"Hey, Kelly, you wanna read the latest Backstreet Boys song before you can even hear it?"
"They picked?"
"Yeah. It only took them one week. I was surprised. Every time I work with groups this process seems to take eons."
"Well, let me see!"
"Here ya go, Madame Impatience." Indigo carefully watched for Raquel’s reaction but her face showed no emotion. Quickly, she grew tired of waiting for a response. "Well?"
"Well…I think…that you’ve got a hit on your hands, especially on the adult-contemporary charts."
"Really?"
"Yes, really. Who wrote this one?"
"Alex."
"Oh, interesting…"
"Exactly why is that interesting?"
"Well, I find it interesting that a certain up-and-coming producer is about to produce a track by a certain ex-boyfriend that asks if the love will last after the lust is gone."
"Really? Frankly, that doesn’t interest me in the least."
"I’m sure it doesn’t. Don’t you even wonder if the song is about you?"
"No, not at all."
"You’re a piece of art, Matthews."
"And a high-maintenance one to boot!"
The conversation lulled for a moment until Kelly decided to take a chance and ask a personal question. "So, what was dating AJ like?"
"Good."
"And the award for most elaborate and eloquent speaker goes to…"
"What do you want me say? I mean, he was a great guy, a lot of fun, really sweet and considerate."
"You remember anything specific?"
"Well, there was this one time while I was a junior in college. I needed to finish a report, so I was at my apartment studying, and…"
*****FLASHBACK*****
Indigo couldn’t believe it. She was literally up to her neck in work.. She knew being a college student with a double major was going to be hard but this seemed almost obscene. 20 pages assigned just two weeks in advance. She had to finish it tonight if she had any hopes of completing her computer science research. Just as she let out a loud grunt of frustration, she heard the key turn in the door to her apartment.
"Is that a groan I hear? Have no fear…AJ is here!"
"Alex, honey, this really isn’t the time."
He made a loud buzzer sound, "OOPS! Sorry, wrong answer!"
"Look, AJ, I’m serious. I have to finish this paper tonight and I’ve still got 10 pages to go."
"Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn. You’re slowly working yourself into oblivion. I’m here to make sure that my pretty little witch isn’t melted by tomorrow morning."
" ‘Gone with the Wind’ and ‘The Wizard of Oz’? I can see the headlines now: ‘Backstreet Boy Seeks Higher Purpose at Blockbuster.’"
"Now I’m the one who’s being serious. I don’t think you’ve gone anywhere other than home, school and the library in the past two weeks. I haven’t even spoken to you in four days."
"Well then I’ll update you…some other time. But for now, I work, you leave."
"When was the last time you ate?"
"Just 15 minutes ago."
He walked to the kitchen and glanced around, at one point even opening the fridge. "No pots, no plates, no take-out containers. What’d you eat, Sky?"
She mumbled, her voice barely audible, "a Snickers."
"What was that?"
"A Snickers."
He heard her this time but he was in the mood to push her buttons, "Come again?"
"A SNICKERS, DAMMIT! I ATE A SNICKERS BAR FOR DINNER! You know, ‘Pressed for time? Hungry? Why fucking wait?!’"
He began to chuckle long and low, "I don’t think that’s the way they say it in the commercial."
"Shut up! If you’re here to antagonize me you’re succeeding. Meanwhile, my work isn’t getting done."
AJ walked over to her swivel chair and turned it so she could face him. He looked in her eyes and sighed. "Look at you. Your eyes are red and your face is pale. Sky, I’m here because I’m worried about you. Honest. You’re making yourself sick. I just wanna take care of you. Get you to relax a bit."
His kind words softened her immediately, "I can’t relax. I’ve got too much work to do. Besides, I’m black, I don’t get pale."
He grinned and asked lightly, "How much you got left?"
"Ten pages."
"When is it due?"
"In a week and a half. But if I don’t finish it now I’ll never be able to do my research."
"And how many pages did you do today?"
"Ten."
"Okay, then you rest now and do ten tomorrow."
"Alex…"
"I’m not joking here, Sky. Even if they engrave it on your tombstone your diploma is of no use to you when you’ve worked yourself to death."
"But I have to…"
"You can do that tomorrow. I’ll even help you."
