"You know, that is a good question." Aaron picked up on the game. Stan seemed to be struggling to keep a straight face. He did not like his sister’s new girlfriend either.
"I don’t think it does. Hey, remember Missy Davidson?" Stan used the code name they devised in high school for urban legends.
"What happened to her?" Dana seemed drawn in to the discussion against her will. She sounded a bit skeptical, but that was more fun. They loved making ‘believers’ out of skeptics.
"It was tragic. She went out one night late to meet up with this college guy she was dating." Nicole picked up the thread of the story. People were more inclined to believe her than the others. "He saw her from a distance, problem was, they were meeting on the corner of Conti and Bourbon. She was picked up, floated in the air, and returned to the street lifeless. Her boyfriend called an ambulance. She did not have a drop of blood in her at all."
"Yeah right, like that really happened." Dana refused to fall for the bait.
"Why do you think all vampire stories and movies are set in New Orleans?" Aaron asked. "It is not coincidence."
"Yeah, right. Like I’m supposed to believe that." Dana stood. "Jessie, bathroom. Will you order for us please?” She did not ask, but instructed Stan to place the order.
"Sure." He smiled as his sister and Dana walked to the bathroom. The table was silent until they were out of hearing range.
"Oh my god, that was pure evil." Michael laughed. He paused to place the order with the waitress. "Do you all practice that story?"
"Actually, we do. Well, we used to." Nicole wiped the tears from her eyes. "I believe we still have it."
"Man that felt great. You did a great job, hon." Danny clapped his lover on the shoulder. "You would have fit right in with us a few years ago."
"Yes you would have." Sheryl was still giggling. "That was so right on. We haven’t done that in forever."
"It felt good." Nicole agreed.
"Think she bought it?" Aaron asked.
"Not yet, but if the rest of the routine works, she will. Are y’all in for the whole nine yards?" Stan looked gleeful.
"Oh yeah. A night out on Bourbon, booze, ghost stories, that scary doll store. It’ll be just like old times." Danny rubbed his hands together.
"Sounds good to me. I’ll pass on the booze though." The photographer did not regret that part.
"Avoid booze? Why?" Michael asked. She had yet to tell him the news.
"The plan works smoother when at least two of us are sober." Stan saved her from having to answer. It was not quite true, but Michael accepted it. "So what was that secret meeting about today?"
"Just some legal stuff." Nicole avoided the topic. She wanted to tell him but could not. Though she had informed her friends about the outcome of the meeting, she could not tell her cousin. It did not make sense, but the attorney would not be happy if she explained it. "Speaking of secret meetings, what was the one between you and Jessie about?" She turned to her brother.
"Oh, just stuff. It wasn’t legal stuff, but it was stuff." He evaded the question. "I’ll tell you about it later, maybe."
"Did we beat the food?" Jessie asked as she reclaimed her seat.
"Just barely." Stan pointed behind her. "It looks like it’s coming now."
"Great, I’m starved. Whatever that was the maid cooked for breakfast wasn’t that great." Dana complained.
"Her name is Melba and she is the housekeeper." Nicole corrected. "What’s wrong with scrambled eggs and bacon?"
"She used the entire egg. Doesn’t anyone down here know that you’re just supposed to use the egg whites?"
"No, I think we missed that lesson this go around." Sheryl rolled her eyes.
"We don’t like to waste much down here." Aaron told her in his best hick accent. Nicole understood then why he got along with Laurel so well. They had the same sense of humor.
"You are not from New Orleans are you?" Dana enunciated every syllable in the name as she looked at the plate of food placed before her. It irritated them all.
"First off, it is pronounced Nu Ore-lens, or Naw’lens." Aaron illustrated. "Second, no I’m not. I’m from Gulfport." He pronounced it with out the ‘l’.
"Where’s that?" The Yankee asked.
"Mississippi. It’s on the Gulf Coast."
"Oh, that explains it."
"Grrr." Aaron seemed ready to stab her with his butter knife.
