“Kat…I’ll figure it out. Thanks for calling me. And I’ll come up with something.”
“Awesome…well talk soon Carnegie. Say hi to Nate for me.”
“Here, say hi to him yourself. I’ll put him on.” Carnegie wasn’t thinking straight when she did that. Once again her world was in a spin. She had kids to think about, and a career to create. Juggling the two of them alone was proving to be a nightmare, before she even got it off the ground.
“Kat…What’s going on?” Was the first thing Nate said, since he was sensing Carnegie’s sudden distress.
“What time is it there?” Kat asked suddenly confused.
“About 7am...close to it.”
“Why are you with Carnegie at 7am? Or shouldn’t I ask.”
“Depends what you want to know.”
“Do I want to know?” Kat began to squirm a little more. They were more than friends. Now she wanted to kill him all over again. “No, I don’t. Listen, her book releases early September. I need her here by the tenth of August to get the publicity started.”
“How is she going to do that? The girls have their exams.”
“Nate…stop…don’t start making this hard for me ok.”
He knew he had to stop. He had crossed a line, and was now in her territory.
“Kat…We will figure something out. She will be there. I’ll make sure of it. That what you want to hear?” He was trying to be helpful.
WE…WE! Was all Kat could think… “I’ll call her back in a couple of days. Nate… just, just be…” She went to say something else, but changed her mind.
“Talk soon, Kat. I love you.”
“Love you too.” Kat hung up the phone and drove her face into the nearest pillow.
“What’s up with you?” Jase asked. He was sitting at her coffee table with the toaster completely pulled apart.
Kat looked at him and the toaster, deciding that was the least of her problems.
“Do you know where my client is right now?”
“In Brisbane.” He said, since he already knew where she was.
“Well... yeah.” Kat decided she didn’t want to relive her speculation with Jase. Since he might actually say it was sweet or something. Underneath it all, Katalie still felt ripped off by her brother. She had taken everyone’s advice, and decided that if she can get this book out, without complication, she had nothing to worry about. There wasn’t long now…And besides, what could go wrong…in a month!
“I’m going to bed…” She said as she got up off the floor and gathered her notes together. She’d had enough for one day.
Richard Toll had gathered more photographs of Carnegie Lane. Not only did he have pictures of her out the side of the venue with The Stickermen two weeks before a fatal overdose, he also had photographs of her with other bands. All underground punk rock, and very alternative rock groups from around Sydney in the Mid 80’s. His theory that she was a groupie, who had a checkered past with drugs and the underground scene in Sydney was slowly falling into place. They were only photos and circumstantial evidence, yet it was enough for him to show the world that what Nate Bowman had, wasn’t what she seemed. Truth or not. His inside contact had told him her book, Impossible Things was being released in early September. He knew she had spent the last three days in Brisbane with Nate and the band.
He was just about ready to send out his photographs to the magazines and papers who would snap them up and pay any price. With the story he could present, he had enough to keep Carnegie Lane and Nate Bowman’s apparent romance on the front of every magazine cover for months, even if he never saw her again. He sent off an email to Tye, who he hoped had been following them closely in Brisbane. The more pictures of both of them together now, the longer he could keep this story alive. Everything in his mixed up world of lies and deceit, was falling perfectly into place.
It was 10 am by the time Carnegie went and found the kids. They were all happily doing their own thing, although Sobian and Olivia gave her the eye when she walked in the door. Neither of them said anything, they didn’t disapprove of what was beginning to unfold in their life, in fact, they kind of liked it. As for the little ones, they were way too young to understand. She just sat there, looking at them, wondering who would take care of them, if she managed to go to London. Right now she was aware there was twenty four hours left to be with Nate before she went back to Bundaberg, and he went forward to Sydney. There were a million moments in between those hours that she refused to miss, needing to burn him into her soul before she left him behind.
“I need you both to watch Connor and Sienna…Here’s my credit card, take them to the movies or something.”
“Where are you going?” Olivia asked. There was an inkling that she was missing out on something even better than free reign of the card…she was just making sure.
“I’m going with Nate.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know Olivia…just...wherever he is going. Don’t ask questions. I’ll be back later.”
“Mum...” Sobian went and grabbed her by the arm, just before she turned back to her own room.
“Yep...” Carnegie answered, almost defensively.
“Are you happy?” It was the only thing she needed to know.
“Gloriously happy.” She kissed Sobian gently on the cheek. Sobian smiled…
“That’s good.”
Carnegie left the room, and Sobian couldn’t get the grin off her face.
“Liv...” She said..
“Yep…”
“I think Mum’s landed herself a winner.”
“Yep…been thinking that myself Sobi.”
“Liv…”
“Yep…”
“This is so Awesome…!”
“Yep!.” Olivia squeezed her sister’s hand, struggling to contain herself. They never saw it coming, but right now, their lives were absolutely perfect. Even if it did mean they had to babysit more.
Carnegie left her room in the full control of her seventeen year olds, and walked out in the hall, where she was met my Leonie, who was just going up to Nate’s room with the day’s inventory.
“Well well well!” She said, jokingly.
