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Opening Act
© 1999
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It was three years ago that I lost my sight. I was driving 
home from college for the weekend and was hit by a big rig 
truck. The glass from the windshield embedded itself in my 
eyes. The doctors tried to get as much out as possible, but 
it was no use. I was still doomed to be blind for possibly 
the rest of my life. For three years, I'd kept it a secret. 
I didn't want to use a cane or a dog because I didn't want 
the attention or special treatment. It was in August of my 
third year that my ophthalmologist told me of a new laser 
procedure being pioneered at the University of Kentucky 
medical center. He told me that they might be able to 
restore my vision. I booked myself on the next flight to 
Lexington, Kentucky.

I had learned how to get around without letting people know 
I couldn't see them. I could see colors that were very 
blurry and sometimes very blurry shapes, but any detail at 
all was lost. I had to trust people to get me on the right 
bus, tell me correct directions, just about everything. 
Trust wasn't something I was accustomed to. 

When the plane landed in Lexington, I got off and took my 
single carry on bag into the airport. My appointment was 
for two that afternoon and my watch had just beeped saying 
it was one-thirty. I managed to make it to the front of the 
airport and hail a cab. The driver took me the University 
medical center and told me what doors to go in. The doors 
were a set of automatic sliding doors, the kind that slid 
apart when you got close enough to trip the sensor. I went 
in the doors and reported in to the secretary. She told me 
to take a seat, that the doctor would see me shortly.

I found a seat in the waiting room and sat there listening 
to the music. It was a pop station, so I knew most of the 
songs that were playing. I felt someone come in and sit 
beside me, but he didn't say anything to me, so I just 
continued to listen to the music. At one point, Savage 
Garden's "I Knew I Loved You" came on. I started singing 
along without realizing what I was doing. Towards the end 
of the song, the person beside me tapped me on the shoulder 
and said, "Did you realize you were singing?"

"No," I said. "I'm sorry if I bothered you."

"You didn't bother me. You have a beautiful voice. So what 
are you in for?" the man beside me asked.

"Why, thank you. Uh, eye exam. I wanna see if my vision can 
be restored."

"You're blind?"

"Yea, even though I don't like to admit it. What about you? 
What are you in for?"

"Just a check up."

"I didn't think UK did check ups."

"They do if you've had heart surgery."

"Heart surgery? What for? You don't sound that old?"

He laughed. "I'm only twenty-seven. I was born with two 
holes in my heart and they surgically repaired them two 
years ago. They just like to see me to make sure it's still 
tickin'."

I laughed uneasily.

Just then a female voice said, "Brian?"

"That's me," he told me. "Wanna come with me?"

"What for?"

"Moral support."

"Alright." I stood up and followed Brian in the door that 
led to the exam rooms. I completely refused his offer of 
help. I told the nurse to tell Dr. Gammey that I would see 
him after Brian's appointment. She told me she would tell 
him. This office wasn't a normal doctor's office to where 
the docs were divided by specialty. Cardiologists and 
Ophthalmologists shared the same space as Neurosurgeons and 
Obstetricians. 

Although it had only been two and a half years since the 
accident, my other senses had completely taken over for my 
sight. I listened to Brian's footsteps on the floor and 
could tell when he entered the exam room and which way he 
had turned because the sound had changed. I felt my way 
around the room and found a chair in the corner. Brian and 
I weren't waiting long before a new pair of footsteps 
entered the room.  

"So how's my famous patient?" the doctor asked.

"Still breathin'," Brian replied.

"And who do we have here?" the doctor asked. I knew he was 
talking about me.

"Autumn," I said meekly.

"Well, it's nice to meet you Autumn. Well Brian, you know 
the routine. Is it going to bother you that she's here?"

"What? Because I have to take my shirt off? I take my shirt 
off in front of thousands of screaming women every night. I 
don't care." Brian was being almost sarcastic with his 
doctor, but they obviously had a report that I was stepping 
in to.

"Plus, I'm blind, Doc," I said.

"Oh. Here to see Doctor Gammey?" He asked me.

"Yea."

"He's a good guy. You'll like him." The conversation 
dropped there as the doctor began examining Brian. I 
listened to the sounds around me. I knew I was in a 
doctor's office because of the smell, but it was the sounds 
that were interesting. Brian breathing, the monitors in the 
room beeping, the sound of Brian being hooked up to the 
monitors. It was all almost funny. I'd heard a lot of the 
monitors when I was in the hospital after the accident so I 
knew what they were. A short time later, the doctor said to 
Brian, "Well, your treadmill results came back and they say 
you're fine. By what I've heard today, I believe them. Keep 
taking the meds and I'll be sure to call in the refills for 
them."

