Tudor Reunion Tour (10 page)

“What about you Angus? Are you going to
be okay?” Amadeus asked. None of the brothers were supposed to have been paid
until the end of the tour. Amadeus had worked out details with Damien to hold
him over. Now it was Angus. He and his wife Ashleigh were split up now, and
neither of us knew what obligations he had to meet with her.

“Well, everything we had agreed on has
been purely verbal. There’s nothing in writing, no papers signed. She’s trying
to be patient, but she knows what’s really going on because she’s taken a few
calls from the crew and stuff.”

“How much is it going to take to hold
her over until either we go back on the road the end of next month or something
comes in?”

Angus sat there for a moment in silence
before he spoke. “Let me ask her.”

“No,” I replied curtly, causing three
sets of eyes to focus on me. “Tell her this is what you can do, and make sure
she knows where the money is coming from and that there is nothing more until
the band is back on the road.” I pushed a piece of paper with a figure Amadeus
and I had earlier agreed on towards him. He picked it up, studied it for a
second, and nodded his head.

After a grueling couple of hours, it
dawned on me that I was starving. Amadeus never had stopped as planned for
something quick to eat. I mentioned something to the boys, and Damien and Angus
smugly began bringing out deli lunch stuff. Good pastrami, roast beef, and
scads of other meats. A variety of breads and cheeses and condiments, add chips
and we had a meal. I had to laugh to myself at the two new bachelors and how
they dealt with eating.

Sitting around the small living room in
the guest house, we all quietly enjoyed our masterpieces. I was glad we had
most of the serious business out of the way. It was far from over, and the
flood gates were probably only beginning to break open, but I felt good that we
were all on top of it.

Damien had been quiet for a while and
finally sat back in his chair and looked at both Amadeus and me. “I have a proposition
to make. Don’t give me an answer either way today, but just think about this.”

“Sure thing,” Amadeus replied. “What’s
on your mind Dame?”

“The two of you saved my ass paying this
place off like you did. Otherwise the bank would have it.”

“Well, we were happy to help,” I added,
glancing over at Amadeus.

“I have a proposition, and I’ll get
right to the point. What would the two of you say to swapping homes? I give you
this place in exchange for your condo in Seattle. This place has too many
memories, and frankly, I’d be better nearer the city. I can put the girls in
school there. It’s more manageable for me to handle.”

I knew how much Amadeus loved the place,
always had, but we had never been around long enough to seriously look for a
place of our own in the area. Instead we had moved to Scotland. This would
change everything.

“Tell you what, Damien. Zara and I will
take your offer under consideration. Let her, and me, get everything under
control with the tour, what Julia’s done, and get the makeup dates firmed up.
By then school will be about out for the girls, and once we finish the tour, we’ll
all sit down again and talk.”

“Fair enough,” he replied.

“It’s not that we don’t want to do it,
you just need to be one hundred percent sure this is what you want to do,
Damien.”

“You’re both right. I didn’t even take
into consideration that you might prefer to stay in Scotland.”

“Well,” Amadeus added, “for now it’s
looking as though Seattle’s going to have to be our home base. But Zara’s
right, we would want you to be one hundred percent with the decision.”

Monday I made a beeline to the bank.
Amadeus accompanied me as I needed his signature to move money, and he watched
over Elizabeth. For the next hour, I had bank drafts made out to everyone on
the tour. All the crew and the band were paid. I already knew who wanted to
pick up their checks in person and who wanted them sent overnight delivery.
From the bank, I sent out a group email telling those who were picking theirs
up when and where, and the rest to expect them the following day. Our next stop
was the nearest FedEx location.

Not bad work for a Monday. The vendors
would have to wait. Julia and Don’s names were on all the tour documents. The
attorney, along with Peter’s brother-in-law, Steve, insisted we let things go
through the motions. If it came down to one of them trying to sue any or all of
the brothers, the situation would be dealt with.

