When I Look to the Sky Page 4

  “We have exclusive phone video from last night of our local celebrity, Andy Stevens, and his date, new talent Adaleigh Pensant, at The Bistro. Looks like trouble in paradise,” the reporter said as Angel turned it off.

  “For Pete’s sake, ‘paradise’,” Andy mumbled, and his phone rang. “Yeah,” he said, seeing it was Kimmy.

  “Nice,” she said sarcastically.

  “Yeah, not so much. Friggin’ drama queen, I’m not even gonna try to explain.” He looked up and Carlee was coming into the kitchen. “Hey there.”

  “Adaleigh?” Kimmy laughed.

  “Carlee,” he said softly.

  “What? Why?”

  “I’ll call you later, I’m bettin’ my girl wants some breakfast.”

  Angel scrambled eggs and after they ate, Andy told Carlee, “I gotta pick Marco up at the airport. We need to go to the studio for a while. Grab a book and a movie to take along; you can watch it in my office.”

  “That’s fine,” she looked out the window, “Looks stormy.”

  Andy stood behind her and looked out, as well. “Yes, it does.” He thought about the evening before, his, and Carlee’s.

  “Angel’s checking her work schedule to see if she can come tonight. If she can’t we’ll call Kimmy and see if Jenna can come, we’ll watch a movie and think about what to make for dinner…”

  “Spaghetti,” Carlee said, quickly. “Papa, why does Angel have to come and if she can’t Jenna has to?”

  “Because the agreement with your dad for you to spend the night is that someone is here when you are.”

  “But why?” she asked.

  “Because he thinks you and I can’t make it on our own. He thinks we need help.” That was the best way he could think to explain it.

  “He doesn’t keep his end of the deal,” she grumbled.

  “It seems that way sometimes.”

  When they pulled up to the terminal to wait for Marco, Carlee crawled in the back seat. Finally, he walked out and Andy popped the trunk and Marco put his bag in and opened the door. He went to slip into the seat and noticed Carlee.

  “Hey doll! What’s up?” he said in a big voice.

  She threw her arms around his neck and said, “I’m so happy to see you!”

  “How ‘bout some lunch?” Andy said.

  “The Bistro!” Carlee said.

  Andy quickly glanced to Marco and mouthed the word no.

  “We go there all the time,” Marco said. “What about Giovanna’s?”

  “Yes!”

  After their meal Carlee excused herself to go wash her hands and Andy told him about the encounter with Adaleigh at The Bistro.

  “I’ll be glad to get this project behind us,” he said and Marco agreed.

  ~ ~ ~

  By Memorial Day, they’d completed the tracks for Adaleigh’s album; there was work yet to do, but he was ready to send her home.

  “Great job,” Andy said, relieved. “Marco will do his thing and we’ll put this project to bed.”

  “I gotta go,” Marco said, “I’ve got a date.”

  “Have fun,” Adaleigh said as he was leaving.

  “You don’t have Carlee tonight,” she said to Andy after Marco was gone, “let’s go celebrate, I promise I’ll behave.”

  He was ready for a glass of wine. “Yeah, sure.” He tried to think where; The Bistro wasn’t even a thought. He hadn’t gone there since Adaleigh’s ‘show’ on his last visit.

  “The bar at the hotel is nice, I’d love some good champagne,” she said.

  “I’ll meet you there.”

  They entered the bar and Adaleigh plopped into a circular booth and slid to the middle so Andy had no choice but to slide in beside her. As he did, the waitress came to the table. “Ms. Pensant, it’s nice to see you. Good evening, Mr. Stevens. What can I bring you?”

  “Cuvee! A bottle of very expensive Cuvee!” Adaleigh said.

  The waitress left an appetizer menu on the table and went to get the champagne. “Cuvee is decadent!” she said.

  “I’ve never had it.”

  “Well, let me order a bite to eat to go with it if you’ll allow me. It’s such a treat and bold flavors set it off. Do you like Bleu cheese?” she asked.

  “I do.”

