by Karen Booth
“Sure.” Alex stepped out into the hallway.
Tyler hopped up on to the bed. “I’m going to miss you and Daddy when you’re gone.” He kicked his legs, banging his heels back against the bed frame. “Are you gonna go rock your balls off?”
David snickered. “Who told you that?”
“Page. He said it’s something guys in bands say.”
David shook his head and ruffled Tyler’s mop. Alex wasn’t the only person he would miss. “Yeah, some guys. Not all guys. I think it’s safe to say we’re going to rock. How’s that for an answer?”
Alex stepped back into the room with Glenn, an indecipherable look on her face. “Ty, why don’t you and Daddy go hang out with Page for a little while? Daddy and David have to leave soon.”
“Come on, champ.” Glenn raised his arm in invitation as Tyler bounded to him.
“What’s going on?” David asked, as soon as Glenn and Tyler were gone.
She swallowed and looked up at him with wide eyes. “Glenn’s ready to tell the boys about the divorce. Tonight.”
Chapter Thirty-Nine
No wonder Glenn was ready to tell the boys. He was on his way out of town. Alex took a deep breath and kneaded her forehead. A car horn blared and her sight flew to the traffic signal, now green.
“Page, honey, do you have a lot of homework this weekend?” she asked.
He stared out the window. His head didn’t budge when he answered. “No.”
“Great. Maybe the three of us can watch a movie tonight. We could even stay up late.” She glanced at the sullen figure in the passenger seat as she pulled into the grocery store parking lot. “I just need to get a few things.” She turned off the ignition and Tyler unbuckled his seat belt, but Page stayed put. “Are you coming?”
“No.” He cleared his throat. “I’ll stay in the car.”
She rubbed his shoulder lightly. “Okay, honey. We’ll be right back.”
It had been two days since she and Glenn had told the boys. Their reaction had been swift and immediate—Tyler clung to Alex like crazy, Page couldn’t get a word out of his mouth. Instead, he wore a changing mix of anger and sadness across his face. Alex had since endured two days of near-silence from him. She desperately wished she could find some way to cheer him up, but it felt pointless. Hot fudge sundaes and trips to the arcade weren’t going to change what was happening.
They arrived back at David’s after an awkwardly quiet car ride from the store. Alex dropped her keys on the counter and reached for Page. He shuffled across the kitchen floor as if his shoes were filled with cement. At first, he stood like a statue, reluctant, pulling away even, but she wrapped her arms about him. Slowly, he sagged, resting his head against her shoulder. Tyler joined them, wedging his arm between Page and Alex while holding on to her for dear life.
Her heart crumbled into a million jagged pieces at the thought of what she and Glenn were doing to them. It was so easy to say the divorce was nobody’s fault. Things happen. People grow apart. Alex felt like the worst mother on the planet, orchestrating the end of what had been Page and Tyler’s reality for their entire lives—she and Glenn, together.
She combed her fingers into Page’s hair and kissed him on top of the head. It wouldn’t be much longer before she’d have to stand on a chair to do that. She’d already felt as if she was losing him—to girls, his friends, to time—now she had the sense that his final shreds of childhood were being torn from him. Both he and Tyler were being pushed to grow up, whether they wanted to or not.
Alex stepped back to the sight of Page’s red-rimmed eyes. Tyler looked desperate, always eager for things to go back to the way they used to be. A blip of insanity flashed through her head. Maybe she should call Glenn and beg him to take her back. Maybe she should find a way to shove everything back into Pandora’s box, stomp up and down on it until the contents were safely squashed inside.
Then the reality of their marriage came roaring back, the one she had inexplicably learned to ignore. As painful as it was for everyone, she and the boys deserved better than that. Even Glenn deserved better.
“Do you guys want to order a pizza? I don’t really feel like cooking.”
“Um, sure,” Page whispered.
“Garlic bread?” she asked.
“Yes,” said Tyler.
“Sounds like a plan. Bring on the carbs.”
The boys went to put their backpacks in their rooms when Alex’s phone rang.
“Hey, stranger,” Lisa said.
