Where Does My Heart Belong? (2 page)

CHAPTER
3

It’s been 5 days since
our double date and Red didn’t call the next night like he said he would.  I
wonder if he’s changed his mind, or maybe Carol changed it for him.  I wish
he’d call.  If he doesn’t call by the end of the week, I’m going to call him at
the car dealership.  He did send another rose, though, a yellow one this time.

Finally, I talk to Andy
and ask him if he’s heard from Red.  He said they both have trouble on the home
front.  His wife, Sharon, could tell he had sex with someone that night we all
went out and went ballistic.  She is determined to find out who it was.  She
told Carol, and Carol had a fit, accusing Red of the same thing, which he
denied.  I don’t need this kind of crap. Even though I want to get to know Red
better, I’m starting to think that I should never have gotten myself messed up
in it in the first place.  His wife will probably never believe we didn’t do
anything wrong. 

Beth has been out of town
for her job all week so she most likely doesn’t have a clue about what’s going
on.   She will be majorly upset and I hope she is.  Like I told her, nothing
good can come from screwing around with a married man.

The next day Andy tells
me that Red wants to meet me at my apartment on Friday at noon so we can talk. 
I told him to tell him that I’ll be there.

On Friday, I go home for
lunch to wait for him but he’s already there parked out front waiting for me. I
let him into my apartment and he hugs me.

“I’m sorry I haven’t
called.  Things got a little crazy after Sharon told Carol about Andy having
sex with someone.  Carol thought I was doing it too.”

“I think we should put a
stop to this right now.  I don’t want to be involved in it anymore.”

“No, just wait, it’s
going to be okay.  Carol is still talking about that past life connection that
she thinks we have.  I told her that it was you I was with the other night, and
that all we did was sing together.  She believed me.  She’s not mad, once she
found out it was you, she was okay with it.  She’s also on board with you
working on the benefit with me.  She wants to meet you and I want you to meet
my girls.  She wants us to all get together for a picnic in the park.”

“Oh, boy, this is too
much.  I don’t know if I’m ready for all this.”

“I know, but I think we
should do it.  You’re going to have to meet her eventually anyway if you’re
going to work on the benefit with me.  I think a picnic in the park is the
perfect place for a first meeting.”

“All right, but if it
doesn’t turn out well, I’m done.  When do we have to start working on the
benefit?”

“Soon, within the next
couple of weeks and I want to do it at my place.  That’s another reason I want
you and Carol to meet beforehand, and I still want you to sing.  Have you given
any thought to a song choice and who you want for a band?”

“Yeah, I’ve been racking
my brain about it and have pretty much decided to sing Roy Orbison’s
In
Dreams
.  I want to use
The Real Americans.
   I talked to Johnny
Rainwater and he was all for it.  He’s one of my best friends and I’ve sung
with him a lot.  We’re going to need a place to practice though.”

“Great, they’re going to
be the house band anyway.  Decide when you want to practice and I’ll arrange
for you to have the auditorium at the performing arts center.”

“How bad is the situation
with Andy and Sharon?”

“Bad, this may be the end
for them.  This is not the first time that he cheated on her.  I hope we can
keep Beth’s name out of it.  Carol asked me who she was but I told her I didn’t
know her.  I made it sound as if Andy invited both of you separately so she
wouldn’t think you and Beth were friends.  I hope she doesn’t ask you about
it.”

“If she does, I’ll just
tell her that I’m not getting involved in it.  Sharon can do her own
sleuthing.  If she finds out who Beth is then Beth will just have to suffer the
consequences.  I told her not to get involved with a married man but she
wouldn’t listen.”

  “I wish I could stay
longer but I’ve got a one o’clock appointment so I need to get back to work
now.  I’ll call you and let you know when Carol wants to have the picnic. It
will probably be on a Sunday because sometimes she has to work on Saturdays.”

"Oh, one more thing,
are you still having the dream?"

"No, are you?"

"No, I'm not, I
wonder what that means."

"It means we don't
need it anymore, we've found each other now."

He hugs me and I walk him
to the door. I wish he didn’t have to go.  “Think positive,” he says.  “I
don’t want to lose you.  I just know that everything is going to turn out
okay.”

I don’t want to lose him
either but I’m not as confident as he is that we’re all going to wind up being
one big happy family.

CHAPTER
4

A few days later, Red
calls and says they want to have the picnic the following Sunday.  We’ll be
meeting at the Eagle River Park at noon.  I told him I would bring a fruit
salad.  I’m not a cook so that will be easy, just a can of fruit cocktail, some
mandarin oranges and a banana all mixed together with strawberry/orange
yogurt.  Geez, I am so nervous about all of this.

