Buried Notes (Brothers of Rock #4) (11 page)

(13)

Becky exhaled a shaky breath. A
tear fell from her eye and she wasn’t sure if she was crying over the death of
her mother or talking about Chris. It had been a long time since she actually
went back to that place and talked about it.

Without a word, Rachael stood up
and walked to the counter. She grabbed a small bottle of brandy and twisted the
cap off. She handed it to her sister and nodded.

As Becky stared at the bottle,
Rachael said, “Rebecca, if you don’t take a drink, I will.”

“You don’t drink,” Becky said.
“You’re a mom.”

“Yeah?”

Rachael grabbed the bottle and took
a drink. A big drink. Becky was shocked.

“I know it’s a crazy story,” Becky
said.

Rachel’s eyes watered as she handed
the bottle to Becky. Becky took a sip and put the bottle on the table.

“This is crazy,” Rachael said as
she took her seat again.

Her blue eyes shined bright like
Becky’s and the look coming from her sister was the reason why Becky never said
a word before. It wasn’t anyone’s business and she didn’t want the pity.

Or the questions...

“Why did you do it?” Rachael asked.
“I mean, you stayed with him? All these years? He’s rich. Did he send you
anything? A letter? Money?”

“Just stop,” Becky said. “Please.
Don’t act like...”

Becky looked to the table and
closed her eyes.

“Like Mom?” Rachael asked.

The tears came now. And fast.

It took both sisters a few minutes
finally collect themselves again.

“I’m sorry,” Rachael said. “This is
just a lot to take in.”

“I know,” Becky said. “And let me
answer your questions... I don’t know why I did it. Or why I agreed to it. We
were drunk and having fun. We ended up married. I can still picture his face
when he came to my hotel. He was seriously hurt by it. Hurt by what he had to
say to me because it was the truth. The weekend went okay after that. Stephanie
got married. I went back to Texas. Chasing Cross had their album launch and
went on tour. Chris sent me a signed copy of the new album and it just rubbed
me the wrong way. I never wanted anything else from him after that. I moved and
just stayed away.”

“He sent you a CD and nothing
else?”

“I don’t know if he sent anything
else. I didn’t ask and I didn’t care. As far as money goes... I don’t want
people bothering me. Even now. Chris went his way and I went mine. Plus, we had
an agreement. If one of us fell in love or wanted to get married, we’d get
divorced.”

“He never sent papers then?”

“Nope.”

“You know, you’re probably entitled
to half his stuff. You could be a millionaire.”

“We’ll find out I guess.”

“What does that mean?”

“That means I’m getting divorced,”
Becky said.

She lifted the bottle of brandy and
then drank from it. A deep drink. When she finished, she slid the bottle across
the table, scattering some of the pictures along with it.

“Whoa, Rebecca,” Rachael said.
“Look, I’m sorry. I wish you would have told me.”

“How could I?” Becky asked. “This
is a mess. But it gets worse.”

“How does it get worse?”

“He hasn’t answered me,” Becky
said. “He hasn’t answered me.”

“When did you send the papers?”

Becky held up two fingers. “I sent
them twice. That’s how long.”

The brandy was obviously working
its magic, but the mood Becky was in to begin with didn’t help the mood she
would continue to be in.

“You sent divorce papers twice?”
Rachael asked.

“Yeah.”

“Well, he’s busy. I can’t believe
I’m saying this... but he’s a rockstar, right?”

“Yeah. He’s a rockstar. The first
time I sent the papers I was nervous. No, I was scared. I couldn’t believe what
I was doing. Divorcing someone. But I figured that maybe enough time had gone
by that it wouldn’t matter. We could do it without anyone noticing or really
caring. Chasing Cross is still a big band but when Chris and I got married,
they were still getting big and it could have hurt their image.”

“All that time and you still care
about him.”

“I never said that.”

“You just did,” Rachael said.
“Waiting for the right time to divorce him.”

“It wasn’t just that, Rachael. It
was...”

Becky started to tap a picture of
their mother, confessing the truth behind the divorce.

“Mom? Did she know?”

