Chapter 45
45
G loria dressed in a caramel-colored silk blouse and black pants. They were winter colors, but she didn't care. This outfit made her feel fantastic and today was the first day of her podcast. She needed to feel fantastic.
She'd had her hair cut yesterday into the pixie she'd wanted, but the network would never let her have.
The bedroom door opened and Sean waltzed in, wearing a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. Gloria looked at him. "You are always so handsome, Sean, but aren't you going to dress up for the podcast?"
He glanced down at his clothing, then back up to her. "I am dressed up for the podcast."
"You wear that every day."
He shrugged. "That's what Mina said I was supposed to do. Something about yin and yang or something."
She laughed. "Okay."
Sean sauntered to her and stood behind her. He pushed his body tightly to hers and wrapped his arms around her waist. "You look fantastic."
He kissed her neck, and she watched him in the mirror. His dark hair, with a few streaks of gray threaded in, was captivating. He lifted his head slightly and stared at her in the mirror.
"What?"
She chuckled. "Nothing. I like watching you love on me."
"Good." He bent his head down and kissed her again. "We could really make people talk if you started our podcast with a big hickey on your neck."
She laughed. "I'm sure we could, but I'm gonna take a pass on that."
He kissed the back of her neck and sucked on her skin a bit. She let him. Why not?
His fingers splayed out across her belly and pulled her in tighter. He nipped and kissed a bit more, then said, "We should start a tradition. Before every podcast, I'll come in here and we'll fuck in front of the mirror. You can watch me, and I'll make it worth your while."
She giggled. "Would that make you happy?"
"Oh, baby, I'm only thinking of you. You said you liked watching me love on you. It don't get better than that."
She laughed. "You’re naughty."
"But that's what you like."
He kissed around her neck, and the door opened. "Eww. I mean, eww. Really?"
"We're in our bedroom, Mina. Have you heard of knocking?"
She closed the door and yelled from the other side. "Five minutes."
Sean chuckled. "I can do it in five minutes."
She laughed again but turned in his arms. "How about this? Let's go make our daughter proud by doing our podcast, and afterwards, let's come in here and make love."
"I'm so good with that."
She laughed and kissed his lips. Glancing down at his crotch, she said, "You better put that thing away for now." She pressed her hand against it and squeezed slightly.
"It's not going away like that, Baby."
She giggled and stepped out of the bedroom. He'd need a minute to himself.
Mina waited for her in the living room. "You two are in your fifties. You act like you're in your twenties."
"Jealous?"
"No."
She hugged her daughter close. "We both love you very much. But we love each other, too."
Mina sighed. "I know."
"What's going on today?"
"The network is still threatening to sue. I think they're waiting to see if this podcast is popular. They said you haven't fulfilled your contract with them."
"Okay. Tough shit."
"Right. That's what I said, too. Also, look at this."
Mina turned her phone around to see that the video they'd uploaded now had more than three million views.
Gloria shrugged. "I don't know if I should be happy about that or not. It's mostly nosy people who want to see the pain we've gone through. It's sick, really."
Mina shrugged. "It's actually good. There's a lot of sympathy for us. A few jack holes too, but mostly people decrying the press, getting too nosy, and causing so much trouble. Princess Diana and all that."
Sean entered the living room and Gloria glanced briefly at his crotch, then into his eyes. She smiled, and he grinned.
"You two are weird." Mina huffed and moved toward the door. "We have to get to the studio."
Sean nodded and held his hand out to her. She placed her hand in his and they walked to the car side by side.
The drive to the Barn was happy. They chatted about the podcast. Mina mostly directed at how she wanted things to go. Gloria and Sean listened as she happily chatted away. She was in her element.
Once at the Barn and seated in the studio, Mina sat on a stool across from them so she was out of camera range, but she could direct them.
Mina nodded to Boon. "Count us down, Boon."
"Four. Three. Two. One." Boon pointed to her, and she started.
"Good morning. Welcome to Chart Toppers in Music with Violet Slyk and Sammy Fender ."
Sean nodded. "Hello. This is fun."
Gloria laughed. "So today, we're going to finally get to the interview that started all of this strange twist of events a month ago. If you remember from the reports, or if you haven't read the reports, Sammy was in Crystal Cove for his class reunion. That's the class of 1989, if you're wondering."
Sean nodded. "I didn't make it except to the beach for a quick concert with Chris Stapleton. Which was a highlight of my life. We'll play that for you in its entirety after the podcast."
"We will for certain. It's a great concert. So, let's get to the interview, shall we?"
"I'm ready."
"Okay. Do you have any children?"
"I have one amazing, beautiful, smart, daughter."
"And how about your personal life? Do you own a home?"
"I do. I have this house, which had great bones. But I'm a guy and didn't spend much time there, so I did nothing with it but move my stuff in. Then, my daughter..." he held out his hand toward Mina, "Said,..." He raised his voice to mimic a female voice. "Oh, Dad, I can make this so much better."
Gloria laughed at his mocking of Mina. Mina frowned behind the camera and made a face, which made Sean laugh. "Anyway, my house is now under construction. The whole damned house."
Gloria laughed. "It is a mess, isn't it?"
"Oh, God, yes. It's a fucking mess."
"But it'll be worth it."
"I think so."
Gloria enjoyed this interview so much more than the last one. "So, tell me what your favorite song is from Hart & the Hurricanes."
"Ah, yes, “Born to Be My Baby”. It's the first song I wrote, and I wrote it about you."
Her cheeks warmed, and she swallowed the emotion that flooded her throat. "You did, and it's simply beautiful."
"As are you."
Gloria picked up a piece of paper and fanned herself. "You'll have to stop flattering me."
He laughed. "Never."
She took a deep breath and got herself under control. "I think fans want to know what it's like on the road."
"Well, I don't sleep well. We're cramped into a bus. We all share the same bus. No shenanigans and we have bunk beds for each of us to sleep in. So we're usually tired when we get to where we're going. But, when we're all awake, we write a lot of our music in the bus. We sing, we talk about anything and everything. There are no secrets. We play our gig and if it's a two or more night gig, we get rooms in the hotel. That's always a bit better because we can stretch out in real beds."
"I can imagine. What about the riders many entertainers have on their contracts?"
"I don't think we have riders. I'd have to ask Tony. If we have anything, it's basic stuff like make sure there's water for us to drink. No weird stuff like only brown M&Ms, or anything like that. We're pretty down to earth."
"I'd agree with you there." She turned to look into his eyes. "Okay, fans want to know. Are you married?"
Sean laughed. "I didn't see that one coming so soon. I'm not married yet, but I should rectify that. Sean knelt at her side, his smile was beautiful and his movement stopped all thought in her mind. "Violet Slyk, Gloria Adams, will you marry me?" He held a diamond ring out to her. Tears flooded her eyes and she swallowed several times. When she opened her mouth nothing came out. It was hard to catch her breath and Mina yelled. "Answer him!"
He laughed, but continued to stare at her.
She nodded. "Yes."