Angel clicked on the TV and switched to the internet browser. He Googled Immortal Angel, and the 60-inch screen on the wall filled with search results. Scrolling back to when they first left, he clicked on the press release issued by Falcon Records shortly after they left the country, which stated that Immortal Angel was taking a hiatus for an undetermined length of time because of Tommy’s decision to step away from the band indefinitely. Videos and photos of the fans expressing their outrage and heartache followed. Some were of the fans that had gathered in front of the mansion holding the signs and flowers that they left behind. Two girls were crying. Another was outright sobbing. Journalists reported from the beach, clearly displaying the mansion in the background surrounded by hordes of distressed fans.
“I can’t believe this,” Tommy repeated, just as he had when he saw the mementos left at the front gate. “I never expected fans to have such a strong emotional reaction to the band’s break up. I knew they would be upset, but I never expected people to be crying or anything of this magnitude.”
The words “break up” were the only thing Angel heard in that sentence. He still refused to believe that Immortal Angel was over. It couldn’t be. He wouldn’t accept it. It was not part of his reality. Maybe it was delusional on his part, but he couldn’t fathom that everything he worked so hard for was over. At the same time, the shattered pieces of his broken heart told him it was true.
“Why are you surprised? “Jessi asked Tommy, rather annoyed, her hand on her hip for emphasis. “You know how strong Immortal Angel’s fanbase is. They love you. Not just the band. They loveyou. As a musician. As a sex god. You’re an idol. I know it sounds crazy, but some people are even in love with you. This is a devastating loss for them.”
“I’m not dead, Jessi.”
“To the fans you are. They’re in mourning. You and Immortal Angel were a part of their lives. And now it’s gone.”
Angel knew she was getting through to him, but she was pushing too hard. He didn’t want Tommy pressured into returning to the band. It needed to be Tommy’s decision. He shot her a warning glare to ease up, but it did nothing to rein in her determination.
“Imagine if Metallica broke up ten years ago,” she continued. “What if you missed out on the countless times you’ve seen them in concert since then? What if the last album they put out never existed? And there would never be knew music from them again? How would you feel? I know they impacted your life. Stop and really think about how you’d feel.” She paused, arms folded across her chest, and allowed him time to reflect on what she was asking. “That’s what your fans are feeling.”
Jessi hit Tommy where it hurt, and his expression showed unfathomable loss. He had no words and sulked away in a daze.
“You’re really pulling out the big guns,” Angel told Jessi. “He looked sucker punched.”
“I had no choice. I’m worried, Angel. I thought he’d come around by now, but he’s not even close to changing his mind.” Her arms fell to her sides, exasperated, and tears filled her eyes. “He doesn’t miss the band. I’m scared.”
Angel clutched Jessi to his chest, as his eyes watered. “I know.” He pretended the embrace was to console her, but it was the other way around.
It didn’t take long for word to get out that Tommy and Angel were home, and fans started congregating around the front gate. The security cameras gave a play-by-play, and Tommy couldn’t stop watching. At first, there were only four or five people at the entrance. The next time Tommy checked, only fifteen minutes later, there were at lease thirty. Fresh flowers were tied to the wrought iron, and the fans began a chorus of the familiar call that could be heard before every concert.
“Immooortal! Aaangel!”Over and over the chant grew louder with each repetition. Soon, the amount of people in front of the gate spilled onto the beachfront, and police came to monitor the crowd. It was insane.
It shocked the hell out of Tommy. He never thought there would be a protest. He hoped Jimmy and Damien weren’t subject to the same demonstrations. Their lives were already turned upside down by his departure from the band, and he felt guilty enough.
The chant from the front gate hadn’t made it to the house in a while, and Tommy wondered if everyone left. A peek at the security monitor proved that they hadn’t. It was only quiet for the moment.
Eventually, the furor would die down, he told himself. The upheaval only resurfaced because word got out that he was home. He understood the fans were expressing their sadness and that paparazzi were only doing their job, but he wished they’d leave. Their presence put a serious damper on his return home, and he missed the obscurity of being in a country where he was just a regular guy.
The entire Immortal Angel family was coming over tomorrow to welcome them home, and it was going to be a nightmare. The best he could do was have barricades set up and extra security on hand.
