What Now?

by Every, Donna

  “Had enough air?”

  “Not really, but I’ve had enough of being Nick Badley for today.”

  “The price of fame.”

  “Yes, fame demands a price. She’s like a beautiful woman who is enticing because she promises to take you to places that you can barely imagine, but you have to pay a high price for her favor.”

  Shari was relieved when they reached the elevator bank without further incident.

  “I’d like to come and see you rehearse.”

  “No problem. Be down here by five.”

  The band had been practicing for more than an hour. They were scheduled to fly out in the morning to perform at the Pepsi Center in Denver the next night before a sold-out crowd of 20,000. The stage had to be set up, so there would be no time to rehearse on location before the show.

  Shari had been given the schedule for the rest of the tour and it was enough to make her head spin. After Denver, they would fly to Kansas City, to Chicago, to Cincinnati and then down to Florida with shows in Miami and Fort Lauderdale. Then up to Atlanta and then Raleigh (her home city), to the Capital and, finally, to New York for two shows, the last one being at Madison Square Garden. Some of the shows were back-to-back while a few had as many as three days between them.

  She couldn’t imagine how Nick and the band could endure the pace and it was probably even worse for the crew who had to set up and break down the stage in each city. She was looking forward to the trip to Denver as they would be travelling in a private jet and she’d never travelled in one before. The band apparently leased it to travel between locations where it didn’t make sense logistically to use their tour bus.

  “OK, from the top again,” instructed Nick who, Shari realized, was somewhat of a perfectionist. The first run through of his song “Moving On”, which was almost at the top of the charts, sounded fine to her. Not that she appreciated the heartless lyrics in which a man was telling his woman that the relationship had lost its excitement and he was moving on. It came a little too close to home for her liking.

  “Shoot, Nick. It was near perfect the last time!” complained Tim. His bloodshot eyes betrayed that he’d obviously had more than enough to drink the night before, and who knew what else. She was sure that every beat he played must have been reverberating in his head, which probably accounted for the pained expression on his face. And she seriously doubted that his constantly running nose was due to allergies. There was something about him that gave her the creeps, apart from the fact that he seemed to have amnesia when it came to remembering that he was married.

  “From the top,” Nick repeated.

  “ ‘From the top’ says the great Nick Badley!” Tim mocked. “Well, you’re on your own. My head feels like it’s about to explode and I’ve had it!” He pushed back his stool roughly and stood up, throwing down his drumsticks before storming out of the room.

  “He’s had it? I’ve had it with him. I need a drummer I can rely on. Brad, I wasn’t kidding when I told you to start looking around. Find me a drummer. Soon!”

  Shari sat in stunned silence. She had not known that there was trouble in the band. What would it mean for the rest of the tour?

  Chapter 5

  Nick looked at the screen of the phone that Lily furiously dropped on his chest as he sprawled out on the four-seater divan of the Bombardier. Her shapely leg swung furiously as she regarded him from her club seat across the aisle. Shari watched Nick’s face from where she sat, separated from Lily’s seat by a square walnut-finished table. It changed from boredom to anger in seconds.

  “These damn tweets!” He cursed, before reading the offending tweet out loud.

  “@VegasScoops. Moving On tour in trouble? Nick Badley's drummer, Tim Benton, stormed out of a rehearsal yesterday after a blow up with the bad boy lead singer. Will he be #MovingOn?”

  He sat up abruptly, tossing the phone back to Lily.

  “How the hell did that get out? This is happening way too often. I’m beginning to believe that someone is deliberately leaking this stuff. I’m sick of the media and their reckless reporting! It’s even worse now with social media. You can’t even take a leak without it being tweeted or posted all over the world before you shake!”

  Lily let him rant. Shari felt distinctly uncomfortable, being part of the hated media. Not even the comfort of the armchair-like leather seat alleviated the feeling. It also didn’t help that the jet had been waiting to take off for the last thirty minutes with the door open and the last seat annoyingly empty, in anticipation of the arrival of the missing drummer.

