This weather sure is weird.
It's gray and gloomy again, with temps back in the 40's for the drive down to Santa Barbara.
Again, Cat let me borrow the SUV for the drive. Unlike all the recent trips, Cat is making me get a hotel room in Santa Barbara because she's afraid I'll fall asleep while driving back. Which has never happened or even gotten close to happening! But…I'm appeasing her just this once.
No sense in starting an argument over something trivial.
"Robbie?"
"Yeah sunshine? What's up?"
"How's it going?"
I look over to see her smiling at me while hunched over.
"Good."
"How's the drive?" She smiled again.
"Nothing really to write home about…"
I wonder why she's trying to start a conversation.
Probably because she has been asleep for a majority of the drive and feels like I should have some company.
That's nice of her.
"Did you sleep well?" I asked her.
"I, uh…slept ok." She stuttered out, looking away and going pink.
"You have bed head." I smirked.
It's true. Her bangs are normal, but after about a inch hair starts sticking out in random and hilarious directions.
She quickly pulled down the mirror and laughed.
"Hehe, Robbie!" She smiled, tilting her head towards me and laughing.
"Looks good." I smiled.
Finally, off this stupid highway.
I signaled over 2 lanes and hit the off ramp. I barely saw Cat move for her purse.
"No no no. I want a picture."
"Ok…" She said, sounding like she didn't want it but was giving me this one.
I glanced over to her rolling her eyes, albeit with a smile.
I pulled into a local convenience store chain, Pop & Shop I think it's called, and grabbed my phone out of the side.
As soon as I got the camera ready, Cat was already smiling happily, hair looking like it was full of static.
I laughed.
"Click."
Cat's smiling face with crazy hair flashed onto the screen.
"Ok…" I said, pressing the home button and flashing back to my background of a old picture of Cat and I, laughing on the beach.
"Wait!" Cat said suddenly, reaching for my phone.
"Ok…"
"C'mere. I want one with you please." She looked at me, giving me her best puppy dog face.
"Sure."
I sidled over to her and got as close as I could without messing up her pristine hair.
An amazing smell wafted over me as I vaguely heard Cat say something and for the camera's flash to go off.
She quickly pulled my phone back.
"Perfect."
What on earth is this smell?
"Robbie?"
This smell…
It's safe to say I'm like intoxicated. This. Is. Amazing.
"What are you doing?"
Hmm…
Suddenly Cat had positioned herself in my lap.
"What's up buttercup?"
"Uh…you smell nice?" I stuttered out, slightly surprised by how relaxed she is.
Maybe I'm too paranoid about her mental state.
"Haha. Thanks. But really, what's wrong Robbie? I can help." She said simply, curling into my chest.
"Seriously Cat, it's your smell. It's…amazing honestly."
"Really now…you like it?" She asked, voice slightly deeper.
Oh…
Uh oh.
No Robbie.
Don't…
Don't think that again.
"Yeah." I said, completely having lost my train of thought.
God I want to kiss her.
NO!
"Well…thanks Robbie. I bought it the other day at…"
"At?" I asked.
"I'm not telling you."
"Oh…I see how it is." I said as she burst out into a big smile. "You want me to keep you around just for your perfume. Ah hah!"
"I'm your only source. Take it or leave it."
I grabbed her and pulled her as close as I could, causing her legs to come up to my waist and for her bra to hit me right in the chest.
"You're mine."
Ok…that was probably too close.
She looked uncomfortable and scooted off of me.
"Sorry about that…I only meant it as a hug. Promise."
She looked at me, looking kind of nervous.
"Yeah…"
She climbed back into her seat and buckled up as I put my phone away and restarted the SUV.
"How much longer?"
"5 minutes max." I said, pulling right onto a green light.
"Make that 3."
Cat giggled. "Thank you green light."
Maybe two minutes later Cat and I pulled into the parking lot. I swear it took at least as long from the convenience store to this spot for Cat to comb her hair.
Finally, she put the brush back into the dash and closed it.
"Ready superstar?" I smiled, stepping out.
"So ready."
She seemed to get more pep in her step as we got closer to the door.
"Hello, Mr. Shapiro?" A woman asked the moment we got in the door.
"Hi, I'm Robbie." I smiled, extending my hand.
Interestingly, she remained in her seat and didn't move.
New secretary.
Needs to learn her manners.
"The board is ready to see you in A3." She said, pointing to the sign that said 'Conference Rooms A&B.'
Cat and I quickly walked into A3, where I wasn't surprised to find the room full of suited men and one woman.
Cat complained about sexist hiring practices last time, I hope I don't get a re-run.
"Hello Ms. Valentine and Mr. Shapiro, please take a seat." The man at the head of the table said briskly.
We both sat.
"Ok, let's not waste any time here, we're all busy people. Now we understand that Cat, you were in Methodist Mental Facility for a grand total of 5 months?"
