Righteous Obsession (71 page)

Colin and Alethea had stopped by Luke and Nora’s.
“We’re so glad you were able to come over,” Nora said.

Colin put down his cup of coffee and smiled.  He
glanced up at the large beautiful Christmas tree he was sitting on the floor
beside. He was feeling more comfortable with his grandparents now even though
his relationship with Jeff was in the toilet.

Nora looked at their wedding photograph on the
mantle.  “We love the picture you gave us.  It’s such a lovely photograph.” It
was a full-length picture of them posed under the trellis and showed Alethea’s
entire gown and train.

Colin glanced at the picture and chuckled.  “We posed
for so many pictures I lost count.”

“Yes,” Luke laughed.  “I remember all the pictures
taken at Jeff and Amanda’s wedding.  I thought we’d never be done!”

Alethea was thrilled with her gift from Luke. It was a
hybrid orchid he’d grown and named after her. It was a delicate pink with
deeper rose shading. He said he planned to write an article about it and would
enter into competition at the next show. “Have you heard anything from Jeff?”

“He called us yesterday to wish a Merry Christmas,”
Nora said.  “We tried to convince him to spend Christmas with us, but he
refused our offer and unfortunately Caitlin won’t come without her father.”

“I don’t suppose he asked about us?”  Colin said.

“No,” Luke sighed.  “I know he keeps blaming himself
for what happened with Dave, but neither of us knows what to say or do to make
him realize it wasn’t his fault.”  The phone suddenly started to ring and since
he was nearest to it, Luke answered it.  “Hello?”  He listened for a moment
then said, “This is Luke Michaels and yes, I’ll accept the charges.”

“Who’s calling, Luke?”

He looked at Nora.  “It’s a collect call from
Caitlin.”

“Oh, dear,” Nora said softly.  “What else could possibly
be wrong?”

“Cait?  Cait, what’s wrong, honey?”  Luke said as
Caitlin came on the line.

“Grandpa, I’m so miserable!”  She sobbed.  “I just
wanted to hear yours and grandma’s voices.”

“Calm down, honey, and tell me what’s happened.”

Caitlin related the day’s events and concluded by
saying, “Grandpa, this is the most horrible Christmas I could ever imagine!”

Colin could only hear his grandfather’s side of the
conversation, but his expression revealed his trepidation.  Nora tugged on her
husband’s arm.  “Luke, let me talk to her.”

“Grandma wants to talk with you, Cait.”  He handed the
phone to his wife and rose.

“What happened?”  Colin asked.

Luke gave them a brief rundown on what Caitlin had
told him then snapped angrily, “I wish Jeff would quit acting like a damn
martyr and stop blaming himself for Dave’s actions and condition!”

Nora was speaking in a soothing tone to Caitlin. 
“Colin and Alethea are over, dear.  Would you like to talk to them?”  She put
the phone on speaker so they could all talk.

“Hi, Cait,” Colin said

“Hi, Cait, how are you?” Alethea asked.

“Hi, I’m better now. I’m really glad you’re still
speaking to us even though daddy’s being so unfair and unreasonable.  Thanks
for the card and the money too.”

 “You’re welcome, Cait.”  Colin said.  “Listen, if you
want to spend the rest of Christmas with us, I’ll borrow our plane, come down,
and pick you up.”

“Thanks, Colin, but I can’t leave daddy alone even if
he’s being a butthead.”

“Well, if you change your mind, let grandpa and
grandma know and I can be there in a couple of hours.”

“Thanks, Colin, but I won’t change my mind.  Grandma?
Grandpa?”

“Are you sure you’re all right now, honey?” Luke spoke
up.

“I’m okay now, Grandpa.  I just needed to be reminded
that I still have family who love me.”

“And who love your father too.  Anytime you need us,
honey, just call us collect.  Okay?”

“Or you can call us,” Colin added.

Nora spoke for a few minutes more than hung up.  She
shook her head angrily and said, “I swear if Jeff were here right now I’d give
him a good shaking!”

“I’d help you too!”  Luke added.

Colin frowned, fiddling with his hair.  “Can’t Jeff
see what he’s doing to her?”

“He obviously doesn’t!”  Luke said.  “But Cait knows
we’re here for her and she knows she can count on us.”

