Chapter 4
Nicky was curled up on the sofa since she'd already put the plates out on the coffee table. Her mother had been caught at work and brought home Italian food from D'Agostino's. Erin was normally pretty strict about eating at the dinner table they had, so this was a rarity. While her mother pulled the pasta out of the microwave, Nicky flipped on the TV. One of the celebrity gossip shows was nearly done, and after a summary of the most recent celebrity scandals, the program turned to an update segment.
"After the break, we'll catch up with Lauren Stone and find out why she's not producing her next album in Los Angeles," said the host in his deep, made-for-television bass. The program faded into a series of banal advertisements and Nicky put the TV on mute while she dug through her backpack for a notebook and pen. Her mother came in from the other room, put the pasta on the table, and plopped down on the sofa. It had been a very long day and she was grateful to finally be off her feet.
"Dig in," she said to her daughter. Erin glanced at the TV and raised an eyebrow. She didn't really care for these shows. She thought they were ridiculous.
"I'll turn it off in just a sec, Mom. Lauren is going to be on next. Something about her new album. It will be a great way to close my paper, with a little section on what's next for her. I'll have just enough time to add that in before I have to turn it in on Friday."
Erin smiled. She loved the fact that Nicky was so enthusiastic about her schoolwork. Her daughter was certainly putting a lot of effort into this paper, and the initial awkwardness surrounding Linda finding out about Danny's history with the singer seemed to have settled down. Nicky unmuted the TV when the show came back on.
"And in other news," said the overly bleached and tanned co-host, "Lauren Stone will be returning to her old stomping grounds to record and produce her next project…"
The screen washed to unveil a previously taped interview segment. Lauren was outside of some random building – in LA judging by the palm trees – with several reporters' microphones around her.
"Yes, we're going back to New York for our next project," she said. "It has been a long time since I've been back home to my city, and I really want to reconnect there. We'll be working Fitz McCallum to produce a new album and then start working on a tour. We're really looking forward to getting back in the studio." She flashed a smile and pushed her way through the crowd.
Suddenly the host was back, all spray-tan and teeth. "There you have it. Lauren Stone is producing a new album and she'll be in New York City to do it. Look out Big Apple, your favorite daughter is coming home!"
"That is so awesome!" said Nicky. She scribbled a few notes and then tossed the notebook to the side so she could fill her plate with D'Agostino's potato gnocchi with pomodoro sauce. It was heavenly.
On Thursday, Nicky got some good news. Several of her classmates lobbied hard for the project's due date to be moved from Friday to Monday, giving the class the whole weekend to "really focus on doing a good job." Their teacher finally acquiesced but made it clear, in no uncertain or ambiguous terms, that the papers had best be on her desk by 9:00 a.m. that day or they would be considered late, and she would drop the grade by a whole letter.
Since she was so close to done, Nicky spent her Saturday afternoon reading the paper over, making some minor corrections, printing it out, and putting it into a very nice presentation folder. By the time Sunday afternoon dinner rolled around at her grandfather's house, she was completely finished and quite pleased with what she created.
As the Reagan's were setting the table, on the other side of the country, Lauren Stone was getting on a plane in LA. She walked out on the tarmac towards the Lear Jet that was would take her east, back home to New York. Her smartphone was pressed to her ear, and she handed her carry-on bag to the attendant and mouthed a thank you.
"I'm not trotting around town like some show pony, Carolyn. I'll visit but I'm coming back to record not go on vacation. Yes, okay. Fine. FINE! We'll go clubbing at least once… I'll see… probably… I can probably get us into The Vault…" The excited squeal on the other end of the phone made Lauren pull it away from her ear for a moment. She rolled her eyes; she'd gotten the whole clubs-until-4:00AM thing out of her system years ago but Carolyn was her favorite sister and she just couldn't say no.
"Yes, I'm getting on the plane now. No, I don't need you to clean out the guest room. I have a place to stay in the city. I've leased it for six months." She tucked her sunglasses up on top of her head.