"Yes sir." She said quickly.
"Did you work on any music or material while in Methodist?"
"No sir, I wasn't allowed—"
"Simple yes or no Ms. Valentine will suffice." Another man said briskly.
"And what was the diagnosis?"
"Too much stress sir." I replied.
Many of the people turned to me.
"He was asking her Mr. Shapiro."
"She doesn't know the information sir." I bluntly replied.
Their inquiries are pissing me off. I gave them every update I could thru Jade and Tori. They said they were pleased.
"Why not?"
"I asked her whether she wanted to review the information Methodist gave me when she got out and she declined."
"Ok then, that's enough questions for you Cat, now Mr. Shapiro, how long has she been out?"
"6 days sir."
Several people looked impressed, but not the senior members. At least I think they are senior members. They are older than everyone else.
"And have you worked on any music?"
"No, we have not."
"Care to explain why?"
"Well, I was thinking about reorienting her gradually back into things, not throwing her back into 18 hours a day of work that didn't help her stress back in the winter sir."
"Ok then, sounds reasonable enough. Did you bring her medical records with you?"
"No…I didn't know we were going to discuss her medicals. Your secretary said this was about her timeline for her music."
"So that's a no on the medical records?"
"Yes sir."
Someone in the back piped up. "I'm confused, did you bring them or not?"
"No, I did not."
"Ok, on to business of the day then. We have an announcement for both of you."
"Ok…"
Cat reached for my hand and missed.
I felt the air brush over the top of my hand.
"We're no longer interested in working with Cat and are terminating her contract, effective immediately."
WHAT!
I glanced over to Cat, and she slowly tensed up. Not fully, to the point she got with Jade, but not at all relaxed.
"Why?" I demanded, not holding back my disgust and anger.
"We believe Ms. Valentine is unable to complete the duties of a professional singer mentally and no longer have faith in her."
I glanced back to Cat to see tears slowly cascading down her face.
"See? She is mentally unstable." Someone said.
"No. Not at all. She's crying because you just shattered her dreams! I can't blame her! How would you feel?"
"Now onto the terms of her buyout, we're prepared to offer $75,000—"
"Fine. Whatever." I snapped, grabbing Cat's hand as her tears continued.
"I don't care." She croaked out.
"We are relinquishing all intellectual property to Ms. Valentine, including songs and lyrics."
"Ok." I brushed it off, getting to my feet.
"Sir, we have a few more property matters to discuss—"
"No, we don't. Legally, that stuff is ours and ours only. Are we done?" I roughly said as Cat got to her feet.
"I guess so. Your buyout will be in your account tomorrow."
"Fine." I said, wasting no more time and holding the door open for Cat, and following her out as fast as I could.
The moment the door closed she grabbed my hand. I can still see tears falling.
"It's ok baby…this isn't your fault."
"Yeah it is." She snapped.
"Cat, they're being stupid." I quickly said.
"I know that." She said shakily, pushing open the last door and allowing the cold air to hit us right in the face.
We quickly got to the SUV and pulled out.
"You don't have to hold a poker face Cat, it's fine if you cry."
Slowly, she put her head in her hands and maybe 30 seconds later I heard a sob.
Wow…
Cat got fired.
I…can't believe it.
I was expecting a revised timeline, maybe a pay cut and a tight schedule to get out a single. That wouldn't have been hard, but…
Not this. Not this at all.
Cat's sobs continued to fill the Cabin and I gently rubbed her back at the first stop light. After a few seconds she crawled back into the second row of seats, grabbed a blanket from somewhere and curled up, obstructing her face.
Guess she didn't like that.
I tried. I don't know what to do really. I've never been fired before. This was her dream.
And it just got shattered.
Wow.
Guess I better tell the others.
At the next light, I pulled out my phone.
"Guys, big news. IMG fired Cat. Said she couldn't handle being a pro singer."
A few minutes later I pulled into the hotel and left my phone inside as I checked in and got the keys. I got us each a room for decency's sake.
Right after I got back in—
"Can I have my key?" Cat asked, in a throaty voice.
"Sure…" I pulled out her key and handed it to her outstretched hand. I can't see her face.
"We're here." I said a moment later.
She got out on my side, still holding the blanket. "Can you grab my stuff later?"
"Of course."
She seemed relieved and hugged me half heartedly.
Then she unlocked her room and disappeared.
Buzz Buzz.
6 new messages.
"I'm gonna take a nap. I don't feel like doing anything Robbie." – Cat
"Fine by me sunshine. I understand completely. I'm here if you want me." I replied.
I ran back out and grabbed both of our bags, both rollers and put them in my room and checked the other messages.
"Wow man. Give her a extra hug for me man." – Beck
"Unbelievable. They will hear about this from me. How's she holding up?"- Tori
"Hope she's handling it well." – Jade
That's weird. I would expect more out of her.
