When I Look to the Sky Page 3

~ ~ ~

  The next morning when he rose, Angel dropped the USA Newsday on the table in front of him as she handed him a cup of coffee. “Thank you,” he said. She pointed to the picture in the upper right corner.

  “GRAMMY Win and a New Muse” he read under a picture of him and Adaleigh.

  “Oh for shit-sake,” Andy commented. “One dance and a conversation… Please put this away before Carlee comes out.”

  A moment later she padded across the carpet, still in pj’s, her hair mussed from sleep, rubbing her eyes.

  “Good mornin’, love.” She kissed Andy’s cheek and climbed on the chair beside him. She was seven, but she wasn’t much bigger than a five-year old. Petite, like her mama, he thought and smiled. “Did you sleep well?”

  Before she replied, Angel did. “She must have. Twice in the night I found her sideways with her feet in my side,” she laughed.

  Carlee smiled and replied, “I think they made the bed the wrong way,” she giggled. “I don’t know why I get all sideways.”

  “Pancakes?”

  Yes sir, and sausage, the long kind.”

  “Links,” Andy smiled. “I’ll call room service.”

  After breakfast, he made arrangements for tours around town and they shared a special dinner out on the town before their trip was over.

  CHAPTER THREE ~ Adaleigh

  Back home, they went back to what was ‘normal’ for them. Carlee lived with her dad, but was ‘shared’ with Kimmy, Nanny and Pops, and Andy. Everyone saw to it that she was kept busy. She was still involved in dance; Kimmy and Nanny got her involved in a girl’s group, ‘Saturday Friends’, but Kimmy observed that she stayed pretty much to herself. She seemed to take part and enjoy the events, but she wasn’t close to any of the other girls.

  A loner, Kimmy thought, but she didn’t think Carlee was lonely. She loved Jenna and any opportunity to spend the night there if she couldn’t be with Andy when her dad was away. It seemed to Kimmy that she liked family time most.

  Soon after they were home from the GRAMMYs, Marco stopped by Andy’s house. He relocated to Florida after the new studio was ready. He was single and wanted to continue working with Andy, and living nearby was easier than flying back and forth. When Andy invited him in, Marco handed him a tape. “The vixen,” he said.

  “And?”

  “It’s not my style, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t good. She sounds like she’s forcing herself though, just my opinion,” he added.

  “Worth exploring?”

  “If you want to subject yourself to the she-wolf,” he laughed.

  “Yeah, if I do this, I gotta figure out how to curb that,” Andy replied. “Let’s have a listen.”

  “I was on my way to the studio, let’s take it there. I know what you have here is good, but come have a listen there where I can do some adjusting while it’s playing so you can hear some variations.”

  “Let’s go. Wait, let me call Kimmy first, she’s picking Carlee up from school to bring her here. They drive by the studio on the way, so let me just tell her if my car’s still there to bring her in.”

  In the studio, Marco keyed up what he thought was the best track on the tape. “I’m not the expert, but I’ve been with you enough to know what you look for.” He started the music and Andy leaned back in the chair to listen.

  “I agree,” Andy said after a few minutes, “not my style, but that’s not my job, is it? I gotta decide if I can make her style more appealing.”

  “Doubtful,” Marco said sarcastically and Andy punched his shoulder and laughed.

  “I kinda hear a Stevie Nicks vibe, Rhiannon’ish,” Andy said after he listened for a minute.”

  “She could pull it off if she wasn’t forcing it. You sure we gotta take this on, can’t help it, she just kinda gives me the heebie-jeebies.”

  “And what to do about that…? I really gotta think this through, but I think we need to do it.” At that moment, the door flew open and Carlee bounded in and into Andy’s arms, followed by Kimmy and Jenna. “Well, hey! How was school?”

  “Reading, writing, and arithmetic, just like always,” she said, rolling her eyes, sounding bored out of her mind, and Marco, Andy, Jenna, and Kimmy fell into giggles.

  “It’s not funny,” Carlee replied, seriously.

  “No, no it’s not,” Andy said playfully, rising to hug Jenna and Kimmy. “It was the way you said it that was funny,” and again they were laughing, only this time, Carlee joined them.