"Now, that’ll be a sight for sore eyes."
"I’m serious. Anything. As long as you’ll take the rest of this evening off and spend it with me."
"I don’t know."
He pouted and widened his gorgeous brown eyes, "Peas?" Indigo’s resolve began to melt away, "That’s not fair! No puppy faces."
AJ pleaded even harder, "Peeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeas?"
"Fine! You win. I’ll take a break."
The pout became a smile and AJ kissed her on the nose. "You won’t regret it." He got up and began walking to the door.
"Hey, where are you going? I thought you said we were gonna spend my time off together."
"We are. I just need to get something."
"Well, how long are you going to be?"
"Just a second." He opened the door and when he came back inside he held a large picnic basket with a big red blanket on top.
"What’s all this?"
"I know how you can be when you study so I wanted to make sure I brought you some food."
"What ya got there?"
"If you help me lay down this blanket, you’ll find out."
"Where? Here? In the apartment?"
AJ grinned widely, "You’re so cute when you’re dumb. Yes, darling, right here in the apartment." The black cat he’d bought her (as a gag gift--which she actually loved) rubbed against his leg so he picked her up. She purred when he scratched behind her ears. "Of course you’re invited, Raven," he cooed in response.
In the meantime Indigo laid down the blanket in the middle of her sparsely furnished, yet homey, living room.
"All right, McLean, blanket’s down. Now whatchya got?"
He sat down next to her on the blanket and pulled the basket closer to them. "Looks like someone’s more hungry than they wanted to admit."
Her face took on a look of defiance, "Not necessarily, just impatient to see what you made me."
"Ah, ah, ah…who said I made anything? The word, my dear, is what I bought you."
"What? I’m not good enough to cook for?" she smirked.
"No. You’re too good to cook for."
"What’s that supposed to mean?"
"Making edible food is not exactly my specialty. So unless you want to sit here eating boiled eggs and toast, take-out it is."
"Aww, how considerate of you. So, what did you buy me?"
"I tried to get the crème de la crème of your favorite foods. From Popeye’s you have some spicy fried chicken with biscuits and battered fries. From Wendy’s we’ve got chicken nuggets and chili. And as a special surprise, hot and fresh cinnamon sugar pretzels."
"Hold on a minute," she eyed him suspiciously, "YOU didn’t get McDonald’s?"
"No."
She quirked an eyebrow in response, "I find that hard to believe."
"What?" He soon crumbled under her relentless gaze, reached into the basket and pulled out a sandwich.
"What’s that?"
"A Barbecue Bacon Burger." He looked like a kid caught with the cookie jar. Indigo smirked, "No fries?"
His head lowered further, "I ate them on the way over."
She smiled and ruffled his hair, "You’re so cute when you’re in hot water."
He reached into the basket once more, "I got you the Grilled Chicken Salad Shaker as a peace offering in case you figured me out."
"You’re too much," she laughed and then pulled him in for a short but passionate kiss.
"If it gets me kisses like that, I’ll keep being too much."
Later that night, after they had shared more food, laughs and kisses, they were out on the balcony. They were lying in the hammock she had set up. Indigo’s head lazily rested on his stomach. AJ had pulled the scrunchie from her hair and played with the loose strands. He ran his hands through their silkiness and watched her eyes flutter open and closed. The night was perfect. The air was crisp; cool breezes came in from the ocean. And the sole candle on the balcony made the darkness almost inviting. His fingers grazed down her cheek and he felt her head lean into his hand. When they brushed down to the sensitive spot under her chin, AJ was rewarded with a shudder and a shaky intake of breath. A warm, yet unbidden smile curled her lips.
"What’s got you grinning like a Cheshire Cat?"
"Just a thought."
"About what?"
"About those people on TV. Whenever life gets too good and they think it’s a dream, they ask someone to pinch them."
"What’s so funny about that?"
"It’s funny because it doesn’t make sense," she paused a moment, "Do me a favor, Alex."
"What?"
"Don’t pinch me. If this is a dream, I don’t ever want to wake up."
Now it was AJ’s turn to smile. "I won’t. I promise." They were silent again for a few minutes until AJ began to sing softly and slowly.
"I’ve got sunshine on a cloudy day."
