One Hundred One

The smile lit Richie from the inside as the taxi ferried him through the maze of roadways between the airport and downtown Philadelphia.  One knee bouncing animatedly, his excitement was palpable and he leaned forward in the cab as though to hurry it along. The wheels were still rolling when he opened the door, hurrying into the building and up to her – his – condo where she was supposed to be waiting. 

Tossing some money and a distracted thanks to the cabbie, he strode past the doorman with a nod.  The elevator appeared as though by magic, and a pleased grin crossed his features.  In no time, he was stepping through the condo’s door,  a light of expectation in his eyes.

“Sunshine?” he called into the darkened apartment.  The windows offered nothing in the way of illumination, as the sky outside black, making the time of night indiscernible.  “Where are you?”

Richie evidently expected her to be awake, so it must’ve been early in the night.  Regardless, there was no answer.

He turned on the light with a look of concern and strode down the hall to her bedroom, intent on finding her.  The darkened room led him to believe she was asleep, so after easing through the door, he quietly tiptoed across the carpet careful not to wake her.  Feeling lightly along the edge of the bed, he sought her sleeping form.

Confusion clouded his features when he found the bed empty. 

“What the hell?”

He reached for the lamp switch and immediately saw that the bed hadn’t been slept in, causing his brow to furrow in a deep frown.  The only thing in the bed was a lone sheet of paper resting on the comforter.  He snatched it up without hesitation.   

Reading aloud, he mumbled, “And I don’t know when or if I’ll be back…”

As quickly as the frown had come, it left again, and his shoulders sagged with relief.

“Thank God.  Now I can go back to Heather with a clear conscience.”

Allegra sat straight up in the bed with a gasp, chest pounding and sweat dripping from her brow.  The air dragged itself in and out of her lungs like a fireplace bellows and she pulled her knees into her chest.  Arms wrapped tightly around them, she rocked back and forth in an effort to keep the walls of panic from closing in. 

The whole dream had played out in slow motion, and her insides had churned mercilessly from the minute he’d stepped foot into the condo.  The anticipation at knowing what he was going to find had her in agony for the duration of the scene, and she couldn’t imagine feeling any worse. 

But a hot, searing knife stabbed into her heart in the same instant he uttered Heather’s name, jerking her back into full consciousness.

Her eyes darted to the clock.   Four in the morning.

No matter how exhausted she believed herself to be, sleep wouldn’t come in more than intermittent spurts.  The longest stretch she’d had since all this started was an hour, for a grand total of about four hours in three days.  Something had to give.

She’d optimistically crawled under the covers about eleven o’clock, completely worn out from the flower shopping excursion the she and Sister Mary Clementine had undertaken.

It was a nice enough day, but the addle-minded nun was an effort to keep up with.  One moment she would treat Allegra as a dear, lost friend and the next she gazed blankly at her with no recognition at all.  She remained frozen in time and space, until Allegra could divert her attention back to the flowers before them. 

Allegra didn’t know what it was about the flowers, but a single question about the care or lifespan of a particular variety had the nun fully coherent and functional as though nothing had happened.  She hoped that little tactic would continue to prove effective.

After arranging for next-day delivery of their selections, they’d returned to the cloister and shared a light dinner with the Sisters.  Food didn’t interest Allegra, but she’d forced herself to eat a few bites of chicken and part of a salad.  Sister Mary Clementine was eating a baked potato when she abruptly put her fork down, mumbling about ‘finding that’ again.  She wandered out of the dining hall with a look of determination. 

Allegra had to admit to growing more and more curious about the mystery item that the Sister referred to.  She was certain it wouldn’t belong to her, but Sister Mary Clementine was so obsessed with it that she couldn’t help but wonder.  She dawdled in the dining hall for a bit long, waiting, but when there was no further sight of her, Allegra returned to her room for the evening.

Lying in bed, she couldn’t escape her own thoughts any longer.  The daytime had been full of activity and her new charge, which provided for an effective distraction.  In contrast, the quietness of this room was deafening, and all she could hear were the insecurities and doubts rattling around in her head.

In an effort to put them at bay, she heeded Sister Mary Vincent’s advice and prayed, asking God for guidance in accepting the challenges he had put before her. 

