Chapter 17
MEMPHIS
England leaned back in her chair and glared at me for a few seconds. “Can we all use this as a learning experience regarding interludes with fans, and let me explain to you the importance of prophylactics?”
“I used a condom, Mom,” I announced, with only a hint of sarcasm.
London Conner, the music star who had discovered our band years ago right here in Rojo, sighed deeply.
“You’re not the first musician to get caught with his pants down, Memphis, and I know you won’t be the last. However, I’d like to think that what England said is true.
This should be a learning experience for all of you. ”
“Yes, ma’am,” I said at the same time as my cousins Roar, Rocky, and Wild, and my brother Chevy.
We might be grown adults, but that didn’t mean we had forgotten the respect for our elders that we’d been raised with, especially when the woman we were talking to happened to be the reason we were living the life most musicians only dreamed about.
Shelly Thompson, England’s mom and London Conner’s business partner–who also happened to be a music star back in the day–cleared her throat. “Now you have to decide what and how much to tell the media.”
“I know this really has nothing to do with me, but I have a suggestion,” my cousin Raven said from where she was seated at the end of the conference table. When everyone looked at her she said, “I heard through the grapevine that you and Cassia are considering making this a thing, right?”
When I nodded, her smile reminded me so much of her mom’s that it was uncanny. I’d seen that smile many times when she was trying to explain how stupidly one or all of us were acting without hurting our feelings too badly.
“If you’re going to have a future with this woman,” Raven suggested, “I would advise that you make her part of this conversation and not decide her future for her.”
“Preach it, girl!” I glanced over at Scarlet, who grinned before she said, “You’re a complete and total dumbass, Memphis.”
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I agree with the girls,” Lucky announced. “If I made a monumental decision like this without Rain’s input, they’d be finding pieces of my body from here to Oklahoma.”
Scarlett scoffed. “As if they’d find a single piece.”
Raven winked at Lucky. “She’s right. Not even a drop of blood to be found.”
“Can we please resist planning a murder today?” England asked before she sighed. “As much as it kills me to agree with anything Lucky says, he’s right. We'll talk amongst ourselves while you go get your new girlfriend.”
“She hasn’t agreed to that yet,” I reminded everyone.
“Well, for us to make a plan, she needs to get on board and make a decision. What we do hinges on what she decides,” England explained.
“Let me call and see if she’s available. If she is, I’ll send her my location so she can find us,” I assured them. “I’ll be right back.”
The phone only rang once before Cassia answered. “I was about to call you! I’m pulling up to the grocery store now and need to know if I should buy cumin or if you have more somewhere in the pantry.”
“There’s not anymore, but I need to ask you to put off the grocery trip. I’ll come with you this afternoon, but right now I need you to come to the studio and join us in a meeting.”
“Why?”
“Because our manager is here, and we’re trying to figure out how to announce that I’m suddenly a father. I’d like your input.”
“You would? Holy shit! You do have two working brain cells!” Cassia laughed. “Sorry. I couldn’t resist. Send me your location and I’ll be on my way.”
“You’ve got Ivy with you, right?”
“No. I tied her up behind the house, but I made sure she had plenty of water and snacks.”
“Okay, smartass. I want her to meet everyone.”
“Well, she’s in fine form this morning, so good luck with that.”
“What’s wrong? Is she sick? Should I call Amethyst? I’m sure we can . . .”
“She’s not sick, Memphis. She’s in a shitty mood. It could be anything from constipation to the moon phase. Until she learns to voice what’s wrong, we’re left guessing and dealing with the fallout.”
“How is she so tiny and already acting like the women in my family?”
“I appreciate the fact that you just insulted every woman in your family by comparing them to a cranky toddler, but didn’t include me in that group.”
“Obviously, I’m not as dumb as you seem to think I am.”
“There’s nothing obvious about it, sweetheart. Even a blind man can find a crumb if he’s hungry enough.”
“Wow. When you say shit like that, I wonder if marrying me is the best idea. You’re already so Forrester that if I add the name to it, you might end up being the queen and leading the other women on a quest to take over the world.”