Indigo opted not to listen to his voice. Rather she turned so that she could listen deep inside his chest and stomach, the source, where the beauty and the emotion began.
"When it’s cold outside, I got the month of May."
With her cheek pressed against him, she could feel the soothing vibrations of his singing and breathing. She moved her hand up over his heart and felt its rhythmic beating. Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum… It was steady, predictable.
"I guess you say ‘What can make me feel this way?’"
And then it changed. Ba-da-dum, ba-da-dum, ba-da-dum… Probable yet inconstant. It was everything she wanted.
"My girl, my girl, my girl. Talkin’ ‘bout my girl."
His hand came over the one she held to his heart. He intertwined her fingers with his own and tapped each of her fingertips. Finally he resigned himself to stroking the palm of her hand with his thumb.
"Thank you, J."
"For what?"
He could feel her smiling into his chest. "For giving me a dream with a soundtrack."
*****END FLASHBACK*****
"Awwww! The two of you sound so cute together." Indigo smiled wistfully, "Yeah."
"Everything you’ve told me about this relationship sounds like a romance novel."
"If told properly, when condensed to just the stuff that stands out, every relationship either sounds like a romance or horror novel."
"So you didn’t always sound like writers for Hallmark?"
"Exactly. I mean, we had interests other than each other. We were free to be individuals in addition to being a couple. It made it easy that our lives meshed together well. Hell, his ex-girlfriend was one of my best friends."
"You’re joking."
"No, he and Amanda kept in touch and he introduced us one day. We hit it off and it basically brought her back into the family."
"The family?"
"Yeah, girl, the Backstreet family. All the guys, me, Kristen, Leigh Anne, Amanda etc. We were cool. But at the end of the day, there was always AJ."
"So it really wasn’t just a romance novel."
"Right. We had good times and bad times. Sometimes we bored each other to tears. But those special moments were so wonderful. And easy. Everything about ‘us’ was natural. We didn’t try to sound corny, it just came out that way."
Kelly paused to look at her, "You really loved him, didn’t you?"
"Sure did."
"What happened?"
"I woke up."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Okay, guys, wrap for lunch. When y’all come back we’re gonna see if we can set piano, drums & base."
With that, Brian, Kevin, Nick and Howie eagerly exited the studio. Indigo sat down at the board and began listening to the replay of the session they had just completed. AJ stood not very far away and waited until she was done. When she finished, she finally noticed him standing there.
"What’s going on, AJ?"
"I just wanted to talk to you for a second. That is, unless of course you’re busy."
"No, sit down." She patted the chair seated next to her and waited for him to sit. "So, what’s up?"
"I had no idea you could play electric guitar so well."
"Thanks."
"No, seriously, you were amazing. I was surprised when you said you would be playing it but you knocked the wind out of me when I heard you."
"Thanks, Alex, that really means a lot."
"When did you learn?"
"I was about 11 when I started playing guitar, and when I was 16, I started to play electric and base."
"Really? I never knew you played."
"As I’m sure you realize, there’s a lot you don’t know about me." AJ could only nod in agreement. He took a moment to think of something to say before he remembered something, "Hey, can I ask you a question?"
"Shoot."
"What’s the deal with you and Nick?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, before, he had a basically ‘hostile’ attitude towards you and you did your best to make him enjoy the experience."
"And now?"
"Now, you pretty much avoid him at all costs and you only speak to him or look at him if it has something to do with business." Indigo almost told him the truth but quickly recovered, "It’s just that I realize that I can’t make Nick want to be here. He has to want that for himself. I feel that maybe once he sees how the song is coming along, if he likes it he’ll enjoy the work environment more. I really don’t feel like begging anybody for anything." Well, that wasn’t too far from reality.
"But what about Nick? What’s behind his change in personality?"
"Since we haven’t exactly been speaking, I can’t say for sure. But maybe one of the other guys talked to him. Or maybe he realized that the whole charade was just childish and he wasn’t even getting what he wanted."
"I guess that’s a possibility."
"There ya go. It’s better this way, anyway. Before we had the extra work of coddling Nick and attending to him. Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. This may be as close to a blessing as we’re gonna get."
"True." The conversation died for a moment but AJ dared himself to take it further. "You know this song’s about you, right?"
