Guitar Love - Resonance of Hearts Part 5

19 Trouble Begins

         The next morning after the party Sara couldn't get out of bed.  Her lower back ached terribly and her head throbbed.  When she tried to roll over her stomach rebelled, causing her a moment of panic until the nausea subsided.  She lay still in the middle of the huge bed in a cold sweat wondering how she was going to make it to her feet alone.  Luckily she could hear someone coming up the stairs.  She prayed it was Daff or Jay coming to look for her.

         Daff came in carrying a cup of mint tea and a rose in a bud vase, but when he saw the scared look on Sara's face he dropped everything on the nightstand and gathered her into his arms to sit on the edge of the bed.

         "What's wrong, sweetheart?  Are you feeling alright?"  he cuddled her tenderly on his lap.  He was worried by the pale, pinched look on her face.

         "My head and back ache really bad and I felt like I was going to be sick when I tried to move.  I'm really scared, Daff.  What if I did something yesterday that hurt the baby?"  She had a death grip on his shirtfront and he patted her white knuckles reassuringly.

         He rubbed her back and tried to think how to calm her down.  "Don't worry, hon.  I'm sure you just got worn out last night and everything will be okay.  We tried to keep an eye on you so that you didn't overextend yourself, but there were way too many people there who wanted to meet and dance with the beautiful bride.  We should have kept you off your feet more.  I'll get Mrs. C to come over and sit with you and give the doctor a call.  We'll get you in for a checkup to make sure you and Plucky Duck are alright" he used their pet name for the baby to try to get her to smile.  Reaching for the phone by the bed he called Marcela.

         Jay stuck his head in and immediately picked up the tension in the air.  "Good morning, beautiful" he said as he came in.  "Have you already decided to throw this bum out and pick me instead?"  Following Daff's cue he plucked Sara off the other man's lap and stood easily with her in his arms.  "Are you having buyer's regret or is Plucky giving you a rough morning, cupcake?" he asked with a kiss on her nose to make her laugh.

         Daff hung up the phone.  "Mrs. C is on her way up and we've got an appointment to see the obstatrician in an hour.  Do you need anything, sugar?"

         Sara blew Jay's wayward hair out of her eyes.  "Yes.  I've been picked up out of bed and have yet to touch the floor this morning.  I need to go to the bathroom.  Put me down, you dork" she slugged Jay in the arm.

         Daff solved the situation by nipping her back from his friend and carrying her into the bathroom.  Her voice carried through the open doorway, "You guys can't keep carrying me around like a sack of potatoes - I'm getting big as a house!  You're gonna hurt yourselves, you apes!"  The door swung closed on Daff's male chuckle.

         The sound of footsteps on the stairs had Jay turning with a smile.  The smile faded when he saw the whole gang with Brian in tow behind Marcela in the hall.  With a glance at the bathroom he stepped out into the hall and closed the door behind him.  He looked to Ollie first, as the singer was usually their spokesman in all serious matters.

         Ollie handed him a stack of newspapers with a grim look.  A glance at the headlines was enough to give Jay a punch in the pit of his stomach - every front page was plastered with romantic pictures of him and Sara from the wedding party.  The headlines speculated on their relationship, whether or not Daffy was knowledgable and which man was really the father-to-be.

         He looked up helplessly at his friends.  "What the hell do we do now?  I thought last night went mostly as planned and I did my best to be the supporting best man... most of these pictures were taken in situations I thought were completely innocent.  Do I need to go away so that they can be happy together?  What do I do?"  He slumped against the wall, the newspapers fluttering from his numb hands to the floor.

         Brian stepped forward to rest a hand on the younger man's shoulder.  "You can't leave them alone to deal with this, son.  It wasn't that you were indiscrete - it's just that you're in love.  Something like that can't be hidden under a bushel no matter how hard you try.  It was only a matter of time before it came out - that was clear from the start.  Now we decide what steps we take forward."

         Jay nodded dully.  "Let's start with the steps downstairs.  Sara's not feeling well and Daff will be taking her to the doctor's office soon.  She doesn't need to get any more upset than she already is - her back's been bothering her a bit lately.  Somebody make the coffee."  He bent to collect the fallen newspapers.  Marcela kissed his cheek in passing and went to check on Sara.  The others trooped downstairs to invade the kitchen while Sara wasn't able to defend it.

         Jay knelt among the fallen newspapers and closed his eyes.  He was usually more of a 'make your own destiny' believer but his loved ones needed more help than he felt he could give them.  "Whoever's watching and listening, we need a candle to light the darkness around us.  Help me protect them and keep them safe.  That's all I ask."  He felt a measure of calm return as he picked up the last of the papers and headed downstairs.


