An Angel's Fix Pt. 08

"We'll take care of it," Greg said with a nod toward Chris, who nodded back then went to enter the stage.

The curtain call had commenced as usual until Chris bowed. Some heads turned when he returned to the back to assist Ashley to the fore-stage. She smiled and nodded to the screaming ovation, leaning heavily against Chris, and unable to curtsy. Greg appeared to another grand round of applause and cheers, took his bow, then ducked under Ashley's other arm to support her weight. Their tiny microphones went live, and the audience began hearing her fading gasps of pain as the ovation died away. Ashley shot a look of surprise beside her when Greg began speaking to the crowd, the first time he'd done that during a curtain call.

"Thank you all for coming, and thank you for your warm appreciation!" He went on to thank the producers and crew who worked behind the scenes, as well as the twelve orchestra students who had recorded the symphony track for the show. (Recording was the only solution, as several of them had to play multiple instruments to complete the desired full sound). He and Chris shared the brief increase in weight as Ashley did a small hop to get better balance. As if that was his cue, Greg said, "As you can see, we cast members have become tight over the last few months. We think the world of this girl right here!" He had to pause as the audience and everyone on stage gave her mention a standing ovation again, along with many whistles and cheers.

As the noise abated, Ashley protested with a smile, "I'm not a girl."

"What?" Chris challenged from the other side of her, even though what she said did, in fact, get picked up by her microphone.

She grinned, the stress on her face from the earlier pain mostly melting away. "I said, I'm not a girl. I'm 19, you know." This was met by hearty chuckles.

"Well, this FRESHMAN," Greg continued, "knocked our socks off at the audition. And, her ability and personality helped all of us dig deep and raise our game as well. In fact, I think she could have sang all her parts from memory at the first practice."

"She did," said one from behind him.

"Yeah," confirmed another.

"Oh, she actually did," Greg said with an endearing chuckle betraying the embarrassment of not remembering that fact. "So, we think the world of her. But, over the last few days, we noticed she wasn't her usual playful self, and after several interrogations by different cast members, we found out that she was wanting to show her parents what she could do."

"Deservedly so," interjected Chris. "If I could sing like her, I'd want my parents to see, too."

Ashley was blushing now. "Oh hush, guys! Y'all were great, too!" The audience agreed with applause.

Greg smiled widely. "Stop, Ashley! You're messing up the moment I'm trying to build here."

"Oh, sorry," she sheepishly apologized.

The chemistry between the three was genuine and playful, and the crowd ate it up.

Chris decided to take a turn. "Well, Ashley, you were missing your folks, so we decided to do something about it."

He looked over to the side of the stage, and a large monitor was pushed out. It powered on, showing a man wearing a tan naval officer's uniform. "Hey, Kitten," he greeted.

"Daddy?!" Ashley squeaked in disbelief. He seemed to be standing outside on the deck of a ship, further confusing her, since she almost always pictured him on the bridge or office of his vessel. Birds squawked in the background, and a far-off ship horn could be heard.

"I'm sorry your mother and I couldn't be in the audience for you tonight," he continued. "This delay couldn't be helped. Your mother and your friends have both told me how much you were enjoying doing this show. A recording was sent to me, and I hope you don't mind, but I showed it to some of your brothers and sisters."

"I don't have any brothers," Ashley mused from between her co-stars. "Or sisters."

"We've watched it twice last night, and I had to call curfew before they started it again. So, I wanted to send this video response to say..." he then gestured to the camera man.

The camera panned around to the stern of the ship, and sailors were jammed in every nook and cranny of the frame. A few were even poking their faces out of portholes. Easily every member of the vessel's 120+ crew were accounted for in the shot. The camera stopped its motion toward them and as one, the crew called out, "CONGRATULATIONS ASHLEY! WE'RE PROUD OF YOU!" They finished with wild cheering and grunts.

Ashley's chin quivered and she couldn't stop the tear falling from her eyelashes.

The camera returned to her dad. "Your mother and I are so proud of you, Kitten! Be good, and we'll see you real soon. As in riiiight now!"

