Sheet Music - A Rock 'n' Roll Love Story

“She’s eight weeks old today,” Annie replied with pride.

“What did you name her?”

“Angel, because she is my angel,” she answered using a baby voice.

“And you must be Sammi?” Dara asked, peeking into the backseat.  “I can’t believe how big you grew since the last time I saw you!  And you’re looking more and more like your daddy too!”

“It’s been almost a year since I saw you,” Annie softly spoke.  “I believe the last time I saw you was at Brian’s funeral.”

“Brian has been gone that long already?  It seems like it was yesterday,” Dara replied.

Annie’s eyes began to fill with tears at the memory and nodded in agreement.  “I know what you mean.  I feel like I’ve lived a lifetime since he died.”

“We’ve got a lot of catching up to do, don’t we?” Dara commented.

“Yes, we do.”

“How long will you be on the island?”

“Indefinitely,” Annie replied.

“Seriously?”

“Yes.  I got the beach house in the divorce settlement so I’ll be living there.  It’s the only thing I wanted.  I told him he could shove the rest of it up his ass.”  Annie forced a smile onto her delicate face.  Her comment made Dara burst out in laughter.

Suddenly, the line of cars in front of Annie began to inch forward toward the ferry.

“I’ll give you a day or two to settle in and then I’m coming over.  Okay?” Dara said.

“Sounds good.”

A few days later, Dara arrived at the beach house, her arms filled with gifts for both young girls.

“You didn’t have to bring them anything,” Annie protested.

“I know, but I wanted to.  What can I say?  After being blessed with three sons, I’m a sucker for little girl things!”

After making small talk for several minutes, Dara sighed heavily.  “Okay, my friend.  Start spilling your guts and don’t leave anything out because you know I can tell when you’re omitting details!”

Annie shuddered.  “There isn’t much to tell.”

“Don't give me that crap!  This is me you're talking to.”

Annie met Dara’s stern gaze.

“Okay, where do you want me to begin?” Annie asked, knowing she had lost the battle.

“You can start with your divorce.  What the hell happened between the two of you?”

Annie folded her arms across her chest and walked to the large windows facing the ocean.  She sighed heavily before she began and closed her eyes.  “Michael wasn’t the man I thought he was.”

“No man is,” Dara quickly added.

“True.  But not all men cheat and lie to your face about it.”

“Annie, if I divorced Billy after his first adulterous fling, none of my boys would have been born.  I hate to say it, but in most cases, it goes hand-in-hand with people in the music business.  Some of them seem to think they are entitled, like it's one of the perks of being in the public eye.  And they don't think of it as cheating either.  They believe it is all part of the lifestyle .”

Annie turned and faced Dara.  Her eyes narrowed in contempt.  “I’m so sick of people telling me that!  It’s a load of crap and you know it.”

“I didn’t say I agreed with it.  I’m merely stating the facts.”

Annie’s eyes drifted back to the ocean and wiped away the tears that dripped down her cheeks.  “He started drinking again after Brian died,” she said softly.

Dara’s back stiffened.  “Oh, dear.  That’s not good.”

Annie shook her head.  “It became a matter of my sanity and the safety of my girls.  I had to leave.  It was the only solution.  I filed for divorce after that.  I knew then, there was no going back and whatever it was I thought we had, was over.  It was time to move on with my life.”

Annie dropped herself into a chair facing her friend.  “It sucks.  I’m almost thirty-five and look where I am.”

Dara laughed.  “Age is just a number.”

Annie leaved forward.  “It’s not the number I’m afraid of, it’s the situation.  I’m not even forty and I’ve been divorced twice and I’m now a single mother of two with no definitive career goals in mind.  If someone had told me ten years ago this is where I’d be at this age, I would have slapped them across the face.”

“Unless you’ve had your hands amputated, I don’t understand why you don’t have any career goals.”

“It’s not that I don’t have goals,” Annie sighed.  “I’m not certain I can handle being on the road again.  It’s not just me anymore.  I have Sammi and Angel to worry about and they need me more than I need a career.”

“They could travel with you.  People do that every day.”

“No way!  I’m not inflicting that lifestyle on them.”

Dara cocked her head curiously.  “What happened that left such an obvious bad taste in your mouth about being on the road?”