Don't Mention the Rock Star

by Bree Darcy

  Andy did and then looked at me puzzled. “What is it?”

  “I would have thought you’d have enough experience with these by now. See the little window with the two pink stripes? That means we’re having a baby.”

  I can see his mind process the news. “Really? We are? A baby? No way! We’re having a baby!” He lifted me up and spun me round. He wouldn’t be able to do that in a few more months.

  He placed his hand on my stomach. “Because it’s pink, does that mean it’s a girl?”

  I laughed. “No, too early to tell. But with your track record …”

  Andy counted up on his fingers, mouthing the kids’ names as he went. “I always told you we’d end up with seven kids. But at least we did a bit better than a trailer park.”

  I looked around our sumptuous bedroom, decorated in shades of silver, black and crisp white. Despite Andy’s generous gesture of buying our house for us, we decided we wanted to find a new place to call our own. We moved into this Double Bay waterfront mansion six months ago. Ciara immediately painted her bedroom lilac and arranged the biggest party for all her friends, while Ryan was stoked to find the third floor was his alone, with a rumpus room as a dedicated music zone.

  “It’s our secret for now, I don’t want to tell anyone else yet – not til we hear everything is alright,” I told Andy.

  He nodded, kneeling down so he could talk directly to my belly.

  “Hello baby. This is your pops speaking. I can’t wait to meet you. What’s that you say?” He turned his ear to my stomach. “That sounds like a very good idea. I’ll ask her now.”

  Andy lifted one knee so he was in the classic proposal position and reached out for my hand. “Kell, I know I’ve asked you this before but this time, for pete’s sake, say yes. Will you marry me?”

  * * *

  Later we waltzed down the staircase to join our guests who were gathering in the backyard. Gerry looked up from his position commandeering the barbecue and raised his beer at us. His girlfriend – the German backpacker who shared his love of zoo creatures – was chatting to Dom and Sigvard near the poolhouse.

  Ciara spotted me and led everyone in a loud and raucous rendition of happy birthday.

  Andy held up a glass of champagne as the singing died down. “And I’m very pleased to announce here’s the bride too. She’s finally agreed to marry me.” The crowd whooped as I flashed my new diamond ring around.

  “Congratulations dad,” Emma said, giving him a peck on the cheek. She had come over to spend Christmas with us and was heading off to Beijing tomorrow for a half-gap year before starting her law course at Stanford. Andy, who cried from sheer pride when her acceptance letter came, was planning on being on hand to settle her in on campus and warn every boy within cooee to keep their hands off his daughter.

  “I should ring your sisters with the good news,” he said, pulling out his phone.

  “I wouldn’t if I were you,” Emma said. “It’s nearly two in the morning there.”

  “Really? Geez, one day I’ll get a hang of this timezone business.”

  Filming of the Living in the Danger Zone reality show had gone ahead, with Siena smart enough to capitalise on the media interest generated by their divorce. The show centred around the three Dangerfield sisters, typical rich Californian girls who spent their days shopping, sunbaking and surfer-chasing.

  “They make the Kardashians look like Einsteins,” Andy groaned during the ratings-busting premiere, before vowing he’d never tune in again. I secretly caught up with all the episodes online.

  Next season would feature their honorary step-brother Kris Carson, who had knocked Bruno Mars off the top Billboard spot at Christmas. Kris and his father had moved to America permanently, with Marty going into partnership with Siena in a surfing and skateboarding merchandise company. She had elected to sell Atticus Records – for a healthy sum thanks partly to strong sales of both Danger Game’s Dirty Little Secret album and their Let It All Hang Out farewell tour – saying it wasn’t the same without her father around.

  Caprice sidled up to me. “You know twins run in our family,” she whispered.

  “He told you?”

  “Nope, no need. I can pick a pregnancy glow from a mile,” she said, embracing me warmly. “Congratulations on your engagement, I’m so glad you’re finally officially joining the family.”

  My mother was delighted too, gushing over my gorgeous ring.

  “If you need someone to walk you down the aisle, I’d be more than honoured,” interjected Uncle Lenny, who had become a much-loved addition to our family. He and my mother had become close since she’d moved to Sydney. She had hung up her waitressing apron and now lived in an annexe at the back of our property. Lenny would have liked for them to be a lot closer but she was content to remain just good friends.

  “I’ve got some fab ideas for the wedding,” Lenny continued. “There was this amazing cake on last week’s episode of Put a Ring On It and -”.

  “Stop right there,” I said holding up my hand. “This wedding will be planned by Andy and myself, no outside interference allowed. I can guarantee there won’t be a string quartet or ice sculpture in sight.”

  Mum applauded.

  “But Dawn and I will be taking full control of your hen’s night,” Nikki said, squeezing in beside me. “But how on earth will we come up with a stripper who’s hotter than your average rock star?” She paused for a moment. “Do you still have a number for Neil Lucas?”

  Dawn leant in for a kiss. “Congratulations, about bloody time. Now we just need to get a ring on Nikki’s finger.”

