Falling Free: What happens in Vegas... (The Fall Series) (9 page)

     To My
Golden Girl,

     This
is a special day for so many reasons. I proudly watched as you dug in with      determination
and learned every job at The Grand over the years. I admire the smart,   beautiful
and very stubborn young lady you’ve become—you’re just like your mother.

     You’re
all grown up now, and there’s still one last job you need to learn. The tavern
is        the heart of The Grandview, and you’re finally old enough to take
your place next to me.           As you know, it’s very special to me, just
like you, and my heart is full today knowing that   now I can share it with
you.

     Love, Dad

My eyes were so blurred with
tears that by the time I got to the last line I could barely read it. Then
clapping erupted as I opened the box to find my very own bar key and nametag
inside. I remembered looking around the room with pride. This was my home, and
the faces around me were my family. I caught a glimpse of my dad leaning in the
doorway watching. When our eyes met I saw him wipe a tear from his cheek and
smile before he disappeared back into the tavern. At eighteen I guess most
girls would’ve expected a car or jewelry or even a vacation, but what he gave
me was worth more than all of those things put together, and the way he did it
would stay with me forever.

I haven’t received many gifts
since my dad died. In fact, the last one I received was from Nina shortly after
his funeral. She made me a bracelet filled with charms that represented special
memories shared between me and my parents over the years. I still wear it all
the time. “I hope this makes you feel like they’re still with you,” she said
when she gave it to me. And she was right. It did.

Now here I was, sitting
face-to-face with Parker, amazed how this simple gesture from him reminded me
so much of my father and the last time in my life when I truly felt happy and
free. Until now.

I hesitated as I took the gift
from his hand gently. All I could do was stare at it until his voice broke the
tension, “Go head. Open it. You’re killing me.”

We both laughed while I opened
the box nervously. My heart was thumping in my ears. I briefly hoped I wouldn’t
find jewelry or anything else too expensive and over-the-top inside. To my
relief I didn’t. Caught off guard, I made a funny face as I held the shiny
object in my hand. It was a purple iPod with matching ear buds. Purple, my
favorite color. He remembered. I looked up at him not sure what to say.

“So...” he began shyly, “If you
want to run while you’re here I ordered a treadmill for you. It’s top of the
line, but I’m afraid the view’s not as nice as what you’re used to. You can’t
just walk outside and go for a run here you know. It’s way too hot and too
crowded, and besides, I want to be the only one who gets to see you all sweaty
and glowing when you’re done.”

I blinked up at him. If I wasn’t
already sitting down those dimples would’ve brought me to my knees. Running is so
important to me. Thankfully I packed my running shoes just in case, and this
purple iPod matched them perfectly. How did he know so much about me after all
this time? I was speechless.

He stood abruptly and grabbed his
boxers off the floor, dragging them on slowly. That’s when I realized I still
hadn’t thanked him. The silent treatment probably wasn’t what he’d expected,
and I was suddenly worried I may have hurt his feelings.

“I have to get ready for my
meeting. The treadmill is two doors down to the left if you want to check it
out.”

I stopped him before he walked
into the bathroom. “Parker, thank you. This…” I looked down at the shiny purple
iPod and then back at him, “it means more than you know.”

 I was relieved to see his smile
come back. Yep, this was clearly uncharted territory for the infamous Parker
Blackwell, and as much as I hated to admit it, the same could be said for the
stubborn Lauren St. John.

“Good,” he replied. “Go help
yourself to some breakfast or call room service if you want. I should be done
with the meeting in an hour or so.”

Food was the last thing on my
mind. I climbed out of bed as soon as the bathroom door closed behind him and
made my way back to my room. I washed my face quickly and brushed my teeth
before throwing my hair up in a messy ponytail and digging through my bag to
find my running shoes, sports bra and yoga pants. I secured the iPod to my
waist and almost ran down the hall. I couldn’t wait to run.

I burst through the door and
stopped dead in my tracks as I scanned across the enormous corner windows taking
in the panoramic view of the strip before me.
The view is not as nice as
what I’m used to? Really?
It wasn’t the peaceful calming blue and soft
white sand that I was accustomed to, but it was stunning in a whole different way.
There was so much to look at. Almost too much to take in at once I thought as I
looked down at the cars and tiny shapes of people moving about the sidewalks. And
the lights! They were even lit up during the day. Amazing!

I examined the treadmill and
quickly got acquainted with the functions. Parker was right. This was a quality
machine, and I knew I was in for a nice smooth run. I braced my feet on either
side and looked down to turn on the iPod as the belt came humming to life
beneath me. It was almost comical, but I never even thought about what I would
be listening to until that very moment. I looked around the room and laughed to
myself as I wondered who loaded the music. Parker? The thought of him choosing
music for me added a whole new dimension to things. I hesitated before pressing
the button, took a deep breath and started jogging as the familiar intro to
All
Summer Long
by Kid Rock came bursting through the ear buds.