         Dark clouds of bad news followed them throughout the day.  Two venues canceled scheduled events from the next tour without explanation.  News hounds and paparazzi began to circle the house and reporters bombarded them with phone calls.  Going out to the grocery store was suddenly out of the question - Brian and Chrissie managed to go unnoticed as they walked out the back gate and down the next street to her car - but when they returned loaded with groceries they were nearly swarmed by photographers and reporters before they could pull into the safety of Daff's garage to unpack.

         The worst news of the day came when Daff returned from the obstetrician's with Sara.  The doctor was concerned that her blood pressure had risen dramatically during the pregnancy, so she was put on bed rest until the baby was born, meaning that she would have to remain behind when the boys left on their next tour.  She was despondant when they came home, hardly noticing the crowd outside the house.  Daff and Jay made her as comfortable as possible in the big bed, then took turns the rest of the day keeping her company.  Everyone else sat around the big table downstairs discussing their options and following the news reports on tv.  By the end of the day everyone was exhausted but no closer to a solution.

         The next day seemed no brighter, but at least Sara's natural resilience helped her bounce back enough that she responded to gentle teasing again.  Jay finished emptying out his bedroom and entertained her with stories about his more exotic posessions as he carried them to the huge walk-in-closet they now shared.  He eventually ran out of storage space before he ran out of guitars, so his most favorite basses took up temporary residence in the corner of the bedroom.

         Mickey showed up later in the day with his girlfriend Rowena and five gallons of pale sandstone paint that Sara had finally settled on for the nursery walls.  He companionably rolled paint on the walls with his two bandmates while the womenfolk had a pleasant chat. 

         "I'm not worried about myself, so much" Sara assured the other women - and herself.  "I'm just so afraid that something will go wrong with the baby, or that I'll go into labor early before they come back home.  Or both....  Oh bother, Chrissie, I think I goofed another stitch."  She frowned accusingly at the baby afghan she was learning to knit.

         The older woman patted her shoulder patiently and bent to look at the work.  "No problem, Sweetpea, it looks like you purled when you were supposed to knit.  Let's just back you up a step and then you can get back to it.  You've got a very even hand for someone who's never knit before, honey."

         Rowena gave a tinkling laugh.  "She's so careful of every stitch I keep expecting her to bite her tongue.  Relax, Little Sister - the baby duckling will be just fine, and so will you and your knitting.  Have faith in yourself.  The color blue surrounds you like the pretty blanket you're making for your son.  Things might not turn out the way you wish they would, but in the end they'll be as they were meant to be and you will be happy in your life.  Give yourself permission to be brave and free."

         Sara shook her head.  "You're amazing, Rowena.  Such a fiery, free spirit... how did you and Mickey end up together?  He's such a laid-back dreamer."

         The red-haired beauty grinned impishly.  "He came into my studio one day when they were looking for an artist for their 'Heartbreaker' album cover.  When he came back to pick up the art I told him he could only have it if he went out with me" the young woman winked dramatically.  "I didn't give him a moment's rest until he gave in.  He took me to a John Lennon art exhibition, then surprised me by taking me to a local piano bar where he played blues and piano rock for tips.  He may be calm and laid-back on the outside, but every now and then he gets a wild hair and then he cuts loose.  I enjoy winding him up, but he's always gone so long...." she sighed and added a few strokes to the sketch she was working on.  "I'm hoping that once your baby is born he'll soften a bit.  I'd like to have a baby of our own someday...."  She tried to hide the wistful look behind her sketchbook, but the other women were too sharp to miss it.

         "Don't worry yourself, Querida," Marcela reassured her."  Miguel is a good boy - he's just too comfortable with the way his life has always been.  You are good for him the way you put a spark in his eye.  I've been waiting for the two of you to give us grandchildren to spoil.  If he knows how much un niño means to you could not tell you no.  I always tell mis hijos - talk to one another.  Nothing good comes of being silent.  And if he remains difficult, tell him I have fresh churros in the kitchen - he can't resist them - and Enrique and I will put some sense in his head."

         Rowena shrugged.  "We'll work it out eventually.  I just kind of hoped we could work it out before they go back out on tour this time, but with the recording problems, the wedding and now the drama" she patted Sara on the knee reassuringly.  "we've spent our time together just catching up for lost time, not talking out our issues.  If we don't get to it now, we'll get to it later" she shrugged dismissively.  "I think he just needs a nudge... maybe you could get Daff to talk to him while they're away.  Here you go, hon.  Is this what you want on the walls?"  She handed the sketchpad to Sara.

