Teacher: The Final Act: A Hollywood Rock 'n' Romance Trilogy Book Three

by R. L. Merrill

  We got her two pairs of riding pants and some new boots, socks, riding gloves, a new helmet because, well yeah, the one she’d been wearing was from three years ago and kinda small. An hour and a half, and close to a thousand dollars later, we loaded the purchases into the Challenger’s trunk and pulled out into traffic.

  “Phew,” I said. ”That was a close one! I think the shurriff was coming after ya.” Both of them burst out laughing.

  “Yeah, I don’t think I have to worry about getting recognized in that place. They’d probably think Blackened is just how we cook our food.” He gave a comic drum roll and Jane laughed so hard she got the hiccups.

  Danny shook himself. ”I think we need to go to a rockin’ place to wash all that country out of our mouths. Hey Janey baby, how about we go get you your own guitar?”

  She stopped laughing and her eyes lit up. ”For real? Are you serious?”

  He laughed and shrugged. ”Why not? You’re doing really good with the stuff I taught you, and you’ve been practicing, right?” She nodded enthusiastically. ”You want to keep learning?”

  “I do, Daddy, I do! It’s so cool!”

  His face broke out into a large, proud papa grin. ”Well, alrighty then! Let’s go get you a good starter.”

  She clapped her hands together and he reached over to take my hand, raised it to his lips and kissed my swollen joints, just like he used to. All was really right with my world tonight.

  The Guitar Center on Sunset was like a museum. Jane and I stopped and looked at all the names carved into the sidewalk and the busts on the wall. Jane asked Danny who his favorites were. He pointed out Stevie Ray Vaughn, Eddie Van Halen, Jimi Hendrix, Tony Iommi, and several others. Jane listened to him, hanging on every word.

  “Ok, but you’re going to have to make me a playlist with all those guys because I’ve never heard”

  “Shhhh!” Danny held a hand to her mouth. ”Baby! That’s blasphemous talk in here. We’ll remedy this situation after we leave. Just don’t tell any of these guys you’ve never heard of those guitar players, all right? I got a rep to protect.”

  We cracked up as we entered the store. Several anxious sales kids immediately surrounded Danny. Kids. None of them were over twenty-two years old.

  “I’m here to pick up a good starter for my daughter.”

  Their eyes glazed over and they practically drooled at the potential commission they could earn. Danny tried out all the guitars they suggested and then gave them to Jane to try. She decided on a vintage sunburst Les Paul Jr., but made sure she got the furry pink zebra print strap, a velvet lined case and some rainbow picks to go with it.

  Danny perused the high-end guitars and let one of the young salesmen follow him around, talking excitedly to him the whole time. He was very patient with the kid.

  “And over here, we just came into possession of this nineteen fifty-nine Les Paul Custom. Its owner hocked it at a pawn shop in Las Vegas. Our manager knows the shop owner. It arrived about two weeks ago.” Danny gazed longingly at the beautiful guitar hanging on the wall. He started pulling on his lip so I nudged his shoulder.

  “Why don’t you try it out, babe?”

  He looked at me, startled. He’d obviously been in his own world. For a moment I worried that I’d interrupted some sacred musician experience, but then his lips split into a kid-in-a-candy-store grin and I could breathe again.

  “Mind if I play it?” he asked and the kid broke out into a sweat.

  “Ummm, yes, of course, Mr. Black. I, uh, need to just, uh, have my manager unlock it. Excuse me for a moment?’

  The poor kid almost took out a whole display of amps, tripping over his feet to get Danny what he wanted. Danny didn’t notice, however. His eyes were appraising this guitar.

  “So what makes this one special?” I asked.

  He turned to me, again looking surprised. ”Well, these customs are pretty rare and were the first to have these Humbucker pickups. Humbuckers give them a soft tone, a really nice sound. They’re hard to find.” He was so taken with the guitar. I wanted to know more about what made this guitar so attractive, but before I could ask any more questions, the kid, Randy, was back, and he had the keys to unlock the guitar.

  “Here you are, M-Mr. Black. You can plug into this Marshall over here.” Danny thanked him while cradling the guitar lovingly in his hands.

