Lush (32 page)
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ant. But there you go. Also, my brother fl at- out adores you, so
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you’re not going to have to worry about him like that.”
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Jules waved a hand. “Oh I know. I was just commiserating.
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And saying, I guess, that I’ve seen him with you around and he
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watches you like you’re the only person he’s interested in. The
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fame thing is hard; we know that from Gillian. But Damien digs
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you, stupid tabloid pictures or not.”
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Mary huffed a breath. “Oh man, those pictures. I made
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myself a promise, a pact I suppose, not to look at them. It drives
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me crazy to see. Because that’s not the Damien I know. It’s scary,
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and then I start doubting myself and him and what I feel and
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maybe he doesn’t feel it and this is only so hot because I’m not
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like the others and I don’t just fall at his feet.”
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“I know a little bit about that. I mean, about feeling like per-
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haps it’s the novelty and not the reality that is getting the dude
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all hot for you. You know I was worried at fi rst about Cal not
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wanting me, not really. I’m not sure words or reassurances can
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make it totally go away. It’s going to take time and example. He’s
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going to have to show you, and you’re going to have to believe
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it’s real. And there’s really no way around the fact that he is that 15
Damien too. At least in some part. He’s got a persona. His band
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has a persona. So where that Damien stops and the real one
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begins is something you have to accept.”
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“I know.”
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And she did. It scared the hell out of her, but she realized the
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stuff in the tabloids and on the Internet would always be there.
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It was up to her to deal with it and up to him to not be a wom-
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anizing dick.
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If she meant to let this go further. Which, she guessed, she did.
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His mother caught up to him as he got back from a ride with
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Ezra. Having taken Mary home just that morning, he knew his
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mother would want to debrief.
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Ezra gave him a face, but Damien shrugged.
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She sat on his porch, rocking back and forth in the porch
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swing. “Nice day to have a sit for a while outside. This is a good
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spot for the swing. Come up to the house and I’ll make you and
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your brothers lunch.”
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“Brothers?”
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“Vaughan and Paddy are up at the house helping your dad
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fi nish the enclosure for the back fence. There’s a ham in the oven.”
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Score.
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He and Ezra took up on either side of her as they began the
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walk back to the main house.
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“Mary get back all right?”
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“Yep. She left her car at the airfi eld. She left a message for
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me when she got back home safely.” He’d liked that she had. It
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made him feel better. Next time he’d stay, drive her back home.
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That way there’d be more time with her.
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“What do you think of the girl, Ezra?”
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“She charmed the demon pig.”
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“That’s a good point. Your dumb dog loves everyone, so
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that’s not a big deal. But the demon pig, well, that’s another
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story.”
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“Violet misses Mary already. I hope she doesn’t revert to her
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evil ways in Mary’s absence. Elsewise we’ll have to make the
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girl live here to keep us all safe. Once the beast gets bigger she’ll 25
be a killer if she gets mean. She’s pretty. Mary, not the pig.”
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Damien laughed.
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“And she cooks like a boss. Christ, if you stay with her, you’ll
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have to exercise a lot more or you’ll have to roll around every-
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where.”
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“I went for a run on the treadmill earlier for that very rea-
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son.” And the sex was also a good workout.
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“I asked her if she’d sign a prenup.”
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Damien halted, his mouth open. “You did what? Mom, I’ve
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been trying to get this woman to give me a chance and you go
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and do that?”
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“Close your mouth. Of course I did. You know what Kelly
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did to Vaughan. She’s got her monthly check, it’s all she wanted.
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Do you think I want that for you too?”
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“She’s not in it for the money. If she were, I wouldn’t have to
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fi ght her so hard to be with me. God.”
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“Don’t you take that tone with me. And no, she isn’t in it for
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the money. She told me she’d only known you three and a half
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months and you were nowhere near marriage. I like that she
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told me to back off but with manners.”
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“Kelly was too young. Like Vaughan was too young. I don’t
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think she did it for money. I think she felt like if she had
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Vaughan’s babies he’d stay home. He’d make a commitment and
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love her.” Damien knew his family hated Vaughan’s ex. But he
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mainly felt sorry for her. Vaughan was twenty- fi ve years old
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when he’d married Kelly. She’d been six months pregnant. Kelly
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had been even younger at twenty- three. Neither of them had
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been ready. It fell apart because of that. Another baby to try to
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keep Vaughan home where he should have been. But that never
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worked.