"Carolyn. Carolyn! If I don't get on the plane, I'm never going to get there. Okay, sis, I love you, too. I'll see you soon. I'll call you once I'm settled in." Lauren hung up the phone and powered it down.
"Welcome aboard, Miss Stone," said the smartly dressed flight attendant. "Once we're airborne, please let me know if there's anything I can get you."
"Thank you." Lauren sat down in her seat and buckled the safety belt. She leaned back and looked out the windows. It had been a long time since she'd been back to New York for more than a few days at a time. She was looking forward to it with an odd sense of anticipation.
In New York, the Reagan's finished grace and started to pass the plates. This week, Frank had made his famous roast beef for dinner. For the first part of dinner, there was a fairly intense discussion about a case that was pending in the DA's office. An eyewitness was reluctant to testify and without him, Erin's case was going to be much, much more difficult to win. A little later, Linda switched the subject and asked her sons about school.
"Jack, Sean. What do you have going on this week at school?" she asked.
Jack shrugged. "Not much. I have a math test on Wednesday, and soccer practice."
"What about you, Sean?"
"We have a field trip. We're going to the Museum of Natural History."
"That should be fun," said Frank. "Are you looking forward to it?"
"Yea, I want to go see the meteorite exhibit and see some space rocks!" At the current moment, Sean had moved his career ambitions yet again. First he'd wanted to be a cop like his dad, then – to the family's amused dismay, a fireman – and now he'd moved on to astronaut.
"And what about you, Nicky?" asked Linda. "Anything special for you this week at school?"
"I'm turning in my project on Lauren Stone tomorrow," answered Nicky, "and it came out awesome! And I saw on one of the entertainment shows a few days ago that she's coming back to New York to record her next album. How cool is that?"
As soon as Nicky said Lauren would be in New York, Linda felt the pit of her stomach turn over and roil like a brick had abruptly landed there. She put her fork down, suddenly losing her appetite. Danny hardly reacted at all. He just grunted something that sounded like, "oh," and kept eating, his eyes down on his own plate.
Lauren will be back? It would be great to see her again… Danny lost himself in his own thoughts and lost track of the conversation for a moment.
"That is cool," said Jamie. "Only she's coming back? A solo album?"
Nicky shook her head. "No, It's the whole band – the TV show made it sound like just her, but I did a little poking around on the Internet and it will be a Kingmakers album."
Danny continued to ignore the conversation and his silence irritated Linda. I know he's thinking about her. Is he excited she's coming to New York? "What do you think, Danny?"
"What?" He was a little flustered, knowing he'd been caught not paying attention.
"That your old flame is coming back to the city?" Linda's smile was thin.
"I don't know. Good for her? I'm sure she'll be happy; chance to see some of her family." He shrugged. "What else do you want me to say?"
Linda didn't have an answer, and Erin began to wonder if Linda's unexpected jealousy had resolved itself after all.
Nicky piped back up, filling the momentary silence. "Oh, this whole conversation reminds me, Mom… Who is Tommy Molloy?"
Erin coughed as she choked on her peas. Her eyes got big. She looked at her daughter and then immediately turned to Danny who was trying, unsuccessfully, not to laugh. She glared at him.
"Holy Mother of God," said Henry. "There's another one. What was it about you kids falling for these troublemakers? He had long hair – at least longer than they should have allowed at St. Catherine's. And he had a motorcycle when he was 17!"
"It was closer to a dirt bike, Pops," said Erin. She was blushing a little. Tommy Molloy had been in Danny's class and Erin had crushed on him through her entire junior year. He had long hair, a motorcycle, and even had a tattoo: the complete bad-boy image she loved as a teenager.
"And not to mention that tattoo," said Frank.
"He had a tattoo and a motorcycle?" Nicky was positively gleeful.
Erin glared her older brother again. "Thanks a lot, Danny."
"You're welcome, sis," he said, still laughing. He was definitely going to pay for this at some point.