Ubertines '06 - Your Cheating Heart (786 hits)
Category: RomanceRating: 1.73 on 20 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Axolotl (View user info) at 2006-02-08 08:50:31 EST
Phillip Esteban walked into the recording studio, surrounded by all the technicians and wires of the control room. He looked around the room for a moment, and found his target, talent scout John Ripley. Ripley returned his gaze and gestured through the glass. He was a seedy-looking man with a thin mustache and greasy hair, but he had an ear for a good voice.
"Wait 'til you hear this kid," Ripley said pointing through the glass barrier at the young man sitting down.
"That's him in there?" Esteban asked.
"William Hanks, or just Billy," Ripley replied.
Billy Hanks was twenty-one years old, so Esteban had been told, and he looked even younger through the glass. He sat on a stool under several microphones, holding his secondhand guitar under his smooth chin as he tightened the strings. He had piercing blue eyes and a tapered nose, and was exceptionally handsome.
"How can I talk to him?" asked Esteban. A techie pointed at an intercom switch. Esteban took the controls.
"Billy, I'm Phil Esteban," he said. "I'd like to hear what you've got."
"Sure thing, sir!" said Billy enthusiastically, sounding even more youthful. "Can I...start?"
"Go," Esteban said.
Clearing his voice, Bill began to strum on the guitar a rough country tune. His playing was sub par, but as soon as he opened his mouth, Esteban was blown away.
"Your cheating heart will make you weep," Billy sung. His voice was untrained and high-pitched, but Esteban saw the raw talent in every syllable.
You'll cry and cry and try to sleep
But sleep won't come the whole night through
Your cheating heart will tell on you,"
"Where did you find this guy?" Esteban whispered.
"Like him?" Ripley asked with a grin. "Found him in some Deep South hick town. His whole family's a bunch of Louisiana swamp trash, but I heard the kid sing at his church...blew me away, didn't it?"
"When tears come down like pouring rain
You'll toss around and call my name
You'll walk the floor the way I do
Your cheating heart will tell on you,"
"I'll have him signed immediately," said Esteban. "We could make quite a fortune off of him. Not just in the South, but even up north people would like him."
"Glad to be of service," said Ripley.
* * *
"Let me present, singing his hit song 'Jambalaya,'" the presenter announced dramatically. "The world-famous country singer—Billy Hanks!"
To a thunderous applause, Billy Hanks walked out onto the Grand Old Opry stage, and greeted Nashville with a blown kiss. He scanned the crowd down below as he walked to the microphone, confident in his success. Standing at the mic with his guitar, he strummed out the first few bars and began:
"Goodbye Joe, me gotta go, me-oh-my-oh,"
Billy grinned at the audience, and they cheered in appreciation. He diverted his gaze toward a more subdued young woman in the fifth row, smiling back at him and clapping her hands.
"Me gotta go pole the pirogue down the bayou,"
Billy nodded at the girl, and she blushed. She had short black hair, and a heart-shaped face. She piqued his interest, and he respected her more just that she wasn't going crazy and making a fool out of herself like the rest of the girls.
"My Yvonne, sweetest one, me-oh-my-oh,"
Billy saw a bunch of the girls in the front row scream and reach their hands up to him. He leaned down; he couldn't touch them as his hands were occupied with the guitar. He felt like their new Elvis Presley, but his attention was drawn to the fifth row once more.
"Son of a gun, we'll have big fun, down the bayou."
After the concert, Billy quickly deposited his guitar in his dressing room just as the crowds were starting to leave, and rushed back out toward the side to see if he could see that girl in the press. Standing up on a ledge, a large hat obscuring his face, he hoped that they wouldn't recognize him...only if she would.
"Jambalaya, crawfish pie, filet gumbo,"
Billy approached her six blocks away from the Grand Old Opry, standing on a street corner waiting for the light. He sidled up to her left, tipped his hat to her, and she gasped. Putting a finger to his lips, Billy pulled the girl off her course and walked with her back toward the concert hall. His managers would be furious...
