“Aden Norsen,” he said.
“I assumed,” the man said with a twinkle in his eye. He shook Aden’s hand and said, “I am Wooster.”
The man took a breath to continue, but Aden interrupted.
“Bertie?” Aden asked quickly without thinking. “You sound like Jeevs.”
He was treated with a wide grin.
“Fortunately not,” the man said. “I am Allister. Allister Wooster. Thank God my parents had better sense than to name me Bertram or even Bertie.”
Aden grinned at the man.
“You can see why I had to leave Britain,” Allister said.
“Yes, I can see that,” Aden said.
“You may call me Allister,” the man said. He gave Aden an assessing look before adding, “No one reads P.G. Wodehouse these days.”
“The stories are funny,” Aden said. “I like to listen to books on my way between job sites. We have a policy that the CEO must be on every work site at least once a week. It’s a lot of driving.”
“I imagine that is so,” Allister said. He smiled. “Before you suppose I work for your ex-wife again, I am employed by Ms. Kerminoff.”
“Nadia,” Aden said. The man nodded.
“Actually, I worked for her father, mostly,” Allister said. “Her mother needed me much less, and I can say that this is the first time I’ve had to actually do anything other than review papers in years. It’s kind of exhilarating.”
“I imagine that’s true,” Aden said with a smile.
“I will say that I had the dubious honor of procuring Nadia’s mother,” Allister said.
“Oh?” Aden asked.
“She was fifteen,” Allister said. “Not a day older than your Nash.”
Aden wasn’t sure why, but he felt a flush of embarrassment.
“I’m not selling Nash,” Aden said. “He’s not for sale!”
One look at Allister’s face, and Aden felt immediately ridiculous. Allister smiled at Aden until Aden laughed.
“Come now,” Allister said. “I told you that to make you feel more comfortable. I like your Nash. He’s smart and funny, surprisingly handsome. I wouldn’t have picked him for Nadia — and I’m not above having judgments about the entire torrid affair — but somehow, Nash and Nadia just fit.”
Aden gave a slight nod as he didn’t know how he felt about Nash and Nadia, either.
“I am surprised to say, I like you as well,” Allister said.
“Oh?” Aden asked. “Thanks. I like you, too.”
Aden glanced at the building, and the entire thing came back to him — Nuala’s rage and criminal tendencies and his need to fix it right now.
“Come now,” Allister said. “It can’t be that bad.”
“You don’t know her,” Aden said.
“Yes, well,” Allister said. “While that may be the case, I am familiar with the effects of money on the criminally inclined.”
Shocked, Aden turned to look the man in the face.
“You’re saying that Nuala showed up out of the blue because of money?” Aden asked.
“What has she ever used her children for?” Allister asked.
“Oh, God.” Aden felt his knees go weak. “I don’t have any money. I mean my wife just got some amount of money from the sale of her mother’s. . . I bet Nuala saw that in the paper and . . . Oh, crap. I can’t. I just can’t take money from Sandy, or really Sandy’s mother, and give it to Nuala. We have five kids! College is coming, and . . . Not to mention braces for every single child and all of Charlie’s medical . . . I mean even though Sissy’s here in New York, we still support her needs . . . and Nash . . . God knows that Noelle won’t make a living anytime soon . . .”
“She is thirteen,” Allister said.
“What?” Aden asked.
“Noelle,” Allister said.
Aden realized what he’d just said, and he laughed.
“That’s why I am here, dear boy,” Allister said. The lawyer patted Aden’s arm with a gloved hand. “Now, before we go in . . .”
Aden raised his eyebrows.
“Do you have access to backstage passes for today’s event?” Allister asked.
“For Nuala?” Aden asked.
“No,” Allister said. “I’m a bit embarrassed to say, but I have quite a thing for Seth O’Malley. He’s simply beautiful — inside and out. Do you know him?”
“He’s my wife’s father,” Aden said. Before the man asked again, he added, “But you should know that Seth’s not gay. Not even a little bit.”
“Oh,” Allister sighed. “I know. I’m not exactly single, either.”