  The bar was quiet, and when the waitress returned Adaleigh asked; “Erin, is Chef available?” Andy got the impression that she’d become a regular in the time she’d been here.

  “I’ll see,” the young woman said and went to the kitchen.

  “Adaleigh!” the big man said, and leaned to kiss her cheeks when he came to the table.

  “I’m celebrating tonight! Recording’s done, and now, the ‘Magic Man’ here will be working to make it perfect. I’ll be heading home tomorrow and I want to show Andy my appreciation. Andy this is Chef Neil Obano, ‘Chef’,” she added.

  Andy listened as Adaleigh talked to him. She sounded happy, and it made him smile.

  “We’ve become good friends since I’ve been staying here. Chef, can you sit a moment so I can tell you what I’m thinking?”

  He sat on the other end of the booth and waited.

  “I ordered the Cuvee,” she said, “and I’m thinkin’ Bleu cheese…”

  “Good choice, oh, I know just the thing! Dates, stuffed with Bleu cheese, wrapped in bacon; it’ll take a little while.”

  “Andy?”

  “We’ll wait,” Andy replied and Chef left them.

  “Oh Andy, I’m so excited! It sounds good, it feels good…”

  “It is good. You should be excited, and proud,” he said as the waitress returned and opened the champagne and poured them each a glass.

  Andy raised his glass. “To the success of The Silk Road,” he said.

  Adaleigh touched her glass to his and downed what was in the glass. Andy poured more, laughed and said “slow down.”

  “I’m too happy and I only have to get to the eighth floor. You’re driving, not me!” she laughed and sat back and let out a big sigh. “I’m so happy!”

  Andy settled back and enjoyed the champagne. Relieved that the project was complete, he was looking forward to taking Carlee and Angel to Eleuthera for two weeks. Peace and quiet, he thought.

  The waitress came and filled their glasses and told them their appetizers would be ready soon.

  “If there’s another chilled bottle of Cuvee, put my name on it,” Adaleigh said.

  “You sure? We haven’t finished this one yet,” Andy asked.

  “We will, or I’ll do it without you! I gotta let go!” she replied.

  Finally, Chef returned to the table with a platter of goodies. Along with the stuffed dates he’d added olives, apple slices, and warm, crusty french bread.

  Adaleigh took a bite of the stuffed date and threw her head back in elation. “Oh, my God... soooo good.” She picked one up and went to feed it to Andy, but he took her hand and took the date.

  “Oh, OK, I’ll play your way,” she laughed and downed the rest of the champagne in her glass.

  Andy took a bite, “It’s good.”

  “Now take a sip,” Chef said.

  “Good, very good,” Andy said letting the flavors meld on his tongue.

  “Now a bite of apple,” Chef said. “Then take a piece of bread, an olive, and another sip.”

  “Wow, all those flavors together,” Andy replied.

  Chef poured more wine in Adaleigh’s glass and left them. She was getting giggly and Andy slowed down with his own glass.

  They ate, talked and were halfway through the second bottle of Cuvee. She was beyond giggly now; she was tipsy, bordering on intoxicated. Andy quit drinking. He looked at his watch; it was after ten and he was ready to head home.

  “Come on. Let me help you to your room.”

  “But there’s still champagne left…” she giggled.

  “One glass and you don’t need it, come on.”

  She slid to the edge of the booth and Andy reached for her hand to help her up. She got to her feet, stu
mbled and fell into Andy’s arms as he caught her. She giggled again and he helped her stand.

  “I didn’t need that last glass of Cuvee either, I guess,” she laughed.

  “Come on, I’ll take you up and make sure you get in the room.”

  They made it to the elevator and Andy held her up. When they got to her floor he asked her for the key.

  “Hang on, I got it,” she reached in the pocket of her jeans and stumbled. Andy held her and she handed him the key.

  He opened the door and walked her into the room. “I gotta pee,” she said. Andy went to the bed and pulled the sheets back to help her in. When he turned she was standing in front of him naked.

  “Not a good idea, Adaleigh.”

  She stepped closer, “Are you sure?”

  “Positive,” but she took another step closer and he had nowhere to go.

