Loneliness Trilogy Bundle Boxset (44 page)

We are on the way home for only a block or two before Marcus swears.

“What?”

“Check your wing mirror. Do you see Millie’s car back there? Marcus asks.

I check - and yes, I do see her!

“That’s her and she’s getting closer!” I tell Marcus.

“Damn. Hang on, then. I’ll try to get us away from her as fast as possible,” Marcus says, accelerating quickly. He turns down side streets, attempting to lose Millie so we can get to my parent’s house to pick up Lizzie.

Millie hangs on, following us. I check the wing mirror, telling Marcus how far away she is.

“Two car lengths. Now, three. Damn, back to two!”

“If this were a lighter traffic part of the day, I could move more quickly, but as it is now, I am afraid of hitting someone and hurting them and you!” Marcus says.

I glance at him. He is sweating.

“Ahhh! Finally!” he shouts. He accelerates, putting several cars’ worth of distance between Millie and us.

I feel the car turning left, then right and left again. I look back - no sign of Millie.

Marcus sighs deeply as he pulls into the car lot at the police station.

“Come on! I think she’ll find us before long!”

I grab Marcus’ hand and we run into the station to report what is happening. It takes a few critical minutes, but finally we convince the desk sergeant of what is happening. He begins to take a report when someone runs in.

“Oy, there’s someone out there yelling for ‘Marcus.’ She’s dressed in a minister’s collar!” someone shouts. “She doesn’t look happy, either.”

“You stay in here and file this report. I’ll deal with her,” Marcus says to me. An officer goes outside with him, where they talk to Millie.

I wait for several minutes after I finish giving the officer my report.

“Can I call my mum and let her know it’s going to be a while? I don’t want her to worry,” I tell him.

“Go right ahead. Do you need to use this phone?”

“I have my cell phone, thank you.” I step away from the desk.

“Mum? We’re going to be late for Lizzie. Millie found us after our midwife appointment and chased us through Saint Albans. I’m waiting for Marcus to find out why she chased us down and, as soon as we are done here, we will go for Lizzie,” I tell her.

“My God, be careful! Can an officer escort you?” mum asks me.

“I’ll ask. Thank you, mum. I love you.”

I wait for another thirty minutes. Marcus finally comes out alone. We leave.

“Where’s Millie?”

“Still inside. When I told the officer that I have hired several security teams to watch over us, he was right interested. He told her she has to stay so he could explain things to her and so we could get to your mum’s without harassment.” He sighs. “Jo, I’m calling dad after we’ve eaten and put Lizzie to bed.”

“Good. This latest incident scared me. If she had caught up to us, what was her intent?”

Marcus huffs out a harsh breath. It’s not quite a laugh.

“You’re not going to believe this, Johanna. She claims that she wanted to ‘talk to us’ about God and His love! That she wanted to help us correct the path we are on - but, as she talked, it became crystal clear that she meant she wanted you to correct your life path. She wants you to leave, and for me to raise the kids without you in my life. I told her that we love each other and are committed to each other, that we married in the Church of England. That went straight over her head - Jo, she is fixated on this idea that you are a slut.” He looks straight at me and I see fear in his eyes. “It’s claiming today that she wants to ‘save’ you. Tomorrow, it’ll be that you’re a danger to our family and that you have to be dealt with harshly. I think she’s becoming more and more of a danger to you and our children, so this is why I want to call dad and get him to talk to her - soon.”

“I won’t object. That is frightening! Just how is it that she wants me to live?”

“Drop your music career. Find a job in a shop, put the kids with child minders and work in a shop all day long. In short, deny who and what you are - an artist.”

“No. No way. I will continue doing exactly what I am - practicing, learning and composing new music, putting out CDs and putting on concerts.”

After we bathe Lizzie and put her into bed, we go back downstairs and sit on the couch.

Marcus rings his dad up.