“Hey Leonie…how are you.”
“Not as good as you…apparently. Oh, and I spoke to Kat a while ago, she is organizing your flights, do you want me to do anything for you while I’m still here?”
“Quit your job and come mind my children for me” Carnegie said affectionately.
“Not a chance...”
“I so understand why…”
Leonie got out her card and opened Nate’s door. It was the first time Carnegie was aware, that she had one. It didn’t worry her, well it shouldn’t have worried her, or even allow her to feel anything, yet strangely, it did. Not that she would ever say so.
“Well are you coming in or just going to stand out there in the hall way?” Leonie asked, bringing Carnegie back to now.
“Oh… sorry...miles away.”
Nate was munching on a selection of food that had been delivered from the kitchen. He walked over to Carnegie and kissed her on the cheek, then gave his full attention to Leonie.
“Ok, firstly. Winners of the meet and greet MTV comp. That’s at eleven. Then all of you have to do the adverts for songs for the show. After that, you have the second Meet and Greet, there’s about ten in that one, will take a while. Photos with the cast of some local TV show, or some of them…Not sure on that. We have to go see Roland Phillips, he is the new sound engineer and wants fifteen minutes of your time. Sound check is later, it’s at five thirty, then you have an interview for a news show, they are coming to the show tonight. Got that?”
“Yep.” He said, with a mouthful of toast.
“OK, I’m just going to get the others, oh, Carnegie, are you coming along?”
Leonie had become very matter of factly.
“If that’s OK…” She continued before Nate cut her off.
“Yes she is. I’m not lettin
g her out of my sight till I have to.”
Leonie just looked at the pair of them and shook her head, with a smile. “I only need to know about car space. I’ll be back, we are out of here in ten minutes. Be ready.” Then she was gone, like a tornado in action.
“Wow.” Carnegie said in awe, wishing she had those skills to organize her children. “Precision plus.”
“Get used to it. Kat is worse than she is.”
“Oh she’s good! Don’t get me wrong.”
“Might be a boring day for you, hope you don’t mind.”
“Na… I’m good, girls are taking the little ones to the movies.”
Nate laughed a little. “Carnegie, the little ones aren’t that little.”
“They are to me. They will always be the babies.”
“Yeah I guess they will.” He got lost in that thought for a moment. “Here, have some coffee, you’re going to need all the help you can get. I know I do.”
“Great, haven’t got there yet. So need one!” She took the cup and savored the moment. Coffee was usually the only thing that made her day sufferable. Today, the only replacement that even came close, might have been Nate.
Before she knew it, Carnegie Lane was off to see the other side of the life she thought she always wanted. It proved to be demanding and very fast paced. There were cameras and people everywhere, all wanting a piece of that band and in particular, Nate. Girls running up to him, and grabbing his hand. Throwing themselves at him. On one level, it made her feel great. The other side of her wanted to go slap the lot of them away like you would flies.
They were the fans, they were the bloodline to everything he was. Right now he belonged to them, he was just an object, a cheap purchase, a secret thrill. All of them believed they knew him, that they above all, had the right to stand there with him and on one level they did. The Nate Bowman they loved had been their creation. Theirs and the media’s, who invented a persona of a man none of them really knew. His music was great, sure, but it was the possibility of who this handsome man could be, that encouraged them to continue their relentless love affair with posters, CD’s and every magazine clipping they could get their hands on.
Carnegie stood back with Leonie and blended into obscurity. It all proved to be harder for her to deal with than she thought. She never would say that to anyone, not out loud. Occasionally, Nate would look over at her, and in that fleeting moment, his eyes told her that she was to him… the only one that mattered.
Seconds became minutes, and those minutes eventually met the hours that made up a day. There wasn’t much said on the way home. Everyone was tired and needed to clear their head, enough to play the next show. Always the next show, always…the next. That’s why they were here. For the thrill of a crowd, to close their eyes and feel the energy created in a room by those that loved them above all. The joy in handing a microphone out towards a crowded room, and have them sing the words you wrote back to you like they were the most important words in the world. It was an addiction. The fans were their drug, and the music was the high of their own creation.
Carnegie Lane closed her eyes. She was looking for a song, any song that would give her advice, like a tarot card. When it came, it threw her a little. Carly Simon, ‘Will you still love me tomorrow’. It wasn’t the right one. That song had no right to be there. She opened her eyes and looked right back into Nate’s. He had been watching her. She needed that relief. It may as well have been the hangman’s card, the one that signaled everything in front of you right now was going to change.
“Hi.” He said with a smile.
“Hi.” She said back, remembering to breathe again. Clearly, the song had been wrong.
The frantic pace continued, right into the Entertainment Center for a final time. Sienna was happily standing beside Leonie with her clipboard covered in important things for her to remember. She also had a head set that allowed her to hear all the things going on backstage, they muted the mic, for obvious reasons. Connor was just cruising around with some of the roadies deciding on a future career. Sobian and Olivia, were walking around like the super models they believed themselves to be.