“Thank you. I appreciate your confidence.” Ivy squealed angrily in the background, and Cassia sighed. “I’m going to hang up now. Send me your location so I can hand off this ticking time bomb before I completely lose what’s left of my shit.”
I was still laughing as Cassia ended the call.
When I walked back into the building and explained what she’d said, my family and friends thought it was just as funny as I did.
When I explained that Cassia must be having a bad day because Ivy was a sweet little angel, London and Shelly laughed harder than I’d ever seen them laugh before.
They were still chuckling as we moved on to the next topic on England’s to-do list. I found my mind wandering as I looked forward to seeing Cassia again sooner than I thought I would.
I already had it bad, and I’d never even kissed the woman.
◆◆◆
CASSIA
While Memphis got Ivy settled in the corner with an iPad and a pair of headphones that dwarfed her small head, I looked around the room and wondered how many people would love to be where I was sitting right now.
It didn’t feel like I was surrounded by famous people recognized by millions around the world. Instead, it felt like a room full of friends who had known each other forever, with memories and inside jokes I couldn’t yet understand.
London Merida and Shelly Thompson, two women I recognized as music stars from days gone by, but who were also still very relevant and popular in today’s music world, were comparing recipes for non-toxic cleaning solutions.
Memphis’s cousin Rocky was sitting across the table from me while another cousin, Raven, stood with my sister Scarlet behind Rocky’s chair.
The two women chatted about an upcoming wedding while twisting portions of Rocky’s hair.
Roar sat on a chair in the corner with earbuds in, eyes closed, head bobbing to music only he could hear, occasionally playing air drums. Lucky was at the end of the table with his arms crossed in front of him, and during lulls in the conversation, I could hear soft snores that confirmed he was actually sleeping in the middle of all this chaos.
The woman Memphis had first introduced me to, England Thompson, Shelly’s daughter, was sitting with her own iPad, scrolling through documents with an intense frown. She was completely oblivious to everything around her, and I was amazed at her ability to concentrate amid so much noise.
It was like watching multiple television programs at the same time, all at normal volume, covering vastly different topics that had nothing to do with one another.
I wasn’t sure how much longer I could take it.
Finally, Memphis pulled out the chair beside mine and sat down. “She’s all settled with her favorite show, a baggie full of gummy snacks, and a full bottle of water.”
I wanted to be angry with him, but I knew it was irrational.
For the last three hours, I’d been dealing with Ivy’s mercurial mood swings.
One minute she was cheerful and giggly, the next she was having a meltdown.
Miraculously, all of that stopped when she spotted Memphis walking out to greet us in the parking lot.
She turned into a sweet little angel with smiles and kisses to share.
My anger surged along with the urge to smack his smug face when he said, “She seems perfectly fine to me. Are you sure it was her mood that was the problem?”
I heard laughter from somewhere in the room as I slowly turned to face him. “Are you saying that I was the problem, rather than the child shooting for gold in the Toddler Tantrum Olympics?”
“England, sweetie, will you make a note that we should double the amount of life insurance we have on Memphis, please?” London asked.
England made a tsking sound. “Let’s triple it. As dumb as he is, we’ll be getting a return on our investment sooner rather than later.”
“Before we start planning his funeral, maybe we should address how to handle the press regarding his new situation.”
“Do we have to?” I blurted.
“We should get ahead of it to avoid assumptions,” England insisted. “We don’t want the same thing that happened with Lucky and Rain to affect the two of you.”
“What happened with Lucky and Rain?” I asked, glancing over at the still-snoring lead singer of the band.
The band and their management team explained the media circus that erupted when Lucky and Rain got together, beginning with pictures of them taken at the airport by fans and bystanders.
By the time everyone finished filling me in, Lucky had woken up and added his two cents, including how Rain had felt about the situation.
I was becoming terrified at the thought of strangers all over the world digging into my life and past. That was, until England said, “There is a silver lining to all of this.”
“Honestly, I can’t think of a single one.”
“This will bring the foundation your parents started into the spotlight. With the mainstream media mentioning it often, it could increase awareness and bring in donations to support the cause they believed in.”
