64 comments/ 20385 views/ 53 favorites I'm Not Who I Used to Be By: MoogPlayer This story is different from anything I've ever written thus far, because it's being told from two different points of view; one male, and the other female. Anyway, I hope you like it, and for those who don't, well, that's life, isn't it? MoogPlayer ~~~~~~ ME Hi, my name is Michael Thomas Taylor, but my friends all call me Mike. I stand six feet, two inches tall, and weigh two hundred and twenty pounds. I have long, shoulder length, dark brown hair, and because of my Native American heritage on my father's side of the family, my eyes are such a dark brown color, that they almost look black. However, before I begin telling you this story I'll give you a little background information first. ~~~~~~ I began taking piano lessons when I was young, and because I also sang in the children's choir when I was little, I sang in the Concert Choir once I reached high school; proudly making All-State Choir from my ninth grade on through to my twelfth grade years. I was also a member of the school band, beginning from the seventh grade and eighth grade during junior high school, and then all throughout high school until I graduated. I was a skinny, scrawny kid with thick glasses and unruly hair when I was in school, which automatically earned me the title of geek and/or nerd, which more or less guaranteed me that no girl wouldn't even give me the time of day, much less go out on a date with me. Don't get me wrong, I had a few female friends who were in some of the same clubs as me, the math club, the science club, and we all hung out together in the band hall because they liked to play music and were members of the band, just like me. But still though, they too, were called nerds by a lot of the other kids, simply because we were all friends...it was sad, really My paternal cousin, Mark, who is the same age as me and was also into playing music, guitar and voice, had studied Karate from the time he could walk. Therefore, nobody ever messed with me or my friends, or else they got their asses handed to them by my cousin if they did. I still remember when these two assholes, who were bullies to begin with, tried to beat me up when I was a freshman, one afternoon after school. But Mark beat the hell out of the both of them so badly, that they both ended up in the hospital, where they had to learn how to walk again...anyway, back to the story. After we graduated from high school, Mark and I both got music scholarships to the University of Houston, which wasn't that far from home and is where part of this story begins. ~~~~~~ Chapter One UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON FRESHMAN YEAR Mark had received his fifth degree, or Dan, as it's called, on his black belt that same year. One of the requirements in order for him to attain and hold that belt level, was that he had to teach. So, because he didn't really have the time to be able to go back home to teach in the dojo, and go to college at the same time, I agreed to be his student. Mark was a great teacher because of his patience in helping me overcome my clumsiness when I first began Karate lessons. However, to make a long story short, the next four years in college, which now seem like a blur to me these days, was a turning point in my life where I not only received my Black Belt in Karate, but along with earning my B.A. in Music, I also finally learned to think for myself... ~~~~~~ During our freshman, sophomore and junior years in college, Mark taught me Karate and also received college credit for it, just as if he was going to class. But because of the fact that we there to study music first and foremost, we put together a bad ass rock and roll band that we named: "Odyssey". Don't ask me how we came up with that name because I still don't remember. However, by this time we'd been told by more than several people that we were extremely good; so good in fact, that we got asked to play at our graduation party by this really nice guy named Rick Means. His parents were not only hosting the rather huge party at his family's very large estate, but he was also the valedictorian of our class, and he and I had always gotten along very well, so well in fact, Rick and I are still friends to this day. The members of Odyssey consisted of my paternal cousin, Mark Taylor, who played Guitar, the Karey Brothers, Kevin on Bass Guitar, and his older brother, Lee, on the drums. Of course I played Piano and Keyboards and was the lead singer, but because I was backed up vocally by my three bandmates, our four-part harmonic vocals, which is rare in a rock band, seemed to always yet effortlessly garner the undivided attention of every crowd we'd play in front of... ~~~~~~ Something else that began to happen as soon as our band began to do well, was that Mark suggested that I get contact lenses as opposed to those ugly glasses I wore. And once I achieved the level of Purple Belt in my Martial Arts training, which precedes Brown and then Black; Mark put me on a weight training regimen. As a result of that, not only did my strength increase, but my family genetics finally kicked making me grow taller and gain enough muscular bulk that looked more defined and not overly large. Not too long after that the females who once called me a geek and/or a nerd, began to change their opinion of me, and therefore started to become much friendlier than before, once I set foot on campus at the beginning of my senior year. While I certainly looked different, much better according to the females I just spoke of, I was still the same person inside, and I immediately decided that if they didn't think I was good enough to be friends with before my looks first changed, then to hell them. I refused to have anything to do with them after the overall change was complete. That was also when I found out what a bunch of capricious and fickle bitches that girls could be. Don't get me wrong, I didn't treat them as awful and ugly as they had treated me, nor did I say the painfully cruel and unkind things to them that they'd all too often said to me either. I simply ignored them and transparently looked right through them like they weren't even there. I still got invited to several parties that I'd never once been invited to before and went to them just to see how stupid and idiotic those people, "The Popular Crowd" acted once they started drinking and/or getting messed up on whatever drugs, that were available at these so-called "parties" of theirs, all of which I refused to have anything to do with. Another thing I did was bring my fellow outcasts into the same circles I'd been invited into, regardless of who liked it or not. And because of the training I'd received from Mark, it only took my hand being forced only one time, kicking the shit ever-living out of this one asshole who tried to pick on one of my friends, to send a message to the rest of those snobby jerk-offs that they'd better start making it a habit to leave my friends and people like them alone, or suffer the consequences if not. After the night of the event I just mentioned, I refused to go out with any of the rich bitches who'd started coming on to me; regardless of the number of invitations I'd begun to receive from them. However, I will only say this once before I continue any further and be done with it. There was this one girl, though, who left a major impact on me while I was in college, and her name was Sarah Caine. Oh, my God, I thought she was the most beautiful and breathlessly stunning creature that God ever created. She had long blonde hair and deep blue eyes, along with a beautiful body as well. However, she, too, had treated me like I was beneath her and far out of my reach; and the worse she treated me, the more my stupid ass liked her. Still though, I secretly would've like to have been able to kiss her lovely and full lips and taste them just once, but it never happened, and I knew that it was a case of wishful thinking my part... ~~~~~~ HER My name is Sarah Taylor, and this is a story about how I met the one man who I never thought in a million years would become my husband. From the first time I ever laid eyes on him at the beginning of our freshman year in college together, I thought that Michael Taylor was one of the biggest, and geekiest nerds I'd ever met. He was short, scrawny, with dark brown hair that always looked like he'd just come in out of a wind storm. He wore these thick, ugly, black-rimmed glasses, with coke bottle lenses, through which he constantly stared at me during the few classes we shared that first semester, and it made me very uncomfortable. I made the stupid mistake of telling my boyfriend about it, and when he went to warn the little geek about staring at me, Michael's cousin, Mark, thrashed him so badly that he not only got kicked off of the football team for fighting, but he also lost his scholarship and was forced to leave college, for which he immediately laid the blame on me. That made me despise Michael Taylor's little nerdy ass that much more. Every guy I ever went out with all told me that I was "Hot", so, like the spoiled arrogant child I was back then; I let it all go to my head and began to treat those who didn't measure up to my ridiculous criteria like they were all beneath me. I had long blonde hair and big blue eyes; and I'd always had my pick of boyfriends ever since my body began to fill out during the 7th grade. Of course I was the Belle of every ball and /or party I'd ever attended; and I thought that I was better than everyone else. I still thank God daily for making me finally understand that my stupid, arrogant, and childish pride would be my downfall if I didn't change my ways. That's why I desperately need to tell you what took place between then and now. ~~~~~~ It took a long time before I would admit to myself that my heart always began to beat a little faster, my breathing would become rapid and shallow, and small beads of perspiration would form on my forehead every time I looked into Michael's deep, dark brown eyes, hence the reason I could never look at him for more than a couple of seconds at most. I will say this, however; even though he stared at me, Michael was always kind, very gently polite, and never suggestive or crude in way, shape, or form. He also never once tried to come on to me, or any other girl he spoke to for that matter. And that became a problem for me, too... I soon discovered that I would feel a twinge of jealousy rising up inside of me whenever I would see Michael talking to and/or smiling at some other, oh hell, any other girl on campus besides me. Another thing that began to bother me was the fact that I always found myself getting lost in the sound of his beautiful voice, every time I heard him sing with his band at some of the parties I went to. Even worse, I'd begun to start feeling and thinking that way about Michael now for the next three years after he first introduced himself to me. However, I could never once let him know how I felt, or I would've become a social pariah and/or an outcast among my group of friends. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't like I didn't date other, and what I thought were far hotter guys while I was in college, I did. The real problem was that I now secretly began comparing every one of them to Michael, and then I would get pissed off at myself all over again, secretly crying myself to sleep because none of my dates ever measured up to him, nor had they had even come close. While Michael might not have been as good looking as the guys I dated back then, not a single one of them were as smart or as sweet as I refused to admit he was to me. Little did I realize what was going to take place at the beginning of my final year in college after our summer break? ~~~~~~ When our senior year began, every girl on the U of H campus, myself included, could've never imagined that we were all about to receive the shock of our lives. From the first moment that Michael appeared on campus our last and final year at the U of H, the first thing I noticed about him was that he had ditched the thick glasses he'd always worn and had obviously traded them in for contact lenses. Had I not seen it with my own two eyes I wouldn't have ever believed how he looked not only totally different, but also striking and beautifully handsome, especially now that he'd let his hair grow out. What I once thought was an unkempt and disorderly mess, had now been replaced by shining, long, full, dark locks that hung down to rest upon his now solid and somewhat massive shoulders, just below his collar bone, exquisitely styled to enhance the striking features of a handsome and attractively rugged face that I never seemed to notice before now. He also looked like he'd gained several pounds of muscle weight, too, which only added to his new appeal. Still though, after three years of ignoring Michael; my selfish ego refused to let me see him as anything other than just a nerdy geek, regardless of the heartbreaker that he'd now become. Damn, did I just say that? ~~~~~~ Once we all graduated, I thought I'd never see Michael again, but I was so very wrong in so very many ways. Sure I knew that he played in a band with his cousin, as I'd attended my fair share of fraternity and sorority parties, ninety percent of which Michael and his band, "Odyssey," had been hired to play at. Once again, my selfish and immature ego still refused to let me see Michael as anything other than the nerdy geek I'd always perceived him to be, but secretly I would be totally, yet greatly pleased when I would find myself falling under the spell that his rich and beautiful voice would cast upon me whenever I heard him sing. Little did I realize the impact it would make on me when I later discovered what he and his band would eventually do? ~~~~~~ The last time I saw Michael was when he and his band played at our graduation party. I never admitted it to anyone that I thought he looked as beautiful as he sounded that night, least I ruin my reputation. But like I just said, if I'd been seen so much as even talking to him by any of my shallow and stupidly jealous friends, they wouldn't have let their shirt-tails hit their asses before they would've ran and told my current boyfriend, that I'd been seen talking to a nerd. Damn, peer pressure really sucked. Still though, I figured that I'd probably never see him again, so, I wanted to say goodbye to him, regardless. Plus, my conscience was screaming at me to at least apologize to him for the terrible way I'd treated him all throughout school. I only hoped that he would be able to forgive me. That night, after the band had finished playing and the party was winding down, I saw Michael step off of the stage and begin making his way toward our table until my clearly drunk boyfriend, Dennis Worley, starting defensive middle linebacker for the U of H's football team, the Houston Cougars, suddenly appeared beside me at the table where I'd been sitting. All of a sudden he unexpectedly and very roughly grabbed me by the arm, his grip on me being so strong that it left me with little choice but to stand up as Dennis drunkenly slurred, "C'mon baby. How about you and I go around the corner of the house for a little nookie? Besides, you once told me that it excited you to risk the chance of getting caught fucking in public," as he crudely tried shoving his hand up my skirt. "Stop that, Dennis," I angrily replied, pushing him away from me, "You know that I can't stand being around you when you've been drinking." "YOU'RE COMING WITH ME, DAMMIT," he angrily roared, loud enough for everyone at the party to hear him, his right index finger poking me in the chest hard enough to knock me back into the table I'd just been sitting at less than thirty seconds ago. It made me lose my balance and then fall to the ground, as he loudly yelled, "YOU'RE MY BITCH AND YOU'LL DO AS YOU'RE FUCKING TOLD!" It suddenly felt like my left arm was literally being ripped away from my shoulder, the pain so intense it literally made me scream, as he yanked me up by the arm as hard as he could and attempted to drag me away. I tried to resist and get away from him, but the moment I regained my footing; I felt an extremely hard, very painful jarring sensation that made my head feel like it was about to explode, and the last thing I remembered was seeing his fist leaving my face, and then all of a sudden my vision went black. ~~~~~~ ME I saw Sarah the moment she walked into the back yard of the people's home who were hosting the party we were playing at. Of course she looked as beautiful as always, which brought a smile to my face at something as simple as the way her hair silently caressed her angelic face. I knew that this was probably going to be the last time we ever saw one another and I was bound and determined to talk to her so that I could at least make an honest effort to tell her that I was hopelessly in love with her, and had been for a very long time, regardless of the negative reaction that I knew she was going to have at what I wanted to tell her.. I'd made it a point to dress and look my very best that night, with the hope that there might be something, anything about me that appealed to Sarah. She'd been without male companionship the whole night, and the moment we finished playing the very last song of our very last set; I stepped off of the stage and told my band mates that I would be back in a few minutes to finish helping them break down our gear. I was making my way towards Sarah in order to talk to her when her boyfriend suddenly appeared by her side and began saying something to her that I couldn't hear. Just then she pushed him away, trying, with little success, to remove his hand from beneath her skirt. All at once he began shouting obscenities at her that were more than loud enough for everyone at the party to hear, poking her in the chest with his index finger hard enough to knock her into the table she'd been sitting at with her friends, after which she lost her balance and then fell to the ground. I moved as quickly as I could, desperately trying to navigate my way through the massive crowd in order to get to her before this asshole could hurt her any more than he obviously already had. I wasn't fast enough though, because the moment I cleared the crowd and was only a few feet away, I saw his fist connecting with Sarah's face. However, and this is something which I rarely did, if ever, the moment I saw Sarah's beautiful face contorted in the pain I knew she had to feeling from the punch this asshole gave her; the last thing I remembered was that my vision went snow-blind white because of the absolute and inexorable rage that suddenly exploded inside of me. Mark and Kevin told me the next morning that it took six people to pull me off of that asshole whose name I found out was Dennis Worley. Mark told me that when Dennis Worley pulled a .38 revolver from his pocket and pointed it at me; and the monstrous anger that I took out on that worthless piece of shit resulted six broken ribs, accompanied by compound fractures which shattered every bone in both of his arms and legs, not to mention that I broke his Thoracic vertebrae numbering nine to twelve, as well as all five of the vertebrae in his Lumbar Spine, which would not only put this animal in a wheelchair for the rest of his life, but also shatter any and all hopes he had of ever playing professional football. He also suffered the loss of twenty-four teeth and was given two hundred and seventy-nine stiches that covered every surface on his body. His family tried to file aggravated assault charges against me, but when the people who were hosting the party, as well as over ninety percent of the people at the party all informed the police that I had not only stopped Worley from viciously attacking Sarah, but that I had also saved her from imminent rape. And after the police found the gun that Worley had pulled on me, any and all charges against me were immediately dropped, allowing me to be able to lift an unconscious Sarah into my arms and then carry her to my car, from which I drove her to the newly built Texas Women's Hospital... I'm Not Who I Used to Be Ch. 02 Thank you all for the nice compliments I received on the first part of this story. Like its predecessor, this story, is totally fictional, like all the rest of the tales I've written. Some of the people I've mentioned are real as are some of the places. Other than that, the rest of the characters are fictional, as in "Not Real". I say this because it never fails that I get an e-mail from some wannabe critic telling me that they've never heard of whomever/wherever I write about. Still though, I ask that God blesses each and every person who takes the time to read my work, thank you... MoogPlayer P.S. In order for this story to make sense to you, please read "I'm Not Who I Used To Be" before reading this one, thanks again. ~~~~~~ ME THAT AFTERNOON We were all sitting out in the back yard at home, well, my boyhood home, enjoying the Barbeque that Dad and Uncle Jack had slaved all morning to cook. There were several different cuts of steaks available that afternoon; Porterhouses, Ribeyes, Sirloins both Top and Bottom; and then there was my personal favorite, the New York Strip. It's the heartiest cut of steak on the whole cow. Dad knew how much I enjoyed it as well, because he'd grilled two sixteen ounce cuts, especially just for me. They were also prepared just the way I like them, too; medium rare. "Tell me, Dad," I grinned, after swallowing the first bite, "You always make the meat so tender. How the hell do you manage that?" "I tried to teach you a long time ago," he chuckled, "But you were too busy chasing some girl while you were in college. What was her name?" Dad playfully chuckled, winking at Sarah, who was seated beside me. "Her name is Sarah," I proudly smiled, leaning over and kissing her, "And now that you've seen her, don't you think it was worth the time?" "Yeah, I do," Dad gently replied, "And she really is a pretty thing, Mike. That's for sure." "Aww, what a sweet thing to say," Sarah softly said, her sparkling smile only making her that much more beautiful. Then she leaned across me and playfully kissed my father's cheek, his face immediately turning bright red, as she teased him, "Thank you, Daddy. That really means a lot to me to hear you say that." Of course every female member of my family began to howl with laughter at the look on Dad's face after Sarah kissed him. I had always been known to take sides with the men in my family, what few of us there were...lol...But I had to agree with the girls this time...After Sarah kissed him, the look on Dad's face was priceless... ~~~~~~ We'd just finished eating and Mom was sitting on the other side of Sarah talking to her, when Uncle Brian and Aunt Trish showed up in the back yard smiling. Of course Uncle Brian immediately made his way to where Sarah and I were sitting in order to meet "The New Girl in the Family", so to speak. Of course that's bullshit, it was just Uncle Brian's way of not only flirting, but also being nosy. "But, he's a lawyer after all," I remembered Uncle Jack saying to tease Aunt Trish when I was little, "And I guess being nosy comes with the damn job," and of course, he and Dad would just laugh about it, as they used to sit out behind my grandmother's barn and drink that poisonous crap that Uncle Jack always brewed/distilled. Hell, NASA could've used that shit to fuel ALL of their rockets, plus the Space Shuttle...lol...any way, back to the story. ~~~~~~ "So, tell me, Mike," Uncle Brian grinned, widely smiling at Sarah, "Is this the young lady we've all heard so much about?" "Don't you mean that you've heard so much about, Uncle Brian?" I teased, "You're just pissed off because Mom, Aunt Dot and Aunt Trish all met her before you did." "Quit being such a smart ass, kid," Uncle Brian good naturedly laughed, "Introduce me to your girlfriend, or I'm gonna tell her about all the mean pranks you used to pull on your sisters and cousin when you were all little." "That's bullshit," I began to laugh, "I was only taking up for myself, and you damn well know it, so; lay off, counsellor," and by this time Uncle Brian and I both had tears in our eyes from laughing at each other's bullshit. "Sarah Caine," I smiled, as I introduced her to my Uncle Brian, "Please allow me to introduce you to my Uncle, Assistant District Attorney, Brian Thomson. He's married to my Aunt Trish." "Now I can see why Lauren is so pretty," Sarah sweetly commented, "Her mother is beautiful and her father is so handsome, "It's nice to meet you, Uncle Brian." Of course, just like the rest of the men in my damn