Mariah put her arms around Lucy. “She doesn’t mean anything, Lucy. She’s just anticipating the things we all may be hearing in the next few weeks.”
“Exactly! Damn, Lucy, don’t be so sensitive. It’s obvious that you are Mik’s daughter. You look just like a chocolate version of him.” Soleil could see the anger in her sister’s eyes. “You’re going to have to build up a thick skin. The media will have a field day over this, whether you like it or not. And once it gets out that we have seven million dollars, every boyfriend or friend any of us ever had will be trying to get in touch with us.”
Mariah smoothed Lucy’s hair. “She’s right, Lucy.”
Eve thought about Brad. Her divorce had become final the day her father died.
Lucy
They ate dinner in silence. Soleil’s earlier statements had upset them all. Lucy tried to calm the tumult raging in her mind. Would there actually be reporters snooping around investigating their pasts? What would they find out about her? The last thing that she needed was for her mother to be hurt. Her mother had always been so proud of her. She didn’t want to let her down.
“What do you think will happen next, Mariah?” She needed to hear her mother’s soothing voice.
Mariah looked around the table at all three of them. “I think that we all need to be prepared for the worst. In fact, it has already started.”
“What?” Lucy felt cold.
“I guess that you didn’t see the pictures from the funeral. They were in the LA Times.”
Soleil waved her skewer in the air. “I was on one of those entertainment shows last night. Apparently, my performance outside of the church was taped.”
“Did you see it?” Eve asked.
“No, one of my friends told me about it. But I have started getting calls.”
“So have I,” Mariah said. “Now that he is dead, everyone seems to be interested in Mik and the old band. I even got calls from Gina and Olivia. It seems that VH1 has already called them.”
“Who are Gina and Olivia?” Eve asked.
“They were the other two back-up singers for Sheffield Steel.” Lucy fondly remembered the brash redhead Gina Malloy and the funky Olivia Stevenson. They had been like her big sisters when she was a little girl on tour with her parents. She could still hear the three singers rehearsing on the bus, as the country rolled past the window. She had loved those days.
“Where are they, anyway?” It had been years since she had seen either one of them. Mariah smiled, thinking of her old friends. “Gina is in Canada—Toronto, I think. Olivia is in Arizona. She has a gift shop in Phoenix.”
“I wonder if Ms. Armstrong has been contacted yet.” Soleil broke the skewer in half.
Mariah looked at Soleil. “You know that Faith never went back to her maiden name.”
“Bitch. Isn’t it strange that she is the only one known as Mrs. DeSalle?” Soleil put one piece of the broken skewer in her mouth and twirled it. “It probably helps her sell drugs. Name recognition, you know.”
Lucy looked at Soleil. As hard as she tried, she couldn’t imagine what went on inside Soleil’s head. She couldn’t imagine what it had been like to endure all that Soleil had had to face. It was no wonder Soleil had several nervous habits and a mouth like a sailor.
Mariah looked at Soleil. “Faith will definitely be a wild card. She may say, or do, anything, to get money. And when she finds out about the inheritance, she’ll be coming after you.”
“Well, she hasn’t killed me yet. And it hasn’t been for lack of trying.” Soleil noticed the shocked look on Eve’s face.
“Why don’t you stay here with us for a few days, Soleil? I doubt if Faith would come down here.” Lucy felt they needed to spend more time together.
Mariah was scratching the scar on her arm again. “That’s a great idea, Soleil. I’d be happy to have you stay here for a while.”
Lucy noticed a look pass between her mother and her sister.
Soleil looked at Mariah’s arm, then into her eyes. “I couldn’t do that to you, Mariah.” Soleil mumbled something else that sounded like, “Not again.”
Lucy said nothing, but she wondered about the look and the comment.
Soleil
The sisters spent the rest of the evening talking and sipping wine on the patio. Lights reflected off of the pool and their glasses. Nothing was resolved about the money, but Lucy volunteered to call Mik’s old manager, Toby Reynolds, to discuss the possibility of a memorial concert. Mariah would call the remaining members of Sheffield Steel and some of her other music business friends. The wine had affected them all, and Soleil decided to spend the night instead of driving back to her apartment.
