neck and I step away for him. "I gotta tell you, folks," he begins, "when you tune into the contest, there's no guarantee that we will be on it." The crowded hall goes quiet giving Donny the initiative to go on. "See, there's another preliminary that NBC's making us go through. And even if we make it they get to claim that they have a bunch of genuine American heroes." He licks his lips and then looks to me. "And I hear Julia sing that word, hero, and I wonder who that guy is." He looks at me sadly and then looks back out. "'Cause I don't know a single one of us that feels like one." I reach for him but he doesn't respond to the gentle touch. "That's just a word that someone pins on you. I think that...most of the time, I think that the wrong guy came home." My hand falls away and my mouth drops open. Whispers weave their way through the crowd. 

"Hold on! Hold on!" Oliver runs on stage and practically steals the microphone from Donny. "That's enough of the sappy speeches for one night." He's a veteran himself, I know Donny's words have touched him just as it has the others, but he continues on for the sake of the show. "Besides, that's my department." He cracks a smile and then pauses for dramatic effect. "Now listen, who needs NBC when you've got Cleveland?"

The band is left to look at each other rather confused.

Realising our confusion Oliver continues, "So listen." He puts a hand on Donny's shoulder. "The past few weeks, everybody in my club and The Blue Whisp and The Pavilion have been paying a little extra cover charge." My heart leaps. "And the guys here at the VA have all chipped in."

"Darn right!" The scarred soldier yells from the front, a fist in the air.

Oliver smirks and holds his hands up in surrender. "Now I know you've got it made and all that..." He digs in his pocket a moment. "So this... is from Cleveland with love." He pulls out a check, and tickets. "Four rooms at the hotel Aston, reserved and paid for..." He pauses again. "And seven tickets on the Cleveland Limited, Pullman car, first class." He hands over the stubs to Donny who is in shock. "Knock 'em dead!"

The crowd erupts; Donny starts crying and launches forward, hugging Oliver. I wrap my arms around the two of them and then the rest of the band has joined in. 

"Alright, alright!" Oliver says, pushing us all away. "I think this calls for an encore!" The crowd answers in applause and song requests. Oliver covers the mic and leans towards us, "How about Nobody?" We glance at each other, smirks spreading across our faces.

We can't race to our spaces quick enough. 

The whole hall joins in, dancing, singing, backing, all of it. It's the most fun I've had in my entire life. By the time we reach the midway point I feel like the whole building's gonna come down on top of us. 

Pulling the scarred soldier on stage we twirl and dip throughout the instrumental piece. Right on cue he runs and leaps off the stage back down into the crowd where fellas toss around their ladies. I imagine us yelling at the universe, telling it that it didn't beat us this time.

You know who tells me no?

NOBODY.

--------------------

With the lights off and the chairs stacked, Donny and I finally take our leave. He drapes his coat across my shoulder as we leave the bar. It's 3am and we leave for New York tomorrow, but we couldn't tear ourselves away from the room where our wishes were granted. Hell, we'd even outlasted Davy. 

Now we walk the streets alone, so close to each other. "We did it Donny." I say hardly keeping the smile off my face as we skip along. He doesn't answer. Turning to face him he meets me with a hug, sweeping me off my feet with a groan. I wrap my arms around him and close my eyes, taking the moment in. 

"We did it." He whispers, his breath tickling my ear. 

My feet are still off the ground, he's holding me up, my legs bent back at the knees. My arms are wrapped around his neck, his across my lower back. Pulling away I look him dead in the eye. There's a spark of passion in them, only a spark. I'm back on the cement before either of us can really understand what's passed between us.

We soldier on, hand in hand. This is a new beginning for me, for him, for all of us. I squeeze his hand tighter as we reach my block. I want tomorrow to be here and yet I don't want to tell him good night.