Ashley was still wrapping her head around so many people sending her a sentiment that she almost missed the last sentence. "Wait! What?!" Just then the man who pushed the cart onto the stage revealed himself to her, garbed in formal 'dress whites.' "Daddy?!" She eeked again. Then after fully realizing he was actually there, she shrieked, "DADDY!" She let go of Chris and Greg and started hopping toward her father. He dropped his cover, took two giant strides to close the distance, and caught his daughter as she bounded onto him. Her mom followed, picking up his hat along the way, and joined the family hug.

Ashley enjoyed the embrace for a few moments until the continuing applause reminded her they were still on stage. She let herself down onto her good foot and was about to turn toward Greg and Chris for clues on how to end things, when a voice that suspiciously sounded like Cindy's called, "Encore!" The crowd agreed and soon were chanting "Encore! Encore!"

Ashley blew out a challenged sigh, and Greg asked if she was up to it. She nodded, adding, "Only if y'all don't expect a dance!"

Chuckles and applause signaled agreement, and soon she perched on a stool that was brought center-stage. Chris stood with her parents to the side while she and Greg sang "The Phantom of The Opera" for the last time.

"Oh, fuck me," Ashley huffed as she dropped her crutches to the floor and plopped onto the sofa. She looked up at Joe and Jasmine. "Don't get any ideas," she grumbled. It was intended to be lighthearted, but exhaustion made her voice darker than she expected.

"Thank God the party isn't until tomorrow." Jasmine had aimed her quip at the bandaged ankle on the sofa seat.

It had taken the combined efforts of Joe and her parents to get Ashley to consent to seeing a doctor. The visit to the campus medical clinic had lasted a few hours. With her hair still done, and the show's popularity, Ashley was immediately recognized. She was flattered, yet confused as to how random people could recognize her on sight. That is until they were in the waiting room and the TV there was airing a replay of the student channel's simulcast of the show tonight. The doctor on-call was none too pleased when Ashley revealed that she had been dealing with the sore ankle since the end of spring break. Ashley answered the woman's question by stating something ridiculous along the lines of artists don't show pain. The doctor quipped back, "Said the diva sitting here with a busted ankle." In the end, the worst fears were untrue, and the ankle was found to be only strained and now over-worked.

Cindy had taken Ashley's parents to dinner while their daughter was getting attention for her bad foot. They had resisted coming with her, as they didn't want to spoil Ashley's rediscovered fondness for them by hovering too much. A soft chime sounded behind the sofa and Ashley turned to face Cindy and Doug appearing from the elevator.

"Whoa!" and "Oh my God!" The Roberts gasped as they stepped through the threshold after their dinner hosts.

"Hey Mom and Daddy!" Ashley greeted from her seat, her parents' looks of surprise had escaped her.

Joe was undoing Ashley's other shoe, and Jasmine was busily fussing with an ice pack she was preparing, so Jill assumed the role of hostess and stepped forward. Giggling at Ashley's aloof ignorance of the parents' astonishment, she said, "Ashley, I don't think they've seen your place before." "Commander and Mrs. Roberts," she addressed the couple. "Perhaps you'd like to look around to satisfy your curiosity?" When they seemed torn between a tour and wanting to visit with Ashley, Jill continued. "I know I couldn't focus on anything until I saw every inch when I first came here."

The couple looked to their daughter for permission, to which Ashley just said, "Yeah, sure! Knock yourselves..." she sucked in her breath as Jasmine shocked her ankle with the frozen pack. "...out. Jill, would you mind?"

Cindy and Doug took seats on one sofa, while Joe fetched a couple of chairs. Kim squatted onto the armrest at Ashley's feet, tapping out a couple more commands on her Android.

"So, I'm not having any luck with that agent," she said simply.

Cindy raised her eyebrows. "Really, Kim?! Of all this night was, those are your first words to Ashley?"

"But...I was..." Kim stammered, shrinking a little from her mentor's coaching.

"...working. I know," Cindy smiled, letting Kim know she wasn't cross. "Honey, you've gotta learn to balance friendship with work." She turned to Ashley. "Sweetheart, what you did tonight was absolutely amazing. What you did all week, in fact."

Doug nodded in agreement and was about to add his two coppers' worth when the elevator chimed again. Jasmine turned toward the stainless doors questioningly, knowing that without an electronic key, no one could come up unless someone in the penthouse called the elevator up for them. That fact left only one other group not present able to...

