Chapter 20: Mean Girls

Kate slid the lock closed on the bathroom stall door and sat down on the toilet seat with a sigh, pulling her thighs up to her chest and hugging her legs. She closed her eyes and let her head bob forward so that her forehead rested on her knees. At least it was quiet in here.

Her head was throbbing. No wonder, after what already felt like one of the longest days of her life. She’d spent her whole morning and a good part of the afternoon straightening out her little misunderstanding with the fine employees of Gucci and American Express. She hadn’t even gotten here to the rehearsal studio until well past three in the afternoon.  And now there was still plenty more fun yet to come.

She glanced down at her watch. Not much longer now before Aidan would be calling it quits for the day, but he’d invited the whole crew back to the hotel suite to hang out afterward. Kate would have to play hostess. It would be hours before she could look forward to anything resembling peace and quiet. She wondered how long she could camp out in here before someone noticed her missing.

It wasn’t that she didn’t enjoy watching the band rehearse. She’d always loved watching Aidan perform. Through all their years apart, she’d never been able to resist buying tickets whenever the band played New York City – although she’d always been careful to sit far enough back that Aidan wouldn’t spot her in the crowd.

Now she had front row seats, and it was fascinating to watch how a tour came together from behind the scenes. The guys joked around of course, but it was clear from watching them that these were professionals who knew their business well. They tweaked arrangements and crafted new transitions between the songs, communicating with each other in a kind of shorthand that bespoke years of intimacy. This was where Aidan belonged, where he thrived. Those guys out there were more than his bandmates and best friends. They were his family.

Kate could remember a time when she’d felt like a part of that family herself, back in the old days. Back when the guys were just another unsigned act, stringing together gigs on the club scene, trying to get discovered. Rehearsals had been different back then. They were all just a bunch of kids cracking jokes and messing around with guitars. She remembered how they used to stop now and then to ask her opinion on some new song lyric Aidan had dreamed up, or some new riff they were playing around with.

None of that music had survived the test of time, of course. Aidan wouldn’t go on to write the songs that won them Grammy’s and made them all stars until after she was no longer a part of the picture. Band rehearsal nowadays meant a state-of-the-art studio with a whole crew of assistants and engineers. The friends in attendance were there strictly to be seen and not heard. She’d been sitting in on their sessions all week, mainly using the time to check in with the office in New York and catch up on a little of her own work.

There had been a couple other girls in attendance when Kate had finally arrived at the studio this afternoon, hours after she’d been expected. Halley she knew, of course, and she’d also met the bassist’s girlfriend, Zoe. Kate had done her best to be friendly, and the two of them had made an effort to include her in their conversation. Zoe had even offered her a puff from the joint they were passing back and forth. But Kate hadn’t missed their muffled giggles when she politely declined and pulled out her laptop to get some work done instead.

Kate took another deep breath now and massaged her aching temples. She knew she should really go back out there – back to the pounding bass and the cloying miasma of stale pot smoke. She wasn't sure if she could stand it.

Just another minute, she silently promised herself. But her solitude was broken a moment later by the sound of the bathroom door opening. Here were Halley and Zoe now, laughing together conspiratorily just outside her stall.

“Oh my God, Hal, did you see what I just saw before?”

“No, what?

“I might be totally baked right now, but I could swear I just saw Aidan proposing to that old chick.”

“What! No!”

“I swear to God. You didn’t see? He was down on one knee!”

“When?”

“During the break a little while ago.”

“No way! Did he have a ring?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t see.”

“Are you sure he wasn’t just messing around?”

“Maybe. I couldn’t hear what they were saying.”

“Probably, right? I mean, Paul told me it was no big deal between them. They’re just hanging out, you know?”

“I dunno. Ritchie seems to think Aidan’s had a thing for her, for like, forever.”

“Are you kidding me? With all the tail he gets?”

“Seriously. How old is she? ”

“Thirty, I think. Same age as the guys, right?”

“I mean, don’t get me wrong. She looks great for her age. I would kill to look that good when I'm 30…”

“Yeah, but she dresses like my mom!”

“Oh my God, that is way harsh.”

“You know it’s true though.”

“I know. They look so weird together.”

“She looks like she’s his business manager or something. I seriously thought it was just a friends thing between them the first time I met her.”

“No, I mean I saw them kissing—”

To Kate’s relief, the rest of the conversation was cut off by the sound of the bathroom door closing. She groaned and dug the heels of her hands into her eye sockets. Wonderful, she thought. This day kept getting better and better.