A Time to Move On (7 page)

(7)

The story sounded made up as Laura
told it. Steph’s eyes and mouth were the same size as she explained running out
of gas, blowing off the hot guy, and then accepting a ride after he came back a
second time and insisted on helping her.

When Laura finished telling the
story, Steph shook her head and grabbed her laptop. With a quick search of
Fallen Tuesday, Laura gasped when she saw the face of the stranger she had just
met.

“So, let me get this straight,”
Steph said. “You started your day by quitting your job, went gallivanting
around town, ran out of gas, and ended up on the back of a famous musician’s
motorcycle.”

“Seems that way.”

“Unbelievable,” Steph said. “I
don’t get why you don’t play the lottery more. You could be rich by now with
the luck you have.”

“The great luck,” Laura said and
turned her head.

“Sorry,” Steph whispered.

Hannah was in the living room in her
walker toy
goo
-ing and
gaa
-ing at the cartoons on television.

“There was something off about Mack
though,” Laura said. “He was on that road for a purpose, but I think I messed
up his day by being there."

“Who knows? Isn't there something
off with most celebrities?" Steph laughed.

“True. I need a ride to my car
though,” Laura said. “Unless I can track down Mack again.”

“Did you get his phone
number?" Steph asked. She walked to the table and sat down.

"No," Laura said, feeling
like a fool.

“Ok then. Back to reality here…
what are you going to do for work now?”

“I don’t know,” Laura said. “I’ll
figure it out when I need to. I’m good at saving and I can survive.”

“Did you have to quit?”

“I did. You wouldn’t get it. But I
did.”

“I don’t get it, sorry,” Steph
said.

“My boss wanted so much from me. He
even offered me money to go to lunch and clear my head before I officially
quit, but I couldn't do it. I don't want to be depended on. Can’t I just…
exist? Right here? Right now? Do I have to keep looking forward?”

“Well, most people do,” Steph said.
“That’s how life works. You live right now, sure, but you should plan at least
a little for the future.” Steph paused and reached for the curtain next to the
table in the kitchen. She adjusted it and then said, “Maybe you should talk to
someone again…”

There it was. The same advice
everyone had been giving her.

Someone else to talk to. Someone
new for her to relive the tragedy with and still get the same unhelpful advice.
They would either want to give her meds or insist that she visit on a regular
basis indefinitely. That wasn’t what Laura wanted or needed. She wasn’t
depressed. She was… stuck.

“I have you to talk to,” Laura
said.

“Laura, I’m not a professional. I
don’t know what any of this means.”

“How about we just be two sisters
talking? Enjoying each others company. That’s all I need.”

“I’m worried about you. How are you
going to survive? I mean, if you need anything, you know we’ll help you. Jeff
and I are right here…”

“I don’t need any help,” Laura
said. “I promise you. I took that job because it was something different. I
enjoyed myself until it got too serious. That’s all. So I’ll move on. I always
do. Right now, what I really need, is to get to my car. I’m pretty sure it
should have gas in it by now. Feel like giving me a ride?”

“I don’t have much of a choice,”
Steph said, standing from the table. “But it’s no big deal. Hannah could use
the nap. She likes to sleep on the car rides.”

By the time Laura got her car and
got home, the day was already gone. She walked into her apartment, threw her
keys on the table, and went right for the couch. The very first thing she did
was grab her laptop and search pictures of Fallen Tuesday. The band name was
familiar, and she recognized the music once she downloaded some, but she never
thought she would need to know what they looked like in case she ended up meeting
one of the guys.

After about an hour of scouring the
band's website, Laura realized she needed to pee and get something to eat.
Looking at pictures of Mack wasn't going to make him appear at her door. She
closed her laptop and looked around her apartment. It bothered her a lot more
now than it normally did. She thought about Steph and Jeff and the kids and
what they were doing at that moment. Maybe having a messy dinner. Or maybe it
was bath time. Maybe the house was slowly falling apart because everyone was
tired. Regardless, they were together as a family.