I know that I haven’t been the perfect disciple, or even a particularly good one.  I’m prideful, stubborn and tenacious.  Who knows how many commandments have gotten severely bent since I left this place?  You’re understandably not happy with me, and I can’t blame you, but did you have to drag an innocent child into this?  I would like to believe there’s a true purpose here and am trying to stay optimistic, but I'm not seeing it yet.  In the meantime, could you give me a little something to hold onto?  I’ve tried not to ask for much, but I need to know that someone is on my side even though I’ve made some decisions that aren’t too popular.  In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.

Allowing her lids to drift shut, she waited in vain for the peace – or at least sleep – to wash over her.  An hour later, her dry, gritty eyes were wide open, and she was just as unsettled as ever.

It was about three in the morning, during the third or fourth recitation of the Twenty-Third Psalm that she finally closed her eyes to Richie’s sweet face.

That’s when the nightmare had begun – a nightmare that could easily have been reality.

♪ ♫ ♥ ♫ ♪

The tires hit the runway with a squeal and a little more bounce than usual, jarring them all with the impact.  Immediately, the brakes engaged and began slowing the plane to a more land-friendly speed.

About fucking time.

David pulled the phone from his pocket and checked for messages.  He’d tried to call Richie this morning, anxious to hear how it had gone with Legs, but there had been no answer.  He had yet to receive a response to his multiple text messages either. 

Fucker’s probably still in a post-coital coma.

“What the hell are you so antsy about?” Tico grumbled from the seat next to him. 

“A friggin’ month off, old man.  Aren’t you?”

He wasn’t giving Teek any more ammunition after their last airborne chat about Allegra.  Lectures sucked, no matter what age you were, and David loved him too much to try and shut him up.  Okay, and maybe he was just a little afraid of the Cubano. Drummers built up some big ass arm muscles. 

The clasp on the seatbelt clicked under his fingers and fell apart before the plane had ground to a halt.  He pushed the straps from his lap and bent to snag his laptop bag from under the seat. 

“You need to get laid.”

“Undeniably.”  His mouth was keeping time with the conversation, but his mind was speculating whether or not to show up at Richie’s condo.  If he didn’t hear something soon... 

He stood, slinging the bag over his shoulder as the phone finally vibrated to life, and kept him from a lengthy detour to Philly.  The screen was alight with the answer he’d been waiting for.

She was gone when I got here.

“Well, you better get all you can today and tonight,” Jon interjected.  “Studio on Saturday.  Rich and I have a couple of songs to start on.”  He snickered.  “That is if I can get his ass outta bed.”

“Serves you right if you can’t,” Tico told him.  “You’re a sadistic bastard for pulling us back into the studio so soon.  We should get at least a week.”

Jon shook his head.  “No can do, buddy.  Steph’s prom is next weekend, and I want work off my mind.  At least two of the songs need recorded before we break.  The other two we can do between the Hershey and Meadowlands shows.”

David was tapping out his reply to Richie, being careful not to fall on his face as he descended the steps of the plane.  Jon’s voice was a droning buzz in his ear, and he barely registered what was being said. 

You ok?  Wanna hang today?

There were three black Escalades lined up at the edge of the hangar, as they were all headed in different directions this time.  Teek was meeting Alejandra for lunch, while David and Jon were homeward bound in opposite directions.

Nah.  I’m good.

“Lemma!  EARLY tomorrow,” Jon called after him.  “Ten o’clock, sharp!”

David pulled opened the door of the closest car and the driver hurried to put his bags in the back.   “Yeah, I got it.  Later, man.”

The door closed and he tapped the screen of his phone again, this time dialing Richie.  They could spend all day texting and he still wouldn’t have the whole story.  His patience wasn’t up to the challenge at the moment.

“Yeah?”

“So… just gone?  No indication as to where she went, or when she’d be back?”  Maybe he was just a nosy fucker and it was none of his business, but the need to know ate at him.

“All her shit is gone from the condo, but there was a note,” Richie told him with resignation.  “This isn’t about some Good Samaritan flood relief thing.  She’s thinking about breaking it off with me.  Begged me to let her go until she could think things out.”

All the air whooshed from David’s lungs, and he was torn between devastation for his friend and… something else.

“You’re just gonna let her go?”  Even as he said it, he knew the notion was ridiculous.  If she were his girlfriend, he would chase to the ends of the earth after her.  Fortunately, he didn’t think it was going to require quite that much effort.

