A shaft of sunlight peeked through 1334 Beechwood’s upstairs bedroom window, settling on Mike Nesmith’s closed eyelids. He opened them with a groan, squinting as the bright light stung his already sore eyes.
His mind remained fuzzy as he sat up, but when he focused on the neatly made bed across the room—a bed that hadn’t been slept in—the events of the previous day came rushing back.
After she’d fled it became quite obvious that none of them knew what to do. Peter had wanted to run after her, and though wild horses would not have been able to drag the admission from him, Mike had, too. Emotions among the foursome had swung wildly from anger to bewilderment and back again, quickly exhausting them.
At quarter to four in the morning Mike, the last one up, had reluctantly dragged himself up the stairs to bed, falling asleep before he’d even considered taking off his boots.
He stood up on unsteady legs and stumbled out of the room. Micky was sitting slumped over the kitchen table, snoring loudly and drooling on the faded wood. Peter was curled into a tight little ball on the chaise. Davy was sprawled out on his stomach on the floor.
Mike stood staring at his friends for a long while. Their hopes had been built up so high, and then . . . He felt a fresh surge of anger directed at Andi. How dare she hurt them—us—like this!
He descended the stairs as quietly as he could and snatched the Monkeemobile’s keys from the table. Without bothering to change his clothes, comb his hair, or even collect his hat, he stormed out of the Pad. He didn’t know where Andi was, but he did know someone who would know . . .
~*~
Forty-five minutes later the Monkeemobile pulled up in front of Dellin International Headquarters, a massive steel façade that rose forty floors into the air. It was the tallest building for miles, an impressive reminder of the enormous power that Andi was heir to.
After carefully parking the car, he entered the building with slight hesitation, painfully aware of how much he stuck out amongst the three-piece suits that passed by. He received a few odd looks, but mostly he was ignored; Andi had brought them to ‘the office’ many times, and the various executives and employees were used to the long-haired quartet.
Mike approached the enormous front counter and cleared his throat. The receptionist—a polite, well-mannered young woman named Theresa—looked up at him and smiled.
“Hello, Mr. Nesmith,” she said. “It’s nice to see you back. What can I do for you today?”
Mike did not allow himself to return the smile. “Is Mr. Dellin in today? It’s . . . kind of important that I speak to him.”
Theresa’s smile faded instantly at the worn expression on Mike’s face. “Yes, he is. As a matter of fact, he’s expecting you; go right on up.”
“He’s expecting me?” Mike said, taken aback.
She nodded. “He wouldn’t give me a reason but he said you might be stopping by.”
“Okay, thanks,” Mike said, making his way to the massive bank of elevators. He managed to sneak into one alone; as the doors closed he slumped against the wall with a sigh. What if Andi’s uncle didn’t know where she was? What if she was missing?
Why do you care?
“Hey,” Mike growled to himself. “Just ‘cause I’m mad at her doesn’t mean I don’t care.”
The doors opened and Mike made his way down a long red-carpeted corridor to the sienna door that dominated the far wall. He knocked on the door and a few seconds later a deep, resonating voice said, “Come in.”
Mike slipped into the office, gently closing the door behind him. Nelson Dellin—Andi’s uncle—rose from behind his slightly cluttered desk. “Welcome, Mike. Please, come in.”
Mike approached warily; despite Dellin’s manners and kindness Mike still found himself intimidated by his sheer height—nearly seven feet—and his enormously powerful build. Dellin’s short steel-gray hair was neatly combed away from his evenly tanned face; his dark blue suit was impeccably tailored and without a wrinkle to be found.
Mike decided to cut through the pleasantries; he was in no mood for small talk. “Where’s Andi?”
“She’s at my apartment, sleeping.” Dellin responded, not missing a beat. “My physician had to come this morning and give her a sedative. She’s very upset about this, you know.”
Mike snorted. “She should be.”
“Yes, she should.”
Mike was taken aback by her uncle’s quiet affirmation. He had entered Dellin’s office fully expecting the patriarch to make all manner of excuses for her; he certainly didn’t expect Dellin to take his side over that of his beloved niece.
“I cannot and will not try to justify what she did to you. It is one of the meanest, most under-handed things I’ve ever seen, and I was shocked and disappointed that she’d even consider doing such a thing, much less actually carry it out. I told her so last night and she completely agreed with me.”
Mike clenched his fists. “Then why the hell did she do it?”
Dellin gestured for Mike to sit, then leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers. “I’m going to be blunt, Mike. It’s weakness of character.”
“It’s what?”
“Weakness of character. Anna is a good person, but she is ruled by fear.”
Mike shook his head. “I don’t understand. Andi’s not weak.”
Dellin nodded. “Physically, no. Mentally, certainly not. But emotionally . . . I want you to understand me; I’m not making any excuses for her. I’m just as angry and disappointed in her as you. But I think I may have a theory as to why, if you’d like to hear it.”
“Sure,” Mike shrugged.
Dellin rose from her chair and paced over to the enormous windows that afforded him a glorious view of the city. “I know that Anna does not discuss her past, and normally I would not speak of such private matters without her here, but this is a special circumstance.
“Anna never had a stable life as a child. She had her parents, to be sure, but that was the only constant. They never stayed in one place for very long. I imagine you have moved several times in your life, Mike.”
“Yeah, a couple,” Mike admitted, shifting in his seat.
“Imagine being forced to move every few months.”
Mike coughed as spit went down his windpipe. “Months?”
Dellin smiled grimly. “Yes. Months. My brother and sister-in-law were not exactly jet-setters, but they were restless and always looking for new adventures. They didn’t realize—or wouldn’t accept—that a child needs a stable home. And Anna never made her displeasure known, but I could see it plain as daylight even if her parents couldn’t.”
“So what does this have to do with us?”
“Is it really that hard to figure out?” Dellin asked mildly. “What does she have now that she didn’t have before?”
Mike pondered the question. The answer was right there in front of him, and yet . . . “She’s got us,” he said finally.
“Exactly. She has now what she’s never had before—a stable, consistent home life with people who love her. And she loves the four of you, despite what she did.”
Mike’s jaw tightened. “If that’s true then why would she do this?” He thought about the hurt on Peter’s face and the anger and betrayal in Micky’s and Davy’s eyes.
“It’s like I said before—Anna is ruled by fear. She has what she’s always wanted, and now she’s afraid of losing it. That fear unfortunately led her to a very wrong decision.”
Mike shook his head once more. “I’m not quite followin’ you. We’re not going anywhere, so what’s she afraid of?”
Dellin turned and leaned against the windowsill. “Not now, perhaps. But Anna feels—as I do—that the four of you have enormous talent, and that fame is simply a matter of time and the right circumstances. But she also knows as well as I the things that happen when people become famous—how it changes them, turns idealists and innocents into cynics and inflates egos to enormous proportions . . . she is morbidly afraid that that is what is going to happen to you and your friends. Her fear overrode her conscience and her rationality, and she made an error in judgment that might just cost her dearly.”
“Well, that sounds a little harsh, Mr. Dellin, with all due respect,” Mike said. He wondered if Dellin’s ‘theory’ had affected him, because the hard lump of anger in the pit of his stomach was beginning to melt. “I want to see her.”
“Are you sure about that?” Dellin asked, his eyebrows raising slightly.
Mike nodded. “If I don’t talk to her this thing’ll never get resolved, and . . . ” He trailed off. “I want to see her.”
“All right, Mike. I will defer to you on this. I’m afraid that . . . well, you know her better than I do.”
As Mike followed him out of the office, he began to doubt whether that was true.
On to Chapter Four
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