Laura reached for her cell and held
it tight. She was tempted to call Jon. Every once in a while, when the pain
became too great, she would call him just hear him say something. Even if it
was something mean, it was something. Another chance to keep the past alive.
Probably the same reason Mack was on that road today. Maybe he was also living
in the present, but too afraid to let go of the past.

The night carried Laura into a slumber
that she succumbed to right there on the couch with late night television and
thoughts of a famous drummer burning in her mind.

The next morning when Laura woke up
she looked around the apartment and then looked at the clock. Right now would
have been the time she’d be setting things up on her desk. Turning on her
desktop and checking her email. But now she could just sit on the couch and do
nothing. It was freedom, definitely, but that freedom felt like a trap. Too
much freedom gave her plenty of time to think, and remember.

Laura hurried to her feet and
walked to the bathroom. She took a quick shower to freshen up and ate a small
breakfast. With the day, week, month, even the year wide open now, Laura had an
idea. It wasn't a great one, but she had nothing else to do. If she sat around
the apartment she knew she would end up calling Jon or she would go to her
sister's house again and see Hannah again. The beautiful little girl with a
wonderful lifetime ahead of her. Like
baby Ella
was supposed to have.

With a shaky breath, Laura rushed
from the apartment and got into her car. She started to drive and made sure she
looked at the gas gauge. She was good to go. The only way she would get
stranded today was if the old car finally broke down.

Set on testing her luck, Laura headed
back to the spot where she met Mack. According to their website, they weren't
out on tour just yet. And although he said he only had yesterday off and he
probably had plenty to do with his band, Laura wanted to see if there was more
to the feelings that were flooding her mind.

As Laura turned onto the road, she
tried to figure out exactly where she had been pulled off. Everything around
her looked the same. Except this time it was her who spotted someone on the
side of the road, standing next to a motorcycle.

He came back to the spot. There was
a reason for all this and it made Laura nervous. Her hands slid up the steering
wheel and she considered flooring it and driving right by Mack. If he didn’t
see her, it wouldn’t matter. Hell, even if he did see the car, she would be
long gone.

As Laura closed in on Mack, her
foot came off the gas pedal. The car slowed. She caught herself applying the
brakes and pulling off the road. Her tires crunched on the dirt and rocks, and
that caught Mack's attention.

When he turned and Laura saw his
eyes, even from across the street, it took her breath. His big, dark eyes were
full of pain. The sight tore Laura right in half. All thoughts of driving away
disappeared as Mack turned and crossed the road toward Laura’s car.

“Out of gas again?” he asked.

His voice was cold. His stare was
blank.

“No,” Laura said. “Filled up
yesterday.”

“Good to know.”

Laura paused and then said, “I know
who you are now.”

“Oh?”

“My sister and her husband are big
fans.”

“And you’re not?”

“Well, I know the music,” Laura
said. “Just didn’t know the band members. It's kind of crazy."

“Why? I’m just a person."

“Sure. Just a person.”

Mack was much more than
just a
person
,
but it didn’t quite feel appropriate to say that at
that moment.

“I’m sorry to interrupt you,” Laura
said.

“No need. Just passing through.”

“You were standing on the side of
the road, Mack.”

“Yeah? And?”

“I wanted to… I thought maybe if
you were here…”

“I am here,” Mack said.

He seemed confrontational. But
Laura wasn’t going to let that intimidate her. “I’m sorry for whatever you’re
going through. I just wanted to say thank you again for stopping and helping
me. I don’t know, when I found out who you were, it was just…”

“I’m nobody,” Mack said. “You’re
better off with that, Laura. I did you a favor and you owe me nothing. I’m not
anything you think I am. Trust me.”

“Then what are you? Because, big
shot rockstar, I’m nothing you think I am.”

“Oh yeah? What do you think I think
you are?”

Laura squinted her eyes. “Don’t try
and confuse me, Mack. You want the truth? Right now, I’m a little intimidated.
Why? Because you’re famous. There’s something about it that makes us normal
people feel different. But then I look at you and I see that maybe you’re not
all that different. At least from me.”