“I hope so, Grandpa,” Colin replied somberly.  He was
silent on the drive home.  He lay awake.  Alethea was awake also.  She
suspected he had a lot on his mind, but she was learning not to nag him to
confide in her and he was learning not to keep things locked up inside.  She
felt him turn over.  “Alethea, are you awake?”

“Yes.”

“I’ve been thinking about apologizing to Jeff.”

“Apologize for what?  You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I know, but I didn’t realize until now this isn’t
just between me and Jeff.  I’ll call Jeff and tell him I was wrong to do what I
did with Fr. Michaels!”

“You’d be lying and how will it make you feel?”

“Probably like I swallowed a hair ball!”

“If Jeff accepts this piece of fiction, how will you
feel about him?”

“I’d never respect him again,” Colin answered. “But I
can’t stand seeing Caitlin suffering either.”

“Colin, you’re not the one who’s causing her this
pain.”

“I know, but Jeff’s so wrapped-up in his own pain he
can’t seem to see Caitlin’s.”

“Well, I agree with Luke.  Caitlin knows she can call
us anytime she needs us.”

“I sure hope so.”

Alison arrived on New Year’s Eve and stayed for two
days.  It was obvious to anyone who saw them together that Liam and Alison were
deeply in love.  Amanda gave a dinner party in honor of Alison and outdid
herself with the menu.

“Well, it looks as if you’re going to have another
Southern daughter-in-law, Mom,” Colin teased, giving her a hug.

“I have to admit your father and I were a little
ambivalent about this at first.  After talking to Alison and meeting her, we
know she’s a wonderful person and she’ll make Liam very happy.”

Colin went for his physical that was required by the
band’s insurance company and passed with flying colors.  He breathed a secret
sigh of relief when he got the news.  He stopped in the midst of packing one
day, wondering how he was going to get all the stuff he was taking into his
suitcases.  One of Alethea’s Christmas gifts to him was a coffee travel kit so
he could have his favorite of coffee anytime he wished.  His guitars, except
for the one Alethea had given him, were on their way to Seattle.  As before,
Armageddon would be there opening act.

“Think you’ve got everything?”  Alethea teased,
walking into their bedroom.

“Well, I think I might have room for one more thing…”  Colin
picked her up and pretended he was going to toss her into his suitcase.

“Colin!”  She squealed.  He laughed, set her down on
the bed instead and joked, “I wish I could keep you in there for the entire
tour!”

“I’ll be with you for the first week of the tour.”

“It’ll be three months before I see you again,” He
pouted.

“I guess we’ll have to make the most of tonight and
the rest of this week then.”

Colin, Alethea, McGregor and Eddie Cole were the last
ones to arrive at the airport on the morning of the band’s departure.

“Nice to see you,” Steve remarked dryly.  “I thought
maybe, you’d forgotten we’re leaving today.”

“Not a chance, Steve!” Colin replied, his eyes
sparkling.  He walked over to the window and looked at their jet parked on the
runway outside.   The paint job was new and it had the band’s logo on it.

Their parents, Debbie, and both sets of grandparents
were coming to see them off.  Colin briefly wondered if Jeff knew he was
leaving today, but figured he probably didn’t care.  He felt shocked when he
saw his mom.  She was pale and her eyes had dark circles underneath them that
she’d tried to mask with make-up. She appeared very shaky.

Grandma Beth noticed her shakiness, too, and said,  
“You look very peaked, dear.  Are you feeling all right?”

“I’m fine, Beth, but thank you for your concern.”

Colin couldn’t help noticing how she was clinging to
his dad’s arm as if she might fall if she didn’t.  “Grandma’s right, Mom.  You
don’t look like you feel good and that flu’s going around.”

“I’m fine.  I’ve just had a little trouble sleeping.”

Colin knew why, too.  “Fucking Father Michaels!”  He
silently cursed.  He saw Steve and Russ rounding up Mace and Jake who were
talking to some fans.  Obviously, they’d skipped school to come and see
Unforgiven leave.  He turned his attention back to his mom.  “Mom, I know
you’re scared about us leaving, but we’ve both learned our lesson.  We’re not
planning on going to the can without our bodyguards!”

“Colin’s right, Mom.  We’re going to be attached to
our bodyguards at the hips!”  Liam joked, trying to reassure her.  He gave her
a hug.

Amanda smiled faintly.  “I know you’re going to be
very careful, but I’m your mother and it’s my duty to worry about you.”