“Can you come over tonight?” Alex was suddenly overcome. Her voice croaked. “I need somebody to talk to.”
“Of course. Are you okay?”
Alex molded her hand around the back of her neck. “Just come over and I’ll tell you everything.”
“I’ll come right after work, but I can’t stay.”
****
Sitting outside by the pool, Tyler downed two slices of pepperoni pizza that were almost as big as his head, but Page ate only one, still seeming out of sorts. Lisa had shown up a few minutes after the delivery guy but opted for a glass of wine instead of pizza because she was meeting JT for dinner at his place.
“What do you guys want to do this weekend?” Alex asked. “Daddy and Uncle David won’t be home until Sunday afternoon.”
“I just kind of want to hang out here,” Page said. “Maybe play guitar.”
“Mommy, are we still going to get a dog?” Tyler asked.
Alex pursed her lips and Lisa cocked an eyebrow at her. The dog had seemed like a perfect idea when she was furious and found the idea of Glenn in anaphylactic shock slightly funny, but now she realized how vindictive that idea was. “You know, Ty, I think we need to think about something different. Maybe a turtle or a fish.”
Tyler’s eyes lit up. “A lizard.”
She smiled and her heart lightened. Tyler could have said he wanted a Galapagos Tortoise for a pet and she would have said yes. “Sure.”
Page cleared his throat. “Ryan has a Bearded Dragon. It’s pretty rad. He can take it for walks.”
Alex was startled. She hadn’t heard a string of words that long Page in days. “Sounds like we should go to the library and start researching it.”
Page picked up his plate and stood. “I think I’ll go look on the Internet tonight.”
Tyler stared at Page expectantly.
“Come on, doofus. We’ll go in my room.”
“Really?” Tyler sprang from his seat, a wide grin across his face. “You can take them for a walk?”
Page rolled his eyes, but Alex thought she saw the corner of his mouth turn up before both boys started for the French doors to the kitchen.
Lisa gave Alex less than a minute before she started in. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on or do I have to beat it out of you?” She took a long drink of Cabernet and sat back in her chair.
The warm, evening breeze blew Alex’s hair and she brushed it from her face. Her heart pounded in her ears. Telling Lisa was a first step, but it felt like a leap off a cliff. “David and I are seeing each other. We’re in love.”
Lisa laughed, quietly and shook her head. “So it finally happened. I knew one of you would break down eventually.”
Alex’s focus narrowed. “What does that mean?”
“It means that I’ve seen the way he looks at you. And with Glenn out of the way, I figured it was only a matter of time. Not that I’m not super pissed at you. I guess there goes my chance, huh?” She smiled and crossed her arms at her waist. “Oh, well. I’m pretty much off the market, anyway.”
“You are?”
Lisa nodded. “John asked me to move in with him last night. That’s why I called you.”
Alex lurched forward and reached across the table for Lisa. I’m such a selfish asshole. She felt like crying when she saw the look in Lisa’s eyes—full of life, the way they’d looked when Alex had first met her. “Are you going to say yes?”
“Are you kidding me? Have you seen him? I’d have to b
e an idiot to say no.”
A breathy laugh escaped Alex’s mouth. “I can’t believe I even asked. Are you happy?”
Lisa pursed her lips as if she was trying to contain her emotion, but she nodded. “I am. I never thought I would feel like this again. I thought I was stuck with one-night-stands and blind dates for the rest of my life. I guess you never know how things are going to turn out, huh?”
Alex froze for a moment. “That’s the truth.”
“So, what’s going to happen with you and David? He’s still alive, so I’m assuming Glenn doesn’t know.”
Alex swallowed and collapsed back in her seat. “Do you really think Glenn will be pissed? He wants the divorce as much as I do.”
“The divorce has nothing to with it. Glenn doesn’t share. Anything. And everything is about him. He’s only going to think about how you and David together is going to affect him.” She finished her wine and poured herself another glass, topping off Alex’s. “I’m guessing this is going to bring out his inner caveman.”
