Hiding in the Spotlight

by Karen Booth

  “Sure thing,” Alex said. She pulled the eggs from the fridge and got out a bowl to mix them. “Why don’t you put some bread in the toaster?”

  Page untwisted the tie from a loaf of sourdough. “Hey, Mom.” He popped the bread into the slots. “Are you and David in love?”

  Okay then. She took a deep breath. Honesty, Alex. No more hiding stuff if he asks about it. “Yes honey, we are. It isn’t what we planned, but that’s what happened.”

  His lips spread into a thin line. “And that’s why Dad got so mad.”

  “Yes, that’s why, but it’s complicated.” She whisked the eggs and poured them into a sauté pan. “He and David have been good friends for a long time. There’s a lot of guy jealousy stuff wrapped up in that, even if your dad and I aren’t together anymore.”

  Page nodded. “I heard some of the crew guys talking about Dad last night. Is it true that he cheated on you?”

  Alex froze, unsure how to answer at first, wondering how confusing this must be to an adolescent boy. Again, the truth seemed like the only route from here. “Yes, honey, your dad had relationships with some other women. But that’s stuff that’s between him and me. It doesn’t change the fact that he’s your dad and that he loves you very much. We all make poor decisions.”

  Page shook his head as he slathered his toast with butter. “But all this time I thought you were being a bitch to him just to be a bitch.”

  Alex knocked her head to the side. “Language. Your brother’s in the room.”

  “Sorry. I forget.” He scratched his head. “When Dad went to Mexico, it wasn’t because you drove him away. It was because he just wanted to leave. Was it because of me and Tyler?”

  She rushed to give him a hug. “Absolutely not. That has nothing to do with you or your brother. Absolutely nothing.” She let go of Page and gave the eggs a quick stir, dishing them onto a plate. “You know, marriage is a complicated thing. Your dad made some mistakes, but I did too. There’s no blaming one person, but I’m glad that you can see things from my side of this too.”

  Alex’s phone rang and buzzed on the kitchen table.

  Tyler picked it up. “It says Phil.”

  She wiped her hands on a kitchen towel. “Oh, that’s the set manager from the studio. I should probably take this. Page, we’ll finish talking about this in a minute if that’s okay.”

  “Yep.” Page stuffed a piece of toast into his mouth, carrying his plate to sit next to Tyler.

  “Hello. This is Alex.”

  “Ms. Halford, it’s Phil from Lion’s Heart. I’m calling because we’re getting the house back in order. Can I bring you the keys later today?”

  “You’re almost a month early.”

  “Yes, I know. The studio had to cut things short after we had some budget issues. Don’t worry. It won’t affect your fee.”

  “Oh, okay, sure. I just…I didn’t expect this.”

  “I suppose I should’ve let you know earlier. Usually I have to call to tell people we need their house for longer. Is it all right if I bring you your keys later today? My girlfriend and I are going out of town and I was hoping to get this taken care of.”

  Page glanced up at her and then went back to polishing off his breakfast.

  “Uh, yeah, of course. It’s 2130 S. Bristol.”

  “I’ll swing by around four.”

  “Okay. See you then.” She placed her phone on the counter, struggling to compute what had just happened.

  “Who’s coming over, Mommy?” Tyler asked between bites of cereal.

  She shook her head. “The people from the movie studio are coming over to bring me the keys to the house. They’re finished filming.”

  “We finally get to go home?” Page’s eyes lit up.

  “Is that what you guys want?”

  “Well, yeah. We can’t live here forever. This isn’t our house.”

  “Oh…” Alex slid the sauté pan into some soapy water. “Of course.”

  “I like it here, but I want to sleep in my own bed again,” Tyler added.

  I really didn’t think I’d be faced with this today. Just when one thing had changed, everything else did along with it.

  “It seems weird that we would stay here.” Page wiped his mouth with a napkin. “Unless you and David are going to get married.”

