Athena's Daughter

by Juli Page Morgan

  “That’s not my concern.” The little prick’s eyes narrowed. “I’m also beginning to think there’s something dodgy here. First the young lady wants a fiancée visa. Then a work visa.”

  “We don’t want any kind of bloody visa,” Derek gritted out. “We just want to get married. How hard can that be?”

  Folding his hands together on his desk, the man gave Derek a gimlet eye. “I wouldn’t say it’s hard, but there are certain rules to be followed. One just doesn’t rush into the office and marry a foreigner without the proper procedures. I suppose you could always go to the United States and get married there. I understand their rules are rather lax about such things.”

  Once again Simon attempted to dive across the desk, and the interview was over.

  *****

  “Come home with me then, and we can get married there.” Athena’s words were muffled against Derek’s chest as they lay in the bed, dreading the sunrise.

  “I don’t have the bread to go to the States.” His voice was equally muffled since his face was hidden in her hair. “If I did, I’d have bought my airline ticket yesterday when you bought yours.”

  “I know.” Cold despair flooded Athena at the knowledge that in a few short hours she wouldn’t be with him. Tomorrow morning would dawn and she wouldn’t be in his arms. “But I’m coming back as soon as I can. I’ll apply for that fiancée visa thing, and be right back here as soon as they’ll let me. As soon as I find out when that’ll be, I’ll ring you and tell you. It’ll probably take that long to save up enough money for a transatlantic phone call anyway. I have a feeling my folks won’t be lending me the money for it.”

  “God, how could I be so stupid?” Derek burst out.

  “You? This isn’t your fault.” She sat up and scowled. “It’s mine for not paying attention, and letting my visa expire.”

  He sat up next to her. “But if I’d asked you to marry me the minute I knew I wanted to, we’d have all that rot taken care of, and might even be married by now.”

  “You can’t think that way. You didn’t know they’d make us jump through hoops like this. No one knew your country has a stick up its ass about marriage.” She wrapped her arms around him. “But we’ll take care of it, and I’ll be back before you know it.”

  “I know you will.” His warm hands cupped her cheeks. “And then we’ll be married.” He stared deep into her eyes. “Just remember that, Athena. I am going to marry you.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  Memphis, April 7, 1975

  Stepping from the cold, gray drizzle of a Memphis spring morning into the muted, business-like hum of the lobby of the Holiday Inn was almost surreal, kind of like going from a single mother working as a record store manager to being the personal assistant to a rock band. Athena couldn’t think of a more fitting beginning to her new role, and stumbled into the lobby, arms weighted down by her two suitcases.

  Relief flooded her at the sight of Simon waiting for her. The whole situation was so unreal that she half believed it was all a joke, and someone was going to pop out at any moment and yell, “Gotcha!”

  “Good morning, love.” Simon stepped forward and gathered her into a tight hug. “Welcome aboard.”

  The warmth in his brown eyes quelled her nerves somewhat, and she returned his embrace with feeling. If she was going to step into Alice’s rabbit hole, at least she was doing it with people she knew. Kind of.

  “I thought we’d sit here to go over things,” Simon said, gesturing toward a grouping of chairs and tables at one side of the lobby. “It’s a lot more convenient than having everything spread out on my bed. You’d think a city of this size would have a hotel that offered suites, wouldn’t you?”

  “You’d think,” Athena murmured, having no idea what Memphis did or didn’t offer in the way of accommodations for visitors. “This is fine.” She dropped into one of the chairs, and tried to stifle a yawn. It had been a long time since she’d been up before the sun.

  “Do you think we might get some coffee over here for Miss Hill?” Simon called over to the desk clerk. “And perhaps some hot tea?”

  As the clerk cocked an irritated eyebrow and picked up the phone, Athena tilted her head toward Simon. “And my last name is Chandler, not Hill.”

  “Oh, right. I forgot you’d been married.”

  “Well, try to remember. All my identification says Athena Chandler, and I don’t want to run into any problems or misunderstandings down the road.”

