When I Look to the Sky (2 page)

CHAPTER TWO ~ THE GRAMMYS

February 2005

Carlee remembered her first trip to the GRAMMYs when she was seven. It was a special trip; Andy received a nomination for a GRAMMY for
Song
of
the
Year
for his song about ‘his Bethy’, “A Dream Away”. Carlee was his date for the ceremonies and Angel joined them. Kimmy and Nanny took Carlee shopping before their trip for a ‘party-dress’ and shoes. The whole idea of dressing up excited Carlee.

When they arrived in Los Angeles, a driver was there to take them to the Chateau Fairmont where they were staying. Andy booked a penthouse and they were staying four days. Angel was almost as giddy as Carlee. After they settled in, Angel had a list of things she knew they would need and a driver took her shopping. While she was gone, Andy took Carlee on a tour of the hotel.

“
Papa! That’s Pat from Train!” she whispered excitedly.

He looked over his shoulder
, “Yep, do you want to meet him?”

“
For real?” she asked.

“
Well, sure. Pat!” he called out.

He turned
, saw Andy, and said, “Andy Stevens, this is a pleasure. I’m a fan; I’ve followed your career for a long time. Who is this lovely lady?” he asked, as Carlee stood at Andy’s side, wide-eyed in disbelief.

“
This is my daughter Carlee,” she squeezed his hand and he looked down and smiled. “Train is her favorite band.”

“
Next to Traveler,” she replied and Andy squeezed her back.

“
Well, Miss Carlee, this is a pleasure.” He took her hand, kissed it, and she giggled.

“
You’re performing at the ceremonies, right?” Andy asked.

“
We are,” he replied.

“
Which song?” Carlee asked.

“
What’s your favorite?” he asked teasingly.

She looked at Andy
and he smiled. “It’s OK, you can tell him.”

“
When I Look to the Sky,” she replied, looking up at Andy again as he nodded.

“
Go ahead, sweetheart.” Andy said.

“
It makes me think of my mama.”

Pat
knew the story. He looked at Andy and winked. “That’s exactly which song we are singing.”

“
I can’t wait!” she said excitedly.

“
You’re singing too, Andy?” Pat asked.

“
I am, the nominated song,” Andy replied.

“
Good luck to you,” he said to Andy, and reached again for Carlee’s hand to kiss it.

The next day, Angel and Carlee went to a salon early in the day for pampering. When they returned to the hotel, Andy was waiting, dressed for the evening in his tuxedo. There was a platter of fruit and cheese waiting.

“
Look how beautiful the two of you are! We’ll have a snack now, and dinner after the awards,” he told them.

After they ate
, Angel took Carlee to dress for the evening. Carlee’s dress was yellow, her favorite color, and the salon styled her red hair in a high-ponytail with loose curls. She looked in the mirror and giggled. “Who is
that
?” she laughed.

“
It’s you! You look beautiful! Just wait ‘til your Papa gets a look at you!” Angel said as she reached for the door. They stepped out in the living room area where Andy waited.

Lord, don
’t let me cry,
he thought when he got a look at Carlee. He swore he saw a halo atop her head and took a deep breath. She wore a pearl necklace he’d given her for her fourth birthday. He remembered, and smiled.

“
Wow, you two look like super-models,” he said with a big grin. He reached for Carlee’s hand, “I have a gift for you,” he told her.

“
It’s not my birthday or nuthin’…” she replied with a question in her voice.

“
Anything,” Angel corrected her, trying to hide a grin.
That sweet-southern-twang…
she thought.

“
No, but
this
is a special occasion. Come here a sec,” he told her as he walked to a mirror in the hallway. He reached in his pocket and put a box on the table. “We’re going to take this off, it looks very pretty, but I think you will like this.” He put the pearl necklace on the table and removed something from the box. He reached around her and put another necklace around her neck and lifted her in his arms to see in the mirror.

The chain was her birthstone,
small aquamarine beads, alternating with tiny colored freshwater pearls. Hanging from the chain was a butterfly made with the same stones.

“
Papa,” Carlee said, touching the stones, “it’s so pretty.” 

“
I’m glad you like it. Kimmy said it would be perfect with your dress when I showed it to her.” She wrapped her arms around his neck, giving him a big hug. He kissed her cheek and put her down. Angel smoothed her dress, and he took Carlee’s hand and said, “Shall we go, ladies?”

When they arrived, the Staples Center was a busy, bustling place. “The limo will drop us closer to the entrance,” Andy said as he saw the line of black cars about half a block long.

Finally,
an attendant opened the door. Andy stepped out and took Angel’s hand first, to help her, and then he took Carlee’s. “Papa, I’m so excited,” she said.

“
Me too, come on,” he grinned as he continued to hold her hand.

As they made their way,
Angel was a step behind in her glory, capturing everything going on around them, to keep the memory. She watched as people from the music industry walked the red carpet, and flashes of light came from every direction as photographers tried to get the best shot. Finally, a reporter that Carlee recognized from an entertainment news show on TV approached. Andy squeezed Carlee’s hand as Shar Manes, the reporter, asked; “Mr. Stevens, who’s your beautiful date this evening?”

“
This is my daughter, Carlee,” he replied.

“
Carlee, are you having a good time?” she asked.

“
Yes, ma’am!” she replied excitedly.