Aden grinned.
“I can get you as many backstage passes as you need,” Aden said with a nod. “Worst case, you can get in with me. Sandy will be so grateful that you’re helping me that she’ll make sure you get in.”
“Sandy holds the key?” Allister asked.
“You probably know this, but Seth has a bad drug problem,” Aden said. “Sandy controls his money so that, if he relapses, he can’t do too much damage.”
“Was this her idea?” Allister asked.
“No,” Aden said. “Seth set it up. He’s given away almost everything he owns so he’s not tempted to cash in.”
“Does it work?” Allister asked.
“He’s sober,” Aden said. “Has been for a while. Of course, Mitch died, so he’s not tempted very often.”
“Brilliant,” Allister said. “Makes me admire the man a little bit more.”
Allister looked up the short flight of stairs.
“Shall we?” Allister asked.
Sighing, Aden nodded.
“Let me do the talking,” Allister said as they walked up the steps. “It’s my job. I happen to be good at it.”
Aden nodded. Nuala opened the door to the apartment building, and they stepped inside.
Chapter Four Hundred and Fifty-five
Golden canary
Sunday morning — 10:25 a.m.
New York City, New York
“What are you talking about?” Jeraine asked to the roadie who’d come up to him.
Rather than respond, the roadie pointed. Jeraine looked down the young man’s arm and long index finger.
“What does that mean?” Jeraine asked.
“Why don’t you go see for your own self?” the roadie asked.
Jeraine sneered at the young man. Unimpressed, the young man simply shrugged.
“What do you have to lose?” the roadie asked.
Jeraine took a step in the direction he’d pointed.
“She’s beautiful,” the roadie said. “Special.”
Jeraine turned to look at the young man.
“I never really got it, you know, the whole ‘Miss T’ thing,” the roadie said. “But meeting her, I totally get it.”
“Get what?” Jeraine asked.
“How you could love her so deeply and treat her so bad?” the roadie asked. Before Jeraine could respond, the roadie pressed on. “I was always like: ‘Be a man, dude. You want her — go be with her. Stop whining. Stop fucking around.’ But she’s . . .”
The roadie nodded. Jeraine scowled.
“I’m just saying that she’s the dream woman — funny, smart, beautiful, real,” the roadie said. “I don’t think I’d believe I was good enough for her, either.”
Jeraine stared at the young man so intensely that the young man shrugged again.
“She’s right over there,” the roadie said. “With her girlfriend and her . . . I don’t know what he is — he looks like some kinda royalty — and this other woman. Honestly, she only looks normal standing next to Miss T. I’m not exactly sure she’s human. She pulses with power, like the earth itself.”
“Who?” Jeraine asked.
“She said her name was Abi,” the roadie said with a shrug. “She had a couple of infants with her. Made me want to have a couple of boys so that they could spend their lives with her children.”
The roadie nodded, turned in place, an
d walked away. Jeraine watched him go for a moment before shrugging. He turned toward the direction the young man had pointed and went to find Tanesha. He heard her laugh before he saw her. Tanesha was standing between Sandy and Fin. Tanesha was wearing a gorgeous, form-fitting brown skirt, silk blouse, and black leather jacket. Clearly, Fin had dressed her before they’d arrived. She’d finally gotten rid of those Sister Dreads and was wearing her hair in a small Afro. As always, Tanesha took his breath away. Abi spotted Jeraine first. Abi turned and walked toward him.
“Please meet our new charge,” Abi said. “We’ve named her ‘Zaidi.’”
Abi set the child in Jeraine’s arms.
“Zaidi, this is our dear friend Jeraine,” Abi said.
The child reached up to touch Jeraine’s face.
“This is the Queen’s child,” Jeraine said.
“How could you tell?” Abi nodded.
“She has a certain . . . look,” Jeraine said. “Mari, Edie, even Fin. And that other one — the Blue Fairy? They share a look. Your children — Ne Ne and this one — they look like trees or flowers, like they came from the earth itself. Alluring and terrifying at the same time.”
Abi thought for a moment before nodding.
