by Karen M Cox
“About what?”
“Well, you’re doing college on your own. Your parents give you very little financial help.”
“Well, they can’t help much. They’ve got Virginia in school too, and then the boys and Spring to take care of.”
“That’s it, in a nutshell. You make your own way. So you make your own decisions.”
“Well . . . ”
“No, I admire you for it. You study what you want to study, chart your own path. When I think about it, it’s the only way to be happy.”
“Okay.”
“So, like I said, I’ve been thinking. I’ve been wondering what the hell I’m doing at the University of Dayton anyway. Why do I care so much about going back there? I hate business classes. I don’t want to be an accountant or an insurance salesman or a banker. So, why am I busting my ass to do something I hate?”
“You can study other things there.”
“I know. I just think maybe I need to start over. I mean, why did I go there to begin with? To please Mom and Dad? Why should I worry about pleasing them when they’re too wound up in their own problems to give a damn about me anyway.”
“I’m sure they love you, James.” She hugged him tightly. “You’re very lovable.”
He smiled in the dark and could feel the air around him grow warm, but the warmth faded as his smile did.
“Maybe it’s not in the cards for me to go back at all.”
Laurel leaned up on one elbow. “Quit school? You want to quit school? In the middle of your junior year?”
“Maybe.”
“What will you do instead?”
He shrugged. “Anything I want. For the first time in my life, I feel free — like my life is in my own hands. Maybe I’ll backpack through Europe. Maybe I’ll go to Nashville and write songs. I don’t know. I can go anywhere — do anything. You know, the more I think about it, the more I think this may be the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
She bit her lip, deep in thought. “Perhaps.”
He stopped to gauge her reaction. Even in the darkness, he could feel the wary look, the stiff posture of her body. A sudden realization dawned on him.
“I won’t leave you behind, Laurel — not in a million years. I want you to come with me.”
“But I’m in the middle of my first year in college. I can’t just pick up and go.” Distress colored her voice.
“Well, you can finish your first year. I’ll go ahead to wherever, get settled — and then you could transfer. People do it all the time.”
“But Benton College has what I want to study.”
“Lots of places have art programs, sweetheart.”
“But I can’t do work-study lots of places.”
“We can work something out. Don’t worry. I’ll find a way for us to be together.”
She lay down on her back, beside him, facing the ceiling. His side felt cold without her against him, and he rolled closer to her, resting a hand on her tummy and sliding it to her hip. He tugged her toward him.
“Let’s not talk about it anymore right now. We have lots of time to work out details and talk about things. Right now I just want to be with you.”
“Okay.” She seemed relieved to be changing the subject and he couldn’t blame her. Why wallow in consternation when there was so much else to do?
“Come back Mountain Laurel.” He kissed her shoulder. She wiggled around, until she was nestled with her back against his chest and brought his arm around her. She cradled it in her own two arms and kissed his hand. “I’m here.”
Silence fell over the house, each of them lost in their own thoughts. Finally, he spoke again. “I’m going to Nashville, I think. If I want to try my hand at music, that’s the place — either that or California. But I think Nashville’s more our speed.”
“I suppose.”
“It will take me a few weeks to get everything together, but I’m going to use my savings to relocate.”
“What will you do once you get there?” Laurel’s voice was soft and unsure.
“At first?” He kissed the back of her head and grinned. “Wait tables, probably. Then, start trying to make some connections with musicians in the area.”
“It sounds like a lot of changes all at once. You don’t think it’s . . . I don’t know, a little reckless?”
He shrugged. “I think it’s a helluva chance to get my life back, live it on my own terms. You don’t agree?”
“I don’t know.”
“We could be together.”
“Could we?”
“I hope so.” He leaned up and rolled her toward him. “Is there something you’re not telling me, sweetheart?”
“No,” she sighed, turning back around and wiggling her rear end back into him. “I just don’t know what my parents would say if I came home and suddenly announced I’m up and moving to Nashville.”
“I know it’s an adjustment, and your dad was happy about you going to Benton, but transferring schools will be fine. I’ll go first; you can follow later. We can even go talk to your folks about it before I leave.”
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”
“Why? Your dad knows me. He always seemed pretty open-minded. I’m sure he’ll discuss it with us.”
“It’s not him I’m worried about — it’s Mama.”
James rolled his eyes. “What is her problem? How can she say anything to you, give you any kind of advice — when she never leaves the house?”
Laurel lifted her chin. “Mama and Daddy love me — and they’re going to be concerned about this. They only want what’s best for their children.”
He hugged her close. “Of course they love you.” He kissed her neck. “Why do you think your mother will be against the idea?”
Laurel shrugged. “She’s worried about your influence over me.”
“What?”
“It’s not your fault. It’s because of what happened the night you left.”
He sat straight up. “What happened?” Surely, she didn’t tell her that we . . .