family who are cursed to bear burden to, it is the females in our family that cause us the most grief, hence the reason we all blush when one of them, or any other female for that matter, compliments us. Of course it's always done with ulterior motive on their parts, but I guess that makes us dumbasses for letting them get away with it...hahaha. I used to think a curse of this natures only applied to the Taylor men until Uncle Brian met Aunt Trish and they got married and the women in my family did the same thing to him. They used to do it as a means of entertainment until Aunt Trish made them stop the teasing. "It's nice to meet you, Miss Caine," Uncle Brian politely replied, and of course, again, because he rarely, if ever, missed anything, he immediately grinned when he saw the engagement ring I placed on Sarah's finger, then turned to her and laughed, "No wonder you called me Uncle Brian," and then he hugged her and said, "Welcome to our family, sweetie..." ~~~~~~ "Thanks a lot for letting your sisters be the last ones to know, Michael," Claire disgruntledly replied, with Myra Gayle and Lauren in tow, once the family had congratulated Sarah and smiled at me in surprise. "Your sisters and your cousin," Lauren pouted. I thought they were only kidding with me so, not trying to hurt their feelings, yet doing just the opposite, I laughed and told them, "Ha, ha, very funny, if anything the three of you would be happy that you won't have to hear me whining about it anymore." And then without warning, large, silent, tears began to rain down all three of their pretty but sad faces as all three of them turned and walked away without saying word. "Shit," I silently cursed, now knowing that I hurt their feelings while honestly not meaning to... ~~~~~~ "I swear I wasn't trying to hurt their feelings, Dad," I told my father, after informing and apprising him of what had taken place between, not so much with Lauren, but Claire and Myra Gayle and the way they'd been acting. "You're sisters both love you, Mike," he plainly replied, then he looked me in the eyes and said, "Think back to when you were all younger, the three of you were thick as thieves, and because Mark was part of it too, you four were damn near impossible to keep up with, especially after Lauren came along," a huge grin covering his face at the memories he spoke of that we were both familiar with. "Just because you're growing older, doesn't mean that you grow apart, son," Dad kindly told me, "Remember that, okay?" "I will," I warmly replied, "Thanks, Dad..." ~~~~~~ I made peace with both of my sisters and Lauren after that. And once the smiles returned to their pretty faces, I playfully teased them, "I still think you three are just nosy asses, and you've got all of the Aunts, Uncles, Moms, and Dads, all fooled." "Bite me," Clair laughed. "Tell him, Claire-Bear" Myra Gayle giggled, calling my sister by the nick-name only she was allowed to use; and then after sticking her tongue out at me, she laughed and giggled "Kiss my butt, Mikey." Claire may have been my little sister, but I'd always looked at Myra Gayle as my baby sister, much of it because of the age difference. Still though, just because there were two of them and one of me, I used my knowledge of my younger siblings as a means of self-defense from being oldest of my parent's offspring, and decided to cut her to the quick in order to shut her smart ass up. "Mark off a chunk," I teased, knowing just the right buttons to push with my baby sister, "The Good Lord knows that there's more than enough butt there, baby sister." "Is that right?" she indignantly spat, amidst the laughter of not only Claire, Lauren, and me; but also Mom, Aunt Trish, and Uncle Jack, making Mayra Gayle silently glare at me and then as politely as can be, as she suddenly said, "Once an asshole, always an asshole, Big Brother," after which, she quickly leaned over and blew a raspberry on my neck right where I was the most ticklish... ~~~~~~ It was around eight o'clock that evening when a phone call came to my parents' house from someone in the D.A.'s office, wanting to speak with Uncle Brian, which he immediately stood up and took, post haste... ~~~~~~ A HALF HOUR LATER Thirty minutes after Uncle Brian had taken the phone call from the D.A.'s office, Sarah and I were sitting with Dad and Uncle Brian in Dad's office, with the door closed to insure our privacy. "The news you have to tell us isn't good," I asked Uncle Brian, "Is it?" "No, it isn't," he quietly replied, "The license plate numbers belong to a black Chevrolet Suburban, with dark tinted windows which is owned by the late Dennis Worley's younger brother, David." "Great, that's just what I need," I sighed "Another idiot named Worley who's pissed off at me because his brother was a coward that liked beating up on girls." "Don't worry. Mike," Uncle Brian knowingly grinned, "He was picked up fifteen minutes ago, and his truck is being impounded as we speak..." ~~~~~~ That next morning after breakfast, Sarah and I met Uncle Brian at his office, with plans to take us to look at the SUV that Dennis Worley's brother had chased the two of us down in. "That's the one," I said, looking at Sarah, "What do you think sweetheart?" "Yes," she repeated, "That's the SUV that tried to follow us." "Good," Uncle Brian knowingly grinned, "We had a witness come forward who identified David Worley as the individual who was behind the wheel when this vehicle was following you. They also said that Worley bumped into this person's car and ran it off of the road during his pursuit of you two." "Where is David Worley right now?" I angrily asked my uncle, "I want to look the bastard in the face and ask him what his fucking problem is." "I thought you might want to do that," he knowingly grinned, "He's being held without bail on attempted murder charges and is over in the county lock-up." "Is that right?" I smiled, "Is it possible that Sarah and I could see him...?" ~~~~~~ HARRIS COUNTY JAIL HOUSTON TEXAS When we arrived at the county jail, Uncle Brian led us into the front foyer to check in and wait while David Worley was brought down to one of the interview rooms. "I don't like being in this place," Sarah quietly told me, "It give me the creeps." "I understand," I told her, "I don't like it here either..." ~~~~~~ After about twenty minutes had passed, we were taken into a room that had a glass partition between us and a guy who looked to be about eighteen or nineteen, who was handcuffed to the chair that he was sitting in with two really big Sherriff's Deputies standing on either side of him, both armed with riot batons. "You're the bastard that killed my brother," he scowled, glaring at me, "When I get out of here I'm going to kick your fucking ass." "Shut up, asshole," Sarah suddenly spat, retrieving a large manila envelope from her purse. She then took out two eight inch by ten inch photographs that had been taken of her when she had first arrived at the hospital on that fateful night. Then she pressed them against the glass, and as her eyes began to fill with tears, she told Worley, "This is what your piece of shit brother did to me, you son of a bitch. This man beside me was defending me from that monster, and now that he's dead, I hope he rots in hell." "Fuck you," he angrily spat, "You fucking whore." "Be thankful you're behind that bullet-proof glass," I harshly told him, "Otherwise I'd give you a taste of the same soup I fed your fucking brother, you little bastard." "I think we're finished here," said Uncle Brian, nodding at one of the two deputies. "I agree," I said, "Let's get out of here..." ~~~~~~ "I'm glad that's over with," Sarah fearfully sniffled, "So, what happens now?" "Now he goes to trial," Uncle Brian proudly replied, "In the state of Texas he'll get twenty-five years to life if he's found guilty." "And what if he isn't?" Sarah asked, "What happens then?" "Relax, pretty Sarah," he gently told her, placing his arm around her shoulders, "This asshole has a record as long as my arm. He's not going anywhere, I promise you." "He can't have committed that many crimes," I said "He barely looks eighteen." "Don't let his baby face fool you," Uncle Brian warned, "The little bastard will be twenty-one in less than three weeks..." ~~~~~~ Sarah was very quiet on the way home, making me ask her, "Are you alright, my love? You've barely said two or three words since we left the jail." "I was just thinking about Dennis," Sarah quietly replied, "I mean, I'm sorry that he died; but my Dad told me when I was a teenager, that those who live by the sword, die by the sword, and I was sitting here wondering how the hell I got mixed up with him to start with. I'm nothing like him or his little bastard brother." "It's okay, baby," I reassured her, taking her into my arms, "Everybody makes mistakes," then deciding to lighten her current mood, I smirked and said "Even me." "Oh, shut up," she giggled, reaching over and playfully smacking my chest, "Smart ass." "There it is," I tenderly replied, "There's that smile that I fell in love with so long ago." "I still don't see how that happened," she dejectedly yet quietly replied, "Especially because I was so mean to you," as silent tears began, once again, to fill her beautiful blue eyes. "Hey now," I gently told her, taking her hand into mine, "That was then and this is now, Sarah. I love you. I always have and I always will, that's all that matters, particularly because now that I know that you love me as much as I love you. So; please don't cry, baby. It really hurts me to see you like that." "I know, and I'm sorry, Michael," Sarah began to lightly sniffle, "It's just that being around you and your family, as well as how sweet everyone has been to me...I don't know. I feel even more remorseful for the way I treated you." "You're not to worry, my love," I reassured her, "We're going to take care of that once and for all; and we're going to the one person I know who can help you with what's hurting you." "Where are we going?" she asked, "And who're you talking about?" "That's easy, baby," I grinned, "We're going to see my Dad's mother...I call her Grandma-Lucy..." ~~~~~~ "It's about time you brought your little ass over here to see me, boy," Grandma-Lucy smiled, leaning in and pulling me into her arms, "It's so good to see you, Mikey honey," and when she saw Sarah she leaned slightly away with a knowing grin on her face and asked me, "Who is this beautiful thing you brought with you, son?" "Grandma-Lucy," I proudly announced, "This is not only the love of my life, but also the woman I'm going to marry. Her name is Sarah Caine," and then I turned to Sarah and told her, "Sarah, my love, this is Missus Lucille Taylor." "Hi, Missus Taylor," Sarah politely smiled, as she extended her hand, "It's nice to meet you ma'am." "Callin me Missus, and ma'am is like tryin to put a Macy's hat on a pig's head. It just don't fit, honey," Grandma-Lucy warmly replied, pulling Sarah into her arms and hugging her, "Marrying my grandson will make you my granddaughter so; I want you to call me Grandma-Lucy just like the rest of my grandbabies do; okay pretty girl?" "Okay," Sarah giggled, "It's nice to meet you, Grandma-Lucy." "That's better, baby," she smiled, inviting us into her house, which she kept in immaculate shape, "Ya'll come on in and I'll make you something to eat." "There's no need to do that, Grandma-Lucy," I softly smiled, "Besides we're still full from breakfast. We're here because there's something you need to know..." ~~~~~~ After telling my grandmother what was happening with Sarah, as well as relating to her the guilt that my beautiful fiancée had been experiencing, she told me that she wanted me to leave Sarah there with her for a little while and that I should go home. "We're gonna talk with one another for a little while, Mikey," she instructed me, "I'll call you and tell you when to come back and get her, okay son?" "Yes, ma'am," I respectfully told her, "I'll see you two a little later..." ~~~~~~ AN HOUR LATER I'd been at the house talking with Mom and Dad about not only mine and Sarah's engagement but also how very much I'd come to love her. "You waited for her for a long time," Dad kindly smiled, "Haven't you, son?" "Yes sir," I happily and proudly smiled, "But it was more than worth it if you ask me." "It just goes to show, honey," Mom sweetly told me, "Good things always come to those who have the patience, and are willing to wait." "I know that now," I smiled "Thanks for helping me deal with everything while I was going to college, Mom. I can't even begin to tell you how much I appreciate it." Mom was about to say something when the ringing of the telephone interrupted her as Dad got up from his seat to go answer it... ~~~~~~ "That was your grandmother on the phone, son," Dad told me, as he came back into the room after a few moments, "She told me that you can come and get Sarah." "Great," I excitedly smiled, happily knowing that my grandmother had shown my precious fiancée the light, "I'll be back with Sarah in a little while..." ~~~~~~ The moment I laid eyes on my beautiful Sarah's face I could immediately tell that there was something different about her. The love she had for me was now brilliantly sparkling in her bright blue eyes, and the light on her face was now shinning like a beacon across the darkest of nights. "My darling Michael," Sarah softly whispered in my ear, pulling me into her arms and pressing her body firmly against mine, "I'm free, baby, I'm finally free...and I love you more now than I ever thought I'd love anyone, I swear that I do." "I know you do, my love," I widely smiled, knowing that my grandmother had helped her to rid herself of the guilt she once felt, "And I love you, too." "I can't explain what I'm feeling right now," she sweetly told me, "It's like nothing I've ever experienced before." "You don't have to explain anything to me, Sarah," I knowingly replied smiling, gently cradling her in my arms "I understand a lot more than you know." "That's just it, I do know" she giggled, "It's like I can feel everything that you feel for me now. Grandma-Lucy taught me how to let go and forgive myself...especially now that I'm going to be your wife, my love." "And that's another thing I wanted to ask you about Michael Thomas Taylor," my grandmother began, having stepped out on her front porch the moment I pulled into her driveway, "Would you like to tell me why I'm always the last person to know about things like that?" "I'm sorry," I smiled, stepping from Sarah's arms and into hers, "You know that I love you, Grandma-Lucy, don't you?" "Of course I do, baby," she gently laughed, just as she'd done since I was a boy, "I just want to make sure that I get an invitation to see ya'll's wedding before the damn thing is over, you hear me?" "Yes, ma'am," I smiled, kissing her cheek, "I'll bring the invitation personally if I have to." "Aw hell, boy," she giggled, something else she'd done since I was a boy, "Just be sure to mail it at least a week before you get married, and that'll be plenty of time..." I'm Not Who I Used to Be Ch. 02 ~~~~~~ On the ride back to my boyhood home that afternoon, Sarah made certain that she sat right next to me on the bench seat of the old truck I drove when I was in college. As I said earlier, the look on her stunningly beautiful face that day was shining like the brightest of beacons through the darkest of nights, warming my heart from the inside, out. "I hope that I don't sound condescending when I tell you this," I began "But I'm so very proud of you for facing your fears, Sarah. Not only have you shown me how much you love me but you've also shown me what a truly strong woman you are. And I can hardly wait until you're my wife." "Oh, Michael, how sweet," Sarah tenderly replied, leaning over and kissing my cheek as I drove us, "Speaking of which, when would you like to get married, baby?" "Don't ask me, hell; I'd marry you yesterday," I grinned, making her giggle, "It's entirely up to you, my beauty." "We'll figure something out, baby," she kindly replied "My only regret is that I didn't realize what a kind and gentle man you are until it was almost too late." "But we still managed to get together, Sarah," I told her, "So don't worry about the rest of it." "You're right, Michael," she softly replied, gently laying her head on my shoulder, "And that's all that will ever matter from now on..." ~~~~~~ Chapter Two My time at home was nearing its end as Mark and I had to get with Kevin and Lee before we were all supposed to return to Los Angeles for the release of Odyssey's debut album. However, two days before I had to leave, Sarah gave me the greatest news of my life. "I'm coming with you, Michael," she giddily smiled, "And don't you dare try to stop me." "I would never do that," I happily replied, "But what're you going to do about your job, Sarah?" "That's easy," she giggled, "Daddy gave me my trust fund, and while I can't touch the principle until I'm forty, the interest will give us more than enough money to live on, my love." "Wait a minute," I protested "Ahmet told me that I'm about to make plenty of money from our first album, Sarah. I'll be more than able to take very good care of the both of us, baby, I swear." "I know that," she sweetly replied, smiling as she held her left hand up in front of me, "But when you put this ring on my finger it meant that we're supposed to be facing this world together Michael...together." "I love you so much," I grinned, pulling her into my arms, "Please forgive me for not thinking on those terms, baby..." ~~~~~~ And so our lives began together; Ahmet leased us a Silver Eagle tour bus that had not only a queen sized bed in a private room at the very back of it for Sarah and I, but there was more than enough room for Mark, Lee and Kevin. Granted, Mark already was a member of my family who stood beside me in everything I did, but Lee and Kevin were also as close to me as Mark was, and in the days that followed, I grew to love them as the brothers that, to me, that they already were. Our debut album, which was simply named, "Odyssey", rose to platinum status less than a week after its release, and then double platinum before the month was out. We went on tour the day after the album was released and everywhere we, the fans adored us. We sold out every venue that Ahmet booked for us to play, and it was then that I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I was doing that which I had been born to do. ~~~~~~ After being on the road for five months, we had a three week break. It was then that Sarah and I got married. Every member of both of our families were in attendance along with a few friends that we were close to. Sarah wanted get married on the ranch, so; her and her mother, Mallory, along with every single female member of my family, all got together and found the perfect place for us to hold the ceremony. The ceremony took place in a clearing that was about half an acre in length and three fourths of an acre in width, directly beneath a two hundred year old Live Oak Tree which happened to be located almost directly in the center of the clearing. Because she was my only living grandparent, Grandma-Lucy spared no expense in preparing the clearing for our ceremony. She even had the ground beneath the oak tree cleared and leveled, and Uncle Jack built a small, beautiful platform for us to stand on with the minister while we spoke our vows to one another. Dad saw to it that another fifty feet of brush was cleared from the back of the clearing in order to set up two large, air-conditioned changing tents that were powered by solar panels. See, I told you that my family was the best that a guy could ever want and/or have. The gown that Sarah wore had been passed down through her family from her great, great grandmother. It was Victorian in its design and consisted of lots of lace, satin and linen and it looked absolutely beautiful on her. As opposed to wearing a traditional veil on her head, Sarah wore beautiful wreath made of holly, with baby's breath throughout the whole thing, along with her long blonde hair softly flowing over her shoulders and down her back. She looked so stunning that I felt my knees begin to buckle, and had Mark not been there as my best man to hold me up; I think that I would've certainly fallen to the ground... ~~~~~~ Sarah wanted not only the traditional vows spoken between us, but she also asked me if it was alright if we wrote our own set of vows to be spoken right after the traditional vows. I had no problem whatsoever with her request, hence the reason I told her, "I never knew what love truly was until I saw you for the first time. God spoke to my heart which told me that you were the only woman I would ever love, Sarah. You are my heart, my life, my past, present, and future. I will love you, and no other, until I take my last breath," as happy tears rained down my face. "I'm eternally bound to you, Michael," Sarah sweetly began, "It was your love, and your love alone that brought me out of the darkness and into the eternal light of what will always be our love. You are my husband and I am your wife, and before God, as well as our families and friends, I give you my solemn promise to love you, and no other, until our Lord takes me from this earth..." ~~~~~~ Because of the fact that my grandfather had fought in the Pacific Theater during World War Two, we were allowed to use the VFW Hall there in my home town to hold the wedding reception in. Everyone who attended the wedding were all at the reception and I was never more proud of my precious and beautiful Sarah than I was that day. Sarah's maternal cousin, Natalie Torrance, was her maid of honor, who, she herself, was beautiful in her own right. She and Sarah shared the same hair and eye color, as well as the same figure, and could've almost passed for twin sisters as opposed to cousins. Sarah and I had both turned twenty-three by this time, and being almost two years older, Natalie would be turning twenty-five in a matter of just a few days. Before Natalie drove down from Houston, Sarah told me that she'd broken up with her ex-boyfriend over a month ago due to the fact that she'd caught him cheating on her; and when the word got out that she was single, all of the single males in attendance asked her to dance at least once...all except for my cousin Mark that is. However, what I thought was one of the most memorable moments of the whole ordeal was when, without any prodding on Natalie's part, she walked up to Mark and asked him to dance. The look on his face was priceless, because even though he was considered to be very handsome by every woman he'd ever encountered, my cousin was rather shy...almost painfully so at times. What he didn't know was that Natalie almost flipped when she first met Mark at the wedding rehearsal. Sarah told me that her cousin thought that Mark was the most handsome guy that she'd ever met. "What a nice thing to say," I smiled, when Sarah told me that bit of information, "Tell Natalie how much I appreciate what she said about my cousin." "You can tell me yourself, handsome," Natalie giggled, as she appeared from behind me, "And I didn't say that Mark was the most handsome man I'd ever met. I said that he was most handsome single man I've ever met. My cousin is married to the most handsome man I've ever met," which immediately made my face turn beet red in embarrassment. "Ooo, look at him blush, Sarah," Natalie teased "You're right, he really is adorable." "Come on, you two," I good-naturedly complained, "You're embarrassing me." "You're better get used to it, cutie," Natalie continued teasing me, "You're a member of our family now, too, buddy boy," as she and Sarah continued to giggle like a couple of school girls with a naughty secret. "Leave him alone, Nat" Sarah girlishly giggled, "We just got married and I don't want to run him off." "That's something you'll never have to worry about, my love," I gently told Sarah, "A team of wild horses couldn't pull me away from you." "I love you, too, baby," Sarah softly smiled, leaning over and giving me a tender kiss on my lips. But before I could reply, my new mother appeared beside me wearing a smile on her pretty face. Then she took my hand from Sarah's and asked, "Is there any chance that I could talk my very new, and very handsome son-in-law into dancing with me?" "I would love to, Mallory," I gently smiled, taking her hand into mine, "Come with me, pretty lady..." ~~~~~~ As we walked toward the dance floor, the band began to play a song by John Conley called "Rose Colored Glasses," which is written in a ¾ time signature. "Oh, my God; I love this song," Mallory excitedly smiled, "Do you know how to