Indigo proceeded cautiously, "The thought may have crossed my mind."
"I wrote it a few months after you left."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, uh, everybody was telling me to get back into the dating pool, Amanda was even offering but I wasn’t so sure yet." She fought the urge to end the conversation, realizing she had to face facts at some point or another. "So, how’d things turn out?"
"A few months after that Amanda and I started dating again."
"Really? How is she?"
"She’s doing great."
"Well, send her my love."
"You can do that yourself. She might be coming here in a few days."
"We’ll have to get together sometime."
"I’m sure she’d like that." Another lull. Another risk. "So, are you seeing anybody?"
"No. Nobody wants to date someone in my situation."
"Situation?"
‘Shit! Almost gave myself away,’ she thought. "Ummmmmm, they don’t want to date someone as busy as me."
"Oh. Well, I better get going if I’m gonna get lunch today."
"Yeah, you should. I’ll see you in a few." As soon as the door was closed Indigo sank lower into her chair. "God help me."
/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/*-/*
Work after the lunch break was delayed when the microphones simply refused to cooperate. Raquel had arrived by that time, so she and the Boys were speaking amongst themselves as Indigo tried to repair the system. Indigo glanced at her friend and smiled. Kelly had this long-standing celebrity crush on Howie. And he seemed to be paying her a lot of attention. Poor Kevin didn’t even appear to realize his presence wasn’t necessary. On the contrary, Kevin realized the two Puerto Ricans wanted to be left alone but was having way too much fun thwarting their efforts. He considered leaving them to talk to Nick and Brian across the room, or perhaps to go looking for AJ who he hadn’t seen since before lunch. But he enjoyed this too much to go anywhere.
"So, the song seems to be coming along well."
Kelly smiled, "Yeah, Indigo let me hear before you got back."
"She’s so amazing! Just the ideas she has, they’re so innovative." Howie sang her praises.
Kevin did the same, "I know what you mean. I had no idea she was so good at electric guitar."
"Well, you’ve got to give some of the credit to AJ. He wrote a great song."
"That he did. But I’m sure this has to be a weird experience for both of them. The song is all about the aftereffects of their relationship. It’s probably bringing up a lot of issues they wish had been put to bed."
"They’re handling things better than I thought they would," Kevin remarked.
He glanced over at Indigo and smiled, "I know this sounds weird but, she’s all grown up."
Howie smiled wistfully, "Yeah. Remember how we used to call her baby? She’s even younger than Nick so I know he loved not being the youngest anymore."
"Were Nick and Indi close?"
"Very. They were basically best friends, always hanging out and going places. That’s why I’m so surprised that the two of them are so distant. I don’t get it."
"Well, come on, Kevin. It’s pretty easy to see that Nick’s been a total jackass."
"I know, Kelly, but he’s trying now and Indigo refuses to give him a chance. That’s unfair."
"Unfair? I don’t know about you but as far as I can tell, ‘slut’ does not mean ‘friend’ in any language."
Howie cringed and prepared for the blow-up.
"He called Indi a slut?"
"Didn’t you know?"
"I had no idea." He turned to Howie, "Did you?"
"Well…ummm…define having an idea."
Kevin looked at him incredulously, "You mean you knew this entire time and didn’t tell me? In the interviews…that’s when it happened wasn’t it?"
"Yeah."
"And that bruise, that’s how he got it, right?"
"Yeah."
"Does Brian know?"
"Yeah."
"Would you stop saying ‘yeah’!"
"Okay."
"I can’t believe that little shit pulled something like that. I’m gonna talk to him."
Howie moved quickly to place a hand on his shoulder, "Kevin, don’t. You’re not going to say anything that he hasn’t already heard from me or Brian. You know Nick, things only get worse when you gang up on him. Just leave him be. He’s already begun to turn around, give him time."
"Fine. But I’m still pissed that he would do something to endanger the project at this point. I can’t believe Indigo didn’t just blow up and drop the project. If that was me, I would have had his ass."
"Well, she did get him pretty good with that backslap."
"That bruise came from getting slapped? That’s my girl!" Kevin joked around but soon turned serious. "She handled herself very well, though, didn’t run to me or Alex or anything."
"Yeah, we found out from Nick, she didn’t tell anyone."