Joe Franco had been quietly looking into
Julia and Don’s comings and goings, trying to find a common thread. Some piece
of the puzzle that, when traced backwards, would lead to where they were. Now,
you say that’s easy, check airline passenger manifests or customs. All had been
checked and all had come back empty. Not too surprising as well planned as her
disappearance appeared. The world of private jets, yachts and such would make
finding her that much more difficult. Joe had found nothing, but he wasn’t one
to give up. He kept Amadeus and me up to date via emails, texts, and phone
calls.

While our attorneys were piecing
together a lawsuit, they had involved the feds for some laws the pair broke in
their greediness.

One afternoon, a couple of weeks, later
Amadeus received a phone call from his personal attorney that would change the
course of our lives. Elizabeth had just gone down for a nap when the call came
in. When I returned to the sunroom where Amadeus was still talking on the
phone, I noted the color had drained from his face. My first thought was of
Grace and Peter.

He held up his hand, indicating to me
not to speak. “Zara, I need you to call Ashleigh and see if she or one of the
girls can watch Elizabeth. Now, immediately.”

“Why? What’s going on?”

“Just do as I ask, Zara, please. I’ll
explain as soon as you have everything set up.”

I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket
and began making calls as Amadeus stood looking out the windows at the sound.
He didn’t move until it was obvious to him that Destiny would be over within
the hour to watch Elizabeth.

“Okay, babysitter is on the way. Now do
you want to tell me what this is all about while we get ready?”

“I’ll tell you. Don’t ask questions,
Zara, because I know few answers. Just humor me on this until we get all the
facts, okay?”

“Okay.”

“It seems I have a son, Zara. He’s about
twelve years old. Dick said he was in a car wreck last night with his mother
and some other people. He’s the only one who survived. He was airlifted to
children’s hospital. That’s where we’re headed.”

“You knew nothing about him? Are they
sure…”

“No, I knew nothing about him, and yes,
they’re sure he’s mine. That’s about all I can tell you. Dick is meeting us
there. Now let’s get ready, shall we?”

He raked his hand through his hair in
total shock, going through the motions. I imagined his mind had to be running a
mile a minute. I knew it was best for me to sit back and observe, take things
in. He won’t remember things and I need to be his ears.

The boy was the product of some long ago
affair. I was surprised the mother never came forward wanting child support or
some kind of monetary compensation. Perhaps she simply had not been that sort
of woman. Perhaps the child wasn’t Amadeus’s. Perhaps it was all a horrible
mistake.

We arrived at the hospital at the
specified floor Amadeus’s attorney had directed us to. We rode in silence the
entire trip. Amadeus took my hand as we approached his attorney, Dick.

“Why do they think I’m the father?”
Amadeus inquired as we sat down in a small waiting area.

Dick produced a piece of paper out of
his briefcase and handed it to Amadeus. I peered over his shoulder in an
attempt to read what was on the paper.

“Evidently she carried this in her
wallet.”

The paper was neatly typed. The contents
stated that if anything were to happen to her to contact Amadeus. He was the
biological father of her son, Logan. This was all real now. The young boy had a
name.

Dick informed Amadeus that, if Amadeus
was willing to submit to a DNA test, so would the boy. Dick was pretty adamant
about Amadeus doing this. At first Amadeus agreed, but upon seeing the boy as
he lay in his hospital bed a few minutes later, Amadeus saw no need for it. He
did it anyway just to appease his attorney.

The nurse led us into Logan’s hospital
room. He looked so helpless lying there in a room by himself. He was asleep,
medicated, the nurse told us, for the pain. Logan was a younger version of
Amadeus. Damn! What was it about the Tudor genes?

We stood there for a few minutes in
silence, standing in disbelief before Amadeus motioned me out of the room. He
followed me out to the hall. He grabbed my hand and led me back to a small
group of chairs near the nurses’ station. We were waiting on one of the doctors
to come and give us a progress report. Dick was on the phone in a corner of the
room.