"I had a hunch they were up to something. Aarrrgh!" –Andre
"Hey, this isn't over." –Jade
This is making no sense. She definitely is.
"Sorry about the weird messages, my hands are cold. Call me when you get a chance." –Jade
I guess that makes a bit more sense.
I hold the home button and get Lucy, the pearPhone's digital assistant.
"Call Jade."
Lucy replied "Calling Jade West"
"Bzz…bzzz…"
C'mon.
"Hello?" Jade's voice asked, as I heard the wind brush by the microphone.
"Hey Jadelynn!" I smiled.
At least I'm indoors.
"I hate you. You are brutal." She quipped.
"Hah! Now what's up?"
"This cold wind! I had the brilliant idea of going for a walk."
"Doesn't sound like a good idea." I replied.
"Hindsight's 20/20. Ooh! There's my car!" Jade breathed, then it sounded like she took off towards her car.
"Slam!"
"Better?" I joked.
"Not until I get the engine going!"
"Vroom…"
"Ahh…"
"Better?"
"Better." She replied.
"So, why did I call you?" I asked.
She never did explain.
"I have a idea on where Cat goes from here."
"What do you mean?" I quickly asked.
She's done. As bad as it sounds nobody will want to hire her after what has happened here. The combination of mental illness and her firing because of it will basically black ball her I'm afraid.
"She still has her Splashface page right?"
"Yeah…"
Where is she going with this?
"Great! You guys can cover other songs and keep writing your own stuff to pass the time until you drum up enough interest for a new deal from someone."
"Jade! You're a genius!" I cried out.
"Thank you…"
"No, seriously! I'm sure Cat doesn't want to stop writing and making songs and this will keep that going! You're a genius!"
"Thanks…is she around? How's she holding up?"
"She's taking a nap. Or crying. She starting bawling right after we got in the car and didn't stop until we got to our hotel room.
"Room?" She sounded intrigued.
"Rooms. My bad."
"Which is it?" She asked quickly.
"Rooms. I have one and she has one. Why do you care so much?" I asked curiously.
"Just curious."
"Suure." I said, calling her bluff.
Suddenly I heard a noise from her end.
"I'll talk to you later, I've got to answer that." She said quickly.
"Is it Beck?" I guessed. I hope it is. Nothing has happened between them since Cat went to Methodist. I hope they are going to get together again.
"No, bye." She said, sounding clipped and soon the dial tone filled my ear.
That was sure polite. I'd bet my Ferrari it was Beck.
Ok…maybe not the Ferrari. The Scion yes, but not my Ferrari. Point is I know Beck was on call waiting.
I turned and flopped onto my bed and flicked on the TV.
Nothing on…still nothing…geez. Santa Barbara has lousy TV options…
…
…
Suddenly I heard the sound of soft chewing to my left.
Huh?
I turned to the left and saw Cat, propped up on the two pillows on her side with a handful of popcorn and a bag of popcorn that looked full between us.
I think I fell asleep.
"Hello there." I said softly. Cat jumped a little bit, but quickly recovered and smiled softly at me.
"Hi. I hope I didn't wake you up."
"Nah, where you get the popcorn?"
"It was complimentary. It isn't a brand name, but it's ok. I'm hungry." She rambled.
I didn't know how to respond so I didn't.
"You snored again."
"Did not." I snapped quickly, turning back to see her pink in the cheeks and smiling shyly.
"Yeah you did. I came in here and you were sawing logs."
"Whatever. You said you were hungry?"
"Uh huh."
"Good news for you, I am too. Do you have a preference?" I asked.
"Something yummy please."
I simply turned and put my head into my pillow.
"What?" She asked, sounding confused.
"What on earth am I going to do with you sweetie?" I asked in a light voice. I know that if I say it and sound angry, she's going to check out.
"Take me to eat please." She said kindly, lightly rubbing her nails over my lower back.
"What would you like to eat?"
"Can we have pizza today and Chuy's when we go home tomorrow?"
"Sure, can I tag along for Chuy's?" I joked.
"Of course! That's what I meant. Us to eat today and tomorrow."
"Sounds good. I'll check online to find us a good place."
"Ok. I'll continue to eat this popcorn." She smiled, popping a few pieces into her mouth.
"How much have you eaten already?" I asked, typing "Pizza in Santa Barbara" into Zaplook.
"This is my second bag."
"You sure you'll eat dinner?" I asked, as tons of choices popped up.
"Of course. You put pizza in front of me and it will disappear." She smirked.
"Ok, how about this sweetheart. This place has a 50's style setting, with over 50 toppings and 500 varieties of pizza. Rated 4 and ½ stars."
"Let's go!" She said quickly pulling me off the bed and towards the door.
It was dark the moment I stepped out the door.