         "Ooh, that's beautiful!"  Sara admired the drawings.  A forest scene in one sketch was populated with squirrels, birds and fluffy bunnies.  The other drawing was of a duck pond, complete with a family of ducks, and a bluejay circling overhead.  "You should tell the guys not to cover up all that blue paint Jay had on his walls so you can use some of it for the pond."

         "Already done" her friend assured her.  "I drew the outlines of the pond straight off so they would know where to stop.  I'll go check on them in a little bit, but I told them they had to use two coats of paint if they were going to cover up all that midnight blue.  I can't imagine how he could spend any time in such a dark room.  It felt like being deep underwater with no hope of reaching the surface."

         Sara shook her head.  "That's how he wanted it.  He said it calmed him and helped him sleep.  The only time he spent awake in that room was when he wanted to be alone with his guitars, and then he plays with his eyes closed so it didn't matter what color the room was."

         "How does he sleep now with the lighter colors in this room?" Chrissie asked her.

         Sara gave her a secretive smile.  "Like an angel."  Everyone in the room laughed at the absurd joke.


         Jay came out of his bathroom with a towel slung low around his waist.  He glared fiercely at Daff, who was rolling paint on the walls with a face like an innocent saint.  Mickey was industriously removing painter's tape from the window moldings where the wall had already received a second coat of paint.  Neither man seemed to notice the thunderclouds surrounding their musical brother as he dried his hair and glared at them in turn.

         Finally he snorted in disgust.  "You two can pretend to be angels 'till the final trumpet call - you're not going to fool anyone.  SOMEBODY smacked me in the back of the head with a paint roller and I'm going to get my revenge.  You should be grateful that I had the sense to insist on covering the floor before we started, since there are paint spots everywhere now.  If neither of you wants to 'fess up I'll just step into the other room and let the ladies know what you've been up to...." he headed purposefully toward the door.

         Mickey whirled around to block the doorway just as Daff cut him off from the other side.  "We can't let you do that, son" he said, brandishing a wet paintbrush threateningly.

         "Sara would make me sleep on the couch if she heard about it" Daff backed him up.  "You know she's posessive about your hair.  You can't even cut it because she threatened to lock up your favorite bass if you did.  Besides, she's on bed rest - you don't want her getting upset." he tried to appeal to Jay's sense of compassion.

         It wasn't going to get him anywhere.  "She knows how to put you in your place without getting upset, and the paint washed out so there's no harm done to my hair.  All that's marred is my pride and she'll make up for that while you suffer on the couch, my friend."

         "Don't say anything" Mickey shook his head and took another step in front of the door.  "Rowena threatened to make me pose for a nude painting if I did anything to upset Sara while she's confined."  the dark-haired man shuddered in mock horror.

         Jay and Daff exchanged a gleeful look that struck terror in their pal's heart before the big man tackled him and they crashed to the plastic-covered floor amid the paint trays and rollers.  Jay made a quick escape before the flying paint could hit him, closing the door on his way out.  Whistling gaily he stepped across the hall to the big bedroom to deliver news of the battle to the womenfolk.

20 Lonesome Blues

         Three a.m. in Bywater is like three a.m. anywhere else when you long for home.  Sleep is a distant memory, the night is darker than dark and the bed is always cold and empty.  Then again, anywhere else might have been safer at three a.m. than that alligator-infested, snake-ridden, lonely patch of bayou when a man finds himself staring at the moon and missing his lady.  A darker shadow moved quietly along the covered gallery.  Daff turned slightly as Jay stepped up to lean on the railing next to him.  The two men watched the silver orb in silence for a short time.

         "You couldn't sleep either, hmm?" Jay asked without turning.

         Daff shook his head and looked around.  "No matter how many times I've been here I never get used to this place."  He eyed the alligators moving on the riverbank only a few yards from the house.  "Your family has known me for years, but they've been looking at us squiggly-eyed all evening."  He turned to look at his comrade.

         Jay raised an eyebrow and gave him the look back.  "They asked me whether they should prepare a room for you or not.  It was their way of asking if we're sleeping together."

         Daff sputtered.  "So you told them I'd be bunking with you?!  You are a sick bastard, brother."  He shook his head in disbelief.  "I thought maybe they'd run out of bedrooms 'cause some of your relatives are visiting.  It never occurred to me that anybody might think WE might be romantically involved.  No wonder your younger cousins made themselves scarce."

