by Laura Gates
"That's good. You actually look terrific," Evie said.
Daniel smiled. "Hold on to this one before one of these other stock guys swipe her up," Daniel said to Beau.
Evie blushed while the men smiled.
"All right, we better go find our seats," Beau said.
"Sounds good. See you later!" Daniel said, walking and waving.
Evie waved back while Beau wrapped his arm around her shoulders and continued to walk towards their seats. He said hello and introduced Evie to all sorts of hard rock musicians Evie dreamed of meeting someday.
Eventually, Beau and Evie made it to their seats next to the rest of Death Toll and spouses. Talk show host and personality, James Corden, was hosting the AMA's again. He started off by telling some jokes, which made Evie laugh hard. Soon, Bruno Mars was on stage performing the song, Chunky. Evie really wanted to stand up and begin dancing the Zumba choreo she knew for that song, but she was afraid of what other people would do around her. Much to her surprise, she looked to the left and saw Jennifer Lopez doing the same choreo Evie knew. Beau saw the twinkle in Evie's eyes, and said, "Go. I know you want to."
Evie kissed his cheek, took off her shoes, stood up, and danced her way over to J-Lo. Beau watched the two women dance, and he knew the girls would be friends forever. He smiled and shook his head. Luke, Kade, and Rick watched Evie dance. All three had this pensive look on their faces. Beau shrugged and said, "That's what Zumba is." They continued to watch the girls dance in a trance as other women stood up and began dancing with them.
"That's what you do?" Luke asked. Beau hesitated and nodded. "Are the women there that beautiful, too?" Luke asked. Jetta slapped Luke, and all three men broke free from the trance. "Do you want me to do Zumba, now?" she asked Luke. "It couldn't hurt," Luke said, feeling cornered.
Soon, Jetta, Kaylee, and Laila stood up and joined the massive group of women now dancing. Evie began directing the moves since the crowd was so large. When the song was done, the entire crowd cheered and yelled as loud as they could. Bruno looked super pleased with what had happened since he even started dancing along. After a while, everyone retook their seats. "She is so nice!" Evie said about J-Lo. Beau smiled. James Corden invited different artists up to read various categories of music. Various musicians performed as well.
Finally, Death Toll's category came up, and James invited the legend, Paul McCartney, up to read the nominees, which were Death Toll, Slayer, and Daniel's band, Matador. Paul placed the AMA and the envelope on the podium. Beau, Luke, Kade, and Rick held their breaths as Paul opened the envelope. When he read the winner, he smiled. "And the winner is… Death Toll… for their self-titled album, Death Toll." Everyone jumped up in celebration before Paul could finish reading. All four members of the band stood up and gave each other a group hug before walking on stage. To Evie's surprise, there was a lot of cheering for them. She realized that even the mainstream artists appreciated exceptional talent.
Luke was the first to touch the AMA and speak once they made their way to the podium. "This is truly amazing, considering how far we have come. I would like to thank my wife, Jetta, and my children for being so supportive during all of those long nights. Huge shout-out to our producers and sound guys for helping us with our album, and an even louder shout-out to our amazing tour manager, Evie Long." Evie smiled and clapped as she watched Jetta blow a kiss to Luke on stage.
Soon, Kade walked up to the podium to speak. "Thank you, Laila, for always showing your love and support, and our amazing crew for this wonderful album you produced."
Rick spoke next. "I love you, Kaylee! Thank you for always believing in me. Thank you, guys," Rick said, looking around him at the band, "for hiring me. I am forever grateful for this opportunity to be a part of Death Toll."
When Beau walked up to the mic, the crowd cheered even louder. "This is truly a humbling experience to stand among the greatest artists in the world, and hold this award in my hand." Beau started tearing up. "This year has been an interesting one for me. I went from rock bottom to flying in a matter of months all thanks to the most wonderful woman I have come to know and love." Beau looked at Evie. "I love you, Sweetheart," he said, looking at her from the podium. Evie's eyes welled up with tears as she said the words, "I love you, too."
