Chapter 31: Will You Marry Me?
Allie
The morning was a whirlwind of activity. I had decided to wait to list the house until after we've completely moved out, which hopefully will be within a week or two. After discussing the logistics with Nico first thing this morning, we decided to try moving the boxes and clothing a little at a time ourselves, rather than calling movers in which would attract attention. I plan on taking a few pieces of furniture I have a sentimental attachment to, but everything else will stay in place to stage the house until it sells. At that point, I'll donate it all to a local organization that helps homeless families with children find stable housing.
The media attention that resulted from the release of our statement created a paparazzi swarm outside his house and mine, with a few hanging out around Michael's office. I had strict instructions from Michael that I was not to even attempt to come into the office for the next few days, and he had one of Lana's assistants covering the social media updates that I normally did for the band. I was relegated to answering emails and making a few phone calls from home. Nico had arranged for Michael to post additional guards outside both houses, and we were both going to be driven everywhere for the next several days at least. That was another reason to wait to call a realtor. You can't expect a realtor to run a gauntlet of paparazzi with prospective buyers in tow, just to show a house.
So, now we were packing up most of my kitchen stuff since Nico really only has the basics at his house. I had already packed a couple of suitcases of clothes for Gracie and me, and we had three big totes filled with her most cherished toys, books, purses and hairbows that we'll take with us today. We'll sort, pack, and transport the rest later.
"You're taking all of your baking shit, right?" Nico asked, opening the cabinet where I keep cookie sheets, cake pans and cooling racks.
"Of course. I think just about everything from the kitchen will be going to your place, except the breakfast table and chairs and most of the dishes."
"You aren't taking your dishes?"
"No, I like yours better. Mine are kind of a mishmash of several sets, most of which I've had for years. I am taking all of my mugs, though."
"Got it. I'll get this cabinet emptied out, and then I think that's all we'll have room for in the car today," he said, reaching up to pull everything out. His phone rang, and he pulled it out of his back pocket to answer it.
"Hi Lana, what's up?" he greeted her, reaching up to get the last pan out of the cabinet. He paused, distracted by whatever she was saying. "You've gotta be kidding me. I swear, that shit is like herpes - it spreads, and you just can't fucking get rid of it!" He started pacing back and forth as she continued to speak to him, a sure sign he was getting pissed off.
"Yeah, I know, it just pisses me the fuck off that he's getting away with this." More pacing. "No, I get it, and I appreciate it, I'm just over it." He looked up and caught me watching him."OK, I gotta go. Allie and I are at her place getting started on the packing, so just send me an update later. Thanks."
"Do I even want to know what that was about?" I asked dryly.
"She's still working on getting that fucking Sesame Street video shit pulled, but it keeps popping back up as people download it and repost it on their personal accounts. I know she's doing everything she can, but it's complete bullshit that those assholes get away with it!"
I walked over to him, and he wrapped his arms around me. "It's OK, honey. Just try to forget about it and let's get this stuff finished up. I'll call Marco and see if he can bring the bigger SUV that he mentioned this morning when he comes to pick us up."
By the time Marco arrived with the bigger, blacked out SUV, we had everything ready to load. He backed into the garage, and helped us load it all in, then we managed to make it out of my driveway without hitting any of the paps standing around out there. By the time we'd made it back to Nico's and unloaded everything, I was ready for lunch and caffeine.
Nico disappeared into the sound studio after lunch, while I unpacked the suitcases and Gracie's stuff that we'd brought back earlier. He reappeared a couple of hours later as I was rearranging and organizing the kitchen cabinets to make room for everything we would bring from my place.
"Hey, Sunshine," he greeted me, looking a little sheepish. He walked over and kissed my cheek, then held out his phone. "I did something, and I don't want you to get upset."
Yeah, that was never a good start to any conversation. "What did you do?" I asked suspiciously.
"I got pissed at that asshole who posted that video, so I posted a response to him, and it's gone pretty much viral in the last hour or so."
"Oh, is that all?" I said, rolling my eyes. "Give me the phone, honey."
His Instagram account was pulled up for me already, so I hit play on the video at the top of the screen. He had filmed it in the studio where we had recorded our joint statement.
"Hey guys, bear with me for a minute, because I need to get something off my chest. A few days ago, some asshole created a video montage that's gone viral. It had a bunch of pictures of women, some of whom I went out with briefly over the years and others I don't remember ever meeting before, along with a picture of Allie. This asshole thought he'd be clever and added a song from Sesame Street to his little video production, without permission might I add, which is a copyright infringement for which he could be sued. The song is called 'One of These Things Is Not Like the Others.' He included some mean-spirited and disparaging remarks which he claims were meant to be funny, or what the fuck ever, when in reality it was cyber-bullying that perpetuates the misogynistic and fucking ridiculous standards by which women are judged. It was blatantly unfair to all of those women to be included, without their permission, in his pathetic little creation. So, here's my personal message to the piece of shit who created the video."
"You know what, asshole?You're right. One of these women is not like the others. One of these women is the love of my life. One of these women is so beautiful she literally takes my breath away every time I look at her. One of these women has curves so sexy I can't keep my hands off of her. One of these women has been my muse and has inspired six of the songswe've recorded over the last three years. One of these women is the mother of the little girl who is my daughter in every way except DNA. One of these women will be my wife as soon as I can get her to walk down the aisle to me. One of these women will have my babies, lots of them if I get my way. One of these women will be curled up next to me 30 years from now, as we watch our grandchildren playing in the yard. One of these women cried when she watched your video, and it almost broke my heart. One of these women doubted herself because of you, and that will never fucking happen again, I guarantee that."
"So, I'm gonna kindly invite you to go fuck yourself sideways with a rusty chainsaw. You claimed in your video intro that you are a fan of Storm Front. I can tell you right now - and believe me, I'm also speaking for Matt, Tony, and Josh when I say this - we don't want fans like you. We don't want fans who think it's OK to post hateful shit about people who have never done any-fucking-thing to warrant it. Unlike you, Allie Donovan is a kind, caring, compassionate human being, who is so filled with love and joy that it radiates from her. I call her Sunshine, and that's exactly what she is. She is a ray of sunshine that cuts through the darkness, and she lights up my world in ways you can't possibly ever fucking imagine."
"To our true fans, thank you. To those who spoke out against that stupid fucking video when it came out, thank you. Take care of yourselves. Be kind to yourselves. I hope you all find your own ray of sunshine to light your way in a world that can be dark and shitty at times. Thanks for listening to me vent. Talk to you soon."
Oh. My. God. My hands had been shaking by the time I'd finished watching it, and tears were running down my face. Nicohad held me while I'd watched it, and his arms tightened around me as he tried to comfort me.
"Shit, Allie, please don't cry. I didn't think before I posted it, and I hate that I upset you."
I had turned and wrapped my arms around him, squeezing him tightly.
"I'm not upset. I can't believe you said all those things about me," I gave him a shaky smile and tried to wipe my tears. He reached around and grabbed a paper towel from the holder next to the sink and dabbed at my face.