  "He's obviously not showing. Let's go!" Nick instructed impatiently.

  Brad responded by tapping away at his cell phone for about the twentieth time. This time he met with success.

  "Tim! Where the hell are you, man? We've been on the tarmac for nearly an hour waiting for you."

  Shari would have smiled at the exaggeration if she wasn't so annoyed at the time they'd been waiting as well.

  "You're what? You could have called to say something! OK, OK. See you in Denver." He disconnected the call and signaled to one of the stewardesses to let the pilot know they were ready. "He's catching a flight on United."

  "What a waste of f****** time! He couldn't have told us that before?" Nick complained.

  Shari cringed at the profanity but held her tongue. This was not the time to be admonishing Nick for his language.

  The stewardess closed the door and checked that everyone was prepared for takeoff.

  Shari’s heart leapt with excitement when the flight was finally cleared for takeoff and the powerful jet hurtled down the runway before soaring cleanly into the sky. Peering out the window, she caught a last glimpse of the impressive hotels on the Strip as they left Vegas behind. So far she had experienced Nick Badley in concert, being swamped by fans, making out with two women, storming out of her interview and having an altercation with his drummer. And that was just on the first stop. She wondered what the rest of the tour had in store.

  The plane glided gently on to the tarmac of Denver International. Shari was surprised at how quickly the hour and a half flight had gone. Two stewardesses had brought out a mouthwatering selection of hors d'oeuvres. Smoked salmon and cream cheese with capers on Melba toast, coconut shrimp, kebabs made with the most tender beef ever, sushi and a few vegetarian offerings. She, Brian and Brad were the only ones who seemed to do any justice to the food. Lily seemed to be watching her weight or something and the band barely picked at it. They did, however, manage to consume vast quantities of vodka which was apparently the drink of choice. They obviously didn't conform to the "no alcohol before 12 o’clock" rule.

  As soon as the stairs were lowered, Brian hustled out to get footage of them disembarking. Nick led the entourage, followed by the rest of the band, with Lily, Shari and Brad bringing up the rear. They were immediately ushered into two limousines that were parked nearby. Once again, Shari shared Nick's limo, this time joined by Brian and Lily. In minutes they were on their way to the hotel.

  "I could get used to this," Shari joked. "No queuing to get off the plane and no waiting for luggage. Wonderful!"

  "So you’re not totally opposed to this life?” taunted Nick. He’d been in a foul mood for the entire trip, ever since reading the tweet.

  Shari’s face fell, taking her jovial mood with it. Shame curled in the pit of her stomach. He was right. Who was she to judge his extravagant lifestyle when, after just one day, she was relishing it?

  “No response, Ms. Goodwin?”

  “I thought it was a rhetorical question,” she replied defensively, forcing herself to meet his challenging gaze.

  “Leave her alone, Nick,” chided Lily. “Don’t take out your frustrations on Shari.”

  “Thanks, Lily, but I can take care of myself.”

  “Can you?” Nick assessed her. “I wonder.”

  Shari felt distinctly uncomfortable under his scrutiny and turned to look out the window instead. She’d never been to Denver be
fore; yet another first for her.

  “We’re staying at the Four Seasons,” Lily interjected, trying to ease the tension in the limo.

  “It’s not the hotel in Vegas, but I guess it should be luxurious enough to satisfy Ms. Goodwin’s newly developed taste for this excessive lifestyle.”

  Shari would not let him goad her. Instead, she deliberately focused on admiring the interesting architecture they were passing with the Rocky Mountains as the backdrop, looking like models posing for a postcard. Just seeing them lifted her spirits again and she smiled to herself as she thought about how archaic postcards had become. Now you could snap a photo and send it via Instagram or WhatsApp, or whatever, with a message. The same way you could tweet a damaging comment like the one Nick had read on the plane. No wonder he was in such a foul mood. Not that it excused his behavior.

