Sheet Music - A Rock 'n' Roll Love Story (40 page)

“Oh really?  There’s got to be more to it than that.  I don’t trust the bitch.”

“I agree, but nonetheless, she wants to meet with you tomorrow at noon to discuss it.”

“Is she in town?”

“Yes, I believe she’s staying downtown at the Ritz.”

Michael sat at the kitchen table and massaged his forehead.  “What are you advising?”

“I think you should go, listen to what she’s offering, get the paperwork and I’ll review it.  And for God’s sake, don’t sign or agree to anything, no matter how good it may sound!”

“As if I’d let that happen!”

“I’ll go with you if you want, but at this stage of the game, I think the two of you should try and come to some sort of agreement first before you get the ‘suits’ involved.”

“Okay,” Michael sighed.  The thought of being in the same room as Beth again unsettled him.

“I want you to call me after you meet with her, okay?”

“Right.”

Michael started the coffee maker then stepped out onto the deck.  The morning sun was already intensely warm with a layer of haze masking its exact location behind a fog bank.  Without shirt or shoes, Michael set off down the beach to digest his conversation with Arnold.  By the time he sauntered back to the house, the others had gotten out of bed.  Annie greeted him as he climbed the steps to the deck with a warm kiss and a cup of coffee.

“Is everything all right?” she asked.

“Yeah.  That was Arnold on the phone.  I’ve got to go back to Boston later today.”

“Who’s Arnold?” she asked.

“He’s my lawyer.  Are Brian and Barbara up yet?” he asked, walking into the house.

Annie followed him.  “Why does Arnold want to see you?”

Brian emerged from the bathroom, grunting loudly as he stretching.  “Does Arnold need to see both of us or just you?”

“Just me.”

“What did you do this time?” Brian chuckled, filling a cup with fresh coffee.

“Brian, stay out of it!” Barbara interrupted. “That’s between them, not you.”

Michael glanced in Annie’s direction.  “Beth has requested a meeting to discuss a change in our custody agreement.”

“The bitch is back in town?  That’s a scary thought,” Brian commented, as Barbara dragged him by the hand out onto the deck in order to give Michael and Annie privacy.

Annie dropped her eyes to her coffee mug.  “When are you leaving?”

“This afternoon.  I’ll fly back, check on things at the house, then meet with Beth tomorrow.”

Annie nodded.

“You’re upset.” Michael stated.

“No, really, I’m not.  I totally understand.  I’m not thrilled at the thought of you two being together but it’s important that you go.  Maybe she’s had a change of heart and is willing to let you see your son now.”

He pulled her against his chest.  “I wish that would be the case, but with Beth nothing has ever been simple.  She’s probably just looking for more money, that’s all.”

He held her tightly for several minutes.  “Do you want to come back with me and get a change of scenery?”

“Well, thanks for asking, but I should stay here and get some practicing done.  Taylor will be calling any day now and I’m nowhere near ready to start rehearsing with them.”

“Okay.”

Michael and Annie stepped out onto the deck and sat at the table.  “Man, it feels like July, not September,” Brian panted.  “It’s hotter than hell!”

“It stays nice here through October,” Annie commented, sliding on a pair of sunglasses left on the table.

“So, when are you heading back?” Brian asked Michael.

“I guess after lunch.”

“Then, if you don’t mind, Barb and I will share the plane.  I want to run some of the new material by the other guys so we can get moving on these tracks.”

“Sounds good.  Maybe next week we can start jamming with the band and see what comes from that,” Michael added.

Annie drove them to the airport and pulled the jeep up to the curb.  Brian and Barbara quickly unloaded their bags and waited on the sidewalk.

“Annie, I can’t thank you enough for the hospitality,” Barbara said, hugging her tightly.  “It was nice to spend some time with you and Michael like this.”

“Yes, I enjoyed it too. I feel like I know you both much better now,” Annie replied.

“I’m not sure if that’s necessarily a good thing,” Brian joked, sliding his arms around her midriff.  Then his hands drifted down her backside and rested on her butt and gently squeezed.

“Hey, hey!  Watch the hands,” Michael scolded.  “I’m obviously gonna have to teach you some boundaries, aren’t I?”

“Don’t be so sensitive, Mike.  She’s like my sister, for Christ’s sake,” Michael’s friend chuckled like a dirty old man.

