MIA:
Okay, so maybe it was
taking the cowardly way out. I was avoiding talking to my brother
about his newfound fatherhood. He called me the next day.
"Where the hell are you?" he hissed.
"In an undisclosed area. What's up?" I asked, playing dumb.
"You know exactly what is up," he replied. "Why didn't you warn me? Give me some sort of heads up?"
"Because you would never have dealt with it yourself. What is going to happen? How is Kate handling it?"
"She's fine. It's me that is freaking out."
"So…"
"She and I will still get married in the fall," he replied. "That's not the issue here."
I was a bit relieved. "Then what is?"
"Lilly doesn't want the baby."
"Wh-What?" I asked, choking on air.
"She wants to just hand it off to me to raise. Me and Kate."
I looked sideways at Michael who was talking to a female fan in the hallway. "Is that not a good thing? Does Kate-"
"Kate is fine with the whole thing. She wants to raise the baby."
"So what is-"
"The big deal is, she takes all this time to figure out what she wants and doesn't give me a chance to decide what I want."
"What exactly do you want?" I said in a hushed tone once I noticed the fan was listening to my conversation.
"I don't know. That's the thing. I mean, I know I want Kate and I to have some time alone together. We haven't ever had that with her living back in the States and my carrying on my duties."
"Okay-"
"But a baby….I mean, it's a baby. I helped make the baby. And I would hate for the child to think that he or she was unwanted. I want the baby….just…the timing…it isn't…."
"Right?" I asked.
"It's just putting all of us on a faster track here."
"Are you mad at Lilly?"
"No…just…aggravated right now. She only cares about this stupid Manny guy. That's her main concern here, not the welfare of the baby, just him. It's so frustrating that she's only concerned about that."
"But you are too-"
"I suggested that we try to raise the baby together. I can get her a place here so she could raise the baby and we could be a family…a dysfunctional one, but a family. I don't want to be the ghost father that I had when I was a kid. I told her all this and she said no."
"She has a life you know-"
"When you become a parent Mia," he started, "Your life becomes less important than your child's life. They come first. Their happiness is first."
For some reason this statement struck a chord with me. "You can't expect her to change her life totally Lou-"
"What, her nomadic lifestyle following around her boyfriend? Of course not. I should just give up my job and follow her and her off and on boyfriend and our child around. Right?"
He kind of made sense. I hated to say it, but he did. "So what are you going to do?" I asked meekly.
"Kate and I were just talking before I called you," he replied with a sigh. "We'll raise the baby as our own."
"Will it even know about Lilly-"
"She said she'd rather it not know."
"But the press-"
"Will believe that our sudden change of wedding date will be because of the baby."
"So Lilly won't exist?"
"It's how she said she wanted it. Earlier this morning."
This did sound like the Lilly I knew back in high school. Getting into trouble and finding the easiest way out. Letting other people deal with her problems as she glided away easily. She had done it so many times to me during high school. "Louie, I'm sorry-"
"No, it's obviously not your fault. I shouldn't have…well, you know."
"You should have left it in your pants?" I guessed.
He laughed slightly. "I guess so."
"Well, now I'll have a lovely niece or nephew in a few more months."
"Lucky you only have to deal with the questions…I have to deal with the reality."
Michael and I spent the rest of the week dodging the paparazzi that figured out where we were. Most of our visit was spent in our hotel suite. But even there we weren't alone. Grandmere was on the phone yelling at me for leaving my duties. She can fire me. I don't care.
I bought a magazine that had pictures from Anna's party. "Listen to this," I said clearing my throat. I held the magazine in one hand and rubbed his bare leg with the other. " ' Prince Phillippe bonds with musician Michael Moscovitz, beau of Princess and musician Mia Thermopolis Grimaldi Renaldo. To the left the two men laugh at the goings on at the party. Clearly the prince approves of the princesses' choice in men'." I said with a smile. I slid up his chest and kissed him. "Aren't we so lucky he likes you?"
We returned home and were bombarded at the airport. "Princess! Are you engaged?"
"Michael, did you pop the question this week?"
"Mia, are you pregnant?"
"Michael, are you moving to Genovia with Mia?"
We laughed and waved to the reporters. We met the rest of the band in Washington State. They all were a little distant to us. "You are the newsmakers anyways," Kevin sniped to Michael. "What does it matter if we're around?"
So things were really weird. But it didn't affect our chemistry on the stage. More guys showed up. When we were at one of our later shows in San Jose Michael showed the other guys my song. "We should play this," Manny said at rehearsal. "It's easy to work with."
