“The paparazzi help my album sales.”
“Your album sales don’t need no help. You’re trying hard to spend every dime you make as it is. What are you making per show now when you’re on tour? Close to a million, right? You can’t spend all the money you’ve already made and you just keep making more. So don’t talk to me about album sales. You don’t ever have to make another album again and you’ll still be rich. And since you know how to be poor and middle class, you won’t have any problems with money every again in life.”
“It’s not always about the money, Kat. Matter of fact, it’s rarely about the money. It’s about being the best. I’ll never be the best guitarist but I can be the best blues guitarist alive. And if you haven’t noticed, there are people coming for my spot. Before I got signed to Power, wasn’t anybody listening to the blues. There weren’t many young artists playing blues except John Mayer occasionally. Jack White and Derek Trucks too but look at the list now. You got Cash Myers tinkering around in my genre and that fucker plays the piano too. Then there’s Gary Clark Jr. and he’s black. If I’m gonna be the best then I need to keep the attention on me.”
“No, you need to keep it on your music. With the exception of John Mayer, none of the people you mentioned are in the public eye like you are. And trust me, the people who put together those lists you’re trying so hard to get on aren’t checking for you on Twitter or on TMZ. They’re at your shows and listening to your music because at the end of the day, it’s the fame that will kill you and the music that will revive you. Live for your music, your family, and your friends, not these vultures who are just waiting for you to fail. Your legacy is going to be documented by Rolling Stone and Time, not US Weekly. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
I fully understood what Kat was saying. Fame has never been my best friend. We have our ups and downs. I’ve had lonely days and sometimes it doesn’t seem worth it. I wanted this though. I wanted to be famous. When I walked into a room, I wanted everyone to know who I was or ask who I was. I’ve worked hard and I don’t think I’ve ever succumbed to the pressures of fame...not yet anyway. I’ve taken advantage of being famous, that’s for sure.
I’m living the dream I had when I was seventeen lying on my bed with my guitar on my chest. I can’t complain about it now and I wouldn’t change anything at all. I like being famous and I like the attention. I have what I’ve wanted since I was a teenager. I don’t really see what the problem is.
Chapter 20: Los Angeles
Two Months Later
I spent eleven days in Atlanta. That little vacation was exactly what I needed. When I wasn’t with Kat or hanging out with Mike, I stayed in my apartment watching television and writing songs. Atlanta, for me, was quiet. The whirl of camera shutters, people calling my name, and screaming crowds were gradually fading. It’s always like this when I come off the road. Being on tour is a high that starts on day one and I needed time to myself to come down. As with any drug, the come down isn’t pretty.
In Atlanta, I was at peace. My mind was clear so I definitely wasn’t prepared for the chaos ensuing when I walked into my house after being away from it for so long. Apparently, I’d missed the memo that Summer was old enough to throw parties in my house when I wasn’t home. I thought I had at least another twelve or thirteen years before that happened. Still, there were at least five four-year-olds running around the house dressed like mini Delilahs. Summer even had her guitar strapped to her back. She was the leader of the pack and they all stopped running when Summer skidded to a halt because she noticed me standing in the foyer.
“Daddy!” she screeched and detoured towards me, her posse following right behind her. I recognized all four of her friends from daycare and her pre-K class. I scooped my baby up and planted kisses all over her face while she hugged my neck as if she hadn’t seen me in years.
“What is going on in my house? Are you having a party?”
“We’re playing concert,” Summer explained. “I’m the star like you. They get to be my band.”
I could only shake my head. I can’t gauge how positively I’m influencing my child but I am influencing her in some way. Apparently, Summer and her crew had a show to get to because they took off running as soon as I put the bandleader down. I went in search of the adults overseeing the next girl band. I fully expected to see Sunny but she wasn’t anywhere to be found. Delilah was in Summer’s playroom getting a complete makeover by Tori, another card-carrying member of Summer’s posse.
“Hey, you’re back!”
I walked over to Delilah and kissed her forehead then ruffled Tori’s curly hair.