"The last time I stood on this podium, I thanked my Phoebe for saving me more than once. Evie, I extend that gratitude to you and the kids. All three of you saved me, especially you. Thank you for sharing this moment with me. And thank you, all, for continuing to show your love and support for us. Nothing will separate us, except death." The crowd cheered louder than ever as the band walked backstage. "C'mon. Let's meet the boys backstage," Jetta said, nudging Evie.
All four women stood up and began walking backstage to join the band. Luke was the one holding the AMA as photographers took pictures of all of the men in their handsome suits. Beau stood a head taller than the rest of the band, which made Evie laugh. Soon, the photographer asked to get a picture of each band member with their spouse or significant other holding the AMA. Each couple cozied up. Beau and Evie, however, could not stop kissing. "If you're going to copulate, at least wait until after the after-party," the photographer said. Everyone laughed.
After pictures, the band had to change fast because they were performing Nothing Else Matters really soon. Crew members went to work to set the stage up to Death Toll's specifications while the curtain was down. Evie also ensured everything was going according to plan. Beau and Evie kissed before he put his black EXplorer over his shoulder and walked on stage. Luke kissed Jetta, Kade kissed Leila, and Rick kissed Kaylee all before taking their places on stage.
The curtain went up, and Kade began playing the opening arpeggio to Nothing Else Matters. He started playing the solo, which morphed into a trio between Beau, Kade, and Rick, with Luke hitting the occasional cymbal. This was by far Beau's most emotional performance as he sang his heart out and played his guitar. When they were done, the crowd cheered very loudly. The band was very gracious and bowed. The curtain soon went down, and Beau went into a dressing room to change back into his suit. He wanted to make sure he matched what Evie was wearing, and he insisted they be formal that night.
The band and girls proceeded to the outside canopy where the after-party was. Bruno, Paul, Slash, and a few other people were already drinking cocktails, talking, and dancing. Everyone with Death Toll claimed a table and sat down. Beau walked over to the bar and grabbed two bottles of water. Evie glanced around the room, and she soon realized that the after-party was very clique-ish, just like her high school. She soon saw Kanye West was working the crowd with a martini in his hand. He approached the band's table.
"Beau!" Kanye exclaimed. "Hey, Kanye, how are you doing?" Beau calmly said, standing up. The two men embraced. Evie was a little surprised by this interaction. "Pretty good. I just came over to congratulate you and meet your little girlfriend," Kanye said, turning towards Evie. She stood up and held out her hand shaking Kanye's hand. He simply smiled. "You are beautiful. I hope your ex regrets his decision," Kanye said candidly. Beau soon put his arm around her. Evie's cheeks turned pink. "Thank you, Mr. West," Evie said, trying to be polite. Kanye laughed. "Please, call me Ye. I know my wife would love to meet you," he responded.
Evie froze. If she was frank with herself, meeting a woman who only became famous because of a sex tape was not on her priority list, but Kanye led Evie over to his table and pulled out a chair for her. Next thing Evie knew, she was face to face with Kim Kardashian West, who turned out to be a really kind person with a taste for luxury. "I love your Valentino gown," Kim said. Evie smiled. "Thank you! I honestly had no idea who made it until Beau whispered the name in my ear," she responded. "I also loved how you led everyone in dancing during Bruno's song. Are you a dancer?" Kim asked again. Evie explained she was a Zumba instructor. A lot of other female artists and actresses overheard their conversation, sat down, and began talking with Evie.
Beau watched Evie and Kim talk a
s many other musicians and artists approached him to offer their congratulations. He watched as other musicians sat down next to Evie and began chatting with her and Kim. People would often ask where Evie was, and he pointed in her direction. Beau and Evie would occasionally glance at each other. They mouthed, "I love you,' to each other quite a bit throughout the night.
In the background, all of the award-winning songs were playing as well as some of the performance songs. Evie led a large group of people in the Zumba choreo of Chunky, and this time, Bruno came to dance with her. Beau knew the choreography to Chunky pretty well, so he came to dance on the other side of Evie. Everyone continued dancing, chatting, and drinking. Evie felt like she and Beau were the only sober ones at the party. People kept crowding around Evie to talk to her and ask questions, which became obnoxious to Beau.