  I figured I would distract the poor kid before he had an accident. I walked over to him and asked him a few questions about the guitar. He smiled brightly at me, stopped chewing on his fingernail, and launched into a history of Les Paul, telling me about the guitar legend, and about his collaboration with Gibson to make these amazing guitars. He talked about this particular model, called the “Black Beauty,” and how it incorporated the PAF, or “patent applied for” Humbucker pickups and repeated what Danny said about them being rare and hard to find.

  By now Danny was seated and had finished looking over the guitar for wear and tear. Surprisingly, there was little damage to find on this old guitar. When he plugged in and started to play, I noticed that the majority of people in the store stopped what they were doing and were peering over displays and around corners, trying to get a look at Danny. He had his eyes closed as he played a blues riff I recognized from a song Eric Clapton recorded with the John Mayall Blues Breakers. He played a part of a Guns N’ Roses song, and then he played some pieces I didn’t recognize. All of the sales people were hovering and shaking their heads. I bet they loved when a true genius like Danny came in. He stopped playing and looked around, blushing a little.

  Randy cleared his throat and said, “What do you think, Mr. Black?”

  Danny smiled and looked down at the guitar. ”It’s beautiful. I have a couple of signatures, but I’ve wanted the right custom.” He looked up at me and asked, “What do you think?”

  I laughed and leaned down to talk to him in a low voice. ”You’re asking me? I have the least bit of knowledge of anyone in this store about this guitar. I think it sounds amazing. I think you look sexy as hell playing it. But that’s really all I can comment on.”

  He grinned at me and grabbed my hand, leaning his head back to kiss me. I heard Jane giggle and he whispered loudly, “I fucking love you, honey.”

  The crowd started to dissipate, and Danny played a few more chords.

  “Well, Randy, I think this Beauty needs to come home with me. Can you ring this up, along with my daughter’s purchases?”

  Randy turned awfully pale and it took him a minute to collect himself. ”S-s-sure, Mr. Black. I’ll, uh, get you the case.”

  Danny stopped him. “Hey, how long have you been working here?”

  “About four months, sir. I, uh, moved out here from Iowa to go to school and found a job here.”

  Danny smiled at him and said, “You’ve got a lot of knowledge. What are you going to school for?”

  Randy rubbed the back of his neck. ”Um, I want to be a music teacher,” he said in a shaky voice.

  I smiled at him, glad to hear he had such a great goal.

  Danny noticed my smile and said, “That’s great. We need more teachers.” He winked at me and asked, “You in a band?”

  Randy shook his head. This time he spoke with a much more confident voice. ”No. I get too nervous. I’ve played with a few, but it never works out because I hate being on stage. I want to do some studio work. I’ve been playing guitar since I was five and I love it. It’s everything to me.”

  Danny grinned. ”I totally get it. I wish you luck, man.” He reached for his wallet and took out a card. ”Here. Call Jerry. He’s the owner of the studio where we record. I think he’s looking for some good sessions guys. Tell him I told you to call.”

  Randy looked like he’d just won the lotto. “Th-thank you, so much, Mr. Black. This is huge. Thank you, I’ll call.” He took the card from Danny and put it in his pocket. He carefully lifted the Les Paul from Danny’s outstretched hand and carried it into the back.

  Danny stood and hugged J
ane. ”You like your guitar, baby?”

  She nodded. ”Do I get to play that one, too?”

  Danny laughed. ”Maybe when you get a little further along. That guitar is worth about two years of your future college education, so we’re going to take really good care of it.”

  My stomach plunged. He was about to drop over $40,000 on a guitar! Sometimes I forgot just what different worlds he and I lived in. Although, now I was living in his...And it was weird. He wanted to marry me! How the hell was this going to work, because in no way was I ready to be making $40,000 purchases on a random Sunday afternoon.

  Danny must have noticed my shock. He kissed Jane on the head and she walked over to look at the books. He turned and wrapped me in his arms, kissing me. ”You probably think this is pretty crazy,” he said in a low voice.

  I swallowed hard. ”For me, yes. But I guess it’s not for you?”

  He shrugged. ”It’s probably the most I’ve spent on one guitar. I felt like celebrating today.” He kissed me again and I could have easily forgotten we were in public, until I heard giggles from across the store. Jane. Danny pulled back and studied me. ”I don’t blow money like this on a regular basis, though. I want you to know that.”