         "Nah, they're in on the joke" the dark-haired man shook his head.  "They used our distraction to slip out to a jazz club the family frowns on out in the bayou."  He was silent for a moment before answering the unasked question.  "My father was never good enough in the family's eyes because he played guitar in the bars instead of getting a respectable job and raising me better.  They didn't approve of my choice of vocation either, but family is family here.  They've known me from birth - that they would make such a judgement against me really hurt.  I suppose I did it because they  made me mad.  I can't get back at the media for trying to mess with our lives and making Sara feel bad, so I took it out on my family.  Guess I should probably talk to them in the morning.  They might not approve of my sleeping with your wife, but at least maybe they'll stop looking at us squiggly-eyed" he grinned.

         That earned him an easy chuckle.  "I'll leave it up to you, bro.  If you want to make up to your family go ahead and tell them the truth.  If you want to push them away then let it ride.  Hell, I'll even kiss your cheek and hold your hand if it helps.  That's what family's for" he grinned.

         Jay slanted him another look.  "Damned if you wouldn't do it, too.  I'll give it some thought."  He clapped his best bud on the shoulder.  "You guys and the Castillos are more my family than anyone here.  I think next time we're in town we'll stay in a nice hotel somewhere instead of driving way out here in the boondocks.  Ollie still sleeps with a hunting knife when we come here in case an alligator crawls into his bed.  Still, we did get Sara to try to patch things up with her family... and it half worked.  She'd probably hide my bass if I estranged my family like that, fun as it might be."  He sighed.

         Mickey stepped out of the doorway behind them.  "You two are just too cute and cuddly for words to describe."  He leaned companionably on the rail next to Daffy.  "This thing will hold our weight, right?" he asked.

         "Maybe.  Probably."  Jay shrugged.  They watched the night in silence for some time.

         "Rowena wants to have a baby" Mickey suddenly blurted out.  "She's been wanting to get pregnant for some time, but the idea of a baby scares me."  He raked his fingers through his dark hair.  "When Sara turned up pregnant I knew it would only be a matter of time before she brought it up again.  I've been trying to wrap my head around it - I want to give her what she wants, but every time I think about it the bottom drops out of my stomach.  How did you deal with it?" he asked.

         His friends shrugged.  "It was a punch in the stomach, I'll admit" Daff told him.  "But we didn't make the decision to have a baby - her birth control failed.  I doubt we would have started a family so soon, but I did want one with her.  I'm looking forward to the day our son is born.  You'll do fine when the time comes."

         Mickey sighed heavily.  "The time might have come.  She called in the evening to tell me that she's late.  She had to take antibiotics for an infection recently and we happened to be home then.  Apparently birth control is less effective with antibiotics and she thinks it may have failed."  He scrubbed his face in agitation.  "She was afraid I might think she did it on purpose.  I do know her better than that - but now she's at home worried that I'll be mad at her and I'm in the middle of some smelly swamp surrounded by horny alligators and two lovelorn guitarists holding hands.  This tour sucks."  He turned his back on the wild surroundings and slumped against the rail, which shook worryingly.

         "Bayou" Jay corrected him automatically.  "That's bayou country, not swamp.  It's a hell of a lot bigger than a swamp and has alligators."  Out in the night one of the huge beasts gave a deep, bellowing call that agitated all the others in the area.  At least half of the reptiles pushed off into the river toward the sound.  "And it's their mating season, so of course they're horny.  Don't judge" he admonished.

         From the doorway Ollie asked "Are they stampeding yet?"

         Daff shook his head in disgust.  "No, they're about to get laid, lucky bastards.  If we're gonna be up all night we might as well play cards and get drunk.  I'll deal." he headed inside.

         The others trudged disheartenedly inside after him.  "If you're dealing we're all going to lose our shirts" Mickey grumbled.


         Low spirits prevailed on the tour through May and into the beginning of June.  Sara continued to have a difficult pregnancy and was despondant at having to remain home without the boys.  It turned out that Rowena had indeed become pregnant, and despite Mickey's reassurances that things were alright between them she remained anxious.  In an attempt to make both women feel better the guys convinced her to move to the big house with Sara at least until the tour was over.

         Reporters continued to hound them every step of the tour.  The boys were lonely without Sara and both had trouble sleeping alone.  They started sharing two-bed hotel rooms, spending most of their free time together composing songs or on long video chats with Sara.  The media soon heard of their room sharing and gleefully made up stories with no basis in fact.  They ignored it as best they could.