waltz, Michael?" "I most certainly do," I grinned, pointing at my grandmother, "My grandmother taught me how to do all of the traditional dances when I was just a little fella." "Well, then," Mallory coquettishly giggled, "Lead the way, handsome." I could immediately tell that Mallory was an excellent dancer after only a few moments of dancing with her, hence the reason I stepped up the pace by leading her all over the dancefloor, twirling every other step. Of course Mallory kept right up and didn't miss a single step. I could tell that she was having a blast dancing, simply by the wide and delighful smile that was her face and remained there even after the song came to an end. "My goodness," Mallory smiled, slightly out of breath, "You certainly know how to show a girl a good time." "I try," I chuckled, "Thank you, Mallory, I really enjoyed dancing with you." "Aw, you're more than welcome, honey," she sweetly replied, then she leaned over and kissed me on the cheek and told me, "Let's get you back over to Sarah so she won't think I'm trying to steal you away from her." "I know that you're only teasing me," I replied smiling, "But there's nothing on this earth that will ever be able to take me away from Sarah. I want you to know that." "I do know that, Michael honey," she softly smiled, "And that's why we all love you very much. You've put a smile back on my daughter's face again, and for that her father and I will forever be eternally grateful..." ~~~~~~ "It's about time you got your handsome self back over here with me," Sarah playfully pouted, "I miss you when you're not here." "That's why I'll never leave you, my love," I replied tenderly kissing my new wife's lips, "Because I can't live without you either..." ~~~~~~ Sarah and I spent our first night together as man and wife in what used to be the Warwick Hotel in downtown Houston. Granted, the place is no longer there, but in its time, the Warwick was one of the few Five-Star hotels in the area. The splendid opulence of each and every single room and/or suite had seen the comings and goings of major stars and dignitaries from all over the world, and the bridal suite was well known for having every amenity known to man, not to mention that it had its own small indoor pool and hot tub. "Oh, my God, Michael," Sarah gasped, after I carried her through the threshold and set her on the floor of the suite, "This suite is so beautiful. Thank you, baby." "You're more than welcome," I softly told her, "But it's nowhere near as beautiful as you are, my love, and that's the God's honest truth..." ~~~~~~ We took each other's clothes off and then I led Sarah by the hand to the hot tub, the both of us slowly entering the one hundred degree water at the same time. "Mmm," Sarah purred, rubbing the front of her naked body against mine, "This is making me horny, baby." "That's a good thing then," I softly spoke, gently rubbing the palm of my hand back and forth across her beautifully naked ass, "Yes?" "You know it is," Sarah groaned, slowly grinding her crotch firmly up and down my right thigh, "Oh, God; this feels fucking wonderful, baby." "That's it," I erotically encouraged her as I whispered into her ear while kissing the underside of her throat, rolling and slightly pinching her nipples between the thumb and index finger of my left hand, "I want you to cum for me, my love." "Uhng, this is so fucking hot, Michael," she deeply groaned, erotically humping and grinding her hot, wet crotch against my thigh, "Finger my pussy, baby, please do it now." The moment my hand touched her outer labia, it almost felt like her pussy was hungrily sucking my middle finger into her vaginal entrance, eliciting a loud corporeal moan coming from somewhere deep within her. Less than a second later, I felt her hand on my cock, urging me to stand up and sit on the side of the hot tub. Sarah wasted no time taking me into her mouth and on past her tonsils as I felt my cock slide right down her throat. As she began rapidly bobbing her head up and down on my rod it took only a few moments later until I felt the urge to cum beginning to rise up from within my balls. "Sarah," I groaned "I'm gonna cum, baby." In answer to me she held one hand against my stomach, encouraging me to remain seated, while she worked her head and mouth up and down my cock in perfect time with her other hand. It took only seconds after that until I was filling her mouth with my seed; and after every spurt of semen I released, I could feel her swallowing it in order to make room for the next one. I tried my best to work my fingers in and out of her pussy but I was too far gone to be able to accomplish anything whatsoever at that point. And after fully cleaning my cock with her mouth, my beautiful Sarah stood up and pulled me into her arms as she sweetly kissed my lips. Of course I could taste myself on her tongue, but I didn't care because of the fully deep and passionate love I was feeling for my stunning wife. "Wow, baby," I smiled, panting like I'd just run a marathon "That was intense." "I'm glad you liked it," she mischievously giggled "That was the very first time I swallowed cum." "I love you, Sarah," I told her, quickly pulling her body against mine, "I've always loved you from the first moment I saw you." "I'm so happy that you did, baby," she purred, "And thank you for not giving up on me." "Never," I quickly told her, moving so that her body was sitting where mine had just been, "Not in a millennium." She knew what was coming when I lowered myself into the water, stopping only to spread her legs wide enough to place my mouth on her dripping pussy that sweetly reeked with her aroma. From that point on I ate her like I was starving, not stopping until she screamed my name in the passionate throes of her orgasm... ~~~~~~ After we were both showered and cleaned up, I ordered room service. Of course after the food arrived, we shed our clothes and lay together on the bed, feeding one another without a stitch on. God what a beautiful body Sarah has. Even now she could rival any model, any time, any place, but excuse me for getting a little ahead of myself... ~~~~~~ After we finished eating and our food had settled, Sarah looked at me with those beautifully hypnotic blue eyes of hers like she was staring into my soul. And knowing that she'd been able to do that since the moment I first saw her, I simply smiled, leaning in to kiss her soft lips. "I never knew that loving someone would make me feel so complete, Michael," she tenderly smiled, "I still can't believe that you waited for me all those years while we were in college together," and then she looked at her hands and quietly said, "This is the very last time I'm going to say this and then you'll never hear me mention it again...I really don't deserve a man like you, but I'm so happy that you didn't give up on me." "I could never give up on you, my love," I softly smiled, pulling her back into my arms, "I asked God to make you mine the very first night after I saw you that very first day of class." "Now I know what it means when I was told that patience is a virtue," she happily grinned, "I hope you know that you'll never be able to get rid of me now." "Good," I chuckled, "Because I'll never want to be rid of you either...never!" ~~~~~~ The next day I took Sarah to Hawaii for our honeymoon. Her Mom helped me find a place that was semi-secluded up on the North Shore of Oahu. We frolicked in the water together and Sarah went with me to surf the world famous Banzai Pipeline. Man; what a rush that was. Sarah was so taken with watching me that we went to the shores of Waikiki where the waves weren't so dangerous and I taught Sarah how to surf. And after riding her first wave ashore with no assistance, she, too became enthralled with it almost as much as I was. "Now I understand what it is you guys see in riding waves," she enthusiastically replied, on the way back to our cottage that afternoon, "It's almost spiritual, isn't it?" "Yes, it is, my love," I smiled, my hand on her leg as I drove us, "Yes, it is..." ~~~~~~ THE NEXT DAY We took a full tour of the Hawaiian Islands by helicopter that next morning, and were surfing the shore that afternoon after lunch. Of course we spent each evening making love until, exhausted, we fell asleep in one another's arms. The rest of the time we were there, we could be found surfing the incoming tide every morning together, and touring the Islands in the afternoons. However, every night we made love, and when the time arrived for us to return home, Sarah and I were talking about buying a home there in the islands to live in after Odyssey retired from the music industry... ~~~~~~ It's been said that almost nothing last forever, which rang true when the time came for David Worley to go to trial. I'd always had faith in the justice system and this day was no different. Once the jury brought in a verdict of guilty, Worley was sentenced to twenty-five years to life for what he'd tried to do to Sarah and me, in that he'd been charged with, and found guilty of, attempted murder. Personally I thought that he'd gotten off rather easy, but because he'd been a model prisoner while awaiting his trial, as well as the fact that he was still young, and according to the judge, a prime candidate for corrective rehabilitation, David Worley was sent to a facility north of Dallas, Texas called the Collfield Unit. It's a place where violent offenders are sent to undergo what is referred to as psycho-sematic rehabilitation, along with the use and application of what are now called "Psychoactive Drugs". What surprised us all was the fact that, right after he'd been sentenced, as well as with the judge's and D.A.'s permission, David Worley was allowed to stand up in court and apologize to not only me and Sarah, but also our families, for all of that he'd put us through. He openly admitted his role in what had occurred, accepting his fate. Last but not least, he hoped that after enough time had passed, we would be able to find it in our hearts to forgive him one day. I'm Not Who I Used to Be Ch. 02 And while it's not a usual occurrence, due to court procedure, the judge allowed me to stand and tell him that I'd already forgiven him for what he'd done; and in turn, I asked him to forgive me for taking his brother's life, even though it was in self-defense, which he did so smiling. We all left the courthouse in a better mood that afternoon in hopes that maybe a human life had been saved that day... ~~~~~~ THE NEXT DAY The time had come that Odyssey had to go back on the road for the next seven months to complete the tour for our debut album...and yes, Sarah went with us. I had personally asked Ahmet if it was alright, and of course he was more than happy to fulfill my request, telling me that we were still newlyweds and that we needed that time together. Mark, Lee, and Kevin were in full agreement with him and treated Sarah just like she was one of us. Another reason they acted the way they did was because of the history involved in mine and her relationship. And also because they'd been there to witness it firsthand, they felt like Sarah was more or less family, which, now that she and I were married, she truly was. Of course while she would never admit to it, Kevin openly confessed that Sarah taught him many things throughout our travels. He said that she was instrumental in teaching him how not to listen to his dick all the time, encouraging him to act more like the gentleman she claimed he was... ~~~~~~ Our music had done nothing but climb the charts since the very first release of the very first song; the one I wrote for Sarah called, "If You Could Love Me Like I Love You." It was picked up as a soundtrack cut for a Blockbuster Film, which came out later that year, and even though we were all doing well financially, the money came rolling in after that, especially for me being the writer. We received a call from Hugh Hefner himself inviting us to the Playboy Mansion for a rather large celebration that was being held in our honor, and needless to say; we were all very excited about it. Hell, even Sarah was tickled because of the fact that she had been invited to tag along with us. Of course, when I spoke to him over the phone, I politely let Mr. Hefner know that I wouldn't be able to attend unless my wife was allowed to join us. "That's not a problem at all, Mike," he told me, "I've seen her in many of the press pictures taken of you guys. She's a very beautiful woman and she'll be a very welcome addition to the celebration." "Thank you, Mister Hefner," I graciously smiled, "I'll be sure to convey your compliments to my wife whom I know will be very pleased at what you said." "You're more than welcome, Mike, but it's easy to tell the truth," he warmly replied, "And please call me either Hugh, or just plain old Hef, okay?" "Not a problem, Hugh," I grinned, happily accepting his invitation, "I look very forward to meeting you in person." "As do I you," he kindly replied, "We'll see you all in a couple of days then..." ~~~~~~ "Holy shit," Kevin grinned, when I told the guys about the invitation from Hugh Hefner, "This is going to be great...I've got to get a new tux." "Nonsense," I chuckled, "If you wear a tux you're liable to be mistaken for one of the waiters and/or serving staff." "But I want to look good," he objected, "I can't wear plain old blue jeans to an event like this. I'll come off as some kind of hayseed." "You're way too handsome so; I highly doubt that," Sarah gently told him, "Remember what I told you about being yourself?" "Of course I remember, Sarah," he replied, "But there are going to be a bunch of really hot women there and I don't to look like some kind of plain old stupid dirt farmer." "You could never be mistaken for a dirt farmer," Sarah plainly yet kindly told him, "You're the bass guitar player for one of the hottest Rock and Roll bands in the country; and I know for a fact that those same beautiful women that you just mentioned will all be clamoring for the opportunity just to stand near you and talk to you." "I don't know about that," he uneasily replied, "How do you know that, Sarah?" "Think about it, Kevin," she replied, winking at me, "I'm a girl, too; so, don't think I can't see what girls see in you." All of a sudden a look of understanding appeared on his face and in doing so, he smiled very widely and pulled Sarah into his arms for a familial hug, telling her, "You're the best, Sarah, and now I finally see why Mike fell in love with you and married you. Thanks, Sis..." ~~~~~~ THE PLAYBOY MANSION When the limousine pulled up in front of the Playboy Mansion's front door imagine our surprise when we discovered that none other than Hugh Hefner himself was there to personally greet us and escort us into the celebration that was already in full swing. "Welcome," Hugh smiled, "I'm happy that you could all attend this humble celebration that's being held in your, Odyssey's, honor," making it a point to shake all of our hands, with the exception of Sarah, whom he very chivalrously raised the back of her hand to his lips and kissed it. "Please forgive me if I speak out of turn, Ms. Taylor," Hugh sincerely told her, "But you're indeed one of the most beautiful women I've ever had the honor of meeting." "Thank you, Mister Hefner," Sarah cordially smiled, "Coming from a man of your stature and profession, that's a very fair compliment, and my name is Sarah." "I wasn't trying to compliment you Sarah," he smiled, "I was simply telling you the truth as I see it." Then he looked at all of us and pleasantly informed us, "I've reserved room in the mansion for each of you so; I want you to feel free to help yourselves to anything you'd like," and then almost as if it were on cue, two extremely beautiful women, one brunette and one blonde, appeared beside Hugh with smiles on their faces. "This is Miss Laura Hanover," Hugh informed Kevin, introducing him to the very pretty brunette, "She will be your personal assistant for the evening. If there's anything you want or need, just ask her and she'll take care of it for you." "Hi, Kevin it's so nice to finally meet you," Laura softly smiled, taking his hand, "I just started taking bass guitar lessons six months ago, and I asked Hef if I could escort you to the party this evening. I hope that's alright with you." "Hello, Laura," Kevin elatedly replied, doing a great job at hiding his excitement, "It's nice to meet you, too. Is there anywhere a guy like me could get a drink around here?" "Come with me, handsome," she cutely giggled, taking his hand, "I know just the place," and then the two of them disappeared down the hall, laughing hand-in-hand. Hugh introduced the pretty blonde to Lee with a smile on his face as he said, "Lee Karey, please allow me to introduce you to Miss Kelly Billingsley. She recently received her Doctorate's Degree in Music from Oxford, and like you, she, too, is a percussionist, and I think that the two of you will get along famously." "Wow, a PhD in music, huh?" Lee appreciatively grinned "That's very impressive...It's nice to meet you Miss Billingsley." "Please, call me Kelly," she softly replied, in her beautifully thick British accent, as she took him by the hand, "It's nice to meet you as well, Lee. May I call you Lee?" "Of course," he kindly replied "That is my name after all. Would it be alright if I picked your brain? I've never met someone with a PhD in music, well, except for my college professors that is," and then the two of them disappeared in the opposite direction as Kevin and Laura. ~~~~~~ Chapter Three Because of the fact that Mark was not only a member of my family, but also because he was my best friend and I knew him so well; I wasn't surprised in the least when I saw him in the company of two beautiful women, one on each arm and both of whom I recognized as being "Playboy Playmates". "And now for the two of you," Hugh knowingly grinned, "There is someone here that has been beside their self to meet you, Mike. I think you will enjoy meeting them as well. If you don't mind, would the two of you please follow me?" The person whom Hugh told us was dying to meet me was none other than the keyboardist/bassist for the rock group "The Doors"; a man by the name of "Ray Manzarek". To say that I was thrilled was one of the greatest understatements ever made. I was beside myself with being able to meet one of three keyboard players in the world who'd more or less been like mentors to me while growing up and listening to their music on the radio as a boy. "It's nice to meet you, Mike," Ray openly smiled, shaking my hand, "I think you're one of the finest keyboard players I've ever heard, not to mention a great songwriter, too." "Wow, thank you, Mister Manzarek," I warmly replied "I can't begin to tell what that means to me hearing it come from someone like you." "Please, call me Ray," he graciously smiled, patting my shoulder, "And don't let anyone tell you otherwise, Mike, you're a damn fine musician yourself." "Thanks, Ray," I grinned, "But I had you, Rick Wakeman, and Keith Emerson as influences while I was growing up." "Holy cow," Hugh laughed, "That young man just paid you one hell of a compliment, Ray." "He's right, Mike," Ray smiled, "Although I'm not worthy of it, thank you just the same." "Horse manure," I chuckled, patting Ray on the back, "I simply call them like I see them..." ~~~~~~ We had all kinds of fun that night, and much to our surprise, Ahmet met us there, having had our gear set up on the outside stage by the pool, where Hugh told us in no uncertain but friendly terms, that we were going to be the main event. Movie stars, high profile athletes, celebrities, and television personalities from all over the country were there that night to watch Odyssey perform. Sarah sat with Ahmet, Ray, and Hugh at a special reserved table where Kelly and Laura joined them while we were performing. Mark's new female friends joined them as well, whose names I later found out were Bianca and Tiffany. I was thrilled by the fact that even though we, the band, were surrounded by what were considered to be the most beautiful women in the world, my stunning wife still outshined them all as far as I was concerned. And along with the special semblance of pride I felt from being married to Sarah, God blessed me with knowing that I would always feel the way I did about her, and that she would always feel the same way about me... ~~~~~~ Although I had to practically drag him on stage, I got finally got Ray up to perform with us that night. He took my place behind the keys, while I stood up with a wireless microphone and wandered through the audience while I sang a medley of songs by "The Doors", playfully flirting with the female celebrities there as well as shaking hands with the male celebrities in the attendance, too. And once I made my way back upon the stage, we finished what we were playing, receiving a full five-minute standing ovation from everyone there. Once Ray left the stage and made his way back to the table where he sat with Hugh, Sarah, Laura, Kelly, Bianca and Tiffany; I took my place behind my keyboards and spoke to the audience. "Ladies and gentlemen, I've got a very special surprise for you tonight," I said to the audience, a knowing smile on my face when I looked at Sarah, "As I'm quite sure you read in the newspapers, I recently married the most beautiful woman in the world. She knows pretty much everything we do, except for this next song I only recently finished writing. The name of it is, "Without You There Is No Me". This is something that no one has heard yet; so, if you would humor us, we're going to perform it tonight for the first time anywhere." Of course this particular composition was a sweet and tender love song, and although I'd only given taped copies of it to my bandmates, along with the lyric sheets and chord charts, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that we were going to be able to pull it off without a hitch. I opened up with just my voice and piano for the first eight bars of the song; and then when the next verse began, the rest of Odyssey came in playing their parts of this particular song like they'd been playing it for years. When I began to intro to the second chorus I looked down at our table to find my beautiful Sarah sitting there with a huge smile on her face, accompanied my large, happy tears, silently mouthing the words, "I love you," which wasn't missed by a single member of the audience. When we finished the song this time however, everyone again rose to their feet to render a round of applause that was definitely far louder and more gracious than any we'd heard thus far in our careers... ~~~~~~ After we'd finished playing and were coming off of the stage, Sarah was right there to throw her arms around my neck and hold me tightly against her, telling me how very much she loved me. "Thank you baby," I tenderly replied, "I'm glad you liked the song I wrote for you." "I didn't just like it, silly," she giggled, happily sniffling, "I loved it...almost as much as I love you..." ~~~~~~ Photographers from magazines like, Life, Time, and People as well as The Los Angeles Times had been allowed in long enough to take several photos of our performance, and then also long enough for short interviews by the journalists of the magazines and newspaper I just mentioned. I made certain that Ahmet, Hugh, Sarah as well as the rest of Odyssey was right next to me with not only every interview I was doing, but also with every celebrity I was being photographed with. It was a magical time for all of us back then. The music that we wrote, played, and recorded that was being aired on the radio suggested as much, including the music of all the other well-known artists of that same time, too. ~~~~~~ The morning following our performance at the Playboy Mansion, the local television and radio stations were all excitedly talking about what an impression Odyssey had made on the Rock Music industry the night before. Requests for interviews came pouring in from not only nationally broadcasted television shows, but also from newspapers and magazines all across the country. Ahmet had a solid reputation in the music industry for being able to drum up free advertising and publicity from every solid and well-spoken publication in the country, yet he held them all at bay until the request from the one magazine in the world that would permanently cement our careers for us came in. The magazine in question was known not only all over the United States, but also all over the world...Rolling Stone Magazine. ~~~~~~ Because we were in Los Angeles at the time, Cameron Crowe and Annie Leibowitz caught a shuttle flight from their home office in San Francisco to do