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“He pays her so she’ll stick close. She could up and move to
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San Francisco, you know. She stays close so the girls can see
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him.” Ezra kept walking. “He’s gone four months a year. She’s
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the one who parents them every day. Give her a break.”
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Their mother loved them all fi ercely and at times, with a
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blindness only a mother can pull off. Vaughan was not blame-
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less in the mess, and while he was a great dad and he loved his
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daughters, Kelly wasn’t the mercenary bitch their mother
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believed she was at times.
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Their mother sighed. “I love you boys. The problem is that
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you’re all talented and handsome. Women see that and some-
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times you get blinded by what’s under their skirts. And they’re
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blinded to that by all your charm. It’s my job as your mother to
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watch over you. Yes, yes, you’re all adults, but I’ll always be
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your mother. Anyway, I like Mary.”
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Well, that was lucky.
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“She didn’t run out the door when I called her my girlfriend.
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That’s a step in the right direction. It’s an issue that I get recog-15
nized a lot. But I can’t help it. It’s part of this gig.”
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His mother laughed as they went up the porch steps. “She’s
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far enough away that it’s going to cause her worry. You have to
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understand it.”
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“I know. She’s worried about the life. Worried I’ll stray. Wor-
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ried I live too hard.”
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“You do live too hard.” His mother paused at the door.
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“I did. I’m trying not to. I’m trying to be worth it to her.”
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His mother looked back over her shoulder at him. “Good.
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That’s what I like to hear.”
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“The two- states thing is odd. How you gonna handle that?”
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Ezra held the door open for their mother as he spoke to Damien.
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“Well, it sucks that I can’t see her as often as I’d like. But
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travel is part of my job too. So it’s not actually as big a hassle
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as it would be if I didn’t tour and all that.”
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“I’ve been working with Paddy on some new stuff.” Ezra
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spoke once their mother had moved into the kitchen. “I’ve
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blocked out time in November.”
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They would start work on their next album in two months.
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Recording was grueling. They spent a lot of time in the barn
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working. Reworking. Working some more. Paddy was a perfec-
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tionist. He insisted on fi fty takes if that’s what it took to get it 07
just right. He and Vaughan were at each others’ throats a lot.
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Damien had to do his level best to ignore most of what Paddy
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said and did while they were in the studio or they ended up
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bloodying each other far too often.
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One thing was that Ezra was the leader of the band again
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while they recorded. It saved them from breaking up over and
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over. He did the guitar work on all their records, wrote nearly
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all the songs with Paddy and kept things as chill as possible with
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all the hotheaded Hurley brothers.
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“You should ask Mary to come down and personal chef it.
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You know, while we work on the record.”
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Damien paused. That wasn’t an entirely bad idea. He’d con-
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sidered asking if she’d be their tour chef. He knew she had the
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supper club, though. But the tour was a year out anyway.
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But if she was there while they recorded they’d probably be
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healthier. They spent a lot of time eating crap and takeout. She’d
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be a calming infl uence. Most likely they’d be better behaved and
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she’d get to see him work.
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“I want her to respect what I do. I mean, I think she does.
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She loves live music and she was a fan before she met me. The
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questions she asks about the work seem to show she’s interested
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and not in that fangirl way. I don’t know. I’m . . .”
N29
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Ezra squeezed his shoulder. “She’s good for you. I’d totally
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vote for her to come down here to cook for us. God knows we’d
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probably work better with real meals instead of potato chips
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and frozen burritos.”
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“I’ll bring it up. Thanks.”
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His brother tipped his chin. “Any time. Plus she’s gorgeous.
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Not like it’s a hardship to look at her.”
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He fl ipped Ezra off as he walked past. But he smiled.
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he missed him.
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She didn’t want to. Didn’t plan to. But she did any-
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way. Missed the way he said her name. Missed the feel
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of him next to her in bed in the mornings. Missed the sex most
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assuredly. Mainly though, she missed talking with him about
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the fl otsam and jetsam of her daily life.
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Of course her daily life was menus and catering jobs and his
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was winning awards and making records. He was probably
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bored with her stuff. Maybe.
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This was dumb. She stood up decisively. For something to
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do she uploaded the pictures from her camera to her computer.
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Of course there were hundreds of shots and 90 percent of them