“No,” Becky said. “That alone pains
me because I feel like she’s gone and there’s secrets there. I don’t like that
feeling. I don’t want that feeling ever again. But it was seeing her sick and
knowing she was going to... well, go. I was cleaning up my room one day, just
trying to clear my mind. I had some music going, a fresh cup of coffee.
Probably the most pathetic looking Saturday morning in the world for a single
woman. But whatever. I took out the top drawer of my nightstand and dumped it.
It’s more of a junk and memory drawer. I thought going through some stuff would
at least make me smile. And it did for a few minutes, until I found the ring.”

“The ring he gave you?” Rachael
asked.

Becky nodded. “I wasn’t shocked
that I kept it. I knew I’d keep it. It’s an expensive ring. But just seeing it
right then and thinking about Mom, it all came together for me. I can’t say
that I’m single because of this situation but I can’t say I’m not because of
it. Does that make sense?”

“Sure,” Rachael said. “What if you
found someone you liked or loved? You’d have to explain to that person that you’re
married and then get into the story. Even the perfect guy would be a little
freaked out.”

“That’s my thought,” Becky said. “I
wonder how many dates I went out on that I just threw out the window because of
this. Even on those rare occasions that I enjoyed myself, I felt guilty. I
mean, I’m a married woman, right? And sleeping with someone else. It just had a
bad feel to it.”

“Of course it did,” Rachael said.
“You’re a good woman. A good person. It has meaning to you.”

“Not to him,” Becky said, her voice
getting loud. “If it did, he would have done something.”

“You said yourself you didn’t want
to be bothered.”

“I’m a woman!” Becky cried out. “We
don’t want to be bothered. But we want to be chased down, right? We want that
moment... to open the front door and he’s standing there. Ready for you. Ready for
forever.”

Becky blinked, fighting tears for
what felt like the millionth time that day.

“Okay,” Rachael said in her
sisterly whisper. “Let me get you something to eat and why don’t we go to bed?
It’s been a long day. And we still have another day or two of all this...”

“I sent the paperwork twice,” Becky
said. “Not once, but twice. Two times I had to endure that gut wrenching
feeling. Sending it once was one thing. I waited for a response, a call from my
lawyer. It was supposed to be once and done. I had a little night planned out
for myself too. A movie. Some ice cream. Plenty of guilt. Then it’d be done.
Nope. Not for me. I had to send a second copy.”

“They’re a busy band,” Rachael
said.

“They were here not too long ago,”
Becky said.

“How did you know that?”

Becky felt her cheeks turning red.
She was guilty.

“You follow their tour dates?”
Rachael asked.

“Maybe.”

“Oh, Rebecca...”

“They were here a couple weeks
ago,” Becky said. “So I can’t even say that he’s far away. Or he’s across the
world or something. They’re in Syracuse tonight. Then I think they’re taking a
couple days off.”

“Okay,” Rachael said. “I’m sure his
lawyers are looking at everything, trying to figure it out too. You said it
yourself, it’s sudden, right?”

“Of course it’s sudden,” Becky
said. “It’s not like there would be signs of divorce. This has been a secret
for years.”

“True. Just give it a little time.”

“All he has to do is sign the
papers,” Becky said. “I made sure it’s all taken care of. I don’t want a thing
from him. I even... well...”

“What?”

“I even offered to give back the
ring so he could get money for it.”

Rachael hugged her little sister
and Becky welcomed it.

“I’m glad you told me this,”
Rachael said.

“There were times when I thought
about it and it was kind of cool. A rockstar secret. Who wouldn’t want that,
right? But now, it just feels wrong. It’s like being young and stupid and
getting a really bad tattoo.”

“You have no tattoos,” Rachael
said. “This will pass, as will everything else.”

“If he signs the papers,” Becky
said.

“When he signs the papers,” Rachael
reiterated.

Becky didn’t reply even though her
mind - her hopelessly in love mind - had one more thought.

Just
why... honestly... just why hadn’t Chris signed the papers?

**

Chris stepped from the black car
and grabbed his bag and guitar case. He put both on the ground and stretched
his back. Most of the alcohol had worn off thanks to three bottles of water. He
reached into the back of the car and grabbed a half empty bottle of water and
drank the rest of it. He didn’t care if he’d have to use the bathroom, the
private jet had a bathroom on it.

