Runaway 1
- 4 years ago
- 23
- 0
I spent most of my day shopping in Nashville with Skye and Dom. I had been informed that the clothing that had been appropriated the night before was not going to come back anytime soon.
I also decided that I didn’t really need more than four pairs of basketball shorts. Conny had shown up at the house – looking remarkably fresh – just before I was sent on my merry way.
The quartet was still working on a song when I returned three hours later. Sadly, Skye had purchased far more than I had. She had a job that paid more than a pittance for the first time in her life and she wanted to look the part of a young professional on the rise.
I thought she succeeded magnificently. Her long, toned frame was made for displaying clothing and I wondered how long it would be before Svetlana approached Dom’s girlfriend to talk about modeling opportunities.
“He’ll know!” Liz said when she saw me enter the ballroom to see if she needed anything.
Four sets of eyes turned to me.
“What happened to the mix we made last night?” Liz asked me.
I glanced at each face in the room hoping that one of them would clue me in on what she was talking about. The only mix I knew about was the alcohol I had made and the plastic containers were empty when I located them in varying locales around the pool.
“Liz and I put down a track last night,” Melissa clarified. “I think that’s where you found us when you got back.”
“Oh,” I said. “Yeah, you might have thought you were recording something but you weren’t.”
I didn’t know much about the equipment in Liz’s studio – but I knew an on-off switch when I saw one.
“Shit!” Liz said angrily. “That was some good stuff!”
“Uh, not so much,” I said.
The comment earned me a bird flip from Melissa.
“I’m serious,” I said. “I caught about the last... 10 minutes or so. It wasn’t as great as you seem to recall. Here, see for yourself.”
I queued up the video I’d shot and passed it across.
“You took a video?” Liz asked.
“I could tell that you’d messed around with the switches on the console so I figured you wanted to record it,” I said with another one-armed shrug. “The button was off and I wasn’t sure if I could just turn it on or if I need to do the complete NASA checklist beforehand. So I used the device I was pretty sure I could figure out.”
I saw Conny’s eyes narrow as she watched the video.
“I was in the engineer’s booth,” I pointed out. “I turned the speaker up in there. The video is pretty terrible but the sound should be OK.”
“I was just trying to figure out what they were saying,” Conny said with a smile.
“That was my problem,” I said. “Anyway, I can send that to your phones and you can pull out the Drunken Gibberish to English Rosetta Stone and give her hell.”
“Why don’t you do that?” Liz said, gesturing vaguely to the trio of artists in the room. “I need to see Travis for a minute.”
“Smoochy time,” Chelsea said, giggling.
“Not this time,” Liz said. “This is business talk.”
“Too bad,” Melissa said with a wink.
“You’re telling me,” I said. I wondered if Liz was unhappy that I’d recorded her the night before or because I had made a disparaging comment about the performance. Liz was tough to figure out when she was in “entertainer mode.”
She put her hand in mine as she directed me to her office.
“I’m sorry if I recorded something you didn’t want me to,” I said, hoping to preempt any ass-chewing that might be coming.
“No, that’s fine,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m glad you did it. I think we’ll remember the lyrics once we hear parts of them. This is about Dallas.”
“What’s up?” I asked.
Liz sighed.
“I need another favor from you,” she said.
“Sure,” I said, figuring that since this was a professional discussion (and I was her employee) that there was little difference between a favor and a directive.
“I need you to go to Dallas with Jill,” she said.
“OK,” I said with a nod. “Whatever you want.”
Liz smiled at me.
“It’s not what I want,” she said. “I want you here with me ... pretty much all the time. But it’s what I need right now. My parents are coming Monday. The label wants to throw a Number One party on Tuesday down there. I need to make sure the stage is good and I need someone to walk through the venue. Normally, I’d send Ryan with her but ... Sondra’s dad is in a bad way. That’s why they were driving to North Carolina last night.
“Her mom is in her 70s and doesn’t get around very well anymore. Sondra has to be at the hospital Saturday so I told Ryan to just stay up there. She’s got time off starting Monday but she has to be there for the weekend. I’m...”
