Real Time (17 page)

“It’s going too fast, mate,” Nick said. “Can we slow it down?”

Ron made some adjustments and Nick sat back on the stool that was in the middle of the room. After about five minutes, Ron piped the music back for Nick to listen to. Nick nodded as he listened and then gave him a thumbs-up, confirming it was what he wanted. Ron set it up again and started the recording. The song was about four minutes long and there was quite a crowd in the sound booth watching as Nick finished the last song for album number thirty. When he was done, there was a loud silence as Ron played it back in his headset and then turned the song into the studio.

“I got it, Nick,” he said, as they were listening to the final version. “That’s a wrap.”

It was bedlam after that. Everyone crowded in the studio to congratulate Nick. He took everyone’s handshakes and hugs before leading everyone out to one of the large conference rooms where food and champagne was laid out. The celebration was open to all who worked there and the other band members called their wives – girlfriend, in Trent’s case - to come and celebrate. Kate got along well with the wives. Her circumstance was a little off, as she was a band member and a wife, but soon they were all talking and enjoying the merriment. Kate wasn’t much of a drinker, nursing a single glass of champagne through the afternoon and well into the evening. The guys, however, were not holding back and the women were making bets as to who would have the largest hangover when this was done. Nick had decided to go ahead and celebrate – drinking a lot more than normal. The finish of a record was always a time for a party and this one was extra special

* * *

W
hen it was apparent the celebrating was finished, Nick walked to Kate and handed her the keys to his car. She appreciated that he knew he was far too drunk to be driving and she watched while the other wives pulled out their keys as well. Nick got into the passenger side of his BMW and Kate inwardly wondered if he had ever been a passenger in his own car before. Kate didn’t like to drive it because of how powerful it was, but she wasn’t going to argue with him. He tipped his head back on the headrest and Kate heard a few snores as she drove silently back to their house. She woke him when they were home and he walked upstairs to the bedroom on unsteady feet. She found him later passed out on the bed, his clothes still on. Kate was trying to keep from laughing. This was probably the most out of control she had ever seen him. She was able to pull his off shoes and wrestled with his pants. After, she managed to get him under the covers but didn’t bother with the rest of the clothes. She undressed and slid into bed next to him.

The next morning she heard a text come in on her cell, so she slipped out of bed. She put on a robe, picked her phone out of her purse, and headed into the bathroom. The text was from Marilyn Mitchell, Steve’s wife. The text made her laugh. ‘
Steve said to tell Nick he needs to hire a new bass player since he’s never getting out of this bed. EVER.
’ Kate responded that Nick wasn’t awake, but would pass on the message. Kate took a shower and was towel drying her hair when she heard some groaning from the other room. Walking back in, she found Nick sitting on the edge of the bed, lighting a cigarette. He hadn’t noticed her standing there – he was holding his head with his other hand.

“Are you all right?” Kate asked in a quiet voice.

“Oh, dear Lord,” Nick gasped. “Don’t yell.”

It took Kate all she had not to laugh at him. It was obvious this was not going to be a good day. “Marilyn texted and said you need to hire a new bass player. Steve’s a goner.”

Nick lifted his head to look at her. “Won’t need to hire one. Won’t be moving from this bed.” Nick put the half-smoked cigarette out in the ashtray and crawled back under the covers, throwing the bedspread over his head to muffle the light. Kate hung up the towel and texted Marilyn back. ‘
No band to hire for. Nick’s done.
’ She went back into the bathroom to finish brushing out her hair and the phone rang. Looking at the caller ID, it didn’t surprise her that it was Cindy, Andy’s wife. “Hello?”

“Kate, its Cindy. How are things there?”

“World War III must have happened because Nick has gone underground to his bed,” she answered, laughing.

“He must have been in the same bunker with Andy. He’s forgotten how to talk. All I hear is some kind of mumbling and something about never leaving his bed,” Cindy said.

“Marilyn said the same thing. I heard Nick up in the middle of the night, throwing up.”

“Andy, too,” she confirmed.

