Abby was sure sick of playing this game. She wanted Nick to meet her Aunt Penelope who was going to be in town for the wedding party and the concert. Abby thought she’d have her aunt to dinner along with her parents. That would kill two birds with one stone. Her parents could see the apartment on a formal basis, as invited guests. They had both visited separately during the moving-in process, but Abby wanted to have them there together when Nick was there…sort of establishing the ground rules, that it was a grown-up place and that she and Nick were both adults. She wasn’t sure if that needed proving to her parents or just to her and Nick, but she still wanted to do it.
“We could do Thursday,” said Sharon Fremont.
“Yes, but we can’t. We’ve got the Organizing Committee cocktail party.” And besides, thought Abby, that’s too late in the week. I want this over and done with early on, so it’s not hanging over my head like the sword of Damocles.
The week was going to be a busy one. Nick would have rehearsals every day, so there was no possibility of having her parents for lunch. Tuesday, they had to do the Oprah taping.
The evenings weren’t any better. Abby had invited the guys for dinner on Monday. John and Sharon were busy Tuesday and Wednesday. Abby had the cocktail party Thursday for the Organizing Committee. Friday night was the concert. Saturday was the party. So it was going to have to be dinner this Sunday.
Abby didn’t think it would matter that it was Nick’s first day home. The last two weeks had been great. She and Nick were back on the same page. She didn’t know what had been bothering him…something to do with the tour, she guessed. It must be hard living like that.
The concert was shaping up to be the social event of the year in Chicago. It had sold out fast. The tickets were expensive and were snapped up by the cream of Chicago society. The message boards were full of whining teenagers who weren’t going to be there. Why were the tickets so expensive? they carped. Why were they having it at such a small place? It wasn’t fair. They didn’t want to wait for the DVD to come out!
And what a DVD it was going to be! Not only was it going to have the entire concert, but it was also going to have a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff…interviews with all the guys, footage of the rehearsals, etc. The sheer extent of it had fired up the rumor mills. Was this their swan song, their farewell to the fans…were they breaking up?
“Would you like me to bring something?” asked Sharon.
Abby bit her lip to keep from laughing out loud. Her mother was trying to learn how to be a mother to a married woman…to be a mother-in-law. But Sharon had never ‘brought’ anything in her life. She didn’t travel in circles where you arrived for dinner with a salad tucked under your arm.
“No, Mother, it’s under control. We’re having…” Abby went on to describe the menu. There was no point in keeping it a secret. And if she knew about it early on, maybe her mother would feel complicit in the choices and not quite so ready to criticize them.
“It all sounds lovely, Dear. We’re looking forward to it.” Sharon didn’t really think that such an elaborate meal was called for, but she certainly wasn’t going to say anything.
“When does Aunt P. get in?” asked Abby.
Her mother sniffed at Abby’s choice of name. “Your Aunt Penelope…” Sharon drew out the name to emphasize her displeasure, “…arrives on Sunday morning. She’ll be staying with us for the week.”
Abby smiled to herself. She could almost hear her mother shudder. Never were there two people less in tune with each other than her stiff, controlling mother and her free-spirited aunt. It was going to be an interesting week in the Fremont household. Abby was glad she was not going to be there.
She was going to be here…with Nick. A thrill ran through her at the thought. A whole week…a crazy, action-packed week culminating in the concert and the wedding party, but also a week of them…Nick and Abby…husband and wife…living in their home…sleeping together. Oh yeah, sleeping together. Abby drifted away.
A moment later, she blinked and came back to the present. Okay, off to pick up some final items for the dinner and then to the meeting. Tomorrow she would do as much of the pre-cooking as she could and make sure the apartment was perfect. And then Sunday, Nick would be home. The Boys were flying in, leaving the buses and the entourage behind. They’d have security with them, of course, but that was it. They knew that some of the Jive executives would be there. They wouldn’t be able to resist a schmoozing opportunity like this. And of course, there would be the director and the film crew. Abby smiled to herself. She guessed that was an entourage, after all. Thank goodness, she wasn’t having them all to dinner!
She picked up her car keys and headed for the elevator. She checked over her list again while descending to the parking garage. She was going to keep busy, fill up the time. Maybe that would make it go faster. Then Nick would be here sooner.
Abby certainly hoped that today’s meeting would go fast. This was the final one before the concert. All the details were in place. All the sub-committees had done their jobs. Programs were designed and printed. Contracts were signed and sealed. The publicity machine was in full throttle. This meeting was just a final check to make sure nothing had been missed…that next week would run smoothly.
Abby sighed as she entered the Symphony building. She wondered what kind of mood Ronni would be in today. Abby hoped she wouldn’t have to sit anywhere near the blonde woman. Ronni had certainly run the gamut, thought Abby. First there was the whole ‘let’s be friends’ thing. That ended abruptly after the concert in May. Ronni had then spent the last two weeks of May ignoring Abby completely, even in the meetings. They had joined separate sub-committees. This didn’t surprise Abby. Their skills lay in different directions. Ronni was a people person, good at charming reporters or sponsors. Abby’s strength was more in the details, the behind-the-scenes organization.
