36. Ford
Ford
Ford followed Sie out the front door of Steve’s house, trying to control his laughter at the absurdity of the situation.
Although the old man made it difficult when he called out to them, “Bye, Kylie. Bye, Jason.” While waving to them from the doorstep. “Safe journey back to the farm.”
Sie lifted a hand in acknowledgement and replied in the most fake voice, “Bye, Uncle Steve.”
Ford bit his lip and didn’t say anything, instead concentrating on slouching and getting into the car and out of there.
He didn’t look directly at the men and women lurking on the street outside Sie’s house, but he kept them in his peripheral vision and saw a few of them glance over with initial interest on their faces.
Once they took in the odd figures that the hoodies and cushions gave them, along with the poor posture they were both affecting, the reporters looked away.
Ford fixed his gaze firmly on the road as they drove, not risking looking around and making eye contact with any of the journalists.
“They didn’t follow us,” Sie said, peering back over her shoulder as they left her street.
“Yup. They had no idea it was us.” His heart thudded at the thought that he could be an ‘us’ with Sie again.
It felt unfair that they kept being interrupted. Was the world conspiring to keep them apart? Maybe he should tell her now that he still loved her?
He glanced over to the right, where a very drunk man hung onto a lamp post, vomiting onto the road. Yeah, he wasn’t telling her now. This was not how he wanted to do it.
All these years she had been missing, he’d thought he would never forgive her if he finally found her. Now he knew he could. He already had. He wanted a future with her. Not a life full of bitterness and regret.
“Are the boys home tonight?” Sie asked.
Ford nodded. He wished they weren’t; he wanted her all to himself. “Probably. They wanted to practise later.”
“What for?” Sie asked.
“For the show at the pub.”
“They want to play?”
“Try stopping them!” When he’d told the rest of the band about playing in the pub, they decided it wasn’t a show just about Ford; it was going to be their next Midnight Thunder concert.
“Oh,” Sie suddenly sounded hesitant. “Right. That’s great, I’ll enjoy watching you three.”
“You’re not getting out of it that easily.” Ford laughed.
“You still want me to play?”
“Of course. You’ll always have a spot to play with Midnight Thunder. With me,” he amended. “Whenever you want. I know you probably won’t want to play in our big shows, but that’s not a problem. We’ll hire a session guitarist.”
“Not Ryan?” Sie giggled.
“Definitely not Ryan. I haven’t spoken to the other two yet, but they’ll agree with me. The spot Ryan borrowed was always yours, and it always will be. You can play with us in any show you want to. And if you don’t want to, that’s also fine.”
“I…” Sie’s voice hitched. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Say yes,” Ford said, his words hanging in the air.
Sie hesitated before she said, “Yes. I can’t promise how much I’ll be able to play. I’ve spent a long time working on my stage fright, but I don’t think I’ll be able to play your big shows and work certainly won’t give me the time to tour with you guys.”
“You’re still going to work as a doctor, even with all that money?” Ford asked.
“Yeah. I make a difference every day, even if it’s only a small one, and I want to keep on doing that. Although I’ll cut my hours. I don’t need to work more than full-time like I do now.”
“What will you do with the money then?”
“I’m going to take a holiday,” Sie answered without hesitation. “I was going to Hamilton Island.”
Ford winced at the recollection of Hamilton Island and how much carnage he'd caused with Ryan, and how much damage control Donnie had done for him.
“But I think it’s time to get my passport and go a bit further than Australia.”
“You don’t have a passport?” Ford asked, incredulous.
He had spent so many years globetrotting that it seemed insane that she didn’t even have a passport.
“I never had the time in the last few years to go anywhere, and no one to go with. Then, when I became a consultant, I was saving money to buy my house. But now with the cash from the songs, I can go anywhere in the world!” Sie said excitedly.
“Where were you thinking?” Ford said, and silently added to himself, ‘and can I come with you?’
“I want to see polar bears. So either Svalbard or Churchill in Canada. Depending on when I can book time off. Oh, and I’m going to fly business class, maybe even first class.”
Ford blinked and blinked again. He’d assumed she would mention a tropical paradise, where she would relax and drink cocktails.
Although now he thought about it, that didn’t fit with the Sie he’d once known, she had never sat still.
If she wasn’t writing music with him, she had been studying or practising.
So her declaring her ideal holiday was something adventurous didn’t surprise him.
He didn’t say any of that, instead commenting, “First class is okay.”
“Okay?” Sie laughed. “Spot the world-famous musician who takes it all for granted.”
Ford thought about it and realised that he’d never travelled on a plane in economy. They were so young when Midnight Thunder became famous that even their first trip out of Australia was in business class.
And his parents, when he was a kid, certainly didn’t have the money to take him and his three siblings out of the country.
When they went on holiday, it was to the local national park, where they camped for cheap.
It had given him immense satisfaction to buy his parents a house and give them a great lifestyle.
And he’d made sure that his siblings had all been able to achieve their potential.
His sister, Jean, was a co-director in Donnie’s firm.
And his two brothers, Michael and Paul, co-owned a car dealership and mechanics, for which Ford had provided the initial start-up capital.
“Yeah, you might be right,” Ford said with a chuckle. “I’ve actually never travelled economy.”
“Not even Jetstar?” Sie asked.
“No.” Ford shook his head. “When we’re in Australia, we either go by tour bus or private jet.” It had all seemed so normal to him, but now he looked at it through her eyes, he was starting to realise just how abnormal his life was.
“Private jet! How nice,” Sie teased.
Ford used the hand that wasn’t on the steering wheel to rub at the back of his neck. “Yeah. Now I say it out loud, it does all sound a bit pretentious.”
“Nah. Don’t be embarrassed. You guys earned it.”
“It can be tricky to get through airports without the VIP treatment. People can be a little overexcited when they see us.”
“Do you mean you?” Sie guessed, rightly, that most of the attention was focused on him, and Joel and Scotty could wander through an airport with minimal problems.
“Yep, it can get a little hectic. The pub incident was pretty small fry; it can get out of control, so I usually don’t put myself in that position.”
They were flanked by bodyguards and ushered through to the VIP section of clubs and restaurants.
“I’m sure it’ll settle down in Burra Creek once they get used to you,” Sie said.
Ford’s eyes flickered across to her, and he wished he weren’t driving and could look at her face. Did she want him to stay?
They really needed to talk without being interrupted.