“We’ll raise Zaidi and Zoe like twins,” Abi said. “Tanesha’s already agreed to help us. Will you?”
Jeraine had the desire to fall to one knee like a knight of old. Instead, he simply nodded.
“Zoe?” Jeraine asked.
“I didn’t realize it, but it turns out that no one could pronounce our daughter’s name,” Abi said.
“I couldn’t,” Jeraine said.
Abi smiled.
“We came to see you perform — Fin and I,” Abi said. “Brought Tanesha with us. I hope that’s okay.”
“I . . .” Jeraine flushed. “Yes, it’s more than okay. Thank you.”
“Good,” Abi said. “We’ll be here until Monday night. Tanesha has to go back to work on Tuesday.”
“Jer!” Tanesha said.
He looked up from Abi to see his wife. Her bright smile heated the very center of him.
“Excuse me,” Jeraine said.
He touched Abi’s sleeve and went to greet Tanesha. In a whoosh of warm air, he was holding her in his arms. His lips brushed hers, and he held her tight until she giggled.
“Jabari?” Jeraine asked when he remembered himself.
“Mom and Dad have him,” Tanesha said. “I told them that you’d want to see him but they thought we could use some time alone.”
“You mean that I have you all to myself for the next two days?” Jeraine asked.
Surprised, Tanesha could only grin at him. He kissed her nose. She grinned and he moved away from her. Taking her hand in his, he greeted Sandy. Sissy and Ivan came over to say hello. Aden walked through the crowd with a dandy of an elderly man. Jeraine shook Aden’s hand and listened to the introduction of the man. Jeraine raised a hand to wave to Nash and his Nadia. Noelle came over to hug him. He shook Teddy’s hand for good form and said hello to Mike and Valerie. He couldn’t help but smile at this odd collection of people who he called “family.”
“You look like you’ve swallowed a golden canary,” Tanesha said in his ear.
“I feel that way,” Jeraine said. He turned to her. “I know that I need to perform and participate in this thing of Seth’s. I’m sure you want to hang out with your friends. I’m just . . .”
He lifted a shoulder in a shrug.
“Me, too,” Tanesha said.
“Why didn’t you tell me when I talked to you last night?” Jeraine asked.
“I didn’t know,” Tanesha said. “Fin arrived this morning and told me about their plan. I guess they watched Ivan and Sissy dance via webcam last night. I was supposed to watch but I passed out as soon as I got to the Castle.”
“In that meditation room you like?” Jeraine said.
“Delphie put the most comfortable bed there.” Tanesha nodded. “I slept through the party.”
Jeraine nodded.
“Are you mad that I didn’t tell you?” Tanesha asked.
Rather than speak, he scooped her up and kissed her hard. They stood an inch apart and grinned from ear to ear.
“Hey!” a male voice came from the stage.
They didn’t move.
“I think Seth wants you up on the stage,” Sandy said.
She pointed to the stage. It had never occurred to Jeraine that he would be a part of the whole party. He thought he’d just play with the show he was touring with. When he looked up, he saw his father’s best friend gesturing for him to join them. To his surprise, his mother was standing at a microphone in the front, and his father was playing his battered standup bass.
“I’d like you to welcome my son to the stage,” Dionne said. “You know him as R&B star Jeraine. To me, he’s just my baby boy.”
A few women screamed, and a wild cheer went through the crowd. Tanesha gestured for him to go. He gave her one last kiss and went up to the stage.
“I wonder if you could sub-in where we need it,” Seth said.
“Of course,” Jeraine said.
“I thought we could play that piano duo,” Seth said. “Do you remember it?”
“I don’t, but I bet my fingers do,” Jeraine said.
As if to say, “I believe in you,” Seth grabbed his arm. Jeraine went to where two pianos were facing each other. Seth sat down at one, and he took the other. When Seth started, Jeraine listened through the opening stanzas before joining in the song. Like all of Seth’s work, Jeraine was caught up in the song as soon as he started playing. Sometime later, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to find the world-famous swing piano player Larry Fuller standing behind him. Jeraine stood up, shook the man’s hand, and helped him get settled. The entire mood shifted, and the party began to swing.
