Wish Upon a Star (13 page)

I swallowed as a bead of sweat formed on my brow. In a
small crowd, I was as comfortable speaking as an auctioneer at an
estate sale. But in front of this crowd of five hundred people, most of
whom I'd never met? My heart started racing as if I was in a full out
sprint at the Tour of California.

I glanced at the table where Annie's band was seated. Beth,
her musical director and keyboardist, gave me a little salute. Ashley,
her drummer who was currently sporting a four inch purple
Mohawk, and Tisha, her bass player, appeared to be trying very hard
to suppress giggles.

After placing the mic on the table, I wiped my sweaty palms
on the cloth napkin. Annie leaned toward me.

"Just say what's in your heart. It always works with me." She
gave my hand a little squeeze.

I stood and took the mic in trembling hands.

"Hi. For those of you who don't know me, I'm E.J. McCarty.
About twenty months ago, I met the beautiful woman seated next to
me. We've faced a few challenges since then, but there's one thing I
am absolutely certain of. And that is since the day in Chicago that I
stumbled into her life, I've been the luckiest guy in the world.

"We've asked you here tonight to join us in celebrating
Annie's birthday. More than that, we're celebrating life. To that end,
I'd like to introduce you all to our co-guest of honor, the lovely young
lady to Annie's left, Staci Cleary."

Staci's eyes grew wide as the room broke out in a round of
applause. She looked to Annie, with what had to be a little fear in her
eyes. Annie smiled back, took Staci's hand, and together they rose.
The applause grew louder as the partygoers began to stand, first the
band, then Staci's friends, until everyone was out of out of their
seats. Staci's mom wiped away a tear between claps.

The photographer approached the table. In response, Annie
raised her and Staci's clasped hands to the ceiling. They shared a
word and a giggle as a few pictures were taken. When the applause
died away, I picked the mic back up.

"Like I said, this evening is about celebrating life and
showing support for those like Anne and Staci who are fighting the
good fight. These two women have taught me a number of things, not
the least of which is that bald is beautiful. You've all found a package
at your seat. It contains one of these."

I pulled my bald cap out of my pocket and put it on.
Laughter rolled through the crowd. "I can't think of anybody better
to emulate this evening than these two lovely ladies. Let's all have a
little fun tonight with, and in honor of, Annie and Staci. Thanks."

Right on cue, the wait staff began directing guests to the
buffet. Clearly too excited to eat, Staci carried on non-stop through
dinner until her mom patted her on the shoulder and pointed at her
barely touched plate. Annie glanced my way and winked. I think she
was having almost as much fun as Staci.

When the dinner plates were cleared away, Annie leaned
close to me.

"Time for more schmoozing and photo ops. If I'm not
mistaken, this is our first official appearance as an engaged couple.
Shall we, dear fiancé?"

After a long drag of water, I stood, offered Annie my elbow,
and we worked the crowd. Annie was amazing—posing for pictures,
laughing at guests' jokes. I spent the time nodding and smiling and
battling a nerves-induced perpetual dry mouth. It was amazing to
watch her in action, though. The consummate pro, she was engaged,
attentive, and had the guests wrapped around her pinky finger.

The only star who shined brighter that evening was
Staci.

A little camera shy at first, by the time Annie disappeared to
warm up for her performance with the band, Staci was trading
stories with some industry pros like they were long-time friends.
Someone had given her a Sharpie and she was practically skipping
from guest to guest autographing their heads. The bald ones, that
is.

Staci's mom had moved to her friends' parents table, so I
pulled up a chair with my cronies when Annie joined the band
onstage.

"Wow, what a night. Thank you all for celebrating my
birthday with me. You know, it wasn't too long ago that the thought
of another birthday meant I was inching closer to the dreaded
four-oh. I'll admit it, I look at things a little bit differently now." She ran
her hand over her head. There was a gloss to it from the overhead
lights.

"With what I'm going through, from now on I'll take all the
birthdays I can get, thank you very much." She chuckled. "Seriously
though, I don't want tonight to be about me. Tonight's a celebration
of life, so in that vein, please remember to bid on the silent auction
items on the table over there. All the money raised will go to cancer
care and prevention initiatives."