  “Seth and I are perfectly happy without an official piece of paper,” Nikki replied. She looked around. “I wonder where he’s got to?”

  “I saw him heading out the front with Corey to go for a spin in Andy’s Mustang,” Dawn said. “You know, they were talking about the terrible snowstorms in the north of England on the radio on the way here. I do hope Curtis isn’t pining for our warm weather.”

  Curtis had gone ahead and taken the research job in Manchester but thanks partly to Delia, he never challenged my right to have custody of the kids. According to Ciara, who visited her father with her grandparents over Christmas, he didn’t bring work home anymore and was seeing a nice lady he met at the Ham Polo Club called Victoria Goldsmith-Cavensham-Wellesley. Google informed me she worked for Asprey the jewellers and was the daughter of a party planner and cosmetics business owner. She sounded like Delia’s idea of daughter-in-law heaven.

  I walked over to join Zara, who was quizzing Todd about his role as Achilles in Trojan Warrior, a futuristic interpretation of the siege of Troy. With filming due to start in Hollywood next month, I would miss Todd heaps. After finding myself on the other side of the media, as a target of their fascination with celebrity and scandal, I decided to hang up my reporter badge. I volunteered two days a week instead at his bullying organisation.

  “I expect exclusive rights on your wedding,” Zara said, kissing me on both cheeks. “I’ll send a photographer over first thing Monday to get a shot of that spectacular ring and hear the romantic story of how he proposed.”

  I nodded, I did owe her after all. After she walked out on StarReach, she had set up her own website called ZiggaZigZara and was regularly kicking Amanda’s butt in being first with the celebrity news.

  Standing to one side, watching my family and friends mingle as the sun slipped slowly from the sky, I realised I couldn’t have asked for a better fortieth birthday party. Gerry might have burnt the meat, Lenny forced everyone to do the conga and Dom passed out sozzled in a hammock. But this was the life I was meant to be leading.

  Andy slotted in behind me and lifting my hair, kissed the back of my neck. “So, Mrs Dangerfield-to-be. Had a good night?”

  I leant back against him, watching the stars emerge in the inky sky. “You know if I ever saw a shooting star again, I don’t know what I’d wish for. I’ve got everything I ever wanted.”

  “What did y
ou wish for last time?” he asked.

  I thought back to that Christmas at his mother’s place. “It did come true, you know. It was for you to be a huge success in the music industry.”

  “Actually now I think about it, mine has finally come true too.”

  I looked at him expectedly, waiting for him to reveal what his wish was.

  “I wished that you would love me forever. And you do, right?”

  My kiss told him he was spot on.

  “Mum! Mum!” Ciara and her friends came tearing over. “We’ve been tossing around a few ideas about wedding entertainment,” she said. “Because Andy mentored Warrior Legacy, we were thinking …”

  “Sorry to disappoint you girls but there’s no big wedding to plan,” Andy said. “I haven’t told your mother this yet, but we’re flying out to the States as soon as the divorce comes through next month. Your nonna and grandparents will look after you guys. I’m not taking any chances of your mother changing her mind, we’re getting hitched in Vegas. And I’ve booked us into a nice trailer park for the honeymoon, overlooking the trash collection area.”

  “That’s disgusting,” Ciara said. “I hope you’re joking and you’re really staying at the Bellagio. I saw it on a travel program, it has these amazing fountains at the front and like, five big swimming pools. Mum, refuse to go unless you can stay there.”

  “So you ready to elope?” Andy asked me.

  I nodded. “It’s exactly what we should have done the last time we were in Vegas.”

  “You’re telling me,” he said. “And if you’re good, this time I’ll cook the baked beans.”

  The night ended with everyone getting together for the most spectacular group selfie since Ellen DeGeneres’ Oscars shot. Andy was now taking photos of himself with all the guests wearing crazy costumes. His now grown-up cousins, Hannah and Mercedes, would be so proud of him in his silver tiara and pink feather boa.

  “So he finally proposed?” Ryan said, sidling up to me. “Do you know he asked me for your hand ages ago?”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, that first day he arrived from the US, after he bought our house. I gave my blessing, as long as it meant I could change my name to Dangerfield too.”

  “What did he say?”

  “That if it was okay with you, he’d be honoured. But he already considered me his son.”

  It showed that blood wasn’t necessarily thicker. Ryan’s relationship with his father hadn’t improved over the past year. I don’t think Curtis ever got over the hurt of Ryan wishing that Andy was his real father. And I don’t think Ryan was ready to forgive him for not being the sort of father he desperately needed. Instead of spending his holidays in England with his father and sister, Ryan had shadowed the sound guys at Andy’s new recording studio. Once he graduated high school at the end of the year, he planned to do an audio engineering course. But first he was due back on the Gold Coast, to defend Blast Off’s title as national school rock band champions.

  Arm in arm with my son, who now towered over me, I watched my husband-to-be mugging for the cameras with Emma and Ciara, sticking his tongue out and crossing his eyes.

  “He’s such a dork,” Ryan laughed.

  I nodded. But that dork, I’ll have you know, was my first love. And now my last love too.

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