“Your shoes.” The woman pointed at her feet. “You need to take them off and put them in the tub. The carryon and purse need to go in a separate tubs.”
She set her bag in a tub. Then she put her purse in another one. Slipping off her shoes, she put them in the third before shoving them all in the direction of the x-ray machine. In front of the metal detector, she paused. What would happen if it went off? Would they pull her aside for a more thorough inspection? Would it take so long that she would miss her flight? What if she refused?
“Miss, you have to go through the metal detector.” Another security guard crowded her from behind and she moved forward. No alarms went off as she passed through. Swallowing around the knot of tears in her throat, she gathered her belongings and slipped her shoes back on. Only then, fully reassembled, did she dare turn back.
He stood where she’d left him. His broad shoulders slumped, but he raised a hand to wave. Her jaw shook and her feet were rooted to the floor. She couldn’t go. She couldn’t leave him. Her whole life she’d always been able to move on when the time came. She’d missed her high school friends, but at the end of school she’d gone on her way. Some of them she emailed occasionally, but not many. The same had been true in college. Every year she watched groups of children she had loved and cherished leave her for the next grade but she didn’t spend the in-service day weeping over kids who’d left her, unlike many of her colleagues.
But now, the idea of leaving him shredded her. She wasn’t going to be able to walk to the gate. Her knees would give out and she’d end up an undignified heap on the floor. People flowed around her as if she were just another obstacle between them and their destinations. Her destination was behind her. What was she headed toward?
Her students. Her house and friends. The life she’d made for herself, all by herself.
Chin lifted, she forced a smile then turned and walked toward the gate. In the lounge area, she dropped into a seat and stared into space. She’d known him for a month. Friday night they’d celebrated with pizza by candlelight. In that month, she’d been with him for only two weeks. The rest of the time had been over the phone. Now they faced a five-week separation during which, if movies were anything to go by, he’d be surrounded by women who would do anything for him. By his own report, he’d be lonely and bored most of the time with a few hours of happiness when he was playing.
And she hadn’t let him buy her an engagement ring.
A woman sat down beside her. “Wow, just made it. They’re going to start boarding any second.” The woman focused on her. “Are you alright?”
She nodded, and couldn’t form an expression.
“Ah, you traveling alone?”
She nodded again.
“First time?”
No. “Yes.” She’d always traveled alone. Why was this so different?
“Poor dear.” The woman patted her hand. “It gets easier with practice.”
She forced a tight smile in lieu of speech, and the gate attendant called the first group to board.
“Well, that’s me. Good luck, sweetheart.” The woman stood and shouldered her bag. “Try to sleep on the flight. That always helps me.”
While waiting for them to call her to board, she hugged herself. Five weeks. In five weeks, school ended and the tour passed close by. She was scheduled to join up with them for a month then he had a weeklong break. During the break he was going to come home with her. Five weeks apart, five weeks together. Then he left again. Depending on how things went, she might go with him.
On the plane, she stashed her carryon, buckled herself in, pulled the blanket over her head and closed her eyes. The lack of sleep last night and the massive depression shut her down so thoroughly, she knew nothing until the plane touched down. The man in the seat next to her gave her a wide-eyed look that made her wonder if she’d been talking in her sleep. If she had, he’d been treated to a better show than any programming the flight had. She’d dreamed about Michael.
Linda waited near the baggage carousel. “I wasn’t sure where to meet you so I figured this would be a good bet. Are you okay?”
She shook her head. Half her brain still wanted to be asleep.
“You guys break up?”
She glared at her. Everyone was waiting with baited breath for him to dump her. “No. I slept the whole way back. I’m not quite awake yet.” She wanted to be home as soon as possible so she could bawl in private. The three hours she’d gained flying out, she’d lost on the return trip. Darkness pressed against the huge airport windows, smothering her.
“So you visited your famous boyfriend in California and all you got was this lousy Tesla t-shirt?” Linda fell into step beside her.
“No.” Maureen smoothed her hand down the front of the t-shirt. It still smelled like him.
“So what’s the problem?”
“I miss him.”
Linda shrugged. “Fair enough. I don’t see a ring. You know there’s a betting pool going at school about whether he’d ask you to marry him on this trip.”
“He already asked.” She should have let him buy her the ring. Even if he broke up with her it would have been physical proof that he’d existed. Something a little more permanent and serious than an old t-shirt for a band she knew nothing about.
“Excuse me?”
“He asked me weeks ago.” She walked through the sliding doors and stopped at the edge of the drop off area checking for cars. The air was colder here too. Out in sunny California it had been too warm for her jacket. Now she wished she had it but it was stuffed in her bag.
“What do you mean, he asked you weeks ago?”
“He asked me before he left town.”
Linda followed her off the sidewalk without looking in either direction. “You’re kidding. Where’s the ring?”
“I don’t have one. We were keeping it quiet until everyone got used to us as a couple. I knew you’d freak out.” Maureen stopped. Gravity was stronger here too. Her carryon weighed at least twice what it had when she got on the plane and she had no clue where Linda had parked. Linda wasn’t giving hints either.
“Damn right. What do you mean, you got engaged weeks ago?”