“Dad? You’re not going to like hearing this, but Millie found us today after we left Johanna’s midwife appointment. We tried to get away from her, but she caught up to us at the police station. Johanna filed a report while I talked to Millie with an officer there. She claimed she wanted to bring us closer to God - she meant Johanna. What she wants Johanna to do is to drop her music career and find a job in a shop or office somewhere and deny her creativity. No, we aren’t having that. D’you know when you’re going to talk to her?”

I listen to Marcus’ side of the conversation. He puts his phone on speaker mode and sets it down so we can both hear his dad.

“I had hoped to wait a few days to see if she would cooperate with the vicar. I believe he talked to her today and told her to stop her actions. It looks like she isn’t going to stop, so I will talk to her tomorrow. I will also go back to the vicarage and talk to the vicar, because I want to find out what he told her she could do. Don’t confront her. Just do as you have been doing and try to stay away from her. I will tell her she cannot try to contact you - you and Johanna should decide if you want a court order that keeps her away from you.”

The next day, we are at home after practice. Marcus’ dad rings us up, telling us he will be at the back gate in a few minutes. Marcus lets him in and brings him into the house and I heat water for tea.

“I spoke to the vicar. He’s going to talk to Millie and let her know that he’s releasing her from her posting at the church. The day after he does this, I will talk to her and tell her she has to return to the United States - that, until and if she changes her beliefs and becomes more tolerant of those who are different, she cannot be around our family. I do not like pushing her away, but what she is doing is escalating her actions against you, Johanna. What if it had been just you in the car when she was chasing you? I wonder that, and I get sick chills down my spine,” says Andrew.

I pour the tea and allow it to steep. Once it’s done, we each take a cup and sip the hot brew. I fold my hands around my cup, trying to warm myself again.

“Andrew - dad - do you expect our situation to get bad before she leaves?”

“Honestly? Be glad you have the security teams. Marcus, would you get a team for your mum and me, please? Once I talk to Millie, she will see me as allied with you and against her,” Andrew says.

When I hear Andrew’s assessment of the situation, I get cold all over again.

Marcus wraps his arms around me when he sees me shivering.

“I will be talking to her just as soon as I know the vicar has dismissed her from the church. After this, she will have little choice but to return to the States.”

Andrew finishes his tea and puts his jacket back on. Marcus goes to the gate and opens it so Andrew can leave.

“Oh, my God, it’s going to get worse?”

“Temporarily only. Dad wants to require Millie to leave within days, not weeks. He’ll pay for movers to load up her belongings. It’s not like moving house from here to London, so she will need to move quickly. Once she is on a flight and flying over the Atlantic, we are safe,” Marcus says.

I grab onto those words.

“What about Robert Smythe? Will he go with her?”

“My guess is yes. They have an…odd…relationship, one in which Millie cracks the whip and Robert responds. I have no idea how he is a social worker if he helps people to facilitate changes in their lives. All I know is that, as strong-willed as she is, she needs him. And he needs her.”

I shiver again, this time from revulsion.

At the end of practice, Tim tells us we are going to begin working on the Scotland and Ireland tour, which begins only a few months from now. Finally! Something not connected to Millie that I can look forward to! I dance around the studio, feeling much happier than I have felt for days. Marcus joins me dancing and the boys begin laughing.

At mum’s and dad’s, we gather Lizzie and her things.

“Well, you look much happier! What happened?”

“We’re going to be getting ready for a short tour around Scotland and Ireland! It’s not long at all, but it’s something to look forward to!” My voice rises into a high falsetto as I sing out the last words. “And Andrew is going to be talking to Millie sometime this week and telling her she has to leave the U.K. if she is not going to stop hassling me for being a singer. I confess, mum, that makes me very nervous.”

“It would make me just as nervous, luv. Just keep the security teams in place until we know she has gotten onto a plane and is in the air - that’s all I ask,” mum says.

“We plan on that,” says Marcus as he loads Lizzie’s nappy bag.

