An Affair of Record

A presence at my elbow had me turn slightly. CC stood there, staring at Lilly who was signing autographs and laughing softly to some comment someone had made.

"Lilly Valley." The name was soft on her lips, almost worshipful.

"You want to meet her?" I asked carefully.

Normally I wouldn't make that sort of offer. Lilly wasn't the most social person, though tonight she seemed very comfortable in the press of people. A nod from CC was all I got for an answer.

"Lilly." My calling of her name was barely audible over the murmur of the crowd.

Lilly's head snapped in my direction, unerringly finding me. She finished signing the last autograph and headed my, our, way. I held out my arm in invitation and she slipped against my side, sliding one hand around behind my back while resting her cheek on the tip of my shoulder. CC just stood there like she was dumbstruck.

"Having fun?" I asked as I looked at her from close range. Her eyes were excited, bright and shiny in the glow from the store lights. "You happy?"

Lilly nodded in reply. I gave her a smile which she returned.

"This is CC. She owns the record store." I introduced them to each other. "I think she's a fan of yours."

"Oh my God, can I have your autograph?" CC blurted out her request then blushed as she realized how teenybopper it sounded.

"Of course." Lilly popped the cap off of her autograph pen.

CC blushed once more and waved her arms helplessly. She didn't have anything handy for Lilly to sign. Lilly snapped the cap back onto her pen.

"It's ok, I'll sign something and have Tommy bring it over. How's that?"

CC just nodded silently. Lilly gave her a smile and patted me on the shoulder before heading off. Knowing her, she was probably leaving and going home. Like I said, she just wasn't that social.

"Lilly Valley." CC breathed the name again.

"That's just her stage name. Other than that, she's a person like you and me."

"I'm nowhere near what she is." CC denied my comparison.

"She's a person. I think she likes you."

At the inquisitive look I went on.

"She doesn't make offers or commitments to very many people. She's actually very shy and values her privacy. For her to say that she'll specifically autograph something just for you, is almost unheard of. She has to like you to do that."

CC didn't say anything. She just watched Lilly disappear into the crowd, her lips silently mouthing Lilly's name. I hung around for a while longer then made my excuses, I had to go home and take care of Lizzie.

The next morning Lizzie and I finished our morning run and I was standing in line at the coffee shop, per usual, when the shop owner tapped me on the shoulder.

"That was something last night. You set that up?"

I shook my head. "Nope. Just told some friends of mine about the Grand Opening across the street. What happened after that was all their doing."

"Well, whoever did it, tell them thanks. I did more business in two hours last night than I normally do in a week. What we need around here is more of that kind of thing."

"I'll pass the word along that you liked it." I shrugged. "Who knows, they might decide to do it again. It's entirely up to them if they choose to repeat it though. I'm not involved at all."

He gave me a look that said he totally disagreed with my declaration of noninvolvement and set my usual latte, along with Lizzie's cup of plain water, on the counter. He waved off my attempt to pay for it.

"On the house. In appreciation for telling whoever it was about last night."

I tipped my head in thanks, then picked up both cups before threading my way through the other customers to find a table outside. The café was still experiencing a lift in sales; there were quite a few more people than usual buying coffee this morning. Hopefully the cash boom would become the regular sales level.

On the one hand I hoped so, the shop was nice and the coffee was good. On the other hand, I hoped not because that would mean an increase in the number of people to rub elbows with. More people meant more exposure which was not what I was looking for.

Lizzie drank her water as I sipped on my latte and watched the people continue to stream into the café. Finished, I gathered both cups and tossed them into the trash. Untying Lizzie's leash I turned to head home when fast movement caught my eye. CC had come out of her record store and was waving at me to come over. I waved back, wiggling my hand in a negative manner. I had to get home and go to work. Tugging Lizzie's leash, and commanding her to heel, I headed for home.

Once at home, in no time at all I was deep into checking for errors in an advertising campaign presentation before I could finalize it and send it off to the client. So far it looked very good. It'd better; I'd spent a ton of hours developing it. Lizzie was curled on the sofa watching me mouse my way through it when a knock on the door had her sit up alertly. Opening the door a crack, I saw CC standing with her hand raised, ready to knock again.