  “What’s for dinner?” she asked.

  Andy looked at his watch, “Its 4:15.”

  “I’m starving!” she replied.

  “Angel put cheese sticks and apple slices in the fridge,” he said and Carlee and Jenna darted to the little kitchen.

  Marco had turned the music down but Kimmy was listening. “Who is that?”

  “The she-wolf,” Marco laughed.

  “Stop,” Andy chuckled. “It’s Adaleigh Pensant, new artist, working on getting her second album together. Her promoter asked if I’d be interested in producing it.”

  “Oh,” Kimmy said, “her.”

  “Her who?” Andy looked at her.

  “The muse from the paper.”

  “She-wolf,” Marco said again.

  “All I saw was the picture in the paper and she had claws and fangs,” Kimmy said and Marco laughed.

  “Yeah, whatever,” Andy replied back and waved his hand at them, dismissing the conversation.

  “I gotta go, Lane thinks I’m actually gonna cook tonight. I gotta get home and find whatever I have in the freezer that Suzie Ray, the bitch on Kinda-Home-Made can help me make look like I spent all day on it.”

  Marco and Andy roared at her sarcasm.

  “Yeah, well what are you having?” she shot back at Andy.

  “Filets, twice baked potatoes and grilled asparagus,” he replied.

  “Yuck, aspergrass?” Carlee said. “That stuff is…”

  “Slimy,” Jenna finished her sentence.

  “Oh alright, burgers, fries and corn on the cob,” he said with a big grin.

  “Yay!’ Carlee shouted.

  After Kimmy and Jenna left, Carlee sat at the soundboard to do her homework. She pulled a book from her bag and put it on the console; resting her elbows there, she was deep into the pages. Andy and Marco had the headsets on listening, making notes, adjusting the sound they could and adding more notes.

  Finally, Andy looked at his watch. “It’s six, I need to get her home,” he said to Marco.

  “You could just call for a pizza and we could stay,” Carlee grinned. “It’s Friday. No school tomorrow.”

  “You are a sly one,” Marco laughed.

  “I’m reading. We can stay, I’ll call Angel, she’s not supposed to come ‘til eight; I’ll tell her to wait ‘til nine.”

  “Hey,” Andy said after she hung up with Angel, “What are you reading, anyway?”

  “I and You and Don’t Forget Who,” she said and added, “That silly Miss Walsh thinks she can sneak lessons in and make us learn something by giving us fun stuff to read, it’s ridiculous!”

  Andy shook his head and stifled a laugh. Sometimes the stuff Carlee blurted out cracked him up. He loved her wit.

  Marco scooted closer. “Can I see?” She pushed the book his way and he flipped to the back cover. “Hmm, it’s about English, pronouns,” he added.

  “This is a fun book, but I like it better when she sings them.”

  “Sings?” Andy asked when he returned from calling for pizza delivery.

  “Subject pronouns, ‘I am I, and you are you - he is he, and she is she - they are they, and we are we’,” she sang. “To show us, she points to you, or a group, or her.”

  “Well, that’s clever,” Marco said.

  Carlee listened to the music and voice in the back-ground. Marco had turned the volume down, not off. “Who is she,” Carlee asked.

  “She is Adaleigh; remember her from the GRAMMYs?” Andy asked.

  “Yeah,”
she said, followed by, “how long ‘til pizza?” And Andy knew she’d just dismissed that subject, and grinned.

  ~ ~ ~

  Later, when she was ready for bed, Andy went to tuck her in. Sitting on the side of the bed beside where she lay, he smoothed the curls away from her face to kiss her cheek. “I love you, sweet girl. I’m going for a ride in the morning, want to go?”

  She knew where he was going. “Yes sir,” she replied. She lay quietly for a moment, turned toward him and said. “Papa, can I tell you somethin’?”

  “Carlee Elizabeth, you can always tell me anything. Remember that, anything. What is it, sweetheart?”

  “I don’t like her.”

  “Adaleigh?”

  “Yes sir, I know we’re supposed to like everyone, but I just didn’t feel good when she was there that night,” she said honestly.

