Chapter Nineteen

Charlie

The past couple of days have been great. Ada and I have been clicking and while I’ve been keeping my eyes out for trouble, I’m not too concerned about her dad and ex-boyfriend coming after us.

I’ve been more concerned about having to avoid George. I wouldn’t put it past him to just show up with Corky when he gets desperate. The last thing I need is to bring him around my kids. I wish George didn’t know where my studio was so he couldn’t find me.

We’ve got class with the students this afternoon and after we plan on going back into the studio. I moved class to Thursday this week so we could get in the extra time. I can’t put them off anymore.

It's going to be a good class with Ada. I think I've almost convinced her to sing with the students. I go and have a sandwich with Paulie. I can tell he's surprised that I actually kept my end of the bargain. This time I don't try to get any information out of him. We just talk. I tell him about the recording and he tells me about his grandkids.

Once I'm done with that I go into town to shop for the studio. We need some small things like stands for the kid’s music, guitar picks, and strings. Once I'm done there it's almost time to head to class so I just go over early and work on the song I've been writing for Ada. It's going to be a surprise for her. It started with the verses I'd written for both of us and Thomas's unhinged muse comment and it just came to me. It's been through three rewrites now and I still don't think it's perfect.

Ada shows up a little after all the kids. I'm secretly glad because Sheila was in rare form and had her breasts pushed up by some device. She kept leaning into me and touching me with them. Thomas comes in a little after we get started with a few chords. I wasn't expecting him so I make a big deal introducing them to my agent. They think that's the coolest thing in the world.

"Are you like a secret agent," Braleen asks walking over and tugging on his jacket.

"Sort of," Thomas says.

"I'm just here to give you a bit of good news. We've got a gig. A pretty big one. It's at the Lemon Festival. There will be tons of bands and tons of fans there."

"That's awesome!" I tell Thomas. I've been to the Lemon Festival and it is indeed a big deal. There are going to be some pretty popular bands there.

"Ada, are you ready?" Thomas asks turning to her.

"I think I'll be as long as we have a lot of rehearsal time." She smiles and looks over at me. "When is it?"

"It's Thursday around two o'clock," Thomas says.

Ada goes white. She sways a little on her feet and I move forward to catch her.

"That's way too soon. We've not even got a set worked out. We've barely sung together." Her voice is getting higher and her eyes are wide. I guide her into the chair and she sits obediently.

"We can do it," I try to sound encouraging. We just do a few covers and Bring on the Water. It will be great."

"No, Charlie. That's too soon. There's no way I can do it. I just can't do it.”

“You can, you know why? Because I have faith in you. All my students have faith in you, and your students have faith in you.”

“I’ll try. That’s all I can do. If I get stage fright though, you’ll have to go on without me.”

“Okay, I can do that.”

After the kids leave we rehearse for about an hour. We’re both hungry so when eight o’clock rolls around we decide to go get some food.

I grab her hand as we walk out together and feel her stiffen. When I turn around at first, I don’t know what she’s scared of, then I see him.

“Hey there guys, I’m back.” Jimmy was standing in the middle of the parking lot. He has a gun in one hand and a sick grin on his face. At least I think he has a gun. It’s dark and hard to see, but he’s holding something in his hand and now he’s raising it to point it at us.

“Shit,” Ada said as she saw him and I’d already started pulling her back in the studio. We ran to the back and slammed the door. I pulled my phone out and called the police.

“He has a gun now,” she said. The panic in her voice barely contained.

He walks towards us slowly with the grin spreading. Out of everything I can see that the most. He looks like a man possessed. I’ve played this scenario over and over in my head ever since Ada told me they’d threatened me. Until this moment I didn’t realize how serious it was.

“Go,” I tell her, “go now.”

She rushes behind me and goes back in the building. As soon as I get the door shut behind us Jimmy fires the first shot. It’s loud and hits the ground outside the front door. I lock it even though I know it won’t stop a bullet and rush Ada into the back room.

“Get behind the couch,” I yell as I shut the door. I hear him shouting and yelling as he walks back and forth in front of the studio.

“I’m coming in there to get you both rich boy,” he yells.

I dial 911 on my phone and give them the address and the situation. It seems like years before we hear sirens as I crotch down with Ada behind the couch. I wonder how we’re alive. He was slow or he could have simply shot us when we exited the building. Someone had to be looking out for us tonight.

I hear the sirens and then nothing. I wonder if they’ve caught him. Maybe they can take him to jail forever.

“Let me in, it’s the police.” A woman is yelling from outside the front door. I slowly get up and move towards it with Ada behind me. I don’t think someone would pretend to be the police to get us out, but now I’ve become paranoid.

Slowly I open the door and peer out to find Officer O’Neal looking back at me. She was probably the last person I wanted to come and help us.

“So, you had someone shooting at you. You just seem to get yourself into a lot of trouble don’t you Charlie?” I didn’t appreciate her condescending tone.

“It’s my fault. He’s my ex-boyfriend,” Ada says coming out from behind me. “Jimmy Daly, he was here and tried to shoot us when we came out.

“You’re Springfield, Ada, right?” Detective O’Neal says in a nice tone of voice I certainly hadn’t heard from her.

“Yes.” She says a little surprised.

“I know your dad, we go way back. Do you want to file a restraining order, honey?”

“Yes, I do. I want to file it against him and my dad. He’s the one who put him up to that.”

“I’m sure that’s not true,” the detective says. “Your dad doesn’t want you or your, boyfriend?” She says it like a question, “to get hurt.”

Ada argues with the cop for a long time. She tells her a lot of what her dad said and the cop actually tries to tell her she’s misreading what he was saying. I’m angry all over again listening to the full conversation she had with her dad and the things Jimmy said.

“I think you should do something about him. There’s no telling what he might do to me or my father.”

“Mr. Springfield is a reasonable man,” O’Neal says. “I’ll file the order against Jimmy. We’ll go pick him up since I see he assaulted you not too long ago at the bar. If you have any more trouble, call me. I’ll give you my card.”

After she drives away Ada turns to me. “She wasn’t that helpful, was she?”

“Better than she was the night this place got vandalized,” I say not thinking.

“Wait, what. When did that happen?”

I have to go through the situation with George and what happened to elaborate on the song a little bit. She listens intently and shakes her head like I thought she would. It’s at least clear to me now why the cop was such a bitch to me. She’s clearly in league with the men my dad fired.

“Tomorrow we have to rehearse at the recording building. I don’t feel safe here at night anymore.” Ada says.

I have to agree with her.