Ethan's Song (17 page)

SHE HAD no idea how long she sat in her living room chair and cried. Several times she had picked up the phone to call Ethan, needing to talk with him. But each time she put it back down, knowing he was busy. He would know something was wrong right away. She would only succeed in upsetting him. If she took him from the work he had to do, he wouldn’t be there with her for another week. She couldn’t handle that.

As she prepared to put a TV dinner in the oven, the phone rang. She feared it was Donaho. He’d only be calling to tell her he couldn’t get her off for the night. Looking at her watch, she thought it could be Ethan saying one of two things. Even if he was going to tell her he wouldn’t be there, she needed to hear his voice again. If it turned out to be her agent, she would just hang up on him. Let him sue me, she thought as she answered on the fourth ring.

"I love you, Jenà." It was the voice she needed to hear. "Have you found room for me?" His teasing lightened the mood she had found hard to shake.

"That means you’re going to be here?" Her question was almost a squeal of delight as she sat in the chair she’d been crying in not so long ago. "Are you leaving now?"

"No." He tried sounding disappointed, teasing her more. "It’ll be a few more minutes. I wanted to make sure you’d be home before I dropped in."

His meaning didn’t sink in right away. Her voice held a little disappointment. "I’ll be here..." Her voice then changed in volume. "A few minutes? You mean you’re in Atlanta now?" She was on her feet again, a smile on her face.

"So close I could almost reach out and touch you. I thought you might let me take you to dinner before you go to work. I sure have missed you." The words came through the wire as if he were right beside her.

"I’d rather stay in, if you don’t mind. I’ll fix something." She wanted the privacy of her apartment, and after the good cry she’d had, she didn’t want to be seen in public. It was bad enough that Ethan would be there in so short a time, not giving her time to get the red swelling out from around her eyes. "It may take longer than a few minutes, but I’m sure it won’t bother you to wait. I could probably think of something to keep you entertained while it’s cooking."

"I’ll be on your doorstep before you can get anything started." Ethan smiled as he talked, she could hear it.

Listening to him with closed eyes she saw him as if he stood before her. As they hung up, she sighed, knowing everything was going to be just fine. If things weren’t straightened out with her agent before Ethan was ready to leave, she just might be packed and ready to go with him.

The stew meat thawed in her microwave oven quickly as she put rice in water to boil. Taking the few minutes while the meat browned in the pan, she stood in front of the bathroom sink with a cold, damp washrag over her eyes. Back in the kitchen, she was making a gravy for the stew meat, and she was nearly finished with the meal when the doorbell finally rang. With the biggest smile she could find, she opened the door.

His smile faded at his first look at her. Stepping inside, he set his small suitcase down, closing the door. "What’s wrong, Jenà? You’ve been crying." His arms came around her.

"I don’t even get a kiss hello?" Her complaint was answered with her wish granted. "Let’s not get into what’s wrong right now. Supper is almost done."

She seemed ready to leave his arms, he didn’t want to let her go. "It can wait. I want to know what’s wrong. On the phone you sounded fine."

"I am fine, now that you’re here." Her unspoken wish was that he would just hold her. "Did you want entertainment before or after supper?" she teased when he still wouldn’t let her go.

"What I want are answers." He led her to the couch where he made her sit down as he sat on his heels in front of her, taking her hands. "Now." It was a command, but made so gently, she didn’t rebel as normally she would have.

Giving very little detail, she told him about the new song and how Donaho was trying some nasty tricks to get her to go public. "I could get him for going against my contract, if I could get Hargrove to stand behind me." She was sure Ethan didn’t understand most of her ramblings. But how could he, without the full picture. "I want out now. I want to go home with you."

"You sound so serious, Jenà." He stood, pulling her to her feet. "There’s more you aren’t telling me, isn’t there?" He felt her head nod against his chest. "Care to talk about it?" Her head moved sideways. "I need to go have a good talk with your agent to get the details?"

"Donaho wouldn’t tell you anything, Ethan. Let me get supper on the table, then we’ll talk about it." Walking into the kitchen, she knew she was being followed.

"Smells awful good." He leaned in the doorway watching her. The dress she wore had a wide belt around her slim waist, showing the small pooch that was her behind. "Looks good, too."

