Rock and Roll Never Forgets (The Rock and Roll Trilogy) (34 page)

She told John about it but he kept encouraging her to go find something new. She didn
’
t see the point. She decided not to tell Andy.

I
’
ll just wear
it and see if he even notices.

Andy and Roddy had all the arrangements made for their trip. They chartered the plane, booked the hotel room, and as promised, planned private entrance to and from the ceremonies. They wanted as little press exposure as possible.

229

Rock and Roll Never Forgets

Chapter Twenty
~
Six

February 2002  ~ The Grammys

T
hey flew out early Monday morning and arrived in Los Angeles around noon. Andy and Roddy wanted to make sure
Beth
had plenty of time to rest. The plane had lounge seats so she was able to spend a lot of time lying down
, but th
e flight was still long
, and she ended up sitting a lot of the
time
,
and she felt it.

Settled
in her room, she turned on the TV and stretched out across the bed on her stomach and dozed. Roddy
’
s room was on one side and Andy
’
s on the other. One of them had a door that came into hers, she suspected, but she wasn
’
t sure which. After a while there was a knock at that door and it opened and both stuck their heads in.

“You decent?” Roddy
asked, and Beth laughed.

“Come in,” she said, and
started to rol
l over to sit up as they did
.

“No, no, just stay right there for now. Relax.” Roddy told her.
He
carried a bottle of wine and some glasses.

Andy carried a beautiful vase filled with
Calla Lilies, placed them on the table beside the bed, and sa
t down beside her.

“
Well, this is nice
, t
hank you
both,
”
s
he said
.

Roddy went to the little kitchen to open the bottle.

“
None for me,” she said.

“
It’s OK, we checked with Dr. Reilly, unless you just don
’
t want any,” Andy told her. “You doin’ OK?” He rubbed her back
in a loving caress
as he asked.

“Yeah, I’m good, just a bit tired, as for the wine I
’
ll have a glass, maybe two!”
s
he laughed as Roddy poured. It was the Chenin Blanc that Andy l
iked
, chilled and it tasted good. She rolled on her side and they chatted and enjoyed the wine for a while and then there was a knock at the outside door to her room.

Andy rose, went to allow a young man pushing a cart into the room
,
followed by another, and another. The room was a suite with a table and chairs, they set three places and left. Andy blew up
the
donut cushion that he brought for her to sit on and pulled a chair out. Beth joined them at the table. Andy sat down and Roddy started lifting lids. There was salad, Chicken Parmesan and pasta. It was heaven. Beth didn
’
t realize how hungry she was until she began eating. They brought another bottle of wine with the meal. Andy opened it and poured Chianti into their glasses
.

Done with the
meal, Beth sat back, satiated and happy.
“
Thank you, this was very nice. Good food, great company,” she said. Thoughtful for a moment,
s
he added,
“
Thanks for not wanting to go out. It
’
s still a little weird, all of this, but mostly, you know, my bottom.”

“
Looks fine to me,” Andy said, with that devilish grin
, a
nd she laughed, remembering Chicago.

“
Beth, I
’
m gonna head out. I have some calls to make. Vince sends his love.” Roddy rose, leaned to kiss her, and headed for the door, always the diplomat.

“
Roddy?”

“
Yeah?” He turned back to look her direction.

She held her breath a moment, trying to maintain composure.
“
Thank you again, for all of this. It’s very special.” 

She looked down, feeling that all too familiar lump in her throat. It didn
’
t take much to feel it there anymore. Looking up again, she said,
“
I love you.”

“
I love you
mostest
,” he said
.
But he left, quickly.

Andy went to the phone and made a call and a few moments later the wait staff came and took away the remains of their meal. Returning to the table he finished pouring what was left in the bottle into their glasses. It was then that she realized they were alone,
there were none of the distractions of home or family, it was just the two of them. They were
truly alone for the very first time in many, many years. He reached across the table and took her hand and brought it to his lips.

“
Bethy,”
he said. That familiar gesture, that familiar feeling, both physical and emotional,
“
I guess you have figured out by now, that
’
s my room,” he said looking toward the opened door that connected the two rooms.
“
I
’
m just a whisper away.”

Still holding her hand he went to her and led her to the sofa. Her heart pounded to the point that she knew, without a doubt, with the next beat it would slam right out of her chest. They sat there in the quiet for a while. Finally, he put his arm around her and pulled her into him, just holding her there for the longest time. There was no conversation, just Beth there in his arms, and finally he let go. They sat quietly, and finished the wine.

“
I know you’re tired,” he said finally. “I
’
m gonna go now and let you get some rest. When you’re ready to crawl in, stick your head around the corner so that I know you
’
re OK. If you need anything, just call my name.” He slid to the edge of the sofa.

“
Andy?”

