mammaries.
"Anyway, when I
was told I was receiving this award I thought – damn, I'm going to
have to attend. I mean, it's very rare that I leave the house these
days. Some people call me reclusive. I prefer grown-up. You see,
the reason my last album was so well received was because of who
inspired it. She knows exactly who she is. She's the one thing I
got right, the one thing I didn't screw up. Because of her I'm a
much better man, a far better father, and an infinitely better
musician. I'll be grateful to my wonderful wife, Amy, for the rest
of my life and, when she's bumped me off in order to claim the
insurance, I'll make sure she's well compensated. One thing I do
want to say, in all seriousness, is that I never got into music to
win awards. Don't get me wrong, they're very nice and I'm certainly
not going to refuse them. After all, the hotel we got to stay in
just because of this must have cost a small fortune and I'm not in
the business of turning down a free weekend break. But I became a
musician for one simple reason – because I love music. I've had the
good fortune to play in an incredible band with some wonderful
people who are sadly, no longer with us. I've got to tour the
world, see places I never thought a fool like me would ever get to
see. I've met some amazing people, from the millions of fans who
attend my shows and write to me by email to the individuals who
have touched my life personally in so many different ways. This is
a gift, this life. Music is an amazing art form both for those who
practice it and those who listen to it. I'll be grateful for
everything it's brought me, both good and bad, for the rest of my
days."
I took a deep
breath and smiled as he came to the end of his speech.
"Oh, and one
more thing. This isn't the end of me as a musician. I think
lifetime achievements are given out sometimes when people aren't
expecting anything new from that artist ever again. Let's just say
this marks my achievements of a lifetime I've already had. The rest
is just beginning. Thank you for this honour and enjoy the rest of
the show."
"Wow, you
knocked it out of the park." I kissed Rick on the cheek as we
finished watching his performance on the television in our hotel
room. Once again, we were shut away from the world. "You looked
pretty hot, too."
"Not so bad
yourself, Dolly."
"Mommy… Is that
you and daddy on the TV?"
We turned to
see our beautiful little boy, Evan, enter the room, rubbing his
eyes. "Yes it was, little man," I smiled, beckoning him over. He
jumped onto the sofa and sat between us, worn out from the flight
in the day before. "Daddy was getting a very special award."
"What for?"
"Well, because
lots and lots of people like his music and wanted to say ‘thank
you’ to him."
"Oh," he
continued in his squeaky little toddler voice. "Wow."
Now, it would
be nice to say that Evan had been conceived on our wedding night.
It was a magical day, in a beautiful castle in the Italian hills.
Hardly anybody knew except close friends and family and the media
never got a single photograph of us. Why should they? It was our
day, just for us. It would mark the beginning of how Rick and I
would live the rest of our lives – in peace, doing work we loved
but without all the craziness and nonsense that went with being a
rock star. In fact, Rick no longer needed to be a rock star.
Now, he was just someone who lived his life in relative anonymity
but happened to do something he loved – being a musician.
No, the
fairytale ideal wasn't quite going to play out. That fateful day
when I had made love to Rick in my bridal lingerie was when Evan
was conceived, it seems. The timeline certainly fitted. As a
result, we went from having no firm date for our wedding to
organise and one within two months of finding out I was pregnant.
Luckily, when you're an international megastar it's easy to get a
wedding organised at the drop of a hat. People tend to pull strings
that they wouldn't for mere