Jeraine looked around to see if Tanesha was available to dance with him. He was about to get down from the stage when Bumpy handed him a guitar and pointed to the front. Knowing better than to protest, Jeraine simply nodded and went to fill in on guitar. He rotated from instrument to instrument until his conscious mind slipped away and his musical mind awakened in a way it hadn’t since he’d clouded his brain with drugs. The music inside him matched the music coming from him. He didn’t have to be a leader or a front person or a marketer or a “good product.” He just had to play.
The energy he put out in music, came back to him full circle. He felt charged up, happy, and alive. The more he played, the more energized he felt. It was as if all of the drugs and alcohol had walled off the deep well of the creative flow that lived inside of him. Light, joy, and energy now flooded his senses. He glanced at Tanesha and she smiled. For the first time in a very, very long time, he could feel her light illuminate his love for her.
In the middle of the music, Jeraine found himself.
And that was a very good thing.
~~~~~~~~
Sunday mid-day — 12:10 p.m.
Denver, Colorado
“Is my Mommy home yet?” Maggie asked Jill as she entered the side door of the Castle.
“Not yet,” Jill said.
“My Daddy?” Maggie asked.
Jill shook her head. Maggie took Jill’s hand, and they walked into the Castle. When Jill looked down, the little girl was crying.
“Are you okay?” Jill knelt down to the tiny child.
“I’m sad,” Maggie said. “I love my Aunt Bonnie, and she’s fun and stuff, but I miss my Mommy. A lot.”
“I bet,” Jill said.
Jill took a seat on the couch and pulled Maggie onto her lap. Jill did her best to soothe Maggie while she cried.
“What’s wrong?” Jackie, Valerie and Mike’s daughter, asked. Her voice was soft. She put her hand on Maggie’s leg. “Why is my Maggie crying?”
“She misses her Mommy,” Jill said.
“Me, too,” Jackie said.
Her bottom lip protruded, and tears welled in her eyes. Jill held out her
arm, and Jackie took a spot on Jill’s lap. Maggie put her arm around Jackie, and Jackie leaned her head on Maggie’s shoulder. The two girls sat close together in silent sorrowful communion.
“I had a good week,” Maggie said through her tears, “ . . . with my Aunt Bonnie and playing with my Uncle Kenny — they are my Daddy’s sister and brother — and with everybody at school, and I liked the sleeping party, with all of the other kids and Katy and Jackie and Mack and . . .”
Maggie nodded.
“Me, too,” Jackie said.
Jill smiled. Valerie and Mike had been here all week. They’d only left on Friday to help out with the funeral and get some alone time before the new baby. But as far as Jackie was concerned, if Maggie was sad, she was sad, too.
“Why ’s sad?” Mack bounded up to them.
“Jackie and Maggie are missing their Mommies,” Jill said.
Mack stood there for a while. His shocking-blue eyes went vague while he thought about what he could do to help his friends. He nodded his head.
“Mommy’s here,” Mack said. He patted his chest. “She c’n help.”
Mack took off running. He returned in a few minutes with Heather in tow. Mack dropped his mother’s hand and ran to Jill. Heather picked up Jackie.
“How would you like to help Katy and Paddie with their top-secret project?” Heather asked.
Maggie and Jackie brightened.
“Me, too?” Mack asked.
“Of course,” Heather said.
Heather held out her hand, and Mack grabbed on. Jill stood up with Maggie in her arms. They walked to the kitchen, where Delphie was making jam from her first harvest from the blackberry vines that grew along the back fence. The room was moist with steam. Katy and Paddie’s faces and hands were stained with blackberry juice, but their own aprons were clean. They were holding matching wooden spoons.
“Welcome! Welcome!” Delphie said. “Sam?”
Sam appeared from the pantry. Seeing the younger children, he raised a finger and disappeared into the pantry. He returned with three tiny aprons just like Katy and Paddie’s and three matching wooden spoons.
“We’re stirring,” Paddie said.
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