Angel took Carlee
’s hand as the reporter spoke with Andy about the GRAMMY nominated song, and asked if he had anything new coming out soon.

“
There are still a few songs from this album that I’ll release as singles. For now, I’m taking the summer off to spend time with Carlee.”

“
Are you pleased with the sales of the book,
Rock and Roll Never Forgets
?” Shar asked. “Almost a year on the best-seller list,” she added.

“
I believe that we are all surprised, but yes, pleased,” he replied.

“
Any plans for a movie, we hear that you’ve been approached about it.”

“
No,” he said, and added no more.

“
Well, good luck this evening,” she said. “Miss Carlee, enjoy the evening.”

“
Thank you,” she said sweetly as Andy took her hand in his.

As they approached their seats, Carlee heard a familiar voice. “Roddy!” she said excitedly as he lifted her off the floor, into his arms. His partner Vince was right there with a big smile waiting his turn, followed by Andy’s sound engineer, Marco D’Mario. The three men passed Carlee among them.

“
Stop,” Angel scolded, “You are gonna wrinkle her…”

But Carlee interrupted with a giggle and
said, “I don’t care!” Their good friends were there to support him, and Andy was glad. Carlee was over-the-moon…

Andy got Angel and Carlee settled and stood talking with Roddy and Vince when he spotted Dave Marsh, a promoter that he
’d worked with in the past. Roddy and Andy walked to greet him.

“
Dave, good to see you,” Andy said.

“
You too. I was just thinking about you; I actually have a note on my desk to call you. I have a new talent that I’d like you to meet. She’s working on her second album. Her style is different, and I thought you might be interested in producing, or at least hearing her and giving some input. She’ll be here in a few minutes, my date for the evening,” he added.

And
y looked up and saw a blonde approaching.

“
There she is now,” Dave said.

Roddy saw her, but it wasn
’t her looks that he was noticing, it was the way her eyes zeroed in on Andy, like a hunter with a prize catch locked in her sights. He looked at Andy and saw the ‘I’m not fazed’ look on his face.

“
Adaleigh Pensant, Andy Stevens, and this is Roddy Beamer. Andy is the producer I told you about,” Dave said.

“
Ms. Pensant,” Andy nodded and reached to shake her hand, but Adaleigh had something else in mind, and leaned in to hug him.

“
Well, Andy Stevens, it’s nice to meet you,” she purred and Roddy flinched. She reached in her bag and handed Andy a card. “My contact info,” she continued.

“Adaleigh, it’s nice to meet you.” He talked to her a moment and finally said, “I’ll have Marco call you to get a tape so I can have a listen.”

Andy turned to where Carlee sat, “Dave, you need to come meet my date,” Andy said, looking away from Adaleigh, there was something about her that made him uncomfortable, something he wasn’t sure he liked.

“Carlee, this is Mr. Marsh,” he said. “Dave, this is my daughter, Carlee.”

Andy looked up and saw Adaleigh making her way toward them.

“Well, who is the pretty thing?” she asked in a sugar-drippy voice when she joined them.

“
Andy’s daughter, Carlee,” Dave replied.

“
Daughter? Oh, you mean step-daughter,” she said, and Andy shot her a look that let her know he wasn’t happy with her comment.

“
Daughter,” he said sharply. 

Dave
took Adaleigh’s hand and pulled her toward their seats. “Carlee, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Good to see you, Andy.”

“
I’ll look forward to hearing from you,” Adaleigh called back over her shoulder.

Andy turned away and sat
down beside Carlee. Roddy and Angel were both watching him, saw the set jaw, and knew he was not happy with the exchange.

He slipped an arm around Carlee as the lights flickered to give the
sign that the show was about to begin.

“
Papa?” she whispered.

“
Yeah, baby?”

“
What’s a step-daughter?”

Angel held her breath waiting to see how he would answer her question.

“It’s when you have another father, the one you were born with, and me,” he replied and hoped it was enough.

Carlee pondered his words a moment and finally said,
“I can just have two fathers, right? Because I don’t think I like ‘step’.”

“
Me neither,” he whispered and squeezed her as the music began.

Dave Marsh let Adaleigh slip into her seat and took the seat beside her. “What the hell were you thinking just now? First you come on to him, and then you say something rude about his daughter. I saw the look on Andy’s face and I know him well enough to know that he was not happy or impressed with you.”

“
I didn’t do anything wrong,” she snapped back.

“
Well you sure didn’t do anything right. He could take you where you want in this business. He’s the best I know, been producing his own work for years and has the accolades to go with it. Don’t screw this up, Adaleigh.”

Maybe work
’s not all that I’m interested in…
she thought and looked at Dave but said nothing.

“
And remember, his wife only died a year and a half ago, so pull the fangs back in.”

Wife…
she thought and settled back into her seat.

~ ~ ~

An hour and a half into the show, Carlee was happy to hear Train sing. Once they finished, Andy excused himself to go prepare for his performance.

Two
musicians joined Andy on stage, one with a guitar, the other a cello. Andy sat down at a piano to thunderous applause. The musicians began the lead in, and Andy followed on piano and finally the words came like a soft whisper over the auditorium.

A piece of me

A part of me

My heart a part of yours

The dreams we coulda shared

It’s all a dream away