Page 61 of Polly

Chapter 18

Polly

Polly smiled at the cameras as she and the rest of Lovely Oblivion sat on an elevated stage, behind a table decorated with sponsor logos and TV banners. Bulbs flashed and red lights glowed from the cameras pointed at them for the televised interview.

“Any new music coming soon?” one reporter asked.

Bex answered, “Well, as you know, we released an album earlier this year. We’re still going strong and new music is in the works. Keep your ears open for new songs next spring.”

“Polly, that video of you and Flynn Morgan playing together was fantastic. Can we expect more from you two?” a reporter shouted.

“We’ll see what our record labels say. We don’t have any plans right now, but who knows what the future holds,” Polly said.

“How do you know Flynn Morgan?”

“Flynn and I met at a party a few years ago. We hit it off and became friends.”

“Are you two dating?”

“No comment. That’s not what this interview is about.”

“Are you ladies pumped for the show tonight?” another reporter asked.

“Hell yeah,” Jade answered. “We hope to see all your excited faces in the audience.”

The interview continued for half an hour before the band said their goodbyes and left the table. They headed out to the waiting limousine.

“We’ve got an hour until the opening band starts,” Greg said as they settled in. “There’s catered food at the venue so the plan is to head there and hang out until showtime.”

They arrived at the venue after a short drive and walked into the building to a big cafeteria-like room. Buffet-style pans lined a table at the front and the caterers removed the lids. Delicious scents tickled Polly’s nose.

The band lined up to make plates. Bex made two — one for her and one for her husband — and excused herself to go have dinner with her husband and infant daughter on the bus.

Polly filled her plate with steaming food and sat at a table with the rest of the band.

“I think Bex wants to have some jam sessions on the bus so we can get ready for recording,” Jade said after swallowing a bite of her food. “She said something about working on a new song she’s got in mind while we’re on the road tomorrow.”

“That should be fun,” their keyboardist, Maggie, said. “I can’t wait to get back in the studio. I’m exhausted. And ready for this tour to be finished. I’d like to stay in the same place for a while. It will be nice to make some new music, too.”

Jade said, “I’m tired, too, but I try to look at it from the perspective that we won’t be doing this forever. Maybe a few more years of touring, then we’ll exclusively have studio time. I know I definitely don’t want to be one of the rockers still touring in my old age. This won’t be long-term.”

“True,” Maggie said. “Doesn’t make me any less tired.”

Polly’s phone rang as they laughed. She glanced at the screen and saw it was an unknown number so she quickly pressed ignore. Immediately, the number rang again. Again, she ignored it. When it rang a third time, Polly sighed and said, “Excuse me a second.”

She answered the call and stepped out of the room, into the hallway.

“Hello?”

“Polly, it’s me,” Grady said.

She sighed and closed her eyes. “What do you want?”

“I want to say I’m sorry. I love you, baby. I was stupid and I made a mistake. What can I do to prove my love to you?”

Anger pulsed through Polly’s veins. “You can’t do anything. You hurt me. You devastated me. Not only did you cheat, you got married and had kids behind my back. You made me the other woman — and that should have been impossible because I was with you first! I will never forgive you.”

“We can work this out.”

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