Loneliness Trilogy Bundle Boxset (36 page)

“What? What was that about? It doesn’t sound good, I’ll tell you that,” I tell him.

“No. No, it isn’t. My lovely, not-so-beloved sister is at it again. Remember those groups with which she was affiliated in the United States?”

“Oh, my God, no! This isn’t good. What is she up to?” I ask him.

Marcus clasps the bridge of his nose in between his thumb, forefinger and center finger. He sighs.

“This is bad, Jo. Remember that day a few weeks ago, when Millie dropped by the studio and listened to your practice?”

“Yeah. What of it?”

“‘What of it.’ She and her church have begun to circulate a petition throughout all of Saint Alban seeing to disband the band.”

I hear the news and it feels like a solid punch to my gut. I inhale in shock and bend nearly double.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa there, luv. Given that The Lonely Lovers are such a positive group and that you have contributed to the tax base, it’s not likely that she or her minions will succeed,” he tells me.

I think about what Marcus has just said. It’s true that we are a positive group - no high jinks here! No illicit drug or alcohol use either, notwithstanding the boys’ long hair and my purple-dyed ends. We contribute a significant amount to the tax base of Saint Albans - and the city know that. As I think about all this, I get right pissed off. Looking at Marcus, I see he’s at least as pissed off as I am, if not more.

“Let me tell Tim,” he asks me. “I have an idea in mind.”

“What?”

“We’ll talk at the studio. I want to go over my idea and see if it’s workable,” Marcus says.

Several minutes later, we pile out of the car and I walk in, holding Lizzie’s hand. Marcus is right behind.

“Oy, Tim, call the Saint Albans mayor and get him here to watch you lot practice.”

“What? Why?” Tim asks.

Marcus explains the phone call about Millie’s church group and their petition.

Laslow gets visibly angry, his face flushing.

“That narrow-minded bitch! I don’t care if she’s my sister, she’s gone too far this time. We have to fight back.”

“Laslow that’s what I’ve been thinking about. That’s why I asked Tim to call the mayor and get him here. I want him to watch you lot practicing. I’m thinking The Lonely Lovers can offer a free concert on the city green. Anyone who wish to attend and listen, get in free of charge. But…we have to do it before the weather turns dreary, cold and nasty,” Marcus says.

I like this! It’s good! It shows the group in a good light and, putting on a free concert, we allow locals to see that we are fully citizens of Saint Albans.

“Marcus, this is a master stroke! I think your sister showed up to see if she could get ammunition against the band. Which we didn’t give her.” Tim lopes off and calls the mayor’s office, inviting him to come to the studio.

“Please tell His Honor that it is vitally important to Saint Albans and to The Lonely Lovers. Thank you.”

Thirty minutes later, the mayor strides in, confused.

“What is going on? My secretary just told me that you wanted me to come down and listen to you…”

Marcus walks up to him and quickly explains the situation.

“Sir, my sister is the new reverend at the Conservative church on the north side of Saint Albans. She came in here two weeks ago and watched the group practice. She…is difficult to get along with - has some very unusual beliefs. She and her church have begun a petition to get the band disbanded by the city of Saint Albans.

“I brought my wife and daughter here…” here, he indicates both Lizzie and me. “My idea is to have The Lonely Lovers put on a free concert on the city green before the end of summer. Free of charge to any who wish to come and listen. The Lonely Lovers are a very positive band and they perform music that celebrates the best of humanity. In addition to that, the band contribute a significant amount in tax revenues to Saint Albans, which I believe you would not be happy to lose.”

“No, no we would not. I like the idea of the concert…but, instead of making it a free one, let’s make it a benefit. Charge for concert-goers to attend. Proceeds to go to the homeless. I think it will be a good answer to your sister’s church petition.”

“Yes, Your Honor, it will,” says Tim. “We can give a 90-minute concert and allow concert-goers to bring chairs, blankets, lawn chairs, coolers and their families. We’ll play some of our top hits plus some new music that no one has heard yet.”

We are excited. This benefit concert will fly straight in the face of Millie’s efforts to disband us. After discussing a few details, we get down to cases and begin practicing for the mayor.

After he listens to several songs, he gets up and tells us to meet him in his office the next day.

“I like you lot…I love your music and the idea of a concert fits in perfectly with something we need to do for those in need, anyway.” We agree to meet the next day, and the mayor leaves to go back to his office.

At the end of the day we go home. I feel exhausted - from practice, my pregnancy and the news of the petition being circulated.

That weekend, Marcus and I got to the shop to buy needed groceries. As we pull into the parking lot, we see a crowd of people milling around a table. We change our direction so we can see what is happening. Several people finish signing papers and move away, creating an opening and allowing us to read the large, hand-lettered sign, which says:

“Help make a positive impact on Saint Albans! Sign the petition to ban the group The Lonely Lovers. This group are a bad influence on our youth, exhibiting dissolute and lewd sexual behavior.”

Under this language was a publicity picture of our band, showing me wearing a formal dress. The boys are wearing dark suits with dark T-shirts. Their hair is neatly styled in this publicity shot.

I look at Marcus, shocked.

“Oh, my God, it’s her petition! And people are actually signing it!”

“Let’s go and get our shopping done. Millie’s back there and I don’t want to clap eyes on her at all,” Marcus growls.