He went downstairs to ask Angel if he notified the head of their security team about tomorrow, but the house was quiet. As he headed toward the kitchen, laughter spilled in from the backyard. The sliders were open, and he stood there and watched his family. It was late October, and, although the sun was strong, it was too chilly to go in the water, so Angel, who was baked to a dark bronze from the island sun, stood next to the pool with the kids tossing a beach ball back and forth on the concrete. Tessa was almost as tanned as Angel, and Lucas had a beautiful golden glow. Jessi obviously had enough sun and sat on a lounger under a hat and wearing dark glasses as she sipped iced tea and watched Angel playing with the kids.
Tommy lifted his forearm and inspected his own suntan, which was inevitable. Luckily, layers of sunscreen and small increments in direct sunlight over a long period of time allowed him to build a gradual tan without burning. He looked back at Jessi and a sudden flash from the past hit him.
Coney Island. When they were still in Bora Bora, he and Jessi had reminisced about how much time they’d spent at the Brooklyn beach when they first dated. So many fond memories of their early days began to play in his head like snippets of a movie, and he cherished them, even if Angel wasn’t part of their lives at the time.
Back then, their best friends were Brian and Diana, the singer from Tommy’s old band and his girlfriend. Tommy hadn’t thought about them in a long time, and it saddened him that his departure from Psychobabble to join Immortal Angel ended with bad feelings and killed the friendships.
A happier thought burst through, and Tommy was reminded that he almost proposed to Jessi on the Ferris wheel one day when the four of them were at Coney Island. He’d just won a giant teddy bear for Jessi. She loved that thing so much, and he knew she still had it. But where? The basement was a full music studio, so it definitely wasn’t down there. It had to be somewhere in the garage, so that’s where he headed.
They weren’t pack rats, but they had a lot of shit stored in boxes in the overhead loft. It was dusty and hot, but everything was clearly labelled. As he read the words on the outside of the boxes, he knew he could get lost up there going through a lifetime of memories, so he skimmed them quickly. Finally, he found a huge box marked “Memorabilia from Brooklyn” and knew the bear had to be in there.
When he opened the box, a big purple fuzzy head looked up at him, and he let out a whimsical laugh. He lifted the giant bear and had to hug her. “I remember you, purple bear. Jessi is going to be so happy to see you. And I know a little girl who will love you, so you don’t have to live inside that box anymore.” He rummaged through the box in order to find something for Lucas and spotted a foam rubber football, also won at Coney Island. Perfect.
Climbing down a ladder while holding a four-foot stuffed bear proved to be dangerous, but Tommy managed not to fall and break his neck. He decided to place the bear on the bed as a surprise for Jessi and snuck back upstairs.
He fluffed up the bear’s matted fur with a brush and massaged the filling into place, so her left leg and arm were no longer bent at an odd angle. She looked as pretty as the day he won her at the amusement park. It was no wonder that Jessi was so taken with the bear.
The door to their suite opened and Jessi walked in. “I was looking for you. What—” She stopped as soon as she saw the bear. Her hands flew to her cheeks, and she cried out, “Violet!” as if she’d just seen a long-lost friend. In essence, she had. She ran full speed to the bear and picked her up. “Oh my God! I’ve missed you so much!” She hugged the bear, crushing it in her arms, and then kissed the bear on the lips. She spun around to face Tommy, still hugging the bear. “Thank you for digging her out of storage. I don’t know why I never unpacked her when we moved. I love hersooomuch!”
Warmth penetrated the center of Tommy’s chest and spread all the way through his limbs as he was transported back in time and relived the moment he first presented Jessi with the bear. Their lives were simple back then. No fame. No paparazzi. They had all the privacy in the world. He reflected on their dreams. Jessi wanted to be a world-renowned fashion designer, and he wanted to be a famous rock star. They’d both achieved their goals, despite criticism from their families for their choices. Neither cared that their families weren’t behind them. They had each other, and that’s all that mattered.
Tessa loved Violet the bear just as much as Jessi, possibly even more. She also insisted Violet sit at the table with everyone else for the reunion dinner with the Immortal Angel family, just like Jessi had sat Violet in a chair at the food court in Coney Island the day Tommy won her at the arcade.