A minute later another black car
pulled up behind Chris’s. The backdoor opened and just the sight of the small
shoes told Chris it was Peter.

“Shit,” Chris whispered.

He knew trying to get away like
this wouldn’t have been done in secrecy. Nothing could be done secrecy. He
leaned against his black car and folded his arms, waiting to see what Peter had
to offer to the situation.

Peter slipped his cell phone into
the inside breast pocket of his suit jacket and walked towards Chris with a
solemn face.

“Evening, Peter,” Chris said.

Peter looked at his watch. “I think
we’re closer to good morning.”

“Whatever works.”

“I know you guys have some time off
right now.”

“That’s what the schedule says,
right?”

“Yes.”

“The bus is taking the rest of the
guys to New York.”

“I know that, Chris.”

“Johnnie will stay. Danny and Davey
will fly out. Rick... who knows what the hell Rick does, right?”

Peter smiled. “What are you doing?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re boarding a private jet in
the middle of the night.”

“Need to visit someone.”

“You could just sign the papers,”
Peter said. “I don’t know what you’re trying to prove right now, Chris. Barging
into someone’s life like this isn’t going to help matters.”

“What are you worried about? You
think she’ll make a big deal about it then? Run to some magazines. Post
pictures online?”

“Who knows?” Peter asked. “She’s
offered to just end this. She doesn’t want anything from you. I mean, that’s a
lucky break.”

“No,” Chris said. He bent and grabbed
his bag and guitar. It suddenly reminded him of leaving Virginia over ten years
ago with the rest of the guys in Chasing Cross. That’s all he had then - a bag
and a guitar. “The lucky break, Peter, was meeting someone like Becky, okay?
Everything after that was shit. It was shit to her. It was shit to me.
Somewhere in my mind I just let it all slip away. I sent her a CD. I tried to
send a letter or two but they came back to me. This is the first time I’ve come
close to knowing where she is.”

Chris turned and took a step when
Peter grabbed his arm. For a little man, he had a fierce grip when it came to
thinking about money. And bad press could hurt the band. Chris knew if Becky
wanted to be a bitch about things, she could drag a long divorce out. But he
didn’t believe she would do that.

“Chris,” Peter said. “Just sleep on
this.”

Chris paused. The door to the
private jet was open. The plane was ready.

“Just think about what it means,”
Peter said. His hand opened, letting Chris go. His voice suddenly became
smooth, the salesman inside Peter coming out. “Why does she want this now?
There has to be something going on in her life. Something... I don’t want to
come out and say it, Chris. Okay? But just sleep on it. For one night. I’ll get
you to a hotel...”

Chris took a step. He looked to his
left and down at Peter. “I can sleep on the plane.”

“This isn’t good,” Peter said. “At
all, Chris.”

“Peter, this is my situation,”
Chris said. “I appreciate your input and your worry. Even if it’s only over the
money.”

“The money?” Peter asked and
laughed. “I’m rich because of Chasing Cross. I’m thinking of you, Chris. What
is this going to mean to you? What’s it going to do? You could sign the divorce
papers and be done. Move on with your life. You’re still touring. You’re still
writing music. Chasing Cross has become a catalyst for other bands. Bands who
want to work with producers that you’ve worked with. Bands like Fallen Tuesday
who are now the next biggest band because of touring with you. That’s what I’m
worried about.”

“And the money,” Chris said. He
smiled. “Don’t bullshit me, Peter. If this blows up and costs a fortune...”

“I want you to be set for life,”
Peter said. “Just in case the time comes and Chasing Cross is done writing and
touring. I want you to be able to go into the world and do whatever you want.”

“Now you sound like a father,”
Chris said.

“I’ve watched you guys grow from
punk kids to men. What do you think it’s like for me?”

“What’s it like then?” Chris asked.

“What?”

“Signing the papers. You did it,
right?”

Peter licked his thin lips. “Yeah. I
did it.”

“So?”

“You want the truth, Chris? I’m
tired right now and I’ll probably regret saying this. But it was a bitch to
sign those papers, okay? And you know why?”

“Why, Peter?”

“Because it was all fresh in
here...” Peter touched his chest.