The two talked for a few more minutes before Kate finished the call and put her hair up in its usual ponytail. Glancing over at Nick, who was still entrenched under the covers, she left the bedroom and headed downstairs to the kitchen. She started a pot of coffee and put a couple pieces of bread in the toaster for breakfast. Consuelo had weekends off, so it was quiet in the house. She had just sat down at the breakfast bar when Nick appeared from around the corner. He pulled a mug out of the cupboard and poured a cup of the coffee she had brewed, sitting down across from her. He didn’t even bother to put sugar or milk in it, which was how he normally drank it.

“You look like shit, Nick,” she said.

“I feel like shit, love, thanks,” he answered. “Please don’t ever let me drink that much again.”

“I seem to recall saying something about four bottles in.”

“Yeah, well.”

They sat in silence. Kate offered him a piece of her toast which he took reluctantly. “Are we doing anything this weekend?”

“Had nothing definite planned,” Kate confirmed. “My parents invited us to their house for dinner tomorrow, if you think you’ll be up to it.”

“Dinner tomorrow, I might be able to do,” Nick answered, with a groan. “God, I haven’t been this trashed since my first record.
That
comparison crossed my mind when I was puking my guts out last night.”

“Well, you’re in good company, if it makes you feel any better. I talked to both Marilyn and Cindy this morning. Steve and Andy are just as hung over as you are. Andy probably equally as bad - Cindy said he was up all night also.”

“I’d like to think it was worth it,” Nick said, taking a bite of the toast. “This is why I don’t normally drink. I’ve never have been able to hold it well.”

“I always thought it was the control obsession you have,” Kate said.

“I don’t know about it being an ‘obsession.’ I don’t have the patience for laziness and stuff done half way,” he confirmed.

“So, how trashed were you that Monday morning in Chicago? That was some pretty nice, single malt Scotch you were power drinking.”

Nick couldn’t help but grin. “That’s why it took me two hours to come over to the arena with you. Hadn’t quite cleared the hangover.” He put the half eaten piece of toast back on her plate and stood up. “I’m going back to bed, love.”

“I am going to go run to the store and a couple of other places. I shouldn’t be gone too long.”

“Come roust me when you get back?” Kate nodded and Nick disappeared out of the room.

* * *

N
ick was better the next day and they spent the majority of the afternoon at Kate’s parent’s house. Kate spent the time helping her mom in the kitchen. She had never forgotten what they had done for her so many years ago. Her mom, Nancy, had been wary about Kate marrying Nick for the same reasons Kate had doubts. But seeing them together, Nancy always smiled. She did regret that Kate couldn’t have children but had resigned herself years ago that there would be no grandchildren. There was still a chance that they could adopt, but it didn’t seem like either of them were planning to slow down any time soon.

“Things are well, honey?” Nancy asked.

“Very,” Kate confirmed. “Busy though. Nick’s planning to go back out on the road after Labor Day.”

“He never stops, does he?” she asked.

Kate shook her head. “Not that I know of. Even when we are on the road, he’s busy. Songwriting, most of the time – says he gets his best inspirations when he’s touring. Maybe because of all the different places he sees.”

“I hope he makes time for you.”

“He does. I can’t complain,” Kate said smiling fondly while watching him interact with her stepdad.

Dinner was nice and Kate smirked at Nick when he turned down the wine her stepfather offered at dinner. He shot her a look but Kate could see his eyes laughing. The subject of Nick’s thirtieth record came up and her parents were very supportive, congratulating him and treating him like a son instead of the public person he was. That was one of the reasons her husband liked going to their house, because he was able to talk all kinds of subjects with his father-in-law and Allen was becoming the father that Nick’s never was. Nick had tried to get him to come and work for the studio to do their legal work, but her stepfather had declined, saying he liked the partnership he was with and liked being out of the limelight. Nick left the offer open in the event he ever changed his mind but there was still no sign of that happening.