the interview and photo session right there at Atlantic Records office, which, at the time, was located on Sunset Strip. Ahmet had forewarned us to give Cameron direct answers to whatever questions he asked us, and when we asked him why, he leaned back in his chair with a knowing grin on his face and told us, "You gotta watch out for these rock critics. They'll either make you or break you, depending on what you tell them. So, keep your answers short, sweet and to the point and whatever you do; don't give them any personal information unless you want the whole world to know about it." "What about our family members?" I asked him "They're not going to interview them, are they?" "I've already spoken to not only Mister Cameron Crowe, but I also told the editor, owner, and founder of the magazine, "Jann Wenner", in no uncertain terms, that your family members are strictly off-limits" Ahmet assured us, "Besides, I'm going to be present for every interview, so; you can all relax where that issue is concerned, okay guys?" ~~~~~~ The interviews went off without a hitch, and along with the photos taken by Annie Leibowitz, the article was a success. Jann Wenner called Ahmet three days afterward to tell him that we, Odyssey, had not made the cover of Rolling Stone, but that the magazine itself would be hitting the newsstands in less than forty-eight hours. Once again, to say that we were all excited was another understatement of the century and the moment we got back to our house in Malibu, we were on the phone telling our families about the phone call we'd received earlier from Jann Wenner of Rolling Stone. "You did it, sweetheart," Mom happily sniffled, on the other end of the line, "And your father is going to be so excited when I tell him tomorrow." "Why tomorrow?" I asked her, and then I remembered the cattle drive that Dad and Uncle Jack went on every year at this time to take the live-stock to market, "Shit, he and Uncle Jack are taking the cattle to market...sorry, Mom. I forgot," which was followed by the sound of Mom's laughter. "It's okay, Michael, I won't tell your father," she teased, playfully asking me, "Is my daughter around there anywhere?" "Hang on a minute, she's right here," I chuckled, handing the phone to Sarah, "Mom wants to speak with her daughter..." ~~~~~~ "So, tell me, my love," I smiled, once Sarah took a seat next to me on the back deck facing the Pacific Ocean, "What did Mom have to say to you about us making the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine?" "Are you kidding me? She's very proud of you, baby," Sarah sweetly smiled, moving into my lap as she placed her arms around my neck, "But not nearly as proud of you that I am...I love you, Michael." As she spoke to me, I noted a hint of sadness in her voice, making me look into her eyes and ask her, "Is something bothering you my love?" "Yes, and no," she quietly replied, "It's nothing major and I really don't want to trouble you with something so trivial, baby." "Oh, please," I told her, "You need to know that if something's bothering you, then it's going to bother me, too...What is it, Sarah?" "I know that this sounds completely silly," she began, "But I feel so useless around here. I want to contribute to Odyssey's success, and not be just another pretty face. Do you understand what I mean?" "Of course I do," I warmly replied, realizing just what it was that Sarah was getting at, "And now that you mention it, I think that there might be a place for you in our organization." "What organization?" she smiled, giggling as she teased me, "You guys are a just rock and roll band." "You're right about that," I chuckled, quickly tickling her on her stomach and eliciting a delightful squeal, "I've got an idea I want to run past Ahmet first, but I'll let you know what he thinks about it; okay, my love?" "And I really am your love," she lovingly smiled, as she tenderly kissed my lips, "Aren't I, Michael?" "That you are, Sarah," I softly replied, "That you are..." ~~~~~~ THE NEXT MORNING After Sarah and I finished making love that morning, which has become an almost daily ritual, we were sitting in the kitchen having coffee when Lee appeared in the kitchen after having come into the house through the back door. "Mornin, Bro," I knowingly laughed, "Are you just now getting home?" "What're you, my mother?" Lee boyishly giggled. "Hell no," Mark playfully grinned, as he suddenly appeared in the kitchen wearing a pair of board shorts, with lipstick all over the front of his chest, accompanied by the sound of more than one female giggling, which emanated from behind his close bedroom door. "Ooo, Mark," Sarah playfully giggled, "What have you been up to this morning?" "This morning, and last night, too," he laughed, "Besides, who asked you, Miss Woman?" "Uh, excuse the hell outta me," Sarah openly teased him, "But that's Missus Woman, thank you very much..." ~~~~~~ ONE P.M. I'm Not Who I Used to Be Ch. 02 Mark, along with Bianca and Tiffany, had finally decided to grace us with his presence. I will say that at least the girls had the decency to look a little embarrassed until Sarah and I both reassured them that they had no reason whatsoever to feel uncomfortable. "I'm going to fix the three of us something to eat," Mark told me, "Would you and Sarah like some breakfast, too?" "We had breakfast earlier this morning, Romeo," I laughed, "But thanks for the gesture just the same, Cuz..." As Mark, Tiffany and Bianca sat and ate their breakfast on the back patio, Sarah and I joined them with our glasses of iced tea so that the girls might feel more relaxed as they ate. "I enjoyed the hell out of getting to play with Ray Manzarek last night," Mark said, "What do you think, Mikey?" "Me, too," I warmly smiled, "But I thought for a minute that I was going to have to drag him onto the stage." "I know, right?" Mark laughed, "But it turned out alright. I could tell that Hugh was really pleased by the smile that was on his face." "Hef doesn't let just anyone come into the mansion and play unless he really likes their music," Bianca smiled, "And I've got a feeling that you guys just saw the tip of the iceberg last night." "She's right," Tiffany added, "I remember the night that Van Morrison played at the mansion. But Hef wouldn't let the press come in for photos and interviews like he did with you guys last night." "Is that right?" Mark asked them, looking at me with a smile on his face, "So what're you saying?" "She's saying that Odyssey is out to break wide open," Sarah smiled, leaning over and giving me a soft kiss on the lips, teasing me when she said, "And that means that my husband is going to drooled over by every female in the country," making my face turn beet red. "What're you talking about, girl?" Bianca giggled, joining in, "He already is being drooled over." "That's right," Tiffany also giggled, "You should've seen the jealous looks on the faces of every woman at the mansion last night when they found out that Michael was married." "Uh huh," Mark playfully jabbed, "It looks like my cousin's face is going to start showing up on the cover of every teen magazine in the country," which was followed by a cacophony of female laughter. "Come on, Mark," I hissed, "My picture better not be seen on some damn teen magazine, or I'll make damn sure they all know that you're the one whose single, not me." "Damn," Tiffany giggled, "They sound like brothers." "They're close enough," Sarah said, and then at the look of question on Tiffany's face, Sarah girlishly giggled and said, "They're first cousins." "Oh, so, that explains it then" Bianca chuckled, "But you've got to admit, they're both a couple of cuties; and I can see why you married Mike." "What do you mean?" Sarah asked smiling. "Nothing bad, I swear" Bianca replied, "Mark told us about you two and I think it's one of the most romantic stories I've ever heard," sweet tears forming in her eyes. "Isn't it?" Sarah tenderly replied, sighing as she looked at me "I've never met anyone who is as forgiving as Michael is... ~~~~~~ HER LATER THAT EVENING Mark had taken Bianca and Tiffany back to God only knows where, which left the two of us, Michael and I, alone at the house there on the beach. It was times like this that I truly enjoyed being near the ocean, and I would've loved it even more had the phone not interrupted the tender silence Michael and I were sharing. Michael reached over and picked the receiver up, placing it to his ear and said, "Hello?" "Hello?" he again answered, and then after hanging it up he just chuckled and said, "Hmm, must've been a wrong number." Of course neither of us thought anything about it at the time, and after talking about it for a few moments, Michael told me that he wanted to go to a place called, Kinsey's, a place which is no longer there but at the time was in downtown L.A., for a bite to eat. ~~~~~~ Michael and I decided to dress alike, hence the reason he wore a men's evening jacket and a white button collar shirt, along with a pair of blue jeans and boots. And like I previously said, I dressed just like him, with the exception that my clothes were designed for women. We weren't trying to be "trendy" like they call it in Los Angeles, nor were we trying to set a certain style, we were just trying to dress comfortably without looking like a couple of hillbillies that were out on the town... ~~~~~~ I got a first-hand experience that night at what a bunch of vermin and assholes that the media can be when, the moment we pulled up to the valet stand, some jackass with a camera was in my face flashing pictures to the point that he had me cornered until I couldn't move. The next thing I heard was the sound of Michael's voice telling me, "Come with me, baby," and then I felt his hand grabbing mine as he practically had to almost drag me away from the asshole with the camera. "Back off, you jerk," Michael growled at the photographer, pushing him out of our way, "Or one of these days someone is going to shove that camera up your ass." "It won't be you, bitch," the photographer hatefully spat, making the stupid mistake of taking a swing at my husband. The next thing I heard was the sound of something crashing onto the pavement, accompanied by the same butcher-block meaty sound I heard the night that Michael put Dennis Worley down. And it was only seconds before two police cruisers arrived on the scene, wanting to know what had happened... ~~~~~~ The photographer, who, it turned out, was a free-lance jackass that had already been arrested for the same shit he'd just pulled only a few moments earlier, and had a police record longer than his arm for similar offenses, tried to lie and say that Michael had assaulted him first. That was until a young couple on vacation had caught the whole incident on their video camera and were more than happy to show the police what had really happened. Of course we were all taken to the police precinct where a magistrate convened, allowing Michael to press assault charges against the photographer, who was remanded to the Los Angeles County Sherriff's office, and taken to jail. On the way out, Michael graciously signed several autographs for the Police Officers and Sherriff's Deputies alike thanking them for demonstrating the professionalism associated with the type of work they did... ~~~~~~ Michael made it a point to graciously thank the couple who had so kindly volunteered their video tape to be used as evidence when the trial against that asshole photographer who'd so aggressively accosted us at Kinsey's came up... ~~~~~~ "My name's Mike," he smiled, introducing us to the young couple, "And this is my wife, Sarah. What're your names?" "My name is Tom Caffey," the young guy widely grinned, shaking Mike's proffered hand, "And this lady is my wife, Leslie, Mister Taylor." "I see," Mike boyishly grinned, "So, you know who I am then?" "We sure do, Mister Taylor," Leslie excitedly smiled, also stepping up to shake Michael's hand, "We're from Houston, Texas, just like you guys in Odyssey, and we really love ya'll's music." "Is that right?" Michael smiled, giving me a knowing wink, "In that case, you two are cordially invited to come have dinner with me and my wife, our treat," and then looking at me, Michael smiled, and said, "It's the least we can do, isn't it Sweetheart." Yes, it is," I warmly replied, taking Leslie's hand, "Come with us, girl. You and I can sit in the backseat of the car while the men sit up front and talk trash..." ~~~~~~ ME To make a long story short, the police took us all back to Kinsey's where we piled into our car and then we drove north up the Pacific Coast Highway until we ended up at "Joey's Italian Ristorante" just couple of miles north of where we were temporarily living. Of course Michael had called ahead to make reservations; and none other than Joey and Marie Giacomo were there to greet us the moment we walked through the front door. "Michael, Sarah," Joey warmly greeted us with hugs, Marie following suit, "It's so good to see you again," and then stepping back to see Tom and Leslie Caffey accompanying us, he smiled, and said, "And you brought some guests with you...Come with me, I'll seat you at our finest table..." ~~~~~~ "Thank you, Michael," Leslie sweetly smiled, affectionately calling me by my full name, "You didn't have to do this, really." "Oh, yes I did," I quickly let her know with a smile on my face, "You and Tom saved me and Sarah from a whole lot of trouble, not to mention saving me from assault charges as well. How could I not return the same kindness you showed us, huh?" "This is really very nice of you, Mike," Tom smiled, "The guys I work with aren't going to believe it when I tell them that I had dinner with Mike Taylor, the lead singer of Odyssey." "I've got an idea," I chuckled, "Did you bring your video camera with you?" "It's outside in my camera bag in your car," he quizzically replied, "Why do you ask...?" ~~~~~~ Because of the fact that Joey had seated us away from everyone else in our own private room, I got Tom to set up his video camera on a tripod that faced our table borrowing an extension cord from Joey so that Tom wouldn't run the batteries down on his camera. After Tom pushed the proper button on his video camera and was certain that it was recording, we all sat down and shared a nice meal together, making certain that the camera could clearly see all of us, also making sure to say "Hello" to his friends back home. To say that Tom and Leslie Caffey were excited was the understatement of the century. I also made sure that a limousine was made available for then to use for the rest of their stay in Los Angeles, knowing that I would be able to use the cost as a tax write-off at the end of the year. "Once again, thank you, Mike," Tom graciously smiled, as the night came to an end, "I'm going to make sure that everyone back home knows what nice and kind people you and your wife are," and then handing me a business card, he smiled and said, "The next time you're in Houston, please give me a call so that we can return the kindness you've shown us this evening, okay?" "You've got it, brother," I grinned, hugging him and Leslie both. Then I handed him my business card, with my personal number written on the back, "I smiled and said, "The next time you're here in L.A., I want you to give me a call as well...okay?" "No problem," he smiled taking his camera bag and following his wife into the back of the limo, "Odyssey rocks..." ~~~~~~ Chapter Four HER "You did a wonderful thing tonight, Michael," I softly told him, as he drove us home, "Those kids will remember tonight for the rest of their lives, not to mention what their friends and family are all going to say when they see that video tape." "It was the very least I could do," he gently replied smiling, placing his hand on my knee, "Think about it for a minute, baby; those kids didn't have to come forward in court with that tape. Plus, with my martial arts training I was facing one hell of a lawsuit along with aggravated assault charges, too. Tom and Leslie Caffey saved my bacon in a big way." "I suppose so," I smiled, quietly yawning, "I don't know about you, my love; but I've had a long day. Can we go home and go to bed?" "Mmm," he teasingly purred, inching his hand toward the crotch of my jeans, "Bed sounds like a good idea to me, my love." "Oh, God," I playfully complained, gently moving his hand from between my legs, "I think I've created a monster." "Uh huh," Michael laughed, gently tweaking my nipple, "And don't you dare say that you don't love every minute of it, my beauty..." ~~~~~~ When we arrived back at the beach house that night, it felt eerily quiet, as no one was there and the house was dark. "IS ANYBODY HOME?" I heard Michael loudly shout, only to be met with silence, as he began turning enough light for us to be able to see. "I guess not," he chuckled, pulling me into his arms, "It seems that we have the house all to ourselves." "It looks that way," I warmly smiled, reaching up and kissing my beautiful husband's lips, "Doesn't it?" "What would you think if I just felt like sleeping tonight?" he kindly asked me, "I want to lie next to you and hold you in my arms, my love." "Mmm," I purred, pulling him against me, "That sounds so romantic, baby...I think I'd really like that." "Good," he smiled, pulling me into our bedroom, and then with a bratty look on his face he chuckled and told me, "The last one dressed is a rotten egg" and then he began to quickly remove his clothes not bothering to pick them up off of the floor... ~~~~~~ ME I woke up the next morning to find my beautiful Sarah laying right next to me with her soft, bare body pressed closely against mine; making the love I already felt for her burn even more brightly than ever before, if that was even possible at this point. I was attempting to get out the bed without waking her until she opened her bright blue eyes; and then with a smile on her stunning face she leaned over and ever so tenderly kissed my lips. "Mmm, good morning, baby," she sweetly beamed, "I slept like a baby lying next to you." "Me, too," I smiled, intoxicated by the taste of her kiss, "Just like I always do when you're near me." She was about to speak when she was interrupted by the ringing of the telephone, making me reach over to the night stand beside my bed to answer it. However, the moment I said, "Hello," the line again went dead. "That's happened twice now, once last night, and again this morning" I uneasily told Sarah, a bad feeling beginning to suddenly arise inside of me, "And you know that I don't believe in coincidences, my love." "I don't either," she fearfully replied, rising up and taking her clothes from the chair on her side of the bed, "Let's get dressed and get the hell outta here...please Michael?" "I agree, baby," I quickly agreed, following her lead, "I'm beginning to get a bad feeling all of a sudden." We quickly dressed, and the moment I walked into the kitchen, the back door flew open followed by two guys I'd never seen before, both of them dressed in black tactical clothing, and both of them armed with nine millimeter handguns which were equipped with suppressors (silencers) so that anyone nearby wouldn't be alerted by the sound of gunfire and call the authorities. However, before they had time to react, I kicked the intruder nearest to me and knocked him unconscious, making him not only drop his weapon, but also allowing me to use his body as a shield when I threw it against the second intruder. It knocked him off his guard long enough for me to disarm him, and then using the butt of his own weapon, I knocked him unconscious as well... ~~~~~~ After everything had settled back down, the second intruder awoke to find himself very securely restrained with no chance of being able to break free of his bonds; blindfolded and gagged, I had also duct-taped his lower legs, and thighs to the seat of one of the kitchen chairs. And because his partner was lying in the floor in the same condition, I rested a little easier in knowing that our would-be assailants had been neutralized and the immediate situation had been defused for the moment. I'd managed to get my hands on two boxes of the heavy plastic zip-ties that our roadies used to secure the cords and cables that we used on stage to send home to Uncle Jack to use on his still. However, at this particular moment, I was using some of them to bind the intruder's hands and arms not only behind their backs, but where the second intruder was concerned, I was using four of the zip-ties to the secure his upper body to the back rest of the chair I'd placed him in, and his legs to the bottom legs of it. Call me barbaric if you want to, but these two animals had broken into our house with the obvious intention of doing bodily harm to Sarah, myself, or God forbid, the both of us. Once I'd accomplished the task of neutralizing the immediate threat to our lives, I instructed Sarah to pick up the phone and see if she could possibly get my bandmates back to the house while I questioned the second intruder... ~~~~~~ "If you try anything at all I'm going to unload this weapon into your head," I quietly hissed, jamming the muzzle of his partner's weapon into the base of his skull, "Nod your head if you understand me," which he quickly did. "I'm going to take the gag out of your mouth so that you and I can have a little talk," I told him, "Remember that these weapons have suppressors on them; so, if you try to scream or yell out, no one will hear me firing this pistol into your brain pan. Is that clear?" and again he nodded his head. The moment I removed the gag from his mouth, I quickly told him, "I'm sure your mouth is probably as dry as the Sahara, so; going to give you some water to drink because I'm not the monster you seem to think I am." "Thank you," he gratefully said, "I'll tell you whatever you want to know...please don't kill us, okay?" "I give you my word that I'm not going to hurt you," I assured him, "But that means you're going to tell me why you're here as well as who sent you. Do we understand one another?" "We were sent here to take the both of you back to Texas," the intruder confessed, "We weren't going to kill you, I swear it." "Who sent you?" I calmly asked him, and when I was met with silence, I removed the pistol from the base of his skull and placing it underneath his chin, and heatedly barked, "WHO WAS IT, MOTHERFUCKER?" "It was Jimmy Don Worley," the man confessed, "But please don't let him know that I told you. He said that he would kill my wife and daughter if we failed to bring you two back" and by this time he was so overcome with fear that he finally broke down and began to weep like a child. "Let me guess," I told Sarah, "He's talking about Dennis and David's father, isn't he?" "Yes," Sarah fearfully cringed, pulling me into her arms as tears began to fill her eyes, "And he's a very dangerous man, Michael." "Is that right?" I laughed, as Sarah nodded her pretty head, "I want you to relax, baby. He sounds like another stupid redneck as far as I'm concerned." "You don't seem to understand, Michael honey," she frightfully replied, tears now running God given beautiful face, "Even though it could never be proven in a court of law, everyone knows that he killed those three black teenagers over in Montgomery County." "Is that right?" I angrily growled, "So not only is he a redneck as well as a racist, but he's also a murderer, too?" "Why do you think I'm worried about my wife and daughter?" the second intruder suddenly interjected "My name is Josh Willis, my partner's name is Shane McGowan and if you'll let us, we can help you get that evil sonofabitch once and for all..." ~~~~~~ NINETY MINUTES LATER Sarah had been able to get a hold of Mark, Lee, and Kevin and within an hour they were back at the house, all three of them full of questions. "Would somebody like to tell me just what in the hell is going on here?" Mark asked first, "Who are these two guys and why are they dressed in tactical clothing?" "No shit," Lee inquired, pointing to the two suppressor equipped pistols sitting on the kitchen table "And who in the hell do these damn guns belong to?" "If you guys will give me the chance to tell you, I can explain everything" I quickly replied; and then after getting everyone to calm down and have a seat, I told the three of them everything that had taken place that morning... ~~~~~~ "I know who Jimmy Don Worley is," Mark disgustedly spat "He's an evil, redneck, piece of shit." I'm Not Who I Used to Be Ch. 02 "Yeah, he is," Josh Willis frightfully added, "And if he doesn't hear from us before too much longer, he's gonna think something's gone wrong." "Josh is right," Shane McGowan said, "Whatever we're gonna do, we need to do it