  “Because?”

  “Well, because she called me a ‘step.’ I didn’t like that because it made my heart hurt…”

  “And?”

  “It felt like she wished I wasn’t there so she could be your date.”

  Wise beyond her years Andy thought. “Well, we don’t have to like her, but I’m probably going to work on her album with her, so we will be nice.”

  “OK,” she replied, “but I still won’t like her.”

  The next morning Angel was gone when Carlee woke. She made her way to the kitchen and found Andy at the stove.

  “I smell sausage!”

  Andy turned and replied, “Pancakes too! Good morning, beautiful.” She stood on tip-toes to look at the griddle and smiled at the Mickey Mouse shape of the pancakes.

  After breakfast, they cleaned up and got in the car, “Slip your floppy hat on,” Andy told her as he put the convertible top down.

  He made a stop on the way that she knew he would, and finally drove back the road at the Memorial Park and put the car in park. “Look,” he said and pointed.

  “They’re here,” she said softly, noticing the family of sandhill cranes that were grazing close by. “They’re always here. I guess they visit Mama too.”

  Andy got out, walked around to her door and helped her out, then put her seat forward. A basket of calla lilies waited there behind the seat. He grabbed them, and took Carlee’s hand. Quietly they walked to her gravesite and stopped. The headstone had a pedestal just big enough for Carleeto sit on and she sat down watching the birds, looking out at the river ahead in the distance. Andy stood quiet a moment and finally, he said, “Ready?”

  She rose and took his hand. It was something she’d done the very first time they went there together. “You are my sunshine, my only sunshine…” they sang.

  ~ ~ ~

  Three weeks later, Adaleigh arrived. She drove straight to the studio and arrived just before Marco did. “Don’t you just have a spare room at your place,” she asked Andy.

  “Nope, Carlee lives with me part-time, so no. I won’t do anything to jeopardize that. The hotel I told you about is on the beach, just a few blocks from the here.”

  “That’s a shame, Andy Stevens” she said in a seductive way that he didn’t like. “I was so looking forward to spending time with you…”

  But before she said anything more, he added, “I told you before I agreed to this my studio hours are ten to six. I won’t give up my time with Carlee, for any reason. We have five weeks of hard work, with Marco, before her school is out. Her dad is taking her to Atlanta for a few days, and then I will have her most of the summer.”

  Adaleigh put a pout on her face, “You sound so mean.”

  “No, I sound like someone who has a job to do, and I’m going to tell you now, I am not interested in anything more than work with you.” He laid it all out. He made no bones about what he meant, left nothing to question.

  We’ll see, she thought.

  Things were going smoothly until two weeks later when Marco had a family emergency in Houston, and unexpectedly John wanted to change weekends. Andy found himself alone.

  Friday morning, he went to the studio to find Adaleigh waiting in her car. “Where’s Marco?” she asked.

  He dreaded answering the question, but replied, “Family emergency.”

  “Oh,” she replied.

  “Let’s get busy.”

  “Yes, let’s,” she replied and Andy rolled his eyes.

  Later, he was at the soundboard listening to a playback and she came up behind him. “Well?”

  “Sounds good.”

  “No, I meant, where’s Carlee?” she said.

  He looked at his watch, 6:10, so she knew Carlee wasn’t coming.

  “She’s with her dad.”

  “That’s nice,” she replied and ran a lazy finger across his back. “So you’re free for dinner.”

  “No, I’m tired; I’m going home. I know Marco scheduled time with you for tomorrow so I’ll see you here at eleven.”

  “Oh, come on, The Bistro is good…”

  “I know. I go there often.”

  “Good, so join me for dinner,” she suggested.

  “Adaleigh, I told you, I’m not interested…”

  She interrupted him, “I’m asking you to join me for a meal. We’ll talk about the album. I’m tired of eating alone.”

  He thought a minute before he replied. “I’ll meet you there.”

  On the way, Adaleigh’s mind was on full tilt, 90mph in one direction – an evening alone with Andy Stevens. Andy’s mind, however, was in slow motion on dread. Being alone with her was the last thing he wanted.

