Sheet Music - A Rock 'n' Roll Love Story (49 page)

“I don’t care when you go, that’s up to you.  But until you get the test results back, you’re not touching me.  It’s not just my health I have to worry about now.  I also have a baby to think about and I don’t think she or I should have to suffer because of your stupidity.”

“I understand.  I’ll go.  I promise.”

He cradled her in his arms and for a brief moment he thought everything was going to be okay.  Then he felt her sobbing again.

“Are you all right?”

“No, and I’m not convinced it will ever be ‘right’ again.”

“Don’t say that.  I know we can make this work,” he replied.

“How so?  How do you see this working?  Make me understand and see your vision because I’m not seeing it.”

Annie got off the bed and began to pace the room.  “Look around you.  How many marriages in this business do you see working?  And, I’m talking about the ones that are being truthful, not the ones that are married on paper only!”

Each word that left her mouth grew louder and more intense.  In minutes she was shouting.  She spewed a continuous unstoppable dialog that left his head spinning and then it ended with her leaning up against the window.  Immediately he went to her.

“I refuse to live, wondering every time you go on tour or into the studio, if you’re being unfaithful to me.  And I refuse to be your babysitter, shadowing your every move, trying to give you a conscience.”

“No more long separations, Annie.  I’ll have to do a better job scheduling our tours and studio time to work around your jobs.  I don’t like being without you.  It drives me crazy to wake up and not have you beside me.”

She faced him again and her vision blurred.  She blinked hard to focus then swayed slightly on her feet.

“What’s the matter, babe?” he asked, extending an arm to catch her.

“I’m fine…just hungry.”

“Then let’s get something to eat,” he suggested, leading her from the bedroom. 

Taylor was in the kitchen, reading the newspaper, when they appeared.  “Well, I guess it’s safe to say you two made-up last night?” she asked.

Annie plunked herself onto a barstool beside the breakfast bar and rolled her eyes at Taylor.  “Hardly.  He wants me to go back to Boston with him so he can take care of me.”

“Sounds good to me,” Taylor replied.

“I don’t need him to take care of me.  I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself,” she answered defensively as she prepared to toast some bread.

“I’m still in the room, you know,” Michael interjected, taking a seat beside Taylor at the table.

Annie narrowed her eyes and looked at him across the room.  “I have no secrets from Taylor.  She asked me a question and she deserves an answer.”

Suddenly Taylor felt like an unwelcome guest in her own home.  “I’m beginning to wish I hadn’t asked the question.”

Annie ate the toast and made scrambled eggs which she reluctantly shared with Michael.  “I guess this would be considered taking care of you, now wouldn’t it?” she sneered, tossing the plate in front of him, pieces of egg splattering onto table.

Taylor leaned in toward his ear.  “Don’t give up on her yet, Michael.  I can tell she’s weakening by the minute,” she teased.

He laughed loudly, nearly choking on his eggs.  “Absolutely.  I can feel the love!”

After breakfast, Michael grabbed Annie’s coat and handed it to her.  “Come on,” he said.  “Put this on.”

“What’s this for?”

“It’s cold outside, you’ll need it.” “I have no intention of going outside,” she said, tossing the coat back onto the chair.

He picked the coat up again and threw it back at her.  “You and I are going outside for some fresh air.  Now, put on the coat,” he demanded with a smile.  Then he slid his dark sunglasses onto the bridge of his nose.  “Lets go, the daylight hours are waning,” he teased.

“You want to go for a walk out there, downtown New York City, in broad daylight with no security?”

“Correct.  Now, lets go.”

“You can’t be serious.”

He shrugged his shoulders and slid his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket.  “I like living dangerously.”

Five minutes later they were on the sidewalk, Annie still in full protest.  Michael ignored her complaints and pulled her against his body as they walked.  It was chilly with a brisk March breeze blowing in between the tall concrete and steel buildings but the sun was shining.

He flipped his coat collar up close around his throat and adjusted Annie’s as well.  They walked the few blocks to Central Park and Michael flagged down a horse and buggy.

“Take us through the park,” he requested, handing the driver money.  Annie turned to him and smiled.  It seemed like a lifetime since he had seen her do so and it was brilliant, bright and warmer than the sun on the hottest day of the year.