"For tonight I'm gonna see my cher a mio,"
She brushed back her hair nervously and said, "I'm Sue Dawson...well, I know who you are!" They both laughed, and Billy reached out and felt her hand. She drew back, not willing just yet.
"A pick guitar, fill fruit jar, and be gay-o,"
Sue was treating him like a normal person...something few people had done. "How about this Friday? Valentine's Day?" he asked. She shied away for a moment, a little hesitant, but beamed at him and said yes.
"Son of a gun we'll have big fun on the bayou,"
* * *
"Will we...you always have to be like this?" asked Sue, gesturing at the sunglasses that Billy was wearing. No one in the restaurant so far had noticed the presence of country music's newest star.
"Maybe not always," Billy replied. "I'd hate to have someone come up and ask for an autograph or something, though. It's about us right now."
"Bill...I'm flattered," Sue said, almost embarrassed. Billy's heart skipped a few beats; he didn't want any awkwardness, especially not because of his celebrity. "You're sure you weren't too busy tonight?"
"My life isn't as exciting as people say," Billy replied. "But...I don't really want to focus on me being...famous, and all. It shouldn't make a difference, should it?"
"No," Sue said pertly.
"I mean, I'd rather people to treat me normally. I can't stand to see people acting like idiots just 'cause I'm around. Like those girls in front of you at the Opry..."
Sue snickered, shaking her head. "They were pretty foolish, weren't they?"
"That's why...that's why I followed you," Billy said earnestly. "You weren't jumping around like I was Elvis, and I appreciate that."
For the first time that evening, Sue looked touched.
"Why, Billy...thank you."
"I know it's hard...I mean, for you to cope with everything in my life, all concerts and tours...but we're both people, we're both normal people."
Warming up to him, Sue said, "Billy, you know I'd be happy to..." she stopped mid-sentence and seemed to lose her voice.
"What is it, Sue?"
"I don't know if I can commit right now...I don't know..."
"That's all right, Sue," Billy said anxiously. It wasn't all right at all.
Billy's heart was walking on a tightrope in his chest as he drove Sue home. "I'll have to tell my parents that I just was with..." Sue began. Realizing something, she said, "Oh, I'm not allowed to acknowledge that you're famous, am I?"
They both laughed, and Billy, taking a chance, put his hand on her shoulder. She didn't react, and Billy slid it down her arm, resigning to let go. Before he could, she grabbed his hand, and held it in her lap.
The Cadillac pulled up to Sue's middle-class house on the outskirts of Nashville. "Here, I'll walk you in," Billy said.
They got out of the car and proceeded up the drive to Sue's front door. Sue looked a little shaken as she prepared to go back inside.
"I had a great time tonight, Billy," Sue said. Billy drew closer, and embraced her. She was a little shorter than he was, but she held on with her arms around his neck. They hugged for what seemed like an hour, and when they released, Billy quickly pecked her on the cheek. She lingered for a moment, as though making a hard decision, and kissed him back on the lips. She sighed as they kissed, their tongues intertwining as Billy supported her.
"Do you want to come inside?" she asked, resting her head on his shoulder.
"I sure would, Sue."
* * *
"Do you, William Jonathan Hanks, take this woman to be your lawful wedded wife?"
Thanking God that the cameras weren't there clicking, and that he was in a small private ceremony with the woman he loved and a few friends, Billy said, "I do," very softly.
"And do you, Susan Roseanne Dawson, take this man to be your lawful wedded husband?"
"I do," Sue said solemnly. Billy looked over at her, angelic and pure in her white dress, and felt like every stress and care in the world had been lifted off of his shoulders. Someone sobbed in emotion somewhere in the back of the church.
"You may kiss the bride."
They were married on a warm spring day in the year that Sputnik was launched into space. That day was unique in two ways. Billy had absolutely no contact with paparazzi or any members of the press.
And also, Billy had been able to go without a drink for a while.
* * *
"Thought you were trying to quit," Ripley said.