At home that evening, Marcus gives Lizzie her bath and I make dinner. I have been craving Spanish food, so I dive into my cookbooks for dinner entrees I can make quickly.

Marcus comes downstairs whistling after he tucks Lizzie into bed and reads her a bed time story.

“Smells good! What are you making?” he asks me.

“A quick Spanish meal - I have been craving Spanish food all day long. It should be ready presently, if you would set the table for us,” I say.

We tuck into our meal - and it is good! Just spicy and heavy enough for me to enjoy. We wash the dishes and clean up the kitchen, finishing just as Marcus’ dad calls us.

“Hullo, dad! How are you? We’re actually feeling pretty good - Johanna and the band are planning a short tour for shortly after the baby’s born. And, how are you liking the security team?”

“Good - you need something other than family strife to think about. And I have some news to report - the vicar has revoked your sister’s posting at the church as of last evening. I drove to her home - Robert had just left for work. She was highly, highly upset. We talked about what the vicar said to her and she still refuses to understand that her positions and actions against certain groups are unwelcome and perceived as potentially threatening. I brought up her following you to the police station and she said she only wanted to ‘give Johanna the opportunity to develop a relationship with God.’

“When we began talking about this, I asked her if she would ease up on Johanna and just let her be, and she said she would not. She said it is ‘her role’ to help Johanna see the error of her ways and she would keep speaking honestly, including cautioning you about Johanna’s supposed faults and sins. That’s when I told her that we view her as a potential threat to Johanna, Lizzie and the new baby. When she questioned why we think this way, I asked her why she took a cricket bat to the front door of the studio. She had no real answer for that, other than to say she wanted to talk to you and Johanna. When I asked why she needed a bat, she couldn’t answer that. We talked about the petition she and her group began, trying to force The Lonely Lovers to disband, and we got into the whole slut, drug addicts and violent brother issue. I told her that she could potentially face a defamation lawsuit and she scoffed at me, telling me that, if she is doing God’s work, He will help her get out from under that.

“That’s when I brought up the fact that, if she will not leave Johanna, you, the band and your children alone, she would need to relocate - back to the United States. Marcus, she threw a fit and tried to row with me. I wouldn’t have it, though. I kept pressing her on whether she would leave you alone and she wouldn’t answer yes or no. She asked why I was forcing her out of the family, and I reminded her that she, herself, was doing this with her actions. I pointed out that Lizzie is frightened of her, because of her actions against you and Johanna. I told her, again, that she has to leave the U.K. if she is not willing or able to change her viewpoint of your family. Well, the short of it is that she has agreed to do so. She and Robert will be leaving in two weeks - once they have secured movers and tickets back to the States,” finishes Marcus’ dad.

“Thank you, dad! I will keep the security teams in place until we know she is en route to the United States. I do expect her to come by at some point and row at me,” Marcus says.

After the conversation ends and Marcus hangs up, I fall into his arms, crying with relief.

“Oh, my God, it’s nearly over!” I say over and over again.

“Yes, but you are still going to be very careful and cautious as we go through Saint Albans. I don’t trust her not to try and approach you. I am hoping she won’t, but she will blame you, saying you’re the cause of her having to leave the U.K.”

The next morning, we report to my parents what Andrew and Millie talked about.

“So she and her husband are leaving by the middle of September? And it will be over?” mum asks in confirmation.

“Yes, but we will still need to be very careful. Until she is in the air, I will not draw a free breath,” Marcus says.

“And my grandbaby will not have to fear her. That is the best of all! Jo, I know you had hoped to have a real sister-to-sister relationship with her, but she made it clear that would not be. I am going to offer you a little bit of advice, here. Do not allow her to control you, your career or your family life. You do what you know is best. You’re young, but you have an excellent head on your shoulders. You are a wonderful mum to Lizzie, and you will be for this new baby. Oh, it’s nearly over!” mum says as she serves breakfast to Lizzie.