Soleil knew she should not have drunk the wine. She shouldn’t have drunk the vodka and orange juice at lunch, either. She had fought long and hard to overcome the seductive pull of booze. But today was a special day. Today was the day she found out she was a millionaire. If that wasn’t worth a drink, nothing was! She could just taste the smooth sting of her beloved Southern Comfort. “If it was good enough for Janis, it’s good enough for me,” she used to say to her stoner friends in Oklahoma. She missed her whiskey, missed losing hours and days at a time. But no matter how much time she lost, she never lost her memory.
Soleil sat on the sun porch, listening to the ocean waves. Eve and Mariah had gone to bed. Lucy was still out by the pool. It was peaceful here, a real home. She remembered when Lucy used to babysit her in this very house. Back then, she looked like any other little girl. Faith never hit her in the face. She knew that one day she could use Soleil’s perfect face as currency, just as she had done with her own face. And body. Once Soleil had reached puberty, her little girl days were over. Soleil started drinking alcohol to wash the taste of come out of her mouth.
Lucy
Soleil ran her hands through her hair. Lucy entered the sun porch with a candle. She set it down on a table between the chair where Soleil was sitting and the sofa.
Lucy looked at Soleil’s pale face in the candlelight. She knew that she shouldn’t do it, but she felt compelled to ask. “It is true that you got pregnant by a famous musician when you were fourteen?”
Soleil didn’t look at her, just nodded her head.
“You’re not going to tell who it was, are you?” Soleil seemed to retreat inside herself.
“No. What does it matter, anyway? That was years ago.” Soleil turned to look at her. “You mean Mariah never told you?”
Lucy shivered at the haunted look in her sister’s eyes. She wondered what her mother had to do with it. “How would my mother know about it?”
“Who do you think went with me to have the abortion? Faith?”
“My mother took you?” Lucy was learning that her mother carried around a lot of secrets. She pulled the woven throw on the sofa over her shoulders.
Soleil sighed and started to talk. “Mariah took me to a discreet doctor she knew about. He made a good second income treating those women who couldn’t be seen during regular business hours. She stayed with me the whole time, holding my hand.” Soleil looked down at her shaking hand.
“When the procedure was over, Faith burst in. I must have left the address lying around. Faith threatened Mariah, dragged me off of the table and took me home. Once we got home, she beat the shit out of me. Mik called to find out what had happened. Faith told him that I was asleep because of the medication the doctor gave me. In fact, I had passed out due to the pain. Faith had taken the pills from me. She probably took them herself. I picked up the phone in my room and begged Mik to come and get me. When he heard my voice, he hung up. I didn’t hear from him again for two years.”
Soleil curled up on the chair, tucking her feet under her. “When Faith found out the guy had given me money to keep me quiet, she was furious. Mariah had helped me put it in a special account, so I wouldn’t be able to touch it until I turned twenty-one. Faith couldn’t access it at all. When she found out, she went after Mariah. She tried to kill her, but she was
only able to shoot her in the arm. You remember Mariah having her arm bandaged up?”
Lucy thought about the scar on her mother’s arm. “Oh, yeah. I came home one weekend, and she had her arm in a sling. She said she fell while riding her bike and broke her arm.”
Soleil finally looked at her. “You are lucky to have Mariah as a mother. I wish she were my mother.”
Lucy said the words before she could stop them. “At least your mother had a ring. At least your mother is Mrs. DeSalle.”
Soleil stood up. She glared at Lucy. “A ring? A ring? Big fucking deal that Mik married her! How long was he actually with her—a year, two years? Why are you so hung up on the fact that Mik never married your mother? At least he loved her! At least he loved you! I ought to slap the shit out of you! How fucking stupid are you? You had a home, a mother and a father. And you’re fucking bitchin’ because your mother never got a ring? You are the only one of us that actually knew that muthafucka as a father! Why the fuck can’t you be happy with that?”
Soleil stormed up the stairs to the second level and slammed the door to one of the spare bedrooms. So much for sisterly bonding.