Because the food was still covered and she was taking plates from the cupboard, she turned to see what he thought looked good. The sparkle she saw in his eyes, and the wink he gave her, there was no doubt about what he had been looking at. She grinned at him, putting on a shy act as she finished gathering the utensils.

"Could supper wait a while?" Ethan followed her to the dining room, watching as she bent across the table to set it.

Turning, she mocked a hurt look. "After I slaved over that hot stove for hours, you want to eat it cold?" Standing with empty hands, she walked to him, put her arms around his middle and kissed him as she had expected him to do when she opened the door to him.

"Do that again," he spoke as she walked back into the kitchen, "and there won’t be food or anything else thought about until morning. There would be a few people pretty upset if you didn’t show up tonight."

Returning to the table with two pots, she smiled up at him. "I’m not going anywhere tonight, Ethan." She took on a sexy tone, as well as her expression, leaning her backside against the table. "I was so upset, I told Donaho to clear tonight because I wasn’t up to singing."

"All right." Ethan took on a serious look. "Is everything in here?" He followed her into the kitchen bringing the salad, dressing and seasonings to the table, while she brought milk and two glasses.

"I guess that’s about it." After setting the things down, Ethan helped her sit in the chair. "I hope you aren’t a picky eater. This is always a quick fixer when in a pinch with unexpected company."

"Start talking. I want to know everything that has happened this past week. Don’t give me the lace trimmings, I want the whole thing." He seated himself across from her, ignoring what she had said.

While they ate, Jenà related the things he wanted to hear. There was no change in his expression, just in the air about him. She knew he was growing angrier by the minute, but not at her.

"Is that everything?" He set his fork down; his plate was empty.
"Isn’t that enough? I can see what he’s saying about not wanting to let me go without giving it another shot. But not when it goes against everything I want." She’d remained calm through the meal, leaving almost half of hers untouched. Standing, she began clearing the dishes off the table.
Ethan stood behind her, his arms sliding around her middle. "Leave them tonight. I’ll help you with them in the morning."
Closing her eyes, the temptation was almost too much. "No. It will only take five minutes to do them. You can wait that long, can’t you?"
Inhaling deeply, he released her, picking up what she couldn’t carry. "I’ll try, but I’m making no promises."
His smile was nearly enough to change her mind, she had to turn from it. "How was your drive over? I find it very tiring."
"Very." He agreed, setting the plates in the sink. "If it had been up to me, I’d have gone right to bed when I got here. But since you slaved so long in getting that delicious meal put together, I thought the least I could do was enjoy it, which I did."
Feeling playful, she did a curtsy as she thanked him. "You poor man." she said as she straightened. "And now the queen of the house is making you wash the dishes to pay for your meal. How terrible she is. You’d think she’d be happy that you enjoyed it so much."
"Let’s just get them done." He teased back. "I detest dirty dishes. You wash, I’ll dry." Looking around the kitchen, he located a towel. "At least you’re a clean cook."
When they were finished, Jenà turned to him, taking the damp towel from him. "Now see, it didn’t take any time." Putting the towel over the drainer, she smiled. "Now, sir, you have my undivided attention. If you care to give me a run down of what your plans are, I’ll see if I can comply with everything you wish to do."
"Let’s see." Ethan drawled out. "First I want to turn off all the lights. Second, unplug the phone. Third, I want to hold you in my arms. Fourth..."
"So far so good. Let’s leave the rest to surprise, shall we?" She hooked her arm in his, walking out of the kitchen as she flipped the light off. "Light number one. Off." In the living room she bent down and unplugged the phone cord from the wall. "Phone dismantled, and light number two..."she turned the knob on the lamp by the telephone. "Off. Hm-m-m. It gets dark in here, doesn’t it?"
Through the hall, she was his guide. "You need to go to the bathroom? Get a drink? Want a story read to you?" He spoke to her as if she were a child.
"There’s only one thing I want." She heard him ask what that was with a single sound. "I want you to know I’ve never had a man in my bedroom before. I don’t know if I can do this, Ethan."
His arms came around her, stopping her flow of childishness. "I love you, you little flirt." His kiss was deep, searching, sending her off into a land where she cared about nothing at all, except him.
Until a thought came to her mind, one that had been nagging at her all week, though she hadn’t done anything about it. "Ethan?"
"Hm-m-m?" He continued attacking her neck as his hands were busy ridding her of the clothing.
"We need to talk about some kind of birth control. I mean with the wedding..." She was hushed as he covered her moving lips with his.
When he was sure she couldn’t say any more, he picked her up and placed her now naked body on her bed. As he joined her, he gave his answer. "I want you just as you are, as natural as nature itself. We talked about having a family. For me, the sooner the better."
"Are you going to talk all night, or teach me more about loving you?" Her arms went around him, pulling him to her.

