Love and The Liffey

by Sarah Beth James

  “This is incredible.” She looked around the room. Respectfully stroking the guitars set up ready for play. A small table was set up with cans of soda, beer and snacks. “The full band is coming here?” she asked nervously.

  “Yes, Miss Fangirl, and I will introduce ye to all of them,” I promised, finding her semi control over her inner fangirl so cute.

  She looked green. “Maybe I should go; you guys can drink and play without my interference.”

  “Well, yes we drink a little and we order in food later on and tonight I am going to take youse out on a treat to say thank you for putting up with being stuck here with us.”

  “And do you do other things than drink?” she asked almost silently.

  I studied her face wondering what the other guy could have done at rehearsal to make her look so scared. The awfully slow penny dropped. “No darling we don’t do any drugs. No weed, no pills, none of my boys touch any of that shit and neither do I. We might get smashed out of our faces sometimes, but we are one hundred percent anti-drugs other than caffeine. And we always will be,” I promised.

  The relief was clear as she came for a hug.

  “We are not like him, I promise. We are a family. We support each other through everything. Keep each other grounded. Watch out for each other. So we don’t have to do bullshit to feel okay. And we will do it for you as well. You are part of this now. Part of our family.”

  A tall, dark-haired lady stormed into the room, in a nicely cut suit dress glaring at me. “And where have you been? The boys got tired of waiting for you and went to lunch early. Really, you ask to leave early and then you turn up late!”

  “Something came up.”

  “So I see.” Her glaze turned to Lily looking her up and down. “And who is this?”

  “I’m Lily.”

  “She is a friend,” I said firmly.

  “Uh huh. Sure, she is,” the woman said, rolling her eyes. “Make sure she doesn’t become a distraction for the others.” She floated off dropping setlists off in front of each of the band stations.

  “That’s Shelly, she is our promoter,” I told Lily. “You will get used to her. She’s actually really sweet under all that rough attitude. It’s a stressful time for the band, our keyboardist broke his hand and we had to hire a new guy last week. He is good, but it’s like we are playing catch up all the time while trying to get ready for the tour next month. And then our backing singer, she is getting ready to leave and we haven’t even had time to search for a replacement for her yet.”

  “Sounds complicated, sure I am not in the way?” she asked.

  “Nah girl, as long as youse won’t be bored listening to us play the same song like sixty million times.”

  She laughed, “I love the music, I think I can cope.”

  I smiled at her. “You really are a fangirl, huh?”

  “I refuse to comment on the grounds it may spoil our new friendship.”

  I leaned over to kiss her neck while Shelly wasn’t looking. “Friendship? Is that what the cool kids call fucking youse senseless last night?”

  She didn’t have time to answer as the others came bouncing into the room. “About time Ade, where the fuck ye been, boy?” one shouted over.

  “That’s Harry, he is our amazing drummer,” I introduced. “Guys, this is my friend Lily. She’s in Dublin for the first time and I am showing her around.”

  “Oh, I bet you are showing her a good time.” Harry winked.

  “Shut it you.” I slapped at his shoulder as he walked by, “And that’s Callum, or Cal, our bass guitar player, Nick our brand new keyboardist but we call him Teddy as he gives massive snuggly hugs, and the lady at the back, that’s Claire, our backing vocals.”

  Polite nods from the band.

  “Enough chat, we have a lot to get through and truly little time to do it in. If you want me to order in pizza, you need to earn it!” Shelly snapped. “Let’s go people! Six weeks, two days, fourteen hours, and thirty-three minutes and do not even make me go into seconds, until opening night!”

  Chapter 8

  Adrian’s POV

  The rehearsal was long and slow and boring for all of us. Even with the pizza, which Shelly did order after bitching about it twice. She didn’t want them passing out on her. Teddy was struggling to pick up some of the songs still, no matter how many times we went over them. Which was frustrating for all of us, not that it was his fault. We were all rehearsing for this tour for months and he had barely had four days to learn our entire back catalogue. I could see the tension in Shelly’s shoulders as she was mentally calculating how much time we had left and if we would be ready by the start of tour. I had to admit, I was a little concerned myself. Six weeks was not a lot of time. We were due to move to London in ten days to start promo and mini concerts. Even a shortened setlist would be a struggle in that period of time.

  An alarm went off on my phone mid song, I almost felt embarrassed as I turned it off. Knowing that we had to go, I fet like I was letting my crew down. But I had more than the band to think about now. I had a life to save. Both were equally important and somehow, I would have to find a way to make it all work. “Sorry guys and gals, me and the lady have plans tonight.”

  Shelly gave me a disgusted look. “Do not make a habit of this, Sparks, I will replace you,” she muttered as I walked by.

  She wouldn’t really, but I heeded her words anyway. However big the band was, a single mistake could lose us everything. I wouldn’t let that happen.

