Chapter 29

I laughed and let her lead me into the living room. Suddenly I remembered that I’d set up my keyboard, and a flush of joy swept over me as I sat on the stool and turned it on. Tapping out a simple melody, I closed my eyes, grinning like a fool as the music filled the air. It was a simple tune, a pale accompaniment to Dillon’s first song. The notes had been bouncing around in my head for days.

A high hat cymbal rang out, a perfect tempo for the notes I was playing, and without thinking, I went into the second series of notes, creating a whole refrain as Momo tapped out the rhythm and added in a layer of staccato beats.

“That’s really good,” I said in surprise, opening my eyes and finding the girl grinning at me in a mirror of my own.

“You felt it,” she said, making a fist and pressing it to her heart, “here… play it again. Close your eyes, don’t stop until you lose the thread of it.”

Nodding, I followed the girl's instructions, starting from the beginning, her drums accompanying me perfectly and making it almost simple to see where the next notes fell. With her perfect beat, like twin tracks laid down for a train, I powered through two full minutes, and as the final notes hung in the air, we were nodding to one another, eyes wide in joy and right back into it.

Time flew by as we played, and I was surprised when I heard Heather's car pull up out front and glanced at the clock to see three hours had passed.

“I have to get changed and get started on dinner,” I said, standing and stretching my back, “but that was so much fun, Momo, thank you for that.”

“No, thank you, Mrs. Kowalski, we made some great music together.” The girl flashed me one of her cherubic smiles, and I felt my insides melt slightly.

“Please dear, call me Amanda, Mrs. Kowalski makes me feel so old.”

“Ok… Amanda,” she added extra weight to the word.

When I glanced over, there was a fire in her eyes that sent a tremble into the core of my body. She was seeing me, truly seeing me, in a way no one other than Nancy or Dillon, had in years. Feeling myself blush, I slipped down the hall and into my room to compose myself.

There was no mistaking the moment Heather and Jen got in the house. My girl has always been the center of attention in whatever room she’s in. Her great beauty and charm let her get away with all manner of behavior that wouldn’t fly if she didn’t make men’s tongues dry up and their knees knock whenever they glanced at her, or women so envious that it passed over into awe.

Making sure my makeup was still in place and that my eyes were clear now, I headed out to start working on dinner. Heather and Jen were pulling out clothes from their shopping bags and holding them up to show off to Momo.

“Mom look at this top,” Heather said, “I think it will look perfect on you. Look at this blue, isn’t it the perfect color to match your eyes and hair?”

She held up a small lowcut silky top that looked scandalously small. I felt a moment of shock at imagining myself in the garment, which was little more than a tube top, then I imagined Dillon and Morgan seeing me in it, and my cheeks heated up. Heather caught the blush and grinned wickedly.

“I think a certain young man might enjoy seeing those boobies of yours in it,” my daughter said with a snicker.

“I think all the boys might like seeing that,” Jen said, raising one eyebrow as she took in my massive breasts.

“Not just the boys,” Momo said, then ducked her head when I looked her way.

“Wear it tonight, Mom,” Heather said with a knowing smile, “I got a matching top, but in red, we can be twins.”

“Holy shit, you have to see her in it, Mrs. Kowalski,” Jen said with a disbelieving shake of her head, “when the girl working at the boutique saw her in it, she tripped and fell on her face, ha!”

“Poor girl,” Heather said, and I was pleased to see the generous thought from her. “It’s important that we put on a solid front. I know you’re already working with him, Mom, but this is the biggest opportunity for Jen and me that we’re probably ever going to get. Marketing and social media for a musician is one of the coolest jobs there is in the business, and our careers would be made if we do this right.”

“Just let me know how I can help,” I said.

Jen took my hand and pulled me down onto the couch, and I felt a touch anxious as she and Heather looked at me with focused attention. Momo glanced between the two curiously before taking a seat as well.

“Heather and I wanted to go over a few things with you before Dillon gets here,” Jen said, “Our idea is that I would be the publicist. I interned at Variety magazine last year and have some contacts at TMZ and other sites. Heather would be handling the social media campaign and marketing.”

“I know you’re working with Global,” Heather said, and I was surprised and impressed by her serious tone and no-nonsense manner, it reassured me that Dillon would be in good hands, “but they, and the other labels, still use the old model for marketing. They will push for Dillon to ‘date’ an up and coming celebrity then push the staged photos to all the tabloid mags, trying to make them both a household name. That doesn’t work nowadays for a musician. They need to build a following organically, and with Dillon’s talent and charisma on camera, that’s going to be easy. We just need to know what kind of boy he is. What does he like and dislike? What is he like deep down? Anything you can tell us will help when we go to pitch it to him later.”

“He is quiet,” I said, thinking carefully about what I was going to say, “but not necessarily shy. He knows what he wants,” feeling heat in my cheeks at the memories that called up, “but doesn’t feel he deserves to be as happy and loved as he should be.” Jen and Heather glanced at me curiously at that, and I went on quickly, “He is hardworking and kind, strong and good, but there is an edge to him as well. His life has been hard and lonely. He has been alone for years, and spent all of high school without any parents, and having to keep his farm running in order to eat.”

“Jesus,” Heather said, “I didn’t know that. That’s terrible.”

“There is more I should tell you,” I said to my daughter with a pained expression, “I don’t think he’s ever gotten over how you turned him down in high school.”

“I was worried about that,” Heather said with a small nod and an edge of worry around her eyes.

“Forget about it,” Jen said, trying to perk Heather up, “You were both kids.”

“We need to make sure you heal this wound,” Momo said, “Perhaps there is some gift you can give him? Or offering you can make?”

“I don’t know,” Heather said, frowning.

“Don’t bring it up right away,” I said, “Let him get to know you, and he’ll see you’re not a cruel person.”

“Tell Danny Deaver’s that,” Jen said with a cackling laugh, “He thinks she’s the devil.”

“That’s only because I won’t go out with or fuck him,” Heather said with a toss of her thick blonde hair, “Football players always think they’re God’s gift to women, it’s gross.”

“It might be hard to convince Dillon she’s changed when Heather shoots down every dude that asks her out.”

“Oh?” I asked my daughter, “You haven’t been dating?”

“I haven’t gone on a date since freshman year,” Heather said with a shake of her head, “I’m just too busy, and none of the boys at school can hold my interest for long. They are all just so… pedestrian.”

“I see now,” I said to Jen, “she hasn’t changed all that much has she?”

“Hey!” Heather said to me, which caused me to burst out in laughter that the girls joined in.

“Dillon is understanding, just tell him the truth, and he won’t hold it against you,” I said to Heather when our laughter had calmed down.

“Ok,” she said with a frown, “I really hope so.”
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