EMBRACE YOU Lone(liness Book Two)(17)
Chapter 6
I gasp suddenly, waking myself up. As I sit up, Marcus wakes up, too.
"Johanna, what is it?" he asks me quietly.
"I was dreaming about having the interview. You were about to admit that you'd always found her to be pretty," I said, holding my hand over my pounding heart.
"Come here. Lie down. Be calm and try to relax. I can't wait until we have this interview and it's all done and history!" Marcus says as he sighs heavily.
I'm still exhausted from the lack of sleep. I cuddle into Marcus' warm side and try to fall asleep again.
The next day, Linny is sick, so practice is canceled. I work on voice exercises at home so I keep my singing voice healthy. After a couple hours of practice, I take the baby and bundle her up, telling Marcus that we'll be outside, enjoying the sunlight. It's early autumn and she's already ten months old! Still, it's been cold lately and we haven't had very much sunlight. We're playing outside when I hear the sounds of reporters just beyond the tall wall. Swallowing my fear, I grab Lizzie and hightail it back into the house.
"What? What happened?" Marcus asks in alarm. My face obviously gives me away.
I get control of my breathing.
"We were playing just outside and I heard some reporters saying, 'She's outside with the kid! Come on!'"
Marcus smothers a swear word and peeks through the sheers. He runs to the closet in his room and pulls the house phone out and plugs it in.
"Call the police. When you and my daughter can't even enjoy a sunny autumn day..."
I call. Ten minutes later, the tall ladder comes down. The police ring us on our cell phone.
"Hadley residence, Marcus speaking. Yes, officer. If you'll come to the rear gate, I'll let you in."
Inside the house, the responding officers tell us that they've made the reporters leave. Still...my enjoyment of the sunny day is now ruined. After the police leave, we stay inside and make sure the sheers are securely shut.
"I think we should leave just the phone connected for instances like this. I hadn't thought of events like this. No voice message machine. We all need our sleep. I'll turn the ringer off. We're only making outgoing calls, not receiving any calls," Marcus decides. I quickly agree and Marcus plugs back in all the phones.
Our CD is now ready for release! Accordingly, Nigel, our business manager set up big CD release parties in the U.S. and here in the U.K. A press release goes out ahead of the big day, generating publicity and creating buzz so that music lovers would buy our newest release.
We make plans to attend both release parties. Because the criminal trials for both Cara and Melanie are still a few months away, we are safe to travel. We hire a top-notch security firm to patrol inside and outside the wall of our house to keep snoopy reporters out. Before we leave, we give them instruction to call us if they catch anyone trying to get into the property or house. For this, we buy and activate international cell phones.
In the U.S. several event planners have created a huge release party. We are set up to perform a few songs from the new CD. My mum goes with us so she can take care of our healthy little girl. Lizzie hasn't begun to walk, but she is definitely mobile!
The U.S. CD release party is a huge success. Many celebrities, musicians, actors, actresses and film stars are present. We are an international sensation. Everyone who hears us play, love us. Our CD is a big hit, leading to huge sales in music stores and online all throughout the U.S.
We return to the U.K. and rest for a few days before the U.K. CD release party. There we also have major celebrities and sports stars in attendance. Once both CD release parties are over, our business manager reports that our CD is selling very well - we are already in double-platinum numbers and well on our way to triple-platinum numbers! No doubt, we have arrived musically! I am thrilled! This is everything we have been working so hard toward.
Now, we focus on our pending European tour, set to begin right after Christmas, when the baby will be one year old. Because of the continuing insistence of the tabloid reporters, the security stills tries to fend them off, both at our house and at the studio. Now we are so well protected, we are able to focus on the music and taking care of our baby.
Finally, the criminal trials for Cara and Melanie are set to start. They will be held consecutively, so I hope this will speed things up. I don't want Lizzie exposed to the public, so mum and I arrange for her to take care of the baby while I'm in attendance at the trials.
"Johanna, I will watch the baby like a hawk. She'll stay inside unless I know I can safely take her to the yard while you're out." Mum has offered to drive over here to our house in Saint Albans. She will have the protection of the security detail, which patrols 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
On the first day of the trial, Cara's attorney alludes to a possible mental health diagnosis, saying that, because she is mentally ill, she should not be convicted of the crimes for which she is charged. Hearing this, I am forced to school my facial expression. Marcus and I know that, if we show any negative emotion, this will make it into the press. For this reason, I look down at my notepad, scribbling notes. Literally! I am drawing musical notes on my notepad! This will help me to present a positive face while in court, more than anything else could. I feel Marcus nudge my ribs. Looking at him, I see a question in his deep-green eyes.