“I was late coming in as you might remember. She was waiting up, and she was upset with me for missing my curfew.”
“What did she say?”
“She was worried, and I guess she overreacted. She said I was wasting my time with you because you were leaving the next day and I’d never see you again.”
He caressed her jaw and turned her face toward him. “I guess I proved her wrong then, didn’t I?”
She held up her arms and drew him close once again. “I guess you did.”
“Don’t worry, sweetheart. I can be charming when I want to. We’ll convince them that we’re good together.”
“Maybe we will but not until we’ve got some kind of realistic plan. So let’s not test the waters just yet, okay?”
He paused, holding her close, and a niggling sense of foreboding stole across his mind. He pushed it away and answered her in a soothing voice. “Whatever you say, Laurel. They’re your parents, and you know them better than I do. We’ll do this your way.”
Chapter 10
Nashville, TN
“Come on, come on! Pick up, will ya?” James cradled the receiver against his shoulder and blew on his chilled fingers. Sleet pelted against the glass of the phone booth, and the early March cold made him irritable and impatient. It was Tuesday night, and he always called Laurel on Tuesday nights. Why wasn’t she waiting for him? He wished one of those co-eds whose room was near the only phone would hurry up and answer. He had places to go and people to see, and he was freezing his ass off!
“Hello?”
Finally! “Hey, yeah, can I talk to Laurel please?”
Although she covered the phone with her hand, the girl screeched loud enough that he had to hold the phone away from his ear.
“Hey, Elliot! Your Tuesday night guy is on the phone.” She took her hand off the mouthpiece. “She said she’ll be down in a second.”
“I’d better be her guy every other ni
ght too.”
The girl just laughed.
“What was your name again?”
“Adrienne.”
“Yeah, Adrienne. Look, I hate to bother you, but I’m kind of in a rush right now. Do you think you could ask her if she’s going to be a while? Or does she want me to call her back?”
Her voice carried again. “He says to hurry up!”
He grimaced. That wasn’t what I said. He couldn’t be too upset though because he had the supreme pleasure of hearing his girl on the phone a few seconds later.
“Hey, Jim Dandy. Sorry it took so long. I was studying for a sociology test in the lounge at the other end of the hall.”
He felt his pulse slow. Laurel’s voice always had that effect on him. Like the smoothest bourbon, she relaxed him, and whatever was wrong faded into thin air.
“Hello, Beautiful,” he crooned. He swore he could hear her blush over the line, and he smiled.
“What are you up to?”
“Nothing much. Just on the way to meet some guys who are looking for a temporary bass player.”
“Oh, that’s cool. I didn’t know you played bass.”
“I’ve been trying my hand at it lately. How are you, sweetheart?”
“I’m okay, I guess.”
“Just okay? That’s good,” he joked.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I wouldn’t want you to be deliriously happy without me.”
She laughed, but then her voice grew soft. “I do miss you a lot.”
“I miss you too.”
“How are things in Nashville?”
“Going pretty well. Lots of stuff going on right now.”
“Did you write any music this week?”
“Like I told you the other day, I haven’t had much time for writing lately. Got a couple more pick-up gigs though.”
“That’s good. Have you made it to the Bluebird Café yet?”
He grinned. “Not yet, but I’m still holding out hope for a lucky break. Good news on another front though. I got that job at the Coke bottling plant. I just started yesterday. It’s pretty boring, but it’s a steady paycheck. Now I can pay the rent and still have evenings to play music — not like when I was waiting tables and couldn’t get gigs because I had to work.”
“Sounds like a good plan. How’s the new place?”
“It’s great! Just two rooms, but there’s a kitchen corner, a bedroom with a door, and I finally got a bed to go in it. I bummed the one from my mother’s guest room. Susan and her husband brought it over in their truck when they were passing through. They’re on their way to San Diego.”
“They’re moving again?”
“Yeah, that’s where he’s stationed, so they’ll be there for a while.”
“Is your mom okay with that? It’s pretty far away.”
“I think she’s good with it. She knows that’s how it is with the Navy. The divorce still isn’t settled, so that’s taking most of her attention right now. She did get a job, though, as a secretary in a church office. Not much money, but with the alimony, she should make it all right.”
“Good for her. How’s your dad?”
“Beats me,” James shrugged.
“I’m sorry, James. Is he ever going to get over you leaving school?”
“Who knows, but I’m not sure what he expected me to do when he yanked his financial support out from under me. Where does he get off telling me that this move to Nashville was a ‘foolish notion?’ I say he lost his right to an opinion about my decisions when he stopped paying my bills, wouldn’t you agree?”
“I suppose so, but . . . I can sort of understand why he’s disappointed. He probably expected you would, you know . . . figure something out — do whatever you could to stay in school.”
“Yeah, well he figured wrong, didn’t he?”
“Are you sorry you left? Was it worth leaving school and everything behind?”