“Yeah, and that’s not saying much.  You’d screw your sister if she’d let you,” Michael hollered from the back of the jeep.  Then he turned toward Annie.  “Before I forget, let me know if you hear from Taylor.  I want to help you move down to New York.  Okay?”

Brian stepped back into the conversation.  “Oh yeah, Annie, that’s right.  Mike told me you signed with Lace.  That’s great news!  And a smart move to get the contracts signed before Taylor and Lacey knew your connection with us,” he laughed.  “Especially considering Mike’s old connection with Lacey.”

The air froze in Annie’s lungs.  “What do you mean?” she asked flatly.

Brian immediately shot a look at Michael at the back of the jeep.  “Ah, shit!  Don’t tell me you didn’t tell her yet?” he yelled to Michael.

Michael dropped the last bag on the sidewalk.  “Tell her what?”

Annie’s eyes fell on Michael and began to fill with tears.  “Brian says you have an old connection with Lacey.  Is that true?”

Michael turned to face Brian.  “What the fuck did you say?”

“I thought you already told her, man!  How was I supposed to know!?”

“Get on the plane, Brian!” Michael screamed.

Annie quickly made her way around the front of the jeep.  Michael caught her by the wrist.

“How could you?” she asked, tears sliding down her cheeks.  “You’ve had three months to mention something about this and you didn’t!  Why?”

“I wanted to, but I was afraid of having this exact conversation.”

Annie clenched her jaw tight.  “And, me walking into rehearsals with them and
not
knowing about you and Lacey was a better option?”

He dropped his gaze.  “I don’t know what to say.”

“Was it a one night thing?” she asked quietly.

He shook his head, kicking imaginary rocks on the pavement.  “No.”

She shifted her weight uneasily and glanced off toward the parking lots.  “A weekend fling?” she asked hopefully.

“No.”

“Then, how long, Michael?  How long were you sleeping with her?” she asked, her voice pitching an octave.

“About a year.”

She slapped his face fiercely.  “Go to hell.”

“Annie, it wasn’t serious.  There were no emotions.  It was just…”

“You were sex buddies?  Is that it?”

“Yeah, something like that.” he shrugged.  “We were on the road and bored.”

“So you had sex to suppress the boredom?”

She opened the door to the jeep and he stopped her from getting inside.

“Annie, it was nothing; which is exactly why I didn’t tell you about it.  It was a long time ago, part of my past.  Would you feel better if I gave you a list of everyone I’ve slept with?  I hope not, because I don’t even remember half of them!”

She shoved him hard on his chest.  “You’re an asshole!  I don’t want a list, Michael, but it sure would be nice to know about previous relationships you had with people I’m going to be working with on a day to day basis!  That would be the decent thing to do.”

“I’m sorry,” he spoke softly.

“What about Taylor?  Did you sleep with her too?”

“No.  But Brian did, one time, I think.”

“Wonderful.  I guess you guys had a regular party going on during that tour, didn’t you.”

“I’m serious, it wasn’t a big deal.  We were basically friends.”

“Friends that had sex - a lot, for a year.”

He stepped closer.  “Please…I want you to understand.”

“You have a plane to catch.  Go.”

“The plane can wait.”

Annie hopped up into the jeep.  “No, I think you really need to leave.  I can’t deal with you right now.”

“Annie!”

She turned the key in the ignition.  “Go back to Boston with your friends, Michael, and I’ll talk to you later.”

Annie drove back to the house and plunked herself into a deck chair, staring at the ocean.  She sat there for hours deep in thought.  She watched the sun set and the moon rise.  She heard the house phone ring several times and also her cell phone.  She ignored every call.  She was too angry for tears or conversation.  Somehow she had to process this information and deal with it.  The opportunity Lace was offering her was too good to walk away from simply because of Michael’s past relationship with Lacey.  But it hurt that he had kept that relationship a secret.  She wondered how Lacey felt about him now, after all these years.  Would there still be a spark between them or contempt?

She went to bed without eating and quickly regretted that decision, running to the bathroom and vomiting.  In the morning she felt even worse.  Saltines and ginger ale was all she could keep down.  Around lunch, she dialed Taylor’s phone number.  If Michael’s past relationship with Lacey was going to be a problem, Annie wanted to know now.

“Hi Taylor, it’s Annie Logan.  How are you doing?”