  Simon grinned and leaned back in his chair. “Noted. I’m so glad you decided to come with us, love. All the lads are chuffed about it, too.”

  “All of them?” She raised a skeptical brow.

  A slight squirm betrayed Simon’s discomfort. “He was a little taken aback, it’s true. But he’ll come round. Besides, if anyone can handle Derek, it’s you.”

  Athena’s laugh contained no humor. “Maybe seven years ago. I’m not so sure about now.”

  “It’s like I said the other day; no one’s changed much. You’ll see.”

  “Mm-hm.” Athena looked up as a trim, lithe black woman approached, a mug held in each hand. Athena never had the audacity to ask for beverages to be served outside a dining room, and half expected some sort of fancy teacups and saucers. A nice, sturdy ceramic mug was more her style, and she was glad to see the thick white ones in the woman’s hands.

  “Who gets the tea and who gets the coffee?” the woman asked, looking expectantly between Simon and Athena.

  “Coffee for me, tea for the foreigner over there,” Athena replied.

  “Foreigner?” The woman handed over the coffee, and then turned to Simon, holding the tea just out of his reach. “Where you from?”

  “England.” Simon grinned, and Athena could have sworn he thickened his accent on purpose. “London, England to be precise.”

  “Well, we got to be precise.” Smiling, the woman handed Simon his tea before standing back with hands on hips. “Lord, honey; I could stand here and listen to you talk all day.”

  “I’ll tell you a secret, love. I could sit here and listen to you talk all day.”

  “Mm-hm.” Laughing, she shook her head. “Y’all want any more coffee or tea, just come on in the dining room over there and find me.” She cast a glance at Athena, eyes sparkling. “He your man?”

  “Nope,” Athena grinned. “Just someone I used to know.”

  “Well, then.” The woman winked at Athena before turning back to Simon. “You want any else besides coffee or tea, you come on in the dining room and find me.”

  As she went chuckling back to the dining room, Athena looked at Simon over the rim of her coffee cup.

  “Look at you charming the prettiest women this morning.”

  “I love this town.” Simon leaned back in his chair with a lazy smile. “Everyone’s so friendly.”

  Athena smiled and took a sip of her coffee. “Actually, Memphis is a great place to live.”

  Using the attached string, Simon dunked his tea bag up and down in his cup. “And to think you’ve been here the whole time when Derek was out of his mind wondering what happened to you.”

  A stab of guilt knifed through Athena’s heart, and she blanched. “I really wasn’t here the whole time. I lived in New Mexico for a while. But we’re not going to discuss any of that, got it?”

  “Right. Sorry, love.”

  “Good.” She sighed, and attempted to get her emotions back in order. After a few more gulps of coffee, she was ready to get started. “Okay, the job. Lay it on me.”

  “Right.” Simon handed over a black-bound notebook. “Pretty much everything you’ll need to know is in that book. Have a quick look, and then you can ask me about anything that’s not immediately clear.”

  She flipped through the pages, pleased to find that it was broken down into sections, one for luggage, one for room preferences, one even containing a list of restaurants and dry cleaning facilities for the cities they’d be visiting.

  “Hey, this is really handy.
”

  Simon blew on his tea. “Yeah, Richie put it together.”

  “Richie? The guy who broke his leg?”

  He shrugged. “He might have been clumsy, but he was also organized. You won’t have to worry so much about the luggage and such. It’s all loaded on and off the plane, and delivered to the hotels. If anything goes missing, though, it’s your place to track it down.”

  One word made her forget about the band’s luggage concerns. “Plane? What plane?”

  “We’ve hired a Learjet for the tour, love. That plane.”

  In an instant her palms went clammy. “I thought you guys had a bus,” she said in a small voice.

  Simon snorted. “I shouldn’t think so. We may not be able to get a jumbo jet like Zeppelin does, but at least we don’t have to bang around in a bus like some opening act.”

  “But at the store the other day I could have sworn you said something about a bus.”

  “Oh, that.” Simon waved an airy hand. “Just a term. It was more of a large van, really. It brought us from the airport, that’s all.” He peered at her with a concerned frown. “You don’t have a problem with flying, do you?”