On Sunday, I put my salad
in a cooler with ice and head out.  They’re already at the park when I get
there.  I sit in my car for a bit and look at them.  Carol is beautiful, petite
like me with long straight dark brown almost black hair.  The younger girl has
red hair like her Dad and the older one looks more like Carol.  I get out of
the car and walk over to them.  Red takes the cooler from me and introduces
us.  Carol comes over, gives me a hug, and says, “Welcome.”  The little girls
crowd around me and introduce themselves.  They are so cute.  Lynn is 8 and
Tammy is 6. 

Carol gives me a glass of
iced tea and tells me to sit down and relax.  She’s got everything set up on
the table and is just waiting for Red to finish grilling the hot dogs.  The
girls want to know if they can touch my hair and I tell them sure.  They spend
a couple of minutes running their small hands through it and examining my
dangly earrings.

“Oh, gosh,” says Lynn. 
“What happened to your head?  There’s a big scar up here and it’s dented in.” 
Everyone looks at me.

“I got hurt when I was 12
and had to have an operation,” I tell her.  “That’s one of the reasons why I
wear long hair, to cover it up.”

“I wanna see,” Tammy
says.  So Lynn parts my hair and everybody looks at my scar.  I hope they don’t
ask me what happened because that’s one story I never talk about.  Carol, bless
her heart, realizes that I’m uncomfortable and tells the girls, “That’s enough
now, get ready to eat.”

The food is good and the
little girls chatter and giggle throughout the meal, they make an uncomfortable
situation for me bearable.  After we’ve finished eating, Carol invites me to
come back to the house with them.

“Red says you’re going to
be working on the benefit with him so come get acquainted.  You’ll probably be
spending a lot of time there.”

“Are you really okay with
this?” I ask her.

“You bet.  If you won’t
do it, then I’ll have to and I don’t have the time with working and looking
after the girls.  Besides I’d like to get to know you better, this past life
connection you have to Red has me intrigued.  I’ve always believed in
reincarnation and read lots of books about it but I’ve never met anyone who has
experienced it.  I want to know more.”

I help her pack up the
food and follow them home.  They have a modest 3-bedroom house but it looks
like it was decorated by a professional.

“Did you do all of this?”
I ask her.

“Yup, I love interior
design.  It’s something that comes naturally to me.”

“It’s fabulous.  Now I
know who to call if I ever get my own place.”

“Anytime, I’m your go-to
girl.”

Red has converted their
garage into a music studio.  There’s a piano, guitars, amps and a microphone.

“Can you sing?” Lynn
asks.  “I can, want to hear?”

“Yes, I sing and I would
love to hear you.”

She turns the microphone
on and starts singing
What a Friend I Have in Jesus.

Holy shit can this kid
sing.  My mother used to joke that I came out of the womb singing but I never
sounded anything like her when I was 8 years old.  This girl has a natural gift
and with the right training, there’s no telling how far she could take it.

When she’s finished, I
clap and cheer.  “Wow, you are amazing, you definitely have the gift.  Will you
sing a duet with me sometime?”

“Can I Mama, can I?  I
want to hear
you
sing, Libby.”

“Okay, I’ll do
In
Dreams,
the one I’m going to sing at the benefit, if I can remember all the
words, I haven’t practiced it much yet.”

“It will have to be a
Capella,” Red says.  “I don’t know it.”

So I sing
In Dreams
for them.  When I’m done, everybody cheers and Red is standing there gaping at
me.

 “Geez, Lib, I heard you
sing the other night and I thought you were great but girl that was nothing
compared to this.  I’ll tell you once again, you need a recording contract.”

“Nope, and I told you,
been there, done that and I didn’t like it.  We’ll save the contracts for Miss
Lynn here.”

Lynn comes over and hugs
me.  “I want to sing so bad with you sometime.  I bet we’ll bring the house
down.”  I don’t doubt that for a minute and in the back of my mind, I have a
plan.

I turn to all of them. 
“I think it’s time I got going, thank you all for the picnic and inviting me to
your home.  I’m looking forward to seeing you all again.”  They all gather
around and hug me.

“Let’s get together here
one night next week and go over what I have so far on the benefit,” Red says. 
“I’ll call you.”

I drive home happy and
relieved.  It turned out great.  I’m glad I took his advice and met Carol and
the girls.

CHAPTER
5

I can’t wait to go back
to Red’s and see Lynn again.  My plan is that I want her to sing a duet with me
at the benefit as a surprise for her parents.  I’m not sure how I’m going to
pull this off but I need to talk to her first and see if she’s willing.  I want
us to sing
God Bless America
for the finale.

A week after the picnic,
Carol calls and tells me that Red wants me to come over the next night so we
can get started on the benefit.  “Come for dinner at 6:00,” she says.  I tell
her that I’ll be there.