“Yeah?
” he said and reached to push a hank of hair back from her face. It was such a familiar gesture. He’d done it a million times before.

“
Thank you. I wasn’t sure what to expect. Thank you,” she said again.

For a moment he said nothing. He just sat there looking at her and finally said;
“
Bethy, I love you so much. Thank you for allowing me to be here with you.” 

He cupped her face in his hands and brought her lips to his. Gently, tenderly, and softly, he pressed a kiss to
them
, and then to her eyelids and rose to leave.

“
Rest, tomorrow is a big day,
”
h
e said as he left.

Beth showered and got into her PJs. She peeked around the door, into his room. Andy was on the phone, and he blew her a kiss. She went to her bed and crawled in. Sleep came fast and easily for her.

~ ~ ~

The next morning was a lazy one. Beth had forgotten what jet lag felt like. She got up and as she wandered around, she found a note on the table from Andy.

Good morning beautiful, 

Pray that you rested… I peeked in and you looked so peaceful
.
I
’
m off to the theatre to rehearse for the show tonight. Roddy is running errands and taking care of business, he
’
ll check on you when he gets in. Call for room service. Coffee
’
s good…

XO
’
s

Andy

She called for the coffee and kicked back to relax. Andy offered a trip to the spa for the day but she said no. She would just pamper herself.

I don
’
t know how I would feel with someone else seeing my bottom. It
’
s not the prettiest thing I have ever seen.

Around one,
she started to think about calling room service for a bite to eat when there was a knock at the door. She
opened the door to find
an older woman dressed in a white sweat suit
.

“
Can I help you?”
s
he asked.

“
Carolyn Neff” she said with a lovely French accent, extending her hand. Beth took it and instead of the handshake the woman grasped Beth’s hand with both of hers and patted. It was a warm gesture
.

“
I
’
m here to help with anything you need. Mr. Beamer asked me to assist you.” She had a small duffel bag on her shoulder.

“
Come in,
”
Beth said, "I
’
m sorry. I didn
’
t mean to be rude and leave you standing in the hallway, I just didn
’
t expect anyone.”

She entered and set the bag down. A young man was there to help her in with
a
folded table.
“
I
’
m a retired nurse and I do physical therapy and massage. I’m on staff here at the hotel. Mr. Beamer explained your situation to me. He said you might want a bubble bath
instead of
a shower.
He verified with your doctor
that it was OK for you to sit in the tub.”

“
I can
sit
in the tub, bubbles and all?” The woman nodded and smiled. “Isn
’
t he just the most wonderful man?” Beth was so excited. “I haven
’
t had a bath in months! How he spoils me!
”
 

The suite had a large garden tub Jacuzzi and I have to admit that I longed to get in.

“
Oh! Yes!” Beth said,
“
Yes! Let
’
s do it!”

From her bag she took salts and perfumed oils. She helped Beth ease into the tub. There was a knock at the door that adjoined the rooms.
Once situated, she made sure
Beth was
comfortable, and Carolyn
slipped out, pulling the door to. Beth heard Andy’s voice, and then she heard music,
Bach in Woodwind
, his favorite chill music.

‘
Hmm…
’
She eased down into the hot water and turned the jets on. It felt so good. She lingered there for a while, then turned the jets off, let the warm water out and replaced it again with hot and lounged there even longer
.

When Carolyn returned she helped Beth up and into a warmed robe. She felt warm, pink and wrinkly from the water, but it was heavenly. She led Beth to the outer room where she had set up a massage table. There was also a platter of cheeses and fruit and some orange juice.

“
Oh my!” Beth said with excitement. She had a snack and then Carolyn helped her on the table, covered her with a blush colored satin sheet and started her magic. So relaxed, Beth dozed off, awakened by a knock at the door. Carolyn went to answer it.

“
Hello,” Roddy said to Carolyn.
“
Hey beautiful,” he said to Beth as he entered the room. He’d taken her dress to be pressed for the evening’s event.

“
Have I said how much I love you?” Beth laughed.

“
Yes, but you can tell me again.” He bent to kiss her cheek.
“
Mmm, you smell wonderful.”

“
Thank you! What a wonderful surprise this was!”

“
I can only take credit for part of it. You can thank Andy, too.”

“
I will!”

“
Need anything?” he asked as he caressed her neck. It was a tender, loving gesture.

“
I can't imagine for the life of me what it would be,” she said as Carolyn started on her back again. It felt wonderful.

Life is good…

“
OK then, I just wanted to check. See you around 3:30PM.”

The two women shared wonderful conversation as Carolyn worked
. After the massage Carolyn helped Beth to a cool shower. When Beth stepped out she’d
brought a chair into the bathroom with the donut, and Beth sat at the counter and did her hair and make-up, and then Carolyn helped her into her dress.

“Thank you so much, for everything.”