The corridor turned left and continued for about 25 or 30 feet. The door to Tessa’s room was somewhere in the middle. Sindy expected a large bedroom, the kind that had enough room for a separate sitting area and a desk and a vanity, but she walked into something that looked like a one-bedroom apartment. The initial space had a couch and two recliners in the center facing a giant flat screen. A large desk bordered one wall. The opposite wall supported an entertainment center with amplifiers and a rack filled with several bass guitars. Sindy walked through the room in a daze, until an alcove caught her attention. “You have your own kitchen?”
“Don’t let my Papi hear you say that.” Tessa laughed. “That’s not a kitchen. It’s a fridge, a sink and a microwave.”
Tessa failed to point out that there was also a counter with a coffee maker and hardwood cabinets. Sindy continued walking around the room and gazed at the many framed photos displayed throughout. Almost all of them were of Tessa, Lucas, and Mason performing. Some in an outdoor lush garden, which she assumed was the grounds to this mansion, others in a local bar. The photos spanned a lifetime. A blond-haired, blue-eyed little boy and a dark-haired little girl chasing an older boy with a magnetic smile. A comical photo of Tessa on her 13thbirthday holding back a young Lucas and Mason from sticking their forks into her cake. The most recent, Tessa in a cap and gown surrounded by her family. It was a beautiful photo, filled with good-looking people who looked genuinely happy. Sindy arched her brows. She thought families like this only existed on TV shows. Well, with the exception of a third parent.
Another doorway caught Sindy’s attention, the door half ajar. “What’s in there?”
“My bedroom.” Tessa walked to the door, pushed it open and a light automatically flicked on by some sort of sensor. “My papi had the sensor lights installed,” she explained when Sindy lifted her eyes to the ceiling fixture. “He’s such a conservationist, always worried about the environment.” She smiled with affection.
“I guess that’s his Tesla outside.”
“No, that’s mine. I care about the environment, too. My dad is the opposite, more worried about the electric bill.”
“Your dad worries about the electric bill?”
Tessa nodded. “He’s very practical. Not a spendthrift like my papi and my mom. I take after them. Lucas takes after our dad, always trying to budget expenses when it comes to the band when really, who cares?”
“I care. There’s no reason to waste money.” Sindy felt her cheeks redden and hoped she didn’t sound frugal, but Tessa just laughed it off. Sindy looked around the bedroom, mesmerized by the enormity of both rooms. Never having much more than the basic necessities, Sindy had become used to the simple things. Although she was impressed at the extravagance and lavish lifestyle, it wasn’t really for her. She was a minimalist, happy with the small things in life – a flower blooming on a Spring day, a group of baby ducklings following their mama across the grass, an old dog, slower, but still spry enough to chase a ball. She would be lost with so many amenities at her fingertips and swallowed up in the oversized house. “Tessa, this is amazing. I can’t believe you grew up in your own private apartment.”
“Oh, this section of the house wasn’t always here. It was added when I turned 16. My parents bought the adjacent property and added an extension that was bigger than the original house. They tried to say the expansion was for us, but I knew it was just a ploy to keep us living here as long as possible. I think it worked. Sit and relax. Turn on the TV or the stereo if you want.” Tessa slipped into the kitchenette and returned with two bottles of water and a small spread of cheeses and assorted crackers.
“Thanks, Tessa. You always go to so much trouble.”
“We’re sharing a snack. Isn’t that what girlfriends do?” Tessa presented the sweetest smile.
“Yeah.” Sindy took a piece of cheese off the tray and popped it into her mouth. “Oh my God,” she exclaimed into her cupped hand, overwhelmed at the intense flavor. “What is this?”
“It’s Old Ford. Don’t you like it?”
Sindy swallowed. “It’s heaven. I’ve never had it before. It’s like butter. All the other cheeses must be jealous.”
Tessa threw her head back and laughed. “I like you.” She folded her legs underneath her and faced Sindy.” I don’t have any close female friends. I’m always surrounded by all these damn boys.”
“I don’t know why not. You’re so nice. And as far as the guys are concerned, that’s no surprise. You probably have your pick of a half dozen guys to go out with on a Saturday night.”
“I don’t mean boyfriends. I mean Lucas and Mason. I was the only girl all those years that we toured with Immortal Angel while we were growing up. Even Mason’s younger sibling is a boy. I thought when Audra – that’s his mom – finally had a baby, maybe I’d get a girl that I could pal around with. No such luck.” Tessa spread her arms as if she was making an announcement. “It’s a boy!”
“Mason has a younger brother?”
“Yeah. Michael. He’s nine. He’s not that interested in music. He likes to play around with the sound mixer, though. Jimmy and Audra aren’t pushing him. Right now, all the kid cares about is video games. He’s adorable. And some kind of genius. And to answer your question about female friends, none of the girls I know are interested in music. Not like I am. I don’t have many outside interests. I love fashion.” She stood up and wrapped a silk scarf around her neck, put on a pair of heels that were sitting next to the desk, and then pranced around the room as if she was on a catwalk. “And I sew a little.” She jumped onto the couch and landed in a sitting position with her leg underneath her. “I love to cook and bake. But nothing compares to music. I don’t know anyone who lives and breathes it the way I do. Except Lucas and Mason, and, of course, my family. And, now, you.”
A gold thread in the scarf caught the light and Sindy reached out and touched it. “This is beautiful.”
Tessa took it off and looped it around Sindy’s neck. “It’s Persian silk.”
Sindy never felt anything so exquisite and so soft. The creamy lilac flowers looked as if they had just bloomed. The sight of them filled her nostrils with the memory of a trip to the botanical gardens when she was a child. “This is really gorgeous.”
“My mom made it, I think.” Tessa picked up one of the ends that hung in Sindy’s lap. “Yep. See?”
Jessi Blade’s name was sewn into the fabric. Never had Sindy worn something so expensive, and her face lit up. “I’m wearing a Jessi Blade original.”
“Keep it.”
“No way. I couldn’t. This is expensive.”
“I have tons of stuff my mom makes. I think I have an exact duplicate of that scarf. Take it.”
“I . . . I don’t know what to say.” Sindy knew she shouldn’t accept it, but it made her feel pretty and sophisticated, and Tessa kept insisting. “Thank you.” Sindy loved everything about this girl. She was independent, outspoken, cute as can be and her talents had no end. Bass player, vocalists, seamstress, cook. Sindy looked at the cracker in her hand and added hostess to the list.