“I’ve always wanted to do this,” she commented quietly, as Michael draped a wool blanket across their laps.

“I know.  I remember you telling me that,” he smiled back.

They rode in silence with Michael’s arm securely behind her neck and her head resting on his shoulder.  “This is wonderful,” she said.  “I’m glad we came outside.”

“Sometimes a change in scenery is all it takes to get a different perspective,” he answered, peering down at her.

She gazed up at him and watched as the smile curling his lips relaxed and then grew serious.  Without thinking, she reached and stroked the unshaven morning stubble on his chin with her fingers.  Her heart began to beat fast in her chest.  She closed her eyes when she saw his mouth descend toward hers.  It made no sense to try and stop something she wanted more than the air filling her lungs.

He brushed against her tentatively at first, expecting resistance, and feeling none.  Then his hand pulled her neck harder against his mouth.  He felt her open and reach for him, first with her lips then her tongue.  Happily, he reciprocated.

They were so absorbed in each other they hadn’t noticed that the buggy had returned to the spot where they had started.  Or that several people had recognized who the famous occupant of the buggy was and had begun snapping photographs of him perched in the seat beside Annie.

Michael signed a few autographs and posed for pictures then hurried Annie down the sidewalk, slipping into a deli Michael frequented when in the city.  The owner recognized him immediately.

“Hey, Mike!  How the hell are you?”

“I’m doing great, Reuben,” he replied with a smile.

“Who’s the girl?” Reuben asked with a wink.

“This is my wife, Annie.”

Another lewd wink and lecherous laughter broke in the room making Annie blush.

“What can I get for you?” Rubin asked.

“Ah, I don’t know,” Michael replied and turned toward Annie.  “Are you hungry?”

“Not really,” she answered, suddenly feeling queasy from the many pungent smells in the deli.  She swallowed hard as her stomach began to knot.

“I’ll make you lunch to go then,” Rubin suggested.

“Okay, do that,” Michael agreed.

“What can I make the lady?”

Annie’s face turned white.  “Michael, I’ll be right back,” she said and headed toward the bathroom.

Michael waited for the sandwiches and Annie.  Several minutes passed.  Something didn’t seem right.  She was taking too long.  He knocked at the bathroom door and called her name but got no response.  He pushed open the door and found her inside a stall clutching at her stomach.

Instantly he was on his knees beside her.  “What’s the matter?  Are you all right?”

She looked at him, tears staining her face.  “I’m bleeding,” she cried.  “I think I’m losing the baby!”

“God no!”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone, quickly dialing 911.  In the few minutes it took for the ambulance to arrive, he prayed.  He made every promise imaginable for her to keep that baby, their baby, the child that would make them a family.

The ambulance zigzagged through the city traffic, arriving at the hospital with Annie and Michael on-board.  Then, the EMTs rushed Annie into the emergency room.  After a through examination, the doctors informed Annie she was in the early stages of labor.  She was hooked up to a fetal monitor and watched the needle jump every time her uterus contracted.  An intravenous line was run into her arm with drugs intended to prevent the progression of labor.

“It’s too soon, Michael.  The baby isn’t due for another month!”

“I know, babe.  Don’t worry.  They know what to do.”

“Can you call Taylor and let her know what happened.  If she can come, I’d like her to be here.”

Even with the medication, Annie was feeling the contractions.  Helpless, Michael paced the floor to her private room.

“You do realize this happened because of the stress I've been under – that
you
put me under.”

He spun around to look at her, emotion straining his face.  “Annie…”

“If it weren’t for your little indiscretion I wouldn’t be here right now!  We’d probably be back home getting a room ready for this baby.”

“I’m sorry.  I never intended…”

“Shut up, Michael.  Even better - why don’t you leave?”

Michael reached for his coat and headed for the door.  “I’ll go call Taylor,” he said softly.

“Why don’t you call her from the plane on your way home!”

Michael went to a private waiting room and dialed Taylor’s apartment.

“Hey, Taylor, it’s me.”

“Where the hell have you two been?  I figured you’d be back hours ago.”

“Annie went into labor while we were out so we’re at the hospital now.”

“Oh my God, Michael!  It’s too early.”

“I know.  The doctors are giving her drugs to try and stop the contractions, but so far, it doesn’t seem to be working.”