“We wouldn’t have it any other way, Mom,” Colin
replied, giving her a hug.

Amanda held him tightly as several pictures flashed
through her head; the first time she’d seen him after he was born, and his
excitement before Unforgiven’s first headlining concert. His expression when he
saw Alethea coming down the aisle in her wedding gown and the way he appeared
just after his surgery.  She shuddered in remembrance.

“I want you to go home and get some sleep before you
get sick,” Colin scolded gently.

“I will,” she promised.

“I’ll make sure she goes straight to bed when we get
home,” Peter assured them.

“I’ll help dad take care of mom too,” Debbie added.

Steve came over to them.  “You guys ready?”

“Be right there, Steve,” Colin said.  Both Liam and he
gave their dad and their grandparents’ hugs. 

“Maybe, you and mom can come to our concert in Hawaii
in March,” Liam suggested.

“I can’t say for certain right now, but if at all
possible we’ll be there,” Peter said.

Colin gave his mom a final hug and waited for
Alethea.  She gave everybody hugs.  When she came to Amanda, she whispered,
“Now don’t worry about anything, Amanda.  I trust Buck to take good care of
Colin and he will.”

“I’ll try, Alethea.”

They stood by the window and watched until the jet was
safely in the air and lost from their view.  Amanda, looking a bit green around
the gills, excused herself and rushed into the nearest bathroom.  Peter waited
outside and when she reappeared he put his arms around her.

Eileen Scott rushed over to them.  “Amanda, are you
sure you’re all right?”

“She’ll be fine, Eileen,” Peter replied, fending off
his mother-in-law.  “We’re going straight home and Mandy’s going to bed.”

Amanda lifted her head from Peter’s shoulder.  “I’ll
be fine, Mom.  I know I shouldn’t let myself get this upset, but I keep
thinking there’s another sick person somewhere out there saying, ‘Well, Father
Michaels blew his chance, but I won’t!’

The Seattle concert went off without a hitch except
for the brief panic attack Colin experienced, but he remembered the relaxation
exercise Doctor Hughes had taught him, applied it and his panic began to
recede. When he did walk on-stage he felt overwhelmed by the standing ovation
he received.  He looked around and saw the entire arena was on its feet,
clapping and cheering.  “Thank you,” He said as it died down.  “I’m really glad
to be back.  I couldn’t have done it without all the support you’ve given over
the last months and I can’t begin to express how much I appreciated it.  I
guess the best way to show you is to get this concert on the road!”  The
cheering erupted once again almost drowning out the opening notes of the first
song.

Colin had been filming their tour from the moment they
stepped off the plane in Seattle.  He filmed the roadies setting up, and some
of Unforgiven’s sound check.  He gave the camcorder to Alethea and she caught
his standing ovation plus some of the actual concert.  He filmed some of their
after-concert goofing around.  “This is our dressing room at the coliseum,”
Colin spoke as he swept the camcorder around the room.  “As you can see it’s
nothing special.  Whoa!  There’s Mace and Jake in the buff and believe me, it’s
not a pretty sight!”  He yelped suddenly and ducked as several soaking wet
towels flew in his direction.  Jake came over to Colin and Alethea while they
were waiting for the coliseum to clear out.  “I sure wish Vanessa could come on
tour with me, but she was already booked to do a layout in Greece for Vogue.”

“I wish she could have come, too, Jake,” Alethea
said.  “We just don’t see enough of one another.”

“She’s thinking about cutting back on her bookings so
we can spend more time together.”

“I hope we can get together the next time she’s in San
Francisco.”

When Colin and Alethea returned to their room, she
asked, “Are you going to call your parents?”

“No.  It’s almost midnight and mom’s probably asleep. 
I don’t want to wake her if she is sleeping.”

“I doubt your parents are asleep yet and Amanda will
probably rest easier if you call.”

“Maybe, you’re right,” Colin conceded.  He picked up
his cell and hit the speed dial button with his parents’ number and waited.

“Hello?”

“Mom, I didn’t wake you, did I?”

“No, we weren’t asleep.  We just finished talking to
Liam, in fact.”

“How are you feeling?”

“Much better!  I slept for four hours after we got
home this morning.”

“You sound better.”

“I am.  Liam told us about your standing ovation at
the concert tonight.”

“Yeah.  I didn’t know how to react.  I wasn’t
expecting anything like that at all.”

“Everything’s fine then?”