  “I hear that Denver is a mile above sea level,” Brian spoke up for the first time, putting down his video camera.

  “Yes, it’s called the mile high city,” commented Nick drily. “Speaking of mile high, have you heard of the mile high club, Ms. Goodwin?”

  What was his problem? She wondered. Why was he picking on her today like the school bully? Did he think she had leaked the information to the Las Vegas media? He obviously didn’t know her well enough to realize that she operated with the highest level of integrity. Determined not to be fazed by his question, she raised an eyebrow and replied: “Yes. Why do you ask?” Did she really want to hear his answer?

  “I was just wondering if you’d like to join it the next time we’re in the jet.”

  Shari’s mouth dropped open in shock. The nerve of the man! Brian started to chuckle while Lily leaned forward to slap Nick on his arm.

  “Nick that could be considered sexual harassment!” she scolded.

  Shari collected herself enough to come back with: “I thought you wanted me to add that to your repertoire of decadence. Although it would definitely come below the threesome in Vegas.”

  “What threesome?” asked Lily, annoyed.

  Shari regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth. It wasn’t as if they had attorney-client privilege, but she didn’t want to be lumped with the rest of the reporters that he scorned. She needed to learn to ignore Nick Badley’s moods.

  “Whatever happened to ‘What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas’?” Nick asked mockingly.

  “You’re right. I apologize.” The last thing she needed was to antagonize Nick. She needed him to trust her to share his story. Nick looked surprised by her apology. Lily looked from one to the other thoughtfully, wondering what was going on. Before he could reply, Shari’s attention was taken by an almost comical sight outside the window and she said excitedly, “Oh, look at that huge blue bear looking through the windows of that building!”

  “The driver must have made a detour to pass the Convention Center for us. That’s the famous blue bear sculpture.” Lily said, leaning forward.

  “It’s huge!” Shari enthused. “How tall is it?”

  “Forty feet,” Lily told her as Brian rapidly repositioned his camera to capture the sight.

  Nick silently watched Shari and was surprised to find that he grudgingly enjoyed her child-like enthusiasm. When was the last time he was enthusiastic about anything other than how well his music was selling? He suddenly felt almost disgusted with himself for taunting her. After all, he was pretty sure she wasn’t the one who had leaked the information. He would more likely put his money on Tim. Funny, but somehow he knew that wasn’t her style.

  He sensed that she truly lived up to her surname and for some reason that annoyed him. Maybe because it showed up just how degenerate he had become. He must be bipolar. On the one hand her goodness annoyed him, yet he admired her honesty in speaking her mind rather than kowtowing to him. That in itself was refreshing, considering all the people who told him what they thought he wanted to hear.

  A few minutes later their limo pulled into the Four Seasons. The towering glass structure was impressive, but Shari was less interested in its impressive architecture than she was in getting to her room and out of the presence of Nick Badley. As the limousines parked at the entrance, people stopped to stare, waiting to see who would emerge. Nick pulled a pair of sunglasses out of his pocket and shoved them onto his face as the door opened.

  Lily gestured for Shari and Brian to wait while Nick got out. He and the band members were hustled into the lobby by their entourage of ever-present bodyguards and towards the elevators. They had obviously been checked in already.

  The rest of the group followed. It felt strange to be ogled by the lingering guests as they hung around to see if anyone else famous would disembark. Not recognizing anyone worth seeing, they soon dispersed.

  They waited while the van with the luggage pulled up and their various bags and suitcases were unloaded. Shari identified hers and headed to the front desk, pulling her luggage along behind her.

  All animals are equal, she thought cynically, but some animals are more equal than others. The quote from Animal Farm popped into her head as she joined the queue. No queuing for Nick Badley. She immediately chided herself for complaining. She would be staying at luxury hotels, flying in private jets and travelling in limousines for the next few weeks. What was she complaining about? How was it that she was already beginning to expect VIP treatment? Perhaps she shouldn’t be so quick to judge Nick Badley.