         The bright light of the tour was their fanbase.  Every venue was sold out to enthusiastic fans who screamed their support.  Their new album went platinum just two weeks after release.  Stuffed toys began to compete with the lacy underthings being thrown onstage during performances and their website was flooded with positive feedback and well-wishes for the expecting parents.  Their most pro-active fans began spamming the rumor-spreading news sources with e-mails demanding retractions and corrections to the false news stories.  The tour dragged on.

21 Baby Steps

         Mid-June found the group far from Jay's New Orleans family home.  They were  finishing up the last of five concerts in the New York/New Jersey area and were supposed to be heading for Ohio when the call came.  Their manager met the guys as they came off stage to say that Sara had gone into premature labor and had been rushed to the hospital.  He had two seats reserved on a flight to San Francisco leaving in half an hour and someone would meet the boys at the airport to take them to the hospital.  They left at once.

         The five-hour flight was one of the longest they had ever endured.  Upon arrival a distraught Rowena was waiting for them at the gate.  The guys gave her a comforting hug before Daff gently appropriated the car keys and they drove as fast as they dared to the hospital.  Sara was still in labor - in fact she was wild-eyed and adamantly refusing to give birth.  They could hear her panic-filled voice clearly down the hallway and hurried to her side.

         Drake Alexander (Alex or Duckie to his friends) was born just as dawn was breaking after nearly twelve hours of grueling labor.  There were tears of joy and wonder and Jay rang the others, who were en-route to Ohio to give them the good news.

         Less than an hour after after he was born little Alex's carrot-topped picture - secretly taken by a member of hospital staff without permission - was speeding its way across the internet through fansites, facebook and twitter.  Two hours later when the guys heard about the leak the head of the hospital found himself facing the newborn's very large, very irate father, who was backed up by the child's uncle and two imperious grandfathers.  The stuttering official apologized profusely, promising to track down the leak and reprimand the offender.  Daff told the trembling man he would rather have a private chat with the person responsible when found, that no official charges would be brought up but that the hospital had better get its act together or he would be taking his family somewhere where their privacy could be ensured.

         Back in Sara's room those gathered discussed what they could do to get the media to leave them alone - or at least give them some breathing space.  Jay hailed the other bandmembers and put them on speakerphone so they could participate in the discussion.

         "I think we're going to have to go with some sort of television interview" Ollie's voice cut through the background of arguing voices on the speaker.  The entire group was angry over the invasion of privacy the hospital had allowed to happen.

         "You're probably right, Ol" Daff nodded to the others.  "It seems wrong to reward the media for bad behavior, but ignoring them has only allowed things to get worse, not better.  The longer we refuse to give them anything the more they'll just make stuff up."

         "I'm actually starting to become jealous of the rumors they're spreading about you and Jay."  Sara grinned teasingly at her husband.  "It sounds like the two of you are more in love with each other than you are with me.  I heard that I'm about to file for divorce and leave Alex for the two of you to raise."  She rested a hand on his arm.  "If they continue to spread rumors unchecked it won't be long before they have me shacked up with one of the other guys - they could ruin relationships with their lies.  If we speak up they can't make stuff up anymore.  We're not rewarding them, we're setting them straight."

         Ari piped up on the speaker.  "She's right, guys.  This has to stop soon or we'll have some really nasty problems.  I've already been having trouble at home ever since this media circus started.  If things don't get better soon I may be moving in with the three of you and the duckling king.  I'm still behind you guys, but if I get kicked out of my own house I reserve the right to be grumpy for a while - I only just got the place paid off."

         Daff and Jay exchanged looks.  Jay shrugged.  "Are we gonna tell them about the bayou?" he asked with an all-too-innocent face.

         "Don't you dare!"  Mickey shouted over the speaker.  "What happens in the bayou stays in the bayou.  We're trying to disarm the situation, not make things worse."

         The others chimed in.  "You two aren't allowed to talk to any media on your own!"  Ollie growled at them over the din.

         Sara pinned the pair with a narrow look.  "Is there something I should know about?" she asked the laughing men calmly.  They only laughed harder.

         Jay shook his head and grinned.  "Just an inside joke we'll tell you about at home.  By the way, it might be some time before we visit my family again."  Behind him Daff snickered.

         Sara wisely let the matter slide.  She knew they would fill her in eventually when they were alone.  Snugging her newborn son against her heart Sara closed her eyes and listened to the guys negotiate back and forth.  She knew they would have to leave soon to catch a flight to Columbus for their next concert, and she wanted to absorb the sound of their voices as long as she could.  They joked back and forth, but she could hear the worry and stress hiding below the surface.  A television interview was not going to be entirely painless.  Sara hoped that she and Alexander could be with them when the time came.