"CC?" I opened the door enough to not be rude, but not inviting either. "What are you doing here?"

She blushed.

"I followed you. I know I shouldn't have but I really wanted to say thank you for helping me. So I made a CD mix of those songs for you. I added the Guns and Roses version too so there are four instead of just the three we talked about." She held up the CD and waggled it.

"CC . . . " I didn't get any further than that.

"Please, take it." CC thrust the plastic container at me.

Accepting the jewel case I stood there wondering what to say; she'd followed me home.

"Can I come in? We could play the music and I could show you what I was talking about how Phoenix and Lineman are really great songs."

I glanced over my shoulder, Lizzie had disappeared from the couch. Reluctantly I opened the door wider and gestured for CC to come in. She walked in and looked around, pausing slightly as she saw Lizzie's kennel in the corner of the kitchen.

"Uh, your friend? Is she here?"

"She's probably in the bedroom. Don't worry, she doesn't bite." I put the CD into the player on my computer and punched the button to close the door. Automatically the computer booted the music player program and in moments Glen Campbell's voice came from the speakers.

CC took a seat on the couch and let the music play without interruption. When it was finished, she asked me to hit pause. Apparently she wanted to talk about each song individually.

"I am a lineman for the county . . ." The vocals floated out of the bedroom as soon as I hit the pause button.

"Lilly?"

CC stood up from the couch and turned to where the voice was coming from. Lizzie appeared in the doorway, her hands held behind her back.

"And I drive the main road . . ."

Lizzie kept singing in that low blues-y voice of hers while I sat there in total disbelief and shock. She'd never ever done this before. CC looked at me in total confusion over what she was seeing and hearing. Lizzie was singing in Lilly Valley's voice.

"This is Lizzie." I managed to find my own voice to introduce her. "Lilly Valley is her stage name."

CC's eyes flashed to Lizzie's kennel and back to me.

I answered her unspoken question. "I told you she values her privacy. She's really shy and doesn't like people knowing how sensitive she is. I take care of her and help her keep her two persona's separate. The scandal that would happen if anyone ever found out would ruin her."

Done explaining I turned to face Lizzie. "Why are you doing this?"

In response she moved one arm from behind her back and held it out, presenting a rolled tube to CC. CC took the tube and unrolled it. It was a full-length, life-sized poster of Lilly Valley, in her sparkly nightclub costume, on stage. Lizzie had signed it.

To CC, all my love. Lilly.

CC read the inscription and looked at me then back to Lizzy. "I don't get it."

Lizzie pulled her other arm from behind her back. She held a huge orange dildo in her fist. It was her favorite playtoy. We'd played with it together just last night, me pumping it into her until she orgasmed half a dozen times. She absolutely loved that orange monster and would literally beg for me to really slam it into her. Which I was more than happy to do, for hours on end if necessary.

"Lizzie!" I stood abruptly at the appearance of the bright orange sex toy. This was getting crazy.

Lizzie ignored me to hold out the toy toward CC. CC just looked at it and didn't move. A deer caught in a car's headlights moved more than she did, I couldn't even see her breathe. Reaching I took the toy from Lizzie with a tiny tug.

"Lizzie . . . " I tried again.

Lizzie just leaned toward CC, who first back-flopped onto the couch then pressed herself deeper into the cushions to avoid Lizzie. Lizzie kept slowly leaning closer until CC wrenched her body enough to quickly squirm off the sofa and to her feet. In seconds she was out the door.

"Bad girl." I chastised Lizzie for her behavior. "You know better."

Lizzie just looked at me for a moment before heading to the kitchen where she crawled into her kennel to lie down. As I watched she shifted until she was positioned to look at the apartment door without having to twist her head. A big sigh drifted across the room.

After that, no matter how much I tried to get her to, she wouldn't talk to me. She refused to even eat her dinner when I set it down for her. And, rather than sleep in my bed with me, she stayed in her kennel all night.

FOUR

In the morning Lizzie wouldn't get up for our run. Instead she closed the door to her kennel, refusing to move even after I opened it, put her leash on, and pulled. Dead weight was all I got for my efforts. Giving in, I removed the leash and closed the door again.

