The Past Belongs In The Past
Chapter Twelve- Almost Famous
“Yea yea Brian I understand.” pause “Yes, I’ve already talked to Gerard about it.” pause “Well I’m not about to tell them am I?” pause “Yea it’s good to see you all again. Bye”
“What was that about?” Marty called from the lounge.
“Their manager. He wanted to make sure I wasn’t going to tell any press about Maddie yet.” I replied as I wandered back into the room with a bowl of popcorn.
“Are you serious?! That is so…Ergh!”
“Nah, Brian’s a good guy, he’s just making sure the tabloids don’t find out without them giving them the full story first.” I said stuffing a large handful of popcorn into my mouth.
“The full story?” she raised her eyebrows. “They are going to tell them the full story?”
“Yes they are. I was engaged to the My Chemical Romance front man until I fell in love with someone else. I didn’t find out I was pregnant until I had already left. The man I was with was cruel and didn’t let me speak to anyone for months. I eventually ran away but then I lost my memory in a freak anvil incident and couldn’t remember who the father of my baby was!” I said dramatically “Okay they’ll come up with a better story.”
“A freak anvil incident?” Marty asked, laughing uncontrollably.
“It was a piano or an anvil.”
“Anvils are more interesting…”
“Exactly! Now push start already.”
She picked up the remote next to her and pressed the play button.
“We must have seen this movie over ten times.”
“Yea but who can beat a classic like Almost Famous!” I cried,
“Yea but there are only so many times you can sanely watch Kate Hudson try kill herself.”
“Then we will do it insanely.”
****
“Hey mummy are we going to go hang out with dad today?”
“After kindy we will.”
“I want to go now!” she grumbled.
“You have to go to kindy and then we will go straight there okay?”
“Okay…” she said reluctantly.
“Are you ready to go?”
“I just want to go put on my new t-shirt.”
Her new My Chemical Romance shirt, of course. She won’t take it off. She is wearing it everywhere. I swear she’s going to wear it thin.
“Thank you Mr Bus Driver, sir.” She recited to the bus driver when we got off the bus in front of the kindergarten. She didn’t even need prompting.
“I’m going to go show Jamie my new top!” she said racing off to find him. I took my usual place on the bench seat. Thankfully Jamie’s uncle had been avoiding me since our little tête-à-tête. Though he had been dropping Jamie off every day since. Which is why I was surprised to see Jamie standing with another man today.
He was quite good-looking, in strictly cute ‘young love’ sort of way. He was wearing pretty casual gear: jeans, t-shirt and leather jacket. He bent down to talk to Madison when she wandered over. Madison smiled and pointed over to where I was sitting.
Oh Maddie. No!
The man started walking towards me.
“Ooo this one’s cute.” Joanne happened to be passing by.
“I hear my brother-in-law had a less than friendly meeting with you.” He said with a grin when he reached me.
“You’re Jamie’s father?” I asked. I’ll admit even though I often get the ‘you don’t look old enough to have a daughter speech’ I was a little surprised to meet Jamie’s father, he looked only a few years older than myself.
“Yea, sorry about Jackson. Frankly, he’s an asshole.” He said sitting down next to me.
I had to laugh at this.
“I’m Adam.” He said holding out his hand.
“Anna.” I replied shaking it. This guy actually seemed okay.
“I’ve been wanting to meet Madison’s famous mum.”
“I’m famous?”
“Anyone who can put Jackson in his place is worthy of fame.” He grinned.
“You said he was your brother-in-law, you’re married?” I asked.
He looked down and started picking at the seam on his jeans. “Widower.” He said softly.
“Oh I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t worry, it’s fine.” He said smiling sadly “My wife, Sarah died during childbirth.”
“That must be hard for you, raising Jamie by yourself.” I said sympathetically.
“My work has me out of town a lot so my sister-in-law helps look after him when I’m not here. It’s hard but I try and stay as close as possible.” He told me “What about you? Married?”
“Uh, no.”
“Madison’s father didn’t want to know?”
“Something like that.” I said simply. Adam seemed like a good guy but I wasn’t meant to tell anyone about Gerard’s and my situation until it was formally released.
“I know it’s against my own gender but there is something seriously fucked up about the y-chromosome when a guy ditches a beautiful woman and daughter.”