22 Words of Wisdom

         Jay sat on the edge of the stage with a strange device across his knees.  It was a single, long piece of driftwood with a large nail in one end, a guitar tuner screwed into the other and a guitar string pulled taut between them.  Down low on the string was a juryrigged humpbucker pickup.  The diddley bow was originally an african-inspired instrument mostly known in the South, that became popular in blues music.  Jay had learned the instrument from his father years ago and had decided after his last visit home to add a number to their normal set that featured its unique sound, albeit tweaked for his own unique personality.  The guitar string was tuned a bit on the low side to reproduce bass guitar sounds, plucked with the fingers.  He played the instrument in the traditional way, with an empty beer bottle as a guitar slide, which amplified the resonance.  The sound was grittier than a bass guitar and very effective as a blues instrument.

         Ari picked up the pulsating rhythm on drums, while  Daff and Mickey joined in with electric guitar and piano.  For this song Ollie played acoustic guitar to accompany the others and Jerry rounded out the sound on synth.  Jay stretched his voice down to a more gravelly blues tone and growled out the words to a song he had written for the occasion, 'Standin' Blues'.

Leave my baby 'lone now,
don't you spread no wicked words.
Oh yeah leave my baby 'lone now,
don't you spread no evil words.
'Cause if you hurt my lovin' woman,
I'm gonna bring you a world of hurt.

You can hate me if you want to,
feel free to stab me in the back.
But if you bring harm to my loved ones,
you know there ain't no comin' back.

Don' run down my friends and fam'ly,
you better change your wicked ways.
Yeah don' run down my friends 'n' fam'ly,
you better change your evil ways.
'Cause if you hurt my friends 'n' fam'ly,
I'm gonna shorten up your days.

You can hate me if you want to,
feel free to stab me in the back.
But if you bring harm to my loved ones,
you know there ain't no comin' back.
Yeah if you bring harm to my loved ones,
you know there just ain't no comin' back.

         The fans screamed wildly in approval.  The guys had first introduced the song a week earlier and already it was becoming a live performance favorite.  The audience couldn't get enough of the raw, aggressive sound.  It was a good song for the first half of the set, winding up the crowd while giving the guys their first chance to breathe.  The rest of the night was on fire.



         The next day was their television interview with Diane Sawyer in Los Angeles.  Sara had wanted to go along to give the interviewer a piece of her mind, but the guys made a unanimous decision that family be kept out of the media as much as possible.  The only exception to the rule was Alex, as Daff refused to be separated from his son even for the interview and kept the baby in the crook of his arm during the live broadcast.  The carrot-topped newborn was content to listen to his father's voice when he wasn't sleeping.

         "I'm very lucky to have with me tonight the multi-talented members of the renowned rock group One Night Stand.  Thank you gentlemen, for coming" Diane welcomed them.

         "We're happy to have this chance to clear the air a bit, Diane" Ollie gave her and the camera his most charming smile.

         The anchor picked up his lead.  "You've been receiving quite a bit of negative attention from the media the past few months - tell me how it started and are any of the rumors circulating true."

         Jay sat forward.  "The rumor circus started at the end of our last tour, but its origins go back to the tour's beginning.  We started the 'Burning Dreams' tour on the East Coast, and while we were there I met a beautiful woman that I wanted to get to know better.  I invited her along for the ride, figuring we'd enjoy each other's company for a while and then go our separate ways" he explained.

         Diane interrupted.  "Is that normal practice on your tours to pick up women to keep you company?" she smiled in an attempt to keep the question from offending.

         "No, definitely not" Jay shook his head.  "In fact, Sara is the first woman I've ever gotten interested in to that degree on any tour.  I did get some flack from the others in the beginning, but Sara is impossible not to like, and she became part of our family almost immediately.

         "A few weeks later in the tour I started seriously writing music and lyrics for what would become our current album, 'Night Lover'.  Unfortunately, once I start composing I tend to lose contact with the outside world, which nearly left the love of my life in a fix" he sat back, looking to his best friend to pick up the story.

         Daff cuddled his sleeping son and continued the narrative.  "I liked Jay's girlfriend from the day I met her, and when he got lost in his music I picked up the slack, so to speak.  We've had the same girlfriend a couple times in the past, but we've never shared a woman we were serious about before.  Sara and I got along well from the beginning.  She's smart, caring and fun-loving, and also the most beautiful woman I've ever known, inside and out.  It didn't take long before I was head over heels in love with her, and to my great fortune she loves me back."

