Page 44 of Everything After (Everything Trilogy)

ALFIE

My shoulders ached, still tight with tension from my confrontation with Cody, as I made my way to the parking lot outside. I glanced down at my hands and saw that my palms were bleeding. I realized I’d clenched my hands so tightly that my fingernails had broken the skin.

“I bet that smug fucker thinks he’s gotten off lightly. But I’m not done with him by a long shot,” I mumbled to myself.

I saw I was stressing out Lily. It was the only reason I’d backed down. Going full Mike Tyson on his ass in front of my pregnant wife and her bandmates would only have upset her more.

Don’t you worry, dude, I’ll pick the right time to show you a different side to the reasonable guy who walked away just now.

I wasn’t usually one for talking to myself, but Cody and Jack were the two guys that had the ability to bring out the worst in me, I thought as I slid into my car.

Another wave of rage threatened to consume me when another image of Cody’s behavior flashed through my mind’s eye again. “Goddammit,” I barked aloud.

“What? What happened?” Oscar called out.

“Just start the car and drive,” I ground out as a stabbing pain registered in both palms. I examined them again, taking in the bloody state they were in, and I thanked God that there were no concerts planned in my near future.

“You’re bleeding. Are you going to tell me what happened?” Oscar questioned, his narrowed eyes darting between my hands and my face.

Ignoring him, I leaned over, opened the glove box and pulled some tissues from a small box that Lily always kept in there. “Fuck,” I cussed again while I dabbed at my bloodied, right palm.

“That fucker Cody pawed my wife.”

“You fought?”

“No, not that I didn’t want to rip the fucker’s head off right then. But he’ll keep. Lily asked me to leave… I saw how upset the whole scene was making her, so I did.”

“One ass-kicking for Cody on order then,” Oscar remarked calmly and slowly moved us off. “Where are we headed, boss?”

“To the university.”

By the time I arrived at Florida State University, I was in a much calmer mood. Oscar walked behind as I left the car, and I found Derek and Delilah working as usual in the college music studio.

“Ah, just the man I wanted to see. I meant to ask you, are you coming to the alumni reunion being held here next week?” he asked.

I must have looked puzzled because he frowned. “Reunion?”

“Oh, it’s being held by your wife’s graduation year and the year above, I believe. But… you were a tutor for most of those students at that time, and I’m sure they’d get a kick out of two famous rock stars showing up.”

“I wasn’t aware there was a reunion. Lily didn’t mention it.”

“She didn’t? Oh, I do hope she’ll come. She was a popular girl while she was here. I would think she’d get a positive welcome from her peers.”

“I’ll ask. If she decides to come, I’ll tag along.”

“Splendid,” he gushed with a beaming, satisfied smile. “Alright, I’ll get out of your hair and let you genii get down to the business of making music.”

I looked at Delilah and saw her glance up to her hairline in response to his patronizing remark, but I took comfort in the fact that some things never changed. Both Delilah and I remained silent until he left the room, then I turned to address her.

“Have you worked on many other pieces since I was in London?”

“I have. I thought I’d score a new arrangement for “Life on Mars?” by David Bowie.”

“Damn,” I muttered. “Big risk to touch a Bowie song, since he was an exceptional performer.”

“Yeah, I know, but I kind of like what I did with it,” Delilah admitted.

“Alright. Let me hear it,” I prompted, nodding at her piano as I hopped up and sat on the desk, wincing again when I’d put weight on my palms to do so.

Delilah studied her piano keys for a beat, placed her long, slender fingers in position and began to play the intro in the key of C.

The piece she played was much faster, at almost a frantic pace but somehow, she’d still managed to make it sound like a modern song, slash, rap version, which was in stark comparison to Bowie’s deliberately slow, original recording.

In yet another surprising twist, Delilah had an insane vocal range with an incredible fast paced lyrical ability, and I was in awe.

My breath had caught in my throat during her enthralling performance, and it was only when I became aware of a knot in my chest, that I remembered to let it go.

Watching Delilah perform with the self-belief that had been missing in Lily when I’d first taken her into the same studio, brought a lump to my throat.

I remained speechless for a few seconds after she finished playing, and I believed right then that I was in the presence of the music world’s next big thing.