Suddenly, I was running and
laughing with tears in my eyes like a crazy fool as I listened to the lyrics. We
were two wild kids back then.
Well played, Mr. Blackwell. Well played!

It was 1989, my
thoughts were short, my hair was long

Caught somewhere
between a boy and man

She was
seventeen and she was far from in-between

It was
summertime in Northern Michigan

Splashing through
the sand bar, talking by the campfire

It’s the simple
things in life like when and where

We didn’t have
no Internet but man I never will forget

The way the
moonlight shined upon her hair

And we were
trying different things, we were smoking funny things

Making love out
by the lake to our favorite song

Sipping whiskey
out the bottle, not thinking ‘bout tomorrow

Singing ‘Sweet
Home Alabama’ all summer long

Catching Walleye
from the dock

Watching the
waves roll off the rocks

She’ll forever
hold a spot inside my soul

We’d blister in
the sun, we couldn’t wait for night to come

To hit that sand
and play some rock ‘n’ roll

Now nothing
seems as strange as

When the leaves
began to change

Or how we
thought those days would never end

Sometimes I hear
that song and I’ll start to sing along

And think, man,
I’d love to see that girl again

As the music faded I wasn’t ready
to let go. The song ended too soon. I wanted to hit repeat, but before I could
the next song started to play. Pour Some Sugar On Me by Def Leopard. Wow! This
really brought me back. We weren’t the typical kids back then I guess. We used
to listen to CD’s that I borrowed from my dad’s collection more often than the
current music that played on the radio. And this tune? Well, let’s just say it
had my hormones racing on more than one occasion with Parker. The night he
challenged me to a kissing contest this song played in the background as we
locked lips for the first time. I could still picture the scene in my mind. We
were so young and inexperienced. We thought we knew everything when in reality
neither one of us had a clue.

For almost an hour I ran and
listened as song after song had me laughing and crying and singing along high above
the beautiful chaos in the streets below. But the last song…the last one. I
hadn’t been able to listen to it since Parker sang it to me seven years ago.
Yellow
by Coldplay. Every time it came on the radio I flipped the channel quickly
to avoid it. Now here it was playing in my ears like a message from him…

My mom had been sick for a while.
We knew it was serious, and we were waiting for the test results that night…

Look at the
stars,

Look how they
shine for you,

And everything
you do,

Yeah, they were
all yellow.

We were sitting close to the fire
on the beach. Sarah and Nina had called it a night, and it was just Parker and
me when this song came on the radio…

I came along,

I wrote a song
for you,

And all the
things you do,

And it was
called “Yellow”

Parker had been on his best
behavior that week, giving his usual annoying asshole routine a break. Looking
back now he must have sensed that I really needed my friends more than ever,
and when the others were gone he sat next to me and put his arm around me
tightly. Then out of the blue he just started singing…

So then I took
my turn,

Oh what a thing
to have done,

And it was all
yellow

Your skin,

Oh yeah your
skin and bones,

Turn into

Something
beautiful,

You know,

You know I love
you so,

You know I love
you so,

He remembered that night, and somehow
he knew how much this song, that night, meant to me.

I swam across,

I jumped across
for you,

Oh what a thing
to do.

‘Cause you were
all yellow,

I drew a line,

I drew a line
for you,

Oh what a thing
to do

And it was all
yellow.

Completely overwhelmed with
emotion, I wanted to run to him. I wanted to drop the bitch defense that I had
come here so hell bent on executing, and just tell him everything. How bad he
hurt me when he went away, how I thought about him all the time, and how it
broke my heart when my mom finally died, and he wasn’t there to hold me.

Your
skin,

Oh
yeah your skin and bones,

Turn
into

Something
beautiful,

And
you know,

For
you I’d bleed myself dry,

For
you I’d bleed myself dry.

I tugged the ear buds from my
ears suddenly aware that I was standing on the edges of the treadmill as it
moved beneath me, my eyes glued to the people moving below. Couples holding
hands, street vendors, cars, taxis and buses end to end. Suddenly everything
seemed to make sense. Life was too short. I’ve lost so many people already that
every connection I had left seemed precious. In fact, these connections seemed
so rare they were worth holding on to, and in this case, maybe even worth
fighting for. The only thing I knew for sure was that I didn’t want to lose his
friendship again. Ever.

I wiped the tears from my face
and turned off the treadmill. I had to find him and tell him how much this
meant to me, how much HE meant to me. I didn’t want to fight it anymore. I was tired
of feeling alone.