  “Are you going to get married, Mommy?” Tyler’s expression failed to indicate how he felt about that idea.

  Married. That’s the last thing I’ve thought about. “No, honey. No plans for that.”

  Alex’s phone rang and it was David this time. She answered, filling her coffee cup again. “Hey.”

  “Hey yourself. How are you? Did you get any sleep last night?”

  “Not a wink. You?”

  “About the same.”

  “Have you seen, uh, anybody, this morning or talked to Marty?” she asked, avoiding the topic of the boys and vacating David’s house.

  “Funny you should ask. Glenn wrote a long email to the rest of the band and Marty. He sent it at three in the morning.”

  Alex spooned sugar into her mug and lost count of the number of scoops. “What does it say? Can you read it to me?”

  “Um, sure. Two secs. Let me pull it up on my laptop.”

  Alex took a tentative sip of her coffee, which was so sweet it made the tender spots below her ears ache.

  “You sure you want to hear this?” David asked.

  “Boys, I’ll be back in a few minutes.” She padded into the living room for some privacy from the boys. “I’m sure.”

  “Okay, here goes. ‘Dear Marty, Nick and Tony, I am copying David on this correspondence so he can be up to speed on everything. I am sure that you are all shocked by the events of this evening. I have never experienced such betrayal in my life, and it will take me quite some time to recover from the pain. After spending several hours thinking about it, I have chosen to remain in the band. It wouldn’t be fair for me to deprive any of you this opportunity nor deny you your livelihood. I understand that it would be impossible for you to continue without me and my loyalty lies with the band. I will not let you down.’”

  Alex slumped into one of the leather chairs. “Jesus. What an ass.”

  “Hold on. It gets better. ‘However, there will need to be some changes moving forward. First, I will require my own bus from now on. I cannot be expected to be in close quarters with David as it will be very stressful and that affects my voice. I expect that the band will pay for this additional expense. Obviously, we will need to have separate dressing rooms as well. I also expect that David will no longer be the point person for Marty as pertains to band business. Clearly, he cannot be trusted with making day-to-day operational decisions. As the leader of the band, I feel it is my place to step forward and take on this new challenge.’”

  “What?” Alex asked. “Is he fucking serious? David, honey, that’s terrible.” Her nails grated against her mug.

  “Do you want me to keep going?”

  “Yes.” She groaned.

  “‘In conclusion, I ask that David no longer be permitted to participate in interviews. He has put the band’s future in jeopardy with his inability to remain discreet and is no longer a suitable spokesperson for Double Damage. We cannot risk another misstep on his part. Thank you for your support during this difficult time. I hope we can all rise above these unfortunate events and find it in our hearts to forgive David. Yours, Glenn.’”

  Alex felt a massive headache take up residence behind her eyes. “I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.” She raked her hand through her hair. “I never wanted our relationship to mess things up for you like this.”

  “We knew he wouldn’t react well to this. I think his whole trying to be a grown-up about it act is fairly entertaining.”

  “Yeah, but what are you going to say to the rest of the guys about this? Can you even afford for Glenn to have his own bus? That’s insanely expensive.”

  “I don’t know. I’ll have to ask Marty about it. You never know
with Glenn. His mood is always in a state of flux. And, I mean, if this doesn’t work, then it doesn’t work. It’s not the end of the world.”

  Alex’s brain tried to settle on what David had said. If this doesn’t work? He can’t be serious. The band is his life.

  Before a word could escape her lips, he spoke again. “Are the boys okay after last night?”

  She wasn’t even sure how to answer that, especially after what Page had said. “They’re fine. They asked if we’re going to get married.”

  “When did they ask you that?”

  “Just now, after I got off the phone with the people from Lion’s Heart. They’re done with the house.”

  “Already?” he asked, his voice pinched.

  “Yes.” Alex cleared her throat. “I told the boys about it.”

  “What did they say?”

  “Um.” She swallowed back the emotion of what she was about to say. “They want to go home.”