Occasionally a photographer would take their photo. They felt extremely justified when they did. Carnegie on the other hand, was beginning to feel the fleetingness of time, as it passed all too quickly, threatening with every stroke of the second hand to take her heart away with it.
Nate sang, and Carnegie got lost in every word. She watched him as if hypnotized and devoured every moment as if it were her last. It wasn’t like her to be morbid in her thinking. In many ways, she wasn’t. Just right now was all she had until the next time, and how ever long or short that time would be, was about to be lost in the hands of schedules and interviews. Nate knew it too, and at one stage, Leonie asked her to go out into the crowd, so at least it looked like he was singing for them.
Out there, her world changed, which was why she avoided it the night before, and had hoped to avoid it now. She closed her eyes, and got lost in the sound of a drum, the hypnotic trance of a bass guitar, and the lead guitar that sent chills down her spine. Then there was Nate, her beautiful perfect friend. His voice rose above them all and blended in with the voices that sang along with him. Carnegie Lane was lost in her head, in a world that again belonged only to her. This time for very different reasons.
The show was nearing its end. Carnegie had decided to take the little ones back herself, since she hadn’t spent much time with them. She said goodbye to Olivia and Sobian, and Leonie called a car around to the side door for her.
“Just let him know… I’ll see him soon. I really need to get these two sorted.”
“Yep, you’re good Carnegie, I’ll tell him. See you soon.” She closed her door and walked back inside. Carnegie really didn’t want to give her too many instructions, it was clear that poor girl had enough to do.
Both of those kids almost fell asleep before their heads hit the pillow. Sienna as usual, fell asleep mid sentence. Carnegie settled into the lounge in her room and became absorbed in a movie. It was midnight when she heard the elevator stop at her floor, and heard familiar voices, along with a few she didn’t know as they made their way up the hall way. Sobian and Olivia bounded in the door, both of them yet again full of stories about how much fun they were having. Carnegie listened for a while, before she too, made her way back up that hall. She knocked loud enough to be heard. There was music inside. Sounded like a party.
Someone she had never met opened the door, and let her in. Carnegie smiled at the girl, wondering if she was even old enough to be out at this time of night. Then she let the thought go, since until ten minutes ago, her daughters had been out with them, she knew they were harmless. Nate saw her and gave her a wave, he was in deep conversation with someone, she could tell he didn’t want to be interrupted. She looked around for Leonie, making her way over to her.
“That’s Roland Phillips, the sound engineer for the new album. We didn’t catch up with him today, so we made time tonight. The people that are here, you might recognize some of them, over there, that chick is from some TV show you have here, and over there, they are models. That guy over there is one of the Australian arms of MTV, that guy over there is a journalist, works with the Murdoch group, not sure where he is from though, he’s not an Aussie. As for the rest. Don’t know, just one of the many faces that appear apparently out of nowhere. Kids go down all right?” She managed to take a breath after she said all that.
“Yeah, fine.”
“Any ideas what you’re going to do with them when you go to England yet?”
“None. Save calling their father.”
“Ah, make him do it. From what Olivia tells me, seems like he needs to step up to the mark a bit.”
“Impossible for him to even try. My mark has shifted, and it’s way out of his league.” They laughed, then Leonie went off and began chatting. Carnegie stayed on the peripherals of the room, trying to blend in, yet very aware, she didn’t even come c
lose. It was nearly 4 am when the group began to break up and go home. A couple of girls were hanging around Nate, hoping that he would ask them to stay. He walked over to Carnegie and kissed her gently on the cheek.
“Hey Stranger.” He said quietly.
“Hey you.” She replied in almost a whisper.
“What’s say we go somewhere else. This lot are like cling-ons from the Starship Enterprise.”
“Suns about to come up.”
“I know. I have to be gone from here by 8am.”
Something inside her sunk, four hours, she had four hours left. Then like so many times in her life, the band would pack up and be gone, leaving her waving on the sidewalk.
“What are you thinking?” He asked, recognizing the change that came over her.
“Nothing, don’t worry about it.”
“Tell me…tell me what you’re thinking.” He held her hand a little tighter.
“I’m wondering how I’m going to continue to breathe, when you’re not here to breathe with me.”
Nate put his arms around her, and held her tight.
“I’m not letting you go Carnegie Lane. I promise.”
They went back to her room, and for three hours, they continued to explore each other and be the lovers they were always destined to be. Time went way too fast, and before she knew it, Leonie was knocking on the door.
“Will you come to the airport, and see us off?” Nate asked as he got out of bed, walking across the room. Carnegie was loving every inch of his naked body as he wrapped himself up in a dressing gown. It was the first time she got to see the tattoo on his back, a series of symbols, like hieroglyphics, yet, they had an edge to them, almost mysteriously telling a story in an enchanting haunting way.
“OK. I’ll come.” She said, she didn’t know if this was a good idea, but it gave her some more time to be near him.
“Nate, what’s the tattoo on your back?” He turned around and looked at her, dropping the robe, as he sat back on the bed. It was nearly too much for Carnegie. That body was beyond awesome. Nate got her mind back on track, as he began to explain the meanings.
The Unexpected Life of Carnegie Lane Page 18