A young doctor came and sat with us as
he explained Logan’s various injuries. The boy had gotten off light compared to
what the rest of his family succumbed to. The doctor said he figured it was
because Logan had been asleep at the time of the accident. He could come home
with us in a few days. They wanted to keep him more for observation than
anything else.

The next couple of hours were a blur as
we signed papers with family and children’s services, the hospital, and
countless others. Amadeus would have to go through formal proceedings to become
Logan’s legal guardian. That was the reason for the woman from children’s
services being part of it. The only relative Amadeus did learn of was a drug
addicted uncle, a brother to the boy’s mother, whom Logan’s mother had
indicated was never to have anything to do with the boy. Dick promised Amadeus
he would get the paperwork pushed through as fast as he could.

Finally, Logan was awake and we joined
him. He stared at Amadeus in wide-eyed amazement. Quietly he told Amadeus that
his mother had told him a couple of years before who his biological father was
and that if anything was to ever happen to her, he was to find Amadeus.

That evening, after going out and
getting Logan’s favorite fast food meal, some reading material, and other
necessities a young boy might need, I returned to the hospital room to find him
and Amadeus in deep conversation.

“Here you go, Logan. I think I got
everything.” I passed him the fast food bag and placed the remaining items on
the bed table.

“Cool. Thanks, Zara,” he replied
timidly.

“I told Logan we’d be back first thing
in the morning. He understands he’s coming home to live with us, Zara. I told
him to be prepared for Elizabeth.” He chuckled, taking my hand.

“Oh, yes, Elizabeth will become your
instant best friend, Logan. I’m sure she’ll be quite fascinated with your cast.
But Amadeus is right. We need to let you get a good night’s sleep, and we’ll be
back in the morning.”

“Okay.”

“Don’t hesitate to call if you need
anything or just want to talk,” Amadeus told him, noticing the boy obviously
didn’t want to be alone. “We’ll be back before you know it, Logan. Zara’s right,
you need to get a good night’s sleep. It helps with the healing process they
say.”

Once we arrived at the condo, and
Destiny left, I headed to Elizabeth’s room to check on her. She was sound
asleep. This was the first time I hadn’t been with her for her nightly ritual.
I was sure it wouldn’t be the last.

I found Amadeus stretched out on a
leather sofa, a glass full of whiskey. It had been a long and hard day.

“Zara, I’m going to call Angus and
Damien and tell them I’m sitting these last concerts out. I need to be here
helping you with Logan. It isn’t fair to you to expect you to do it alone.”

“Amadeus, you know I’m perfectly
capable…”

“I know you are, but I should be here.
Damian and Angus can handle it.”

“You’re absolutely sure?”

“Yes. There are some times when even I
have to put my family first.” The corners of his mouth curved up as he grinned
at the thought. He took a long drink off of his whiskey.

“Is there anything I can do?”

“No, you’ve done more than needed as
usual, Zara. Thank you.”

“Well, sleep on it. It’s not that many
dates, and we can come and see you when you’re close by, and I believe there
will be a couple that are within driving distance.”

“Okay, madam manager. I’ll sleep on it.”

The following morning Destiny returned
to watch Elizabeth once more. She had a dental appointment in the late
afternoon, and I assured her that we’d be back by then. Elizabeth was not happy
over the two of us leaving her again, and I had to coax Amadeus to leave her.
He hated seeing her unhappy.

In the car, I mentioned to him that as
how the doctors had cut Logan’s clothes off, I thought we should stop by and
purchase just the bare necessities. But, of course, Amadeus had other plans. He
wanted to run it by Logan so we got the correct sizes and didn’t bring back
something that might embarrass him.

We found Logan sitting up in a chair
next to his bed watching cartoons. He looked in far better shape than he had
the day before. He was all smiles when he saw the two of us walk through the
doorway.

After talking for a while, Amadeus
started asking him about clothes, sizes and such. He rattled off what he
preferred. When it came to his pants size, however, Amadeus peered at him in
disbelief.

“Logan, if you think you’re going to
tell me that’s your jeans size, you’re mistaken. That’s almost large enough for
two of me!”