  Chapter Forty-Six

  After a morning of panicked phone calls from Tony and an unpleasant visit from Nick, David’s head was about to explode. Even so, none of it mattered when he thought about Alex and the boys moving home.

  Marty sat in David’s hotel room, chewing on his pen while he stared at his laptop. His black reading glasses sat precariously on the end of his nose. “Jesus. These numbers look like shit.”

  “Technically, you aren’t supposed to be talking to me about this in the first place. His Highness wants me out of the picture with business decisions. I believe he said that I was not to be trusted.”

  “Don’t start with me on that. I don’t know if I’ll be able to live through a single business meeting with Glenn calling the shots. I might have to take up smoking again.”

  David raked his hands through his hair and crossed his arms over his chest. “Can we get a cheaper bus for the rest of the band? Would that help?”

  “We’re already at the low end of the spectrum and it isn’t just the bus, it’s paying an additional driver, fuel, insurance. And we’re under the gun here, time-wise. The new stretch of dates starts in ten days and it’s a full three weeks on the road. We have to go back to the venues and request an additional dressing room, which means extra catering when we’re already squeezing every dollar possible out of these guys.”

  “I’ll pay for Glenn’s beer and M&Ms if that’s the issue.”

  “I think you and I both know that beer is the least of our problems. This means money out of everybody’s pocket. I’m not sure this is going to make sense financially for Nick and Tony. Not unless we can get more money out of these promoters. We’re probably going to have to fire at least one crew guy.”

  David blew out a long breath. “Both Nick and Tony are pissed at me right now.”

  Marty looked David in the eye, the gears clearly turning. “You know I love you like a son, right?”

  “Yeah, sure. We’ve been through a lot together. I feel the same way.”

  “Okay then. Here’s the deal.” Marty removed his readers and pinched his nose, settling back in his chair. “You let your dick get in the way of the band.”

  David’s eyebrows pinched together. “That’s not true.”

  “Yeah, it kinda is.”

  “No, it isn’t. I love Alex. I’ve loved her for years and I sat around and watched Glenn treat her like shit. We deserve to be together. We both deserve to be happy.”

  Marty nodded yes when everything in his eyes said no. “I’m not doubting that you love her. I’m not questioning that you both deserve to be happy. I’m just saying that you didn’t have to go there. You could’ve kept it in your damned pants. Jesus, if I screwed every woman I had it for, I would’ve been divorced ten times by now. It’s called restraint.”

  David couldn’t think straight anymore. He’d shown restraint for seventeen years and then he finally gave in. There was no going back after I kissed her. Maybe Glenn was right. Maybe he was a selfish prick. “But I don’t just have it for Alex. I don’t want to live without her.”

  “Well, you know what? We don’t always get what we want. And right now, nobody’s getting what they want.”

  ****

  David went into sound check cautiously optimistic and left feeling like a human punching bag. Every interaction with Nick and Tony was clipped and cold now that Marty had laid out the reality of the situation. Everyone except Glenn would have to take a pay cut if the band were to continue. They would lose one crew guy, but nobody seemed to warm to David after he volunteered to pay his own guitar tech so they could avoid having to make that decision.

  Glenn’s behavior was obnoxious by any measure. He wouldn’t speak to David, instead acting as if he wasn’t in the room. When Marty called him on it, Glenn’s response was lightning fast. Marty would do the same thing if his best friend had fucked his wife, too.

  David phoned Alex the instant he’d reached the sanctuary of his hotel room. “Hi. I need you to tell me something good. Anything. I don’t care what it is.” He collapsed on the bed.

  “Why? What now?”

  “No, no, no. No questions. That’s not something good. Tell me what you’re wearing.”

  “David, honey,” she drawled. “We can’t do that right now. There are small ears nearby. What’s going on? You sound awful.”