Alex sighed and her shoulders felt as though they had boulders resting on them again. “Great.”
“Fuck Glenn. He’s an asshole. You deserve better than that. And damn, David is better. A whole lot of better.”
Alex’s desperate longing for David reappeared at the sound of his name. Two days apart and she thought she was going crazy. Being a single parent was bad enough when Glenn had been on the road. At least she hadn’t always missed him. Sometimes it was nice to have a break, whether she’d admitted that to herself at the time or not. Not having David around felt as if someone had cut her off at the knees.
“How’s the sex?” Lisa asked. “Fantastic, I’m guessing.”
“Lisa.”
“What? I told you about John.” She closed her eyes. “I’m trying to imagine how amazing his ass must look out of those jeans.” Her eyes fluttered back open, a bright flash of dazzling green. “You gotta tell me something.”
“His ass is astounding. Happy?”
“No. I could’ve told you that. Tell me something else.”
“Like what?”
“Do I have to draw you a picture? Tell me something, uh, anatomical.”
Alex’s face flushed. “No way.”
“Trying to keep things classy, huh? You must really love him.”
“I do.” Alex dropped her head to the side and looked at Lisa through the fringe of her hair. “I really do.”
Chapter Forty
The first two shows under his belt and aside from time spent with Alex over the last few months, David hadn’t felt more alive in years. He’d been missing her like crazy, but the band’s hectic schedule helped to curb the loneliness.
The shows had been off the charts. David had to pinch himself when he walked out on stage the first night. The place was packed to the rafters—girls sitting on guys’ shoulders, the crowd demanding three encores. He was astounded how well they’d come together on stage. They were like a bunch of teenagers again, as if no time had passed at all.
He made his way back to the band’s tour bus shortly after sound check in San Francisco. Glenn had been met by a young blonde upon their arrival and the pair disappeared the instant Glenn’s mic checks were complete. David knew very well how Glenn operated. He never took much more than thirty minutes.
He rapped on the door of the idling bus and leaned against the glossy black exterior with his arms folded across his chest. He’d learned early in their touring days Glenn didn’t always restrict his escapades to a bunk or the main bedroom on the bus. The unfortunate image of Glenn doing some brunette from behind, bent over the kitchen table, was something he longed to forget. That was years ago, but the memory lingered.
David got no response to the knock and decided to take his chances, climbing the steps into the cab. On cue, Glenn’s lady friend emerged from the back bedroom, her hair a mess. She slid David a coy grin and a “hey” and squeezed past him, her perfume stinging David’s nose.
Glenn followed seconds later, shirtless in jeans. “Hey. What’s up?”
“Not much,” David answered. “I see you made a new friend.”
Glenn grinned and popped the top off a beer, taking a swig. “I forgot how nice it was when we didn’t have to work at it. You know, when they just sort of show up and make it obvious what they’re there for?”
David contorted his lips. “Yeah. Awesome.”
“What about you? It’s been two days and I haven’t seen you even talk to a woman backstage.”
The ceiling seemed like a good place to rest his eyes while David devised a plausible reason for ignoring the newly restocked glut of women. “I’m not really interested in that anymore.” He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. Fuck. He’s never going to believe that.
Glenn stared, blinking as if he were sending messages in Morse code. The corners of his mouth drew up and a breathy laugh escaped his lips. “Good one. Just being a bit more selective this time around?”
“That’s one way to put it.”
Glenn plopped down on the couch opposite David. “Guess who I got an email from today? Terry Hayes. He’s living in San Francisco now. He’s coming to the show tonight.”
“Seriously? I haven’t seen him since we were in middle school.”
“Yeah, he tracked me down a few years ago when Alex’s dad died.” Glenn shook his head. “Brings back memories, doesn’t it? Do you remember when Terry came with us to spy on creepy old Mr. Katz? We jumped over his fence trying to get away from his ugly dog.” The corners of Glenn’s mouth turned up and his eyes flashed. “We did some crazy-ass shit.”
