by TM Watkins
“You are crazy.” the guy beamed. “I'm Joe Andersen.”
I shook his hand with a self-satisfied smile. “Frankie Weller.”
“Well then Frankie Weller, sit tight because they're about to announce one of the awards your boyfriend and his band are up for.”
My heart thudded hard again, waiting as the host read through the nominees. As he said their name, their image came up on the screen. Curtis looked like he was coated in a layer of sweat, absolutely delectable.
Three more names were read out and my heart continued to thud painfully hard in my chest.
“God help me, I think I'm going to have a heart attack before the minute is out.”
Joe chuckled, offering no advice whatsoever. Some seat filler he was.
“And the winner is...” the man ripped the seal and pulled out the card, grinning crazily as he turned to the side stage. “Night Fire.”
I fell back onto the seat with a groan.
“Joe, check to see if I have a pulse.”
“How are you ever going to survive the long term Frankie? You need to harden up.”
Austin was front and center, surprising but then again, he was the front man so maybe not so surprising.
“Night Fire wants to thank Star Maker Management, Jerry Miller and his awesome team, our friends and family and especially our fans.”
Jaxon leaned into the microphone.
“Mommy one, daddy wants to ask you something.”
“Oh crap.” I groaned softly as the tingling sensation of realization surged through me.
“Who is mommy one?” Joe asked.
“It's me.”
I watched in subdued horror as Jaxon stepped aside with a smug grin and let Curtis step up to the microphone.
“Oh my god Frankie!” Joe gripped my arm with excitement.
“Frankie, did you find the box in your bag?”
Not the question I was expecting. In fact I don't think anyone was expecting that question. Music filled the air, a gentle reminder that the clock was ticking.
“Music dude, shut that shit off.” Evan snarled into the microphone. “Or we will find you and make you turn it off.”
Silence hit the hall and people were turning around and looking to see who this Frankie was.
“Frankie, open your bag, find the box. Hurry up before people start losing their shit over it.” Joe hissed quietly.
I rummaged through the bag, pulling out my phone, my wallet, the lipstick, tampons because I was still waiting for that thing and a black box. My hand was shaking as I stuffed everything back in and opened the little square box.
Inside was a ring, a monster oval shaped diamond in the center surrounded by smaller diamonds. They weren't chip sized, they were quite large. Ostentatious is a word that could easily describe the ring. But that was the way that Curtis was, he liked to show everyone how well he had done and rightly so. After hearing from his family that he wouldn't make it, he deserved to flaunt his wealth everywhere.
A shadow loomed over me, I gasped when I looked up and saw Curtis standing there. He hadn't had time to change, still in cargo shorts and a thin shirt.
“Hey.” he said as he stooped at my feet. “D'ya like it?”
I nodded with a laugh, wrapping my arms around him.
“You are crazy, you know that?”
“Not as crazy as someone who yells out at an awards ceremony. So uh, the people kind of need your answer Frankie, otherwise they can't go on. Evan's gonna lose his shit if they play the music again.”
“Yes.” I huffed, wiping the tears. “As if I'd say no.”
Chapter Sixteen
Two weeks later...
“Told you.” Curtis grinned like the smug bastard he was.
I huffed and dumped the pregnancy test onto the counter. Two damned blue lines told me that he had managed to hit the home run in one go.
He had spent the entire time saying that I was pregnant, that he had the magic seed and that my eggs were not impervious to the miracle that was his manhood. I had spent the entire time with my head in the toilet bowl, thinking that I had succumb to food poisoning.
But being pregnant was the least of my problems. No, that was dinner tonight. Not only had my parents and my brother flown in to see us but Curtis's entire family was here as well. Well, not here. Curtis didn't extend that much of an invitation. They were at a hotel and thankfully not the same one as my parents. Tonight was dinner where I suspect that my parents were going to grill Curtis over the whole marriage and future thing. Neither of us cared, my parents were harmless. It was his parents that were the worry.
I had suggested that Austin come over as well, not just because he was family but because he was the buffer that Curtis needed. The only problem was that Austin had flown to Florida to see his parents before the tour started. So he was gone for at least a week, maybe two.
In lieu of Austin, the entire band, Jerry, Eleanor and Eden were going to be here. I could only pray that they would be enough for Curtis. Maybe me too, I hated the thought of what these people could be like. If they were so horrible to their own flesh and blood what chance did I have against them? None.
The phone shrilled and my stomach lurched, anxiety rippling through me. Curtis picked up the phone and I threw up. Gotta love being pregnant. When I stopped throwing up Curtis was walking to the front door. I quickly raced upstairs to clean up and dump the pregnancy test away from prying eyes.
When I was done with cleaning my minty-vomit smelling mouth I ventured downstairs, hearing the laughter of El. God love the woman, she was a darling. No doubt she secretly suspected there was a bun in the oven and had come early to help cook. Even though Curtis had said that we should get catering, I wouldn't have it. I didn't want to give his family fodder to come at me with.
“Hello darling.” she air kissed me as she hugged me. “You are looking positively glowing, isn't she darling?”
