Page 30 of Never Too Late
Steph thanked him and asked for a bowl of fruit salad and her usual cappuccino. As he went off, Faye made an observation. ‘Of course, it’s because you’re also musical and from what Keith says, you like playing classical music.’
‘That’s what I was brought up on, but I love all kinds of music.’
‘That’s it, then. Being with you makes him feel comfortable.’
Steph was glad if she made Rob feel comfortable, but she knew that for her it could so easily have become more than that. In fact being with him was stimulating rather than comforting. Of course, she thought to herself, this explained why the kiss she had been half expecting last night hadn’t materialised. Althoughshemight be harbouring romantic notions – however inadvisable –hesaw their relationship in a different, altogether more prosaic light. Quite simply: she was his comfort blanket. Nice as it was to know that she was offering support to another human being, deep down inside she almost regretted the fact that he hadn’t tried to seduce her. No sooner had this thought registered with her than she realised how ridiculous it was. This man was trouble, and she would do well to steer clear of him. Besides, she was only here for another week or two and then that would be that. Nothing much should or would come out of it anyway.
‘No Ethan this morning?’ Keith’s tone was so casual it screamed disapproval. ‘I imagine he must be having a lie-in. Cesare tells me he and Willow went out clubbing last night, so God knows what time they got back. I didn’t hear a thing.’
‘Well, I did.’ Faye gave a snort. ‘It’s all right for you. You’ve always been able to sleep through anything. The storm the other night hardly bothered you, did it? I heard them all right; Willow’s heels clip-clopping up the stairs at half past three in the morning and then her screaming at Den about something or other. For God’s sake, I ask you…’ Her voice tailed off in exasperation.
To Steph’s surprise, Keith burst out laughing. When his laughter subsided, he reached over and squeezed his wife’s hand.
‘Sorry, sweetheart, I’m not laughing at you being woken up in the middle of the night. I’m laughing at myself, at us. Look at us, would you? Ten, twenty years agowewould have been the ones up half the night, drinking, dancing, enjoying ourselves and clip-clopping about and shouting and screaming at ungodly hours.’
‘And doing an awful lot of other stuff that we shouldn’t have been doing.’ Faye shook her head ruefully.
‘And that. And here we are now: a couple of old fogies muttering darkly about the carryings-on of the young people. That’s it, Faye, we’re officially old.’
Now it was his wife’s turn to laugh. ‘Speak for yourself, grandpa. I’m four years younger than you and don’t you forget it.’
As Steph listened to them she felt a wave of real affection for this kindly, welcoming couple. ‘At the risk of speaking out of turn, I have to say that I think you guys are amazing. We all get old, if we’re lucky, but how many older people are writing and performing new music, maybe even getting back on tour with a rock band, providing a guiding light for thousands, millions of people of all ages around the world. If that’s being old fogies, I can’t wait to be one.’
Faye gave her a gentle smile and Keith beamed. ‘Dead right, Steph, and on that note, how’s about you and I get together this morning to go through a few more of the new numbers before your boyfriend surfaces?’
In spite of her agreement with Ethan, Steph felt she owed them full disclosure. ‘Great idea, Keith, but he’s myex-boyfriend.’
Faye caught her eye. ‘I’m sorry to hear that, Steph. What brought that on, if you don’t mind me asking?’
‘It’s been building up for some time. When I first met Ethan he was a great guy: caring, ambitious and hard-working. We got on really well together and I genuinely believed he might be The One. Above all, I thought he was someone I could trust. The trouble is that over the last year or so he’s been getting into bad company and changing into a different, far more irresponsible person; somehow regressing into a more juvenile character. Sometimes I hardly recognise him… and I’m afraid I no longer trust him.’
Faye nodded sympathetically at her. ‘Sort of the opposite of us. When I first met Keith, he was a wild one. I’m sure you must have read some of the stories about what he got up to, what the whole band got up to, but that was only the tip of the iceberg. It may seem hard to believe now but this soon-to-be old age pensioner was totally out of control.’ She turned back and gave him a loving smile before her expression became more serious. ‘You’re lucky I came along when I did, darling, or it might not have been just Vince ending up dead.’
Keith leant over and kissed her tenderly on the cheek. ‘Amen to that. But that was just the way it was back then. Being in a band’s a surreal lifestyle, Steph, especially when you’re on the road, and we did alotof touring. Some years I was away for more than half the time. One place just morphs into another, one hotel room into another, and I genuinely had to get one of the roadies to remind me where I was every night before I went on stage in case I got the name of the place wrong. It doesn’t get the show off to a great start when you step out and shout, “Good evening Philadelphia!” and it turns out you’re in Detroit. The trouble is that I’m afraid that’s the lifestyle Ethan and, to some extent, our two boys have embraced. I hope they all find themselves a Faye – but I fear they broke the mould after they made you, sweetheart.’ He kissed her again and then returned his attention to Steph. ‘I’m sure you would have been what Ethan needed, but he just didn’t realise it. He’ll regret it with time.’
‘I wonder.’ Steph heaved a little sigh and then told them she had to fly home that evening for a medical appointment and so would be here today but not back until tomorrow night. As with Lottie, she ended up telling Faye what it was all about, and she received warm support from them both. It turned out that Faye had first-hand experience.
‘Been there, done that. Biopsies are no big deal these days. I’m sure they’re just erring on the side of caution.’
Her husband chimed in with more practical help. ‘You’re on the evening flight from Pisa? I’ll get Cesare to give you a lift to the airport.’
Steph tried protesting, saying a lift to the nearby station would be fine, but Keith insisted that Cesare would drop her off and pick her up again when she returned the following evening, and she was genuinely touched by their kindness.
At nine thirty she met up with Keith in the studio and they played together for well over an hour before Ethan staggered in looking like death. Steph was genuinely worried for a moment or two until she realised that the ailment he was suffering from was self-inflicted. From the pallor in his cheeks, it looked as though all the blood had emptied out of them into his bloodshot eyes. He ran a weary hand through his unkempt hair and gave Keith an apologetic look.
‘Sorry, man. I had a hard night.’
Keith nodded. ‘I can see. A word to the wise: don’t overdo it. Nobody’s immortal. Anyway, Steph and I are just jamming so why don’t you go and take a shower and get yourself a few cups of strong coffee? We’re good here.’ His tone wasn’t unkind, but Steph could sense the annoyance below the surface. And who could blame him? He was paying their wages.
‘Yeah, right, okay.’ Ethan gave a feeble wave of the hand and staggered out again, leaving Steph wondering if she should apologise on his behalf. Keith saved her the trouble.
‘I’ve been there. I feel sorry for the guy. I’ve seen that look before. If he carries on like that, he’s going to need help.’
‘When you say, “that look”, do you think there’s more to it than too much to drink?’
‘I’m no medic, but I do have a lot of experience of some very scary stuff, and yes, I’m afraid it looks to me as though Ethan’s doing drugs.’
‘What, like regularly?’
