CHAPTER FOUR : almost almost famous

( i'll take you there, part ii )

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MARILYN: AUDITIONING FOR TEDDY Price was kind of terrifying. I mean, performing is always a little scary, but this? This was the difference between success and almost certain failure. We were setting up for the audition, and Billy told us that we were going to sing Silver Nail, which is a song, like, nobody knows anymore. Cute enough, but completely overshadowed by everything we put out after it. I liked it but I was hesitant on it for our one chance, y'know?

When Teddy Price enters the band room, everything falls silent, all twelve eyes trained on the older man as he approaches the couch against the far wall and sits. He's careful, making sure his drink doesn't slosh over the rim of his glass, and that the ash from his cigarette doesn't drop to the carpeted floor. He crosses his legs, checks his watch, and only then does he regard the six young adults before him.

All he does is nod.

"We just, uh, we wanted to say thank you, for this opportunity. We're The Six, and this is Silver Nail."

TEDDY (archive footage, 1982): What can I say? They knocked my ******* socks off. Oh, can I say ****?

     BILLY: People think we played one song for Teddy Price and he gave us a deal. Not true. For months he put us through the wringer. But it was worth it.

     MARILYN: I'll never forget those months of just gig after gig after gig. Was it exhausting? Yeah. I was getting about five or six hours of sleep a night, you know you need to be getting eight, right? That's the healthy amount. When I did sleep longer, I slept well past midday. But, God, I don't regret anything. I remember this one night, we'd just played the Whiskey a Go Go, and we were celebrating on the street, but Billy and Bear [Teddy] were just talking all calmly behind us. I wasn't listening until I clocked the word "album" coming out of Bear's mouth. I shot around just in time to see Billy hugging Bear, and Bear being all grossed out because Billy was so sweaty he was basically dripping. And then Billy got all of us in on it, and it was one sweaty hug pile. And, then I had a really long shower because I was covered in the sweat of four boys... and Karen.

GRAHAM: Teddy was telling us to be cool about it but, c'mon, you expect anyone to be cool when Teddy Price tells them they're making an album?

     WARREN: He was also complaining about us being wet but last time I checked, being wet isn't a bad thing.

     MARILYN: [calling through] WARREN!

     WARREN: And I'm sleeping on the couch tonight.

     MARILYN: Christ. So, we were in the studio for no more than a week, laid down ten tracks, and then we had a couple of weeks to rejuvenate before it was time for us to head off on our first-ever tour. It was incredible, the feeling of the adrenaline building as the days flew by. And then, two days before we were meant to leave, Cami and I were in the house alone, and she grabbed me and took me outside.

     CAMILA: I told Marilyn about my pregnancy first. Before Billy, before Mama. Thing is, I didn't know how either of them would react.

Marilyn fiddles with the frayed hem of her crocheted top as she processes the news. She blinks into the distance, sucking her lips against her teeth, and once she finishes thinking, she gives a small nod. "When are you telling Billy?"

"I haven't figured that part out, exactly," Camila confesses, tucking her legs up into the wicker chair she's sat on. A leaf sticks to the sole of one of her bare feet, and she pulls it off, stripping the leaf of its greenery until it's just a stem.

Marilyn nods again. "You can't tell him over the phone."

"I know."

She can see the doubts racing through Camila's mind, and before she has a chance to verbalise a single one, Marilyn shuffles up in her chair.

"Do you remember the first thing I told you about Billy?"

Camila thinks back, back to that first day in the laundromat. "You said he's annoying and narcissistic."

A breathy laugh escapes Marilyn's lips. "I did. I also said that he's worth a shot." She pauses, inhales with a growing smile. "Billy's in love with you, head over heels. And he's going to love this baby so, so much."

"I just don't want to freak him out. You guys are going to be away-"

Marilyn holds up a hand. "Do you want this baby?" she asks.

Camila nods. The wind bristles through her dark hair. "I do. I really do."

"Then tell him," Marilyn says as she pushes herself to her feet, "and I promise it'll be okay. Now, give me a hug so I can give you a proper 'congratulations,'"

     CAMILA: I told [Billy] the next day. We got married that night.

     MARILYN: So, I know not to blame myself for this, right? I'm not a future-seer person. But, still, there's this tiny part of me that feels horrible for telling Cami that everything would be okay. I had no way of knowing what would happen while we were on the road. But, I'm still the person who gave her that hope. And I'm still the person who didn't tell her everything after I found out.

     ME: [Camila] knew you'd say that. She specifically said that she doesn't want you feeling guilty about it.

MARILYN: [chuckles] Well, if she says so.

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a/n:
so i've straight ghosted for weeks but hi, i'm back. part loss of interest in writing for a moment, part binge-watching the walking dead in the hopes that i'll finish in time for dead city (i won't, i'm only three quarters through season 7 and i'm bored), and part being hyper-fixated on the hunger games and creating possibly THE most batshit insane project for it ever.

i'm going to do my best to keep the updates semi-regular now but if i disappear again, i apologise. i'm becoming fixated on yellowjackets, my bad.

published : june 8, 2023
word count : 1.1k