She stopped and exhaled breath.
“Look, I’m just going to talk to you as my boyfriend for a minute,” she said. “Jill is going to be fine but it’s her first rodeo. I don’t want her trying to solve problems that require my input. I need the stage perfect. The stadium acoustics are horrible if things aren’t exactly right. You’ve been around unions. You understand them. I don’t want to have to deal with an unhappy shop steward because she was on his ass all week and I don’t want to deal with overruns and delays because she was too lax. You know they’ll try to run over the top of her. She’s a woman and she’s small. It’s their first time working with her so they’ll try to push her around. It’s human nature.”
“Uh, I’m not trying to get out of this but don’t you think they’ll try to push me around, too?” I asked.
“No,” Liz said, shaking her head. “Word has already gotten around about who is going to win a fight with you. They knew I let Stephanie go because she couldn’t work with you and they won’t push their luck.”
I frowned.
“I know it sucks but it’s also true,” Liz said. “If you tell them I want something a certain way they’ll do it that way. I also know that you’ll call me if you find something that you aren’t sure about. I’m worried that Jill will be so intent upon proving her worth that she’ll try to fix everything on her own. I know you won’t let that happen. You’ll look out for her and you’ll keep me in the loop. I ... I wish I had somebody else but I don’t. I need you down there to be my eyes and ears. I’d go myself but ... well ... last night threw us off schedule.”
I shook my head.
“I know I needed it,” Liz said. “I’m glad you put it together. But it meant Melissa and I didn’t do much practicing and it also presented the opportunity for a fresh song. That’s what we were doing. Last night, we all wrote a song called ‘Girls Night In.’ It’s pretty good – or it was while we were sloshed to the gills. But none of us remember much about it. Now we’ve added a day getting the lyrics down and copyrighted and music down and choreographed.”
I smiled across at her.
“Don’t forget to add Gwen, Kim, Skye and Jill to the song,” I said with a wink.
She looked at me for a hard moment and then smiled back.
“I think that would be cool,” she said. “We’ll do that.”
She paused.
“Shit!” she continued. “That means I need Jill here, too.”
“Just give her something small to do,” I said. “She’ll understand. I think it’s just more about inclusiveness than actual musical participation.”
Liz came across and sat on my lap.
“I’m very sorry I passed out before I could show you how much it means to me that you’re always looking out for me,” she said.
I kissed her softly.
“We’ll have plenty of time for that,” I said. “I’ll just have to keep a running tab in my head.”
“Add this trip to Dallas to the ledger,” she said, shaking her head.
“When do you want us to leave?” I asked.
“Tonight unless you have something planned,” she answered with a heavy sigh. “At the very latest, I’d like you there tomorrow by noon.”
“Tonight is fine with me,” I said. “I was just going to hang out and keep an eye on you. Well, keep an eye on your butt, mostly.”
Liz kissed me and put her head on my shoulder.
“I’ll text Jill and have her check on a private plane,” she said.
“Jill and I can fly commercial,” I said. “I got back to San Diego with no trouble at all. I’ll go online and book us two tickets for the first flight out. I just need to pack and to fix you some food that you can heat up later.”
“I was going to have Skye pack for you,” Liz said. “Do you need to wash the clothes you just bought?”
I gave a sheepish shrug. I hadn’t purchased more than $100 worth of clothing (and I’d paid for it myself).
“I’m going to go shopping for you if you’re not careful,” she declared. “Now give me one more kiss and then get your ass to Dallas.”
Jill and I settled into our first-class seats for the flight from Nashville to Atlanta and then to Dallas-Fort Worth.
Liz had added to my marching orders before I left. I was to set up unscripted interviews with a radio station, the two local newspapers, a blogger and a TV station. I had tried to argue that “unscripted” was a bad idea but she had shot me down firmly. I decided that there might not be a script in place but there damned sure would be some very solid rules agreed upon before I let Liz sit down with a TV journalist.
Jill accepted a glass of white wine and I had a domestic beer after we got seated and situated.