  “Come on, let me help you in and then I gotta go. But before he could move, one hand was around his back as the other hand ran down the front of his pants in a beguiling way.

  “Adaleigh, stop,” he said firmly.

  But she fell into him, sending them both tumbling on the bed. She was on top of him, and he attempted to shift her off but she had her arms planted on both sides of him on the bed. “I’ve been dreaming of this,” she said, taking her hand and rubbing his crotch again.

  He wrapped his arms around her, in what she thought was a hug, and rolled her on her back. “I want you, Andy.” It was a breathless voice, and she added with a giggle, “You want me too. I can feel it.”

  Finally he had the advantage. He rolled off of her, and off the bed. “No, Adaleigh, I don’t. I’m leaving, now.”

  “Damn you!”

  Andy made his way quickly to the door, pillows following him as he went out. As soon as he was in the car his phone started ringing. He looked and it was Adaleigh; he didn’t answer it. He drove the ten minutes to his home and it rang twice more. When he was in the house he looked and there were three voicemail messages. He sat down on the sofa and listened. After he’d heard them he dialed.

  It rang a few times and finally she answered. She was crying “Why don’t you like me?”

  “Listen Adaleigh,” he started.

  “I haven’t been anything but nice…” she mumbled.

  “Just listen. It’s not that I don’t like you.”

  “Then why,” she sobbed.

  “Look, you’re drunk, so I hope you’ll remember all of this tomorrow. I’m not interested in any female but Carlee right now. I messed up way too much, way too many times, with her mama. I’m not gonna screw up what I have with her.”

  “She’s seven,” Adaleigh said.

  “She is, but that represents twenty-some years of fucking up with Beth. I loved her, Adaleigh,” he said. “But I didn’t know what to do with that love until it was too late. So I’m gonna be everything Carlee needs from me. I know you won’t understand that. You don’t want to, but this is how it is, for now anyway.”

  “But…”

  “Adaleigh, there is no ‘but.’ Right now my life revolves around that adorable child and I like it that way. Maybe someday I’ll feel differently, but for now I know this is how I want my life.”

  “You missed a really good chance to get laid, Andy Stevens,” she mumbled.

  He smiled to himself. “Go to sleep, I’ll call you in a few days, we’ve got an album to get ready to go.”

  After he hung up he sat on the sofa for a long time thinking about the past, he knew what he said was true. He wasn’t ready to share his life with anyone but Carlee.

  CHAPTER FOUR ~ Time Will Tell

  Ten days later, Angel, Carlee, and Andy were in the Bahamas at the cottage on Eleuthera. Shirley, the caretaker, had everything ready when they arrived and was standing in the yard waiting when they pulled up. Carlee flew out of the car and into her arms.

  “Hello baby,” Shirley said in her island lilt. “I’m so happy to see you!”

  Shirley was always happy to see them when they arrived. For twenty years she took care of things at the cottage when Andy was away. Her mother, Edwina, had done the same before her. She was there to help Andy and Beth when she was still alive, and she was part of Andy’s ‘family’ now. She adored Carlee, and loved getting together with Angel to cook and talk when they were all together.

  Adrian Minors took over the auto storage and repair business when his dad, Wilford, died. Andy still had the 1963 Chevy Nova station wagon that he bought when he first purchased the cottage on the island in 1976. Adrian kept it in good shape.

  And it’s a good thing too, because Carlee loves that old car. Andy thought.

  They spent two weeks on the island. Andy said he went there for ‘peace and quiet’, Carlee always said ‘beach and quiet.’ She loved every minute they were there. Nanny told her the cottage was her mama’s favorite place. Carlee was happy there, happy being anywhere with Andy.

  When Beth worked for the Cancer Foundation she was a proponent for many activities and fundraisers. Well known for her work, one of her dreams was a camp for kids going through cancer or dealing with family members going through the effects of it, both personally and with family. She’d allocated money from her estate to help start the camp. They learned when Beth was sick that a butterfly was the Hospice symbol and those involved in the planning decided to call it Butterfly Camp.