soon." "Leave everything to me," I told them, "This is what we're going to do..." ~~~~~~ "We're going to kidnap them tomorrow after they get back home..." Josh Willis told Jimmy Don Worley over a pay phone down the street from our house in Malibu, "I'll call you with directions where to meet us as soon as we have them in custody...Yes, sir...No, sir, I haven't forgotten...I'll talk to you tomorrow morning as soon as it's done...bye," and then he hung the phone up. "It sounds like he took the bait," I told Josh, "What did he say?" "He reminded me that my wife and daughter are still in danger," Josh worriedly replied, "This had better work." "I promise you that it will," I calmly told him, while gently patting him on the shoulder, Trust me," and then looking at Shane McGowan, I asked him, "What does that animal have on you? Has he threatened someone in your family, too?" "No," Shane sullenly replied, shamefully looking at the ground, and nervously wringing his hands, "He did offer to pay me twenty-five thousand dollars to help Josh though." "I'll tell you what, guys," I smiled, "If you help me catch this asshole with his pants down, I give you my word that I'll personally pay you fifty-thousand dollars apiece. Does that sound like a good deal?" "You really don't have to do that," Josh quietly answered me, "I just want my wife and daughter to be safe and sound, and not have to spend the rest of our lives looking over our shoulders, Mike." "What about you, Shane?" I asked him, "What do you want out of this?" "I want the bastard dead," he viciously growled, his eyes beginning to fill with angry tears "Jimmy Don doesn't know this, but I was there the night he killed my father." "What do you mean?" I asked him. "My Dad had borrowed two thousand dollars from him," Shane began, "And when he went to pay him back, Jimmy Don Worley demanded that my father pay him another two thousand dollars on top of what Dad borrowed...they got into an argument and then I saw Jimmy Don Worley pull a gun from his coat pocket and shoot my Dad in the head at point blank range. I was going to use this job as a way to get close enough to Worley to kill him" "Where were you when all of this happened?" I asked, "And why didn't you go to the police?" "Are you kidding me?" Shane spat, "Jimmy Don Worley owns both the Conroe Police Department, as well as the Montgomery County Sherriff's Office." "Is that right?" Sarah chuckled, "I know someone who can look into that." "Please be careful, Miss Sarah," Shane warned her, "Jimmy Don Worley is a very dangerous man." "Yeah, well, fuck him," she angrily replied, "He doesn't frighten me one bit." "You're alot braver than I am," Josh frightfully replied, "Because he scares the hell outta me..." ~~~~~~ THAT AFTERNOON I'd just gotten off the phone from having apprised Dad, Uncle Jack, and Uncle Brian of what had taken place over the last twenty-four hours. Sarah had also spoken to her father, John, and let him know about Jimmy Don Worley. I could only imagine the feeling of shock that she had at discovering what an animal the father of someone she'd dated in college was. "Now that I look back at some of the things that Dennis did, I'm not really surprised," she shamefully admitted, "I just feel so stupid because I let him fool me into thinking that he was this really smart student and upstanding guy...hell, the sonofabitch probably bought his way to the top if you want to know the truth. At least I didn't sleep with that dickless sonofabitch...There was this one girl that actually did, and she said that he was a needle-dick, wham-bam, thank you ma'am piece of shit." "Damn, Sarah," I heartily laughed, "Why don't you tell us how you really feel?" "Oh, you need to hush your mouth," she softly giggled, "Smart ass..." ~~~~~~ THAT NIGHT We borrowed a limousine that belonged to Sarah's father's law firm, which John gladly allowed Josh and Shane to use once he'd been informed of our plan to take Jimmy Don Worley down once and for all. And because of my Uncle Brian's connections with the F.B.I. who assured us that thirty-five agents were going to be in place to take Worley into custody the moment he showed up at the place where Josh and Shane were going to instruct him to meet them. The plan was for Josh and Shane to tell Jimmy Don Worley that Sarah and I had been placed into the trunk of the limo for safe keeping; and then when Worley opened the trunk to verify that we were actually there, it was going to be rigged with a flash grenade that would trigger and stun him long enough for the F.B.I. agents to move in and take him into custody... ~~~~~~ Because of the fact that they were going to be complicit in Worley's apprehension, and also because the F.B.I., a federal agency, had been called in to help deal with this particular situation; the Attorney General had agreed to exonerate both Josh Willis and Shane McGowan, giving them full immunity from any and all prosecution for their original part in Worley's plan to kidnap Sarah and I. On the night before we were going to execute our plan, Josh Willis called me aside and away from everyone else and told me that there was something he felt I needed to know. "What can I do for you, Josh?" I asked him. "I don't know how to tell you this," he began, "So, I'm just going to tell you, Mike." "What is it?" I asked again, "You know that you can tell me anything." "Alright then," he quietly replied, "I overheard Jimmy Don Worley talking about Sarah...he said that he was going to rape and sodomize her right in front of you, and then he was going to cut her throat and let you watch her die before he killed you and the rest of the band." I suddenly felt a form of anger overcome me that I'd never felt, not even once in my entire life and as that same anger began to take root and take shape deep within me, I silently promised myself that I was going to kill Jimmy Don Worley with my bare hands, regardless of the F.B.I.'s wish to take him alive for the purposes of making an example out of him in the federal court system. The only thing about that was the fact that I was going to have to make it look like I was left with no choice, as in...it was going to have to look like self-defense. However, in order to make Josh think that nothing was going on, and also to quell the rage that I was now fighting tooth and nail to not only contain, but also keep from boiling out of me, I simply smiled and told him, "I think you know that that's not going to happen, don't you?" "Yeah," he grinned, "I just thought you might want to know what that monstrous bastard said, that's all." "Thanks, Josh," I warmly replied, gently patting him on the shoulder, "I really appreciate it..." ~~~~~~ That night as Sarah climbed into bed with me, I pulled her tightly into my arms in order to keep her as close to me as I possibly could. "Are you alright, baby?" she softly asked me. "Of course," I softly replied, "Why do you ask?" "It's not that I don't love it," she quietly giggled, turning around in my arms to be able to face me, "But you're holding me a little tighter than usual...it's almost like you're afraid of losing me or something. But that's never going to happen in a million years, Michael." "I know, Sarah," I admitted, and then I told her what Josh had relayed to me earlier that evening, all because I promised myself that I would never lie to her, and/or withhold information from her for any reason. "Oh, my God," she disgustedly spat, "Jimmy Don Worley actually said that?" "Yeah, he did," I said, "But I'll kill him with my bare fucking hands before even I let him get near you, Sarah, I swear to God." "Shh, easy my love," she lovingly said, placing her index finger softly against my lips, "You're not like that, Michael, and you never have been. Why do you think I fell in in love with you, baby?" "I don't know, now that you mention it," I honestly replied, "And while we're on the subject, why did you fall in love with me, Sarah? You could've had any man you wanted." "It was not only because of the way I would start to feel every time I looked into those beautifully deep dark brown eyes of yours," she tenderly replied, "But no boy had ever made me feel like that, Michael, not ever," as tears began to fill her eyes, "And because of the way you took me into your arms and carried me to the hospital on the night that piece of shit punched me in the face...not to mention the sweet things you said to me when you thought I was unconscious and couldn't hear you." "You heard what I said that night?" I stupidly asked her, "But I thought that you were..." "I thought I'd dreamed it at first," Sarah told me, gently kissing my lips, "But then after I woke up in the hospital and I found out that you were gone," and then she couldn't continue for crying, making me pull her closer to me so that I could kiss her tears away. "Shh, it's okay, baby," I softly smiled, "I'm sorry for making you cry, my beautiful Sarah." "You have to know that I love you, Michael," she softly cried, "You just have to." "I do know, Sarah," I assured her, "And I won't ever doubt it wither, okay baby?" "Okay," she sighed, "I love you, my handsome husband, I'll always love you." "As will I love you," I told her, affectionately holding her naked body against my own, "My beautiful wife..." ~~~~~~ THE NEXT MORNING Because of what all was taking place at that particular time, I called Ahmet to not only let him know what was happening, but also to ask him if there was any way at all that he could postpone the release of Odyssey's first album. "I'll do it under two conditions," he seriously replied, "And there will no room for negotiation on these conditions either." "No problem," I told him, with absolute certainty, "What is it?" "First of all, I want this problem taken care of immediately," he said, "And secondly, I don't want you guys to have to deal with shit like this again...and please come back in one piece, alright?" "Today is Friday," I smiled, "I promise you that we'll all be back no later than Wednesday. Does that sound fair?" "Of course," he smiled, "Just as long as you can keep your promise, kid..." ~~~~~~ THAT NEXT MORNING Josh had called Jimmy Don Worley and set up the meeting, telling him that he and Shane had the two of us and we were still safe and alive. "It took some doing" he told Worley, "But we managed to surprise the both of them without anyone getting hurt." "Good job, kid," he sinisterly replied, "Your wife and daughter are safe now, and I'll have them with me at the exchange...see you soon," and then he hung the phone up... ~~~~~~ THAT EVENING Things went rather well and no one got hurt. Plus Worley was stupid enough to bring not only the Sherriff with him, but the Chief of Police as well. Needless to say, his capture went down without a hitch, and shortly thereafter, the rat's nests know as the Conroe City Police Department and the Montgomery County Sherriff's Department both got cleaned out... ~~~~~~ LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA ONE WEEK LATER Odyssey's debut album was released platinum and to say that the press ate it up would be an understatement. The critics heralded us as "The Second Coming of Rock and Roll," and I was never more proud than I was that day. Of course Ahmet told us that we'd be back on the road within the next ten days, all because of the fact that our album had been so well received by the general public as well as the critics Each of us, Lee, Mark, Kevin and I, all four were given platinum albums to hang on our wall, not to mention the fact that the money began be rolling in. This was going to allow me to build Sarah her dream house, and when the time came that I would tell her about it, I knew that she would be tickled to death, not to mention thrilled to no end. Because of the fact that he was so brilliant with numbers, Sarah's father counseled us about investing our monies so that we would have plenty to fall back on once we chose to retire from the music industry... ~~~~~~ Chapter Five NINETY DAYS LATER We'd been on the road for a little over three months by this time, and not only were we a "Headline Act" now, but we'd also played to "Standing Room Only" crowds at every venue we'd performed at thus far. This particular night, however, we were getting ready to play Madison Square Garden in New York City; and like my bandmates, I was as excited as a kid on Christmas morning. One of the local radio station had sponsored a contest where the winner got not only two front row center tickets, but also two, all access, backstage passes in order to be able to attend the meet-and-greet that always took place after every show. I was, as always, very eager to meet the people that had become fans of our music, however; little did I realize the impact that this particular meet-and-greet would leave on not only me, but also Sarah as well? I never saw it coming, hence the reason it affected me the way it did... ~~~~~~ Like I said earlier, Sarah traveled with me to every show, and because of the fact that we'd made so much money for the record label, Ahmet leased another tour bus exclusively for just Sarah and me. Of course Mark, Lee, and Kevin had no problem with me having my own bus, because not only were Sarah and I still considered to be newlyweds, but with the exception of Mark, who was my blood relative, Lee and Kevin came to love me and Sarah just as much as if we were members of their family and they were members of ours. Besides, Sarah felt more at ease and dressed more comfortably while we traveled from one city to the next. She was able to go without having to wear her bra all the time, making it easier on her, as well as the fact that she and I were able to make love any time of the day or night without having to worry about my bandmates hearing her let loose when her orgasm came upon her... (Smile)...anyway, back to the story... ~~~~~~ We were made aware of which seats were going to be occupied by the radio contest winner(s), and being surprised could, in no way, describe what I felt the moment I looked down to encounter two of the prettiest twin girls that I'd ever seen. They were somewhere around eleven or twelve years old I'd say, and when it came time for me to perform a song I'd written for Sarah, but hadn't yet recorded, called, "You're The Best of Me". I always played it solo with just my acoustic guitar, this time I made certain that I sat on the edge of the stage directly in front of them that night. I think what touched me the most about them was the fact that, with the exception of that one song; they both sang along, word-for-word, with every song we performed that night. I didn't know what it was about these two kids, but at the end of the song, the smiles they both wore, accompanied by the looks on their pretty little faces and the sparkles in their big blue eyes as they rendered a loud applause, seemed to make my heart melt from the inside out. Although Sarah was watching the show from backstage, she didn't miss a thing. In fact she said something to me about it at the end of the show that night. "Aren't those two of the prettiest children you've ever seen, honey?" she sweetly asked, "I don't know how I know this, but there seems to be something very special about those two. Don't you think so, too?" "Yeah," I readily agreed, "I can't wait to meet them when they get backstage..." ~~~~~~ After the show was over and I'd had time to change clothes, Sarah and I walked backstage to attend the meet-and-greet where these two little cuties anxiously awaited our arrival. However, before I talk about what took place, let me take a moment to describe the two angels that God had placed into mine and Sarah's lives for reasons yet known to us at the time. They both stood as tall as their four feet, eleven and a half inches would let them, and I would say that they weighed somewhere around eighty-five to ninety pound each. They both had long, corn-silk blonde hair, and like I said earlier, great big bright blue eyes which, at the time were wide as could be and clearly filled with excitement. The one thing about them that made my heart absolutely ache was the fact that they clearly came from a poor and/or impoverished family, as their hand-me-down clothes seems to be almost two sizes too big for them. However, that, in no way, diminished the excitement on both of their pretty little faces. "Hello there," I smiled when I greet them, "My name is Mike Taylor." "Hi, Mister Taylor," the one on the right quickly replied smiling, "My name is Karlie Harrison, and my sister's name is Kerrie." "I can speak for myself," Kerrie giggled, "But you'll have to forgive my sister, she's been yapping about this ever since we won the contest on the radio." "I can't tell you both how nice it is to meet you," I smiled, "Did you like the show tonight." "We loved it" they both replied in unison, eliciting my laughter. "I really like that song that you sang when you sat on the stage in front us and played your guitar," Karlie sweetly told me, "We haven't heard that one before. Is it new?" "As a matter of fact it is" I grinned "I wrote it for my wife. Would you like to meet her? She'd really like to meet the two of you." "Oh, yes, please," they again cutely replied in unison. Not two seconds later, Sarah appeared beside me wearing a smile on her face the likes of which I'd never seen before. "Aren't you going to introduce me to your friends, Michael?" she tenderly smiled, "I've never seen two prettier young ladies than what I'm looking at right now." "Hi, Honey," I warmly replied, reaching over and taking her hand, "Please allow me to introduce you to my new friends, the Harrison sisters, Karlie and Kerrie," and then I turned to the girls and said, "Ladies, this beautiful woman standing beside me is my wife, Sarah Taylor." "Hi, Missus Taylor," Kerrie softly smiled, "It's really nice to meet you...you're very pretty." "My name is Sarah, and my husband's name is Michael," she tenderly told them, as she leaned down so that she was face-to-face with them, "And we'd really like it if you girls called us by our first names, okay?" "Okay," they both giggled, as Karlie informed us, "We were just trying to be polite." "We understand, and thank you," I smiled, gently placing my arms around their shoulders, "But all of our friends call us by our first names, okay?" "Okay," Kerrie gently smiled, placing her hand upon mine and firmly holding onto it, "Thank you...both of you..." ~~~~~~ HER I had never seen two prettier girls in my life than the twins that Michael was introducing me to at that moment. I had to agree with my heart when it told me that there was something special about them; that much was certain. And it was clearly obvious to me that Michael was absolutely enamored with those little darlings from the moment he first laid eyes on them sitting in the front row. I don't know how I knew, but something told me that they had no family to speak of and they were just this side of being destitute. That was when I decided, not only for myself, but also for my precious and beautiful Michael, that I was going to look into it first thing in the morning. We were going to be in New York for the next ten days anyway while the band did a couple of television appearances and a number of radio interviews. Plus, Ahmet had scheduled some time for the band to record at one the many recording studios there in the city... I'm Not Who I Used to Be ~~~~~~ A friend of Sarah's named, "Dani Anderson" told me, after finding out which Hospital I was taking Sarah to, that she would call the emergency room ahead of us so that they would be waiting for us when we got there. I thought it was very kind of her to do that and thanked her for her actions. "Not only is Sarah my friend," Dani quietly whispered in to me ear, "But she loves you, Michael; she just doesn't know it yet," and then I immediately took off to the hospital, praying to God the whole way there; asking that he look out for this beautiful angel that now lay with her head in my lap as I drove... ~~~~~~ HER I opened my eyes again forty-eight hours later, to discover that I was in a room at Texas Women's Hospital, with my left arm and shoulder in a partial body cast and my left eye so badly bruised that it was swollen shut. My roommate and sorority sister, Danielle "Dani" Anderson, was there with me, tightly holding my right hand with frightful tears in her eyes that immediately disappeared the moment I woke up. "Oh, my God, Sarah, are you alright?" Dani worriedly sniffled, "Damn, girl, you scared the shit out of me." "I don't remember much," I groaned, "What happened after my asshole ex-boyfriend hit me?" "Michael Taylor is what happened," Dani proudly smiled, "The moment he heard Dennis yelling at you, which was followed by the sound of you screaming, he practically flew off of that stage trying to get to you. Unfortunately Michael wasn't able to get there until a couple of seconds after Dennis punched you in the face. He was all over Dennis like a case of measles, and after it took six people to pull him away; Dennis was taken to Herman Hospital in an ambulance. A couple of Dennis' family members tried pressing charges against Michael but after everyone told the police what had happened and that Michael was simply defending you, all charges against him were immediately dropped. Dennis, on the other hand, is going to be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life, and is now recovering in Herman Hospital; and he'll be brought to trial for felony aggravated assault as well as attempted felony rape the minute that the Doctor releases him." "Really?" I asked, my face hurting from smiling, "What happened to Michael, and where is he? "Who do you think drove you here?" Dani softly smiled, "He carried you in his arms for three blocks to his car, and then he brought you here." "I need you to find him for me, Dani." I insistently told her, "There's something I need to tell him." "He's gone," she sadly and quietly replied, looking down at the floor, "I was told that him and the rest of the band packed up and left yesterday morning, and nobody knows where they went." "Oh, my God, no," I cried, "Now I'll probably never see him again," as tears silently began to rain down my face. "Why're you getting so upset, girl?" Dani inquired, "I thought you said that you couldn't stand Michael Taylor." "I need to find him so that I can apologize to him for the way I treated him for the last four years...I think I'm in love with him, Dani," I continued to cry, "And now I'll never see him again." "Jesus, Sarah," she gasped, "You should've told him; hell, he might've stayed here." "I was too afraid to tell him," I bitterly wept, "You all would've mercilessly teased me about it." "Come on Sarah," Dani soothed, as she gently took my hand, "Nobody would've made fun of you, especially after he went through that beautiful transformation during the summer before senior year." "Bullshit, that's such a lie," I angrily replied; and then hanging my head, I sniffled and asked, "Now what am I gonna do?" "I'm so sorry," Dani, too, began to cry, "Please forgive me for being such a shallow bitch, Sarah...please?" "Of course, I forgive you," I softly replied, gently bringing her in to me with my right arm to hug her, "But I'm not the one you should be apologizing to..." ~~~~~~ ME After graduating college, me and the rest of the band left for Los Angeles the day after graduation to try our luck at getting a record deal. Mark and I had written several really good songs over the years, and we, "Odyssey", spent the first year out there playing gigs in clubs all up and down the West Coast, trying to make a name for ourselves. Little did we realize that we would get our first major break on the night we showcased our original material at a place in Los Angeles, on Pico Boulevard called, "The Mint"? There was a man in attendance that night named, Ahmet Ertegun, who just happened to be the president and founder of Atlantic Records. After our gig was over, we started breaking down and packing our gear up, when, in the company of the club owner, a man that we'd never seen before came up to the stage to speak with us. After the club owner, who, for the purpose of telling this story I'll call, Zack, introduced him to us, Mister Ertegun smiled and told us, "You guys have the purest, most unique sound I've ever heard. Is there any way that you gentlemen could come to my office to sit down and maybe talk about a possible future with Atlantic Records?" "We'd love that Mister Ertegun," I happily replied, having been made spokesman by the rest of the band, "What time would you like us to be there?" "How about two o'clock tomorrow afternoon?" he knowingly smiled, "That way you will all be rested, okay?" as he handed me his