"Except me," Kelly piped up.
"Indigo has become one hell of a lady. And a damn good producer. But why does she work such short hours? And only 4 days a week? Can you imagine how much more she’d get done?" Indigo had been secretly eavesdropping on the conversation this entire time, being a short enough distance away to hear without seeming impudent. She definitely enjoyed receiving the compliments but her ears were on point by now. She made sure to listen to Kelly’s response because it could completely change things between her and the Boys.
"Indigo has a lot on her plate. Monday through Thursday she produces. On Fridays she teaches."
Howie looked confused, "Teaches? What does she teach?"
"Didn’t you know? She’s a choreographer, a great one. She teaches at a dance studio that tours several cities in the US."
"Wow. You learn something new every day."
"What about weekends?"
Indigo patiently waited for Raquel to answer this question.
"On Saturdays and Sundays, Indigo takes a little time out to relax and spend time with her –"
"Self," Indigo cut her off. "With myself. I just finished and heard you all talking. What’s up?"
Kevin refused to change the subject, "Yourself? What do you mean?"
"I don’t have the tolerance level you guys have. I really can’t stand that hectic pace."
Kelly looked at her in confusion, "But…"
"Kelly, can I see you for just a second? There’s something we need to talk about."
Raquel nodded her head slowly, still not understanding. "Yes, I think there is."
The two ladies excused themselves and went to Indigo’s office. "Indi, what’s going on here? Why wouldn’t you let me tell Kevin and Howie that you spend the weekends with Lia?"
"Because they don’t know that I have a daughter and I prefer to keep it that way."
"Why? You’re normally so vocal about her, even with clients. I kept forgetting to ask you why you had taken down her pictures."
"Look, Kelly, if they find out that I have a daughter, they’ll start getting suspicious. I just don’t want them to know yet."
"Suspicious? Of what?"
"Do I have to spell it out?"
"We’re obviously not speaking the same language so, yeah, I guess you do."
"How long have I known you?"
"A little more than a year and a half."
"And how far along was I when we met?"
"About four months. What does this have to do with anything?"
Indigo ignored her and pressed on, "When was the last time I saw AJ?"
Kelly bit her lip, "Um, this morning?"
"No! Before this project, when was the last time I saw him?"
"Two years…OH MY GOD, AJ’s LIA’S DAD?!" Indigo frantically shushed her and attempted to calm her down.
Meanwhile, in the studio…
"When is recording gonna start again? See? These are the reasons why we need to work with a professional."
"She is a professional, Nick. I can’t believe you still can’t lay off. After all the good things she’s done, you still refuse to respect her as a producer."
"That’s not true. Granted, she’s good…okay, great at what she does. But I don’t want to be here. It’s not fair."
"Don’t do that. Don’t take me on a guilt trip because you know damn well this benefits you, too."
"Brian, I only wish I could make you guys see that this is a mistake for us. I’ve heard you guys talk. It’s almost like you idolize her."
"You know Nick, I remember a time not too long ago where you felt the same."
"Whatever, that was before she showed her true colors. Look, I’m going to get something to drink from the vending machine. I doubt I’ll miss anything."
Nick quickly left the studio in an effort to shake off the small fight he’d just had with Brian. He slowed his pace and began the long walk down the hall.
"OH MY GOD, AJ’s LIA’S DAD!?"
Nick stopped in his tracks and stood still for a moment. ‘Who the hell is Lia’ he thought to himself. Eager to find out more, he stood just outside the door to Indigo’s office.
"Will you keep it down? I’d be surprised if the entire floor didn’t hear that."
"I’m sorry, Indigo, but you gotta admit, that’s one hell of a shock to spring on somebody."
"Yeah, well, you asked."
"Delia McLean. How could I be so stupid? I should have realized. Hell, I used to joke around that you wished she was AJ’s daughter and here it is that she really was."
"Don’t worry about it."
"Does AJ know?"
"No."
"Dammit, Indi, the man has a right!"
"You think I don’t know that?"
"Do you plan on telling him?"
"Of course!"
"Well excuse me if that didn’t exactly appear obvious."
"Sorry, I’m just tense."
"When are you gonna drop the bomb?"