“Fuck,” I stated, shaking my head after recovering from her performance.

“Genius,” I remarked. I jumped down from the table, held my arms out and flashed her an appreciative smile.

“What you just did then… I-I don’t have the words to describe it.

.. apart from goosebumps!” I said, pushing up the sleeve on my leather jacket.

The hairs on my arm stood on end. “Sweetheart, I really believe I’m in the presence of greatness. ”

No matter what Delilah thought of herself, her genius and depth of understanding of music shone like the brightest beacon. It crossed my mind to warn her to revel in her personal obscurity because she wouldn’t have it for long.

I had nothing to teach Delilah that would enhance her musical knowledge and delivery. In fact, after listening to the piece she had played, I figured she had plenty that she could teach me.

Delilah’s cheeks pinked and the way she averted her eyes demonstrated how modest she was about the enormous talent God had given her. “I must thank my grandpa next time I see him. I’m about half as good as he is.”

“For real?” I muttered in awe.

“Yup, growing up, he was a stickler for making me practice— constantly stopping me, making me perfect every tempo, pitch and note until I could recognize the key played in any song I heard on the radio. He even made me record the notes onto music notebooks while I listened.”

“Then grandpa deserves to see you shine… which believe me, is gonna happen. I don’t think there’s much I can teach you, but I can help you network.”

Delilah’s eyes bulged. She blushed again and stood, glancing up at the clock on the studio wall. “Are we done for the day? It’s just that I’ve been here since 6:00 a.m., and the timed session I booked out is almost finished.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry I thought we were meeting later,” I said as a text alert sounded, and I glanced at my cell phone. “I was at the recording studio with my wife. Her band began to cut their new album today.”

Lily: We’ve wrapped up early due to the vibe with the band. We’re grabbing a quick bite to eat.

Delilah stopped stuffing her music books into her large bag and stared excitedly toward me. “XrAid? I love their music. Lily’s…” She looked lost for words for a moment then made a French chef’s kiss with her fingers. “Perfection.”

I grinned. “That she is,” I agreed, then had a thought. “That text was from her,” I remarked, waving my cell phone at Delilah. “Would you like to join us for something to eat?”

“You and Lily?” she asked, sounding incredulous.

“Not just us, she’s eating with the band. I’m sure they’re in McNaughten’s Sports Bar near the recording studio. It’s only a ten-minute drive from here.”

Delilah slung her bag over her shoulder. “Oh. My. God. Me hanging out with XrAid? Thank goodness I didn’t wear my pajama pants today. Lead the way, I’m there already,” she replied, grinning.

“You never said he was coming back,” I heard Lennie say to Lily, as Delilah and I approached the table they were sitting at. Lily glared at Lennie’s remark as he stood and eyed the girl beside me and raised his brow.

Lily’s eyes narrowed as she dragged them the length of Delilah, making no secret of checking Delilah out before her gorgeous gaze settled on me. She smiled.

“Hey, baby,” I said, as I began to lean across the table. Lily partly stood from her chair and met me halfway. Taking her head in my hands, I planted an intimate, unhurried kiss on her lips.

When we eventually parted, Lily sat back down, sighed wistfully and her gaze was much more heated than before. I flashed her a knowing smile, held her gaze for another beat then realized all conversation had stopped. I turned my attention to Delilah and waved her closer.

“Lily, this is Delilah, the student I told you about.”

“Lennie,” Lily’s bandmate interrupted and held his hand out toward her.

“Delilah,” she responded, turning beet red, and looking starstruck. “But Alfie said that already,” she mumbled awkwardly.

“Shawn, Cody, Digs, and you know who Lily is,” Lennie said, taking charge of the introductions, and pointing in a counterclockwise direction from Shawn, who was sitting next to him on the other side of Lily.

It was only then that I realized Digs was seated on Lily’s other side, and not Cody, like he had in the past when I’d visited them.

Part of me wondered if they’d switched seats once they all knew I was going to be there.

However Lennie’s surprised reaction to seeing me made me disregard that thought.

“Let’s grab an extra couple of chairs,” Shawn stated. Once we rearranged the seating so that I was on one side of Lily and Delilah was on the other. “Are you the chick that’s been in all the papers… the one in the pizza joint with Alfie?” Shawn asked, acting tactless as usual.