"Gee, what time is it? How long did I sleep?" I asked aloud.
"I don't know when you fell asleep, but it's 8:30 now."
"Ok…you ready?" I asked, stepping into the SUV.
"Yep, you have the address?"
"I do now." I said, tapping my pearPhone.
We spent the next 20 minutes meandering around, ending up lost and on the wrong street before Cat looked up directions on her own phone and successfully navigated us to the pizza parlor.
"Thanks sunshine."
"No problem, maybe you should get the software updated." She suggested as we stepped inside.
"I updated it last week though."
"Hello, how many?" A attractive blonde asked, grabbing two menus.
"Two please." I replied, and she led us back to a table. I think we made the right call, this place is packed to the brim. Always a good sign.
"Drinks?"
"Lemonade please." Cat piped up.
"Strawberry or regular?"
Cat's eyes lit up and she quickly replied "Strawberry please."
"Ok, and for you sir?"
"I'll have the same."
"Would you like to order?"
Cat quickly reeled off our regular order, hers with extra cheese and the waitress quickly left.
"Hey Cat?" I began.
"Yeah Robbie? Hehe." She giggled, replying and smiled at me.
"I'd like to talk to you about something, but I need to go to the bathroom quickly…"
"Don't let me stop you."
Always the jokester. And a sharp tongue if she needs it. I remember how much it hurt to be yelled at by her. She knows how to hurt you and when she is mad, she really doesn't give a damn how much it hurts.
"I won't." I smiled.
As soon as I reemerged from the bathroom, my brain started screaming.
Get AWAY from her you bastard. She's MINE!
No, she's not mine. I know this.
Some guy, typical jock it looks like is sitting at our table, and he and Cat are talking nicely. Cat's laughing and seemingly enjoying herself.
I can't let it bother me. I can't. I certainly cannot let her see that I don't like her talking to another guy.
I slinked back towards the bathroom and fiddled around with my phone for FOREVER as the two of them kept on laughing and talking and on and on and on! Finally, after 5 minutes had elapsed, he wrote something down on a napkin and handed it to her, hugged her and walked away.
I waited for a minute or two more, then moved back to our table.
His cologne was easily detectable as I sat back down.
"Sorry I took so long." I immediately apologized, lying thru my teeth.
"No problem, I played on my phone the entire time. Does your stomach hurt or something?"
Liar.
"Nah, just a bit upset."
"Oh, ok. What did you want to ask me about?" She asked as the waitress dropped off our pizza.
"I have a idea on what to do know about your music stuff."
She perked up. "Really? Keep talking." She said, mouth full.
"Well, it's not my idea. It's Jade's. She says we should keep writing and do a few covers of songs that you like and put it up on Splashface to drum up some excitement and support for a new record to sign you."
Her face lit up. I think she likes the idea. She's pretty dedicated to her page, doing Q&A's and random videos. She's dedicated to her fans.
"That sounds wonderful! We can keep going while we look for another record opportunity!" She squealed.
I nodded and took a bite of my pizza.
Yuck.
4 ½ stars my ass. This tastes…flat. Maybe I'm used to the place down the road back home that we go to all the time, but this is not tasty.
I discreetly push my plate to the side as Cat started throwing out possible song ideas and wondering how long it would take for her to cover a song and edit it.
"Are you sure you're ok Robbie? You haven't really eaten anything." Cat said, sounding very concerned.
"Nah, I'm not really hungry." I said, taking out my credit card and nearly dumping my lemonade onto the receipt.
This isn't worth 40 bucks.
"Ok. You're lying down when we get back." She ordered.
"Cat, relax. I'll be fine."
"Maybe, but I'll feel better if you lie down. Please?"
Her eyes begged me to listen.
"Fine…" I'll give her this one.
She badgered me about my fake symptoms the whole way back to the hotel. The only reason she stopped is that I said I was going to take a shower.
And that's when I started to feel like I might actually throw up.
There's a new guy in Cat's life. I know, I know. She's hosed me way too many times, I shouldn't care.
But the fact is, I do. I care WAAY too much. For god's sake, this is the little girl that I still love. I can't seem to shake it.
She hasn't shown the slightest indication or interest to me. And now this new guy.
I need a drink. Something to make me forget her for a bit.
When I stepped out of the bathroom I could hear her laughing thru the door. I quickly grab my pearPod and crank up the volume so I can't hear her.
I don't know how long it was until Cat softly shook me, basically forcing me to take out my earbuds and turn to look at her.
"Yes?"
"Can I sleep with you tonight? I don't really want to be by myself tonight." She squeaked out, looking afraid.
"Sure." I replied, scooting over to make room for her before plugging back in and turning over.
I barely saw her look at me mournfully before lying down. She gingerly kissed my cheek and cuddled to me after she turned off the lights a moment later.
I didn't know I could hate someone before meeting him..