"Alright. I'll see you in six months." I heard Brian stand 
up and say to me, "I guess it's your turn."

"I guess it is." I stood up and followed the sound of 
Brian's footsteps out into the hall. He stopped and I 
almost ran into him. 

"Autumn, Doctor Gammey will see you now," a nurse said.

"Thank you." The nurse took my elbow and led me into an 
exam room and into a chair. The nurse left and in entered a 
new set of footsteps.

"Autumn?" a masculine voice said.

"Yes?"

"I'm Doctor Gammey. Now lets see about those eyes. Lean 
forward please." I leaned forward and felt my chin touch a 
piece of paper. I rested my chin on the paper and leaned 
forward until my forehead touched a metal bar. I had had my 
eyes looked at numerous times, so I knew the routine. 
First, Doctor Gammey would look at my eyes with a 
microscope. Then he would do an eye test to see what I 
could see, which was hardly anything. After a short while, 
he asked me, "So are you here about the surgery?"

"Yeah."

"Well, let me explain what the surgery does before I give 
you my diagnosis. We use a very fine laser to correct the 
abnormalities in the eye. With this laser we can remove 
anything that may be obstructing vision. We can go in and 
remove all the glass that is embedded in your eyes, but I'm 
afraid it won't do any good."

"What do you mean?"

"Your optic nerves are practically severed. In fact, I 
would recommend going in and severing them."

"But that would leave me totally blind."

"I know, but if we don't do it, there's a possibility that 
you may have future complications in the way of eye 
infections and other problems. We could do it in the office 
right now and you'll be no worse for wear."

A tear trickled down my cheek. "Alright, let's do this." I 
heard a drawer open and then close. I was told to lean back 
and Doctor Gammey placed two drops in each of my eyes. It 
only took a few moments before my entire world went dark. 
"What was that?"

"They're eye drops that dull the nerves. I'll put in a call 
to Doctor Richards and have him set up surgery for you when 
you get back to completely sever the nerves, but this will 
work for the time being. Now you may feel a little 
nauseated when you stand up, but that will pass. I'm sorry 
I couldn't do more for you."

"It's okay. I guess I knew it was too good to be true that 
there was someone who would restore my sight. Don't worry, 
I'll be okay." I felt a hand on my elbow as Doctor Gammey 
helped me up. I did feel a little nauseated, and if I would 
have been able to see, I imagine I would have been dizzy. 
It passed quickly.

Doctor Gammey put something in my hand. "This is a bottle 
of those eye drops. Put two drops in each eye every day 
until the surgery. It numbs the nerve endings so if 
something does happen and your optic nerves are severed, 
you won't feel it. They'll probably put a whole lot of 'em 
in your eyes for the surgery."

I laughed. "At least I know what they're putting in my 
eyes, huh?" Doctor Gammey led me to the secretary's desk. I 
heard Brian following me. I heard a ruffling of paper that 
I could only assume was my chart. The secretary told me 
that Doctor Gammey would be calling my Ophthalmologist back 
home with his recommendation. I thanked her and walked out 
of the door into the waiting room. I walked towards the 
sliding doors still hearing Brian's footsteps behind me. He 
put a hand on my shoulder to stop me.

"Can I take you somewhere? Your hotel?" 

"I'd just like to go anywhere at this point." He linked his 
elbow through mine and led me to a car. He helped me in and 
shut the door. Tears slowly trickled down my cheeks. 

I heard the other car door open and Brian said, "I hope you 
don't mind coming with me, I've got another engagement I 
have to make. Oh, what's wrong?" I felt his hand on my 
cheek wiping tears away.

"I put my hopes too high. I honestly thought that Doctor 
Gammey would be able to help me." Brian didn't say anything 
as he started the car. I managed to pull myself together, 
saying, "Oh well, I'm no worse off now than when I 
arrived." We drove for a little while in silence, just 
listening to the radio. Brian was just about to change the 
station, when I heard the first strains of "As Long As You 
Love Me." "Wait," I said. "This is the Backstreet Boys."

"You like them?"

"Yeah. I only regret that I didn't have enough money to get 
tickets to tomorrow nights show."

"Well I have a surprise for you," Brian said. I felt the 
car stop and heard Brian get out. I undid my seat belt and 
fumbled for the door handle. I got out of the car and stood 
there for a moment. Brian came around and placed his arm 
around my shoulders.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"I told you, it's a surprise. I'd tell you to close your 
eyes, but I don't think it would do any good."