Lucy went up the stairs and stood by the door. She tried to open the door, but it was locked. Lucy knocked on the door, but Soleil didn’t respond. “I’m sorry, Soleil,” she whispered so softly she wasn’t sure Soleil even heard her.
She went back downstairs. She blew out the candle and sat in the dark room as the smell of smoke dissipated. Soleil had gone through so much pain in her twenty-two years, and Lucy was causing her even more. Now Lucy understood how Mik felt when she blamed him for everything wrong in her life.
Eve
Eve heard Soleil run up the stairs and slam the door. Just what kind of melodrama had she gotten mixed up in? They are all crazy, she thought. This whole state is crazy! She prayed that an earthquake wouldn’t shake the house into the ocean while she was asleep. But as strange as things had been so far, she wouldn’t be surprised if she woke up to a tsunami.
Chapter Five
Several days passed before George Lieberman called the sisters back to his office to sign the papers. The next day, the contents of the will were made public. Sally Fountaine’s lawyers stalled for time to delay the enforcing of Mik’s final wishes. Mariah hired a publicist friend of hers, Joyce Redding-Collier, who advised them not to speak to the media. Lucy’s idea of having a memorial concert was discussed with Toby Reynolds and circulated around LA’s music network.
Soleil and Lucy did not discuss their argument with Mariah or Eve. Lucy did not ask her mother the questions that were constantly on her mind. Mariah went back to her classes. Soleil went back to her apartment and her music. Lucy used her laptop computer to correspond with her Internet customers and work on website updates. Eve had nothing to do but sit by the pool or by the ocean and wait. She called her employer to request an indefinite leave of absence. She called Deidre and left Mariah’s phone number, but her mother did not call back.
There was a great deal of interest in the memorial concert. The word spread quickly. The remaining members of Sheffield Steel agreed to play free of charge in honor of their lead guitarist. Olivia agreed to come to sing, but Gina could not get a work visa. The agents and managers of many well-known musicians had contacted Toby wanting more information about the concert. The Staples Center was contacted to find available dates.
It seemed like everything was going to work out fine. But like the Santa Ana wind, trouble soon arrived to stir things up.
Lucy
Lucy worked on updating the website she had designed for her father. Before she had left San Francisco, she had put the obituary on the website. Now when she checked the site, the counter showed that there had been thousands of hits since Mik’s death. Someone had created a Mik DeSalle memorial page, and she read some of the grief-filled postings of Mik’s many fans. But some references were about Mik’s drug use, about his stupidity and the stupidity of the musicians of his era, who thought they were invincible.
Lucy offered to print some of the tributes for Eve to read, but she wasn’t interested. The only things she had found interesting were Mariah’s photo albums from the seventies and her mementos from her travels around the world. She discovered Eve loved to travel, but Lucy was content to stay in California. Her passport had expired when she was ten years old.
Eve and Lucy decided to go out to dinner in Santa Monica. The crowded Mexican restaurant a few blocks from the pier was loud and lively, with a fun atmosphere. Lucy knew Eve was tired of staying at the beach house. She tried to take her sightseeing, but Eve didn’t show much interest in becoming better acquainted with SoCal. But once Eve confessed her love of spicy food, Lucy knew the perfect place for them to go.
After dinner they walked along the famous pier for a while. On the way home, they stopped at a supermarket to pick up some groceries for Mariah. While in line Lucy glanced at the nearby news racks. One headline caught her eye. She felt the blood drain from her face. MIK DESALLE SEX ORGIES: EX-WIFE TELLS ALL screamed the headline of the National Tattletale. She dropped the egg carton she was holding. The eggs rolled out of the carton and some of them smashed on her leather sandals. “Oh, my God!” she screamed. Her stomach started to churn. The Mexican food was burning a hole in her stomach. She had to get out of there!
Eve jumped to get out of the way. “What happened, Lucy? What’s wrong?”
Lucy pushed her way out of the line. Eve set down the basket of groceries she was holding and followed her, confused. Lucy ran out of the store, holding her mouth. She went over to a trashcan and started retching violently. Her barely digested dinner came back up immediately.