Delilah looked a mixture of starstruck and embarrassed at being put on the spot.

“What a huge mistake that was,” she muttered, facepalming.

“Poor Alfie was kind enough to feed me after his tutoring session and the media jumped to their own conclusions. It must be so hard for you guys to do normal things without the narrative being twisted to suit some sensational story or other in the tabloids,” she replied.

I loved how unfazed she was at Shawn’s challenge and how confidently she dismissed the incident.

“So, Delilah, what have you been doing with my husband?” Lily asked, giving the student her full attention by pivoting a little in her seat to face her.

“Just collaborating a little and polishing a few pieces I’ve arranged for my finals. He’s been very gracious about allowing me to assault his ears by butchering some iconic songs.”

Lily turned, caught my gaze and looked lovingly into my eyes. “I remember when Alfie mentored me, we weren’t in the best place in our relationship… hot and cold, is how I’d best describe it. I was head-over-heels, but it was a complicated time for us… a real rollercoaster of a ride back then.”

“Actually, you were the one who lacked trust,” Alfie corrected me.

“And you appeared like a player, so I’m excused for forming that opinion.”

“Now, now, kids,” Lennie mumbled. “Let’s just say their rise to the top got in the way of their passion.”

“That was a long time ago,” I suggested. Holding Lily’s chin between my thumb and forefinger, I gently pulled her toward me and pressed another kiss to her mouth. “Can we leave now and make up about that again?” I joked.

Lily laughed and shoved me away with her elbow. “You have your end- of-year showcase soon?” she asked Delilah.

Delilah nodded. “One classic piece, I chose “La Campanella” by Liszt, one original score, I’ve called that “Destiny in Lilac”, and one alternative arrangement.”

“Oh, what did you choose for that?” Lily asked, genuinely interested.

“I’ve decided on “Life on Mars?” by David Bowie, right, Alfie?” she asked, needing validation that it outshone the other pieces she’d rearranged.

“Definitely and you’ll blow those markers away with it,” I confirmed. “You need to hear it, Lily,” I added.

Once the ice had been broken between Lily and Delilah, they chatted mostly about what it was like traveling with four guys, how she felt about being a front person in a band and finally the lack of privacy that comes from being famous.

I sat listening while Lily handled Delilah’s questions with grace and the guys chipped in here and there. After an hour it was easy to see Delilah could hold her own in celebrity situations.

“I really like her,” Lily confessed, turning to me when Delilah excused herself to visit the restroom.

“Me too, she really didn’t need me… she has great instincts for how to adapt music to suit her skill and personality.”

“She’s really pretty,” Lily suggested.

“God, right?” I agreed. “She puts me in mind of you when you were that age, although Delilah’s confidence is far greater than yours ever will be.”

“Huh,” she huffed, looking hurt.

“Baby, you are every bit as talented as her, but even after all this time, there are occasions where I read imposter syndrome in those beautiful eyes.”

“So true,” Lennie interjected. “Yet, I’d go as far as to say, without you in the band, we were still good, but you added that missing spark that took us to the next level.”

Lily’s face pinked up and she looked shy for once. “You really think so?”

“It took us exactly two seconds after we all walked back into that room after your audition to know you were our new band member. It killed us to sit there for that ten minutes pretending we were deliberating before we came to tell you,” Digs replied.

I glanced at Cody who sat head down, eating his food, and it didn’t take a genius to know he was trying to appear invisible.

“Who voiced they wanted her first?” I asked, putting the cat among the pigeons and feeling confident Cody had been first to voice his opinion.

“Cody,” Shawn mumbled.

“And why doesn’t that surprise me?” I said in a tone laced with sarcasm as I glared at Cody across the table.

“But in all fairness, he was always going to be the band member with the most sway because he was the one that had to perform joint lead and harmonize with whoever we chose,” Lennie argued.

In that instant I had to concede at the time Cody had acted on his instincts as to who would be the best match. And fortunately for him, there was a distraction when the server approached our table with Delilah’s and my food.

“Fair point,” I admitted. Lily’s hand reached out to mine and she gave it a tight squeeze. I took her gesture as a silent thank you for not questioning if there were any other factors in place when she was picked by Cody.