A bit of a line but I totally fell for it.
“Hey I’m just about to go get my caffeine jolt, would you like to join me?” I asked.
“Yea, sure.”
“What was that about?” Marty called from the lounge.
“Their manager. He wanted to make sure I wasn’t going to tell any press about Maddie yet.” I replied as I wandered back into the room with a bowl of popcorn.
“Are you serious?! That is so…Ergh!”
“Nah, Brian’s a good guy, he’s just making sure the tabloids don’t find out without them giving them the full story first.” I said stuffing a large handful of popcorn into my mouth.
“The full story?” she raised her eyebrows. “They are going to tell them the full story?”
“Yes they are. I was engaged to the My Chemical Romance front man until I fell in love with someone else. I didn’t find out I was pregnant until I had already left. The man I was with was cruel and didn’t let me speak to anyone for months. I eventually ran away but then I lost my memory in a freak anvil incident and couldn’t remember who the father of my baby was!” I said dramatically “Okay they’ll come up with a better story.”
“A freak anvil incident?” Marty asked, laughing uncontrollably.
“It was a piano or an anvil.”
“Anvils are more interesting…”
“Exactly! Now push start already.”
She picked up the remote next to her and pressed the play button.
“We must have seen this movie over ten times.”
“Yea but who can beat a classic like Almost Famous!” I cried,
“Yea but there are only so many times you can sanely watch Kate Hudson try kill herself.”
“Then we will do it insanely.”
****
“Hey mummy are we going to go hang out with dad today?”
“After kindy we will.”
“I want to go now!” she grumbled.
“You have to go to kindy and then we will go straight there okay?”
“Okay…” she said reluctantly.
“Are you ready to go?”
“I just want to go put on my new t-shirt.”
Her new My Chemical Romance shirt, of course. She won’t take it off. She is wearing it everywhere. I swear she’s going to wear it thin.
“Thank you Mr Bus Driver, sir.” She recited to the bus driver when we got off the bus in front of the kindergarten. She didn’t even need prompting.
“I’m going to go show Jamie my new top!” she said racing off to find him. I took my usual place on the bench seat. Thankfully Jamie’s uncle had been avoiding me since our little tête-à-tête. Though he had been dropping Jamie off every day since. Which is why I was surprised to see Jamie standing with another man today.
He was quite good-looking, in strictly cute ‘young love’ sort of way. He was wearing pretty casual gear: jeans, t-shirt and leather jacket. He bent down to talk to Madison when she wandered over. Madison smiled and pointed over to where I was sitting.
Oh Maddie. No!
The man started walking towards me.
“Ooo this one’s cute.” Joanne happened to be passing by.
“I hear my brother-in-law had a less than friendly meeting with you.” He said with a grin when he reached me.
“You’re Jamie’s father?” I asked. I’ll admit even though I often get the ‘you don’t look old enough to have a daughter speech’ I was a little surprised to meet Jamie’s father, he looked only a few years older than myself.
“Yea, sorry about Jackson. Frankly, he’s an asshole.” He said sitting down next to me.
I had to laugh at this.
“I’m Adam.” He said holding out his hand.
“Anna.” I replied shaking it. This guy actually seemed okay.
“I’ve been wanting to meet Madison’s famous mum.”
“I’m famous?”
“Anyone who can put Jackson in his place is worthy of fame.” He grinned.
“You said he was your brother-in-law, you’re married?” I asked.
He looked down and started picking at the seam on his jeans. “Widower.” He said softly.
“Oh I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t worry, it’s fine.” He said smiling sadly “My wife, Sarah died during childbirth.”
“That must be hard for you, raising Jamie by yourself.” I said sympathetically.
“My work has me out of town a lot so my sister-in-law helps look after him when I’m not here. It’s hard but I try and stay as close as possible.” He told me “What about you? Married?”
“Uh, no.”
“Madison’s father didn’t want to know?”
“Something like that.” I said simply. Adam seemed like a good guy but I wasn’t meant to tell anyone about Gerard’s and my situation until it was formally released.
“I know it’s against my own gender but there is something seriously fucked up about the y-chromosome when a guy ditches a beautiful woman and daughter.”
A bit of a line but I totally fell for it.
“Hey I’m just about to go get my caffeine jolt, would you like to join me?” I asked.
“Yea, sure.”