business card. "We're looking forward to it" I excitedly replied, "Thank you, Mister Ertegun." "Please," he humbly smiled, "Call me Ahmet," and then after he shook each of our hands, he turned and silently walked away." "Congratulations, fellas," Zack smiled, "It looks like your days of playing in bars are about to come to an end." "Seriously?" Mark asked, "Do you think he's gonna sign us to a label deal?" "Oh, yeah," Zack chuckled, "I've know the man for a long time now, and he was absolutely beside himself about how good he thought you guys sounded." "Holy shit," Kevin, our Bass player, gasped, "We're going to be famous." "Don't count your chickens before they hatch, bro," I said, "Mister Ertegun just said he wanted to meet with us, that's all." "You don't hear very well; do you, Cuz?" my cousin, Mark, laughed, "The man said he wanted to talk to us about a possible future with Atlantic Records." "Maybe so," I cautiously replied, "But we're not there yet. A lot of things have to happen between now and then, and you all know what I'm talking about, because we discussed this a long time ago, remember?" You see, Mark and I may have been Music majors, but he had a strong minor in Marketing, and I had minored in Recording Industry Management. Lee had majored in Finance and minored in music, and Kevin had received his C.P.A. certification not too long after we'd graduated college. And because of the fact that none of us used drugs, well, with the exception of smoking the occasional joint here and there, we didn't spend our monies frugally and allowed Lee to more or less be our accountant, who also showed all of us how to maintain and keep our credit in excellent shape. Putting all of that aside, we were very smart as well as very aware of how the music industry worked. We also made a solemn promise to one another before we ever decided to head out to Los Angeles, that in the event we ever came upon the situation we now found ourselves in; that the first time we smelled a rat, or suspected shady dealings of any kind, we had a back-up plane. Mine and Mark's Uncle Brian may have majored in Criminal Law when he attended Law School, but had minored in Music Law, so; we could always bring him in on whatever deal got laid before us, meaning that we more or less had everything covered... ~~~~~~ Chapter Two TWO WEEKS LATER All of our fears were abated and immediately put to rest after our first meeting with Ahmet. And to make a long story short, we ended up signing a five-year recording contract that guaranteed the release of six albums, with the provision that our first album didn't flop. Ahmet also gave each of us a twenty thousand dollar signing bonus and laid out a plan which, while we wouldn't immediately start playing gigs, would put us into the studio until the completion of our first album. Ahmet really liked most of the original music that Mark and I had written, but he was very quick to encourage us by letting us know that he was certain that we could do better. I'd roped Mark into helping me writ the first group of original songs we'd presented to Ahmet. But I somehow sensed that Mark wasn't as excited about writing music as he was about performing it; therefore the band elected me to write the material for our first album. But to do that, I was going to need some solitude away from the hustle and bustle of the city. I told Ahmet about this, as well as letting him know that we couldn't afford to stay in one place for more than a week at the very most because of the expensive cost of hotels in the area near the studio. Being the kind soul who we all came to love like a family member, Ahmet ended up leasing us a huge, eight bedroom house on Malibu beach, complete with a small, but very usable as well as well-equipped recording studio right there in the house. Ahmet put me on a tight but reasonable six hour-a-day, five days-a-week writing schedule; and I immediately went to work on the new material the day after we all got moved into our new home... ~~~~~~ For the first ten days, I worked practically nonstop on writing new material for our first album. I even talked with Ahmet about rewriting the songs he'd liked out of those we initially presented to him in order to make them stronger. Of course he was all for it and once I showed him what I'd done with those particular songs, he was over the moon about them, telling me that he heard at least two or three "Number One Hits" and five or six more songs that he considered worthy of "Top Forty" recognition, if not "Top Ten". ~~~~~~ After I'd finished writing the music, we went into the studio to begin recording our first album. After working for almost a month straight, we began to hear our music being played on the radio only a couple of days after the album's completion. Of course it goes without saying that all four of us went absolutely and completely bat-shit when we heard our first song playing on the radio that first time. For me, it was right then that I realized that Odyssey had accomplished a long held dream of mine; one that I'd had since right after I played before a live audience for the first time when I was ten years old. I couldn't explain what I was feeling that day; however, after all the excitement had died down and the adrenaline had stopped flowing, I felt tired, a good kind of tired, but still tired, none the less...almost exhausted. And when I laid down to go to sleep that night my mind began to wander. Surprisingly, I suddenly thought about Sarah Caine, making me wonder how she was doing since I'd almost annihilated that piece of shit that had savagely attacked her at our college graduation party. Granted, all of that took place almost a year and a half ago, which was like a lifetime ago according to industry standards, but it felt like only yesterday to me. I mentioned earlier that Sarah had left a major impact on me, but I lied. The truth of the matter was that I'd fallen head over heels in love with her the very first time I ever laid eyes on her. She stood five feet, eight inches tall, with a body to die for. She was trim and fit, and had a beautifully shaped butt, with breasts that had to be somewhere around a 36C. But that wasn't what I found what was the most beautiful thing about her. It was her long, waist length, blonde hair that always seemed to gently caress her God given beautiful face. She reminded me a little bit of Olivia Newton-John, only Sarah was so much more beautiful as far as I was concerned. She also had the most captivating, bluest eyes that I'd ever seen, and in the short few seconds that she'd looked into my eyes, which was only ever maybe once or twice, I felt paralyzed to the point that I could neither move nor speak; forget about being able to breathe. Still though, the thoughts I was entertaining were nothing more than just thoughts, very stupid thoughts at that. I knew where I stood in the grand scheme of things, and I also knew that regardless of the transformation that I'd worked my ass off to achieve, I would never be anything more than a geeky nerd in her eyes. So; because of how badly it hurt not only my heart, but also my very soul to think about Sarah, I cleared my mind and tried to get some much needed sleep... ~~~~~~ HER It had been almost a year and a half since I last saw Michael Taylor, and because I finally managed to convince myself that I was never going to see him again, I'd more or less tried to work past my feelings for him so that I could move forward with my life. I thought I'd done a fairly good job of doing that and was happily driving myself home from work one afternoon until I heard a voice on the radio that brought my past back to haunt me. It was the beautiful voice of Michael Taylor singing along with his band, Odyssey, and it immediately rocked me to the core. I was so visibly shaken that I had to pull my car over to the side of the road because my hands had begun to tremble so badly. I could no longer drive safely as wretchedly shameful tears began to flood my eyes to the point that I could no longer see my hand in front of own face. You may think I was simply acting childish, but the reason that I'd reacted the way that I had was because of the song I heard him singing. It was a particularly beautiful song that I'd heard him sing many times before at the parties Odyssey had played at. The name of the song was, "If You Could Love Me Like I Love You", which, for some reason, I suddenly and now clearly remembered how he always looked directly at me whenever they, Odyssey, would play it. And now that same memory began to make my heart break wide open. You see, I'd been told by one of my sorority sisters that she'd once overheard Michael telling his cousin Mark, that he'd written that particular song about me. Of course she immediately began to tease me, so; I simply laughed about it and told her to shut up. However, the moment I heard his voice on the radio, I could deeply feel every word his singularly beautiful voice sang, punching a giant hole, deep into the middle of my very soul. Now I could no longer deny how I felt about him, and I promised myself right then and there that I was going to do whatever it took to go out and find him...wherever he might be... ~~~~~~ ME I felt so proud when I heard Odyssey's first release on the radio. Not only did it achieve the ranking of "Number One" on the charts, but it was a song I'd written a very long time ago. It was named, "If You Could Love Me Like I Love You," and I'd written it as a means to cleanse my heart and purge it of the feelings I'd developed for a girl that I knew I would never have...Sarah Caine. I tried every way I could think of to get her to notice me, but she came from a wealthy family and I was raised on a stock ranch. Basically I was just a poor dirt farmer in comparison to her, hence the reason I was a scholarship student. While Sarah never spoke up and actually said anything to me, I could clearly tell by her subtle hints that she was not interested in me and was strictly "Off Limits" where I was concerned. However I was able to do one thing for her, and it was something which I was certain she never knew about. It happened on the night her piece of shit ex-boyfriend, Dennis Worley, drunkenly punched her in the face and knocked her out after almost ripping her left arm from her shoulder. I beat that sorry son-of-a-bitch within an inch of his miserable life, and then I immediately scooped Sarah up off of the ground and into my arms and then carried her to my car, after which I'd gently placed her inside of it and rushed her to the Hospital. I remembered how she'd suddenly opened her eyes and asked me what had happened to her. I told her the truth, as well as the fact that we were on the way to the Texas Women's Hospital, but I made certain that she was aware of the fact that she'd been hurt pretty badly, and that it was probably better for her if she didn't try to sit up and move around. Of course by the time I made it to the hospital, it seemed like she'd slipped back into unconsciousness because her eyes were closed... ~~~~~~ Once I'd ever so gently laid her onto the gurney which the E.R. staff had waiting for us when we got to the hospital, I leaned down and very tenderly kissed her lips, after which I gently leaned down and placed my mouth close to her ear and quietly whispered, "Goodbye, Sarah, I'll always love you, but it's best that I leave before you open up your eyes again and hate me for kissing you even more than I know you already hate me." After using the phone at the Nurse's station there in the Emergency Room to call her sorority house and let them know where she was, I then went out to the parking lot and simply sat in my car that was now parked in an out of the way parking space. I waited until I saw the girl that I recognized as the girl from the party who'd called the hospital ahead of us. She pulled her car into the parking lot and then she got out and rushed into the Emergency Room. Only then did I start my car and quietly drive away, looking into my rear-view mirror to make certain that no one saw me leave. I'm not a person who is easy to upset, but on that particular night, silent tears rained down my face all the way home. I was sad because I'd finally got the chance to tell Sarah that I would always love her. However, she was unconscious and couldn't hear me, knowing that she probably would've become angry with me at telling her that I loved her, hence the reason I knew it was for the best that I turn and walk away from her forever... ~~~~~~ HER Once the song that was playing on the radio had ended, I managed to reasonably pull myself back together. After safely easing my car back out onto the highway, I then drove back home to the house my parents had given me as a graduation gift. ~~~~~~ The moment I walked into my house I headed directly to my bedroom, stripping down to my bra and panties; and because it was the middle of August and still very warm outside, I also shed my bra and panties, replacing them with a pair of shorts and one of my old U of H tee shirts. The ordeal with Dennis had caused me to grow up and take a hold of my life; and during that process, I promised myself to never let some guy take control of me and tell me how to live my life ever again. Still though, hearing Michael's beautiful voice again after all this time had resurrected some old feelings I once thought I'd put to rest a long time ago. Because of the strong and very powerful emotional distress I'd experienced earlier, I was feeling quite drained, so, I decided to lay down and rest for a while. I told myself that I would get up and make dinner after I recharged my batteries so to speak... ~~~~~~ As I lay in in my bed taking a nap that afternoon, I suddenly began to think about how my old college roommate and sorority sister, Dani Anderson, responded to me when I questioned her and wanted to know how I'd ended up in the hospital after my former boyfriend had assaulted me, and knocked me unconscious with a punch to the face the night before. I vividly remembered Dennis punching me, and now that some time had passed since the incident had occurred, I began to remember being carried to someone's car. From there it was still a little blurry, but the harder I thought about it, the more I began to see the soulless. Mindless forms beginning to take on shapes in my mind, And then once I remembered what Dani had told about how Michael had acted, or should I say, reacted, everything that had happened that night suddenly began to fall into place like game pieces on a chess board... I'm Not Who I Used to Be ~~~~~~ After Dennis had punched me in the face, I remember being only temporarily stunned as opposed being knocked completely out cold. I also remembered some type of occurrence taking place very near where I was laid out on the ground. Most of all, I could now clearly and soberly remember hearing Michael harshly informing Dennis that if he came within so much as a mile near me ever again, Michael said that he would actually kill him with his bare hands, to hell with what the law said. And even though my vision was still somewhat hazy and unclear, I now clearly began to remember Michael gently scooping me up from the ground and holding me within the confines of his gentle, yet very strong arms. I somehow began to see him as he hand carried me for some distance his handsome face painted with worry, before very, very gently placing me into the passenger seat of what I guessed was his car, closing the door once I was safely inside. I began to remember hearing what sounded like someone running around the front end of the car, feeling it move as the driver's side door opened and then closed. And then right after the car's engines were started, I could feel it being put into gear, after which it drove us away. Through the still foggy recesses of my mind, I remember feeling someone's tender warm hand on my back very tenderly steadying my body so as not to let me move, least I further injure myself... ~~~~~~ I think this next part was a dream, because the sharp pain in my skull had now turned into a dull ache, and when I opened my eyes again, although things in the distance were still a little fuzzy, I could plainly see Michael's beautiful face wracked with worry. "What's going on?" I quietly asked him, taking his right hand into mine, "Where are we going?" "I'm taking you to the Texas Women's Hospital," he softly answered me, "They specialize in the female anatomy and I think they'll do a better job on you." Of course by this time my head was beginning to ache again, so I simply laid down on my side, placing my head in Michael's lap and closed my eyes. I didn't think I would fall asleep because the next thing I realized was that I'd been in Michael's gently strong arms again as he ever so gently placed me onto a gurney, holding my hand as I was being rolled into the hospital's Emergency Room. I suppose it was because of the fact that my eyes were still closed that I felt Michael place his soft lips against my ear where I still wasn't quite certain at this point, but I think I remembered hearing him tenderly whisper, "Goodbye, Sarah, I'll always love you, but it's best that I leave this place before you open up your eyes again and hate me even more than you already do for having kissed you while you're defenses were down," and then he quickly turned and walked away before I could tell him that I loved him too. I was so very deeply moved by his actions that I couldn't speak just then, only happily weep. I never believed there was a guy out there who would treat me the way that I began to realize that Michael had always treated me, now that I rationally looked back and remembered. So; I warmly began thinking that I would see Michael in my hospital room after the surgery that the Doctor told me was going to be performed on me. My heart now felt complete as the Anesthesiologist began putting me under, yet little did I realized the painful disappointment I would come to know once I was awake again? I dreamed about Michael while I was out during my surgery while they repaired my injured shoulder that Dennis was responsible for, and before I even opened my eyes, the first thing I planned on doing was kissing Michael's beautiful face, to let him know that I loved him and would always love him as long as I lived... ~~~~~~ However, when I opened my eyes once again, Dani was sitting in the chair next to my bed, firmly clutching my right hand because of the fact that an I.V. was in my left hand. And by the look on her face, I knew that Michael had gone. But little did I realize that he would be gone for good once I was discharged from the hospital? I don't know why, but something inside of told me that it was going to be a very long time, if ever, before I saw Michael again; so, as soon as my arm and shoulder began to heal, I made up my mind to move on with my life and try to find some type of inner peace. However, my heart was of a different frame of mind altogether, and unbeknownst to me at the time, it had other plans; plans that included the both of us..." ~~~~~~ I woke from my nap a couple of hours later, covered in sweat and tears, the sheets on my bed now completely soaked in my tears. And with my heart, as well as my soul still reeling from the dream I'd had, I realized then that I would never again be able to live without Michael Taylor in my life. A bittersweet realization came to me, making me feel like I was right back where I started on the morning I woke up in the hospital to discover that Michael had already left to go wherever he now was. Until I heard him singing that song with his band on the radio, a song, which, it just so happened, that Michael had written specifically for and about me, I promised myself I would move on with my life the moment I was dismissed from the hospital a year and a half ago, and, I thought I was doing it very well, too. I'd always considered myself to be a strong woman with good ethics and even greater values, simply because I'd never really known what true heartbreak felt like. In the relationships I'd had at this point in my life, of which there had only been four, I had always been the one who ended them. I figured that if I maintained control of the relationships then I wouldn't be the one who ended up getting hurt. Only then did I come to learn that the word "Control" was nothing but an illusion. However, this was a different situation altogether, which had come about because I'd fallen deeply in love with beautiful boy with whom I'd never really I had a relationship of any kind. And when I finally admitted to myself how I very deeply felt for this person, it had become too late to do anything about it due to, in my own stubborn arrogance, the fact that I thought I could control my emotions. There was that word, "Control", again. It was then that I realized there was no such thing as having control of any situation, all of it stemming from the fact that we never know what's going to happen from one moment to the next, hence the reason I tried to face this painful situation head on, and with all of the strength I could muster. However, that same strength that I'd tried to use all disappeared, every single ounce of it, the moment I heard Michael's beautiful voice on the radio earlier that afternoon. I may have lost what little strength I thought I had, but through my faith in God, I soon discovered that my resolve had grown, due to something I'd never had to deal with before in my life; and that was having to deal with pain on an emotional level. I was now even more bound and determined to find my beautiful Michael and tell him exactly how I felt, regardless of the cost, and that included my very soul if needs be... ~~~~~~ ME We, the members of Odyssey, sat in Ahmet's office that Friday afternoon all wearing excited grins on our faces in anticipation of the news Ahmet was about to tell us. "It looks like you guys have finally arrived," Ahmet smiled, "Tomorrow night Odyssey will open for Blue Oyster Cult, at the Pauley Pavilion, on the U.C.L.A. campus. How does that sound?" "Are you kidding?" I grinned, "That's the best news we've heard since we signed a record deal with you." "I heard that," Mark chuckled, and then he turned to Ahmet and humbly told him, "Thanks, Ahmet, we've been waiting for this for a long time." "I know you have," Ahmet graciously replied, "And while I'm not really sure how I know this, I have a feeling that you guys are gonna knock the people in attendance off of their feet with "I sure hope so," I quietly said, "Because we can't afford to screw this one up." "You're not to worry, my young friends," Ahmet warmly reassured us, "None of you have it in you to mess up. Besides, the time has come to show the world the same greatness in your music that, up until now, only I've been blessed to witness..." ~~~~~~ PAULEY PAVILION U.C.L.A. CAMPUS THE FOLLOWING NIGHT An hour and ten minutes before we were to start playing, I came from back stage in order to sneak a peek out into the audience. What you're reading took place long before the year, 2012, and up until then; the seating capacity at Pauley Pavilion was only big enough to seat a total of 12,829 people for sporting events, with an additional 500 seats, which, when they were added for concerts, comprised a total seating capacity of 13,329. However, tickets for this particular show had been sold out only a few short hours after they'd gone on sale a month prior, leaving a "Standing Room Only" crowd. I didn't have to tell anyone that I was excited to be there that night, because all anyone had to do was look at the smile I wore. It was a smile that was so big it almost made my whole face disappear. "Holy smoke, guys," I told my bandmates, once I'd returned to our dressing room, "We've got a packed house tonight with a standing room only crowd." "Oh, hell yeah," Kevin laughed, "We're gonna rock the house tonight, fellas." "That's what I heard, too," said a voice belonging to someone whom we all knew, but never had the opportunity to meet until that night, Donald Roeser, Guitarist/Keyboardist and Singer for Blue Oyster Cult, "Do you mind if I come in for a couple of minutes? I've been wanting to meet you guys ever since Ahmet played me a couple of cuts from your new album earlier this week." "Please," I smiled, shaking his hand, "Come in and have a seat Mister Roeser. It's an honor to meet you." "It's an honor to meet you, too," he warmly chuckled, as he took the empty chair next to mine, "But please, call me just plain old "Don". Calling me Mister Roeser makes me sound like I'm some kind of businessman, or something. Besides we all know that the length of our hair would get us all kicked out of the business world and out into street on our