Chapter Twenty-Seven
Xander (Friday)
Even though I hadn’t seen Michael since our big fight on Monday, I couldn’t help but hold out hope. I’d been angry, and so had he, but we were like family. We got over stuff like that. Usually, we had our big blow outs then the following day, it was all forgotten. Sure, this one had felt different, but I could get past it. I felt like we could work things out, why couldn’t he?
I ordered my usual coffee and sat at the table I always did, just waiting for him. It was pretty obvious that he wasn’t coming, but I needed him all the same. I couldn’t stand this anymore, it was ridiculous, so I pulled out my phone to call him.
As the phone rang and rang, my heart fell with disappointment. Wasn’t what we had so much more than one stupid fight? Weren’t the years that we’d known each other much more important? I was even starting to think that maybe I should just fire someone to bring him back to me. Not Kyle, of course, I’d been serious when I said that to him, but someone. I hated to admit it, but Michael was right about one thing: we did need to start making some more sensible choices in the future.
Still, if he wasn’t going to talk to me, then there was no way I could tell him that. There wasn’t any way that I could swallow my pride and apologize.
After attempting to call three times, I sighed deeply and gave up. I would just have to leave a message instead. Maybe I would get to the studio and find him there anyway, and everything could get back on track.
“Michael,” I started in a tone of voice that was a little too serious for my liking. “Michael, it’s Xander, we need to talk. I think that you know that as well as I do. Things got a little out of hand on Monday, things were said that probably shouldn’t have been, but we need to run this business together.” I paused, allowing my eyes to slide shut for a moment before saying the words that almost got stuck in my throat. “I need you. Please, just call me so we can sort this out. We’ve been friends for far too long to throw this away over one silly fight.”
I hung up, gulped down my drink, and stood up to leave. I knew that today was already going to be terrible because Aiden was back in for more recording, and I wasn’t sure that I could handle him alone. If Michael wasn’t there, then maybe I’d just cancel Aiden and spend the day doing something else, something more productive. Anything other than sitting around and wondering how to get my friendship back on track!
Unsurprisingly, as soon as I got into the studio, I found myself very alone. There was no sign of Michael, and it didn’t seem like Aiden was around, either. I put in a call to his manager and rescheduled him coming in. If I was going to end up firing him, then there wasn’t any point in recording anymore. There wouldn’t be a follow up album, anyway!
Then I sat in the office for a while, just thinking things through. I hated having to crush the dreams of anyone. It didn’t make me comfortable at all, but if I didn’t then I wouldn’t be able to help anyone, least of all myself.
Shit, maybe my business sense wasn’t what I thought it was, after all.
“That’s it.” I jumped up, determination racing through me. I wasn’t going to sit around her being miserable, I was going to head to the orphanage to spend some time with the kids. I wanted to talk to Jo anyway, to see how the inspection had gone. I would much rather be there than here.
***
“So, it went well then.” I grinned happily at Jo, glad to hear that things were good. “And they’re happy with all the expansion plans.”
“Yep!” Her face was glowing, and she looked on top of the world. “Thanks to your donation and the funds raised at the fundraiser, I could show them all kinds of impressive stuff. They were so pleased with how things are going.”
I was over the moon to hear that. This was such an important place, not just to me, but to loads of kids, too. It needed to be the best that it could possibly be, and even if I lost everything else, I’d be glad to know that I had helped others. The necessary reforms were happening, and I had been a part of that.
“Well, all the kids seem a lot happier here than when I was younger, so you must be doing something right.” I knew that it was a different time, but Jo had made some great steps forward, too. She needed some recognition for that. “You should be very proud.”
“Oh, speaking of the kids, Sadie has been asking for you and Lila. Would you like to hang out with her for a bit? She warmed to the pair of you. Honestly, I was quite worried about her before you came along.”
“I would love to, thank you.” The idea of spending time with Sadie totally beat recording with divas all day long. “Show me the way.”
While the other children played their noisy games, I sat quietly with Sadie in the corner, drawing and reading books. When I was growing up, I had always been one of the loud ones, playing the craziest games. I had never taken the time to notice the shy ones in the corner. That was wrong of me, but I was young then. Now, I could make up for it, even if it was in the smallest way possible.