  “No. I’d just prepared myself for a bus, not a little…airplane.”

  “It’s not a propeller plane, Athena. It may be small, but it’s still a jet. Perfectly comfortable and perfectly safe, you’ll see.” He patted her knee.

  “I’m fine, really.” She hoped she sounded convincing. It was hard to tell with her heart lodged somewhere in her throat, pounding like she’d just run from a burning building. “It just threw me. That’s all.”

  “Good, then. The main thing you’ll need to do when we arrive in a new city is to make sure the lads’ rooms are stocked with their preferences.”

  “Like what?” She flipped through the notebook, looking for the correct section.

  “Well, for example, Paul’s become addicted to Dr. Pepper and likes to have it in his room so he doesn’t have to keep calling down for it.” Simon sat back and propped one ankle on his knee. “Derek likes to have tea available at all times, things like that.”

  Athena finally found the correct part of the notebook, and scanned the information under Derek’s name. “Electric kettle,” she read aloud. “Earl Grey. Milk.” She shook her head and looked up. “And the hotels provide all this?”

  Simon nodded. “Sometimes they miss something, though, and it’ll be your responsibility to see that the problem is rectified. Don’t worry, love. The hotel staff will be quick to make things right. They don’t want to have to deal with us any more than they have to.”

  “Why? Are you such horrible guests?”

  “In a way,” Simon laughed. “It’s just that we like to do our own thing, and they don’t want to have to bother with us. Things can get a little crazy at times, and they prefer to leave us to ourselves.”

  “Okay, then.” She bent her head over the notebook again. Most of the requests weren’t too outlandish, and she thought she could handle it.

  “Of course, there will be things that the hotel doesn’t provide, and it’s up to you to get them.”

  The change in voice brought her eyes up again. “Like what?”

  Rubbing a finger under his nose, Simon looked around the lobby to check for eavesdroppers. “Well, Paul likes a snort now and again. And Ian and Robin are both into things a little more psychedelic.”

  Athena narrowed her eyes and leaned forward, keeping her voice low. “Drugs? I’m supposed to buy them drugs?”

  “Part of the job, love.”

  “And if I get arrested doing it? Will y’all just leave me holding the bag?”

  “You won’t get arrested. It’s not like we’ll be sending you out into dark alleys or anything like that. There will be people coming out of the woodwork offering it, you’ll see. All you have to do is buy it, and deliver it to the lads.” Though he spoke in a near whisper, his tone was that of a man discussing the purchase of fresh produce. “It won’t be a problem.”

  That’s what he thought. It was a problem for Athena, so it was going to be a problem for the members of Wolf. She had no intention of buying anything illegal for them, employee or no. Despite Simon’s words to the contrary, she knew there was the possibility of arrest, and if being a single mother was tough, being one with an arrest record would be a nightmare. With a mental shrug, she flipped through the notebook again. They’d find out soon enough; no need to tip her hand before the problem arose.

  She stopped at a page entitled “Clothing,” and frowned. “What’s this about laundry? Am I going to have to hunt up a Laundromat in every city or something?”

  “Not at all,” Simon assured her. “The hotels will do the laundry. You just have to make sure they do it.” He eyed her nonchalant shrug, and shook his finger. “It’s not as simple as it sounds, love. You’ll have to gather up their dirty clothes and make sure it gets to the proper people early the next morning so it’ll get done before we leave. One of the first things you’ll need to do after we check in is to arrange for early laundry service. Just be glad they don’t wear elaborate stage costumes that need dry cleaning. And speaking of early mornings, you probably won’t get a lot of sleep unless you do it on the plane.”

  Athena frowned. “Why not?”

  “You have to be available to them at all hours, and none of them seem to sleep at the same time.” Simon smiled and shook his head. “If you do try to sleep, expect them to wake you a lot.”

  “Wonderful,” she muttered. “Are they asleep now?”

  “Derek and Robin probably are. We should go wake them now unless you have any more questions.”