"Down boy." Nicole advised as Danny laid a restraining hand on his lover’s shoulder. "You shouldn’t go by stereotypes."
"I wasn’t going by stereotypes. I’ve seen the news and all those movies. I know what it’s like there. Do you all live in one room?" Dana seemed intent on sticking her foot in her mouth. Nicole was amazed. The woman had rather large feet.
"How do you like your chicken?" Sheryl asked innocently. It was a long-standing joke that alligator tasted like chicken enough to fool most people.
"Oh MY god." She hastily reached for her water glass. "This is hot."
"Not really." Stan used his fork to pull off a bite and taste it. "It’s rather mild."
"Mild? This is mild?" She tried the jambalaya. "Jesus. What did you people order me?" She drained her water glass.
"Blackened alligator, sausage gumbo and three alarm jambalaya." Nicole told her. "Here’s a tip for you Dana. Never piss off the people who know what you ordered. Are y’all ready to go?" She asked her friends. They were finished with their lunch.
"Yes, I think we’re all finished here." The critic stood. "Aaron and Danny?"
"Ready." They answered together.
"See y’all later." Nicole dropped the money for the check on the table. She waved goodbye and grinned at the look on Stan’s face. He looked like a child on Christmas Day.
"That was great." Aaron seemed in better spirits as he unlocked the car door.
"We’re gonna catch hell for it, but it was so worth it." Nicole agreed. "Laurel would have appreciated it." It was the first time she mentioned the bassist around them in a happy setting.
"Yeah, she would have. And she will when we tell her about it." Sheryl tried again to not so subtly get the photographer to call the bassist.
"Sheryl." The photographer was still smiling despite the warning. "Home, James." She instructed as she climbed in the backseat.
"Yes, Ms. Hebert. Is there anything else we can do for you Ms. Hebert?" Aaron played along.
"No thank you, young man. Home is all I want."
"Well, I must say one thing before we get there." Danny turned to face the backseat. "Welcome back Hotshot."
"What do you mean?" Nicole was perplexed.
"It’s nice to see you again." He continued when she still did not understand him. "This is the first time I’ve seen you smile, joke around, and goof off so much and so freely since college. Granted, Laurel helped a little, but it is nice to see you back, Hotshot."
"You know something? It is nice to be back." She smiled. It was true. She felt more alive now than she had in years. It felt nice to be immature again, to have fun again. It was good to be home.
Chapter Thirty Five
"Harold, we need to talk to you." Laurel ran to catch up with him.
"Can’t this wait until tomorrow morning? I’m exhausted." Harold slung his bag over his shoulder.
"It can’t. I’m sorry, but it is important." She did not want to wait another day.
"Alright. Let me square away my stuff. I’ll come down to your room in a few ok?"
"Great. We’re going to order pizza. We’ll wait for you." Laurel told him.
"Nah, go ahead and order it. I’ll see if I can beat it there so I can eat some too." He gave a weary smile.
"We can do that. Even if it makes it before you do, we’ll save you some." She promised. "Now, go do whatever it is you have to do. See ya in a few."
She walked slowly back to her hotel room. The others were waiting for her there. She was not looking forward to the meeting with Harold. She did not know if he would underst
and her reasons for leaving. She also wondered when she starting caring what others thought. It was strange, but she did. She did not want him to be disappointed, but knew there was no way around it. She had to leave. At least she had found an adequate replacement first. She hoped that would appease him, though she would not change her mind. She was going home.
"Is he joining us?" BJ asked. "Mandy just ordered the pizza."
"Yeah, he’ll be here soon as he gets all his stuff put up." Laurel collapsed on her bed. "When’s the pizza supposed to be here?"
"They said around half an hour, but you know that can be an hour and a half from now." Mandy told her. "You ok?"
"Yeah. I’m so ready to go now. It’s like the plan is made and I want to put it in motion."
"Good, cause I got us tickets home for tomorrow after the ceremony." Mandy grinned. "I figured your patience would be wearing thin."
