Terri tried to find a way to lie. Ned wouldn’t buy Liz as an answer. Still, she had to say something. “It is not Ms. Webber.” She said simply hoping in vain that Ned would drop the subject.
“Why wont you just tell me?” Ned asked frustrated. He only knew one other artist; but she was out of the country.
“If she wanted you to know the truth, she would have told you herself.” Terri tried. She knew he was on the brink of learning the truth. However, she was at a loss of how to stop it.
Ned rubbed his temples. “Is it V?” He asked hoping the answer was no.
Instead of turning off the CD as she had originally planed, V turned up the volume and replayed the track. It couldn’t have really said that. She must have heard it wrong. That was the only logical explanation. Sitting back down she listened to the song again focusing on the words.
“What else could they mean?” She wondered as she replayed the chorus in her head. “Who else could it be?” The words seemed to speak just to her. However, there was no way Ned would have written that about her. Chloe, Alexis, or somebody equally as glamorous, sure, but not her. She was too plain.
V rose to play the song again. She had to figure out the mystery. She placed the song on repeat, vowing to continue listening to the words until she decided on what they really meant.
“Yes, sir.” Terri answered curious about what his reaction would be.
“You sent her that CD?” He asked stunned. “Have you listened to it?”
Well it could be worse; Terri thought. “Of course, I thought of V as soon as I heard of it.” Terri said cheerily.
“Of course you did. The album is about her.” Ned said before hanging up.
How am I going to fix this? He wondered. Maybe she won’t notice? Ned put his copy of the CD in the CD player he kept on his desk. He needed to hear the songs again to know how obvious they were. During the first two tracks he smiled. “These aren’t too bad. They don’t have to be about V.” Ned said relieved.
Then the slow melody leading into track three began. “There is no way, she will miss this.” Ned admitted as soon as the chorus began.
“Where is she?
My, copper haired goddess?
As she sails the sea,
Does she think about me?”
V smiled. The soft longing tones of the music far outweighed the lyrics but even the thought that they might be written for her left her with a sense of euphoria. “Could Ned really long for me?” She asked her self in a soft whisper.
“Do you long for him?” Came the soft sad voice from the doorway. Simon stood in the doorway listening to the song before entering. He had known for sometime that she wasn’t really happy. She never wanted to party with his friends, she would rather work on CD covers. He had no right to keep her.
V looked into Simon’s pained eyes. “Maybe.” She answered softly.
Simon nodded. “You should go to him.” He answered trying to keep control of his emotions.
“He could never really want me.” She said softly.
Simon laughed. “Listen to the words Venus. He is no poet, but he does want you.” Simon said as he listened to the song fade out.
“When I close my eyes tight
I can almost see
her smokey green eyes focused on me.”
V ached as she listened to the pain in his voice. “You want me to go?” She asked softly. After everything he had done to make her go with him, she found it hard to believe he could give up that easily.
“I want you happy.” Simon answered. “He can give that to you.” Giving her up was hard but she lived a different lifestyle. She wasn’t happy just floating around the world, and his friends bored her. She deserved more than the life of luxury he could provide for her.
“You can’t?” V asked not ready to leave so quickly. He had done so much for her. She didn’t feel right about just leaving him.
“I can give you a life that is perfect for you, or I can give you a life that is perfect for me. I am not working material, and you need more than constant vacation. I will miss you, but he is perfect for you. He is a workaholic who likes to kick back and have fun. That is exactly the type of man you need.” Simon explained. It wasn’t the first time he had considered the things Ned could give her. “Go to him, please. You still have time to disembark before we leave port, and if you wait until next time, I don’t think I will be able to let you go.”
V kissed him tenderly. “What about my clothes?” She asked as she considered leaving. It seemed really hard to just go.
“He has money, he can buy you new ones.” Simon said with a strong smile. “Promise.”
V smiled sadly. “Thank you, for everything.” She kissed him tenderly, grabbed her purse and left the room.
Minutes later she disembarked for the last time. “Where do I go from here?” She asked as she stepped onto dry land. Only once answer came to mind. “Ned.” She said with a smile as she began looking for a phone.