  “Not right now.” She flipped the notebook closed, and took a last gulp of coffee. “I’ll probably have some as we go along, though.”

  “No problem.” Simon got to his feet and stretched. “If you do, just ask.”

  Once in the elevator, he turned to her with a serious expression. “Almost forgot. You don’t have to do anything for the girls, so don’t let them try to trick you into it.”

  Athena’s eyebrows shot up. “What girls?”

  “Paul has an American girlfriend he brings along on tour. Actually, she’s a groupie, but he always looks her up when we get to the States. She’s called Veronica, and she’s a good sort. Won’t give you a lot of hassle. I think you’ll like her. But Robin picked up some bird called Cindy in Atlanta, and she can be a bit of a shit. Just ignore her.”

  “Right.” Just what she needed – a groupie with an attitude. “Anyone else?”

  Simon shook his head. “Ian and Derek tend to find companionship after we get to a city, so it’s all very temporary. Now, sometimes the lads will ask you to do something for the girls, but don’t do it, understand? Don’t be afraid to stand your ground with them about that.”

  “Don’t worry,” she stated. “I don’t intend to turn into anyone’s maid.”

  “About that. You will have to go through their rooms before we leave each day to make sure they haven’t left anything behind. Except for Robin they’re pretty good about picking up after themselves; you’ll just need to do a quick look about. And that reminds me. You’ll have a key to each of their rooms, but except for getting them up in the mornings, don’t go in unless…”

  “Of course not,” she interrupted. “What’d you think I’d do? Just barge in on them?”

  He shrugged one shoulder. “It’s been a problem before.”

  “Well, it won’t be now.”

  The elevator stopped, and when the door slid open Athena was greeted by the sight of a pile of luggage outside one of the rooms.

  “Paul’s and Veronica’s,” Simon explained. “Before we leave, all the luggage will be in the hall. Just have the van drivers come and get it.” He stepped around the pile and rapped on the door. “It’s me,” he called.

  On the other side of the door a chain rattled, followed by the muted squeak of hinges as the door opened. A dainty red-haired girl who didn’t look a day over sevente
en peered out. “Hey, Simon.”

  “Good morning, Veronica,” he replied. “Just wanted to introduce you to Athena. She’ll be taking Richie’s place for the rest of the tour.”

  Large hazel eyes turned to Athena, and dimples appeared on Veronica’s cheeks. “Hey, Athena. Paul’s told me all about you.”

  “Um, that’s good.” Athena felt uncomfortable, and had no idea what to say. Luckily, Simon intervened.

  “Where is Paul?”

  “Taking a shower.” Veronica gestured behind her. “We just finished breakfast.”

  “All right.” Simon nodded. “Make sure you pack everything.”

  “I always do,” she replied, closing the door.

  “They’re always easy,” Simon told Athena as they moved to the next door. “Robin, however…” He pounded on the door with his fist, causing Athena to jump in surprise. “Sometimes he’s up, sometimes not.” When no one answered, Simon pounded again. The door finally opened a crack to reveal Robin’s unshaven face.

  “We’re up,” he croaked.

  “Good.” Simon stepped aside and presented Athena like he was Carol Merrill showing off a prize on Let’s Make a Deal. “After today it’ll be Athena here pounding on your door. Where’s what’s-her-name?”

  Robin frowned at Simon and called over his shoulder. “Cindy! Simon wants you.”

  A tall, statuesque blonde appeared next to Robin with a scowl on her face. She was attired in only a T-shirt, panties, and streaks of last night’s makeup, and looked down her sharp, too-long nose at Simon. “What is it?” she snarled.

  “This is Athena,” Simon told her. “She’s taking Richie’s place, so get used to her.”

  Cindy looked Athena up and down, and then shrugged. “Whatever,” she muttered, and disappeared back into the room.

  Athena crossed her arms over her chest, and fixed Robin with a firm stare. “I’m not going to put up with her shit, Robin.”

  A ghost of a smile lit Robin’s face. “I didn’t think you would.”