Sheet Music - A Rock 'n' Roll Love Story
- Автор: Lister Ann
- Серия: Sheet Music #1
- Год: 2011
- Язык: голландский
- Год: Lulu.com
- ISBN: 9781105173578
- Жанр: Прочая древняя литература
Электронная книга - «Sheet Music - A Rock 'n' Roll Love Story». Краткое содержание книги:
Her tears came in torrents, lasting for what seemed like forever. Throughout it all, he held on tightly. Finally, she was quiet; peaceful except for the occasional quake of her body. Exhaustion had put her to sleep. Gently, he picked her up and carried her back to the cottage, lovingly putting her into bed. When he had her safely tucked beneath the sheets, he turned to leave the room.
“Stay with me,” she asked in a hushed tone.
He smiled and went back to her, slipping in beside her and taking her in his arms again. Within minutes, she had fallen asleep against his bare chest. He waited until she was in a deep restful sleep and then retreated to the living room, shutting the bedroom door behind him. Annie continued to sleep most of the day.
It was almost dusk when she appeared in the doorway opening onto the deck. Michael sat upright when he saw her and reached for her body. She fell softly onto his lap.
“Are you all right?” he asked, kissing her cheek.
She nodded. “You know, I missed Sammy’s funeral.”
“Yeah, I’m sorry you had to.”
“Can you tell me about it?”
Michael reflected on the memory for a moment before answering. “They had the service at a Baptist church in his hometown. I remember there was a lot of music, really good soulful tunes that I know Sammy would have loved.”
Annie closed her eyes and smiled, as if to visualize it. “Go on. Tell me who was there.”
“Hundreds, maybe close to three hundred or more packed the church and the over-flow stood on the lawn surrounding the building. They set-up a special audio system for the people standing outside to hear. Brian and myself, and the whole band went, spouses and all. Our group took up two pews. At the cemetery, I even noticed Gary, Buzz and Ivory. I waved but I didn’t get a chance to speak with them.” Michael sighed at the memory. “Sammy would have loved it. It was the perfect tribute.”
“The night before the accident I stayed at his apartment, you know. He stayed up all night listening to me cry about you. In the morning before we left, he gave me two autographed guitar picks. He gave them to me more as a joke, but now they’re very special to me.” Annie fought to hold her tears at bay. “I remember it all so clearly. He signed his name and then placed them in my hand. And he laughed, as only Sammy could laugh, and said, ‘who knows, maybe someday after I’m dead, they might be worth something.’”
“Sounds like something Sammy would do,” Michael commented.
“Part of me wonders if we hadn’t stayed up all night talking, maybe he wouldn’t have been so tired and the accident wouldn’t have happened.”
“Annie, the speedometer was stuck at ninety-two miles an hour. I think the accident had more to do with speed than with sleep deprivation.”
“I suppose you’re right,” she exhaled. “I have to let it go. Sammy would want it that way.”
“Absolutely.”
The next day Michael took Annie hiking up the highest peak on the island. They brought fruit for lunch, a blanket and lots of water. The view from the top was spectacular. In the distance, you could see the outline of Cape Cod in the hazy sun. After finding a soft grassy spot on the southern slope, Michael spread out the blanket and sat on it. Annie sat beside him. The sun was brilliant and a gentle breeze blew up the ridge to cool them.
He stretched his legs out and laid down, folding his arms beneath his head, forming a pillow. Dark sunglasses concealed the blue sea of his eyes. His long curls were pulled back in a ponytail and a baseball cap adorned his head. He wore a white loose-fitting tank top, black spandex bicycle shorts and sneakers. Nothing about him advertised the rock star enigma that he was.
She was dressed almost identically in black spandex shorts and a white sports bra. She gazed at his body, long, lean and very tanned. There was a peace about him now, a serenity that came from within. She ran her fingers down the length of his torso, continued past the elastic waistband of his shorts, down the length of his muscled thigh and shin, and stopped at his ankle. She didn’t touch him out of lust this time, but from a complete fascination of his physical state of being.
He rolled his head and watched the progression of her hand over his body. “Like what you see?” he asked coyly.
She jumped when she heard the sensual tone of his voice. Without glancing back at his face, she removed her hand. “Yes, the view is breathtaking.”
“That’s not what I meant,” he teased.
“I know what you meant,” she smiled to herself, and placed her hand back on his knee.
He sat upright, shoulder to shoulder with her and sighed. “I wish life could always be this effortless,” he said, gazing off toward the rolling farm fields of Chilmark.
“What do you mean?”
“Do you realize this is the first time I’ve been able to completely relax in years?” he stated, matter-of-factly.
“Then I guess you were overdue,” she replied sympathetically.
“Have you noticed I haven’t even picked up my guitar in days? And you know what? That fact doesn’t bother me in the least. I’m beginning to really like doing whatever the hell I feel like - even if that means doing nothing at all.”
Annie laughed and shook her head.
“I think I could adapt really easily to this lifestyle. It’s not like I need the band to survive. Hell! I could retire right now, disappear to an isolated island in the South Pacific, and never run out of money. I guess I’ve reached the point where I’m asking myself: why keep on working with the band? I really don’t need the stress of continually trying to come up with new material the public will want to buy. Screw it. I’ve busted my balls for the last twenty something years and frankly, I’m exhausted. I’m tired of the road trips and the constant struggle to be creative with Brian. And for what? I’ve achieved every goal I ever imagined in this business and then some. So, what else is there? Like I said, I don’t need the money.”
She stared at him in shock. She couldn’t believe the words coming from his mouth. “What are you trying to tell me?” she asked. “You don’t really want to retire, do you?”
He turned to face her, a confused look registering in his eyes. “Why? Would it bother you if I did?”
“The band is your life.”
“No. You are my life. You are my one guiltless pleasure. The rest of the bullshit I can live without.”
“What about Brian?”
“To hell with Brian. I can’t be responsible for his happiness. That is his own doing, not mine. I’ve given him twenty-two years of my life. When is it enough?”
He draped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer. “Why do you look so scared?” he asked.
“I’m afraid Brian will blame me for you wanting to retire,” she said, her voice trailing off in mid-thought.
“Brian and I have had many long talks about this, Annie. If I do retire, it would have nothing to do with me being with you.”
Annie dropped her head. “You and I are on totally different ends of the career spectrum. I’m just starting up the ladder and you sound like you want to jump off of it.”
He laughed and pulled them both down flat against the blanket. “I’ll wait until you’re able to join me at the top of that career ladder. Then I’ll retire. How’s that sound?”
“You could be in for a long wait.”
He kissed her softly and chuckled. “I disagree. By my calculations, I’m betting in less than two years, you’ll be pushing me off the top of that ladder.”
“Well, thanks for the vote of confidence. I hope you’re right.”
The following week, Michael surprised Annie for her birthday with a twenty-two foot cabin cruiser, with the name Sheet Music printed on the back of the boat. Their first voyage was into Edgartown harbor to watch the annual firework display over the ocean.