"And it’s not like she has that much to begin with." BJ laughed.
"Quiet you." Laurel warned. "I have patience, I just choose not to use it."
"That explains that." Steve laughed. "I always wondered if you just didn’t listen to the same inner promptings the rest of us do."
"Like guilt and stuff? I never did. Seems that’s changed too. It sucks." She commented dryly. "Let me ask you a question. If you’re broken up with someone, do you have the right to sleep with someone else?" The question had been bothering her for days.
"Yes. If there is no commitment between two people, either of them can sleep around without worry. As long as they use protection." Mandy told her.
"Yep. If you as a couple no longer exist than you as a person can get laid by whomever." Sam agreed. "However, it is important to tell the person you were dating when you try to work it out."
"I guess this means you got lucky and now you feel guilty about it?" BJ asked. "You have changed, Lakky."
"I know. After that article came out, I went a little nuts. I went out to a bar, had an ONS and that’s it. You think I should tell Nicole about it?"
"If you don’t want it to come around later and bite you in the ass, yes you should." Steve said seriously. "That’s what really happened between me and the current ex-girlfriend. We had a fight, didn’t speak for days and I picked up a chick one night during that time. The argument was over, everything was fine until the chick showed up at one of our concerts. I was royally fucked."
"I don’t think Carrie will show up, but you are right. I have to be honest with Nicole. I covered up too much before. I only hope she understands."
"Lakky, honey, I hate to point this out, but Nicole has the same rights and freedom you do. She could have found someone else for a night or two." Mandy looked sympathetic. It set Laurel on her guard.
"What do you know that you haven’t told me?" Her blood ran cold. She wondered if her suspicions about a conspiracy were not only from paranoia.
"I never said I knew anything. I was only warning you." Mandy attempted to be reassuring. She failed.
"She can have all the one-night stands she wants." Laurel replied. "Now spill it. Has she? Has she found someone else? Please tell me it’s not Sheryl." She did not think she would be able to deal with that. For some odd reason, she viewed that as betrayal. The one-night stands with strangers were fine. After all, she had several over the course of her life. She could not condemn something she did herself.
"Alright." Mandy sighed. "I’ve been talking to Danny on a fairly regular basis. The last time I talked to him was the day we flew up here actually. He called me to see what was up. We’ve all been sharing information for when you two came to your senses."
"And?" Laurel prompted. She ignored everyone else in the room.
"She hasn’t slept with Sheryl. Why would that bother you anyway?"
"I don’t know. They’re such good friends. It’d fuck up the world. I guess I’ve always kinda feared Sheryl would be the one to take Nicole away from me." She shrugged. "I can’t really explain it. But, that means it was someone else. Who and for how long?" Curiosity was eating her alive.
"I don’t know and just for one night." Mandy answered. Laurel could tell there was more. The redhead seemed tense. She also seemed to be struggling with something.
"Spill it." She demanded. "Tell me whatever it is. I can take it."
"You should hear it from her." Mandy protested.
"I want to know it now. We just got finished discussing my lack of patience. You are my dearest friend, Mandy. Please tell me." Steve, Larry, BJ and Sam seemed to fade into the background.
"Did you know about her ex-finance?"
"Jessie told me about him." Laurel answered. "Was he the one-night stand?" That hurt. She could not believe Nicole would return to men. The very thought made the pit of the bassist’s stomach quake.
"He was one of them." Mandy answered softly. "There was another, voluntary one."
"Two?" Laurel was almost shocked. She did not know the photographer could be so bold. Then her brain caught the implications behind her friend’s choice of words. "He raped her?" The world was suddenly tinged red.
"Calm down, honey. She’s ok." Mandy rushed to her side and tried to reassure her. "She’s been to the doctor. Everything is fine. Danny and Aaron dealt with Brian." She quickly explained how the situation came about and how it was dealt with.
"I should have been there." Laurel answered quietly. Her tone was flavored with regret.
"You can’t blame yourself for this." Mandy hugged her.
