Tudor Reunion Tour (12 page)

Zara

Before we realized it, it was time for
Amadeus and his brothers to reassemble and finish the dates they had postponed
when Julia had done her disappearing act. No one had heard a peep out of her or
her co-conspirators. Oh, there had been supposed sightings of her here and
there, but nothing that could be substantiated. Secretly, I fully expected her
to somehow show herself during the final phase of this tour. Perhaps something
splashy and grand, defending herself and all the mayhem she had caused. She’d
have some far-fetched explanation. It simply amazed me how one person could
completely change like Julia had. She left her family, her home, her daughters,
and her husband. For what? Money? I also secretly hoped if she did make her
presence known, and if she came across with a sob story, which I fully
expected, that Damien wouldn’t be swayed. I was ninety-nine percent sure, as
was Amadeus, that Damien wouldn’t let her try and fool him.

Angus was the one I felt sorry for.
Although detective Franco and others had come to his side and cleared him of
any alleged wrong doings, Angus’ wife, Ashleigh, was slow to come around. With
good reason. While the boys were away, it would be a perfect time to have Ashleigh
over to the island. Even though Logan was from way in Amadeus’s past, Logan’s
mom could have exposed his existence at any time.

****

Opening night of the final shows was
held in Denver, CO. As Logan just so happened to have a teachers work day the
following day, Amadeus and I decided the kids and I would fly and meet up with
the band. It would be Logan’s first experience of seeing his dad, the rock star,
perform up close and personal.

The flight would have been a nightmare,
me a woman traveling alone with a baby, if it hadn’t been for Logan. He did
what was needed throughout our trip without being asked. It made the trip much
smoother for all involved. I was sure the other passengers were quite grateful
that Elizabeth wasn’t among the wailing children.

While I was overseeing the three
brothers as manager for the final tour dates, I never made or suggested to any
of them—barring Amadeus of course—that they sign a contract giving me
exclusivity. I felt after the ruckus Julia caused, they simply needed to get
through the remaining dates. Afterwards they could each make their own
decisions. Right now they needed to finish the nightmare Julia started.

So I was quite curious when the morning
after the first show, while we were all in route to the next evening’s town,
Damien took me aside. He’d been approached for a solo venture, and he needed
advice. We agreed to get together in his room once we had all settled in, and
before the boys went on to rehearsals.

The two of us sat down at the small
table in his room, typical of hotel furniture. I brought with me a bottle of
water along with a notebook. “So what can I help you with, Dame?”

He slid back in his chair, a shy grin
coming over his face. “I need some professional advice, Zara.”

“Such as?” I was curious. Had he been
approached by a major record label? This would be a major coup for Damien.

“I’ve been asked to do a photo shoot,
Zara.”

I abruptly sat up and tried not to look
too surprised. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that Damien wasn’t a good looking
man, it was simply unexpected. “A photo shoot? Who wants you?”

“GQ magazine, if you can believe it,” he
replied, his shy grin now sheepish. “They’re going to stop by and talk to me
after the show tonight. I agreed, but only on the condition that you sat in on
the discussion. As my manager. I hope you don’t mind, Zara.”

“No, not at all. I’m delighted for you,
Damien. That would be excellent exposure for you.”

He passed me a business card with the
name and information of the person who had spoken with him already. “I need
someone who knows about these things. Amadeus said he didn’t mind and to go
ahead and ask you.”

“I’d be happy to help you out, Damien.
You know I work through Peter’s firm, so I have a lot of help. It’s not just
me. If you’re interested in management, I’m sure we can help you out.”

“Well, we both know I’m going to need
good, solid management. Especially now, and I trust you and Peter’s staff.”

“Have you thought about a record
contract? Or do you want to do it on your own?”

“I thought once the tour was over, while
I have some down time, perhaps we could weigh the offers.”

“That would be the smart thing to do,
Damien. There’s no reason to hurry, the three of you have that pending project
to record what you’ve all written,” I replied. No, Damien wouldn’t have to
worry about the offers, recording and otherwise. Angus on the other hand, may
be a more difficult sale. “It looks like recording isn’t going to be your only
option, either.”

“Well, GQ is a very reputable magazine.
They want to show people how I’ve come back from being so ill, how I’ve fought
my way back into the spotlight.”

“That they are, and I know whatever they
want to do, it’ll be tasteful. How about rather than rushing you and me doing a
contract, I just show up and hear them through with you? We’ll worry about the
rest after tonight.”

“That sounds good. Thanks, Zara.”

“I’ll see you through this venture,
Damien, and I’ll help you choose a new manager. I’m sure Peter’s firm would
jump at the chance to sign you on. You know them and they know you. It would be
a good match, Damien.”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t have to worry about
any of them running off with my money or a lover, would I?”

I laughed. At least Damien was trying to
maintain a sense of humor through all this. I know, though, it had to be
killing him deep down inside, but he’d never let on. “No, you wouldn’t have to
worry about any of that.

Leaving Damien, I walked down the hotel
corridor to our room. I slid the key card in the slot, and the door opened.
Inside I found Amadeus and Logan flopped out on one of the beds, Elizabeth in
between them. A movie was playing on the TV while the three of them slept. I
grabbed my iPhone and took a picture of them before one of them stirred.

Finally, I bent over Amadeus and nudged
his arm, waking him. His eyes flew open at the unexpected touch. Staring at me
a couple of seconds, he regained his bearings and slowly sat up. Having
promised Logan he could accompany him to rehearsals, Amadeus reached over the
baby and quietly woke his son.