“I mean, we got engaged weeks ago. He asked me before he left town. Remember that personal day I took a month ago? He asked me then.”
“After he knew you for a week!” Linda’s voice rang off the cement walls, sounding like her formerly squeaking brakes, which reminded her of Michael fixing those brakes.
“Yes, and this is why I didn’t tell anyone. Where did you park? It’s cold.”
“I can’t believe you. You were always so calm and level headed. When did you lose your mind?”
And this was her friend? She should have asked someone else to pick her up or taken a really expensive cab or something.
“You can’t marry this guy. You don’t even know him.”
“It’s not a done deal, Linda. I don’t even have a ring. He asked, I said yes. We didn’t run off to Vegas yesterday.” Run off to Vegas. Why couldn’t she have thought of that Friday night? They could have skipped Disney for Vegas and gotten hitched. He would have been all for it.
“I’m surprised you didn’t.”
“If I’d thought of it in time, we would have. Where is your car, Linda?”
Linda shook her head and stalked into the parking deck. “So what is it about this guy?”
“I love him.” She bit back a sob. Love was such a tiny word for such a big emotion.
“Okay, but does he love you?” Linda didn’t look back.
Maureen felt safe in letting misery bow her mouth. She pictured him standing in the airport, shoulders slumped, waving to her from the wrong side of the security checkpoint. He might be standing there still. Yesterday he’d spent the whole day at Disneyland with her. He’d never gone there before and had indulged her every whim all day long. Last night they’d spent all night indulging one another. Every time she looked at him, he’d been studying her with focused
concentration. If he paid that much attention in rehearsals, he would have a lot fewer bruises. “Yes.”
Something in her voice must have made Linda stop. When her friend turned back, Maureen closed her eyes and let her bag slide to the floor.
“You really love him,” Linda said.
She nodded, covering her face with her hands.
“Oh, sweetie.” Linda put her arms around her and she sagged.
She still felt torn to shreds. The woman at the airport before she got on the plane said sleeping would help. If this was helped, then they’d have had to take her off the plane in a stretcher if she hadn’t slept.
“I’m sorry,” Linda said. “If he really loves you that much it’s meant to be.”
“But what if he doesn’t? What if he’s not working with the same definition?” Sobs shook her. “What if a groupie gets her hooks into him? What if Marc convinces him to break up with me? What if he changes his mind?”
“Don’t be silly.” Linda stroked her hair. “I’m sure he loves you as much as you love him.”
“I’ve never loved anyone like this before. I feel like I’m broken.”
“You probably haven’t, but I swear to you, you can get through it.” Linda pulled her up until she got her feet under her again. “Let’s get you to the car and calmed down enough to call him and let him know you landed safely.”
“You think I’m being stupid, rushing into this.”
“No.” Linda brushed her hair off her face as if she were one of the kids instead of an adult. “I think for the first time in your life you’re being a little impetuous and I can’t deny you that. Come on. I have a box of tissues in my car.”
* * * *
“Jesus, Bear, walk on your own feet, will you?” Rudy scuttled a few steps ahead as if that would help. He’d already done it three times between the bus and here and Bear still kept stepping on his heels.
“Where the hell did you hide her?” Bear scanned the venue. It was one of those outdoor deals. Most of the stage was already set, but instruments weren’t out yet. Seven people crowded around the mixing board and he couldn’t tell if any of them were Maureen.
Last night on the phone she’d been full of stories about the last day of school and the amazing haul of barrettes and coffee cups she’d gotten. No indication that she wouldn’t be here today to tell him all those stories again in person, but he’d had vivid nightmares all night about getting here and finding out she’d changed her mind about coming or somehow gotten bored and gone home.
“I didn’t hide her. She’s right— Shit.”
“Lost her already?” Marc said. Jason and Ty snickered. Brian veered off in the direction of the dressing room.
Bear followed Rudy’s gaze to a section of seating up at the back of the pavilion. An empty section.
“Well, she was right there twenty minutes ago.” Rudy pulled a radio off his belt. “Has anybody seen Maureen?”
In the crackle and hiss of the radio, Bear couldn’t make out any of the answers so he dropped his duffel and started for her last known location. At least she’d made it. If she was in the same city, he was way ahead of the past five weeks. On one of the seats he found a paperback novel, an empty Coke can and a hair elastic with a purple silk rose on it. He slid the elastic around his wrist and turned back to Rudy. Rudy had the radio up to his mouth as he walked up the steps.
“…care if she volunteered. I needed her to stay put for ten more minutes and you guys have her running around like a goddamn gopher.” Rudy moved the radio away from his mouth. “Joe sent her to check on the catering guys and Perry swears he saw her headed to the office.”
“Michael!” Her voice echoed through the sound system followed by a whine of feedback.
Bear spun toward the stage. She stood at the edge next to Brian, a microphone in her hand like it was a live snake, and she was wearing the Tesla t-shirt she’d stolen from him when she left LA. Brian took the microphone and set it on the stage. Taking Maureen by the hands, he lowered her into the waiting arms of Joe, the lead lighting tech. Bear bounded down the steps wanting to yell at them to keep their hands off his fiancee, but seconds later she was in his arms and it didn’t matter anymore. She tasted like heaven and smelled like fresh squeezed lemons. “You got it,” he said when he had to come up for air.