“I never even considered that.”
“Are you still involved in it?” London asked.
“Very much so. My sisters and I are on the board of directors and plan to remain in our positions until we pass them onto our children someday. We each do work for the foundation, although none of us are willing to travel the way we did growing up. Since we aren’t medical professionals like our parents were, it wouldn’t make sense to take up resources that could be used on someone who could really make a difference. ”
“I can’t think of a way to ask this question delicately, so I’m just going to spit it out,” England said.
“Is there anything in your background, or your family’s, that the media could pounce on and twist into something more sensational than it actually is?
” When I frowned, she added, “When you’re in the spotlight like they are, skeletons don’t stay hidden for long. ”
“The only skeleton I know about is the fact that my brother’s wife cheated on him and gave birth to this one’s child,” I said, tilting my head toward Memphis.
“Yeah. That’s gonna blow up when they find out.”
“What if we just say we’ve secretly been together since before Ivy was conceived?” I asked.
“Mr. Forrester hasn’t exactly lived a life of celibacy,” England replied dryly. “There are women out there who would love their fifteen minutes of fame talking about their time with him, which would turn him into a cheating asshole.”
“Nope,” Mephis said as he shook his head. “Can’t do it.”
“It’s an option.”
“I think we should just be honest from the start,” he continued. “Yes, Ivy is my daughter, and since her mother passed away, Cassia has been taking care of her.”
“And now you’re together?” London asked.
I looked at Memphis and shrugged before England said, “You should be certain of what’s going on before we release anything. A united front is very important in situations like this.”
“She hasn’t decided how she wants to proceed yet,” Memphis explained.
“Proceed?” Shelly asked.
“We’ve been discussing marriage.”
“A real marriage, or a marriage in name only?” England asked.
“That’s what she’s thinking about.”
England warned, “Think quickly. There will be press crawling all over town because of the wedding this weekend, and if they catch wind of a little girl connected to Memphis, they’re going to have a field day.”
“Wedding?” I asked, confused.
“My niece is marrying a man who is famous in his own right,” London explained. “There will be guests attending who have their own level of fame.
“It’s Saturday,” Memphis announced.
“I think it would be a good idea for you to accompany Memphis as his date. That way, the press has a reference for the two of you together before any announcement is made.”
London added, “England is right, but I want to reiterate how important it is that you decide what we’re releasing to the media as soon as possible. We can always say you’re co-parenting as friends and release something else later if things change, but we should get ahead of it.”
“Okay. I’ll make a decision as soon as I can.”
“What’s holding you back?” Scarlet asked. Her concern clearly for her brother and her niece.
“Common sense?” England asked sarcastically.
“If they get together, at least one of them will have some,” Raven quipped. She grinned at Memphis and said, “Love you, Mem!”
Memphis flipped her off before assuring me, “We’ll do whatever makes you most comfortable, Cassia.”
And that was exactly why I was having such a hard time deciding. It would help if he would be a complete asshole just once, but that wasn’t happening.
We talked a little more before the meeting shifted to other topics–mostly scheduling, media appearances, and business matters that I didn’t need to be involved in.
Ivy had grown bored with her tablet and was clearly ready to explore, so I said my goodbyes and let Memphis walk us out to my car so we could finish our errands and then go home for Ivy’s nap.
Once Memphis secured Ivy in her seat, he shut the door and smiled at me. “I know it’s a lot. Dealing with the media and the spin they put on things, but it’s part of my life. It’s going to affect you whether we’re together or not.”
Changing the subject, I asked, “Are you going to the wedding this weekend?”
“Of course. Will you go with me so we can get some shots together?”
“No.” Memphis’s face fell, not with anger, but sadness. I hurried to add, “I won’t go just to have my picture taken. But I will go so I can spend time with you.”
He brightened instantly. “Do you think you’ll decide by then which path you’re willing to take with me?”
“I promise I will,” I assured him.
“Good. I look forward to whatever the future has in store for us, Cassia.”
“Honestly, so do I.”