“What are you doing to my sister?”
“She’s gonna be Beyoncé.”
Delilah nodded. “I am. You’re home just in time for the show.”
“The show?”
“You didn’t see Summer and the Stars practicing downstairs? They have an entire concert in an hour. Mom and Sara went to buy tickets since they’re not available online. I mean, you can’t have a concert without selling tickets, right? Better text Mom and tell her to get you one.”
I almost couldn’t believe what I was hearing until Delilah explained that Sunny had a fashion emergency in San Diego and asked her to keep Summer for a couple of days. Then it all made sense. With Aunt Dee-Lee in charge, weird shit was bound to happen, including leaving five four-year-olds to run amuck in my house while she received a Beyoncé makeover.
“They’ve only been downstairs for a minute without me. I told them they needed to have a pre-show snack and to get some fruit from the kitchen.”
“Alright then.” I stood up. “I’ll make sure that the backyard is concert ready. This should be fun, or at the very least, interesting.”
“Paulie’s already back there setting up the karaoke machine. You can do the chairs.”
“How many people are coming to this thing?” I asked incredulously.
“The entire neighborhood is invited. We sent an e-vite yesterday.”
“Jesus,” I sighed.
Interesting didn’t begin to describe the Summer and the Stars’ concert. The backyard was full of family and our neighbors. Paulie and Tahir had strung lights and even had a strobe light for special effects. Delilah was playing double duty as stage manager and Beyoncé as Summer and the Stars lip-synced their way through three Taylor Swift songs, two Disney songs, and an awesome version of Michael Jackson’s “Beat It.” I couldn’t have been prouder. Summer and the Stars are, by far, the cutest thing I’ve ever seen in my life. After this, she may get that puppy she’s been asking for after all.
***
I woke up the next morning to a quiet house. Quiet like I was the only one home. When I came downstairs, Marissa was in the kitchen having coffee with Chef Michelle.
“Damn, it’s afternoon already?” I commented when I saw the time on the clock on the stove. “Where’s everyone?”
“Sara and your mom went to Bristol Farms. Sara said she needed to get out of the house. Delilah and Summer went orange picking with Tori and her mom. Mr. Tahir is in the study with the baby.”
I sat at the counter with the ladies. Chef Michelle asked what I was in the mood for. As usual, I didn’t know.
“You’ve been in Atlanta getting fat on soul food. You need something not soaked in grease and fatback. You like my mandarin chicken salad. I’ll make that.”
“You are so spoiled, Aiden.” Marissa smiled and sipped her coffee. “Got a house full of women taking care of you.”
“Why do you call me Aiden and call my brother-in law Mr. Tahir? This is my house. Why don’t I get that kind of respect?”
Marissa just patted my knee and resumed her conversation with Chef Michelle. I lucked up when I hired Marissa. I needed a housekeeper and hired the first company I saw listed on Yelp. Marissa is a middle-aged woman from Guatemala with a small staff of young Guatemalan girls. She comes to the house every day and her girls come every other day with her. She’s never allowed anyone to come
here without her and I appreciate that. I don’t fear that anyone would steal or cause any harm to me or my family. It’s just that every girl on Marissa’s staff is beautiful. without her here to give me that death glare whenever I enter a room with one of her girls, I’d be tempted to flirt with all of them She’s been working here since I bought this place and I love her to death.
Michelle is new but she’s good. She makes all of Summer’s favorite foods and is teaching Sara how to cook the Nigerian food that Tahir loves. She’s my age, married, off-limits, and spoils Summer like she’s her own.
Marissa is right. I do have a house full of women. Tahir and I are lucky but where did all these people come from? Sunny’s mother-in-law suite is bigger than my apartment in Atlanta and I arranged for my mom to stay there until we found her a house. Delilah has a home and a husband. I don’t know why she spends so much time here. Paulie’s usually with her too if he’s not working. I wanted everyone in California; I didn’t want them all in my house.