David’s brain zeroed in on a fuzzy memory of standing on rickety wood crates to peek in Mr. Katz’s window. All of the kids on the block were convinced he was a murderer and David, Glenn and Terry had been determined to prove the theory. They had also forgotten Mr. Katz owned a nasty Doberman and had to scramble over the fence when the dog bolted from the back door.
David and Glenn had shared childhood memories to spare, long summer days roaming the neighborhood, playing pranks on neighbors and finding trouble, riding bikes and chasing girls, listening to Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith for hours on end.
David laughed quietly. “I’m surprised we both made it to our eighteenth birthday.”
Glenn took another drink of his beer. “Shit. No kidding. I think about the stuff we did. I can’t even imagine Page or Tyler doing any of that. What about when we got in that fight with those kids from the other side of Walker Avenue? That was fun.”
“I thought we were both going to get our butts kicked that day. We were lucky those kids had no clue how to throw a punch.”
“You nailed that tall goony kid, what’s-his-name. His older sister was smoking hot.”
“Jimmy Peterson.” David clapped his hands together at one of his proudest guy moments brought to light. He could still remember what it felt like to sock it out with Jimmy while a group of girls watched. At the age of thirteen, scrawny and a bit pimply, winning that fight had been a serious ego boost. “Those were some great times.”
Glenn swept his hair from his face, looking at David. “The best.”
Quiet filled the room and David watched Glenn as he picked at the paper label on his beer bottle. He wondered if his old friend was still in there. There were days when he missed him. Reminiscing about their childhood made those feelings that much stronger. The idea of recapturing what they’d once had was a nice one, but he knew it would take honesty and that would mean coming clean about Alex. Maybe I should do it now. Do what Alex did when she told him about the guitar and the car. Get it over with. It’s just the two of us. Nobody else to get in the way.
But then he remembered they were close to taking the stage in front of a sell-out crowd and it seemed too big a risk. It wasn’t just about Glenn and him—people’s livelihoods were on the line, not to mention what was likely the band’s last chance at recapturing their former glory. Maybe later tonight after the show. May
be tomorrow when we’re stuck in the bus all day.
David’s cellphone rang and he rolled to his hip to fish it out of his back pocket. The name on the caller ID jerked him back to reality. Alex. She and David had pre-arranged call times and it almost always meant he called her in an effort to avoid this very situation.
Glenn stood and patted the back pocket of his jeans, brow furrowed. “Shit. I think I left my phone in the bedroom. Somebody called me while I was uh, busy.” He smiled coyly.
“I need to step outside to take this.” David tried to be casual but only took a few steps before Glenn stopped him.
“Somebody special?”
David knew from the ringtone his phone was seconds from sending the call to voicemail. “One sec.” He turned away and accepted the call. “Can you hold on one minute?” he asked into the phone. It sounded like mayhem on the other end of the line. He clamped his hand over the receiver and turned back to Glenn. “I’ll be right back.”
He tromped down the stairs of the bus and out into the early evening air. The humidity and breeze made for a bone-chilling San Francisco night. “Hey.” He distanced himself from the bus. “What’s up?”
“Where’s Glenn?” Alex blurted. It sounded as if she was losing her voice, which was ripe with distress. “I tried to call him. Tyler broke his arm. He and Page were swimming and Tyler slipped on the wet tile. We’re at the hospital right now.”
“Jesus.” David felt as though his chest was caving in. I was afraid somebody would slip on that tile. “Is he okay?”
“It’s bad.” A hacking cough came through the line. “Sorry. The doctor says they might need to put in some pins.”
“Are you okay? Your voice.”
She coughed again. “I’m fine. I think I have a cold.”
“What can I do?” He already knew the answer. He was stuck seven hours away with Glenn and the band. He wouldn’t be home until tomorrow. David began pacing in the alley behind the club, between a dumpster and the metal stage door, propped open by a cinder block.
“Tyler’s fine right now. They gave him some painkillers and they’re doing more x-rays. I won’t know what they’re going to do for a while.” She cleared her throat. “I just hate seeing him like this. He doesn’t do well in unfamiliar situations.” Her scratchy voice sounded as if it was fading into nothing.