SITTING IN the inner office, Jenà watched as Ethan read the many different framed papers hanging on the walls. Donaho had found a few semi-successful people in his eighteen year career, her sister being the best he’d had. Jenà would be his biggest now, he kept telling her. Sorry, Donaho, her mind repeated the words she had always told him. I can’t. I won’t. He wouldn’t send her down the street looking for another agent because maybe, just maybe, he could change her mind.

Ethan continued reading when the door was opened, letting the older man into his office. "Jenà." He greeted her as if there had been no misunderstanding between them. "I’m glad to see you looking so much better this morning. You haven’t been waiting long, have you?"

"No, Donaho. We’ve only been here five minutes." She stood, walking to Ethan. "Donaho, I’d like you to meet Ethan Ayers, my fiancè."

"Ayers." He repeated the name as if he were trying it out for the first time. His hand outstretched, he took the few steps between them. "I’ve heard the name before. Can’t recall where."

"Donaho." Ethan acknowledged the man, ignoring his comment. "I’ve come in to see what can be done about things like yesterday." Ethan didn’t believe in beating around the bush. "I came in last night and found that Jenà has had some problems with you and someone named Hargrove."

"All an innocent mistake, really." The older man walked around his desk, making himself comfortable, giving them the sign to sit in a chair on the other side of the large piece of office furniture. "I admit, I was trying to persuade Jenà to change her mind, but Hargrove went too far. I had a talk with him, and it won’t be repeated."

"No, it won’t. I also want to talk about this contract between the two of you. Is there a copy here? I’d like to read it." He hadn’t taken a seat as offered, he preferred to be on his feet.

"Jenà should have a copy." He looked at the woman, expecting to hear an answer from her. "But I can get one for you. If you insist."

"I do." The words were easily spoken, but were meant to get no argument in return.
Pushing a buzzer on his large phone, he sat back expecting the door to open, which it did. "Get me a copy of the Wisdom contract, would you, Ellen? Mr. Ayers would like to go over it with Jenà." When the secretary had closed the door again, he continued to talk as if there had been no interruption. "I’m sure you’ll see that it’s all legal and binding."
"I’m sure I will. Jenà tells me there is a clause that states there will be no pushing any further than the night clubs and parties that she’s willing to do." Ethan now took the chair beside his woman. "I understand, too, that you were Darlene’s agent, is that right?"
"I was, yes." His face showed surprise at being asked that question out of the blue. "That’s how Jenà and I got to know one another, and that is also the reason I know Jenà can make it. She’s a natural, just like her sister, maybe better." Donaho sat on the edge of his seat, folding his hands on the desk. "Darlene had everything that Jenà could have. It was tragic that she had to die so young."
"You know it was what she had that caused her death, Donaho." She stood, walking to the window that overlooked the busy street. "You also know how I feel about all that." She felt Ethan behind her, his hands on her shoulders as he turned her to him.
"I’m sorry, sweetheart. I shouldn’t have brought your sister into this." His words were comforting, as were his arms.
"It’s okay, Ethan. I have to learn to put Darlene in the past. I have you now." She let him hold her until the secretary returned with the papers asked for.
She handed the stapled copy to her boss, leaving the room again. Ethan led Jenà to the chair, helped her to sit down again, then reached for the papers, looking over the front page carefully. "You wouldn’t mind if we went somewhere to read this and come back to discuss it?" He addressed Donaho, his brown eyes finally coming up from the papers to meet the other man’s.
"No, I don’t mind. Please do. I think the more you know, the better for all." He stood, looking at Jenà. "You will be at the Casino Georgia this evening, won’t you?" She could detect a bit of threat coming.
"I’ll be there with bells on, Donaho. You know last night was the first time I missed any engagement due to illness or..." Leaving it at that, she knew he would get her message. "Three and a half years should be a record of some kind." She stood beside her man, ready to leave when he said so.
"We’ll be back after lunch, if that’s all right." Taking her arm, they left when Mr. Donaho gave his silent approval.