"When we’ve finished ‘After Tonight’. That’s why I couldn’t let you tell them that I leave early weekdays to go pick her up, or that I spend time with her on weekends."
"Yeah, I see the dilemma."
Nick heard someone coming down the hall so he rushed back to the studio. When he returned, AJ was back.
Howie greeted him, "Hey, Blondie, where you been?"
"Vending machine."
He quirked an eyebrow, "You must have been very thirsty."
"I, uh, I couldn’t find anything I wanted."
"You okay? You don’t look so good."
Nick shook his head, "I’m fine, just fine."
"Whatever."
Just then Indigo and Raquel came back looking a bit flustered. "I’m sorry guys, but the problem’s bigger than I thought so I won’t have this fixed till tomorrow. It looks like we’re done for the day."
"Aren’t there any other studios we could use?"
"The majority are booked till 6, the others are booked till 10 and 11 tonight."
Nick decided to chime in, "Six is fine, we’re not doing anything today." Indigo fought the urge to roll her eyes, "Six may be fine for the five of you but I don’t work past 5."
He challenged her with his eyes, "Couldn’t you make an exception just this once?"
She returned the glare, "No, I couldn’t. "
Howie watched the interchange with apprehension and decided to try to end things, "Nick, cool it."
"No, I’m fine. I just think that we’re missing time because she wasn’t able to fix the equipment, which is fine, that’s understandable. But I don’t feel that we’ve been given a valid reason why she won’t extend us the common courtesy of working after hours. That is, after all the professional treatment that we’ve become accustomed to."
Indigo’s jaw flexed, "Is there a problem here, Carter?"
"None that I know of."
"Good." She pulled her intense gaze away from Nick to address the others, "I’ll see you all tomorrow morning."
They began to file out of the room, eager to escape the tension. Nick was the last to the door and Indigo stopped him before he could leave.
"Don’t play games with me, Nick. I mean what I said."
He raised his hands in surrender and smiled sarcastically as he backed out of the door, "I come in peace."
She closed the door behind him and leaned against it, "Just pray you don’t leave in pieces."
}-}-}-}-}-}-}-}-}-}-
"Okay, something’s not right here. I don’t like the way this sounds. So I’m reassigning the vocals; everyone has a new stanza. First is Howie, Nick is second, followed by Kevin, Brian, and then AJ. Everyone will still sing the sixth, but we’re making a change with the last line. Instead of everybody taking turns with it, I want each of you to sing ‘will you love’ five times a piece. When you’ve all finished, sing ‘will you love me after tonight’ in unison. Is that good for you?" The Boys made a few revisions on their sheets but eventually all agreed to the changes.
When Indigo gave the signal, they began to sing. As the song progressed, Indigo became more and more confident about the changes she had made. The song just seemed to flow better. By the time they were done, the guys seemed to agree.
"All right people, that was perfect, right on the money. We’re gonna break for lunch and we’ll try and touch it up a bit when we get back."
As they exited the booth, a few of them voiced their excitement over the progress of the track. It would be finished within the week.
"Hey, Indi, can we talk?"
During the past week, Indigo’s tension around AJ had begun to intensify. She jumped ever so slightly when he addressed her, but he didn’t notice.
"Sure, Alex, what’s going on?"
"Well, um, me and the guys were gonna go out for lunch and I was wondering if maybe you’d like to come along."
"Oh, wow, AJ, that sounds great but I can’t, I’m sorry."
"Oh, yeah, sure, I understand. I’ll, uh, I’ll see you at 1." He turned and began walking towards the door in a nearly crestfallen manner.
"AJ wait!"
She walked over to him and he turned to face her. "What is it?"
"I know how your mind works, so I have an idea of what you’re thinking and it’s not like that."
He rolled his eyes, "Really? Then how is it?"
"I can’t go because I already made plans for lunch with Kelly."
He looked down guiltily, "Oh…."
"Yeah, oh."
His head bounced back up and he smiled, "Well, that’s not a problem, bring her along."
"You sure that’s okay?"
"Definitely, the more the merrier."
"Okay, where are you eating?"
"At Serafina, by the –"
"The Whitney Museum, yeah, I know where that is. So, just let me call her, and we’ll meet you there in about 15 minutes."
"Sounds good."