“So ... are you babysitting me or am I babysitting you?” she asked.
“A little of both, I think,” I admitted. “I’m supposed to keep people from trying to run over you; you’re supposed to make sure I don’t set Liz up for a Playboy pictorial.”
“I’m not going to let anyone run over me,” Jill stated.
“I didn’t think so but Liz wanted you to know you had backup,” I said. “It’s your first time really in charge and everybody is going to test your limits. I guess they already view me as a bad guy after the situation with Stephanie so Liz wanted me to come with you in case you need a cudgel.”
“What’s a cudgel?” Jill wondered.
“A club,” I said.
“So why didn’t you say ‘club’?” she asked.
“Because I’ve always wanted to use ‘cudgel’ in a sentence and I saw the chance,” I retorted.
Jill chuckled.
“They don’t really view you as a bad guy,” she told me. “It’s just ... look, I was there. I was ... amazed ... at the words coming out of her mouth. I literally had to drag Liz to the floor to keep her from killing Stephanie. Stephanie saw that she had seriously overplayed her hand. She was backed against the wall – and I’m not talking about figuratively. Liz was sitting on the bed and she just jumped at her. I hooked her around the waist and just slid down to clip her ankles. Ryan would have been proud of me. But I don’t think the news has filtered down to everybody. Most of them view it as Stephanie made a play for your job and lost hers in the process. So, I guess Liz is right. They all know that I might be the road manager but you’re at the top of the pecking order.”
“I don’t want to be at the top of the pecking order,” I shot back.
“I know,” Jill said. “But in this case ... until I get a better read on the situation ... it’s going to be good to have you with me. Just having you there will make sure they do what I want them to.”
The next morning even with the sunshade in the windshield once the sun was up it pushed light back into the sleeper. He was delighted when he woke up she was already awake, smiled up at him, said, "Hi" and them kissed him on the cheek. "Hi" he replied and put his hand on the back of her neck and pulled her down to him and kissed her. It was the strongest approach the truck driver had used and he didn't notice the change in her at first. Sammi felt his hand firmly on her neck pull...
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"You move pretty fast for being so small," the woman said. "I almost caught up with you in Boise." I didn't say anything, even though I had a lot of questions. It was like I couldn't settle on just one to ask, so I didn't ask any. Or maybe I was afraid of the answers. I had been running fast, very fast and even if this woman hadn't been dead, which I was pretty sure she had been, she shouldn't ever have been able to find me. Not by herself, not without help. We got back to the...
The sunlight hurt my eyes, even the very little escaping from the drawn curtains. Just a slender fissure and I turned weakly away from it. I felt tired and empty inside, not so much hungry as just ... empty. My skin was cold and clammy and the light seemed to crawl across my flesh. I trembled and wondered if this wasn't DT, the withdrawl eating away at my brain. I hadn't fixed since I'd seen Vin and I had no idea how long ago that had been. I didn't think I was really addicted to the...
We actually drove through what there was of the town of Newrock, and pulled onto a dirt road that was even worse than the one we'd been traveling. After a mile or two there was a big silver, double wide trailer ahead of us, and Angela parked next to an old pickup truck. There were no lights and if anyone was there, apparently they hadn't been woken up by our arrival. I got out of the car, following Angela as she walked to the mobile home, which had a small wooden porch up a few short...
She was weak now, but still alive four days later. I mean Audrey, of course, who'd become something of a pet to me. We'd brought her home, to our house in Klamath Falls. It was really Angela's place, but she'd made it mine as well. We were mated now, there really was nothing of mine that wasn't Angela's as well, and so the opposite was also true. And I'd been changing. Every hour, every minute, I was becoming something else. There were obvious things, like the way I talked, the way I...
I dreamt. Everyday, sleeping in the cool dark with Angela to hold me, I was dead. And yet I dreamed. And that my dreams were bad I had little doubt, but I could never remember them. They were small snippets and fragments, all jumbled together in one confused memory. And even that much was quickly forgotten as well. But just knowing that I had them troubled me greatly. I thought there must be some meaning there, as Angela had divined me from her own dreams. She'd sought and found me, guided...