As they were undressing for bed, Kate pulled a small box out of her purse. “I have something for you, Nick.” She handed the box to Nick, watching his face as he opened it. Inside was a ring - it was white gold, so it looked silver. Two panthers were upraised in the metal, facing each other on each side, with single rubies eyes. Nick was born in July, the rubies were his birthstone. In between the two panthers, was the letter ‘
M
’ for Marshall, with a single carat diamond in the indent of the M.

“I knew when you put the ring on my finger what it meant and I also knew that you would never wear one, just based on how fans would react and how the press would spin it. And, so you know, I don’t care what hand you wear this ring on. I just wanted to put my mark on you, same as you have done. I had it made like a signet ring. The guys are not going to buy it’s not a wedding band, but the fans and the press will.”

“I don’t know what to say, love,” Nick answered, turning the jewelry in his fingers. “This has to be the finest piece of work I’ve ever seen.”

“And the best part is none of ‘your’ money paid for it. That was important to me,” Kate told him, watching as he slipped it onto the ring finger of his left hand, which is where she was hoping he’d wear it. The fit was perfect. “I did not come into this relationship to take from you, Nick.”

“And you don’t. You give far more than I have ever deserved.”

“It’s mutual,” she said softly. “I love the way we are together. I feel like you’ve always been there.”

“I like that you’re independent,” he told her. “I don’t have to put all my energies into making you happy every hour of every day. Had a girlfriend like that once; helped to put me off of dating and relationships for a long time.”

“I know you’ve relaxed on a lot of things in the past two years, but something you said in the beginning sticks with me. I know under the difficult person you can be, is the Nick I fell in love with. The Nick that could stand there and let tears fall after you came back from London. The rest of it is a product of what you do.”

“You are the first person to ever see that,” he murmured, moving to stand in front of her. “The real me - not some icon of someone famous.”

“I saw lots of famous people when I was working for Michael. They didn’t even affect me. The only reason I was nervous auditioning for you was because I knew you didn’t normally hire women. I was a longshot at best.”

“Best decision I ever made,” he said softly, lifting her chin up to kiss her. “Well, second best anyway. Marrying you was the best.”

K
ate was bored. There were only about two months left before Labor Day and Nick was planning to start his next road trip then. Kate didn’t want to start a session with anyone because, most of the time, the sessions went well over three months. She also didn’t want to have to try to find someone to finish for her. To occupy her time, she’d started sitting in the sound booth with Ron while he worked. He found her a headset and she would listen to what he was doing as he recorded the tracks. After about three weeks, he let her work the board for one of the new artists; he’d been amazed at how much she picked up. Kate was diligent and made sure she was getting things right the first time. Any additional takes were not because of anything she had done.

They were in the studio doing the tracks for the band, Great Escape. The instrumentals were finished and they were working on vocals. Unfortunately, the lead singer for this group was Christian Long, Nick’s drummer about six years ago before he decided to go out on his own. Trent was his brother and Nick hired him with a recommendation from Christian, agreeing to a contract of three records with his band, once he had heard a demo of their music. The other four band members were reasonable to work with but Christian was a nightmare. Biggest problem was he was too much into the drug scene and usually showed up on a big high, which tended to put him off his game. Kate didn’t like the man and had no clue how he had ever ended up working for Nick because her husband would never have put up with this attitude. Nick wasn’t into drugs – he told Kate he had done them early in his career and didn’t like the way he felt when he was high nor did he like the feeling when he was coming down off of that high. Kate attributed his dislike to the control obsession Nick wouldn’t admit to having. He did
not
like not being in control of a situation.

Arlan came into the booth and whispered something to Ron which caused him to stand up. He told Kate to go ahead and set up the next take so that things would be ready when he got back. Five minutes later he came back in looking upset.

“What’s the matter, Ron?” Kate asked.

“My wife was on the phone. Her dad called to tell her that her mom passed away. I need to leave and take care of her.”

“Go ahead,” Kate told him. “I can finish this for you until Tony gets back on Monday.” Tony and Patrick were the other two sound engineers - both were away on vacation because the schedule had been slower.

“I’ll tell Arlan what’s going on,” Ron said, and Kate stood to give him a hug.