Our relationship was based on her wanting and needing me to care for her instead of me demanding she perform for me. It was the demanding aspect of her artistry that she was trying to get away from, and why she'd attached herself to me and accepted my collar. Without me, she was adrift in a sea of people who only wanted to use her for their own benefit and didn't care about her welfare at all. I was her safe haven because all I asked from her was for her to behave and be obedient.

For my part I loved her, protected her, cared for her, and made sure I didn't ask for more than she should give. Not would give, should give. Her collar told everyone that she belonged to me and they had no claim on her. On the flip side, it also reminded me that I had an obligation toward her to keep her happy, safe, and well cared for.

With mixed feelings I locked the front door and went on my run alone. Which felt totally weird after all the years we'd run together because I really missed the sound of her breathing at my side.

After my run I almost skipped my latte, but decided to go ahead with the usual daily activity anyway. Normally I used the time to clear my head and get ready for the day's workload. Sometimes ideas would come to me while I watched the faces pass by, but not today; today I drew a blank. All I could think about was Lizzie hiding in her kennel and that sigh.

Finishing my coffee, I saw CC inside her store. But, when I crossed the street and tapped on the glass, she only glanced up before continuing with whatever she was doing. She didn't bother looking up after I tapped the glass again. I got the hint.

Lizzie was gone when I got home. Her collar was on the floor next to her kennel. I nearly panicked, ok I did panic for a second before I forced myself to think. Lizzie wasn't supposed to take her collar off, that was my prerogative and she knew it. But, we didn't always strictly adhere to that rule because, for instance, sometimes she needed to make a quick appearance as Lilly. If I wasn't available to remove her collar myself, and that kind of thing happened, she did what she had to. Just like Friday night when she'd sung at the flash mob in front of Vintage Vinyl, she'd taken her collar off on her own so Lilly could make that appearance.

But this was different. While I was out drinking coffee instead of being with her, she'd taken her collar off and left without telling me anything. She'd run away from home.

Instead of beating myself up over it, I dialed the phone to call Petey. Sometimes Lilly went to his recording studio when she was feeling as blue as her music. Since yesterday morning she wasn't just blue, she was completely cobalt. I crossed my fingers in the hope she was there.

"TOMMY!"

Petey's bellow blasted out of my phone. Thank you Caller ID for making me deaf in one ear, although normally I wasn't so stupid to hold the phone against my ear when I did call Petey. I knew better, so Lizzie's disappearance must have really put me off my game.

"Has Lilly been in lately?" I kept the worry out of my voice as I switched the phone to my other ear.

"She's here now singing tracks of oldies."

"She sounding ok? Normal?" Relief that I'd found her so quickly almost made me drop the phone.

"Yeah. Why? Is something wrong?" Petey's voice dropped as he realized something odd was going on.

"No, not really. She sang at the flash mob the other night and you know that's not usual for her. I was just wondering."

"Oh. Well, for what it's worth, she wasn't scheduled for any session today. She just showed up, flipped on the master board, cued some backgrounds, and went into the booth. It's not her usual way of doing things but she's done it before when she's feeling creative. She's really being creative today, listen."

Petey held his end of the phone connection near one of the control booth speakers. Lilly was singing Willie Nelson's Always On My Mind.

"She recording?" I asked if Lilly was cutting a new album or if she was just singing.

"Yeah. It's fantastic sounding too, all lost, lonely stuff. It'll make a great album."

"Lost, lonely stuff? Like what?"

"Patsy Cline's Crazy is the lead track. There's some Hank Williams, Willie, as you can hear, and a few others too. She's singing every gut-wrenching love song from the past seventy five years, maybe even longer than that." There was a short pause. "Listen, I gotta go. She's about done with this track and I don't know if she wants me to cue something else up for her or not."

Before we could say goodbye, Lilly's voice came over the speaker loud enough I could hear her. "That's it Petey. Press it."

A click as Petey threw the switch which let him talk into the recording booth.

"You sure? We still have at least one more track we can fill."

"I'll live with the dead wax. Don't bother arranging either. Press it as it is."

"Ok. What title do you . . ." I heard that much before Petey hung up the phone.

Lizzie came home about an hour or so later. I was still working on the ad presentation and having trouble concentrating when she slipped through the front door. I heard her jiggle her kennel door latch.