"I tried, I tried," Billy said haggardly. "Just shut up about it, will you? If the press, or if Sue finds out..."
* * *
Billy walked in through the door, his eyes bloodshot and cracked, breath heavy. He stumbled around, trying to remember where the clock was. He found it nestled in a corner on a side table. It was four in the morning.
"Nice to see you showing up so early," Sue's voice came, almost to the point of tears. Billy turned around and saw his wife of one year in the doorway leading upstairs.
"What are you on about, woman?"
"Shit, Billy, you always do this! Come home staggering dead drunk at some godawful hour, worrying me half to death!"
"I ain't asking you to be worried," Billy replied in a mumble. His youthful face had been distorted, and he now seemed older than his twenty-six years. "Damn, Sue, you're all...always..."
"Billy! Look at me!" Sue pleaded.
"I'm going upstairs," Billy groaned, pushing past Sue and walking up the staircase.
"Don't walk away from me, Billy!"
* * *
The front door opened and Billy, his face red and his eyes glazed, strode in, looking around for his wife. He found her there in her usual place on the stairs, a suitcase in her hands.
"Here," she spat, throwing the suitcase at him. He poorly blocked it, and it hit him in the stomach. "That's all your clothes. Get out of here. Just...just, get out!"
"I'm not leaving anywhere," said Billy angrily, throwing the suitcase off to the side. "You're not gonna make me get out, Sue."
"I said get out!" Sue screamed, reaching down for the suitcase. Billy, his veins pulsing with rage, swung his bony fist into the side of her face. Sue gasped and fell over, more from the shock of the blow than from the force.
"You...you..." Sue said softly, a trickle of blood running from her ear. She got up as calm as she could make her demeanor, and walked upstairs without saying a word. Billy began to unpack his suitcase.
* * *
Billy walked in through the door again, breath heavy with alcohol. He checked around for Sue, but she was nowhere to be seen. Seeing this as a stroke of good luck, Billy took off his jacket and sat down for a moment on an armchair.
"Sue? Sue?" he called out. There was no answer. "You better not have left..." he grumbled, getting up from his chair.
He made his way upstairs, his feet soft on the newly-installed carpet. His mind was fuzzy and he fiddled with the knob on his door before it opened.
For a moment the scene stunned him so that he didn't even know if what he was seeing was real. Sue and Ripley, the sheets askew, the lights dimly lighting the room. Ripley looked back in horror; Sue, gazing hatefully at Billy from between her uncovered breasts, just stared, as though daring him to hit her.
"Sweet Jesus," said Ripley, pulling the blankets over his body. "Bill..."
Billy just stood in the doorway, letting the scene wash over him. Then, without so much as a word, he walked down the stairs once more.
* * *
As he sat in the car, his fifth of Fleischmann's in his hand, Billy turned on the radio. No one had come looking for him, and probably no one would. He poured another swig of whiskey into his mouth as he turned the dial for the stations.
Over the airwaves came the guitar tones and earthy, nasal voice of "Jambalaya." Billy listened to himself sing for a while, and remembered back when he had first met Sue...back when Ripley had auditioned him in Louisiana.
It was all over now. Everything that had made him great was over.
* * *
Many people came to Billy Hanks' funeral. The reports of his death had spread past once his body was found in his old Cadillac a few days after his disappearance, and it was well known across America that alcohol poisoning had claimed his young life.
As they filed past his gravesite, and as tourists would for decades after, they read the following inscription.
William Jonathan Hanks
April 12, 1932 - September 2, 1958
A chapter ended, a page turned
A life well-lived, a rest well-earned
To their dying days, Sue and Ripley never told a soul. They simply broke off, and went their separate ways. But whenever the anniversary of Billy's death came around, Sue wouldn't watch television or the radio, as they would play the songs from Billy's life.
There was a moment, so many years back, when she had loved that man...but it was all over now.