"All right, see you then." He began to walk away, but Indigo called him back again. "AJ?"
"Yeah?"
"You thought I didn’t want to be around you outside the studio right?"
"Yeah."
She smiled and shook her head, "See you in 15."
Half an hour later Kelly was holding her sides. She had been laughing so hard that her stomach pained her but she couldn’t seem to stop. Indigo and the Boys were telling her about life on the road in a tour bus.
"Indi, remember when you tried to take a nap your first time on the tour bus and the driver broke short so you fell out of the bunk? The look on your face was priceless. Good thing I had a camera handy."
"I don’t recall that being funny at all. Besides, Howie, I wouldn’t be able to know what my face looked like because you never let me see the picture."
"That’s ‘cuz I’m no idiot. I know you’d destroy that picture in a heartbeat if you ever got your hands on it."
"You better believe it."
AJ shook his head in disbelief, "I can’t believe you guys haven’t mentioned my favorite."
"What’s that?"
"I’d have to say the time when Kevin fell asleep. Indigo, Melissa, Nick and Brian made him up like a not-so-pretty little girl. Then they convinced me and Howie to capture the event on tape."
Indigo chuckled heartily, "Oh yeah, I remember that. Kelly, you should’ve seen it. We put lipstick, blush and eye shadow all over his face. We even painted his nails bright red."
Howie completed the story. "The best part was when we sent Kevin down to the front desk with Indigo and the camera. Everyone in the lobby was looking at him like he was out of his mind."
Kevin pouted, "That not a very nice thing to do to a man while he’s sleeping."
That only made the entire group roar with laughter.
When it finally subsided Brian turned to Indigo, "Whatever happened to Melissa?"
"She’s doing fine. Melissa’s married now, actually."
"Don’t tell me she and the infamous Brad finally tied the knot."
"Yes they did. And it was about time."
"It seemed like those two broke up every other month, and then she’d complain for days until they got back together again."
"They were meant for each other."
"How about Lia, how’s she doing?"
Indigo made sure to wipe the shock from her face before she faced Nick, "I don’t remember ever introducing you to a Lia."
"Well, we never met, but you’ve spoken of her."
"I don’t think I know who you’re talking about."
AJ watched as the once jovial and lighthearted atmosphere vanished as quickly as it had come and gave way to a tension that hung heavy over their heads. He looked around at everyone’s faces. Brian, Kevin and Howie looked as confused as he was. Kelly looked somewhat nervous and Indigo seemed as though she had something to hide. She was even trembling slightly, something that AJ noticed had become a habit for her as of late. Nick was the only one who appeared calm.
"I’m sure you do. If I’m right, you’re with her every weekend."
AJ observed that Indigo turned to Kelly who then raised her hands as if to say ‘I didn’t do it.’
"Nick, can I speak to you in private?"
"Whatever for? We’re in the company of friends, anything you have to say to me, you can say in front of them."
"Fine then, what do you know about Lia?"
"A hell of a lot more than you want me to know, that’s for sure."
"Guys, what’s going on here?"
"Nothing, Brian, Indigo just has something she wants to share with everybody, don’t you, Indigo?"
She put her head in her hands, "You little bitch, I don’t believe you."
He scoffed, "Oh! Such harsh words from someone in so much hot water."
"Have you been spying on me?"
"I don’t know anything more than anyone within shouting distance of your office two days ago knows."
"Indi, who’s Lia?"
"Come on, Indigo," he taunted, "you heard Howie, everyone wants to know who Lia is."
She hesitated a moment to gather up all of her courage so that she could deliver the news that would change everything. She pushed her hair behind her ears, a nervous habit that had been with her since childhood. "Lia…Lia is my daughter." She paused to watch the shock register on all four faces.
Nick badgered her further, "Is that all you have to -- ?"
Indigo cut him off by speaking over him, "Her name…her full name…is Delia…" AJ couldn’t believe his ears. Indigo had a daughter. He watched her bear her soul in the middle of the restaurant. Every word, every syllable seemed to pain her. She stared at some invisible point above their heads. Suddenly, her gaze shifted to his so that she appeared to be speaking to him and only to him.
"…Delia…Elysse…McLean. And the reason that her last name is McLean is because…it’s because she’s your daughter, too."
*End Part One*
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