A Delicate Situation

            Kevin is up early the next morning, because there are several things that have to be done to prepare for the concert that night. All the guys meet for breakfast at eight that morning. Kevin says goodbye to Kala and lets her go back to sleep. He knows that Kala hadn't slept well after they had their talk the night before.

            Kevin is sitting there reading the paper after breakfast when he feels arms on his shoulders. He goes to get up and kiss Kala, since he assumes she could not get back to sleep, and has decided to join him. But when he stands up, it is Natalia, not Kala.

             “Morning, Kevin,” Natalia says as she takes the seat beside Kevin.

            “Good morning, Natalia. I thought you were Kala for a second,” Kevin says as he reluctantly sits back down.

             “Ooooh, wait until she hears what you just said,” Natalia playfully threatens her friend. “So what are you up to today, Howie?” Natalia asks as she takes a Danish from the platter in front of Kevin.

            “We have to prepare for the concert tonight,” Howie says, not wanting to sound too eager, he really likes her.

            “Oh cool, can't wait to see the show. You know it is sold out right? I never did get a chance to get tickets, and was wondering if you can get me backstage.” Natalia says, just assuming things will be the same as they have been on every other tour.

            “Well I can get you tickets Natalia, and I might be able to work out a backstage pass for you too,” he says.

            Kevin and Howie are the only ones at the moment who know that Sarah and Celeste are flying in to see AJ, and Nick respectively.

            “That’ll just be wonderful!” she squeals. “Hey, maybe we can all go to a club after the concert tonight. Like old times,” Natalia says.

            Kevin can’t believe how Natalia has changed subjects in mid-sentence. “I am afraid that I won't go unless Kala joins us,” Kevin says as he eats his breakfast. After breakfast he takes Natalia aside and asks her, “Who was it that you said would visit you periodically?” he asks.

            “Oh, that was just some guy who took to hanging out around me when he was over here, actually, I haven’t heard from him in several months,” she says.

            “Where was he from?” Kevin asks.

            “Maryland, well, actually, he was born in Georgia, then his parents split up. His mom went to California, and he went with her, his dad went to Maryland. He moved out there too, when his mother died a few years later,” she says.

            “How old was he when you last saw him?” Kevin asks.

            “I don’t know, early to mid twenties, I guess,” Natalia tells him.

            “What was his name?” he asks.

            “Jason something or other,” she tells him. “Why are you so curious about him?”

            “Because Kala had a guy stalking her who would beat her up years ago, recently he tried to get at her again, I’m just a little on edge,” Kevin says.

            “Okay,” Natalia says.

            “Oh, I’ve got to get to dance practice,” Kevin says as he heads to the elevators, but when he hears the elevator doors close behind him, he stops and leans up against the wall. He doesn’t know how to handle the information that Natalia has just given him. He doesn’t want to frighten Kala, but he should tell her his suspicions. He knows he has to get down to the dance rehearsal, but he needs to see Kala. He needs to feel her in his arms.

                                    *            *            *            *            *            *            *                                 

            I have just gotten out of the shower and have finished getting ready to go and surprise Kevin in dance rehearsal when he walks in. “Just the man I was coming in search of,” I say as I smile when I see that it is Kevin. Although I can tell that something is wrong. I walk up to Kevin and before I can say anything else, he throws his arms around me. “Hey there, Kevin, aw, what’s the matter, Baby?” I say as I hug Kevin back.

            “I had to come up here and see you for a few minutes, Kala. I ran into Natalia at breakfast and she told me some rather disturbing news. The young man hasn’t come to see her nor contacted her for several months, and his story sounds disturbingly similar to Jason’s, and his first name also happens to be Jason.”

            “Are you serious?” I ask as I lose color and sink to a chair.

            “Sadly yes,” he says.

            “Okay, so what do we do?” I ask.

            “For the time, nothing,” he says. “You’re still here and he’s still there and he doesn’t know that you’re here. Besides that he doesn’t know that Natalia knows me, I don’t think,” Kevin tells me.

            “Okay,” I say, recovering from the shock.

             “However, Natalia did ask the group go clubbing with her after the concert tonight, and I told her I would only go if you came along. If you don't want me to go, then just say so,” Kevin says as he holds me tighter.

            “No Kevin, let’s go tonight, that is if you want to, you might be tired,” I say. I pull away from Kevin and lightly brush my lips against his.

            “Ok then maybe we can get Sarah and Celeste to join you, me, Howie, Natalia, Brian and Leighanne,” Kevin says without thinking.

            “What are you talking about Kevin? Celeste and Sarah are back in the States.”

            “Well, I might as well tell you now. I meant to tell you this morning anyway. Celeste, and Sarah are flying in to surprise the guys tonight. The limousine is bringing them to the hotel. I think they are flying in around ten this morning. They should be here for lunch if you want to catch up with them,” Kevin says.

            “Well that will be a nice surprise. Yes I think we will get together for lunch and maybe do some shopping this afternoon. What is the plan? Are we meeting you guys at the arena before or after the concert?” I say, forgetting about Natalia, and that she should also be included in our little group.