While the crowd applauded, Annie plugged her guitar in and
strummed a few chords. "I'm a little out of practice. Had a few other
things on my mind recently."

"You mean E.J. hasn't driven you out of your mind?" Miranda
hollered.

Annie rolled her eyes. "No Randi, he hasn't. Yet. Anyway,
we're going to keep it pretty loosey-goosey up here tonight. And if
there are any screw ups, it's on me, not my wonderful band mates.
Let's start off with something fun. How about 'Around the World.'
Count us off Ash."

In all my years of following her, I'd never seen, or heard of,
Cassandra Lawrence performing an acoustic set with her band.
When she'd done her acoustic show a couple of Thanksgivings ago,
she'd performed solo. But there she was, my beloved, perched on a
stool with her guitar Nancy in hand. It was almost as if she was
jamming with her band mates in someone's garage rather than a
fancy fundraiser.

It didn't take long before Staci and her friends had
gravitated toward the stage and were dancing to the music. It was a
sight to behold. Between those on stage and those on the dance floor,
every head was as smooth as a cue ball. After a few songs, Miranda
even coaxed Ryan into joining the revelers.

"I've got the energy for one more before we call it quits for
the night," Annie said after the band finished "Where are You," the
top bidder's pick. She took a long drink of water and tuned her
guitar. "You all look great in your bald heads, by the way. Staci and I
appreciate it, don't we?"

Annie's young friend bounced on her toes and clapped.

"We've got a little problem up here, though, don't we
Beth?"

"A serious problem."

"It seems as though Beth has a touch of laryngitis tonight
and isn't up to singing harmony with me on this next tune. I can't do
it without the harmony. Anybody got any suggestions?"

"Maybe someone from the crowd can help out," Amy
said.

Annie made a leisurely scan of the crowd, clearly playing up
the moment. Her head turned as her gaze went back and forth over
the gathering, until she broke into a wide grin and nodded.

"Good idea Amy. I found my helper. Staci, would you care to
help us out on 'Rock Awhile?'"

Even from my vantage point near the back of the room, I
could feel Staci's excitement as she hugged one of her friends and
bopped on stage. Annie embraced her and whispered something in
her ear. She nodded and took a tambourine from Tisha. Once the
applause died down, Annie draped her arm around Staci.

"Tonight we're celebrating, so I don't want to bring down
the party by getting preachy. I'll simply say on behalf of people like
Staci and me, thank you."

A ripple of applause ran through the crowd.

"All right, everybody. Let's rock awhile."

Annie tore into the song as aggressively as she always did.
By the time the rest of the band joined in, the dance floor was full.
Staci kept time with the tambourine and bounced from band
member to band member when she wasn't sharing the microphone
with Annie to sing her harmony parts.

During a show, Cassandra normally led the crowd in a
sing-along to the chorus by raising her arms above her head and clapping
to Ashley's pounding beat. This time, Staci did it.

The assembled group clapped along to Staci's rhythmic
tambourine use and sang along with Annie.

Come on baby,
Do you
wanna rock?
Do you wanna rock
awhile
With me?

Come on baby
It's time to rock.
It's
time to rock awhile
With
me.

The band ripped into the final verse, with everyone in the
room standing and keeping time. Once again, Annie had proven she
was a master of her art.

At the song's conclusion, dozens of phone cameras flashed
as the band took their bow, with Staci arm-in-arm between Annie
and Beth. It was tough to tell who had wider grins, my fiancé or her
teen friend. As they stepped off the stage, a reporter approached
them, recorder in hand. While Annie answered questions, I perused
the silent auction table. The bids were eye-popping. Annie's and
Staci's charities were having a very good night.

A little later, I was refereeing a debate between Dave and
Ryan about who had a greater net worth, Tony Stark or Bruce
Wayne, when Annie slipped her arm around me.

"It's been a wonderful evening Mr. McCarty, but we should
be going before I turn into a pumpkin."

It was almost eleven and Annie had her seventh chemo
appointment in the morning. I kissed her hand and stood.