The boy began cackling. He knew he’d
been caught. He finally gave his correct size and brand preference.

“That’s what I thought,” Amadeus chided.
“‘Cause if you think you’re going to go out with your pants hanging off your
hips and your butt crack
showin
’, you’re in for a
rude awakening.”

“Can’t blame a guy for trying, can you?”
A sheepish grin came across his face. Damn! He looked like a teenage Amadeus.
Just as Amadeus looked when I first met him, only he was a few years older.

“No. But don’t think that Zara or I are
pushovers.”

I took it as my cue to go shopping and
leave the two of them alone to get to know each other better. I dug inside my
pocketbook and tossed Logan a t-shirt from the reunion tour.

“Do you think that’ll do to go home in?”
I asked. “We’ll take you shopping later.”

“No, this is fine. Cool.”

“Good. Now while you two conspire to
take over the world, I’ll go see if I can’t find you a couple of pairs of jeans
and things. Just until we can take you shopping…”

Amadeus slid his arm around my waist and
kissed me softly on the cheek and lips. My cue to leave. I sighed, then turned
and headed towards the bank of elevators. Knowing nothing was within easy
walking distance, I hiked back to the SUV and headed out to one of the huge
independent retailers that dotted the Seattle area.

Grabbing a cart, I pulled my list out of
my purse and began to read. Underwear, I had written. Amadeus had crossed the
word out and written boxers. I smiled to myself that he was already protecting
Logan from a new to teenage boy’s step-mom and her errors. I found the piles of
jeans laid out, double checking to make sure I had the right brand and finally found
two pairs in Logan’s size.

One last look at the list. Flip flops.
Made sense, better than trying to purchase a pair of shoes he wouldn’t like. I
found two pairs of flip flops, a pair I liked and a pair I knew he would like.
I dropped them into the cart. I cruised the aisles for items I knew we needed
at home and to give the two of them time alone.

Finding the toddler clothing section, I
found a few things I couldn’t resist for Elizabeth. She was growing like a
weed, quickly outgrowing her clothes, and she wasn’t even a year old.

Still I wondered about Logan’s mom and
who she was. How she fit into Amadeus’s past. Oh, sure, he claimed he didn’t
remember her, but did he really? Back then I was all business, working my tail
off trying to promote and get Amadeus and Tudor Rose’s name and music into
everyone’s life. I was his manager and promoter, not his keeper.

Finally, tired of having to
procrastinate, I found a register and paid for all my items. As I took them
from the cart and laid them in the back of the SUV, I held back the items I’d
purchased for Logan. I stuck those in the back seat behind me and headed back
to the hospital.

Amadeus

How could I have not known about Logan?
I realize I was younger and way into the rock star mode of life, but to not know
I’d fathered a child. Worse yet, I seriously did not remember Logan’s mother.
Even when he showed me a photo of the two of them together she didn’t ring any
bells or wave any flags. Not wanting to hurt Logan’s feelings, I lied and told
him I remembered her. I also told him it had been many years ago.

Most women would have gone off the deep
end, but not Zara. She’s always been there for me. My rock. No matter what’s
gone on in my life or our life, she’s always been there for me. Even long
before we were ever together as a couple.

Now, once again she’s gracefully
allowing my son, by another woman, to come live with us. Zara never bats an
eye. She just reboots and reorganizes our life to accommodate whatever has to
be done.

Damien had offered to make a real estate
swap with Zara and me. His island home and acreage for the condo in Seattle.
The compound holds too many memories and he’s right, it’s too much for him
alone to keep up. Zara and I have discussed the transaction, going as far as to
find out the legalities. She’s willing to do it provided we go in and do some
remodeling to the inside of the house. If that’s what it takes to make her
comfortable in the house, then we’ll do it.

Having Logan, the swap seems like it was
meant to be. Zara and I had agreed the condo was no place to raise young
children. We thought we were going to have a few years, to kick back in
Scotland or wherever until Elizabeth was ready for school. Now it looks like
things have been bumped up a few years.