  Shari flopped back onto the king size bed with a sigh of relief, pushing off her boots with her toes. It wasn’t that the trip had been tiring. After all, she didn’t have to queue to check in and the short flight in the luxury jet, feasting on delicious hors d’oeuvres, had been no hardship. However, the tension on the flight and Nick’s barbs in the limousine made her feel as if she’d been a couple of rounds in a wrestling match. How she disliked the man!

  Her room was well decorated without being overly luxurious. The only drawback was the floor to ceiling windows that provided a view to another hotel across the street. A mountain view would have been nice but, apart from that, the room was very pleasant. She admired the clean modern lines of the bedside tables and lamps that were reflected in the huge mirror facing the bed. This was only her second hotel on the tour and the novelty of it had not worn off. She wondered how she would feel after ten cities and ten hotel rooms.

  Pushing herself off the bed, she crossed the room to the bathroom and opened the door to luxury. “Now this I appreciate,” she said aloud as she eyed the deep soaking tub and the luxurious marble finishes. “I’ll definitely test you out before I go,” she promised the tub as she took the wrapper off the soap and washed her hands and face.

  The concert at The Pepsi Center was due to start at 7. That gave her about four hours to kill before they were scheduled to leave the hotel. She would update her journal which she’d neglected for a few days. Then she would begin to compile her story and have a soak in the tub before she had to face the music again, no pun intended. She was not looking forward to the concert, to tell the truth. She didn’t like crowds and 20,000 people were more of a crowd than she was comfortable with.

  Picking up her phone, she touched the screen a couple of times until a phone on the other end started to ring. After about the fourth ring, the call connected.

  “Hi, Ma. I was just about to hang up. Where were you?”

  “In the kitchen, of course! I’m baking some cookies for some of the kids in the neighborhood.”

  Shari smiled to herself, feeling better just from hearing her mother’s voice.

  “Did you get my voice message to say I had gotten to Vegas safely?” Her mother still liked to know that she arrived safely when she travelled and Shari didn’t mind humoring her, even though she was twenty-six.

  “Yes. Thanks for keeping your old lady happy. How is it going? Is Nick Badley as bad as you expected?”

  “Oh Mother, he’s worse! If I told you about his lifestyle you would begin to pray for him immediately, but I won’t shock you.”

&nb
sp; “Nothing can shock me at my age. Maybe you should start praying for him. He’s probably not a very happy person.”

  “He seems quite happy to me, Ma, so I’ll save my prayers. Well, he seems happy some of the time.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, there are times he can’t seem to relax and he can’t walk about without someone recognizing him and wanting an autograph or to take a photo or something. And he always seems to be thinking about how his songs are doing on the charts and his PR person, Lily, keeps bothering him about being present on social media…It’s relentless. I almost feel sorry for him, but then he turns nasty, like Mr. Hyde, and I feel that he deserves it. After all, he chose the life.”

  “That’s not very nice, Shari. It sounds like he’s under a lot of pressure and maybe that’s what makes him turn nasty.”

  “Don’t excuse him, Mother. We can all choose how to react. I think he’s just an overindulged rock star who thinks that the world revolves around him.”

  Her mother laughed. “I’ll pray for him. Sounds like I need to pray for you too; to be more compassionate.”

  Shari smiled again, not surprised at her mother’s comment. She didn’t know anyone more compassionate than her mother. Maybe she’d been like that before. Maybe she had become hard after Rob, the man she thought she would marry, walked out on her, claiming that he had outgrown their relationship. OK, there was no maybe about that; she had definitely become more resilient, she preferred to call it. But that wasn’t the way she should be; her life should reflect her values more. She sighed, thinking that she still had a long way to go.

  “All that aside, I’m having a great time. I saw the dancing fountains at Bellagio yesterday and today I flew on a private jet into Denver – that’s where we are now – and I saw a forty-foot statue of a blue bear, which is quite famous, I’m told. It was wonderful! I caught myself thinking that I could get used to this life.”