Jerry nodded with a wry smile. “Sure is hun. Lookin' good Frankie.”
“Thanks Jerry.” I laughed a little, stepping aside as Eden walked in with her arms filled with shopping bags.
“Come on girls, we're gonna smack this shit into the ground.” Eden grinned darkly as she walked past us.
“We aren't really going to be smacking food, are we?” El frowned.
“Uh, no. I think she means that we are going to make some great food.”
Eleanor nodded a little mystified as she followed after Eden.
After an hour of cooking and preparing dinner the kitchen looked like a culinary bomb had hit it. I had thrown up again, that was because Eden put a hulking slab of mince onto the counter. After that the cat was out of the bag, so to speak. El offered her secrets about settling the morning sickness and Eden researched it on her laptop. They continued the cooking without me, mostly because I couldn't stand to be in there with all those smells.
The boys had arrived about an hour ahead of schedule which worked out perfectly. Even though I was still feeling a little green, I made sure they understood that their perfect behavior was expected. Amazingly they were already subdued and well behaved.
I sighed as I sat onto the dining chair, wishing I had a masseuse to work on the knot in my shoulder.
“Princess you need to stop stressing.” Jaxon leaned back, draping one arm over the back of the dining chair. “Not doing any good to the bug doing that nonsense.”
“What?” I casually asked.
“The bug.” he grinned as he pointed to my stomach. “Leech, alien life form, whatever you want to call it. Stress won't be helping.”
I groaned as I put my head in my hands.
“Is it that obvious?”
“To us it is, we're always around. To the parents probably not. Our lips are sealed.”
The phone rang again, likely to be my parents at the gate. We had told them to come a little earlier than the others, mostly to get the nice greetings out of the way before we unleash hell upon them.
“I think I'm going t
o be sick.”
“Calm down. Take a deep breath, it's just your parents.”
I turned to the joker and his soothing tone, where this person had come from I don't know but he was completely different.
“Sure.”
“This is your house Frankie, you don't take crap from anyone.”
“Okay.”
“They are guests and you should demand a pleasant and delightful evening.”
“Absolutely.”
“And if they don't like what they see here then you can tell them to fuck off.”
I laughed, imagining the look of pure horror on my parents face if I dared to tell them to fuck off.
“What's so funny?”
Curtis was standing by the entry to the dining room and the kitchen, smiling even though he was a little unsure.
“Your lovely fiancee is fantasizing about telling her parents to fuck off.”
“Oh, well enough of that. They'll be here in a second.”
He held out his hand, I stood and took a deep breath. We were at the door before my parents had made it to the steps, they seemed to be rather awestruck by the house. It was a casual dinner but Curtis had dressed like it was a little more formal. In fact, everyone had. He was wearing a black shirt that was buttoned tight, trying to hide the tattoos.
“Don't hide who you are.” I unbuttoned the top two buttons. “If they can't accept you as you are then I don't want them here.”
“Thanks babe.” he grinned as he opened the door.
My mother swanned in the door first, engulfing me in a hug that nearly pressed the life out of me. Her hair was shorter now, a silvery bob that suited her thin frame.
“Oh Frankie it's so good to see you again.”
She smiled as her thumb traced over my cheek.
“You look well darling.”
“Thanks mom. Hey dad.”
My father scratched at his beard, his thing for when he had to endure an awkward greeting. My brother and I inherited our brown hair and blue eyes from our father.
“How's it going Frankie?”
“Great. This is Curtis.”
They did their polite and awkward greeting thing, then my mother was engulfed in a bear hug. A blonde bear hug.
“Grammy one.” he faked a sniff.
My mother stood there stiff as a board, unsure of what to do with the man that was hugging her.
“Okay Jaxon, get off my mother.”
“But mommy one I was only saying hello to Grammy one.”
“I think I hear mommy two calling you.”
Jaxon trudged away like a petulant child, turning and looking at me with a fake pout.
“Sorry. Ever since I scolded them they call me mommy. Since their new assistant arrived I'm mommy one and she's mommy two.”
“Oh.” my mother said, still confused.
A darkened shadow stepped into the house, as always he was waiting at the back. Never one to step forward first, my brother was a quiet one that was seen but not heard.
“Hey Pete.”
He nodded at me in true rock star fashion.
The phone shrilled again, I looked down the driveway that slowly snaked it's way to the road. Sitting at the gate was a black SUV that looked like it cost a fortune.
“Oh goody.” Curtis grumbled and turned to answer the phone.
“Frankie?” my mother whispered, rather concerned.
“Things aren't exactly good between Curtis and his family. We are in for an interesting night.”
Curtis and I sat at the head of the table, it was thankfully long and wide enough to accommodate everyone who had turned up tonight. On my side was my parents and Pete, Jaxon had taken his usual over exuberant interest in my family and sat beside them. Evan, Fraser and Eden were at the other end. Jerry and Eleanor were at the far end of the table, trying their damnedest to keep the conversation from turning awkward. It wasn't working.
Along the other side was Derek and Emma. James and Curtis looked like their father, tall and broad with brown hair and a soft tan. All four children possessed their mother's green eyes but only the two daughters had managed to get her blonde hair and fair skin.