“Does it look like I have a motherfuckin’ choice?” Richie grumbled. 

“Man, I don’t know what to say.  I’m sorry.” 

He WAS sorry.  This was a clusterfuck that had come out of nowhere, and the more he thought about it, the more worried he became about Allegra.  Something had to have prompted this.  She’d been way too happy to just up and leave out of the blue – especially throwing around breakup threats.  

“Keep your damn pity.  She’s got until Monday, and then I’m going after her.”

I don’t know how you can wait that long.

“Good for you.  I couldn’t sit around and wait either.  Call if there’s anything I can do, or if you just wanna talk, okay?”

“Yeah, man, thanks.”

So distracted was he, that he almost forgot that there was a message to pass along.  “Oh yeah.  Boss Man says ten in the morning.  Damn slave driver.”

It earned him a dry chuckle.  “He’ll be lucky to get my ass outta bed by ten o’clock.”

“Funny, that’s what he said,” David laughed, but there was no echoing laughter from the other end of the line.

“Dave?”  Richie’s voice was hesitant.  “Can we keep this between us?  This is one time I don’t wanna have to deal with Jon and how he’s gonna react.  Not until I know what’s going on for sure.”

He knew exactly what Richie meant.   Depending on where Jon’s head was when he heard the news, he could be pissed at Richie OR Allegra.  Richie being to blame for driving her away or not making sure she was safe.  Allegra for being too damned independent and running out without a word.

“No problem, dude.  Where you staying tonight?  Wanna stay at my place?”

“I appreciate the offer, but I think I’m gonna stay in Philly again tonight.”

“At the condo?  That’s kinda brutal isn’t it?”

“Nah, I’m not into the self-abuse thing.  I’m at the Four Seasons.”

What a weird position to be in.  David was genuinely worried and concerned about his ‘brother’, but couldn’t wait to end the call so he could start tracking down Allegra.

“Oh.  Okay, man.  Well, call me if you need anything, okay?”

“Will do.  Later.”

Originally, he’d been anxious to talk to Legs for a totally frivolous reason.  He’d gotten word about the Tony nominations yesterday.  Memphis was nominated for EIGHT awards, including Best Musical, and he personally was in the running for Best Score and Best Orchestration.  David wanted to share his news with her, because he knew she’d be just as excited as he was. 

Now, though, it was a different story.  After talking to Richie, his need to contact her had become desperate.   He was concerned for her safety, and even more so her emotional state.  Hell, he just needed to know that she was okay all the way around.

The only problem was how to go about it.

Checking his watch, he saw that it was two o’clock.   He had a small window of opportunity before the weekend, and he hurried to take advantage of it.  The Internet browser on his phone flicked to life and he wasted no time in locating the number he needed.

“Hi, this is David Bryan.  Could I speak with Sister Mary Scullion, please?”

Mentally crossing his fingers that she was still in the office, and feeling in a generous mood, he semi-patiently listened to the hold music.  Surely she could tell him something.

“Mister Bryan.  To what do I owe the pleasure?”

Time to turn on the charm, Bryan.

“Good afternoon, Sister.  I just got back in town and was wondering about Allegra.  Do you have any specifics on where she was headed?”

The nun huffed in his ear.  Huffed?  Really?

“I would think you’d have a better idea than I would, since she went chasing after your bandmate.  Where is your next concert Mr. Bryan?  I might suggest that you look there.”

What the fuck?

“Richie didn’t tell me she had joined back up with us,” he bluffed amiably.  “He’s hiding her from me again, I see.  Afraid I’ll steal her out from under his nose, no doubt.”

“Mm.”

Mental note to self:  Nuns don’t find Jewish boys charming.  Go figure.

“Well, Sister Mary, I’m very sorry to have bothered you.  Thanks for the heads up, and I’ll be sure to check the dressing room next time.”

“Please do.  Good day.”

Legs told us she’s with the Sister and the Sister she’s with us.  Curiouser and curiouser…

“We’re here, sir,” the driver announced, removing the opportunity to ponder it any further. 

A spark of irritation shot through him.  As badly as he wanted this little mystery solved, it was going to have to wait until later.  He was home, meaning it was time to see his darling fiancée and relieve a little sexual tension.

Too bad he couldn’t get more excited about the idea.