“So, how was the inspection?” I asked her with a smile while we colored. “Was Jo freaking out?”
“Scary,” she admitted, but without any fear in her tone. “Better than adopt day though. They liked us all.”
God, the dreaded adoption visits. I recalled them well. When I was a baby, couples never seemed to want boys so I got left behind, then I became too old. People only wanted the sweet babies. I wanted to act up whenever they came in, but I never did. I always still clung to that tiny piece of pointless hope.
I hated thinking about Sadie in that same boat. I mean, I couldn’t understand why no one had picked her up yet, but there were always reasons. If there was some complication in the beginning of her journey into the care system, then maybe she was overlooked. Now, most people would see her as too old.
“Ah, well, I bet you did well,” I smiled thinly. Things were much better for the kids here, but it seemed like there was always going to be negative sides to it. Much as I wanted to, I couldn’t fix everything. “Jo is certainly happy with how you all behaved.”
“Where’s Lila?” she eventually asked, just as I thought she might. If she remembered me, she would definitely remember Lila.
“Oh...” I was about to launch into an explanation of where Lila might be, but before I could get there, Lila shocked me by entering the room totally unexpectedly. “Oh, there she is.”
“I hope you don’t mind me joining you.” Lila sat by my side with a massive smile on her face. Her cheeks were adorably flushed, as if she’d been rushing around, which somehow managed to make her even more beautiful. “I went to the studio, but it was closed, so I assumed you’d be here.”
“Everything all right?” The image of her hunting for me made me smile to myself. I just loved being on her mind, no matter what.
“Yeah, I just wanted to get in to record the lyrics to the song now that we have them, if you have any space.”
I chuckled, recalling the long evening where we’d all argued over absolutely everything. We’d come up with an awesome song in the end, but it took us a long time to get there. “Kyle has recorded the piano part, right? So, I thought that we could just knock it out whenever you’re ready.”
“Oh, did you want to go now?” I was excited for that, I didn’t mind being back at work for Lila. “We could get it done today, then things could progress.”
“Sure, but not yet. Let’s stay and hang out with Sadie for a while first. I haven’t seen her much yet!”
As they played, my heart melted. They just looked so right together, so adorable. Lila made Sadie smile, even more than I did, so I was content to just watch them for now.
***
“Wow, that was excellent.” We’d ended up staying at the orphanage until much too late, which meant that we were recording into the night, but it felt awesome. Lila was more confident now, as if she could tell that she had talent, which made me proud of her. She deserved everything that was coming to her. “Now that we have all the recordings, we can get going.”
“Obviously, I know that the marketing budget won’t be the same as we first thought, but I’m still grateful to you.” She moved by my side and threw her arms around my back. “This is still a dream come true, no matter what happens next.”
“But Kyle’s dream, right?” I teased, holding her close to me. “This isn’t something that you want at all.”
“Okay, maybe I do.” She shrugged and pulled back to stare into my eyes. “But I didn’t until very recently. Honestly, no one ever used to hear me sing. It was only because Kyle heard me singing in the shower!”
“Well, I’m so glad that he did. I never would’ve met you otherwise!”
It was weird to think that if the circumstances hadn’t brought us together, we never would’ve met. I couldn’t stand the thought of never knowing Lila now. She’d changed me in every way possible and I was so glad for that.
“So, it sounded okay? My voice wasn’t pitchy and weird? I still don’t feel a hundred percent in my throat.”
“I am taking you to the doctor soon if that’s the case!” I insisted sharply. “That’s been going on for too long. You need to be looked at.”
“No, don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. I just wanted to check that I sounded okay.”
“You sounded great.” I pulled her in for a kiss, feeling my heart skip a beat as we connected. “Perfect, in fact. This is going to be a hit no matter what we do.”
I was still confident in that, despite everything. Lila and Kyle had something and that would shine through with or without a big marketing budget.
“I hope so.” She clutched my fingers tightly, hope shining in her face. “That would be amazing, for all of us.”
She was right. I needed this just as much as she did, but hopefully everything would be okay in the end. If everything worked out exactly as I thought it would, we’d be all out of the shit. Financially, it was advisable for me not to sink more of my own money into the studio, and I hoped I wouldn’t need to. If this all worked, then I wouldn’t.
If only I could make things right with Michael, then everything would be all right.