Emma wasn't a pleasant person. It was entirely possible that she had sucked on a lemon before arriving, I don't think she had smiled once since walking in the door. Even the greeting was a little hostile. James and his wife Natalie were next along the row, their newborn daughter asleep in the carrier behind them. Beth the doctor hadn't brought anyone because she was too busy being a doctor to concern herself with the male species. I think we heard that Beth was a doctor about ten times so far, James was struggling to keep up. I'd only heard that he and Natalie were lawyers eight times so far. And then there was the youngest, Jane. How proud they were of her, she was studying to be a doctor too.
My eyes darted around the table, the uneasiness was obvious on everyone's faces. The boys had their heads down, eating their dinner without their usual mirth. My brother looked like he wanted to rip a few heads off, given the chance he might just do it. Even Eden looked like she wanted to rip a few limbs here and there. My brother always loved a bit of competition, no doubt the man eater would give him a run for his money.
“Saw you on the television Curtis.” my mother started. “Not really into this music thing but I thought you boys did a great job.”
“Thanks Mrs Weller.”
She smiled brightly at him. In that moment my pain in the ass mother and all her pious glory was gone, replaced with a wonderful woman that knew when things were crap and dealt with it in a kick ass way.
“Oh please darling, Mavis is fine.”
Curtis nodded, lowering to look at his dinner instead of showing everyone that he was slightly embarrassed. In a good way of course. My mother knew how to deal out the love.
“And you won an award.”
“Two.” my father interrupted her.
“That's right!” she exclaimed. “Two awards, you must be happy with that, right? No one else won two that night. Extraordinary.”
I looked down the table to El, the smile on her face was worth framing. She knew what my mother was up to. I turned to the view of cat's bum central. It was almost laughable except that this was his family who couldn't be happy that Curtis was doing so well. His peers had awarded him and his band two damned awards, they had performed perfectly and yet it wasn't good enough.
My mother carried on eating, happy with the snippet of conversation left at that.
“So Peter.” Emma started. “What do you do?”
The quiet one looked up from his plate. I expected him to say none of you fucking business but he wouldn't when my mother was within ear clipping reach.
“Cop.” he muttered with a mouth full of food and then looked back down at his plate.
“A fine job.” she gushed. “Protecting the people, ensuring our streets are safe. You must be so proud.”
My parents looked at each other.
“Sure.” my father offered. “Except that he gets shot at constantly, seen too many dead bodies. Had a woman attack him with a hypodermic. Sound like a fine job to you Mrs Andrews?”
The woman flustered, unable to respond to him.
“We need the fine men and women patrolling the streets.” James offered in an uppity tone.
It was really hard to believe that these four kids were from the same family, that these two people created children that were so far apart in personalities it wasn't funny.
“They maintain an environment that if left unchecked would be pure anarchy. Without the law we would be awash with...” his eyes darted to the three across the table from him. “Criminals.”
My father huffed with a light laugh, rolling his eyes.
“Sorry, did I say something amusing?” James looked at my father derisively.
Oh dear daddy, what have you started? And look James has taken the bait.
“Of course you did. Your attitude is typical of what's being pushed out these days. You looked at those boy
s like they were scum and let me tell you something mister hot shot lawyer, they aren't the scum at this table.”
A row of jaws just fell slack as they stared at my father.
“Martin, was it?”
“That's right ma'am.” he said to Emma. “Martin Weller.”
She nodded and her eyes narrowed slightly as she assessed him. I watched James carefully, Natalie too. Wondering when the penny would drop.
“And what is it that you do Mister Weller?” Derek asked.
“Well sir, I'm a judge.”
The color dropped from James's face and I wanted to laugh. He had just realized who my father was. This was my dirty little secret that I had kept from everyone. My daddy beats the crap out of your daddy nonsense aside, I was loving every single second of this.
“Supreme to be more precise. What did you say your name was?”
“James.” I interrupted with delight. “James Andrews.”
“Thanks sweat pea.” he smiled at me, enjoying our little moment.
He turned back to the very pale James.
“I'll remember your name James. Hope to hell you don't ever cross my path boy.”
Take that you little bastard. James looked like he was about to start hyperventilate. He'd just pissed off a supreme court judge. Worse yet, he didn't recognize him. Sure he looked like an ordinary man but what lawyer didn't know the names of all of the judges? Yep, it wasn't a smart move.
My father stretched back, wrapping his arm over the back rest of my mother's chair.
“Seems to me that the system is overrun with people trying to make criminals out of good kids that just like to have a bit of fun. I'm not saying that everyone is innocent and that they shouldn't go to jail for it but there are many in the system that shouldn't be there. Take these kids for instance. Young Curtis here defended my daughter when patrons were being rude to her. A noble thing to do in this era of disinterest. A full restaurant and there was only one that could be bothered to say something. To me, that makes him a great man but to you, all you see is the criminal. But still the actions beyond that were to the extreme and they ended up in jail for it. By the way, did you bail your son out?”
Derek and Emma shook their heads, rather shocked.