"Laurel, it’s not your fault anymore than it was Nicole’s." Sam joined them on the bed. Laurel suddenly found herself in a circle of supporting arms. "Trust me, I know."
"But had I not gone to New York, it wouldn’t have happened." Tears coursed down her cheeks.
"It might have anyway." Mandy told her. "What he did was wrong, there’s no question to that. But, things happen for a reason. We may never understand why it happened, but it did."
"I know. Accept it and move on." Laurel answered. "The glass is half full and all that shit. I say it’s time for another round when the glass gets half empty. She’s ok though? The bastard didn’t give her anything?" She wanted to be sure.
"No. He did not give her a STD." Mandy answered.
"Good." It would not have changed her feelings for the photographer, but it would have affected the nature of their relationship. "Why did you say it that way?"
"What way?" Mandy looked away.
"Shit." Laurel jumped to the logical conclusion. "She’s pregnant."
"Yes." The redhead confirmed the assumption.
"Oh." The word was simple, but the emotions and thoughts behind it were not. She walked to the door and numbly shook a cigarette loose from her pack. After a deep inhale and exhale, her mind finally took it all in at once. She let the thoughts flow. There was no other way to cope at the moment.
She wondered what she would do with a child. His child. It could never really be hers. Or could it? She thought then about her own parents and how they had been lacking as emotional shelters. Then she thought of Mandy, the oak she had sheltered so many storms beneath. It was then that she realized parents are biological. Moms and dads are made through love. She could easily love a child that had Nicole as a mom, especially if that child had the photographer’s eyes or smile. Regardless, all it had to have was her lover’s blood flowing in its veins. If it contained the tiniest bit of the photographer, the woman Laurel loved with her entire being, then the child would be sacred. It only took moments for her to understand it all, but she did understand and accept it completely. After all, deep down, she always thought life was sacred. This one would be more so.
"Danny’s agreed to go on record as the father." Mandy interrupted her thoughts. "Honey, if you can’t deal with the thought of a child, you should stay away."
"I’m going home." She stated firmly as she turned around to face her spiritual mother. "I want her back if she’ll have me. We can deal with this. It changes things, but it can make them better I think. I hope."<
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"She’ll take you back. It’ll work out, you’ll see." Mandy smiled.
"She’d be an idiot not to take you back." Sam agreed.
"I guess this means I’ve beaten the pizza." Harold commented from the doorway. "I also guess you’re leaving us?"
"Yes to both." Laurel dried her tears on her sleeve. "Thanks guys." She quickly hugged both women before standing to face the manager. "I can’t do this anymore. I’m leaving the band. It’s best for everyone since Jenna and I can no longer be in the same room. Sam is taking my place." She ran out of words.
"I was going to send Jenna packing." Harold sat down on the empty bed. Steve, Larry and BJ were standing around the room. The three of them were trying to hide the tears in their eyes. "I still might. I always knew you’d realize this wasn’t right for you, but I hoped I was wrong. I hate being right. I can’t stop you, even if I wanted to. You fulfilled your obligations a long time ago, thanks to that hellcat of a lawyer you hired. Had it not been for her, you’d still be under contract."
"I know." Laurel felt a little smug. Krista had literally given the label’s legal department hell over the original contract. All of them had been asked to sign another since the original had been declared void. Only Laurel’s was a temporary one. It expired in September. She even managed, with Krista’s help, to retain the rights to all of her songs. She would not have to worry about money for a long time as a result.
"That was a battle royal, I’ll have you know. I can’t say you were wrong though." Harold told her. "I had to fight to keep you."
"For that, I thank you." She had not been aware of the argument over her job. "I’m sorry I can’t stay, more for letting you down than anything, but I did find a replacement. Sam is talented. She knows the band and the songs. She’s played with us before." Laurel pointed to the band’s new bass player.
"I trust your judgment. I really do wish you well. There’s no hard feelings, I promise." Harold stepped out of character long enough to hug her. "I hope you find your happiness."
All That Jazz Page 40