  She met him at the door, and slipped her arm through his as they entered. “Good evening, Mr. Stevens,” the hostess said and led them to his usual table.

  “I’ll have the Chenin Blanc,” he said, ordering his usual.

  “I’ll have the Erotica, please.”

  “Excuse me?” the surprised waitress replied.

  “If the bartender doesn’t know, it’s four parts champagne, one part gin and a splash of lemon juice, dust the rim of the champagne glass with sugar,” she replied and the waitress walked away.

  “Damn, Adaleigh, this is Carlee’s favorite restaurant. We come here all the time and you had to ask for that?”

  “It’s my favorite drink, I’ll let you have a taste,” and Andy looked away as his phone rang.

  “Excuse me, I gotta get this,” he said, pushed back from the table and walked outside.

  “Perfect timing,” he said when he answered.

  “The she-wolf?” Marco laughed.

  “She-devil would be more like it. Damn, Marco, I wish you were here,” he chuckled.

  “I’ll be back at noon tomorrow. Pick me up at the airport?”

  “It will be a relief to have you back. I’ll be there. You up for a couple hours with Adaleigh?”

  “If it will give you relief, sure, tell her to meet me there by two, that way we can have a bite of lunch before I go. I’ll see you at noon.”

  Andy hung up and his phone rang again. “Hello, beautiful,” he said, and immediately heard Carlee crying. “What is it, sweetheart?”

  “Can you come get me, please? Please, Papa?”

  “Carlee, what is it?”

  “Please…”

  “Let me talk to your dad, Carlee, your dad,” he repeated.

  She hung up and he dialed John’s number. “What’s up?”

  “She’s mad because I have a guest. Go ahead and come get her,” he said in an ‘I don’t care’ manner.

  He hurried back into the restaurant. “I gotta go. Something’s wrong.” He pulled his wallet out and put money on the table. “Marco will be back tomorrow. He’d like you to meet him at the studio around two. I gotta go.”

  She stood up abruptly and sent the chair flying backward. “Are you kidding me?” she shouted. “You’re just leaving me here?”

  “Bring your voice down a notch. I said I gotta go, this isn’t a date Adaleigh,” he reminded her. “I gotta go.”

  “You son of a…”

  He whipped around
and quietly said, “Say it and we’re done.”

  ~ ~ ~

  He knocked on the door and Carlee opened it immediately. She’d been watching for him and handed him her backpack. “I want to talk to your dad first,” he told her. “John,” he called out.

  He came around the corner, “What is it?”

  “Everything OK?”

  “Perfect, I told you she’s mad because I have a guest.”

  “We’ll call you in the morning,” he said and took Carlee’s hand.

  She got in the car and Andy closed the door, walked around and put her bag behind his seat. When he got in she was sitting with her arms folded across her chest, crying again.

  “Want to talk?” he asked.

  “No.”

  “OK, your call. Thanks for calling, you saved me.”

  “What?” she asked.

  “Marco had to go to Texas, he’ll be back tomorrow, and you weren’t with me so Adaleigh asked me to have dinner with her. Not fun,” he said sarcastically.

  Carlee giggled and turned in the seat. “Was she mad?”

  “PO’d!” he replied. “Major PO’d!”

  “Good,” she said and a few minutes passed as they drove. Finally, she said, “He brought her from Atlanta, for the whole weekend; Mimi, what kind of name is that?”

  “Kinda like Adaleigh, what kinda of name is that?” he laughed.

  “A made-up name that she thinks is cool,” Carlee replied matter-of-factly.

  “I agree. So, did you like Mimi and you’re just pissed because you had to share your dad?”

  “I don’t care about Mimi, I’m mad at my dad. He asked you to trade for this weekend, and then I have to share him. I’m just mad. Pissed,” she said.

  “Hey…”

  “You said it first,” and suddenly she started to giggle. “I’d rather be with you anyway. Let’s just go home.”

  He made a call to Angel and she arrived soon after they did.

  ~ ~ ~

  The next morning Angel had the morning news on the TV while Andy was drinking his coffee. The sound of his name made him look.