"Lizzie," I saved the presentation file while I called her name. "What's going on?"

There was no answer. I went into the kitchen and squatted down next to her cage. Her collar was still on the floor right there so I picked it up.

"Do you not want to be with me any more?" I showed her the collar. "Is that what this is all about?"

Lizzie came halfway out of her cage to snatch the collar from me before she went back inside. She sat and buckled it around her neck again. Whatever the problem was, it wasn't that she wanted to leave me or that I'd done something wrong.

"If you don't talk to me, I can't help you. You know that." I made the only offer I could.

She just looked at me with haunted eyes. As I watched, a solitary tear rolled down her cheek. Oh hell, I knew that look. I'd seen it often enough in the mirror when I was younger to never mistake it again.

"Ok. I'll try but I can't guarantee anything. I stopped there this morning and she wouldn't even look at me through the window."

Another tear. I sighed and opened the cage door after grabbing her leash. "Come!"

Lizzie shook her head and shifted to lie down.

"Lizzie! Come!" I insisted. I was forcing her, but she needed to remember to obey. "Come here! Now!"

Reluctantly she crawled from her cage. I pulled off the street clothes she wore as Lilly, dressing her in black spandex before washing her face and letting her hair down to run a quick brush through it. Lilly wore makeup, long dresses with high heels, and kept her hair up. Lizzie wore sneakers and spandex or sometimes leather and boots if it was cold outside. She never wore makeup, not even lipstick, and her hair was always loose. Her natural beauty was all she needed and what I preferred.

People usually remembered Lilly because of her face. But, when it came to Lizzie, they only focused on her body because of the revealing clothes and ignored everything else. That and the socially awkward leash kept people from getting too close or too inquisitive. We got a lot of sideways glances but almost no one studied Lizzie's face with the intention of comparing it to Lilly's. They were just too different to consider it.

Snapping her leash onto her collar I pulled her along, pausing only to lock the door behind us; we had somewhere else to be.

We didn't go to Vintage Vinyl. Instead we went to Petey's studio. He was hard at work when we entered through the stage door using Lilly's pass code.

"That Lilly's new album?" I asked over his shoulder as Lizzie took a seat in the chair where I'd told her to sit and stay. Absently I looped her leash around the arm of the chair.

Petey nodded. "I'm just about done with the master."

"Good. Go ahead with the manufacturing but hold the release until I tell you. I also need an advance copy. For the front cover I want a shot of the upper part of a woman's chest from the chin down." I illustrated the area I wanted in the shot with a quick outline wave over my own body. Basically I wanted just cleavage to jaw line in the shot.

"The model has to be wearing a gold heart-shaped locket on a chain. I want the locket right here." Holding up my palm as if it was the cover I pointed to the lower right quadrant. "And scrap whatever title you have right now. Title it: All I have to give is Me and only on the album spine. I don't want Lilly's name or picture on the cover anywhere, inside or out. I also want a close-up shot of the locket on the inside of the cover, with the locket open this time. I want a specific person's picture inside the locket. It won't be Lilly's picture and you'll have to find a way to take that picture without that person knowing about it."

Petey froze for a moment then swivelled to stare at me like I'd lost my mind. And maybe I had.

FIVE

"What's going on?" Petey asked me to explain because, normally, I stayed totally out of Lilly's business. By barging in like I'd just done, I was acting completely out of character.

"It's for a marketing campaign."

"For Lilly?"

"No." I paused as I thought how I wanted to frame it. "This is for Lizzie; she's in love. That album is all about how desperately and totally in love she is. Unfortunately the person she's in love with isn't returning the affection."

Petey's eyes almost bugged out. I could see the idea forming and stopped it before it got any further.

"Nothing has changed between me and Lizzie. This is something else."

"What?"

"I'm not sure. It's possible she's just in heat."

Lizzie shook her head no as both Petey and I looked at her.

"Ok. That's out. I didn't really think so, given whom she's jumping the fence to get to. Which leaves only one other reason why she won't stay in the yard. She's in love."

Petey's eyes flicked back and forth between Lizzie and me while he thought about what I'd said. He rubbed the double teardrop tattoo by his eye with a finger and sighed to himself.