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“That same morning you called about the Star Launch anniversary show, I saw a particularly nasty post about me on social media. I’d just come from a contentious meeting with my ex and our lawyers, and I was at a real low point. Caleb talked me off the ledge. He suggested we write a song together as a way to distract me from all the negatives in my life. The first song went so well that we agreed to do an album together.”
She huffed out a breath. “Since then, I’ve been off social media, and my ex is in jail. So, whatever rumors are circulating about me and Caleb, I don’t care. I’m not going to get dragged into that swamp again. It’s too stressful. I’m having my publicist, Gina, see that tweets and posts are made regularly by one of her assistants, and they respond to positive comments only.”
“I’m glad to hear you’re taking a break from the B.S. factory. Take care of yourself first, and the rest will work itself out. That’s my motto.”
Theresa smiled. Mary had mottos for just about everything. “I haven’t seen the contract for the Star Launch anniversary show yet. How’s that coming?”
“The bigger the deal, the slower the wheels turn. It’s in the chute, and everything is done except for the fine points. Don’t worry,” Mary said.
“I’m not.”
“Call Caleb. I’ll see you soon.”
“I will. Thanks.” They ended the call, and Theresa hit Caleb’s speed dial number.
“Good news travels fast,” he said, answering on the second ring.
“Yeah, I just got off the phone with Mary.” Even the sound of his voice caused her heart to flutter, and she couldn’t stifle her goofy smile. “So, what are the possible dates and times when we can sit down with her?”
He listed them off, and they settled on the following Friday when they’d be in L.A. anyway for rehearsal.
“So, that’s settled. I’ll call Mary and let her know,” he said. “Have you tried to contact your mother yet?”
“Yes. I called her home number right before Mary called. No one answered, so I left a message.”
“It must be nerve-wracking to wait.”
“It is. I’m seeing my therapist this afternoon though, so that helps.”
“I’m glad. Well, I’ll see you tomorrow at nine for rehearsal,” Caleb said.
“See you then.” They ended the call, and Theresa continued to sit right where she was. Her life had changed so much in the span of a few months, and all the changes had been good. If things didn’t work out with her mother, she’d handle the disappointment.
Finally, she left her bedroom and headed for her piano. She’d been toying with song number three, and now would be a good time to work. She needed something to take her mind off her mother, the harassment trial looming in her future, and whatever rumors were circulating about her on social media. When you get right down to it, the music is all that matters. Isn’t that what Caleb had said?
At the time, she’d clung to that assertion. Now? Not so much. Being emotionally healthy, her children, the people in her life … those things mattered far more than music or her career. Of course, Caleb had meant the words as they related to social media and all the external bullshit. But … he’d lost the woman and child he’d loved with all his heart, and he blamed himself. Music and work must have been his lifeline through unimaginable grief.
Her heart ached for him, and she wished she had a magic wand to make all the hurt and the guilt disappear. At least she could include him in her small circle. She could give him that much, make him an honorary uncle to her boys. Smiling to herself, she sat down at her piano, already humming a tune.
Theresa opened the folder she kept propped on the music stand of her piano. Since meeting Caleb and beginning therapy, she’d been thinking a lot about trust. Naturally, her thoughts turned into verses, and the verses became the beginning of a song. She sang softly to the music she played on the piano.
Trust … so fragile a thread from one to another,
so easily broken, so carelessly tread.
Like visible breath on a cold winter’s day,
there for an instant, then gone away.
She hadn’t thought about it when she’d started writing this song, but Caleb had been the inspiration. Hadn’t he been the one to show her what it was like to be with someone she could trust? Music, this too was a form of therapy.
But cherished and nurtured, thread upon thread,
a web this trust does make …
From one to another … becomes our strength, and never will it break.
The pact to be there for each other came to mind, and she smiled at her silly attempt to let Caleb know she’d be there for him like he’d been there for her. She continued to work on the words and the melody to describe the solid bridge of trust she and Caleb were forging between them.