“Yes.  Listen, I don’t want to keep you because it’s
late and I want you to get a good night’s rest.  Okay?”

“I will.”

“Tell dad hi for me?  I’ll call you in a couple of
days.” Colin said goodbye.  He felt relieved that his mom sounded like her old
self again.  He turned to find Alethea had taken the nightgown he’d given her
for Christmas out of her suitcase.  She sighed wistfully.  “It seems as if I
never get to wear this nightgown for very long.”

Colin gave a lascivious chuckle and raised his
eyebrows.  “Well, I have a definite feeling you’re not going to be wearing it
for very long tonight either!”

The weeks passed quickly.  The band usually only had
one night a week free because of the concerts they were making up and the
concerts added due to the selling power of ‘Read My Lips’.  Its sales were now
topping five million.  Alethea had gone home at the end of the first week. 
Colin missed her dreadfully, but they talked every night.  She was coming to
Unforgiven’s concert in Hawaii, but that was two months off yet.  He also
talked to Luke and Nora occasionally.  He reflected that by the tour’s end he
was going to have to use his share of the profits to pay his cell phone bill. 
Caitlin continued to keep in touch with him through their grandparents.  She’d
recently told him she was no longer going with her father to visit Father
Michaels because it was too depressing for her to see him in his current
condition.  She also told him she’d encouraged her father to seek psychiatric
help, but so far had been unsuccessful.

At the beginning of March, Colin and Liam called their
parents to find out whether or not they would be able to come to Unforgiven’s
concert in Hawaii.  Peter answered the phone.

“Hi, guys!”

“Hi, Dad,” They both replied.

“Where’s Mom?” Liam asked.

“She and Alethea went out to dinner so Deb, Cody, and
I are on our own tonight.  What, Deb?”  They could hear him talking to Debbie
then he came back on.  “Deb and Cody said to say hi!”

“Tell them we said hi, too,” Colin replied.

“We’re calling to find out if you and mom will be able
to come to our concert in Hawaii, Dad,” Liam explained.

“Yes, and believe me we can’t wait!  Deb has semester
tests that week so she’s staying home.  Mom and dad will be staying here with
her.”  He gave them their flight schedule information.

“Well, Dad, we’d better let you go.  Tell mom and
Alethea we said hi and we’re sorry we missed them,” Colin said.

“I will.  One more thing, guys.  We really appreciate
you sending those DVD’s.”

“Good,” Colin said.  “We’ll keep sending them.”

“Tell Deb and Cody we said goodbye,” Liam requested. 
“I’m sure glad mom and dad can come,” He remarked to Colin after they’d
finished talking.

“I know.  I can’t wait to see Alethea.  I miss her so
damn much!”

“I hear you,” Liam said with a sigh.  “I wish I didn’t
have to wait until June before I see Alison again.”

Colin put his arm around Liam’s shoulders.  “It’ll
pass fast.  You’ll see.”

On the morning their parents and Alethea were due to
arrive, Colin, Liam and their bodyguards were at Honolulu International well
before the time the plane landed.  Colin had purchased a dozen red roses for
Alethea and Liam and he had split the cost of a dozen yellow roses for their
mom.  When the plane finally landed, taxied to the gates and the passengers
began disembarking, they scanned the crowd anxiously looking for their parents
and Alethea.  It was Colin who spotted them first.  “There they are!”  He took
off running in their direction, cutting around and through people with a
muttered, “Excuse me!”  McGregor was hot on his heels with Liam and his bodyguard
bringing up the rear.

“Alethea!”  Colin grabbed her and whirled her around
then gave her a passionate kiss.  “God!  I missed you!”

“I’ve missed you, too,” She giggled and blushed.  “I
think you’d better put me down because people are staring.”

Colin set her down and grinned then explained to the
crowd of onlookers, “She’s my wife.”  He picked up the roses he’d dropped and
gave them to her.  She smiled at his thoughtfulness and kissed his cheek. 
“They’re beautiful.  Thank you.”

Liam and his bodyguard caught up them.  “Mom, dad,
it’s great to see you!”  He gave each of them a hug.  “Boy!  I’ve sure missed
you!”  He gave Amanda the roses.  “These are from Colin and me.”

“We’ve missed you too.  Thank you both for these
beautiful roses.”

Colin glanced at his mom and then looked again. “Mom,
are you pregnant?”