  Jeers and taunts from the band members about how I was gonna spend my night, leaving me blushing. Thankfully, Lily seemed engrossed in her sketch pad, paying them no attention.

  “Shut it,” I said quietly, rolling my eyes. I walked over and touched Lily’s shoulder lightly. Bringing her back into the room from the sketching. Pictures of guitars, amps, even a half drawing of me singing into a microphone. “These are really good; youse could go pro!”

  It was Lily’s turn to blush as she shoved the half-finished art into her oversized bag that never left her side. She seemed to carry her whole life inside of it. “Yeah, I thought that once as well. Drawing album covers until I got screwed over. Never saw a single penny out of all the sales. Serves me right for not demanding a clearer contract, I shouldn’t have ever trusted a friend. Now, I just draw for my own pleasure, no one else. It is bad enough seeing my art all over the Billboard 500.”

  I sighed. “That ex screwed youse over for royalty as well?”

  Lily laughed bitterly. “Oh, only on his last three album covers. He made millions while I could barely make rent. Some sub clause or another saying that my royalty is paid only once every ten years or some such bullshit I am told. So, I still have another four and a half years before I see a single penny of what I am owed and quite sure that asshole will find another way to weasel out of paying me out even then. Price I pay for helping out a struggling artist.”

  I made a mental note to get Brad on that in the morning as well. What a fucking asshole. I grew to hate the man a little more each new thing I found out about him. “Well, ye are not going to think about him tonight. Come on, you have a treat to come.” I led Lily outside to where a group of people were collecting around a guy in a red jacket on the street. Lily looked up at me with a wordless question. Before I could answer, the guide gathered us all around.

  “Hello people, welcome to the Dublin Ghost Tour. Tonight, we are going to walk in a graveyard, talk about murder, eating babies, black magic ceremonies, cannibalism and serial killers. Ye know, normal everyday shit. For the next two hours or so, we will explore the city together. Now, follow me to our first point of interest.”

  “A ghost tour, an actual ghost tour when it’s almost Halloween?” Lily exclaimed, smiling up at me.

  I swung my arm around her shoulders. “What else could ye possibly want to do around Oktoberfest, in the dark, other than be terrified by real ghost stories?”

  That smile on her face, so warm, so real and the impulsive way t
hat she reached up to kiss my check. I decided that it would become my life’s work for as long as she would have me to try and get her to smile as much as humanly possible. I felt content watching her, only half listening to the tour as she snuggled under my coat against the cold. That cruel, evil man clearly did not understand the amazing woman he gave up.

  But I did.

  Chapter 9

  Adrian’s POV

  A second day of rehearsals gave me the chance to catch up with Brad and get the news on what he was doing to get Lily’s life back on track. Everything seemed to be going well. He was very polite when he introduced himself to Lily as my manager, as was Rose when she introduced herself as my runner and band PA. Everyone seemed to be accepting Lily fairly quickly, although Shelly was still giving her and me the evil eye while muttering gold digger under her breath. I could hardly blame her; this wasn’t really the time for bringing a possible romance into my life. “Look, I am paying back an old debt,” I said quietly as I cornered Shelly.

  “Oh really, and what debt is that? Did she say she is pregnant? Because I will demand a fresh test.”

  “It is nothing like that!” I insisted. “It’s …” How could I put it into words?

  Brad nodded over at us. “It’s about that man.”

  Shelly froze. “That man, as in he who will never be named again lest I rip off his balls and roast them over an open flame before feeding them to him?”

  My mouth fell open. “Jesus Christ woman, remind me to never cross youse.”

  “I will make sure to have Rose write that in your schedule,” she said primly. “Now back to work or you get none of the pizza I am about to go collect.”

  I glanced over to where Lily was curled up on the sofa again as we rehearsed. She watched it all for a long while, humming along to the tracks before she eventually pulled out one of her sketchpads, using pencils to finish off the drawing she had been doing of me before starting on the interesting edges of the drum kit. So deep in her work yet again, that she never even noticed when we called a break as Shelly returned with the promised food. Walking right passed the girl, she commented, “That’s a good outline.”

  “What is?” I asked as he wandered over to drop a plate of pizza in Lily’s lap. “I guess that’s why youse have that huge bag, that’s the third sketch book I have seen you use. They are grand! How do ye sketch so fast?”

  Lily shrugged. “They are nothing special, just a few doodles.”

  “Wow, if that’s just a doodle I’d love to see your ‘real’ art,” I commented, sitting on the sofa arm, my arm instinctively reaching around her shoulders.

  Shelly smiled at them faintly as she moved away; she might not like the girl, and she may not trust her yet. But I was clearly smitten with her, and she deserved a chance after going through what that foul creature who played at being a man had put her through. She knew enough about other exes of mine to know it was never a pretty picture. Perhaps this budding friendship, or relationship, whatever it was, could be good for me. I was lost for a long time. And if the lyrics I wrote these last few days were any indication, she was giving me a lot to think about.