"Do you need to say a few more words before we go?"

"No. We've got the place until one. Let the revelers stay. I've
made the goodbyes I needed and have the car waiting."

Between the Grand Hall front door and the limo, we were
subjected to a couple of photographers who evidently had been
waiting for us. Annie flashed a winning smile for the cameras
without ever breaking stride. Once we were settled into the
luxurious black leather seats, she kicked off her shoes and laid her
legs across my lap. The sparkly red toenail polish made me chuckle
as I massaged her feet.

"Little out of practice on the heels end, huh?"

"You could say that." Her eyes were closed and her lips were
curled up a touch. She wriggled her toes. "Thanks for tonight."

"My pleasure. Hope I didn't make any missteps."

"You were magnificent." She sat up and crawled into my lap.
With her index finger, she traced my jaw line. I shivered. "You're not
cold are you?"

"Far from it."

I brought her lips to mine. Fireworks went off inside me
when they touched. Annie purred when I began nibbling on her
earlobe. My hands had wandered to the zipper of her dress when
there was a knock on the glass that separated us from the
driver.

"Damn. I thought we were going get to recreate the limo trip
in Dublin." She slipped out of my lap and put her shoes on. At the
press of a button, the window came down. "Yes, Jeffrey?"

"We're almost to your residence, Ms. Lawrence."

"Very good, thank you." She leaned in close and whispered
in my ear. "Shall we continue the party inside?"

I was adjusting the brakes on the Truckster when the garage
light came on and the door rumbled upward. Annie and Miranda
pulled in, with Florence & The Machine blaring from the stereo
system. Miranda cut the engine and silence returned. Since Annie
was being given Benadryl when the Taxol was being infused, she
wasn't supposed to drive after these treatments.

While the ladies gathered their things and said their
goodbyes, I grabbed a Sharpie and waited for her at the door.

"Time to mark off number seven?"

She took the marker and gave me a peck on the cheek. When
she pulled back, she was frowning.

"What's wrong?"

Without responding, she opened the door and headed
inside.

I followed her. "Annie?"

Letting out a long sigh, she plopped on the couch and closed
her eyes. "Before you panic, I'm fine. Just a little frustrated right
now."

"Was there a problem with the infusion or the blood
draw?"

She sat up. "No. Dr. Hill and Therese teased me unmercifully
about last night, though. They said to tell you you're better looking
bald."

I ran my fingers through my hair. "I work very hard at not
taking care of this. I'll keep it, thank you."

She laughed. "That's what I told them."

"What's wrong then?"

"Promise you won't laugh?" When I nodded, she pulled a
piece of paper out of her purse and handed it to me.

It was an article she'd cut out of the newspaper, with a
picture of Annie and Staci hugging, under a write-up about last
night's party. It was one of those society-type reports that dropped
names while barely mentioning the reason for the occasion. After a
perusal of it, I looked at Annie and shrugged.

"So it's a fluff piece, what's wrong with that?"

She tapped the picture with her finger. "Read the caption to
me."

"'Entertainer Cassandra Lawrence and her young friend
Staci Cleary remind the crowd that bald is beautiful.' Okay, so what's
wrong with that?"

Annie closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. "You don't
get it, but that's not your fault." She went to the table and fired up
her computer. "Have you checked my Google alerts today?"

"No, sorry."

"That's all right. Staci and I did during our treatments. There
were over a dozen blurbs about last night and virtually all they
talked about was what I wore and how great I looked."

"Well, you did look great."

"Thank you, but that's not what last night was about. It was
about celebrating life and raising money for cancer treatment and
prevention programs." Her voice was rising. Annie was getting on a
roll and it was time to get out of the way and let her vent.

"We raised a hundred and thirty thousand dollars last night,
but did the reports mention that? No. You know what every single
report did mention? The color of my dress. Why does what I was
wearing matter so much?

"God, I get so sick of being judged by my appearance, just
because I'm a woman. Judge me for what I do and who I am, not what
I look like. Do you have any idea how hard I've worked to be judged
in the music world by my talent and not by my alleged sex
appeal?"