            “The plan is to be there at the arena around three this afternoon. That is when we will be coming by to do the sound check. Then we can all enjoy dinner together before the concert,” Kevin says. He is finally beginning to relax. But as he looks at his watch, he knows that he really has to get down to the rehearsal before someone rips his head off.

            “Ok then, I will see you around three then, after I escort my darling husband down to dance rehearsal and make everyone understand that his tardiness was all my fault,” I say, as I give Kevin another light kiss.

            “I love you so much,” Kevin says as he puts his arms around me and deepens the kiss.

            I pull away from Kevin, put my hands on my hips and say, “Now Mr. Richardson, I don't want the guys blaming me when you screw up the choreography tonight.”

            “What, me? Screw up? Never. That isn't possible,” Kevin says with a smug look on his face. As he turns around to leave the room, I walk behind him laughing and teasingly smack his butt as he leaves the room.

            Kevin goes right down to dance rehearsal and I leave a message for the two girls at the front desk, and tell them to meet Leighanne, Natalia and myself in the restaurant for lunch. Then I join Kevin and the guys and tell them what is making me uneasy and that I had stopped Kevin to talk to him about it and so it was my fault that he was so late. The guys and Leighanne know that I mean, Natalia’s mysterious guy friend is causing quite a stir, and no one wants to ask Natalia anything more about him, for fear that they will sound like they’re bad mouthing him. Plus they don’t know how much he knows. However, they all can smell trouble coming in from that direction.

            Their rehearsal ends around eleven, and Natalia and Leighanne, and myself are in the restaurant discussing their plans for after the concert. Leighanne is pretty sure that Brian will be interested in going to the club as well. In the middle of that conversation, we see Celeste and Sarah enter the restaurant. We all greet each other and sit down and enjoy lunch.

            After lunch, the new arrivals go to their rooms to freshen up before they leave for the arena. The limousine is picking us up at two thirty. All of us are excited about surprising the boys. We know the boys will be thrilled.

            The girls are downstairs at two thirty sharp and pile into the limousine. The two girls that just flew in are extremely tired, but they can’t wait to see the guys. They are escorted through the VIP entrance when they get there, and are informed that all the boys are already there. Conveniently AJ, Nick and Howie are seated on a couch with their backs to the door. Kevin and Brian see them, but manage to keep straight faces. The three girls quietly walk up behind the boys and put their hands over their eyes. AJ never did take to surprises well, so he is the first one to uncover his eyes. It looks like his eyes will pop out of his head when he sees Sarah. Sarah kisses him deeply as she settles right down into his lap, before he can give anything away to the other two with his reaction to seeing her. The guys are thrilled to see their women and since they have a few minutes before the sound check, they all make sure they show them how pleased they are to see them. Leighanne and I just join Kevin and Brian on the other couch, and watch the three happy couples.

                                    *            *            *            *            *            *            *                                 

            But the few minutes that they have together go much too quickly, because Lou sticks his head in the door and says, “Guys, playtime is over.”

            Kala starts to get up, but Kevin catches her shoulders and keeps her from going any further. “No, Angel,” he whispers in her ear.

            It is no secret that Kala and Lou don’t like each other very much at all. Lou hates Kala because she is Kevin’s wife and he feels that having her on tour distracts Kevin from his job at hand. He hates the guys having girlfriends at all, and he hates it all the more when they come on tour with the guys. He wishes that the guys would just let him go out and find some groupies, who aren’t underage, after the shows to take back to their hotel rooms and get it on with them there. But no, they need to have actual relationships, with women that mean something to them.

            Lou also doesn’t like Kala because before she showed up everyone looked to him all the time for answers, but suddenly she shows up, and knows everything before even he does, and so everyone turns to her. They listen to the commands that he barked out like a military general. But then Kala shows up and is instantly liked by almost everyone and if not instantly, then she manages to win them over easily. It is not a hard thing for her to do apparently. He is feared, but she is respected. He wants respect, but doesn’t know how to get it, and isn’t about to ask Kala how it is attained.

            Kala hates the way that Lou is always throwing his weight around, he is always ordering people about like they are slaves; he pushes the guys much harder than they should be pushed. She’s seen the guys fall from exhaustion, and be forced to perform while sick. She also isn’t too crazy that he manages to rule the guys private and public lives as well. She thinks that so long as what the guys are doing isn’t hurting the group then they should have total charge of their private lives.

            Kevin is caught in the middle of this unspoken conflict, and so tries to separate Kala and Lou as much as possible, or if and when they do meet up, he tries to not be there.

            The girls are at least able to go to the sound check with the boys. They have lots of fun sitting in the front row and acting like the crazy fans that will be sitting there in a couple hours. Amazingly enough though, the guys are able to finish the sound check on time; there are comments thrown around about where the flying pigs are. None of the girls has been to the restaurant the boys are taking them to for dinner. It is a very small and quiet German restaurant, but the boys swear that they serve the best German food in the world. The boys have been to Germany enough times that they are able to tell the girls most of what is on the menu. That is until Howie makes a mistake and Kala quietly giggles.

