InHap*pily Ever After (Incidental Happenstance) (22 page)

            The man jumped
up as if he’d been hit by a cattle prod. “Ah, OK, I’ll call wardrobe and tell
hair and makeup to get ready…”

            “No hair or
makeup,” Tia said. “And no wardrobe. I know the cameras were filming when we
came in…everyone saw what happened. There’s no sense in trying to pretend it
didn’t. No sense pretending anything. They’re going to get me, plain and
simple, and that’s it.” 

            She stood up
and looked down at her splattered dress. Her hair was soaked from all the water
that was poured over her head and even her shoes were completely ruined. She
wouldn’t normally have even walked out of her house looking like such a wreck,
and here she was, insisting they put her on television. Was she nuts?

            Dylan looked
at her with an emotion that could only be described as complete and total
adoration. “You are positively amazing, you know that?”

            “Yeah, well,
you might be on a short list of people who think so after I get through with
this, but the ones on the short list are the only ones who really matter in the
end, anyway.”

            He took her
face in his hands and she winced at the contact. “Oh bloody hell,” he
whispered, “I’m sorry.” Tia had never felt a kiss as tender as the
feather-light one he placed on her swollen cheekbone. “I love you so much.”

            The door
crashed open and a camera and lighting crew burst in. “It’ll just take us a
couple minutes to get this set up—it’s not ideal, but it’ll work.” A
middle-aged woman, hefting a camera nearly as big as she was, stopped as she
was setting up a stage light and turned to Tia. “I just want to say that I
think you’re so brave for doing this. I saw what happened, and I’m incredibly
sorry. I hope you know that there are a lot more people pulling for you than
against you.”

            “Thanks,” Tia
smiled, pushing her wet hair behind her ears. “That means a lot. Especially
right now.”

            They had the
makeshift studio set up within minutes; just a couple lights and three portable
cameras. Some folding chairs were brought in, and the news anchors strolled
through the door, adjusting tiny microphones clipped to their lapels.

            “We’ve got
about two and a half minutes before we go back live,” Carole Peppers said. “Are
you sure you want to do this?”

            “We’re sure,”
Tia said, and Dylan scooted his chair as close to hers as he could and took her
hand.

            “I applaud
your courage,” Dan Matheson added, “and we’re so grateful you decided to stay.
This can’t be easy, but I think it’s a good message.”

            “And we’re
back live,” Carole said into the camera. “If you’re just joining us, you know
we’ve been scrambling over here. Our guests today, Dylan Miller and Tia
Hastings, were attacked by a member of our audience on their way into the
studio. We are horrified and embarrassed by the behavior of one of our
citizens, and show it to you again only because it will help you understand the
courage of one brave woman in the face of adversity. Here’s what happened just
a few minutes ago.” She turned to Tia. “We go live with you in one minute…you
doing OK?”

            Tia nodded.
The cameraman counted down on his fingers, and Carole pressed her lips together
as he tucked the last digit. “We offer our sincere apologies to not only Tia
and Dylan, but to all of those who had to witness that blatant lack of basic
human respect. From what we gather from police, the balloon contained sheep’s
blood, and was weighted with a rock. Tia was hit in the face, and a second
balloon landed at her feet, causing her to slip and fall. We fully expected
that the interview was not going to happen, but Tia is insisting we go
forward.”

            “We are moved
by her bravery and truly appreciate that she still wants to talk with us,” Dan
added. “So without further delay, Ladies and Gentlemen, Tia Hastings and Dylan
Miller.”

            The camera man
facing them pointed, indicating they were now on live. Tia could hear the wail
of an approaching siren in the distance.

            Carole began,
“First of all, I just have to apologize one more time. As our audience can see,
you are still covered with the contents of the balloon used in the attack. Can
you tell us why you decided to go through with the interview?”

            Tia cleared
her throat. “We said we’d be here, and we didn’t want to let anyone down. I saw
how many people were gathering by the stage to hear Dylan sing and to welcome
us; and it wouldn’t be fair to them if we just left.”

            “You’d just
been attacked…I’m sure they would understand…”

            “I’ve got a
couple bumps and bruises—hardly enough to make me rush home; although, this
isn’t exactly the look I had in mind for my Australian TV debut.” She pasted on
a smile and lifted her wet hair, letting it fall back in clumps onto her
shoulders.

            The EMTs came
in just then, toting medical bags and pushing a stretcher. “Ladies and
gentlemen, medical help has just arrived. We’re going to send you off to Jay
for the weather while they check Tia out, and then we’ll be back with you. Stay
tuned.” Dan waited a couple beats before saying, “And we’re out.”

            They continued
the interview after the EMTs cleaned Tia’s wounds and evaluated her eye. It was
quickly determined that she had no serious injuries, so they patched her up and
gave her a proper ice pack. Tia steered them away from questions about the
attack, and even though she looked a mess, by the end of the interview she was
laughing and telling stories about meeting Dylan’s parents for the first time,
and sharing her favorite observations about Australia.

            “What do you
mean you still want to perform?” Dylan asked when she suggested it during the
final commercial break of their segment.

            “People came
to see you, Dyl, and they deserve that. I promised I’d sing back-up.”