  When they planned the dedication, they invited Papa and me, along with my dad and all of Mama’s family. They were announcing the name of the camp. I remember looking around the room, proud and excited, seeing everyone I loved there to witness the big event – everyone except my dad. They showed Kimmy’s favorite picture of me and Mama in a field of daisies. Artists’ sketches of the camp were revealed. I remember Papa’s hand holding mine. They revealed the camp logo – a butterfly, and I cried; Papa was crying too.

  How ironic, Andy thought as Carlee made her first trip to the camp in August 2006. She was eight and excited to be part of the Grand Opening celebration. She went because she wanted to, but Andy suspected that she went to see if she would ‘feel’ her mama there. There was a big party before departure to get everyone excited. Some of the kids were nervous or scared. There were no buses the first year, and only a few kids went. They had a van, but most of the parents drove their kids to the camp; they were curious. John was away on business, so Andy took Carlee. Those who drove to the camp stayed to attend the opening ceremonies.

  As the ceremony progressed, Andy observed and listened; and his mind wandered… Did it ever even cross Beth’s mind that this would be for Carlee’s benefit, as well? When she dreamed it, did she realize how many children would be there the first year, or the number of volunteers who would work so hard to make it happen?

  After the parents left, all the kids gathered to talk and share their experiences. Carlee watched and listened. The first year it was mostly the counselors and the older kids who talked, the younger ones were afraid to talk, so they just listened.

  She’d been gone a week and Andy was ready for her to come home. He missed her, but he was anxious to hear all about the experience, the opening ceremonies were awesome, so he was sure the rest would be, as well.

  When he picked her up, she talked the whole way home about all she’d learned and the activities. She told him how glad she was that she went. And she told him she’d be going back.

  ~ ~ ~

  In February 2007, Adaleigh’s single “The Silk Road” earned her a GRAMMY nomination for Record of the Year and she called Andy. They hadn’t talked since the release party and she wondered how he would react to her call, to her request.

  “Well, hello there,” he said when he answered.

  “You got the word, right?” she said excitedly.

  “We did,” he replied.

  “This wouldn’t have happened without you, ya know. I am beyond grateful,” she told him.

  “You voice, your words…”

  “Your guidance,” she interrupted. “Will you be attend
ing?”

  “Well, yeah,” he chuckled. “If you win, Marco and I get a little statue too.”

  “Are you bringing Carlee?” she asked cautiously.

  “No, I’m bringing Marco. Carlee has something going on that week and doesn’t want to miss school.”

  “Would you and Marco be my escort?”

  “I’ll be happy to do that, but…”

  “I know,” she said, “no Cuvee for me…”

  Adaleigh’s song, “The Silk Road” won the award, and when the three of them reached the stage, Andy and Marco motioned for her to step forward.

  “The road to reach this stage has been an amazing journey. I am grateful to all of you who believed in me enough to listen, and like “The Silk Road”. I took a very rough version to these two incredible men, and they helped turn it into the true silk; the smooth, silky, and velvety sound that you hear. I couldn’t be happier with the outcome,” Adaleigh said. “Thank you, this means so much to me.”

  Andy and Marco stepped forward and each stood at her side. Marco spoke first, “Thank you to the listeners who liked Adaleigh’s sound and style. Because of you we stand here this evening, celebrating this with Adaleigh.”

  “We’d also like to thank the GRAMMY Foundation and The Recording Academy for the opportunity to share this with Adaleigh,” Andy said.

  Afterward, they made their way to the Beverly Hills Hotel for a post party. Adaleigh was the belle of the ball. When a waitress asked what she was drinking she glanced at Andy, winked, and said, “I’ll just have a diet soda.”

  Later, Marco said, “That wasn’t so bad.”

  Andy chucked, hearing her order the diet soda in his head again. “Not bad at all.”

  ~ ~ ~

  Carlee returned to Butterfly Camp in August 2007. She told Andy she needed to go, “Because, I feel good there. I’m with other kids who have lost someone they loved or they’re scared they’re gonna die, and with all that sadness… there is fun.”