We walk quickly, getting into the store before Millie spots us. I lift Lizzie into a trolley and we complete our shopping as fast as we can. After we pay for our groceries, we wheel the trolley to the car and load the groceries into the boot. I quickly strap Lizzie into her car seat and we leave. I feel a sense of urgency, telling me we need to get out of that parking lot as fast as possible. I think Marcus feels that same pressure. He drives as quickly as he safely can, looking all around for obstacles - and stray church members.

At home, I tell Lizzie to play while daddy and I put everything away.

“Oh, my God, Marcus, they are serious about this! There had to be at least twenty people around that table!”

“You know, I wonder how many actually signed the petition. I saw some reading it, then just leaving. Sure, there were some blinkin’ idiots signing, but I counted more who just walked away,” Marcus says.

“Are you sure? You aren’t just saying so to make a pregnant, emotional mum feel better?”

“Jo, she’s spreading lies about the band and different band members. I haven’t wanted to say anything, but…”

“What, Marcus? Tell me!” I say.

“Well…are you sure you can deal with lies about you and the boys?”

“I’ll learn to deal with them, won’t I? Tell me!”

Marcus sighs deeply.

“Okay. I have heard gossip that says you are a ‘loose, dissolute woman.’ That you sleep around indiscriminately. That the baby you’re carrying belongs to some unnamed man. I’ve heard that Tim and Linny are ‘raging heroin addicts,’ because of their long hair. That Laslow is violent. Shit like that,” he says, reluctantly.

I am shocked by the allegations. The breath whooshes out of my lungs.

“Oh, my God! She truly hates us, doesn’t she?”

“Yes. Luv, I am so sorry!”

“It’s not your fault, Marcus…”

“But she’s my damned sister,” he says.

“‘Damned’ is right. What she is displaying is anything but love and tolerance. D’you know that, if we wanted, we could sue her and her church, for defamation?”

“Oh, yes. Let’s think about this concert and get it off the ground, first. If, after the concert, she’s still around to spread her venom, then we can talk about a lawsuit,” Marcus suggests.

“Good idea. Why not call your mum and dad, invite them round tomorrow after church?” I suggest. I’m thinking we need to discuss this issue with them straight away!

Chapter 25

T
he weeks speed by as we prepare for our benefit concert for the homeless of Saint Albans. We select the play list - this will be different from our usual concerts. The mayor’s office has been wonderful - helping us with publicity and, overall, helping us to reinforce our good image with the citizens of the city.

Still, Millie and her church have pressed on with their petition efforts, setting up tables outside shops, their church, and at other public events. And they have gained a following, which is truly scary. This has only served to encourage Millie and make her think she is “doing God’s work.” When Marcus and I have been out and about, we have encountered Millie at her petition efforts and this has led to more than one argument. For this reason, even when we are going on a short shopping trip, I call my mum and have her come and mind Lizzie for us. Lizzie has been affected by this entire situation. She really fears even the sight of her auntie. At one point this summer, before we realized just how serious Millie is with her effort to have us disbanded, we ran into her when we took Lizzie to a children’s festival. Her group was out by the ticket table and she spotted us. She took the opportunity to point us out, saying that we are bad parents and that I am a loose chippie. Her hollering upset Lizzie so much that we were forced to leave without even buying a ticket. I heard later that other children were upset by Millie’s carrying on, meaning the festival lost money on tickets, rides and food purchases when we all left. The only good thing that came about that day was that the festival organizer came out to the gate and forced Millie and her group to leave.

Anyway, the concert is this week. We are running here and there, making sure that all preparations are in progress or have been completed. We assist the mayor’s office by hanging fliers announcing our concert - it’s an odd thing - the mayor and our band have been hanging fliers, and they disappear! Can you imagine that? Of course, we know how they’re disappearing. Members of Millie’s church are going around and pulling them down. No matter. We simply print up more and hang them up, then we repeat that entire process again. Obviously, we want good attendance at this concert, because, the more concertgoers attend, the higher the benefit fund will be. The band enter into a routine of daily practice, collecting fliers, and hanging them where fliers have been ripped down.

“Tim, we are at the point where the police are staking out areas where fliers have been posted. Any time an officer sees someone ripping a flier down, he will talk to that person. If that person belongs to that church group, he or she will receive a warning. If they are caught again ripping fliers down, they will be arrested. We have spent, literally hundreds of Euros in printing up these fliers, and I know you and your band have put considerable time in re-hanging fliers,” the mayor says.

“Good. We can’t figure out why Millie and her group think we are such a bad influence. Could it be the hair, maybe?”

Mayor Tibbles laughs. “That shouldn’t matter. Your music and your willingness to turn a bad situation into something good says more about your character.”

“Thank you, Mayor. We had better go and hang more of these. Guys?”

We leave, equipped with a bag full of fliers and staplers. Today, we decide to bring Lizzie with us. She rides in her pram, toys and sippy cup at the ready. I have some snacks handy for the three of us as well.

I will need to visit a maternity shop this week to find an appropriate dress. It can’t be too formal, but it does need to be dressy. My regular clothing won’t do - it’s not quite dressy enough and, though I am not yet showing, it is uncomfortable for me to wear. Because I need to be able to fully expand my diaphragm for singing, I need something that will accommodate my growing belly.