The Beginning of the End

As I drove back from New York, I realized just how much damage I had done because of my decision about Patti. I suspected Annie hadn't been telling the truth in New York when she told me that Tony Oteda hadn't called her back in the two months since the meeting had first been discussed...he had been very clear about his intentions at that time, and he would have stayed in touch with her...but there was no way to know for sure. Financially, there was a lot at stake for all parties concerned, and I knew that I had blown it when I hadn't asked Annie for Tony's number when he had first called. I guess I always thought that she would do whatever was needed to make the meeting happen, and there was no way for me to foresee how the events of the past two months would unfold at that time. Now, I was on my own, and I doubted that if Annie had been telling me the truth about Tony not having called her back...that she would follow through and arrange a meeting between us...if he should. The truth was...there were lots of good agents out there, and if the band could just keep on playing and recording, they...or Tony...would  find us. At the time I couldn't see that truth. The more obvious truth was the one I saw. The band wasn't working. We had just lost our most powerful ally. And we were running out of options...and time. The band had become fragile, and I was feeling very nervous about this. It felt like this was a fatal blow, especially after all the things that had been happening within the band as a result of the banned second record, and all the damage we had experienced from the sabotage by my brother. I decided to hold off on telling the guys, especially Charles, about the situation with Annie a little longer, since I thought there was still a chance that Tony might get through to me. Although I knew that was unlikely, I kept hoping against hope. But I knew we needed to find some new venues to play immediately...to re-establish some momentum until we could record again. When I got back home, I called a major concert venue in West Hartford that we hadn't played yet, and was pleasantly surprised to reach the booking agent there and find out that he was receptive to having us appear there. I booked the date for two weeks from then, on a Wednesday night. I knew it wasn't a good night for a show, but at least it was something good to report to the guys...and I needed something good to tell them. I couldn't know as I hung up the phone that I had just booked Avalanche's final concert date...