“Is she all right?”

“Yeah, I guess so,” he sighed.  “But she’s asking for you.  If you’re not busy, she’d like you to come down.”

“I’m on my way.”

Michael was still in the waiting area when Taylor breezed in behind him.

“Hi, Michael,” She said, spreading her arms to hug him tightly.  “Why aren’t you in with her?”

He shrugged his shoulders.  “Because she doesn't
want
me in there.”

Before Taylor could answer, a nurse suddenly appeared in the doorway.  “Mr. Wade?”

Michael turned quickly.  “Is Annie okay?” he asked.

“Her water just broke.  I’m afraid this baby doesn’t want to wait.”

“Oh shit.”

Taylor hooked her arm around Michael’s.  “Come on.  Lets go see her,” she instructed, dragging him with her down the hall.

As soon as Annie saw Taylor, her face lit up.  “Taylor!  Thank God you’re here,” she whimpered, breathing through another contraction.

Nervously, Michael hung back by the door.  He saw Annie’s eye’s drift beyond Taylor and focus on him.  He dug his hands deeper into his pockets.

“What’s he doing in here?” she asked Taylor.

“Annie, he is the father of this baby.  He has a right…”

“He gave up his rights the night he cheated on me!”

Everyone in the room turned to glare at Michael.  His face burned with anger and tensed, but he stood his ground.  He wasn’t leaving before their baby was born.

“I’m staying,” he mumbled quietly with defiance.

Annie was about to protest further when another painful contraction demanded her attention.  A doctor quickly moved into place to examine her.

“She’s fully dilated.  It won’t be long now,” he said to the nurse beside him.

The contractions came one on top of the next, leaving Annie little time to catch her breath.  Out of necessity, Michael took his place beside her head and tried to help her breathe while Taylor kept her forehead cooled with a face cloth.  When it was time to push, they each took a leg and coached her through the process.  Minutes later, Samantha Logan-Wade rushed into the world with the cry of a healthy full term baby.  Annie fell back onto the bed in exhaustion.

Michael cut the umbilical cord and handed their tiny baby girl to Annie, who’s eyes were brimming with tears of pride.

Sensing the privacy of the moment, Taylor inched toward the door, blowing her friend a kiss and saying congratulations.

“We did it,” Annie sighed, peeling back the blanket to inspect her newborn.

“No, you did it,” Michael replied.

“She’s so tiny, but perfect.  Look at her.  She’s got all her fingers and toes.”

He bent in close and kissed the baby’s tiny forehead.  “She’s beautiful, just like her mother,” he whispered, his eyes expressing his sentiment better than his words.

Annie gazed at him.  She saw the tear he blinked away and reached to wipe it.  Did he really look different to her or was it the raw emotion of the moment that made him appear that way.  He was the father of her baby.  So handsome and strong, and yet this tiny baby had reduced him to tears.

“It’s okay, Michael,” she reassured.  “It’s over and she’s going to be all right.”

His face fell to her shoulder just as the wave overtook him.  He cried for his transgression and the deep regret that came with it, he cried for losing Annie’s respect, but mostly he cried tears of joy.  Annie had given him the most precious gift of all, a daughter.

He lifted his head and wiped at his eyes.  “I’m sorry,” he choked.  “For everything.”

“I know,” she answered.

“And I promise, no matter what it takes, I will be a great father.”

Annie smiled.  “I never doubted that.”  She stroked his face with her fingers.

“I love you so much, Annie,” he sighed, kissing the palm of her hand.

Annie opened her mouth to speak but the baby in her arms began to wiggle and fuss.  “I think she’s hungry,” Annie said, offering her breast to her new daughter.

Annie stayed the night, but right after breakfast Michael began negotiations for her departure.

“Can I bring Annie and the baby back to Boston?” he asked the doctor.

“Absolutely not.  I don’t want her going any further than she has to.  Where are you staying in the city?”

“I have an apartment,” Annie answered.

“Then stay there.  Give it a week, come back to see me, and I’ll make a decision on Boston from there.”

Michael took her back to the apartment and settled her and the baby into her bed.  It didn’t take long for him to understand the closeness they had shared in the hospital was merely something that happened in the heat of the moment.  Annie’s animosity burned just below the surface of her skin.