That word, it was still unfamiliar, and
the only thing that popped in my mind when I heard the word son was Wolfgang.
It brought a million emotions to the surface. Anger, jealousy, hurt. He should
be here as part of this, part of our little family. But what if’s and might
have been were part of the past, and there was nothing I or Amadeus could do to
change the past. It had been a long road, but we both had learned to accept
what happened and to move on. Still…

With Amadeus and Logan gone to
rehearsals, I sat down at the small table. I turned on my iPad, and while I was
waiting, I walked over and checked Elizabeth. She was sound asleep still. It
amazed me how she could sleep almost anywhere when she was tired. When her
batteries ran out, so did she. It didn’t matter to her where, she just passed
out.

****

After the show, I caught up with Damien
at his room. We waited for Christina Stewart and her associate from GQ, Jack
Peel. The pair arrived right on time. Damien showed them in, and everyone
settled themselves in the uncomfortable hotel seating.

I started things off, introducing
myself. They already knew who I was. It was my subtle way of letting them know
I was watching out for Damien.

“What we have in mind is doing a photo
shoot of Damien. Actually more than one. We’d like to do one in a studio and
another perhaps in his natural habitat,” Christina began.

“By natural habitat,” I countered, “you
mean his house?”

“Yes, that would be wonderful. It would
show readers how he lives off the road.”

Damien began to speak but nodded at me.
He didn’t want this, but the two of us had another option. I nodded back and
went to work.

“I have an even better idea. Rather than
photograph him in his home, why not on his sail boat? This is Damien’s passion
when he’s not on the road…sailing his boat on Puget Sound.”

“I like that, Christina,” Jack replied.
Jack was going to be the photographer, and I would later learn he was also an
avid sailor. He and Damien would become fast friends over their mutual
interest. “I could get some shots of Damien with the boat moored and perhaps
some out on the sound sailing.”

“Damien?” I asked. I could tell he liked
it. He was much more relaxed about the idea. He was smiling. A rare expression
given what was going on in his personal life.

“I love it, Zara. I have an idea,
though. Do you think Amadeus would mind if we did the shoot using his boat? She’s
much flashier, and Jack would enjoy the sail a lot more on her.”

“I’m sure he wouldn’t mind at all,
Damien.”

“Good, then that part is set. Sailing on
the sound,” Christina interjected. “For the studio part, or we could make other
arrangements, would it be possible to get Amadeus and Angus together with
Damien for some shots?”

“Why?” I replied. “I thought this was
about Damien and his recovery and rebirth.”

“Oh, it is. Jack and I felt perhaps
since they’ve been touring together, it would be nice to do a shot of the three
of them for the piece.”

“Damien?”

“I’m good with it, Zara. You know it won’t
take much prodding to get Angus in front of a camera, Amadeus, either.”

“Okay, if they agree to it, you can
include a shot of them. Now what about the copy, Christina?”

“If you’d like to email me with what
Damien would like included and what not to include, I’ll write something up. I’d
also like to perhaps do a brief interview.”

“As long as I sign off on it then we’ll
be good.”

“Absolutely,” Christina replied. “All we
need to do is set up the time for the shoots. We’re scheduled for the September
issue.”

“Okay, let’s wait until they come off
the road. Will that work?”

“Yes, and I can begin to work on the
copy in the meantime.”

“I do know some good studios in Seattle
if that’s where Jack would like to work out of.”

“I’d rather Damien come to New York, but
if the trip is too much, I can work with doing it in Seattle.”

“Thanks for understanding, Jack. I think
we’re good to go. If you have any questions, let me know. Like Damien told you,
I’m going to be representing him through this project.”

“Great. We look forward to working with
you both,” Christina replied, rising from her chair. “We’ll leave you now. I
know it’s been a long day, and it’ll start over for you in a matter of hours.
We won’t keep you. Thanks to both of you for meeting with us at such a late
hour.”

“Not a problem. I know Damien’s looking
forward to trying something new.”

I stayed behind once they left to make
sure everything progressed as Damien wanted. His body language indicated he was
at ease.

“Okay, I’m out of here. That is, unless
you want to go over anything. If not, you just sit back and let me handle all
the details. This is going to be easy, Dame.”

“I know you’ll take care of me, Zara. I’m
actually looking forward to something new. I really am.”

“Good. Now I’m off to try and get some
sleep before Elizabeth wakes up. I suggest you try and do the same.”

****

Elizabeth’s birthday came around, and
after much talk, I finally was able to convince Amadeus that Elizabeth would be
none the wiser if he wasn’t there on the exact day. He would be home the
following week, and I planned a very small family dinner. In addition to the
baby’s first birthday, we would celebrate Logan coming to live with us and
Amadeus being home for a stretch.

The iffy May weather cooperated finally
with the grey overcast skies giving way to some blue. Amadeus cooked out,
hamburgers for Logan, steaks for us. Of course, there was the traditional ‘
first birthday
’ birthday cake and party
hats. Not wanting it made by anyone other than me, I baked a chocolate cake
with chocolate fudge icing complete with candle. Elizabeth, of course, obliged
us by squishing her hands into one side of the cake, before she squealed at the
gooey mess, and what started out clean was now a mass of chocolate. All over
her face and little body and birthday hat. Oh, and let’s not forget about the
super hyper one-year-old we had to deal with for the remainder of the day.

Once the last of the postponed concerts
had been made up, Amadeus came home. We had decided to go slow and see what
happened. Recording with his brothers, working on another near future tour with
Peter, one where Amadeus could include his classical pieces. Settling into life
back in the Pacific Northwest on what had been Damien and Julia’s island home.
It would give us all time to get to know each other, Logan, Elizabeth, Amadeus,
and me.