‘But you said before that if it ever happened, you’d consider it. That it might be fun?’
‘I changed my mind.’
‘So when did they approach you?’
Margot turns her back on us as she rinses out a teapot under the tap. ‘A while back. I forget.’
I think I’m the only one to notice her shoulders tense. I jump in.
‘I don’t blame you,’ I say. ‘I wouldn’t want to uproot my life and chase fame second time around. Who’d want to be away from their family and in a different city every night of the week?’
She turns, and although it only lasts for a fleeting moment, I recognise a longing in her, a desire for something more than she already has. It’s a feeling I’ve known all too well in myself.
Chapter 28
Anna
I reach my driveway and am searching my jacket pockets when I realise I’ve left my keys on Margot’s kitchen table.
I turn, ready to knock on her door, when I notice I didn’t close it properly. I push it open and am about to call her name when I overhear her upstairs, talking to someone. I think the other person is on her phone’s loudspeaker. I can’t stop myself from quietly eavesdropping.
‘I don’t understand,’ Margot snaps. ‘What do you mean they reached out to me and I turned them down?’
‘Their lawyer claims Billy contacted you directly by email and asked if you were interested in returning to the band,’ a woman’s voice replies. ‘You told them absolutely not and never to contact you again.’
‘That’s a lie!’ Margot protests. ‘I’ve not spoken to any of them in fifteen years.’
‘That’s not what they say.’
‘When was this supposed to have happened?’
‘Soon after Christmas.’
‘No, I’m absolutely sure of it. It didn’t happen. And how can they market this tour as “featuring the original line-up” when I’m not in it?’
‘Small print,’ the woman replies. ‘Original line-up means they aren’t replacing you with anyone else.’
‘Can we take legal action? Stop them using the band’s name? They can’t be allowed to do it without me. You wouldn’t expect the Rolling Stones to perform without Mick Jagger, would you?’
‘The remaining six own the trademark to the Party Hard Posse’s name, so I’m afraid they can.’
‘They own it? As of when?’
‘They put in a joint application late last year.’
‘Behind my back. The conniving bastards.’ There’s a pause, and I think Margot might have hung up.
‘Are you sure it’s not too late for me to rejoin?’ she continues suddenly, now more than a trace of desperation in her tone. ‘Just think how well ticket sales will do when they announce I’m returning after all.’
‘Hun, I’m sorry, but as of an hour ago, the whole tour sold out, along with an extra eleven dates.’
This draws a puffing sound from Margot, as though she’s just been punched in the stomach. ‘Just call them, Geri,’ she says, her voice cracking. ‘You’re Geri Garland. You created Star People. You made Lightning Strikes the biggest band in the world. People don’t want to piss you off. They do what you tell them.’
‘That’s sweet of you to say, Margot, but I just spoke to their new manager before you called,’ she says. ‘They’re adamant there’s no room for you now it’s all been announced.’
‘But they could make room, couldn’t they? Please, call them again. Please. I ... I ... I need this.’
‘Look Margot,’ Geri says, her tone softening, ‘reading between the lines, I don’t think they really wanted you anyway. They stillblame you for what happened at Glastonbury, then for the band splitting up. I was told off the record that it will be, and I quote, “a less toxic environment without her”.’
