no audience. The man
followed her gaze. He raised his brows in question.
“ Jamieson?” she answered,
quieter than she meant to.
“ Their display is on the
end, you can’t miss it.” To Libby’s relief, he turned and went the
opposite direction.
Libby tried not to rush as she moved to the
aisle end. There stood a six-foot-tall cutout photo of a smiling
Peter, Garrett and Adam, advertising their latest CD. Libby stood
back in awe. Her hand reached out and touched the glossy cardboard
imitation of Peter. It was almost as good as the real thing. The
huge display dominated space next to a wall of Jamieson CDs. Copy
after copy featured Peter Jamieson smiling back at her.
Never in her wildest thoughts did she
imagine he was so famous. He gave none of it away when they’d been
together. She wanted to scream with joy. She picked up a plastic
encased CD, his handsome face exactly as she remembered. She
grinned back at him then cradled the coveted CD. The risk of
cutting classes and coming all this way was worth whatever
punishment Aunt Marge might dish out.
When Libby checked out, her hands shook as
she passed the stolen bills to the checker. She walked out of the
store and looked both directions to be sure no one watched. She
darted around the side of the store, and pulled her prize from the
bag. She ripped the packaging off as quickly as she could with her
still shaking hands. Then the clear tape wouldn’t let her by. She
picked at it, then used a nail file to lift the edge. Finally, she
won the battle. Inside the case lay a perfect, untouched CD, and a
glossy booklet containing lyrics and more pictures of Peter and his
brothers.
Her heart sang. She kissed the CD cover then
hugged it. Her eyes watered with giddy excitement. It belonged to
her! After a couple minutes of idol worship, she reluctantly tucked
it back in the bag and into her small pack. She rushed back to
school afraid she would miss the afternoon bus home or get caught
in the act of walking up to school as everyone else left.
Later back at Aunt Marge’s, Libby snuck up
to her room. She placed a chair against the door in case her aunt
came up. The rest of the afternoon and that night she poured over
the glossy booklet cover to cover, while listening to the CD
through oversized headphones she’d dug out of a box in the hall
closet. She recognized Peter’s amazing voice in every song and
still couldn’t believe she’d spent a sunny afternoon talking to him
just days before. Late in the night Libby drifted off with the
glorious sound of Peter’s voice lulling her to sleep. There were no
bad dreams that night.
# # #
“Dad, come on. It’s not even out of the
way.”
Peter continued to push. He refused to back
down. Garrett and Adam watched, eager to see who won the power
struggle. Why couldn’t anything in his life be private?
“ We’re already behind
schedule. We’ve got production meetings on the video shoot for
tomorrow, you boys have interviews and wardrobe fittings, plus I’ve
got some tour issues to iron out.”
Dad could be immovable at times. He wanted
life to be neat and tidy like his pleated Dockers and shoes with
tassels.
“ Just because this isn’t
important to you, doesn’t mean it isn’t important to me,” Peter
said. “I gave my word. That should be worth something.” He stood
his ground, waiting for the response he wanted. The only way to get
through to his dad was to out-logic him.
“ I don’t think it’s a good
idea to start letting girls influence your life. You’ve got plenty
of girls chasing after you on tour. What’s so different about this
one?”
“ That’s the point; she is
different. She’s not like all the other screaming fools. She’s
interesting and fun, and she doesn’t care about all the band stuff.
She never even heard of Jamieson before I told her.” Libby’s
friendship was like a special secret no one else knew about. No
publicist or paparazzi to spoil it. No outside interference
followed her gaze. He raised his brows in question.
“ Jamieson?” she answered,
quieter than she meant to.
“ Their display is on the
end, you can’t miss it.” To Libby’s relief, he turned and went the
opposite direction.
Libby tried not to rush as she moved to the
aisle end. There stood a six-foot-tall cutout photo of a smiling
Peter, Garrett and Adam, advertising their latest CD. Libby stood
back in awe. Her hand reached out and touched the glossy cardboard
imitation of Peter. It was almost as good as the real thing. The
huge display dominated space next to a wall of Jamieson CDs. Copy
after copy featured Peter Jamieson smiling back at her.
Never in her wildest thoughts did she
imagine he was so famous. He gave none of it away when they’d been
together. She wanted to scream with joy. She picked up a plastic
encased CD, his handsome face exactly as she remembered. She
grinned back at him then cradled the coveted CD. The risk of
cutting classes and coming all this way was worth whatever
punishment Aunt Marge might dish out.
When Libby checked out, her hands shook as
she passed the stolen bills to the checker. She walked out of the
store and looked both directions to be sure no one watched. She
darted around the side of the store, and pulled her prize from the
bag. She ripped the packaging off as quickly as she could with her
still shaking hands. Then the clear tape wouldn’t let her by. She
picked at it, then used a nail file to lift the edge. Finally, she
won the battle. Inside the case lay a perfect, untouched CD, and a
glossy booklet containing lyrics and more pictures of Peter and his
brothers.
Her heart sang. She kissed the CD cover then
hugged it. Her eyes watered with giddy excitement. It belonged to
her! After a couple minutes of idol worship, she reluctantly tucked
it back in the bag and into her small pack. She rushed back to
school afraid she would miss the afternoon bus home or get caught
in the act of walking up to school as everyone else left.
Later back at Aunt Marge’s, Libby snuck up
to her room. She placed a chair against the door in case her aunt
came up. The rest of the afternoon and that night she poured over
the glossy booklet cover to cover, while listening to the CD
through oversized headphones she’d dug out of a box in the hall
closet. She recognized Peter’s amazing voice in every song and
still couldn’t believe she’d spent a sunny afternoon talking to him
just days before. Late in the night Libby drifted off with the
glorious sound of Peter’s voice lulling her to sleep. There were no
bad dreams that night.
# # #
“Dad, come on. It’s not even out of the
way.”
Peter continued to push. He refused to back
down. Garrett and Adam watched, eager to see who won the power
struggle. Why couldn’t anything in his life be private?
“ We’re already behind
schedule. We’ve got production meetings on the video shoot for
tomorrow, you boys have interviews and wardrobe fittings, plus I’ve
got some tour issues to iron out.”
Dad could be immovable at times. He wanted
life to be neat and tidy like his pleated Dockers and shoes with
tassels.
“ Just because this isn’t
important to you, doesn’t mean it isn’t important to me,” Peter
said. “I gave my word. That should be worth something.” He stood
his ground, waiting for the response he wanted. The only way to get
through to his dad was to out-logic him.
“ I don’t think it’s a good
idea to start letting girls influence your life. You’ve got plenty
of girls chasing after you on tour. What’s so different about this
one?”
“ That’s the point; she is
different. She’s not like all the other screaming fools. She’s
interesting and fun, and she doesn’t care about all the band stuff.
She never even heard of Jamieson before I told her.” Libby’s
friendship was like a special secret no one else knew about. No
publicist or paparazzi to spoil it. No outside interference
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