asses." "Ain't that the truth," Mark smiled, "We're really looking forward to opening for you guys tonight, Don. I've been a big fan of Blue Oyster Cult ever since your first album came out." "Thank you...Mark, right?" he smiled, "And ever since I heard your first song playing on the radio, I'm now a big fan of Odyssey, which, I wanted to tell you guys how cool I think your band's name is." "Thank you," I warmly replied, "It means a lot to all of us to hear you tell us that." "You're welcome, but I'm just a guitar player that got lucky, that's all," Don grinned, "And I'm not trying to blow sunshine up your dresses, guys. I'm just telling you the truth as I see it, no more, no less," and then for the next fifty or so minutes, we all sat around and talked about the one thing we all had in common, and that was music, especially with someone who loved it as much as we all did. Then Don looked at me and said, "You're one of the best keyboard players I've ever heard, Mike, and I really like the sound of your Moog Fifty-Five Modular Synthesizer. It gives you, what the industry calls, a signature sound, and I wanted to personally tell you guys that I have a feeling that we're all about to hear great things coming from Odyssey tonight, as well as in the not too distant future..." ~~~~~~ As the saying goes, all good things eventually come to an end, which was the case here when Blue Oyster Cult's stage manager, a very nice, as well as a very pretty lady named, Phoebe Bradley, knocked on our dressing room door. After Lee got up and opened door, she walked into the room smiling said, "Odyssey needs to be on stage within the next five minutes," then she knowingly smiled at Don right before she turned and walked away. "I guess that's it," he chuckled, and then after shaking all of our hands again, he simply grinned and said, "Have a great show tonight, guys; I'll see you out there..." ~~~~~~ I guess now would be the perfect time to talk about Odyssey again, as well as describe its members, so; I'll talk about the Karey Brothers first. Lee Karey, our drummer, was a music minor, unlike me and Mark. He was just a little over eighteen months older than Kevin and graduated a whole year ahead of Kevin, Mark and me. He stood somewhere in the neighborhood of six feet three inches tall, and weighed roughly two hundred and thirty-five pounds. Like the rest of us, he, too, had long dark brown, shoulder-length hair. And like his younger brother Kevin, he had green eyes that turned a molten fire color when he was angered, which I'd only seen happen one time, and that was when he was pissed off at his brother. Kevin was not too dissimilar from Lee with the exception of his height and weight. Kevin stood six feet, two inches tall and weight twenty pounds less than Lee with eyes that matched. Where Lee was stocky, Kevin was a little thinner. However, both of the Karey brothers were very friendly and outgoing by nature, only becoming angry after being pushed to a certain point, and then whoever antagonized either of them would end up becoming very sorry that they'd ever met the Karey brothers, forget about pissing them off. Of course I've already described myself, so, I'll go ahead and talk about my paternal cousin, Mark Taylor. He and I were very close growing up because of the fact that not only was his father my Dad's brother, making the two of us look more like brothers than cousins, but we both had grown up working in the family business, which was ranching. The ranch that we grew up on consisted of thirty-five thousand acres and was only second in size to the world-famous King Ranch, down in south Texas, nearer to Mexico. Mark's father, my Uncle Jackson Robert Taylor, who went by Jack, was married to my Aunt Dorothy. They had two sons; Jackson Robert Junior, who went by Bobby, and was unfortunately killed in Vietnam during the Tet Offensive in 1968; and then there was Marcus Andrew Taylor, who we all called Mark. Me, on the other hand, I'm the only son, but oldest of three children of my Uncle Jack's older brother, my father, John Thomas Taylor, who everyone calls J.T. My Mom's name is Susan and she's one of the prettiest women I've ever known. She might be my mother, but everyone who's ever met Mom all agree that she is as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside. She and my Aunt Dorothy are sisters, making Mark and my sisters and I double cousins, pretty cool, huh? Mom and Aunt Dorothy are both blonde headed and blue eyed, and people say the same things about Aunt Dorothy that they say about Mom. I have two younger sisters, Claire, who is two years younger than me, and then Myra Gayle, who is almost three years younger than Claire, and both of them look like Mom and Aunt Dorothy, with the exception of their hair color. While Mom and Aunt Dorothy are both blondes, Claire's hair is the same dark brown, almost black color as mine, but she doesn't have the same color eyes that I do. Claire has Mom's big, bright hazel blue eyes and is just as pretty, if not prettier than my mother, if that's even possible, She stands the same height, and weighs the same as Mom does, but like Dad's mother, my Grandma-Lucy, Claire is rather big busted, and I can still remember all of the fights I got into because of all the bullshit the guys I went to school with said about her. My youngest, or baby sister, Myra Gayle, looks just like my Aunt Dorothy, and my Uncle Jack used to tease my Dad all the time, playfully telling him that he'd slipped into Mom and Dad's bedroom window one night when Dad had gone out of town to take the cattle to market. Of course it's not true, but Dad says the same thing about why Mark and I look so much alike, but that just how Dad and Uncle Jack are and always have been. Last but not least is Dad's and Uncle Jack's sister, our Aunt Trish. Her married name is Patricia Lynn Thomson, and she's married to Brian Lee Thompson. Uncle Brian is a prosecutor for the District Attorney's office in the county that we all come from, and not only did the whole family love him very much, but his conviction rate was very high, meaning that he made certain that a lot of bad people went to jail. Aunt Trish has the same color eyes and hair that me, Mark, Dad and Uncle Jack all have, and because Aunt Trish carries the same traits as the rest of the females in my family, she, too, is also beautiful. She and Uncle Brian have a daughter who just turned twenty-one and is gonna be a senior in the fall at our old Alma Mater, the U of H. Her name is Lauren Anne Thompson, and again, just like all of the females in the family, she, too, is drop dead gorgeous as well, and also like my sisters, she, too, is just like her mother. As cousins, we were all very close our whole lives, and our parents taught us all to always be ready to look out for each other and be ready to take up for one another, hence the reason Mark was always there to take up for me when I got picked on by the bigger kids when I was defending my sisters, until he taught me how to properly fight back and take up for my own self, especially once I grew older... ~~~~~~ Chapter Three It was Eight p.m. Pacific Time, when Odyssey took the stage that night, and the moment that curtain opened, I could tell that everyone had either heard our music that had been playing on the radio all over the country that week, or they knew who we were. Either way, they all came to their feet and delivered a thunderous applause after each and every song that we performed. I had the first of many experiences that I would encounter throughout my career, as that night was more or less like an initiation of sorts. And it was during the moments after we left the stage once our performance was finished that I knew my life would never again be the same. My only regret was that I didn't have someone special in my life to share it with. It was also during those same moments that for the first time in a very long time, I randomly began thinking about Sarah Caine again, suddenly finding myself wondering where she was, what she was doing, who she was with. At the time I didn't realize why, but the thoughts I was having about her were also unexpectedly accompanied by the sting of tears as they flooded my eyes and silently rolled down my cheeks...I was extremely, as well as ardently grateful because of the fact that it was dark enough back stage that no one would be able to see what was happening to me just then; making certain that I made my way to our dressing room as quickly as possible to ensure that no one ever would either... ~~~~~~ HER HOUSTON TEXAS 1:00 A.M. C.S.T. After taking a nap that evening when I got home from work I woke up and fixed myself something for supper, and then cleaned my kitchen once I was done eating. I discovered that I was still a mess after hearing Michael's beautiful voice on the radio that afternoon, because I went right back to sleep after changing the sheets and then making sure my house was locked up. As I watched the news I didn't hear what was being said because a million thoughts were running through my head. But still, the last thing I remembered was the weather forecast, because when I opened my eyes again, it was dark. The TV had turned off because the timer I always set had expired; and when I looked at the clock on my bedside table, I saw that it was one o'clock in the morning. Knowing that I would not be able to function without going totally off the proverbial deep end without him in my life, meant that I was going to have to find Michael as soon as possible and tell him how I felt about him...how I'd always felt about him. Now that I'd finally matured enough and grown up, I realized that I'd been too afraid to express my feelings to him, all because I was an arrogant, stupid, petulant, prideful, and immature little bitch back then. I didn't deserve to be with someone as wonderful as he was...as wonderful as I could now see he'd always been. I'm Not Who I Used to Be However, the only way I was going to be able to find Michael meant that I was going to have to go and talk to his family, and I had mixed feelings about doing that. The truth of the matter was that I was afraid to face them, knowing that he'd more than likely told them all about me, as well as how terrible I'd been to him, and if he hadn't told them about me, I was certain that his cousin Mark, had. I knew this because my roommate and sorority sister, Dani Anderson, who knew Mark, had once told me that Mark explained to her how close Michael was to his family, and that was a quality about him which endeared him to me that much more. "Please, God," I tearfully prayed, that night, "Please tell me what to do, Lord. Only you know how I feel about him...how I've always felt about him, but was too stupid and too prideful to openly admit to my own self, much less anyone else. Please, Father," I now begged, disgraceful, and reprehensible tears pouring down my face like a dull, miserable rain, "Please help me find him, God, if for any reason to tell him how sorry I am for the sinfully appalling way I treated him. I don't care if I ever get the chance to be with him; I at least want him to know how sorry I am, I'm so sorry,"," and then I was so dazed by my own shame and grief that I suddenly began feeling agonizingly crippled, another precursor to unmercifully crying myself to sleep...again... ~~~~~~ I woke up that next morning feeling a lot better than I had in quite some time. I still had some issues concerning what I'd done to Michael, but I was no longer afraid of facing his family now. I knew that whether or not they told me where he was, I was undeniably deserving of whatever they had to say to me. It was Saturday, and I got up early that morning to have a decent breakfast and still have enough time to take a nice, hot, shower. After I finished drying my body, I put on my best matching bra and panty set, which were a dark shade of burgundy. I took my time doing my hair and applying my make-up, simply because I wanted to look my very best when I drove out to speak with Michael's family, regardless of the reception I got. After I was finally dressed and ready to go, I thought that maybe I might bring a friend with me, perhaps my old sorority sister, Dani, to be there for moral support. But I decided against it at the last minute, because I thought that Michael's family might interpret it as a sign of weakness when that was most certainly not the case. Yes, I was afraid of what they might say to me, but because of the gentle kind way that Michael had always conducted himself around me, even in the face of my cocky arrogance as well as the pissy attitude I'd almost always displayed in his presence, I knew that he'd been taught to act like he did, hence the reason that it seemed to be second nature to him. This made me take a moment consider that maybe meeting his family wasn't going to be as bad as I originally thought it might be. After some careful thought and consideration, I somehow knew that his parents, while they might not tell me where he was, would certainly be civil in their actions toward me, even though I felt like I deserved the raging brunt of their wrath for the way I'd treated their son. Little did I realize the complete one hundred and eighty degree turn my life was about to take...? ~~~~~~ ME Regardless of the wonderful time I'd had during our performance the night before; I went to sleep that night with a troubled heart, not being able to remember what I'd dreamed about the following morning. However, when I finally did wake up, I found myself in a very confused state of mind. One thing I didn't understand was why Sarah had so suddenly come back to lie in my heart and in my head, especially after all the time that had passed since I'd last seen her. Even though it was nice and sunny that Saturday morning, I still felt uneasy because of the feelings that were now at the very forefront of my mind. What troubled me the most though, was the fact that the emotional distress I was experiencing stemmed from feelings that I thought I'd already dealt with, and laid to rest a long time ago... ~~~~~~ I was sitting out on the back glassed-in patio behind our beach house, looking out at the Ocean, as the Pacific morning tide came rolling in. I was peacefully trying to deal with what was going on with me, Mark appeared beside me with a cup of coffee in each hand. "Mornin, Cuz," he grinned, placing one of the cups on the table in front of me, "Great show last night, huh?" as he took a seat in the chair to my right hand side, his funny demeanor awaken me with a smile. "Yeah," I quietly replied, when I should've been bouncing off the walls the same way I always did on the mornings after we'd played the night before, "It was alright." "It was just alright?" he knowingly asked, clearly able to tell that something was bothering me, "Okay, what's wrong, Mike?' "You really don't want to know," I wearily replied, "Trust me on this one, Cuz." "It's Sarah Caine again, isn't it?" he quietly asked, placing his hand on my shoulder, "Come on Mike, I thought you already decided that it's not going to do you one bit of good to keep dwelling on her like this." "You're right," I replied, "But this time I can't help feeling like there's really something wrong with her. It's like I can tell that something or someone is going to try to hurt her, and I just can't explain how or why I'm feeling the way I am, Mark, but I swear that somewhere, something is terribly wrong." "Look man," Mark said, a slight tinge of anger in his voice, "We're on the threshold of living out the dream you and I have been talking about ever since we were both little. Now is not the time to let something that is going to do nothing but screw up your head stand in the way. Ahmet is offering us the brass ring, Michael, and we'd be stupid not to take it. Besides you and I both know that an opportunity like this might never come again." Mark had only ever called me by my full name when he was either upset with me, or he was trying to make point. This time I knew it was a very strong mixture of both. I was in no way trying to mess up what we had going on musically, but at the same time I simply could not ignore what I was feeling, hence the reason I told Mark what I did. "Look, man! I'm not trying to mess anything up, but think back to when I was your Karate student," I said, standing up to make my point, "Did you, or did you not tell me to listen to my gut when I felt like there was trouble brewing somewhere?" "You're right," he chuckled, shaking his head as the honorably quiet understanding we shared of one another openly began ringing true. And knowing that we were risking everything we'd worked so hard for, Mark still grinned at me like he always does and asked me "So, what're we gonna do?" "I don't know" I chuckled, "But I'll figure something out...I just don't know what, at least not yet anyway." "Alright then," he smiled, patting me on the shoulder again, "Let me know if there's anything I can do to help." "Thanks, Mark," I replied, suddenly turning to hug him, "You know...I don't know what I'd ever do without you, Cuz." "Don't sweat it, Bro," he warmly laughed, gently returning the hug I was giving him "That's what family does; and besides, we've been in tougher spots than this..." ~~~~~~ HER I pulled down the long driveway that connected to the Taylor family's home, not having the slightest idea what awaited me once I knocked on their front door. But this was something I knew I had to do not only for Michael, but also for me as well... ~~~~~~ I parked my car in the circular driveway that ran in front of one of the most beautiful Spanish Style ranch houses that I'd ever seen, and after opening my door, I got out of my car, closing it behind me. I only had to walk about twenty feet to get to the front door, but it seemed like it was the longest twenty feet of my life, yet I still did it, regardless of what I was feeling; knocking on the door once I got there. "May I help you?" a very beautifully stunning blonde haired woman kindly smiled, when she answered the door. "Yes, ma'am," I courteously, as well as respectfully replied, "Are you Michael Taylor's mother?" "Yes," she sweetly yet knowingly smiled, "And I'd be willing to bet this ranch that you're Sarah Caine. Aren't you, sweetie?" "Yes, ma'am," I quietly answered her, my voice beginning to falter, and then because of how kind she was being to me even though she already knew who I was; the already faltering grip I had on my composure began to slip away from me. However, right before totally losing it, I distressingly told her, "I need to find Michael to apologize to him for being such a..." and then I fell into a fit of tears, beginning to lose what little composure I had left, almost to the point of no return, until Michael's mother quickly responded. "Shh...it's okay, sweetie," she tenderly soothed me, quickly pulling me into her arms as I began to cry harder than I'd ever cried before in my life, "Why don't we go inside and have a seat?" and then she slowly led me into her house closing the door behind us, while I tightly held onto her, weeping like a newborn... ~~~~~~ After I regained control of myself, I looked at Michael's mother and realized that, even though this woman and her son looked nothing alike, I could still see and feel the same gentle warmth and kindness in her eyes that used to make me feel so uncomfortable when I looked into Michael's. "Please forgive me, Missus Taylor," I quietly began, my eyes cast downward in disgraceful embarrassment, "But the reason I came out here is because..." "My name is Susan," she sweetly interrupted me, using her soft hand to gently raise my chin so she could look me in the face, "And now I can see why my son is so crazy about you. You're a very beautiful young woman, Sarah, just like he told me you were." I was about to tell her the reason I came to see her, but before I could speak, she sweetly silenced me by ever so gently placing her right index finger upon my lips, and then with a comforting smile on her stunning face she then took my hand and stood us up as she softly smiled and told me, "Why don't we go into the kitchen? I just finished brewing a fresh pot of coffee, and then we can sit down together and you can tell me all about what's got you so upset. You might even be surprised by what I've got to tell you, okay, sweetheart?" "Yes, ma'am," I quietly replied, as she led me by the hand into her kitchen... ~~~~~~ After fixing me a cup of coffee the way I liked it, Susan placed it in front of me and then sat down across the table from me and said, "Before you tell me why you think you have to apologize to Michael, there's something I think you should know first. Once I'm finished with what I've got to tell you, then you can decide whether or not you should apologize at all, okay?" "Yes, ma'am," I respectfully replied. "Let me begin by telling you how much I appreciate you coming all the way out here to apologize to Michael in person, and also how very highly I think of you and respect you for having the guts to come here alone, Sarah. I know that you're afraid of what you thought we might say, or, heaven forbid, do to you for the things you think warrant an apology to my son, but things are not what they seem," Susan told me, "On the day that my son was born, I knew that he was a very special boy, and I also knew that he was going to grow up to be a very special man..." "...Michael's father is full blooded Chiricahua Apache Indian like his mother, Michael's grandmother. Right after he was born, she told me that Michael is what the Apache call a Kaneahe (pronounced: Kah nay ah hey), which translated is "A Child of Light," meaning that this is the first time his soul has ever been upon this earth. And that quality is what makes him so special. May I ask you something, Sarah?" "Of course," I softly replied, "Please feel free to ask me anything you'd like, and I promise to tell you the truth." "Alright then," Susan again gave me the same knowing smile that Michael always had, "Even though you thought Michael looked like a geek and a nerd, it still made you very uncomfortable when you would look into his eyes. Am I right?" "Yes, ma'am," I shamefully, yet truthfully replied, as my eyes began to fill with painful tears again, "You're right." "And when you would see him talking to other girls," Susan pointed out, "It made you feel jealous because he was talking to them and not you, yes?" "Yes, ma'am," I began to cry, my shame now complete, "Please understand me when I tell you that I didn't know why I felt like I did. I still don't, I swear it's the truth." "Aw, there's no need for you to cry, Sarah honey," Susan tenderly explained, handing me a piece of tissue to wipe my tears with, gently patting my hand as she did so, "You've done nothing wrong." "Yes, I have," I openly admitted, "I treated him terribly, and I also said some really God awful things to him. Even after all this time I can still remember the pain and humiliating rejection that flashed across his face, while he still nobly walked away...God, it's literally killing me just talking about it. That's why I need to see him. I have to apologize to him for all of the bad things I said to him and for the terrible way I treated him...I don't know how it happened, and I can't explain it even now, but somewhere through all of this I fell in love him, Susan; I love your beautiful son more than I've ever loved anything in the whole wide world," and then I could no longer talk for the excruciating pain I was feeling; causing me to very painfully cry, almost on the edge of hysterically collapsing into the floor. All of a sudden Susan was standing right next to where I was sitting at the table, reaching down and ever so gently pulling me up from the table and into her arms, holding me as tightly as she could, just as if I were one of her own children. "He loves you, too," she quietly told me, my tears almost magically ceasing to flow any further, "He always has, and I promise you that he always will. I know my own son, so; believe me." "Is that right?" I asked, as she nodded her head, "Then would you please tell me where I can find him, I need him like I need the air to be able to breathe." "I'll do you one better than that," Susan began to impishly grin, "How would you like me to take you to him?" "Are you kidding me?" I began to smile once again, "I'd love it." "That sounds good to me, too," Susan tenderly replied, "But first I'm going to make a quick phone call so that we can surprise him." "We?" I asked, as I wiped the tears from my face, knowing that my make-up was a complete total mess by then, "What're you talking about?" "I'll explain everything on the way to the airport," she conspiratorially