However, when Nothing Else Matters came on twice, Beau excused himself from the crowds and stole Evie away for dancing. To Evie's surprise, Beau began leading her in a waltz. "Since when do you know how to waltz?" she asked. "I think you will find I am full of all sorts of surprises tonight," he said, leading her in a spin. When the song was over a second time, Beau dipped Evie and kissed her.
Beau brought Evie upright again. "Let's get out of here. I've made a reservation," Beau said. Evie, feeling light-headed for more than one reason, nodded. Beau and Evie held hands and walked to the various people to excuse themselves. They said goodbye to the group and turned to the door. As they were walking out, they saw multiple artists throwing up on the hedge outside the arena. Evie just laughed. Beau snickered himself quietly. They eventually found their limo and climbed in. It was a lot easier climbing into the limo than climbing out. Beau slid in behind her. "Where to?" the limo driver asked. "The Fairmont, please," Beau said.
Evie and Beau walked into the penthouse. The view of LA overlooking the ocean was spectacular. Evie went out on the balcony to take everything in. Beau made arrangements for sparkling cider and water to be delivered to their room so he would not be tempted. After throwing his coat onto an armchair, he poured two glasses and admired Evie on the balcony. He soon joined her. They clinked their glasses and drank. "Beau, we could have just stayed at an inexpensive hotel tonight. You didn't have to go all out for this," Evie said. "I have always admired your simplicity, modesty, and humility. You are right, I didn't have to do this, but how often does one win an AMA, and they get to share it with the woman they love?" Beau asked.
"You have two others plus eight Grammys. Also, you won the majority of them with Phoebe," Evie said.
"True, but this award is the first one we are together, plus I just wanted tonight to be perfect," Beau said.
"Why is that?" Evie asked.
Beau reached into his pants pocket, clutching a box with a ring inside it. "Well," Beau began, but suddenly he chickened out and let go of the box, taking his hand out his pocket and holding Evie's free hand. "Because it's our first trip together without the kids. That's something special," he said, recovering. Evie smiled. "It is. Thank you. This really is beautiful," she said.
Beau pulled Evie in and wrapped his around her waist. They began kissing before hugging. "Look behind you," Beau said. Evie turned around and saw that they had a private swimming pool a little bit bigger than a hot tub. It was large enough to swim laps in but smaller as not to overpower the balcony. Evie was too distracted by the view to see the pool when she walked outside.
"Wow, who knew a high school band teacher could become a tour manager, date the frontman of the band she works with, and end up in a penthouse with its own private pool!?" Evie said.
Beau laughed. "And who knew a shy kid from LA would become a frontman, experience Hell many times, and be up here in this penthouse with the most amazing woman he's ever met?!" he responded. Beau sat his drink down on a little table on the balcony before wrapping his other arm around Evie's waist. She soon set her glass down, melting into Beau's embrace.
As the sun began to rise, Evie woke up, realizing she was lying on her right side with Beau spooning and holding her. She slowly tried climbing out of bed, trying not to wake Beau up. She walked past her dress on the floor and into the bathroom, hoping there was some sort of bathrobe. Sure enough, hanging on the back of the bathroom door were two bathrobes. Evie proceeded to put one on before walking over to her bag. She grabbed her cosmetics bag to look for her toothbrush.
Suddenly Evie realized she forgot to pack something essential; her contraceptives. She also knew Beau hadn't packed any of his either. Panic entered. She quietly ran to her phone to check her fitness app for her ovulation days. A massive sigh of relief was heard as she read her phone; two days left until ovulation would start. Her heart began to slow down as Evie continued to take deep breaths. There soon came a knock on the door. "Room Service?" Evie heard a male voice say outside the door. Making sure the bathrobe was secure, Evie walked to the door and opened it. "Here is your breakfast order," the man said. "Thank you," Evie said, grabbing the cart and pulling it inside the room.
The food smelled delicious. There were eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns, ham steak, and various fruits, including blueberries. Evie's mouth salivated. As the smell filled the room, Beau began to stir. Evie brought the cart over to Beau's side. He opened his eyes and smiled at his girlfriend. "Morning, Beautiful," he said. "Good morning," Evie said back, smiling. They kissed. "They brought the order?" he asked as he sat up and stretched. "Yep. It all smells delicious," Evie said as she started grabbing plates and setting them on the bed.