“What? The case of body wash? Yes.” She tangled her fingers through his hair, staring at him like she couldn’t quite believe he was there. “You know it takes me about six months to get through one bottle. I now have enough to last me a decade.”
“Good. When you run out, I’ll buy you more.” He kissed her again. The tangy sweet scent made him think of lemonade. He was never going to look at lemonade the same way again.
“Do the two of you need a few minutes alone in the dressing room?” Jason asked.
The thought had crossed his mind, but Maureen wasn’t a groupie and he wasn’t going to start treating her like one. No matter how much he wanted her.
“Whatever you need, you’re going to have to do it someplace else,” Joe said. “We have work to do.”
He pulled her up into the seating area. “When did you get in?”
She led the way back to where she’d left her book. “Earlier this afternoon. I’ve already been to the hotel and dropped off my stuff. I picked up this book in the gift shop this morning.” She held up the paperback, which she was half finished with.
“I’ll try to keep you entertained a little more.”
She put her arms around his neck and her warm soft body curved against his. “I hope so.” Her lips met his again and all thoughts of lemonade and not treating her like a groupie evaporated. There was almost enough privacy between the rows of seats.
“Mr. D’Amato to the stage, please. Mr. D’Amato to the stage.”
Almost, but not quite enough privacy. Onstage, Ty swung a microphone around by the cord as he talked to Jason, who already had a guitar in his hands. They were never ready to sound check this fast. Every day there was a minimum of forty-five minutes fucking around before they could get down to work. Today when he wanted a little time, they were all right on the ball. The bastards. “I’m sorry, Maur. I’ve got to get to work.”
“It’s okay.” She brushed a kiss across his cheek. “I’ll be here when you have a minute.”
He had to circle the stage and go up from one side. By the time he’d settled behind his kit, the others were staring at him.
“Pooh Bear feel all better now that his honey pot is here?” Ty cooed.
Bear threw a drumstick at him.
“Let’s just get this thing done.” Jason sat down on the drum riser.
Bear watched her. As she promised, she sat down right about where he’d left her. She watched for a while, but most of the time she read. Was she already bored? The ride wasn’t going to get much better. He had the whole run of The X-Files on the bus. They’d been watching them as they traveled. That should entertain her.
Maybe he could talk Brian into loaning her his electronic book thing too. Brian’s weird taste in reading material might be a problem though. He probably had that thing loaded with freaky horror novels. Might be better if he got one for her and let her load it up with whatever she wanted. Brian always got new reading material wherever there was an internet connection when he ran out.
At the rate she was going through that novel she bought this morning, she was going to run out of gift shop offerings way too fast. Would she even want to watch the show every night? She might be happier at the hotel.
Five weeks he’d been dreaming about her being on tour with him and it had never occurred to him to figure out what to do with her when she got here. Beyond the obvious, of course.
Boy, he couldn’t wait to get back to the hotel tonight and indulge in a little of the obvious.
As soon as they had the all clear on sound check, he jumped off the stage and headed for her. Behind him, Ty and Brian started singing Pour Some Sugar On Me only Ty replaced ‘sugar’ wit
h ‘honey’ and Jason was catching on fast. They were going to be calling him Pooh Bear for the rest of the tour. He grabbed her by the hand and took her up out of the pavilion to the lawn area. Woods surrounded this venue so it must have some decent nooks to hide in for a few minutes. They wouldn’t have long enough, but right now he needed a couple minutes alone with her. All he could find was a tree near a bank of bathrooms.
“Not very romantic,” he said, pulling her behind the trunk.
“It’s fine.” She leaned on the tree, drawing him into her arms. “I missed you.”
“You told me every day on the phone.” He traced her lips with his finger. Warm and satiny.
“I know, but now I’m telling you in person.”
When she’d walked away from him at the airport a month ago he’d thought he was going to die. He wanted to throw her over his shoulder and carry her back to his car. Watching her go through security and then down that long hallway until she disappeared in the distance, he’d thought of a thousand ways to latch onto her and dismissed every one. One of the things he loved about her was the fact that she had her own life separate from him. He kissed her.
She melted in his arms. All heat and welcome. Every curve, familiar and sweet. He tightened his arms around her, lifting her up. One of her legs coiled around his waist, and she slid her lips up his jaw and down his neck. “I missed you,” she murmured.
“I missed you too, baby.” He kneaded her shoulders. “Every day on the phone I wanted to climb through that line and touch you.”
She chuckled and the dark chocolate cinnamon sound of it made his hair stand on end in the hopes that she might pet it back down. “What time do you get off?”
He knew what she meant, but he shuddered with desire. “The show is over at eleven, we’ll have dinner and head to the hotel. We should get there about one.”
Frowning, she nodded. It was a long damn time to wait.
He slid his hand down the curve of her spine. “Come on, let’s go back and see what’s going on backstage. They’re already gonna be pretty rude.”
Satellite of Love Page 17