  “You can do what you want, Danny. It’s your hard earned cash, right?”

  He shook his head. ”Yeah, but I don’t want you to think that...I don’t know. I know how you feel about—”

  “Danny, it’s fine. I can see how much you love it. You deserve to treat yourself, and it’s not like you’re not going to use it. Besides, I’m sure down the road if you wanted to sell it, it would fetch a pretty penny after being in your capable hands.” I smiled up at him, biting my lower lip a little and I felt him growl.

  “God, you are so fucking hot, Jesse. You can’t do that in public.” His face turned a little red and I laughed.

  “I’m sorry. Let’s change the subject. You were very sweet to the salesman.”

  He took my hands in his and stepped back, taking a deep breath. ”He’s a good kid. And I wasn’t kidding about Jerry needing a sessions musician. He fired Stacey for being drunk at work. That guy is a disaster.”

  Sadly, I could believe it. “He’s got a real problem. After the day at your house, and the fight, you’d think he’d realize...” I shook my head. People who are in the throes of addiction don’t see what’s going on, usually until it’s too late.

  “I hope he figures it out soon. He’s got a lot of talent. It’s a shame he’s throwing it all away on the bottle and drugs.” Danny seemed genuinely concerned about the guy, even though I knew how angry he was with him. Chalk that up as one more reason I loved this man.

  Randy came out and rang up Danny’s purchases. He and Jane both walked out with huge grins on their faces, and guitar cases in hand. We locked their purchases in the trunk of the Challenger and climbed in.

  “Who’s hungry?” Danny called.

  “Me!” Jane was actually never not hungry.

  I wasn’t feeling much like food, but I was enjoying our afternoon.

  “How ‘bout a stop down memory lane?” Danny pulled out onto Sunset, made a right onto LaBrea, and then a right onto Santa Monica, pulling up to the Formosa Cafe. Danny looked at me, a loving expression on his face, and I melted.

  “What’s this place?” Jane asked as Danny opened my door for me.

  He helped me out, grinning, and then helped Jane. He had the valet park the car and gave him extra to keep a close eye on it. We watched the guy park it in a corner, closest to his stand.

  “This, my dearest Jane, is where I met Jesse. We had our dinner interview here with Patricia.”

  We walked in together and were seated immediately, the hostess gawking at us. She walked us back to the streetcar section and Danny asked if we could be seated at ‘our booth.’

  “Can I get you something to drink, Mr. Black?” she asked, batting her eyelashes.

  “Ladies? What would you like?” I was tickled by the way he ignored the hostess.

  Jane asked for a root beer and I ordered a Diet Coke. Danny asked for ice water and the hostess, lingering a tad too long, told us our server would be over shortly.

  Jane gave her a funny look and I leaned in to whisper. “He gets that a lot, doesn’t he?”

  She rolled her eyes and nodded.

  Danny continued with his version of our first meeting. “So yeah, I looked like shit, my hair was a wreck, and I was in my ratty sweats. In walks this long-legged, fucking gorgeous woman dressed in a suit with her blonde hair piled on top. She took my fucking breath away! I couldn’t believe it when Patricia introduced her. I thought she was a damn supermodel. She was so perfect. But no, she was to be my teacher, and a cranky one at that.” I kicked him under the table. I was sitting next to Jane across from him, and he laughed. ”You were kinda cranky, honey.”

  “Me? You were the one who looked pissed off at the world!”

  He blushed a little and nodded. ”Yeah, you’re right. I was in a bad place. I’d gotten sick from the anesthesia after my surgery and had been throwing up for a couple of days.”

  I frowned. ”I didn’t know it was so close to your surgery,” I said, quietly.

  His smile slipped a little. ”The doc thinks that’s why it took me so long to heal, because of the, you know, being sick part.”

  Poor Danny! ”If I would have known that, I would’ve gone easier on you,” I said seriously and he laughed, shaking his head.

  “Thank God you didn’t. Janey, this lady here didn’t take any of my crap. She even tried to take care of me, and she didn’t even know me. When my food came and I couldn’t eat it, she ordered me ice cream.” His face morphed into that of a lovesick puppy.

