Sonny Bono was one of the most charming and possessive men Id ever met.
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Sonny and Cher were married for over a decade and performing partners for even longer.
And then a bunch of people yelled, Hey, Son, come to our table!
Come sit with us!
Everyone was calling out to this guy.
Based on all the commotion, I was expecting a tall, handsome man to walk up behind me.
I turned around to look, and an intriguing stranger with a Caesar-style haircut walked toward us.
To this day, I can see our Hollywood meet-cute in my mind.
Sonny definitely caught my attention.
I was always interested in fascinating people because those were the kind of people I grew up around.
He was the 60s version of my moms friends.
It wasnt love at first sight.
I just thought this guy was special.
The women knew each other from the promo business because they both schmoozed DJs into playing the latest releases.
What he didnt know was that although he amused Melissa, he wasnt her punch in she was gay.
Then someone suggested we go to the Red Velvet Club on Sunset and Wilcox, and I was thrilled.
As soon as we arrived, I went straight onto the dance floor to lose myself in music.
Sonny only joined me because neither Red nor Melissa danced.
I love your clothes, I told him.
I love yours too, he said, sizing up my T-shirt and boys jeans.
They were cheap and indestructible and are perpetually cool.)
As Sonny told me years later, he couldnt figure me out that night.
Melissa lived in a complex with a pool at Franklin and Highland.
These were strippers, hookers, actresses, and showgirls, all of them with knock-out bodies.
Those chicks were the whole package great asses, long legs, and fabulous clothes.
It wasnt long after that that Melissa told me Id have to find someplace else to live.
Her place was too small.
Thats when I spotted Sonny moving into the building next door.
Wed only hung out that one night a few weeks before, but I was happy to see him.
When he saw me waving through the window, he smiled and gestured for me to meet him.
Running outside, I asked, What are you doing here?
and he told me hed taken a one-bedroom apartment in the building next door.
I laughed at the coincidence.
Over the next ten days or so, Sonny and I hung out and became friends.
He liked that I was quirky and non-judgmental.
I liked that he was funny and different.
He was a grown-up without being too grown up, and I was a sixteen-year-old lying about my age.
Tears sprang to my eyes at the mere thought of it.
I didnt mean to cry, but I think it made Sonny take pity on me.
Well, Cher, he said.
If you cook and clean the place, you could always move in with me for a while.
Dont worry, Ive got twin beds, he said.
With a grin he added, And honestly, I dont find you particularly attractive.
I was both insulted and relieved.
I thought Sonny was the coolest person Id ever met.
and he would say, Oh, thats just Cher.
One of the girls who came to the apartment told me that she knew Sonny was cheating on her.
Thats just how he is, I suppose, she added with a tearful sigh.
The news didnt surprise me at all.
What surprised me is that she told me, a total stranger.
Plus, I was just Cher.
That chick was so smart.
She got a suntan and her teeth fixed all on their dime.
He wasnt a catch.
It could have been Melissa who tipped him off, but who knows?
When Sonny asked me if it was true, I knew I couldnt come clean.
But my birthday is in May, so Ill be eighteen in two months.
(I think whenever someone gives you an Okay, but, everything that follows is probably bullshit.)
With that, our friendship was back on track.
I learned so much from Sonny and enjoyed how he took care of me in his macho Sicilian way.
I came to feel that he was the kind of guy whod be there if something bad happened.
My God, youre skinny.
You dont have any shape at all!
Is that all there is to you?
He was looking right at me.
He knew all the answers to those questions.
With no curves, I looked like a matchstick.
Sonny asked, woken by my whimpering.
Im afraid, Son.
Go to sleep, Cher.
Then get over here, but just sleep, okay?
He pulled back his covers.
I slid in beside him.
He put the covers over me and then he rolled toward the wall.
That was our first night in bed together.
Six decades later, I still remember the story and the feeling of excitement is baked in the cake.
Before too long, I began to hero-worship my roommate.
Sonny loved that dog, and he loved Christy, who was cute as a button.
She adored him too, and was always eager to just him.
Sonny was a great dad.
I guess he was a little possessive, but the idea thrilled me because it meant he cared.
Later I would find out that possessive and caring didnt exactly go hand in hand.
From Harper CollinsCher, The Memoir: Part Oneby Cher.