Your cheating heart will pine some day
And crave the life you threw away
The time will come when you feel blue
Your cheating heart will tell on you
User Reviews
Submitted by Brdn_Nkd (user info) at 2006-02-09 13:30:05 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
I am retarded. that should have read:
Axolotl, Please visit http://www.ubersite.com/m/83523 at your earliest convienence
Axolotl to the white courtesy phone please.
Submitted by Brdn_Nkd (user info) at 2006-02-09 13:27:41 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Sorry
Submitted by Brdn_Nkd (user info) at 2006-02-09 13:27:33 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Damnit
Submitted by Brdn_Nkd (user info) at 2006-02-09 13:27:16 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Davros, Please visit http://www.ubersite.com/m/83523 at your earliest convienence
Davros to the white courtesy phone please.
Submitted by Orgasmatron (user info) at 2006-02-09 00:22:07 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
1.5
Submitted by Orgasmatron (user info) at 2006-02-09 00:21:50 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
This story you wanted to tell seemed...bigger...than the story you wrote.
It just seems like there was so much here to touch on, to delve into, that a true retrospective of the chacacter's life, love, and death would necessitate a story at least twice as long, if not longer.
I'd liked to have seen something before his big break at the beginning where Ripley finds him at a bar, or at home, drunk and useless, and has to sober him up so he can _________ (go to work, get ready for a gig, whatever).
Something to establish his drinking so it doesn't turn into something from out of an episode of Behind the Music.
I liked what was here. I'd just have preferred it if it was either longer or if it was shorter and picked up after he'd become famous and was married (perhaps detailing how they met in flashbacks or something).
Submitted by ripple (user info) at 2006-02-08 23:55:43 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
No Comment
Submitted by EchoBoxing (user info) at 2006-02-08 21:35:28 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by ghola (user info) at 2006-02-08 21:28:06 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
No Comment
Submitted by ghola (user info) at 2006-02-08 21:27:56 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
good, but not as good as the competition.
i give it a 1.5
Submitted by thecaes (user info) at 2006-02-08 19:51:25 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
Man, I am being a dick on these reviews. This is the second or third +2 streak I'm ruining. But this is a competition, dammit, and the truth must be told!!
It's a good story, but Billy turns into a stereotype after he gets married. He seemed like a sweet, full character up until that point, but then he's just a 'typical' drunk. No inner voice anymore, no emotion, no feelings of regret or anything like that. He just turned into a robot to me, and I stopped caring about him.
Submitted by inion_de_trua (user info) at 2006-02-08 13:57:00 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
i'm so fucked.... this was great though. loved it.
Submitted by Axolotl (user info) at 2006-02-08 13:02:04 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
So far so good...
Submitted by Quale (user info) at 2006-02-08 10:40:03 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Really enjoyed reading this. The alcohol bit just seemed to turn up out of nowhere though.
Submitted by Davros (user info) at 2006-02-08 10:38:55 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Awesome man.
It probably helped that I was listening to Johnny Cash as I read this but it was really good.
Enough detail when it was needed and still not too bogged down.
-Dave
Submitted by simple_catalyst (user info) at 2006-02-08 09:57:51 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
god i hate country music.
Submitted by HighVoltage900 (user info) at 2006-02-08 09:37:39 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by CaptainThorns (user info) at 2006-02-08 09:20:05 (#)
Ranking: 2
Aside from some of those songs lyrics being goddamn awful, this was a terrific story, and I couldn't tear my eyes from it. Not weighted down by extra detail, not too simple...just right. Very nice.
----
I agree about the lyrics. But I will say it was kinda long for a single post. Just a comment.
Very very well written.
Submitted by Brdn_Nkd (user info) at 2006-02-08 09:25:59 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by CaptainThorns (user info) at 2006-02-08 09:20:05 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Aside from some of those songs lyrics being goddamn awful, this was a terrific story, and I couldn't tear my eyes from it. Not weighted down by extra detail, not too simple...just right. Very nice.
Submitted by Professional_Peon (user info) at 2006-02-08 09:02:47 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Hey blame it on your lying, cheating, cold deadbeating, two-timing, double dealing
Mean mistreating, loving heart!!!