"No." I followed Brian in to the building. It was cold and 
empty, but I could tell that it was a huge area and it had 
great acoustics because our footsteps echoed. "So where are 
we?"

"Lexington Arena. You do know who I am, don't you?"

"I knew from the moment you opened your mouth, Brian." Just 
then I heard a pair of footsteps come running towards us.

"Brian, you're late. Whoa, who's the chick?" a male voice 
said.

I laughed and said, "That must be Nick."

"Autumn, this is Nick Carter. Nick, Autumn," Brian said.

Nick and I shook hands and I said, "Nick, I have a question 
for you. Is your hair still blonde?"

"Yeah, why do you ask?"

"Well, it's been three years since I've seen you, so I just 
wanted to make sure."

"What, you haven't seen the fan magazines?"

"No Nick, I'm blind."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I'm not."

"And she can sing too," Brian whispered.

I turned towards his voice. "Did I just hear you say I can 
sing? Brian, you caught me singing one song. That doesn't 
mean I can sing."

"Well, I think you can. And I was wondering if you would 
open for us tomorrow?"

"You mean the Backstreet Boys don't have an opening act?"

"No, EYC cancelled because they have a television show to 
do. And LFO is already booked. We don't have an opening 
act."

"I would be honored, but I don't exactly have any songs of 
my own."

"Well, what do you have?" asked Nick.

I reached into my bag and pulled out some sheet music. 
"That, uh, should be 'Right Here, Waiting' by Richard Marx, 
'Hurt Me' by LeAnn Rimes, 'Again' by Janet Jackson, and 
'Angel of Mine' by Monica," I said, holding the music out. 

Nick took the music and I heard him thumb through it. "How 
did you know that?"

"It's my music, Nick. I should know what I brought." The 
boys laughed. "The only problem is that it's mainly piano, 
guitar, and drums, and that it's all slow."

"Not a problem," Nick said. "Kevin plays piano, I play 
drums, and Brian knows basic chords on a guitar."

"I know more than that! But I don't think we could learn 
new songs in a day."

"So we she's accompanied by Kevin on the piano. You know he 
picks up stuff quickly."

"Um, guys, I'm standing right here," I said.

"Oh, sorry," Brian said. "Would it bother you if you were 
just accompanied by Kevin on the piano?"

"No, but do you guys know 'Walking on Sunshine'?"

"Yeah," Nick said.

"Good, we could do that as the last song of my set."

"Great, so you'll do it?" Brian asked.

"I need to practice."

"Come on, let's go find Kevin." I was led up onto the stage 
and introduced to Kevin, AJ, and Howie and the band. Brian 
told them that I had agreed to open the show and what our 
idea was. Kevin was all for it and in a matter of minutes 
he had my sheet music and was sitting at a piano warming 
up. Howie handed me a microphone and led me to a stool in 
the middle of the stage. Kevin and I rehearsed the songs I 
had and then the rest of the Boys joined in for "Walking on 
Sunshine."

The next night I was a little nervous but Kevin calmed me 
down. "But what if they find out I'm blind?"

"So what if they do? They'll be impressed with your voice."

"But what if..." 

Kevin cut me off. "You could list a hundred 'what ifs' and 
I'll have an answer for every one of them. Don't worry. You 
have an amazing voice and that's what they're going to 
notice the most."

"Thanks Kevin." Just then, I was told to take my place. I 
counted the steps to the stool and sat down. I heard an 
announcer say, "It may be spring time, but there's a bit of 
Autumn in the air. Ladies and Gentlemen, Autumn!" I felt 
the spotlight on me, so I smiled. I told the audience who I 
was and who was accompanying me. They applauded. I sang my 
five songs and when I left the stage, I heard people 
calling for an encore. I was surprised. I never had heard 
of an opening act getting an encore. "What do I do?" I 
asked Kevin.

"Do you know 'As Long As You Love Me'?"

"Yea."

"Sing Nick's part."

"What?"

"Come on, we'll back you up." Kevin was on one side of me 
and Nick was on the other. The dragged me back on stage. 
The crowd went wild because they were looking at their 
favorite group. 

"We're going to do something a little different tonight," 
AJ told the crowd. "In honor of Autumn being asked to join 
our label, Jive Records, she's going to help us do our next 
song, 'As Long As You Love Me'."

I couldn't believe it. Jive Records wanted me to record an 
album. At least that's what AJ had said. When we finished 
the song and I had left the stage, I found it was true. 
Jive Records was offering me a record deal. Of course I 
accepted. From that moment on, people knew me as the 
opening act for the Backstreet Boys. The fans knew I was 
blind, but they didn't care. They loved my music, just like 
Kevin had said.