A policeman who was standing near the store walked over to Eve. “Is she all right?” He looked at Lucy with concern.
“I don’t know, we were standing in the checkout line, when all of a sudden she dropped her eggs and ran out here.” Eve watched helplessly as Lucy stood hunched over the receptacle.
Even with her stomach now empty, Lucy couldn’t stop retching. It was starting, just like Mariah said it would. And all because of Faith.
The policeman started talking to Eve. “Is your friend all right? Do you want me to call for paramedics?” People leaving the store were staring at Lucy hugging the trashcan.
“She’s my sister,” Eve answered, to Lucy’s surprise. “If I can find out what happened, I can figure out what needs to be done.” Lucy felt Eve’s arm around her shoulder. She started wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. “Lucy, what happened?”
Lucy could barely raise her head. The foul taste in her mouth refused to dissipate. “National Tattletale. Mik. Faith.” She started retching again. Why hadn’t she received advance notice of this?
“What?” It was obvious Eve didn’t know what she was talking about.
“Newspaper. At the checkout stand.” Lucy’s insides wanted to come out. She tried to stand up and look at the policeman.
Eve went back into the store to get the newspaper. She went to the same checkout stand, where another store employee was mopping away the mess Lucy had made. “Excuse me, I need to buy this paper.” She pushed past the people in line, looked at the price and laid the money on the counter.
“There’s tax on papers, ma’am.”
There’s a damn tax on everything out here, Eve thought. She laid another dime on the counter and rushed out of the store without looking at the paper. When she got back to Lucy, she was standing upright and talking to the policeman.
“Are you able to walk to the car, Lucy?” Lucy nodded. “Do you want me to drive?” Lucy nodded again. “Okay, but you’ll have to tell me where to go.” The policeman watched them. “Do you want to see the newspaper?” Lucy started to gag and shook her head violently. Eve knew how much Lucy trusted her mother. “Okay, we’ll wait until we get home to Mariah.” When Lucy nodded again, Eve took her arm. She nodded a thank-you to the policeman and steered Lucy to the Jaguar.
Eve felt strange in the
driver’s seat of the expensive car. But Lucy was in no shape to drive. She didn’t look like the same woman who was laughing an hour ago at the restaurant in Santa Monica.
Lucy handed her cell phone to Eve. “Call Mariah, please.” She pushed a button on the phone and it started to dial.
“Hello?” Mariah answered on the third ring.
“Mariah, this is Eve. We’re still in Santa Monica. Lucy is sick, something about a newspaper she saw in the supermarket. I’m driving home. We’ll be there shortly.”
“I knew you would be calling. I’ve seen it. Drive carefully.”
Eve wondered what was in this newspaper. Could it really be that bad?
Soleil
Soleil sat in her small living room looking at her only family portrait. One of Mik’s rock photographer friends had taken the picture. Soleil had been two years old. She had a chubby face and her hazel eyes were glowing. Her fluffy blonde afro framed her face like a halo. Faith had a turquoise Indian headband around her long, straight brown hair. The camera loved her high cheekbones, slanted eyes and full lips. In another era, she would have been a high fashion model. Mik held Soleil tenderly in his arms. His blond hair was lighter than hers, and it cascaded over the blue silk shirt he wore. Soleil looked at her family, a glimpse of the happy family life she didn’t remember.
Then she looked at the National Tattletale she held in her hands. “MIK DESALLE SEX ORGIES: EX-WIFE TELLS ALL.” Soleil couldn’t fathom why her mother wanted to hurt others so badly. The only explanation she could come up with was money. Faith must have gotten paid a lot of money to tell her “story.” And how much of it was even true? In the article, she even talked about things she claimed happened before she met Mik. Mariah sharing Mik with the two other backup singers. Faith and Mik participating in orgies with other rockers and groupies, both male and female. Mik encouraging his son Ricky to join him in sex orgies. Mik and Mariah condoning an incestuous relationship between Ricky and Lucy.
There were pictures of a nude Faith and a nude Mik in a room with other naked bodies, but that didn’t prove anything, did it?
Three Chords, One Song Page 6