“Oh definitely worth it. I mean, I won’t lie to you and say the last two months have been easy, because they haven’t been. But I don’t have to tell you pretty lies, sweetheart, to get you to join me. You know the way the world works.”
There was a silence of several seconds. “Laurel?”
“I’m here.”
“I thought we got disconnected or something.”
“Tell me more about the apartment.”
He knew she’d be excited about that. “It’s not spacious but roomier than a dorm, I’ll bet!”
“Everything’s roomier than a dorm,” she quipped.
“The rent is reasonable too, so we’ll have a little bit of a financial cushion while you sort out work and school for yourself. Middle Tennessee State is here close, and then there are some community colleges as well. Vandy’s probably not an option because of the expense, but I know we can carve out a workable solution for you.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“You’ll love Nashville, darling. There’s so much life and energy here. All the mainstream crossover into country music has breathed new life into the whole place. It’s really a city for young people now, not just for the Grand Old Opry crowd of a few years back.”
“It sounds like you’re happy there.”
“Oh, I am, but I’ll be happier when you’re here too. I hope it won’t be much longer before I can hold you every night, and wake up beside you every morning.”
“That was one of the best parts of last winter, wasn’t it?”
“Have I told you how much I loved living on the mountain with you during Christmas break?”
He heard her smile from almost two hundred miles away. “A few times.”
“I know I have, but I’ll say it again anyway. I’ll never forget it. It was . . . one of the best times of my life. An island of sanity away from all the craziness, and you were the center of it all — my sanctuary amidst the chaos.”
“My boyfriend, the poet.” Her voice grew serious. “I’ll always be here for you, James.”
“I love you so much, and I can’t wait to have you with me every day. I wish I could come get you now.”
“I can’t leave in the middle of the semester; you know that.”
“You could do it.” After a pause, he added in a hopeful voice. “I’ll help you find work, apply to schools, whatever it takes to get you here.”
“I . . . I can’t. How would I explain to a new school that I was a drop out? And throwing away all the money Benton’s given me for this semester? It seems wrong. Don’t ask me to do that, James. I just can’t.”
Disappointed but not surprised, he sighed. “Yeah, I know. I guess I’ll have to wait, maybe even until the end of the summer if you need to work and save up some money.”
“It will help in the long run.”
A pall of silence settled over him, and he fought to find a more cheerful subject. “I hear from Stu that Ginny is burning up the pre-dentistry program.”
“She really likes it.”
“Stu says he’s thinking about transferring to Lexington for dental school too after he graduates.”
“They seem to have it all worked out. But then, Ginny always knows what she wants.”
“So, how are your classes going?”
“Pretty good.”
“It’s a shame you don’t get to do any real art yet. It’s still all that general studies crap, isn’t it?”
She laughed. “Well, that general studies crap is part of the liberal arts education.”
“I hated that about college. Why don’t they just let you study what you want to do with your life?
“I don’t know, but maybe all this will come in handy someday.”
“Doubtful. Well, I suppose I’d better go. It’s almost time to meet those guys at the club. I’ll call you next week, okay?”
“Okay.”
“You sound sad, Mountain Laurel.”
“It’s hard to be so far away from you.”
“I know, sweetheart. All the more reason you should come to me soon
er, rather than later. Don’t worry. It will be a grand adventure, not a tightrope walk without a net. I’ll be your fail-safe, and you’ll be my muse. Sweet nothings, etc, etc.” He tried to joke, but the loneliness he felt was real. He could hardly wait to see her — be with her — all the time.
She sniffed. “I’ll write you this week. No, wait, I don’t have your new address.”
“I’ll write you, and then you’ll have it.”
“Okay.”
“I love you.”
Her voice was soft and so, so far away. “I love you too.”
End of Part One
Intermezzo 1
Seven years later
The music pounded in James’s head as he took a sip of his very expensive champagne. It was bubbly and dry, and it tickled his nose. The best champagne money could buy — like his suit and tie, like the coveted party tickets he bought for the most exclusive New Year’s soiree in San Francisco.
A sudden bump on his shoulder nearly made him spill his drink all over his shoes. He turned and grinned at his friend’s tipsy, happy expression.
“Eric! Having fun?”
“A blast. Best New Year’s Eve bash in the city, bar none.”
“Who’s watching little Trevor tonight?”
“Millie’s mother. God, I love that woman! It was part of our Christmas present this year — a New Year’s Eve out on the town, sans enfant.”
“I’m surprised you got Millie to go out so soon after . . . what is it — a month since she had him?”
“Six weeks. Look at her.” Eric sighed, lowering his glass to gaze, love struck, at his wife. She was laughing and swing dancing with their good friend John, while John’s girlfriend Fiona cheered them from the sidelines. Every time John made a misstep — which was frequently — Fiona and Millie laughed, and Eric gave a soft, little chuckle.