“Doubt it, sweetheart,” Mack said.
He put his hands to the car and leaned down. “Thank you for finding me to say
thanks. It’s all good now.”

“Can I at least have an autograph?”
Laura quipped, half joking.

She was taking jabs at Mack and she
had no idea why. Maybe it was the way his eyes flared when he looked at her.

“An autograph?” Mack asked. “Are
you kidding me?”

“Maybe I am,” Laura said.

Laura watched Mack stand tall. He
looked over his shoulder at his motorcycle. When he looked at Laura again, it
was as though everything about him changed.

“I’ll do one better,” Mack said.
“Why don’t you follow me?”

“Follow you where?” Laura asked.

Mack said, “Just follow me.”

“Can I trust you?”

Mack laughed. “You’re worried about
following me in your car, but you had no problem hopping on the back of my
motorcycle?”

“Maybe that’s where I’m most
comfortable.”

Mack’s eyes were brooding, full of
pain. Staring at him should have scared the hell out Laura, but in some odd
way, it comforted her.

“I’ll follow you,” she said,
succumbing to Mack’s eyes. “How far are we going?”

“We’re going until I stop,” Mack
said.

Laura opened her mouth, but Mack
was already walking across the street and putting on his helmet. Right before
he put on his sunglasses, he looked back at Laura and then hit the throttle.

Instead of following the path of
what most people would do, Laura followed Mack. And just like the day before,
her heart raced… with fear and excitement.

*

Luke was first in the studio with
no real purpose to be there other than the chance to mess around because the
record company was still paying for the time. He sat in a leather chair behind
the massive mixing board and let his thoughts race away.

The music was good. The songs were
their own. And if the buzz about the new album was any indication, they were
going to be known worldwide when it officially launched in just a few days. And
after that, it would be just weeks until the tour officially started with a two
night sold-out show right there in Syracuse before going to New York City and then
heading down the coast. Then the dates were scattered across the United States.
And finally, the world.

“The freaking world,” Luke
whispered.

It was hard to contemplate.

Right now, however, the thing Luke
was struggling with the most was seeing Mack spend year after year mourning the
loss of Kelly. It may have been okay- and completely understandable- the first
few years, but it was becoming an unhealthy obsession.

Earlier that morning, Luke had
called Mack and he was already awake. That wasn't like him, at all. When he
told Luke he was going for a ride before coming to the studio, Luke knew
something was up. Mack never went for a ride the day after the anniversary. Not
by himself. All Luke could hope was that Mack would find his peace. Maybe the
album and the tour would be the proof that time was moving on and that it was
okay to live without Kelly. That didn’t mean he had to leave her memory behind,
but he would be able to get his own life back and see where his journey would
take him.

The other thing on Luke’s mind was
the song Mack had been playing the other morning. It was definitely one Luke
never heard before and it was obvious that it was important to Mack. Luke
wanted everyone in the band to be part of the writing process, and if Mack had
songs, even songs about Kelly, they should be heard.

The door opened and Trent shuffled
into the studio, yawning and looking beat up.

“Long night?” Luke asked.

“Just drove from Emily’s, man.
Couldn’t stand being away from them for another night."

“Look at you… Rockstar by night,
Dad by day.”

“Easy with that
Dad
stuff,
makes me sound old,” Trent groaned.

“Hear from Mack at all?” Luke
asked.

“No. Why?”

Luke told Trent about Mack’s ride
for the day and Trent rubbed his chin, thinking.

“Well, maybe by changing his
routine and going for a ride today, he is finally at a point of healing.”

“I hope so,” Luke said. "And
that song, man… maybe he’s got something to bring to the band. You know?”

Trent nodded. “Big ‘ole Mack.
Swings first, worries later. The tough guy. He’s probably the one with the
biggest, most sensitive heart of us all.”

“Scary though,” Luke said. “How
does that saying go… the bigger they are, the more they fall?”