ing – I watch him because he makes it easy to do so. He’s glaring at Harrison as he stands against the building with his foot pressed up against the façade. The only thing missing is a cigarette hanging from his mouth and this bloke would be a James Dean wannabe. Sadly for him, he’s not. He’s middle-aged, with this week’s style mop top and dressed like a twenty-something model out of GQ.
Harrison puts Yvie down, but doesn’t let go of her. I turn back and watch her friend with his eyes full of anger. He thinks he owns her. Funny. Last time I checked no one owned Yvie James, except maybe Quinn.
Yvie makes her rounds, Liam next then me. I pick her up and give ‘Mr. Angry’ the eye as I give her a long hard kiss on her cheek. He doesn’t know who he’s messing around with, but let me tell you something; she’s mine… ours and we protect what’s ours.
“I’m so happy you guys are here. I’ve missed you.” Yvie says as she falls back into Harrison’s arms. He has his baby sister engulfed in his arms. Their bond is undeniable. “Come meet Oliver. He’s my producer.”
“And shagging partner,” I mutter loud enough so Liam can hear me. He raises an eyebrow when Yvie glares at me. I shrug. I’m not sorry. The dude is a bloody dickhead and needs an attitude adjustment.
“Oliver, these are my brothers. That’s Jimmy, Liam and Harrison.” She points at each one of us and while all three of us stand there, each with a different expression, I can tell Ollie here isn’t a fan.
“Nice to meet you, mate. I’d like to say that Yvie has told us lots about you but she hasn’t.” Oliver doesn’t want to shake hands so I don’t offer mine. I can see through his veneer; he’s a twat and is probably shagging Yvie to get ahead in the industry. Maybe he’ll piss off Harrison and we can have a fight later. It’s been a long time since I’ve enjoyed myself in a bar fight.
“I’m sorry, what did you say your name was?” Harrison’s words have a bit of bite to them and I know he saw the way this fuck was looking at us with Yvie. I’m trying not to laugh, but seeing him in overprotective mode is hilarious. That’s one thing about Harrison James – you don’t mess with his family or he makes you pay. And if he’s making you pay, you can be damn sure that I’ll be right behind him, and so will Liam.
“I’m sorry, who are you?”
I take a step back and shake my head. This man is about to get his arse beaten. Harrison looks up sharply. This won’t end well.
“Who are you?”
“As if it’s any of your business, I’m Yvie’s boyfriend and producer.” Yeah things are going downhill fast.
Harrison rubs his chin and Liam rolls his shoulders.
“Hold up, guys,” Yvie says with her hands on her hips. “Oliver, don’t be an ass to my brother and Harrison, stop acting tough. He’s not like you guys.”
“Every man should have respect for his girl’s family,” Liam says. I agree, it’s the most important value to have.
I think 4225 West should do a celebrity wrestling match or something like that. I’ll volunteer for the greater cause of humanity. Anything that allows me to release this pent up aggression building inside me. I know where it’s coming from… Chelsea. I was so grateful when Jenna asked me to change my number. I didn’t hesitate. I did it because my wife asked me to and she’s the most important person to me. What I didn’t count on was Chelsea bombarding my email with pleas. I can clearly picture her in my mind. The tears running down her face, begging me to call her. The thing is, I don’t want to. I know that makes me the biggest shit in the world, but I’m not convinced the baby she’s having is mine.
I asked her for a paternity test, at Harrison’s insistence. He said he had one done with Quinn because he had to know. I have to know. I can’t go to Jenna with this news, without knowing for sure. She’ll leave me and I won’t be able to handle that. When I told her that I loved her, I meant it without a doubt. I’ll do whatever I can to make sure she knows that, but Chelsea is in the way and threatening my happiness and I can’t have that.
Yvie promises she’ll meet us at the side door of the venue before the show so we can let her in. I hope she leaves the douche behind. I don’t want her night with us ruined by this arsehole.
I love being on stage. For me it’s like an orgasm building and waiting to be released. When the lights go off and the first note is hit, the sensation takes over my body. Tonight is no different. I’m bouncing on the balls of my feet, anticipation crackling in the atmosphere. The chants are loud, they want Liam and that has never bothered me. They can have him in all his glory and he’ll happily give it to them as long as he’s on stage. I look at the three of us standing side by side, and think about how we’ve changed in the past two years. All of us are parents, even if my little one isn’t here yet. I love her and can’t wait to hold her in my arms. Harrison’s a family man, doing the baseball and cheerleading camps and soccer practices in his mum mobile and Liam… our founder – he’s setting the bar so high that I’m afraid I’ll never achieve what he has, but I want it. He’s the example of what dreams are made of, how you can change your path, but still end up where you started.
We go out on stage, Harrison to his drums, Liam to the microphone with his guitar hanging on his hip and me to the keyboard. I take out my harmonica from my pocket and get it ready. Tonight, we’re starting with Tobacco Sunset the song I wrote. Lyrics, for me, are a struggle. It can take me months to write a song, but lately, I’ve been writing them once a week. But this one is special. I sing it to my Little One every day and I sang it to Jenna before I knew she was pregnant. Or maybe I did know. Maybe that’s why I couldn’t get her out of my head, or my system. Something was pulling me to her and whatever it was, whether our daughter or just life, I’m fucking grateful.
Liam steps up to the mic and the crowd roars. I smile, loving the vibrations they’re sending our way. I play a few keys on the keyboard to get them going and make them cheer louder.
“New York, how you doin’?”
Liam’s play on words are his version of Joey from Friends. Jenna and I have been watching the repeats lately. She says we’re Monica and Chandler, but I tell her there’s no way I’m going to be known as Bing. I called her my lobster. My sweet-lipped lobster who’s made just for me.
“4225 West is happy to be here tonight. And right now we’re going to start you off with a little something from JD. He’s been a busy man lately.” I look at the back of Liam and wonder what the fuck he’s talking about. When Harrison hits his drums, ba-dum-tsh, I know something’s up.
“Our little JD went and got himself all married and they’re having a baby and this song we’re about to play was written for his wife!” Liam yells into the microphone. The crowd erupts as anger and dread wash over me. It’s not that I didn’t want people to know, but I didn’t want Chelsea to know. I’m thousands of miles away, and will be for months, and there’s no fucking way I can stop her from finding out. Even though I have doubts that her child is mine, she’ll still go off the deep end if she’s convinced herself that her baby is mine.
I press play and let the soft melody lull me to sleep. If it works for the baby, why can’t it work for me? A harmonica plays. He’s gone all out on this recording.
“Hello, Little One,” he says. I can’t help but smile at his words. He’s not taking any chances and is making sure the baby knows he’s talking to her. “I had to go away for a little while, but wanted you to have your song. Well, actually it’s your mum’s song, I just haven’t been able to tell her about it yet. I wrote this song right after your mum and I made you. It was such a perfect night and I knew right at that moment that your mum had stolen my heart. You are just the added bonus.”
Happy tears stream down my face. I reach for my phone, only to remember that he’s on stage and will be calling me in a couple hours. I can wait until then. It’ll be painful, but worth it. What I need to say to him – needs to be done face to face – it can’t be left on voicemail.
“Little One, I love your mum and want you to be very nice to her while I’m away. When I get home, it will almost be time for you to make your entrance and we can’t wait to meet you.”
Jimmy starts singing. It’s the song he sang when I was sick. He said, and I remember this clearly, that his mom used to sing it to him when he was sick. He lied, but I’ll forgive him, this one time.