                                    *            *            *            *            *            *            *                                 

            “What is it?” he asks.

            “You just said that there is sushi on the menu,” I say.

            “How do you know what I said?” Howie asks, with an intrigued look on his face.

            “Oh, I know,” I say.

                                    *            *            *            *            *            *            *                                 

            All of the guys and their girls feel that there is more to Kala then she’s ever let on. Aside from Kevin, Howie is the one who is most anxious to find out what she hasn’t divulged. So when she tells him that she can at least vaguely translate German this gets his curiosity going. He, and everyone else at the table, is determined to find out the rest of the story

            “You don’t speak German, do you, Kala?” Brian asks.

            “Well, yes, actually, I do,” she say, not wanting to volunteer any more information than she absolutely must.

            Her decision to continue to be so seemingly secretive about herself with everyone drives everyone out of their minds with curiosity. They are onto a major part of Kala’s life, which up to now, they haven’t been told about, they are desperate for information. They all know about Jason, and her mother and the death of her father, but, they are in the company of a young lady who has been shrouded by mystery her whole life, and there thousands of things they want to know about her, but don’t have the courage to come up and ask her about. If they asked her then she’d gladly tell them everything that they’d want to know, but she doesn’t want to seem boastful.

                                    *            *            *            *            *            *            *                                 

            “What else can you do?” AJ asks, deciding that it is high time someone just opened the floodgate and see what happens.

            “As far as lingual skills are concerned, I speak, read and write many languages fluently; my father saw to it that I had a very thorough education in all respects, he wanted to make sure that I could compete in the global economy with great ease,” she says, not wanting to brag about her stunning knowledge.

            With this tiny tid-bit which has been thrown to them, the others are all practically salivating in anticipation of what she will say next. It is a great shock to them when she says nothing else on the subject.

            “Such as?” Natalia asks.

            “Such as what?” I ask.

            “Such as what other languages can you speak?” Nick asks.

            “I know French, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Italian, Dutch, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, Chinese, Japanese, Tai, Russian, Latin and of course English,” she says.

            “Good Lord!” Sarah exclaims.

            “You must have spent all of your time with your schoolbooks as a kid,” Leighanne says.

            “Not at all,” I say. “I also did the whole, dancing, ice skating, horseback riding, gymnastics, and fencing thing too.”

                                    *            *            *            *            *            *            *                                 

            They all order, or rather Kala and Natalia order in German for them, and then the two excuse themselves to go to the bathroom. “Well Natalia, I'm a very happy that you were able to come with us tonight. Is this one of your favorite restaurants?” I say.

            Natalia says, “Yes, is, in fact, I was the person that introduced them to this place.  Tell me, has Howie said anything about me at all? I mean, when I’m not around.”

            “No, or at least not to me, but then again, I haven’t been around him much lately,” I say.

            “Oh, okay, but, if he tells you anything, will you please tell me?” she asks.

“Well, we’ll see, I wouldn’t betray a confidence, but I think that he likes you a good deal, he wouldn’t ask you out with us so much if he didn’t,” I say calmly.

            “Good, then you don’t think that the guys will mind if I suggest that we all go clubbing tonight,” Natalia says with a smile on her face.

            “No I think that they’d all love it,” I say.

            “Um, Natalia, Kevin told me that there is a young man from America that comes to visit you every so often, would you mind telling me his name?” I ask.

            “Well, I can’t come up with his last name, but his first name is Jason,” she says. I go white in the face at that. “Kala, what’s the matter?” Natalia asks.

            “It’s nothing, I’ll be fine,” I say.

            “All right,” Natalia says as she backs off. “In fact, I just got a phone call from him a little while ago, he wanted to know what was going on, so I told him that I was going to be hanging out with some friends of mine for the next few days or so,” she says.

            “Did you tell him who?” I ask.

            “Well, I told him all about you and Kevin,” she says. “He’s going to be here in a day or so,” she says.

            “Oh no,” I say as I sit on the counter and just cry.

            “Come on, let’s get you back to the table,” Natalia says as she guides me back to the table. Our food is brought and everyone starts to chow down. Then the story comes out and about Jason and myself, Natalia is horrified, and sickened. We all assure her that it might not be the same guy, and that if he does show up that it’s not her fault, because she didn’t know.

            Kevin pauses for a moment before he starts to speak on the matter, “Kala, want you to come with me to all the appointments for the next two days. I don't want you alone in the hotel. I don't trust him, Kala. I want to keep my eye on you. Especially since he’s threatened to and actually carried out the agenda to harm you; you’ve been through too much, and I don’t want you to be in danger.”

            “Oh Kevin, you are sweet, but I am sure I will be fine. I can't see Jason trying anything, at least not over here,” I say as I continue to eat.

            “I think you are wrong about him, Kala, please just trust me on this one. Besides, is it really that bad having to spend the whole day with me?” Kevin asks, trying to lighten the mood between the two of us.