They proceeded to eat everything. "So, last night, did we forget…?" Beau began. "Yep," Evie said. "So, does that mean...?" Beau began asking. "We should be fine," Evie reassured, hoping it wasn't one of those weird months where she ovulated early.
Chapter 20
The Incidents
It had been three weeks since the AMA's when Evie woke up one morning with the sudden urge to vomit. She ran to the bathroom and hung her head over the toilet. Great, she thought to herself, Levi got me sick. When Evie and Beau got home, Harper had a stomach bug, and Evie quarantined her toddler in Harper's bedroom despite protests. A week later, Levi caught the bug, so he spent the next few days quarantined in his room to ensure the bug was out of his system. Evie spent the next week doing a Spring Cleaning to ensure every bit of that virus was killed. She knew Beau couldn't afford to be sick, considering the next leg of the tour would be starting, and Evie couldn't be sick either. But it looked like all of Evie's work was in vain as she laid on the bathroom floor. The tile was soothing to her forehead.
Evie carefully thought about how she felt. She wasn't cold, and her head wasn't hot. Her stomach and abdomen didn't feel like there was anything that needed to come out. All she felt was nausea and exhaustion.
Uh oh, she thought to herself. The last time she felt like this was when she found out she was pregnant with Harper. She didn't have time to run to the store because everyone was getting ready to leave for the second leg of the tour. The maid Beau hired to clean the house and pick up the groceries already left to run the errands. Evie thought about when she could sneak away and buy a pregnancy test. She knew she couldn't send anyone because then they would know her secret. I'll take one tomorrow when we get to the arena, Evie thought to herself.
She slowly stood up, changed into grey jeggings and an oversized white sweater. Nausea grew stronger, and she ran back to the bathroom to throw up. Soon, she heard large footsteps running up the stairs into the master bedroom. Beau heard Evie all the way in the kitchen. "Hey, Babe, you okay?" he asked, kneeling down next to her. He rubbed her shoulders and moved her hair away from her face. Vomit didn't bother Beau at all because of all his intoxicated nights throwing up after shows back when Death Toll started out. "Yeah," Evie said, trying to mask how she really felt.
"Did you finally get it?" Beau asked, referring to the stomach bug. "Most likely," Evie lied. "Do you think you'll be better by tomorrow?" he asked. Evie hadn't thought that far ahead. "Let's get through today, and we'll
see. If I'm sick, then I'm sick," she replied. "All right, well, how about I make you some ramen, you curl up on the bed with your blanket, and watch movies. I'll take care of the kids today while you rest," Beau said.
Evie giggled. "You have top ramen?" she asked. Beau looked at Evie in disbelief. "Yeah. That's what I eat when I am sick," Beau said. Evie giggled again. "All right. Hopefully, I can keep it down," she said. "Hopefully," Beau said with a chuckle. He went into the closet to pull out Evie's favorite blanket. Beau helped her stand up, walked with her to the bed, helped her lay down, and covered her up. He kissed her forehead before proceeding downstairs to the kitchen to boil the water.
Evie turned the TV on and immediately opened Netflix. She started watching a cheesy, sappy series that Hallmark produced when she and Beau got home from LA, and she loved it. After about ten minutes, Beau brought out a massive bowl with top ramen in it with lots of broth. Evie smiled because that is just how she liked it. It actually smelled really good to her. Great, this baby wants carbs, she thought to herself as she scooped up some noodles. Beau sat down next to her and watched the sappy series with her for an episode. He soon stood up to go check on the kids, who were playing outside.
Evie soon fell asleep on the bed even with her kids running through the house. She would occasionally hear her kids ask Beau, "Is Mommy sick?" Beau would shush and reassure them that she was sick. "Aren't we supposed to leave for Omaha tomorrow?" Levi asked. "Yes, and if we let her rest, she'll be fine by then. How about we go to the park? That way, your mom can rest," Evie heard Beau say. Even though things were dream-like, Evie loved hearing her kids get excited. Soon, the house was quiet, and the garage door closed. She soon fell asleep again.