         "Did this cause conflict between you then?" Sawyer asked them.  "Surely, Jay, you must have taken exception to having your girlfriend stolen from under your nose?  And what about Sara?  How did she feel about being passed around?" the newswoman couldn't resist asking.

         "Sara was never passed around!" Jay yelled, nearly coming out of his chair before Ollie could restrain him.  Alex woke up from the noise and started to fuss.  Jay held out his arms for his nephew, cradling him against his shoulder in an attempt to calm himself down.

         "Sara has never been a plaything" he continued more evenly.  "She's the most important person in our lives - she and my nephew here" he kissed the fuzzy little head on his shoulder.  "Daff and I had a bit of frission when the music cleared from my head and I wanted back in Sara's arms, but we've worked things out between us."

         "When it became clear that she loves both of us there was no way we could make Sara unhappy by choosing between us" Daff continued.  "She and I were married in between tours, but that doesn't change the dynamics of our relationship any.  We have one huge bed that we share.  Alex is my son, but he'll be raised by the three of us, and any children that we have in the future will be raised the same way.  This works for us, and that's all that matters."  He sat at ease in his armchair and let the tensions of the interview slip away.

         The newswoman leaned forward in anticipation.  "And will the three of you be having more children?" she asked.

         "I hope so" Daff nodded.  "But that will be Sara's decision.  She had a pretty rough pregnancy and I'm not sure she wants to try it again too soon.  Right now I'm happy to have her and Alex back with us.  It was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do when we had to leave her at home on bed rest while we went out on tour."

         "What about the rumors involving the two of you?" Diane asked politely.  "Is there romance between bandmates?"

         Both men shook their heads decisively.  "Despite every rumor to the contrary we've never been anything but friends and brothers." Jay answered.  "The Duck may be cute, but he just doesn't have what I want in a girlfriend" he winked.

         Daffy snorted derisively.  "If I wanted a bird it wouldn't be one as hairy as him" he jerked a thumb in his best friend's direction.  "We've been bretheren since we were kids - I turned seventeen just a few weeks after joining the group and Jay came on board only a month or two later at nineteen - we've played and written music together for over ten years, but that's a kind of music we'll never make together" he shuddered theatrically and grinned.  The others laughed easily.

         Ollie spoke up from Jay's other side.  "The kids here were the last to join our group after we had problems with our original guitarist and bassist.  I was pretty sceptical when we found Daff up in Chicago to replace our old guitarist - the kid was still wet behind the ears and spent his first tour with us living on the tour bus without a home of his own.  Then the tour headed south and our bassist bailed on us down in Texas and we were left high and dry.  Or rather low and wet, as we were left a man short in the middle of one of the worst torrential downpours I've ever seen.  We found this nut" he gestured at Jay, who blew him a kiss playfully. He smacked the younger man in the back of the head in response "literally in the middle of the road in the midst of that same torrential downpour and nearly plastered him to our front bumper before we could stop the bus.  From that night on they've been inseparable, sharing guitars, music, adventures and the occasional fisticuffs.  They're as close to being brothers as we all are.  Sara has no reason to worry about their relationship."

         Diane tilted her head to one side thoughtfully.  "So how do the rest of you feel about this polyandrous arrangement?  How have your fans reacted?"

         Jerry spoke up from the end of the row.  "The kids have been a real entertainment to watch.  I'm only jealous that I haven't been able to find two women that are as willing to share me" laughter erupted on the stage.  "Our fans have always been supportive of us and since this whole media witchhunt started they've been on a crusade of support, writing letters, picketing in front of news offices and even spamming news agencies.  We haven't played a single venue since this started that hasn't been sold out.  I'd have to say our fans are okay with it.  So are we."

         "We'd just like the media to leave our families alone from now on" Daffy told the reporter.  "We don't mind being in the public eye - in fact we'd be unemployed without the attention - but our home lives are not public domain.  Sara and Alex may be with us on this tour because we're just not ready to be without them for any length of time yet, but that doesn't mean that they're gossip mill material.  It doesn't matter what dirt the gossip mongers sling at us guys - publicity is its own reward, after all - but our family members shouldn't have to suffer just because we're the flavor of the week."

         "That's completely understandable" Diane agreed.  "I hope things work out for all of you, thank you for coming."

         Ollie gave her another engaging smile.  "Thank you for the pleasant chat."