  Lily rummaged around in her bag, pulling out a battered portfolio with a regularly repaired cover. “Well, these are okay enough, I guess. Not my best work, but close.”

  I took it carefully, leafing through the worn pages. “Fuck, these are stunning.” A series of small watercolours of a beach with an unusual rockpool design.

  Lily smiled. “That is Scarborough Beach, the north bay. A beautiful, peaceful place. Not as busy as the southern bay, but the views are second to none.” She indicated to one where you could see both the sea and beach as well as a castle on the hillside above them. “That is my favourite, I could look at that view for hours or at least until the seagull’s mob me enough to move on.”

  I flicked through more images. “No wonder you wanted to take so many photos of Killiney, ye love beaches.”

  Lily nodded. “I liked the way the stones lay, it will make for an interesting image. Different from the other beaches I have covered. I find the water calming; it helps me think.”

  “How would ye like to go to a real castle tomorrow? Do some sketching there?” I asked.

  “A castle?” Her eyes lit up at the idea.

  “It has a real Rapunzel tower all covered in vines.” I winked.

  “Oh my god, yes!” That smile again, the one that made her look so alive. The one I couldn’t resist.

  “Adrian, stop flirting and get your skinny backside back over here if you do not want firing,” Shelly snapped.

  “I ain’t flirting, I am being sociable,” I retorted.

  “Adrian!” she snapped again.

  “Okay, okay.” I rolled my eyes, giving Lily back the sketchbook to head back into the rehearsal. It didn’t however stop my eyes from wandering over to her regularly as I sang. Her form curled in on itself singing the lyrics with us as she drew. I was fairly sure that she didn’t even realise that she was doing it. The way that her hair fell over her face, the graphite smudges on her cheek as she kept brushing it back behind her ear. God, I wanted to kiss her so much right now.

  Harry chuckled next to me. “What?” I asked, snapping back to myself, realising that I stopped singing and everyone was waiting for me to continue.

  “You got it bad man,” he teased.

  “I have no idea what you mean!”

  “Sure, keep on telling yourself that.” Harry smiled.

  After that, I tried to be a little more discrete as I watched the young woman. It didn’t stop Harry from teasing me constantly, nor the glares from Shelly. I was starting to expect a full on bollacking in the morning. Or at least a strongly worded email from her.

  They broke rehearsals for the day mid-afternoon, as they all had places to go with it being the big night. And certainly, I had places to go and things to show Lily. I had to ruffle her hair to bring her attention back to the room, it was fast becoming our little habit. “Happy Halloween darling.”

  She smiled warmly up at me. “Happy Halloween, Adrian.”

  “Come on missy, we have things to do today,” I said firmly.

  She packed up her bag and followed me back to the shopping centre. “Oh wow.”

  I laughed, at her staring around in complete joy at the kids (and the odd adult as well) running around in full costume. The lines of people waiting to get their face painted, people handing out candy to the passers-by. “I did say happy Halloween, darling.”

  “But there is so much of it! Not like back home. All the show windows, it’s everywhere, just everywhere. Even that chemist! This is so awesome!”

  I laughed again. “You my dear, are so English.” I ignored it as she stuck her tongue out at me. I snagged her a bag of candy to keep her going. “Why don’t you go explore while I pick up our costumes?”

  “Costumes?”

  “Well yeah, we are going out tonight and you ‘English’ are going to party. Scare away the bogeymen and generally get wasted. Sound good?”

  “That sounds so good. Thank you so much for everything.” She hugged him.

  “Go get some vampire makeup done on your way.”

  The fancy dress shop was busy, but I had pre-ordered everything so all I had to do was collect the bag funs. I knew she would love it, the perfect pair of costumes. Although I must have been in line a full hour or more waiting to be served. By the time I got back outside, Lily was having her makeup finished off. Dark eyes, blood dripping down her throat. The perfect accessory to the heavy gown hung over my arm in a suit bag. “Come on, we need time to get all dressed up.”

  Lily full on beamed back at me, which looked slightly strange given the grim makeup. “I got you candy.”

  She shoved a sack of it at me, I noted she also had a sack for herself and, by her excited mood, I suspected she ate quite a few as well. “Thanks, English.”

  A quick pizza order on the way home, yes, we seriously do seem to live off the stuff! Pulling on our
costumes later, I didn’t bother with any make up. I let the full Dracula outfit speak for itself. Swirling my cane, as I preened the velvet longline jacket. Lily spun into the room in a deep purple and black velvet Victorian debutante gown, hanging low on her shoulders to show off the fresh ‘bite’ mark. She fixed the bustle one last time before looking towards me for approval. “Ye look stunning,” I reassured her, coming to help pin her curls into an updo more suited to the new look. “Youse will be cold; however, I should have thought to order you a cloak.”