“Hi Annie!  I was going to give you a call later on today and ask if you could come down sometime before Friday.  How does that work for you?” Taylor asked.

“Before I do that, there’s a few things you need to know about me first.” she sighed.

“Oh, Annie, should I be sitting down for this?” Taylor joked, sensing the seriousness of the conversation.

“There are a few things I didn’t tell you when I signed the contracts with you that I think you need to know now before I come down to work with you.”

“Like what Annie?” Taylor’s voice grew stern.

“For starters, I’m married.”

“That’s no big deal.  We all have boyfriends - and husbands, from time to time.”

Annie took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.  “Yesterday, I was informed my husband had a past relationship with Lacey.  I need to know if this is going to create an awkward working environment for us?”

Taylor laughed.  “Annie, Lacey has had relationships with a lot of guys over the years but I seriously doubt your husband is one of them.”

“My husband is Michael Wade.”

Silence filled the phone line.

“Seriously?”

“Very.”

“Wow, Annie.  I’m stunned.  Where the hell did you have him stashed when we met you on the Vineyard?”

Annie exhaled loudly.  “We weren’t together then.  When I met you, I hadn’t seen him in months - by choice.  And then Brian asked me to go see Michael in June at their Boston shows and we got back together.  Next thing I knew we were getting married.”

“Well, to answer your question, I don’t have a problem with you being married to Michael.  I think he’s a great guy.  I can’t speak for Lacey though, but I sincerely doubt she’ll have an opinion on it.  They were together such a long time ago and, based on what she told me at the time, it really was no big deal.  In fact, I believe he was still seeing other women at the same time so they weren’t even exclusive with each other.”

“Okay.  I had to ask though.  Last thing I wanted to do was create bad feelings with Lacey.”

“I appreciate your honesty but no worries here, Annie.  Do you want me to mention this to Lacey?”

“Yeah, would you mind?”

“Not a problem.  I’ll be seeing her later on today.  Now, when do you think you can come down to start working?”

Annie smiled.  “I’ll have to see about making ferry reservations but I’m sure I can find a way to get there before the end of the week.”

“We’re not expecting you to drive down here, Annie!  We fully intend to pay for your airfare and moving costs.  Don’t worry about any of that.  Just book the flight and let me know when you’re arriving and I’ll send a car to pick you up at the airport.”

“Okay, I’ll see you soon,” Annie sighed.

Bonita greeted Michael at the door and quickly asked why Annie wasn’t with him.  He explained his meeting with Beth and disappeared into the master bedroom to call Annie.  Several times he tried and she ignored each attempt.  His heart sank.  He wondered how he could be so stupid.  She was the first ‘real’ relationship he had ever had and he was making every mistake in the book.  He dialed her cell phone again and left another message.  Then he called the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Boston.

“Good evening, Ritz-Carlton Hotel.” “Yes, can you connect me to Beth Wade’s room, please.” Michael rolled his eyes in disgust.  The fact that Beth still had his name connected to the end of hers even bothered him.

“Hello?”

“Hi, it’s me.” he said.

Beth immediately recognized his smooth baritone voice.  Hearing it still sent a shiver down her spine.  “Hi, Michael.  How’d you know I was here?”

“My lawyer called me.  Isn’t that what you wanted?”

Beth ignored his hostile tone.  “It’s good to hear your voice too.”

“Hey, mom.  Can I have a soda from the mini-bar?” Michael’s son asked his mother.

The blood drained from Michael’s face.  “John’s with you too?”

“Yes, would you like to see him?”

“I’ll be there in half an hour,” he replied, hanging up the phone, and hoping this wasn’t another one of her famous tricks.

Beth answered the door and swung it wide for Michael.  The years hadn’t changed her much.  She was still blond, although Michael was intelligent enough to know that it was no longer natural.  The only evidence that time had passed were the tiny laugh lines around her blue eyes.  He forced a weak smile on his face and stepped inside the suite.

“Hi, Michael,” Beth smiled broadly, flashing her perfect white teeth.  Teeth he was sure he’d paid to be capped and bleached.  “Still using the baseball hat for disguise, I see.”

Michael ignored her comment and looked beyond her into the living room.  “Where’s John?”

“He’s in there watching television,” she answered, turning her back toward Michael.  “Jonathan, your father is here,” she called to the boy.