giggled, "Let me pack a bag while you redo your make-up. And then I need to make a couple of phone calls before we leave to follow you to your house were you need pack yourself a bag and drop your car off. After that's done, we're going to do a little shopping before we leave...I need you to blindly trust me here, okay pretty girl?" "Yes ma'am, of course," I smiled, pulling Susan into my arms to return the favor, "Whatever you want to do is fine with me. I only hope that Michael will be as happy to see me that I know I'm going to be to see him..." ~~~~~~ ME As Mark and I were talking that morning, I heard the phone begin to ring. It only rang twice before either Kevin or Lee answered it. It had to be one of those two because of the fact that Mark and I had been sitting out back all morning. Sure enough, less than ten seconds later, Kevin walked out back with a smile on his face and said, "It's for you, Mark. It's some woman that said she needed to talk to you really bad...she sounds really hot, too. Ask if she has a couple of friends for me and..." "Shut up, you horny bastard," Mark laughed, interrupting him as he stood up to go take the call, "Your dick is gonna to get you into serious trouble one of these days." "I know," Kevin laughed, "And your point is?" Mark simply walked away laughing, shaking his head. "So, we had a great show last night," Kevin excitedly grinned, "What do you think, Mike?" "Of course we did," I grinned, not wanting to rain on his parade, "Especially now that our music is playing on the radio." "I know, right?" Kevin agreed smiling, "Oh man; that's something I never thought would happen." "Why not?" I quickly asked him, "Hell, brother, we've done nothing but get better ever since we put this band together going on five years ago; and you know I'm right, too." "I know," he boyishly chuckled, "I still remember the night we played our very first gig together. You may not believe this, but I was real nervous that night. I never told you and Mark, but that was the first time I ever played in front of a live audience." "Really?" I asked him, surprised because of how well he'd done that night, "Did Lee know?" "He knew," Kevin chuckled, "And he threatened to kick my ass if I screwed up, so; I made certain that I knew the material inside out." "What an asshole," I began to heartily laughed, "Go back in there and wake his lazy ass up. Tell him I said to get his butt out here right now so I can chew his ass for threating the best bass player in the world." "Thanks, Mike," Kevin warmly smiled, "I'm glad you think so." "I don't just think so; I know so, Kevin," I smiled, reaching over and patting him on the shoulder, "Now, go wake Lee's ass up. Hell, it's going on eleven o'clock. He'd sleep the damn day away if we let him." "I can't go wake him up, because he's not here," Kevin knowingly grinned, "He went home with Phoebe Bradley after the show last night." "What a dog," I began to hysterically howl with laughter "Wait till he shows back up. I'm gonna give him mortal hell." "I heard that," Kevin snickered, "But you gotta admit, Mike; Phoebe is hot as hell." "You're right about that brother," I laughed, "But Lee was a real sneaky fucker about it, wasn't he?" "Hell that's nothing," Kevin chuckled, "He's always been that way." All of a sudden Mark came back into the room with a shit eating grin on his face and announced, "Go change into your shorts get you wetsuits and grab your boards boys. We're going down to Huntington Beach to shoot the pier." "I don't know, Mark," Kevin warily replied, "You know me, I'll go surfing anytime, anywhere, man; but I don't know if I'm ready to shoot the pier at Huntington yet." "No problem, brother; you can chase the hot girls that're always down there," he smiled, "In the mean time go wake Lee's ass up. He's going with us." "He's not here," I grinned, "He left with Phoebe Bradley after the show last night and he hasn't made it home yet." "Hmph," Mark distastefully snorted, "That fucker! No wonder she put the cock-block on me last night," and of course Kevin and I fell into a fit of almost childish laughter over what Mark just said. "Screw you guys," Mark grinned, "That shit ain't funny. You wait, Kevin, I'm gonna show you just how it feels the very next time I see you talking to some hot girl..." ~~~~~~ HER "It's so nice to meet you, Sarah," Michael's sister, Claire, smiled, giving me a warm hug, as we all sat together at the small airport, waiting for the Learjet that Susan had hired to take us to Los Angeles, as it was taking on fuel, "And you're so pretty, too." "You really are, Sarah," Michael's Aunt Trish sweetly told me, "I can't wait to see the stupid look on my nephew's face when he sees you later this evening." "I know," Myra Gayle giggled, "We rarely get the opportunity to catch my brother with his pants down; so, this is gonna be a Blue Ribbon Event." I'm Not Who I Used to Be "I don't know, girls," Michael's Aunt Dorothy playfully warned, "Have you forgotten what happened the last time you tried to get the drop on Michael?" "No, we most certainly haven't," Michael's cousin, Lauren, indignantly replied, "But we're trying to do something nice for Michael, Aunt Dot, so; if he puts Ex-Lax in our coffee this time, I'll personally kick his ass my damn self." "I'm not trying to start any trouble," I asked Susan, trying desperately to keep from laughing, "But what is Lauren talking about?" "Don't tell her, Aunt Susan," Lauren giggled, "I'm going to make Michael tell her himself so that she can see for herself what an aggravating shit-ass he can be sometimes." "Lauren's right, Mom," Myra Gayle giggled again, "I love my Big Brother very much, but I'm on Lauren's side on this one. Besides; my butt hole stayed sore for two weeks after the Ex-Lax incident; so, I owe Michael big time." "You girls win," I began to laugh, "I'll make sure that you're all there to listen when I get him to tell me." "Oh, Sarah, honey," Aunt Dorothy told me, wrapping her arm around my waist, "He'll be too afraid not to tell you with all of the women in his family there to gang up on his little ass," "Speaking of which," I told them, tears beginning to fill my eyes for what they were about to do for me, "I can't begin to thank you all enough for what you're doing for me." "You're welcome, Sarah," Susan, sweetly told, giving me a big hug, "Besides, I've got a strange feeling that tells me that I'm looking at my future daughter. Plus, as pretty as you and Michael are, I just know that the two of you are going to give me some beautiful grandbabies to spoil." "Mom's right, Sara," Claire impishly laughed, "When you and Michael get married, that means that Mom will stop hounding me about it. I'm too young to get married and besides, I'm having too much fun playing the field right now anyway." "Oh, yeah," Myra Gayle said, a naughty smile on her face, "She's right about that, Sarah." "I heard that," Lauren girlishly giggled, "Count me in on that game, too." "Good Lord," I grinned "Remind me to never piss you girls off." "That'll never happen, baby girl," Dorothy said, now insisting that I call her by her name, "Especially now that we've finally found the way to keep Michael's little ass in line." About that time, the pilot told us that the aircraft was now ready for departure and that we should go ahead and board in order to keep to our schedule. I waited until everyone was in and then I boarded last. Claire made certain that I was sitting next her, because she smiled and told me, "I haven't really had the chance to talk to you, Sarah. It's going to take us four and a half hours to get there, so; that gives us plenty of time." "I'd love to sit with you," I gently smiled, sitting down in the seat next to her and buckling in, "Maybe you can tell me some things about Michael that your Mom doesn't know." "Of course," she grinned, her pretty blue eyes sparkling with youthful devilment, "What would you like to know?" "Anything that you feel comfortable telling me," I smiled, as the jet taxied out to the runway, "But is it okay if we wait until after this plane is airborne? Takeoff's always make me nervous..." ~~~~~~ Chapter Four Once we were in the air and the "Fasten Seatbelts" sign had been turned off, our flight attendant, whose name was, David, told us that we were now free to move about the cabin. He also broke out three magnums, each containing a bottle of "Dom Perignon" champagne. "Wow, Mom," Lauren grinned, "We need to fly this airline more often." "Uh huh," Trish knowingly smiled, "You just be careful and don't drink too much. Michael and Mark both will never let you live it down if you drink too much and get sick like you did the last time you got drunk." "Come on, Aunt Trish," Myra Gayle smiled, jumping to her cousin's defense, "The reason she got sick was because Uncle Brian said it was alright to let her have some of that poisonous homemade crap that Uncle Jack makes out in the back barn; plus, she hadn't had anything to eat that day." "I didn't know that. I'm sorry, Lauren," Aunt Trish knowingly smiled at her daughter, "But from now on you'll know better than to drink anything that your Uncle Jack makes, won't you?" "Yes, ma'am," Lauren smiled, winking at Trish, "Besides, Daddy told me that the stuff that Uncle Jack makes will make you go blind if you drink too much of it." "He's right," Trish grinned, "Remind me to have a very long talk with your father when we get back, okay baby?" "Okay, Mom," Lauren giggled, turning to look over at where Claire and I were sitting, "This ought to be really good. I love my Daddy very much, and he may be a bad ass prosecutor and all, but when Mom starts chewing his ass, he looks just like a little boy who got caught with his hand in the cookie jar, really. It's so funny." "Leave Uncle Brian alone, Lauren, "Claire playfully scolded her cousin, "Your Dad is a sweetheart, and he's always been that way." "That's because all of you girls have had your Uncle Brian wrapped around your fingers ever since the first time Trish brought him home to meet the family," Dorothy said, which was followed by Lauren, Claire, and Myra Gayle emitting a barrage of schoolgirl giggles. I thought it was absolutely precious. "I can see why Michael is such a sweetie," I told Susan, "He grew up in a house full of kind and gentle people...that's something you should all be very proud of." "He really is, Sarah," Claire told me, with a far-away look in her eyes, "I'll never forget the first time he came home from college for the weekend. All he could talk about was you." "Is that right?" I quietly asked, "What did he say?" "It was all over his face," Claire sadly smiled, "He told us that he'd finally found his destiny. He said that he met a girl in his English class that was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen; and that even though she didn't know it yet...he was going to marry her one day," my eyes suddenly beginning to flood with guilty tears, tears which didn't go unnoticed by Claire. "Aw Sarah," she softly said, in a tender attempt to console me, "What's wrong?" "I'm not sure if you want to hear what I have to say" I quietly replied, "But I swear it's the truth, and if you get angry with me, I'll understand." "I might understand what you're going to tell me more than you know," Claire softly smiled, taking my hand into hers "But if it's going to make you feel better by telling me this, then by all means, go right ahead and tell us. I took a moment to choose the right words, which, by this time, I had the undivided attention of every single one of the females in Michael's family so, I went ahead and began. "When I first met Michael, I thought he was the biggest, geekiest nerd I'd ever laid eyes on," I told them, the hurt looks on their faces beginning to weaken my resolve to say anything else, but I promised them that I would tell them this, so; I continued, "He used to stare at me all the time; and to be totally honest it gave me the creeps at first. I even told the guy I was dating about it, having no idea that he was going to over react the way he did. I still thank God that Mark was there to protect Michael..." "...When the guy that I was dating attempted to attack Michael, Mark stepped in and politely kicked his arrogant ass for him. He got kicked off of the football team and lost his scholarship over it; and of course he immediately blamed me for it. But while I expected Michael to be disgusted with me; he shocked the hell out of me by not saying a single word, or acting like anything was wrong." "I remember that now that you mention it," Susan softly smiled, "He asked me if I thought he should send some roses to your dormitory; and I told him that that would be a very nice gesture on his part." "So that's where those pretty roses came from," I grinned, answering a question that I'd wondered about for almost six years by that time. "The card only said that they were from a secret admirer, and that could've been anybody." "Michael said that you were the sweetest girl he'd ever known," Claire quietly said, "And I couldn't believe it because of the way that all of the girls had treated him." "I was no different than they were," I openly as well as truthfully admitted, "The reason that I'm going to Los Angeles is to try and apologize to Michael," by now I'd broken down and begun to cry again, casting my eyes into my lap before I continued, "I've been praying and hoping that Michael will be able to find it in that beautiful heart of his to forgive me...I don't know what I'll do if he doesn't, but I wouldn't blame him if he laughed in my face and told me to go straight to hell." "He'd better not," Myra Gayle suddenly announced, "He knows that I'll kick his narrow ass so far up around his shoulders that he'll have to climb a tree to take a shit," and the moment I looked up, there were six beautiful faces surrounding me, all of them related to Michael, and all of them gently, tenderly, and last but not least; lovingly removing the fear from my heart with their kind and beautiful smiles. "You need to know something, Sarah," Claire suddenly yet timidly told me, "When I first heard about how you treated my brother, I promised myself that I was going to claw your eyes out at the earliest given opportunity." "I don't blame you, Claire," I quietly replied, "I'd feel the same way if I was you. Besides, I deserve any, and every single thing that happens to me," tears still pouring from my eyes by the bucketfuls. "Horse manure," Dorothy grinned, leaning in a softly kissing my cheek; and then after taking a piece of tissue from her purse, she wiped not only the lipstick she'd left my cheek, but also all the tears on my face as she sweetly continued, "Nobody is perfect, Sarah, honey, and it's been my experience that everyone has the right to be stupid at least once in their lives, more than that for others," playfully glaring at her nieces, before turning back to me to continue with what she was saying, "Besides, just like my sister said earlier, you and Michael will make beautiful babies one day, so; it seems that God is giving you another chance to make things right between the two of you. The only question that remains is, are you willing to try?" "Yes, a thousand times, yes," I almost desperately replied, "But what if Michael doesn't want this to happen? It's been over a year and a half since the last time we saw each other. What if he's found someone else?" Having remained fairly silent throughout all of this, Susan looked at me and said, "I think you know better than that Sarah. Search your heart, honey. I think that you'll find the answers that you seek." "I know that you're right, Susan," I sniffled, "It's just that I...I'm afraid...almost terrified at what I night, or maybe even worse, might not see." "Aw, Sarah, honey," Susan compassionately replied, making Claire move, as she sat down next to me and took me back into her arms, "What are you afraid of, Sarah?" "I'm afraid that I won't measure up," I shyly replied, still sniffling, "I've only been with one guy sexually, but that guy forced himself upon me and went to jail after he got the hell beat out him. Now I find myself in a position where...I...I don't want to disappoint Michael any more than I already have," and then I began to quietly and forlornly weep all over again "Shh.., it's gonna be okay, sweetheart," Susan softly told me, still tenderly holding me in her arms like she did earlier that day when I showed up at her home, and then she gently took my weary head and placed it on her shoulder. "I think it's time to tell you something about Michael, which, up until now, I've been the only person my son trusted tell me what I'm about to tell you," she began, "So, I'm putting all of my trust in you not to tell anyone what I'm about to tell you. Are we clear on this?" "Yes ma'am" I softly told her in no uncertain terms "I hope I've made it clear to you that I could never hurt Michael...you were right when you said that he was special...and I love him so much because I know he's special." "I know that, honey; I can see it in your eyes every time you talk about him," Susan tenderly replied, her palm gently caressing my cheek, providing a feeling of secure comfort that I'd not even felt from my own mother. "What is it that you wanted to tell me, Susan?" I quietly asked, "I promise you that I'll never tell a soul what you tell me." "Okay then," Susan began, "It started about the time Michael hit puberty and his pubic hair started growing. He'd noticed it when he took a shower that night; and because his father was out of town on a cattle drive, that only left me to talk to. Because we told Michael that there wasn't anything he couldn't feel free to talk about, he asked me. Of course I explained how that was a sign that indicated he was no longer a boy; and in a few more years he would grow to be a man." "Bless his heart," I compassionately said, thinking about how concerned he must've been, "It probably scared him half to death." "Actually he handed it really well," Susan lovingly replied "I was so proud of Michael that day, actually that was only one of many days that I've been proud of him over the years; which brings me to what I was going to tell you about him." "Are you really sure you want me to know this, Susan?" I asked her, my heart full of trepidation, "I don't want to know or do anything that would hurt him or bring him pain and/or grief." And that's another reason why you need to know this," she smiled, "Especially if the two of you are going to be together." "If you say so," I replied "We may as well get this over with so that I can start preparing myself to see him in a couple of hours." "Good girl," Susan warmly smiled, "What I wanted you to know is that Michael is still a virgin, and he's saving himself for the woman he plans on marrying." "Oh, my God," I gasped, tears coming back to my eyes, but this time they were happy tears, "You were so right when you told me that Michael was special; but up until now I never realized just how special he was. Now I really feel like hell." "Don't," Susan smiled, "Please don't think like that, Sarah. My son loves you with all of his heart and I promise you that he'll be so happy to see you again; and the fact that you came all the way out to Los Angeles to see him is going to be the only thing that matters." "Are you absolutely sure about this, Susan?" "Relax honey," she sweetly told me, "I know my own son..." ~~~~~~ ME Mark and Kevin were reliving our day at the beach as I drove us home that afternoon, and I had to agree with them about how much fun we'd all had. The waves on the Gulf of Mexico where we all learned how to surf hadn't really been anything to write home about, but they were still big enough to get a decent albeit not very exciting ride back to the shore. However, riding the waves on the Pacific Ocean was a different experience altogether, especially when it came to shooting the pier at Huntington Beach. While the spaces between the pylons are far enough apart to drive a Mac Truck through, a seasoned surfer can shoot the pier fairly easily. However, an inexperienced surfer risks a very big chance of crashing into one of them and getting seriously hurt, or God forbid, something far worse. Still though, the three of us had enjoyed ourselves that day, and were now on the way home. We'd all pitched in and bought several racks of ribs for the purposes of grilling them on the back deck, which was always fun. I'd forgotten about the phone call Mark had received earlier that morning before we went surfing, and having remembered as we were head back to Malibu, I decided to ask him about it. "Hey, Cuz," I chuckled, "I meant to ask you about the phone call you got this morning, who was it that called?" "It was a real pretty woman that I know," he smiled, "She's planning on coming to the house this evening, and she's brining some really cool people with her." "That's cool," I nonchalantly replied, thinking nothing about it when I most certainly should have, "What time is she supposed to be there?" "I'm supposed to go meet her around six o'clock this evening," he said "She's not really familiar with this area and she's going to follow me to not only keep from getting lost, but also so that she knows how to get to the house on her next visit." "So, tell me about the people she's bringing with her," I asked, "Who are they?" "Oh that," he chuckled, "They're some people she knows and if I'm not mistaken they're all female." "Hell, yeah." Kevin laughed, with a knowing wink to Mark from behind me that I missed, "Now that's what I'm talking about." "Like I said this morning, Kev," Mark laughed, "Your dick is going to get you into some serious trouble one of these days." "Bullshit, it ain't happened yet" he chuckled, laughing at Mark "And it ain't gonna happen today either; so, it looks like I'm safe, well, at least for the time being anyway." "Yeah, right," Mark teased, "One of these mornings you're gonna wake up and find out that your dick has melted inside one of those dirty-legged skanks I've seen you with, and then what're gonna do, huh?" "Don't talk to me, go bust Lee's balls," he laughed, "He was the one who cock-blocked you when he went home with Blue Oyster Cult's stage manager last night, not me." "Hell, yeah, Kevin," I roared, laughing so hard that tears came to my eyes, "Thadda boy, don't take any shit." "Screw ya'll," Mark spat, then he looked at me and playfully growled, "Laugh it up, shit head, your time is coming; and it's going to happen a lot sooner than you think too." "Yeah, yeah," I unexpectedly chuckled, "Whatever you say Cuz; whatever you say..." ~~~~~~ MALIBU, CALIFORNIA THAT EVENING 5:30 P.M. PACIFIC TIME We got back from surfing around four o'clock that afternoon, then showered and got cleaned up. Kevin checked the answering machine to find a message from Lee telling us that he wasn't going be home again that night, and that he'd see us Monday morning in the studio around nine o'clock. I was thankful that Mark had had the foresight to set more ribs out to thaw. It would've been embarrassing not to have had enough to feed the guests he'd spoken of who were coming over that night. I was out on the back deck cleaning the nice large barbeque pit that had been built as an addition to the house. Once I was done and the grill was clean, I prepped the split mesquite logs I'd purchased a few days earlier specifically for the purposes of outdoor grilling and got them ready to place into the grill pit. Kevin had been put in charge of wrapping the potatoes in aluminum foil so they would be ready to put into the oven once our guests began to arrive. I could also tell that he was getting excited at the prospect of having a house full of females without having to compete with a bunch of other guys for their attention. As far as I was concerned I wasn't really looking for female companionship because of the recent thoughts of Sarah Caine, which, for some unknown reason, had been permeating my every waking thought as of late. I couldn't explain it and I wasn't going to try. I mean hell, it had been far well over a year, going on two whole years since I'd last seen her. Even though I'd finally gathered enough courage to tell her how I truly felt about her, I'd waited until she was unconscious before I actually did tell her, and that wasn't even counting the kiss I'd given her; ...Damn, what a coward I'd been that night. So, because of that incident so long ago, which seemed like only yesterday that it happened, I knew that I wasn't going to be seeking female companionship of any kind that night, even though I knew deep down inside that this was Mark's way of trying and draw me out of the shell which I'd taken refuge inside of in order to more or less hide from the world.