28. Ford
Ford
“I’ll always wait for you.” Ford hadn’t known he was going to say that until the words were out of his mouth, and watching Sie rush away from him, he knew without a doubt that they were true.
She was the only one for him. He needed to forgive. He needed to move on with his life. He needed her.
He stared at Sie as she disappeared through the sliding doors at the front of the hospital, jumping in surprise when a police officer tapped on the driver’s window.
His reflex response was to phone Donnie, who would smooth over anything he’d done wrong.
Calming his nerves, he rolled down the window; it had been a long time since he’d needed Donnie to intervene with the police.
“Officer,” Ford said politely.
The policeman didn’t reply and, instead, leaned down more to get a better look at Ford’s face.
“Is everything okay?” Ford tried again.
“Yeah. It’s just, you look like… Are you?” The officer looked unsure.
Ford chuckled and nodded his head, his front man persona snapping into place instantly.
“I’m Ford,” he introduced himself.
“Oh, shit. You are! I love your music. I came to the concert! We couldn’t believe it when you guys booked a show in Burra Creek. And you’re still here! Mate, this is incredible.”
Ford smiled up at the excited young officer who couldn’t have been more than twenty-five. “Thanks so much. Your support’s appreciated.”
“Is there any chance I can get a selfie?” the officer asked sheepishly.
Ford didn’t hesitate. He was used to people being excited to meet him. “Sure. Let me park properly, and we’ll get some photos.”
“Mate, this is amazing. My mum is a huge fan as well.” He was practically vibrating on the spot.
“That’s great. Maybe we can FaceTime her?” Ford suggested.
The look on the other man’s face was one of sheer astonishment. “You’d ring my mum?”
Ford shrugged. He had nothing better to do while he waited for Sie and Donnie would be ecstatic with the good publicity this sort of thing would bring for the band.
“Sure. I’d love to.”
“That’s amazing. The parking is just over there.” The young officer pointed to a row of spots in front of them.
Ford nodded and pulled his car forward, turned the ignition off and climbed out. He smiled to himself when a few women walked past, and one of them did a double-take, then whispered something to her friends, who all swivelled their heads to stare at him.
It had taken him a long time to become comfortable with the attention, but now that he was, he didn’t let it faze him.
Whenever someone became overzealous, he reminded himself that for him, it was a Tuesday and for them, meeting the lead singer of a world-famous band was something they would talk about for years.
Early in his career, he was ashamed to admit that there were a lot of stories about his rude behaviour toward the fans. He hadn’t been in a good place after Sie left, and he took his grief out on everyone who came near him, even the fans.
He now made an effort to be the person he had always hoped he would be if he got famous, not the one he’d initially turned into. And the one Ryan still acted like, the person who thought they were better than anyone else, just because they could play guitar and were well-known.
Ryan treated everyone with the same contempt. He was rude to the fans unless they were someone he wanted to sleep with, and even then, he would discard them within a short period of time to move on to the next young woman who caught his eye.
A weight had lifted off Ford’s shoulders when the rest of the band voted to remove Ryan.
“Ford. It’s so great to meet you.” The young officer thrust his hand out to Ford. “I’m Robbie.”
Ford took his hand and shook it. “Ford.” Then laughed as he'd introduced himself out of habit, even though the other man already knew who he was.
“What brings you to Burra Creek?” Robbie asked.
Ford shifted on the spot, not sure how much to say. He doubted the officer knew anyone who would make his presence public knowledge, but he also knew how small towns worked, and the gossip networks were often extensive.
“I’m having a break here after the tour.” Ford smiled blandly.
“Ahh. That’s how you ended up meeting one of our doctors!” Robbie waggled his eyebrows, and Ford cursed internally, thinking fast.
“She’s actually a childhood friend. We were catching up.”
“With all that makeup, for a moment I thought it was the long-lost Sie.” Robbie laughed.
Ford kept the smile plastered on his face, and fell back on his years of talking to the media and gave a non-answer that, when analysed later, didn’t contain any lies, even though he'd deflected the question.
“Like I say. Old childhood friend.”
Once the press release came out with the photos of Sie, maybe the young officer would put things together, and maybe he wouldn’t, with Sie’s blonde hair putting him off.
“Shall we take that selfie?” Ford asked to change the subject.
“Yeah, mate.” Robbie pulled his phone out of his pocket.
Soon, Ford had a crowd of people around him, all asking questions and getting selfies.