23 Slander Coda

         In the weeks after their interview the media eventually lost interest in their story and left them mostly alone.  Some other celebrity caught the newshounds' attention and One Night Stand's love triangle was suddenly old news.  Still, album sales continued to flourish and their entire tour sold out in record time.  The tour continued peacefully into autumn without incident.

         Without the stresses of unwanted media attention Mickey was finally able to convince Rowena that he was happy they were going to be parents.  When the group swung back home for a couple weeks in August he made his own quiet trip to The Forge.  That evening during the family meal, with their entire family gathered, he surprised them all by asking Rowena to marry him.  When she finally found her voice again she leapt with an ecstatic squeal into his arms, nearly smothering him with kisses.  Before the tour continued they decided on an April wedding date, about a month after their baby would be born.

         Peace returned to Ari's home once the rumor mill left them behind.  He was able to spend more of their home time in his own home instead of being exiled to Daff's house, which made the drummer a very happy man.  The gang rarely saw him around during their off-moments as he was making up for lost time with his lady.  They made plans for a romantic getaway once the current tour was over.

         Sara rejoined the tour with Alex, which thrilled the boys.  They built a sort of  hammock/crib in the corner of Jay's bunk for the baby to sleep in and Sara slept in Daffy's bunk.  The wheels of the bus continued to roll.  The tour continued in a much happier mood with the  burden of slander off their backs.  The music flowed.  The fans cheered.  Life was good.

         "You know," Jay commented during one of their stops while the tour was traveling through Illinois "I think something's missing."

         Sara wrinkled her brow in confusion.  "What's missing, hon?" she snuggled her son to her breast while his father looked on hungrily.

         Jay grinned mischieviously.  "Well, beautiful, you dealt with your family issues when you contacted your parents some months ago.  You came to terms with your estrangement and became friends with your father, even though your mother still doesn't know how to value you.

         "The last time we were down South I dealt with a life-long issue within my own family.  They always looked down on my father because he was a musician and raised me to be the same.  One of the reasons I set off on the road at such an early age was because they disapproved and I wanted to prove to them that my old man wasn't wrong.  He may have died in a dive bar, but I've made something of myself, and he was the only one who believed in me.  When we were back in the bayou this last time my own family was willing to believe the rumors that claimed Daff and I  were intimate and they judged me on the basis of those rumors.  I finally decided that real family wouldn't judge me even if the lies were true.  My family is here - it's the people waiting for us in San Mateo.  It's Mama Marcela and Enrique, Brian and the rest.  You gave your mother a chance,  and I tried to do the same with my own relatives.  If they don't want us it's their loss."  He kissed her forehead and brushed his nephew's curls affectionately.

         Daff scratched his scruff thoughtfully.  "Where are you going with this narrative, bro?" he asked, although he suspected he knew the answer.

         Jay blessed his best friend with his most angelic smile.  "When was the last time you saw your own mob, eh?  Isn't it time for you to make peace with them if you can, now that we've exorcised our own demons?  It's your turn, brother, and here we are in Chicagoland" he spread his arms theatrically.  "Set the phone lines to singing, son.  You've a family of your own now - they'll expect you to declare yourself.  You've got all of us behind you... or hadn't you noticed after all these years?  Regardless of the stellar upbringing they gave you, you ended up with us and we and the Castillos raised you to be a good man.  Are you going to stand up now or hide behind the tour bus the rest of your life?  It's your choice.  You're ours, no matter what your decision is, brother, and we're behind you" he rested a hand on the other man's shoulder in support.

         Daff sighed in resignation.  "You really know how to disarm a man, don't you, brother" he asked.  "I suppose it is my turn, isn't it" he scrubbed his hands through his unruly hair.  "Alright, you win.  I'll call my sister and see what the score is.  But whatever happens I want you, Sara and Alex to be safe.  We've got a day or two after our last concert in town - the rest of you can continue the tour while I find out what's what" he conceded.

         "No!" Sara cried.  "Whatever we do, we do together!"  She grabbed Daff by the hair and shook him soundly.  "You are my husband and the father of my son - whatever we do, we do together, you dork" she gave him one last shake before kissing him on the chin.

         Jay punched him on the shoulder.  "She's right - you're ours, and we stand together.  If you decide to contact your family, we're with you, but you don't go anywhere here alone.  For now though, let's head for the Weber Grill Restaurant.  I'm hungry."

         The trio headed off into the Chicago sunset together, looking for good food and a bit of entertainment.  The Windy City had plenty of both to spare....