  “You are too much,” I said, laughing. ”I was just afraid I would be fired before I was even hired. I’m glad I wasn’t.”

  Jane looked back and forth between us and made retching sounds. ”Okay, okay, I get it. You met, you fell in love, and now you’re going to get married. By the way, when is that happening and do I get to be a bridesmaid?” She looked up at me expectantly.

  “I don’t know, sweetie, but I would be honored, if and when it happens, if you would be my Maid of Honor. Not just some measly bridesmaid.”

  Her eyes got big and she smiled up at me. ”Really? Don’t you have like a friend, or something, you’d want?”

  “Besides your dad, my best friend is Cosmo, and he’d be a little hairy for a bridesmaid dress. Not to mention I think he wears like size fifteen shoes. He definitely wouldn’t be able to wear the heels.”

  She burst out laughing and Danny nudged my foot under the table.

  “There’s no if, Jane. I am going to marry Jesse. I’m just waiting for the right moment to ask her officially,” he said, with a wink. ”And you’ll be the first to know when that is going to happen, okay baby?”

  She nodded.

  I thought that was a good idea.

  The server came, a bored looking guy with a rockabilly ‘do going on and full tattoo sleeves on each arm. He took our orders and huffed off to put them in.

  Danny asked Jane what she was going to be learning at horse camp, and we fell into easy conversation. Jane was bummed I was going back to work. Her school didn’t start for two more weeks. She and Nora were going to take Legs to the beach one day and she was going to hang out at Sasha’s for a couple of days.

  Summer was over and we all had to get our game faces on. Well, except Danny. He’d already been back at work. He shared with us the band’s progress in the studio. Jane asked if we could come visit and he thought maybe in a week or so.

  “And we’re going to start dance class, too, Jane. You’re going to be a busy girl,” I said to her, hugging her close to me.

  She smiled happily. Danny seemed pleased that we were happy and getting along so well together. Everything felt great today.

  We drove home after dinner and Danny and Jane carried their guitars straight to Danny’s room and got to work practicing. I went to talk
to Nora, who was putting away groceries. We talked over the schedule for the week and then we went to the bedroom to listen to the Blacks play together. She drooled over his guitar and admired Jane’s as well. I lay down on the bed, stretched out and watched them.

  The next thing I knew, Danny was crawling into bed with me. ”Did I fall asleep?” He chuckled close to my ear.

  “You did. Don’t worry. We didn’t do too much damage.”

  I shot up and touched my face, feeling something sticky. ”Oh no,” I groaned and stood up shakily to go to the bathroom. The room was spinning a little so I stopped in the doorway to take a break.

  “You okay, babe?” Danny called, nervously.

  “Just need the room to stop spinning a bit. No problem.”

  He stood up to help me into the bathroom and when I got a look at the mirror, I cracked up.

  “Nice moustache,” I said sarcastically.

  Danny was giggling behind me. ”The goatee was my idea,” he said, backing away from me.

  I rolled my eyes. ”Of course it was.” I grabbed some makeup remover and got to work.

  Danny slowly approached. ”Am I in trouble,” he whispered.

  I shook my head. ”How could you be in trouble?” I asked him so sweetly, he flinched with anxiety. ”Just remember what I said to you when we first started working together. When students mess with me, I’m pretty sneaky about getting them back.”

  He laughed and buried his face in my neck. I got the rest of the black eye pencil off my face, and turned to kiss him. We undressed and got into bed, loving each other until early the next morning.

  Chapter - Three

  September 2013

  Life fell into a busy, blissful pattern for the next month. School started and I was glad I had a shorter schedule. It gave me more energy to give to Danny and Jane. I was able to get my classes moved at the studio so I worked at the school Monday through Wednesday, taught dance on Monday and Tuesday evenings, and had Thursday and Friday to go to acupuncture, see Connie for massage, run errands, and just be at home. Danny drove Jane to school each day. He’d come back and we’d spend some quality time together. He’d go to the studio at noon and I’d pick up Jane from school. Nora was at class Wednesday and Thursday nights, but she left dinner for us. Jane totally loved jazz class and thought, soon, she might want to try tap, too.