I was asleep, and I knew that because my parents were still alive. We were in the car with the darkness all around, as if we'd entered a long tunnel and we had to drive through it. I didn't want to, but in my dream I didn't seem to care as I sat in the backseat, buckled up tight and holding Edgar. I smiled in my sleep I think, because I'd forgotten him completely. Edgar the Bear, soft and stuffed and in my arms. What a nice dream, except for my shoulder. It hurt and when I looked down at...
"There's someone here," I said. "I know," Angela replied from her bath as I entered the small room. I'd been resting, just being lazy really, and talking with Natalie in her bed. "Who is it?" I asked, frowning a little. My power to sense other vampires was growing, but still weak. I had no real idea how near or far this other one was, or what the creature's purpose might be. I didn't believe in coincidence though; this other vampire, whoever it was, would have come to Sacramento...
David finished the first term of Year 10 before he left Australia but the US schools start in August not February. The different start dates and the time he missed has David unsure about what level to start at in the Window Rock High School, so he arranges to be tested by the local school board. In some subjects he tests well enough to be a Junior, what they call Year 11 in the US, and in others he tests out as a Sophomore, the Year 10 equivalent. So he registers as a Sophomore, but in the...
David waits until the Walkers leave the area before he starts to ask around about someone he can talk to in law enforcement in Texas. He’s very careful about who he asks and how he asks them because of his concerns about what he suspects from the records he’s read. On a Tuesday evening in mid December Jerry Fasthorse, the police officer who lives down the street, drops in to talk to David. He says, “I found a contact for you. To talk to them we have to attend a meeting near Albuquerque on...
In the November before his high school graduation David speaks with the trustee of his US based trust about attending university and emails him a copy of what courses he’s finished with a list of what he wishes to do for the next few years. Based on the course information from the university he can start studies in the summer after high school finishes to attend the uni for two years, plus summer classes before, between, and after those two years to have degrees in both business management...
All of David’s summer semester classes are over: the last exam is done, the last assignment is handed in, the major project is finished, he’s all packed up and ready to leave. The staff check his room and sign off on it being correct so he hands in this last piece of paperwork before heading to the car park to leave the university and Albuquerque. Four weeks ago he visited Window Rock to transfer his vehicle registration and driver’s license back to Jason’s address. While there he picked up...
The plane from Auckland, New Zealand, lands at Sydney’s Kingsford Smith Airport in Mascot just before six in the evening local time after a three and a quarter hour flight in the Emirates A380 Airbus. This isn’t the first time David has flown in an A380 but this is his first time in the Business Class of an Emirates plane, and he found it to be the most comfortable flight he’s had in Business Class of any airline he’s used. He has an easy and quick trip through immigration due to being an...
I had to depart for my afternoon workout session with Kim as soon as the call ended. We were almost to the end when Liz appeared in the room. “Come back to the office when you’re finished here, please,” she said. I grunted my assent since I was in the middle of forcing my arm outward with a stick and it wasn’t the most pleasant feeling I’d ever experienced. Liz stood and watched for a moment before smiling sadly and heading back to work. “Is she mad?” Kim asked from the...
I had almost made it to my feet but I dropped back on the couch. The fact I was wearing the soft sling didn’t do my arm any favors. “Wait!” I said. “What?” “I’m not comfortable with her working out here any longer,” Liz said. “She’s been on vacation all week!” I said. “That’s part of the problem,” Liz said. “She’s missed a lot of work recently and I ... I’m not happy with how she’s come to view her job here.” “First off, she was sick for two days,” I cut in. “The vacation has been...
Skye and Jill scattered like cockroaches when the light comes on as soon as my face appeared in the doorway. Liz looked up from her desk while I stood sheepishly in front of her. “If you want Brea gone, she’s gone,” I said. “No,” Liz said almost at once. “I was being silly.” “It’s not worth arguing with you over,” I told her. “If she’s going to be a problem then you’re right. We should let her go. But I still think we do it in a way that it doesn’t come back on her at the hospital.” “She...