            “You don’t
need to…”

            “I know. I
want to.”

            “Damn it
woman, you are stubborn. And strong. And freaking sexy, even covered in sheep
blood.”

            “Don’t you
forget it,” she teased. “You don’t want to mess with me.”

            He turned his
palms out. “No way,” he smiled. “You can win every argument.”

            “Can I get
that in writing?” 

            The roar from
the crowd was deafening as Dylan and Tia took the stage in their blood
splattered clothes. Words of encouragement and support washed over them like a
blanket and Tia stepped up to the mic first. “I knew that the rest of you were
awesome!” she yelled. “Thanks so much for your support!”

            “No, thank
you!” came a hundred voices amidst thunderous applause.

            Tia stepped
back and let Dylan take the reins. “That’s my girl Tia!” he bellowed. “She’s
the most incredible woman I’ve ever met, and today—she’s my hero!”

            He strummed
the first chords of
I’ll Pull You Up
, and in light of the situation, it
had a whole new meaning. He’d literally pulled her up in so many ways she
couldn’t even begin to count them. Since this was the first time he’d played it
live in Australia, the crowd went wild. She never got tired of singing this song
and as Tia chimed in, she could feel her confidence increase with every note
she sang. These people didn’t know her either, but they were supportive of her
nonetheless and weren’t shy about letting her know it. She’d always told her
students that 99% of the people in the world are good, and looking out over the
audience, she could clearly see the truth in that statement.

            “Thank you
very much,” he sang as he coaxed out the final notes. “This next one’s a new
one, hope you like it.” Tia grinned when he started plucking the first notes of
her favorite new song,
House Without a Home
. He wrote it in New Zealand,
because he couldn’t stop thinking about how much they’d both gravitated toward
the natural beauty of many of the places they’d visited on the tour. He told
her that the whole time he was filming out in some of the wilder parts of the
country, he kept seeing things he knew would make her smile; like birds,
sunsets, and waterfalls. There was no harmony written for this one yet, so Tia
moved to the side of the stage and enjoyed, as she always did, watching Dylan
do what he did best. She closed her eyes and let his honest gravelly voice wash
over her.

                       
Gravity
just let me go, I’m tired of this world you know…

                        got
nothing left to give, and I can’t keep takin’…

                        Even
open eyes don’t truly see…in our narcissist’s society…

                        don’t
know how we can live…with this mess we’re makin’…

                        Oh…no…we
reap only what we sow…

                        On
this big blue ball…life is precious overall…

                        Bodies
littered on the ground, in the forest there will be no sound…

                        the
white bear cannot live…when his world is bakin…

                        Oh…yeah…it’s
time to take a stand…

                        because
on this big blue ball…life is precious overall…

                        So
leave the forest to the trees…keep the fishes in the seas…

                        we
all need some room to roam…what good’s a house without a home…

                        Understand
it’s got to be…about all of us and not just ‘me’…

                        not
hard to tip the scale…when the balance is already shakin’…

                        Open
up your eyes and see…that nothing good in life comes free…

                        Seems
we’re on a spiral down…and my heart is breakin’…

                        Oh…please…you
know it brings me to my knees…

                        you
know that on this big blue ball…life is precious overall…

                        Let’s
leave the forest to the trees…keep the fishes in the seas…

                        we
all need some room to roam…what good’s a house without a home…

                        Yeah
leave the forest to the trees…and the flowers to the bees…

                        all
creatures need some room to roam…can’t have a house without a home…

           
Tia was so mesmerized by Dylan on stage and the
passion that he had for his music that she was transported to another place.
When he strummed the last chord, she rushed out to throw her arms around him as
the audience responded with yet another roar of approval.

            “
Thank you very much, friends, for coming out to support
us today and for helping us heal. I hope we’ll see you again soon.” Dylan swept
his guitar off his shoulder and pulled Tia into his bow. The couple hundred
people who’d showed up for their little performance sounded like a couple
thousand and that was all the support she needed to know she’d done the right
thing. They waved one last time, and jumped from the stage, shaking hands with
a few audience members and then with Carole, Dan, and some of the crew before
jumping into the waiting car.

            She thought
she’d break down after the whole thing was over; thought she was just being
strong in the moment and that it would all catch up with her and flood her with
emotion. But when she jumped into the back of the car, she smiled. “That went
well, don’t you think?” she said.

            “Come here,
baby girl,” Dylan grinned. She cuddled up to him, both of them still a bit damp
and in desperate need of showers. “I am just so bloody proud of you, I can’t
even form the words.” He laughed. “No pun intended. You handled that whole
situation with so much class and grace, and you were positively brilliant.” He
shook his head, at a loss for words, but his smile said it all. “God I love
you. More than I can possibly say.”

            Kelley rushed
down to meet the car as they pulled up to the house, and she took Tia
immediately into her arms. “I’m so sorry, sweetie, but I am so proud of the way
you handled the whole thing!”

            The look on
Kelley’s face and the tenderness in her touch caused Tia’s self-control to
falter just a bit and she choked back a sob. “I don’t think I’ll ever
understand how people can be so cruel,” she said, “but I do know that I did the
right thing.”