Page 54 of Legendary Rock Star
The song played, and as the last note ended he said, “I always give my honest opinion.”
I expected to be told to brighten it up. Christmas is happy. But he said, “Clean it up and send me the revised demo.”
How? It was horrible. I sat up and asked, “Why?”
I could imagine Mark already sitting at his desk, calculating his earnings, which was what he did every time he listened to any song. And his math was usually right on.
“Because,” he said, “this could be enough for both of us to retire on.”
“Doubtful.” That was based on his faulty belief I was worth more than I am.
He whistled the haunting tune back to me for a second and then said, “It’s my job to sell it. Clean that song up and get it to me.”
“Okay,” I answered. I had nothing else to say.
I was spent.
Music and pouring words into songs was all I had. I’d never mentioned Maggie, but she was in every note.
As I finished one round of editing, I rubbed my eyes and looked at the clock.
It was time to meet Fiona. I cleaned up and headed out to the agreed upon coffee shop.
I joined the line to get an herbal tea and took a seat just as she came in.
She seemed fresh and clean and no scars were visible. She grabbed her drink and joined me.
“Well,” she said, “I’m here.”
I took a deep breath and then nodded as I said, “I wanted to apologize to you properly for what happened.”
“Thanks, but that was years ago.” She sipped her coffee like it was some elixir she needed. “But it’s nice that you reached out like this to say that.”
I stared into the blue-green eyes that had haunted me for years. “I blamed myself for your career tanking.”
“What? What?” She put her cup down. “What I said on the show was harsh and scripted.”
“I felt guilty long before the show,” I said, lowering my head. “I went into rehab after the accident. When I came out, you’d left town and I didn’t know how to contact you to apologize in person.”
She reached out for my hand. “I did leave town. I got married, had two children, and life has been pretty good to me.”
The weight on my shoulders didn’t go away. I said, “But you didn’t follow your dreams.”
“Yes I did.” She leaned closer. “I found people who loved me, and I love them. And singing helped me pay for a house, get a good car, and have some savings in the bank for just in case.”
My skin tingled like the weight might just drop off my shoulders. “That’s all you wanted?”
She laughed. “I was the opening act for Indigo 5. That’s pretty awesome. The accident helped me remember my own goals and go home.”
She sipped her coffee again and said, “Thanks for meeting me.”
She showed me pictures of her children, a boy and a girl, and her husband. As I finished my tea, I realized she told the truth. She was happy.
A few minutes later, we left.
I headed home, not sure what had just happened.
It was like I was free.