June had brought another change in Ronni, though, and it was one that Abby wasn’t very comfortable with. It was hard to pin down. At the first meeting, she had seemed angry about something, and since then, she had been smug. She had that old Ronni high school look, the ‘I know something you don’t’ look. Abby had never managed to escape unhurt when Ronni turned that look on her.
They were meeting more often now, since the concert was so close…three times in the last two weeks. And at all three meetings, Ronni had made a cryptic remark about Nick…or maybe not about Nick, maybe it really was about all of the Boys, but Abby couldn’t shake the feeling that it was about Nick. Ronni had looked straight at Abby each time. Abby didn’t think anyone else had noticed it and she wondered if she was just being paranoid. Of course, she amended, they don’t know about the history between Ronni and Nick.
History.
It was history, wasn’t it?
Abby told herself to get off that train of thought. Don’t let her get to you, she told herself sharply. That’s all she’s trying to do, plant seeds of doubt in your head. Don’t let her.
But Abby’s stomach was queasy as she walked up the hall to the meeting.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Okay, here we go, thought Ronni, admiring herself in the mirror. The final meeting before the Boys arrived…before Nick arrived. Ronni narrowed her eyes at the mirror. Nick. She was going to get even with him, that was for damned sure!
Nick had been good to his word and had stopped answering Ronni’s email. Ronni didn’t take that well. She had spent a lot of time and effort two weeks ago making Monday’s email perfect, light-hearted banter with an edge…something that could be defended as completely innocent, but something that sure wouldn’t look that way to a jealous wife. She was careful to add in a question about the concert. It was the surest way to get Nick to reply. Such good manners on the dear boy.
Ronni had been especially careful with the Monday note because she was in such a foul temper and didn’t want it to come through in her words. She had been totally unaware of Abby’s venture into the publishing arena. James had brought her up to date on that one, much to his regret. They were heading out to brunch on Sunday morning and Ronni had wondered in a catty tone if Ducky would be tagging along with her parents.
James Fenton informed his wife that no, Abigail would not be at the brunch, she was in New York City.
“New York? But Nick’s in North Carolina,” said Ronni and then mentally kicked herself. Shit!
James didn’t seem to notice anything. “She’s launching her book this weekend,” he said.
“Launching her book? What are you talking about? What book?” What could Ducky possibly have to say to anyone, wondered Ronni. Surely it wasn’t a celebrity marriage thing…Sharon Fremont would have a stroke!!
“It’s a children’s book. Her husband did the illustrations. A fairy tale, I think.”
Ronni’s mind flashed to the painting in Abby’s study. A Princess Penelope story. “She’s just cashing in on her husband’s celebrity,” said Ronni spitefully. “No one would publish her book otherwise.”
“Well, maybe cashing in for the fame, but certainly not for the money. She’s giving it all to charity. A different one for each book.”
“Each book? How many are there?”
James shrugged. He didn’t know. All he knew was what John Fremont had told James’ father and what Miles had passed on to him…that Abigail had written some stories and that they were pretty good and Lawrence Shapiro wanted to publish them as a series of children’s books.
“Apparently, they’re pretty good,” said James, which did not endear him to his wife at that moment.
Ronni sulked for the rest of the day. She was barely polite at the club and lost even that bit of polish when they returned home. James retreated to his study, saying he had some work to do. Ronni called Clarice and then Suzie, but neither one of them was available to go out for a drink. Ronni plopped herself down in front of her computer, angry that she couldn’t take a glass of wine with her. James would think it was too early in the day.
Ronni wondered if she’d missed out on the news about Ducky’s book because she’d stopped going to the message boards. She wondered if she was missing anything else. She wandered through the boards, not even bothering to log in. She had nothing to say to these idiots.
Ducky’s book was news to everyone apparently. There hadn’t been much advance notice at all. Someone found out about it, though, and that’s all it takes in Backstreetland…one fan to find out something and spread the word. Ronni clicked through a thread started by someone who had lined up to get the book signed. By the end, she was seething. There was the usual whining and complaining about how people tried to butt into line and the wait had been so long and blah, blah, blah… But by the end of it, Ronni knew that they all thought the story was great and Nick’s illustrations were beyond wonderful. A second thread had scans of the cover and a couple of the drawings. Ronni recognized the cover from the painting in Abby’s study.
Ronni shut off the computer and paced the floor. Did this make any difference to her plan? No, she didn’t think so. She still had two weeks to flirt with Nick and keep him interested and then when he got to Chicago, she was going to make sure that Ducky found out about it. She wasn’t sure yet how far she was going to go with Nick. She had James to worry about, after all.
Speaking of James…Ronni wandered into his study and wrapped her arms around him from behind. She began to undo the buttons on his shirt.
“Ronni, honey, I have work to do,” said James, but he didn’t move away.
“I know, Darling, you just keep at it. Never mind me.” She slipped her fingers into his shirt and started playing with his nipple.
Later, when they lay entwined together, Ronni’s thoughts turned back to Nick and Ducky. Yes, everything would work out. She owned James. She could get away with a lot. And the book wouldn’t make any difference. Ronni gave a satisfied smile. Yes, there was no reason to change the plan.
The next morning, Nick changed the plan.