After lunch, my mother and Sara still weren’t back so I decided to leave Michelle and Marissa alone to do their jobs. I wasn’t in the mood to leave the house or hang out in the studio so I just sprawled out on the couch in the den and watched the White Sox game. Later, Tahir finished whatever he was doing and joined me. I sat up and immediately asked to hold my nephew.
Baby Tyler is so tiny! He’s darker than Summer was but he has the same green eyes that all of the Tyler kids have. His hair is different from Summer’s too. His is straight like Sara’s. I wonder if he’s going to grow out of that because Sara hates having straight hair. Right now, Tyler looks like his dad, at least to me. He’s such a quiet baby too. Barely ever cries. I couldn’t stop staring at him.
“Aiden,” Tahir let out a quiet laugh. “Do you have baby fever? You’ve got that same look in your eyes that Delilah has when she looks at him.”
“Not baby fever. But I want a son. Every man wants a son, right?”
“Yeah. I think so.” Tahir’s voice is always a little James Earl Jones from Coming to America-ish. Kinda intimidating actually.
I hoped when Sara and her husband moved to Los Angeles and started staying in my house that I’d finally have a chance to get to know my brother-in-law. I really didn’t know much about him, except that he’s a great surgeon and far too reserved to be married to a Tyler. I don’t know how he stands being around my sisters.
Tahir is kind of guy that takes his work as the head surgeon at UCLA Medical Center very seriously. Being a doctor is an honorable career. He’s really into things being honorable. I guess that’s why he doesn’t find celebrities or our lifestyle very amusing. But I like to think that what I do is honorable to a degree. I’m no doctor, but I do get a lot of fan mail from people who say my music has helped them.
After Kat lectured me about doing things for my sisters, I thought a lot about Tahir. He’s definitely one of those breadwinner type of men like my dad was. He keeps giving me money even though I keep telling him that I don’t expect him and Sara to pay to live here. If I thought for a second that he’d be okay with it, I’d give him and Sara this house and move in with Sunny. He’d see it as charity and would not accept it.
Now that I’ve had months to get to know him, I like my brother-in-law. We’ve had many conversations since we’re the only men in the house but we’ve never talked about me having more kids. No one thought Tahir and I would be cool because we’re so different. It’s true that he’s not a big fan of the quote-unquote celebrity life. Even so, Tahir occasionally takes advantage just like everybody else. It can’t be helped. Plus, he’s only two years older than I am. He and Sara are a lot alike though. Although I don’t knock it, she’s still a huge nerd and he’s a close second. Still, we’re young, successful, and rich. We’re going to have all kinds of fun, doctor or not.
Since no one was home except us, I decided to bring up what Kat said in Atlanta about him and Paulie. I don’t want to feel like I’m stepping on their toes whenever I do something nice for Sara and Delilah. I understand that Tahir is African but he was born and raised in New York and I don’t know enough about his culture to know if I’m offending him or not. The best thing I could think of was just to ask him. The worst thing that could happen was that he said yes.
As he listened to me ramble on about what Kat said, Tahir sat in my dad’s old armchair that I made my mom give me with a stoic expression on his face. When I finished, he nodded slowly like my old college professor then broke out in a grin.
“Mrs. Mays sure has a way with you, doesn’t she?”
What? After all of that, all he had to say was ‘Mrs. Mays sure has a way with you, doesn’t she?’
I just shrugged my shoulders. “I guess.”
“Here’s the deal, brother. I love my wife, and my wife loves living here. Honestly, since we’re talking about cultural differences, I’ve never seen a white family that always wants to be around each other all the time like you all. Having said that, I still feel like a guest in your home. My parents don’t approve of this living arrangement. I am successful in my career and Sara and I had our own home when we lived in Mt. Vernon. We should have one here as well. That is the only problem I have. I do not mind you buying your sister gifts. She deserves the world. Between the two of us, I believe we can give it to her.”
Now was the perfect time to bring up something I’ve been thinking about and keeping to myself for awhile now, a plan that I had long before Sunny and I became a couple.