When I get there, Red’s
not home yet and Carol’s in a panic.  She’s a beautician and one of her clients
tried to dye her own hair and it turned orange.  Carol has to go back to the
shop and asks me if I will feed the girls and babysit them until Red gets home. 
This is perfect.  I can talk to Lynn without them knowing about it.

I tell the girls my plan
while we’re eating dinner.  Lynn is thrilled; she wants to do it.  “But the
surprise part won’t work,” she tells me. “Tammy has a big mouth and couldn’t keep
a secret if her life depended on it.”

“Can too,” Tammy, says. 
“Did you know I like Good Humor ice cream bars?”

Blackmail.  I’m about to
be blackmailed by a 6 year old.  “How many will it take?” I ask her.

“I don’t know I’ll have
to wait and see.”

“Okay, I’ll see what I
can do.  Now Lynn here’s a cassette with the song and here’s a paper with the
words.  It’s just two verses and we’ll be repeating one of them so it shouldn’t
be too hard to memorize.  But we’re going to have to find a place to practice.”

“I can learn the song on
my own.  I sing all kinds of stuff.  They won’t get suspicious.”

Just then, Red comes
through the door.  “Put that away,” I whisper to Lynn and she heads for her
room.

“What’s going on? 
Where’s Carol?”  I tell him that she had to go back to the shop and that I’ve
fed the girls. 

“Have you eaten?  I’ll
fix you a plate.  It’s good, Carol can really cook.”

“Yeah, please, and then
we can get to work.”

We work until Carol gets
home at 8:00 and then I leave, agreeing to come back next week.  But it will
probably be sooner.  I have to figure out a way to get those damn ice cream
bars to Tammy.

On Saturday, I go to
Safeway, pick up a box of the ice cream bars, and drop them off.  “In payment
for dinner the other night,” I tell Carol.  “I hope you’re okay with it.  Tammy
told me they were her favorite.”

“No problem.  The girls
will be thrilled.” 

The following Tuesday
evening Lynn calls me.  “We’re going to be home alone for about 30 minutes,
from 7:00 until 7:30.  The car that Daddy was driving broke down.  Mama has to
go get him.   Tammy wants more ice cream.”

Holy shit, the benefit is
6 weeks away; at this rate, she’ll probably have me bankrupt by then.  But I
get in my car and make a run to the store.  I get two boxes but only give one
of them to the girls.  I’ll take the second one with me on Thursday when I go
over to work with Red. 

I don’t get to spend much
time with the girls on Thursday as Red was home when I got there and wanted to
get right to work but Lynn whispers that she’s been practicing and has the
words memorized.  Good girl.  I can’t wait to see the expression on her folk’s
faces when I bring her on stage.

A few days later, my plan
is shot down.  When I ask the benefit’s lawyer about it, he tells me I can’t
bring a minor on stage without parental consent.  I knew that was the case in
larger venues but I thought I might be able to get away with it here since Red
was the promoter but no dice.  I just hope Red and Carol will say yes.  Lynn
will be crushed if they don’t let her.  I probably shouldn’t have gotten her
hopes up without talking to them first.

I call Carol and tell her
I need to talk to her and Red as soon as possible.  She tells me to come to
dinner on Saturday.  When I get there, Red wants to know what’s going on. 
“You’re not doing the benefit, is that it?” 

“No, that’s not it.”  And
I tell them that I wanted Lynn to sing with me and make it a surprise for them
but the lawyer said no, not without parental consent.

“Please, Daddy, please,
we’re so good together,” Lynn, begs.  Red looks at Carol and she nods her head
yes.  I look at Red and put my hands together prayer like under my chin. 

“Okay, but I need to know
all about it, song choice, band members, what she’s going to wear,
everything.” 

“Thank you, Daddy, thank
you, you won’t be sorry.  We’re going to blow them away.”

I tell them my plan. 
We’ll be using
The Real Americans
.  Do I have to tell them my song
choice?  I want something to be a surprise.  Yes, he needs to know it all.  So
I tell him,
God Bless America,
and I want to do it for the finale but if
she’s too nervous to wait that long I’ll put her on after I do my number.  I’ll
let her decide.  I want her dressed as a young lady, not a rock star, nothing
sexy or punk.  I have one dress in mind that I saw in a store window the other
day, a navy blue sheath that will come just below her knees, with a red sash
and white shoes.  When I introduce her, she will be sitting in the audience
with Carol and either I will come down and get her or have one of the event
staff bring her up.  When she’s finished singing, I’d like the whole family up
on stage. 

“So, what do you think?”
I ask.  “Do we have a deal?”

“We have a deal,” and
they both hug me.