So I nervously stood in the middle of the stage. "Okay guys, calm down," I said, settling the crowd down from the previous song.
"One sec,"
Michael said walking over to me casually and flicking some water to
the crowd. "Cool off already!"
He tapped me on the
shoulder, "Go for it babe."
I blushed and waited for them to start to play the song. I was surprised with how into it I got. I skipped a word by mistake though. I said 'We haven't fucked yet but my head keeps spinning'. I was looking over at Michael as I said it and his eyes got all wide and googly. That was the only time we'd brought our relationship to the stage.
The crowd really liked the song and I felt like I was on top of the world. Nothing could go wrong now. I have Michael. I have a good career. Tour is almost over so I can go home and hang out with Michael in my own apartment. Bring some reality to our relationship.
Everything is just as it should be.
The whole group of us celebrated the end of the tour by hitting the beach. I wore the bathing suit that I wore in Genovia that Michael seemed to enjoy so much. "Mia, what are you wearing?" he demanded standing in front of me and covering me up.
"Um, a bathing suit," I said pushing him aside. "Don't be a dork."
"Mia," he said grabbing my wrist and pulling me back into the bus.
"What?" I asked. "Are you trying to do this to be the cute jealous boyfriend?"
"Mia, I don't want them checking you out," he said in hushed tones as Kevin and Manny walked by.
"You're being paranoid."
"You look too hot."
I smiled, "As much as I enjoy having you spaz out for me, knock it off. Now." Then I walked off the bus with my short shorts and tank top on. My bathing suit was on underneath.
We sat off to the side, away from the crowds. "Mia, Frisbee?" Kevin asked pulling the toy out of a bag.
"Sure," I said finishing up the lotion on my legs.
"Let me get your back," Manny offered.
"Oh, thanks."
I could feel Michael's eyes glaring at me. "Mia. Can we talk?" he asked.
I smiled, "Later sweetie. Come play Frisbee."
"Michael, you didn't have to throw it then," I said, putting ice on Kevin's eye.
"I was playing Frisbee," he snapped. "Isn't that the point? Throwing it?"
"Yeah, when he's paying attention," I replied. "Not like a total jerk. You are being a total jerk today."
"Can't you at least put a shirt on?" he asked, pointing to my cleavage.
I looked down. "So it's okay for you to look at me like this, but no one else?"
"Right."
I handed Kevin his bag of ice and walked away.
I went to the bed area and put on a long sleeve shirt, a sweater and a sweatshirt. Then some yoga pants and sweatpants. "Is this good enough for you?"
He rolled his eyes. "Don't be so dramatic."
I glared at him. "You know, if I didn't love you I'd really loathe you right now."
He looked pretty relieved. "Mia…I just…I know that you are really, really hot and amazing, and well…perfect…and you've always been so tight with all of us…I just don't…you know, want anything to happen like it did with us. Ya know?"
I understood then. "Michael, the only reason something happened with us is because we both wanted it to. You didn't make it happen, no matter how studly you think you are."
He leaned his forehead against mine, "I'm a jerk, huh?"
"Always admit it and we'll be fine."
We went to a club that night. And I just focused on Michael. Which he seemed to enjoy. We made out a little in the VIP section and gossiped about the other people in the room. We posed for a picture with Lindsey Lohan (even though we haven't liked her since she told the press she wanted Michael and I to break up). "Wanna go back to the bus and make out?" Michael asked.
I smiled, "Sounds like a plan."
We laid in his bunk and read Tina's new romance novel, Virtuoso. About the evolving love story of a young girl and her genius lover, Rocco. He read his chapters in goofy voices. But we finally settled in for bed at one in the morning. "Hard to believe we're back in New York tomorrow," he said nuzzling into my neck.
"Back to reality," I agreed.
"Live with me," he said softly. More of a question than an order.
"Kay," I said softly. I liked how everything was so easy with him now. "Where though?"
"We can get our own place," he replied. "I'll call Garry tomorrow. He can send out some feelers."
"Feelers?" I said with a laugh.
"Yeah. They can look for a place for us."
"Wouldn't it be more quaint if we found our own?" I asked turning so I was facing him.
"But this way we could get right in."
"But give specific orders," I replied. "Small. No guest rooms or anything. The Village would be perfect."
"Not SoHo?" he asked.
"No. Too uppity. I just want something for us. We're more the village."
He smiled. "It's the beginning, right babe?"
"Huh?"
"We're beginning a whole life together huh?"
I nodded, "Exciting, no?"
He kissed me softly. "It's just what I want."