“Tahir, I know you haven’t been at UCLA long but do you plan on staying in LA forever? If you could find a similar job somewhere else, would you leave Cali?”
“Oh God!” he burst out laughing. “What do you have planned now, Aiden? You’re always up to something.”
“What? We’re just two bros talking. And you know like I know that LA isn’t a great place to raise a kid. There’s this new section of Atlanta that’s up and coming. It’s called Tuxedo Park, right? And I’m thinking that if I sell this ten million dollar mansion, we could all build houses in Tuxedo Park, like own our own sub-division. We could buy all the lots on a small street and build from the ground up and it still wouldn’t cost what I paid for this place. Not in Georgia.”
For a few seconds, Tahir looked at me like I’d told him that doctors were all frauds. Then his expression changed into one that I’m used to seeing, thoughtful and serious. I call it his thinking face.
“If you could convince your sisters to leave Los Angeles, that might be a good idea. My position at UCLA is only temporary. I have a twelve-month contract with the option for permanent hire so it’s feasible that I could work at an Atlanta hospital. If we did something like that, we’d all still be together but not on top of each other like we are now. It’s your mom who needs the closeness, right? All of us coming out here to be with you and Delilah has been very good for her.”
“If Sara and Dee-Lee don’t want to leave, we could probably make it work here in Cali too. Maybe in West Covina or even Redondo Beach. I just got to get the hell out of LA.”
“What about Sunny?”
Yeah, Sunny...Sunny is going to be a problem no matter where we go. She’s going to be a big problem. I have plenty of good reasons why she should want to go back home, which I know she’ll counter with a hundred reasons we should stay in California.
“I haven’t mentioned it to her yet. You’re the first person I’m telling about this,” I replied.
“Why is that?”
“Because, if it was too farfetched, you’d tell me without calling me crazy. I know I operate on impulse most of the time, but, if we do this, I want to make sure all bases are covered.”
“It’s good to hear that.”
Tahir watched Baby Tyler squirm in my arms. He started a tiny whimper and Tahir moved to take him from me. I adjusted my arm behind his small head then he was good again.
“You’re good with him,” Tahir commented.
“You think? Well, I was around Summer all the tim
e. I learned a thing or two.”
“And you never thought she was yours? Not even with those green eyes?”
“I’d considered it,” I answered truthfully for the first time ever in regards to this topic. “But Xavier has gray eyes and Sunny’s are hazel. It didn’t seem so farfetched that their child would have different colored eyes. Plus, I trusted her mother. At that time, I though Sunny wouldn’t keep that kind of secret from me. Now I know better.”
“But the two of you are good now?”
I nodded. I even smiled a bit as I started telling Tahir about our ninety days on the road. Talking about my relationship with Sunny with someone who hasn’t known her that long and who isn’t close to her actually felt strange. It felt like I was inviting Tahir into our inner circle. Everyone I hang with has known Sunny as long as I have. Since he doesn’t know her like we do, Tahir isn’t familiar with all of Sunny’s quirks or her incessant use of sarcasm. I can understand why some of the things she says and does would shock him.
Tahir leaned forward after I finished. With his elbows resting on his knees, he turned his head towards me.
“Little brother,” he started and I burst out laughing loud enough to startle the baby.
That’s what Sara calls me because she knows I hate it. Tahir only has one younger sister so technically, I am his little brother -in-law.
“Ahh, come on, man!”
“I’m just messing with you. But you know, I wouldn’t read too much into this thing with Sunny’s parents. Sara and I dated for six months before she told your parents. Some women, especially women like Sunny, don’t trust their own feelings. They want to be a hundred percent sure before telling anyone. It’s a female thing. Besides,” he spoke with what seemed like years of education and the confidence of a reassuring doctor, “you and Sunny have history. If it doesn’t work, the last thing she’ll want to hear is her parents’ I-told-you-so. Am I correct?”
Love Notes (Friends Lovers or Nothing Book 4) Page 17