  He forcefully exhaled through his nose. “Well, where should I start? Getting an extra bus for Glenn means we have to fire one crew guy, possibly two, and everybody else has to take a pay cut. Nick and Tony are royally pissed because they need the money. Glenn’s talking about me like I’m not in the room. Even Marty thinks I messed up.”

  “He does?”

  Shit. Why did I say that? I can’t tell her what he said. She’d be horrified. “You know, I don’t want to talk about this right now. I just want to get this show out of the way and get home to you.”

  “But what happens after that? The next stretch of dates isn’t that far off.”

  “I have no idea.”

  “That’s the problem.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “We need to think about this. We need to talk about this. We’ve been so focused on keeping our secret and me getting through the divorce that we haven’t taken time to think about the future.”

  “I don’t need to think about my future. I love you, Alex. That’s enough for me.”

  “You’re just saying that because everything with Glenn just hit the fan. You were so excited a week ago. Hell, you were bouncing off the walls after the show last night.”

  “Honestly, I couldn’t care less about the band right now.”

  “And that’s not good. None of this is good. Think how hard you’ve worked. I don’t want to see that go away.”

  “I don’t either, but right now, this all feels like total bullshit.”

  She sighed. “I’m sorry. I’m making this worse, aren’t I?” Her voice faded into nothing.

  “No,” he groaned. “You’re the only thing that makes this bearable. I just can’t think straight.” There was an ominous silence on the other end of the line. “Alex? You still here?”

  “Yeah, I’m here.”

  More intense quiet crept in, making his heart pound. “What are you thinking?”

  “I’m thinking that I caused half of this problem and that I need to give you some space.”

  It felt as though someone plunged their hand into his chest and squeezed his heart. Give you some space. The rhythm of his pulse became so quick he had to shut his eyes. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean that you have a lot of thinking to do. And the boys want to go home and they’ve been through a lot. I love you, but you know I have to put them first.”

  “You’re saying that you’re leaving?” Everything he’d ever wanted—Alex, the band—was sifting through his fingers.

  “It’s not like I want to, but this isn’t just about you and me. It was easy to tell ourselves that when nobody knew about us. It’s not like that anymore.”

  He drew in a d
eep breath to calm himself but his shoulders were shaking. “Please don’t leave.”

  “It’ll be good if we both have some breathing room. So much has happened. I need time to think too.”

  “Please don’t do anything until I get home.”

  Seconds ticked by while he waited for her to finally say something.

  “David, please. You know I can’t make that promise.”

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  Alex couldn’t help but remember the day she’d packed to move everything into David’s house. So much had happened since then and life was even more unsettled now. She folded Tyler’s clothes as he crammed stuffed animals into a cardboard box. The tears had stayed away that morning but only because she’d cried her eyes out all night.

  There were footsteps in the hall and David’s tired voice. “Hello?”

  “In here,” Alex called out, her voice breaking.

  He appeared and slumped against the doorframe when he caught sight of Tyler. “You’re packing?”

  A sigh escaped her lips. “We are.”

  “Mommy and Page and me are moving back to our house,” Tyler said.

  “I heard, buddy.” David stepped forward and crouched next to Tyler, smoothing his hand over his sandy brown hair. “I’m going to miss you.”

  “I’m so excited. I get to have my room back and play with my toys. You can come and visit us, you know. If you want.”

  He looked up at Alex and it took everything she had not to crumble at his feet. His eyes were not their usual warm hue. “I definitely want to do that. As much as I can.” He stood and held out his hand for her. “Can we talk?”

  “Yeah. Of course.” Alex gently placed a small stack of T-shirts in the suitcase that lay on the bed. “Ty, I’m going to go to talk to Uncle David. We’ll be in his office if you need me.”

  David gripped her hand and they wandered down the hall, shoulder-to-shoulder, in silence. He closed the office door and pulled her into an embrace. Alex wanted to melt into him, the pain of leaving settled in her bones.

  “Please don’t go. I’m begging you,” he said.