"Sam!" she squealed when the doors opened, racing for the imposing figure stepping through the doors. She hopped on the last step of her run, and he caught her neatly in a hug.

Joe was amused by the display, but apprehensive about the unexpected visit. "Hey Sam! What's up?"

Jasmine realized her hug went a bit long and let herself down. "Sorry," she apologized softly.

"It's okay," he whispered back to her. Then to Joe, "Well, the Roberts asked if I wanted to come up, and I took that as an invitation from you. Or, was I mistaken?"

Ashley noticed with amusement Sam's eyes had flicked to Jasmine when he mentioned the invitation. "You're not mistaken," she said lightly. "Any of you are welcome to join us," her eyes darted to Jasmine staring goofily at the security expert. "But y'all never do. Don't mind us being shocked, we'll adjust." Then under her breath, "At least it seems someone already has." She cleared her throat as a physical display of changing thought threads. "Thank you, Cindy. This week was so much fun, even if it was a lot of hard work." Her eyes shifted over toward her other best friend. "Kim, don't mind Cindy. I know your intentions." She sighed heavily at the real world encroaching the dream that was her string of performances. "I'll call Reena tomorrow and see if I can convince her myself."

Joe took his turn at raising eyebrows. "Going behind her agent? That can't end well."

"Can't be worse than getting a flat 'no', either," Ashley protested. Footsteps descended the staircase and Ashley called over her shoulder, "Everything pass inspection?"

The question was said lightly and in good humor, but the jab about childhood examinations of her room was not lost on her parents. "All in good order," declared her dad.

Her mom came behind Ashley to give her daughter a hug from around her shoulders. "This is wonderful! A little uppity for my taste..."

"Mom!" Ashley warned.

"...But I love it." the matron finished. "Great job decorating, Jasmine!"

Jasmine startled from her quiet conversation with Sam at the mention of her name. "Thank you, Mrs. Roberts!"

The mother sat on the empty sofa facing her daughter and directed her husband to join her by patting the seat. He sat as he was bade. "Ankle okay?" Small talk for her dad was REALLY small. Short, clipped two to three word sentences was about all you could pry out of him until he got around to the meat of what he really wanted to say.

Ashley smiled at him. "Yes, Daddy. It's just a strain, and I did too much with it."

"I'll say!" he exclaimed while chuckling. "For the two hour production, you were on stage for what? An hour and a half?"

"Hour and forty minutes," Jasmine corrected. "I timed it tonight."

He was impressed with the answer and acknowledged it with a frowning nod of approval toward the girl. "And not just standing," he said, returning to Ashley. "You were jumping, dancing, and running on it the whole time you were out there. You could teach some of my boys how to be that tough!"

"Well, I've cheered on sprained ankles before, Daddy. I'm almost used to it now." She reached forward to shift the ice pack. "But tonight...oh man. I wasn't sure I'd make it through all the way." Ashley replayed the second half in her head. "Actually, I didn't."

Some arguing ensued and even though it was the world against Ashley, she stood her ground. The resolution was that she agreed she nailed her performance until the last scene, and even though everyone else felt she played her injury to match character marvelously, they accepted that she wanted perfection in her eyes. The conversation eventually turned to catching up, and after a bit, the group began talking amongst themselves in ever-changing pairs or trios. Joe noticed the interactions between his wife and her father were a bit business-like, but he surmised that healing a rift like theirs would take years to fully mend. Besides, those two had a complicated relationship, anyway. Ashley wanted independence as a teenager, while her father was used to wanting his subordinates to be anything but independent. Joe decided to take the win that there were no real arguments tonight. The other thing that glared at him was there were only two singles in the room, Kim and Sam. Kim was coping by hopping between conversations, and Sam was being entertained by talking quietly with Jasmine.

Now, THAT was odd. Jasmine's zealous greeting had perked Ashley's attention, and even elicited an underhanded mumble from Ashley. Was she jealous? He was broken out of his musings when Ashley slid the cold bag from her ankle and spun around to get up.

"So are y'all staying with us?" she asked her parents with a yawn.

"I don't think the couches are the best place to sleep," her dad dismissed.

Ashley rolled her eyes, but with a smile. "No, you can use the guest room that used to be Kim's."

"And leave Kim the couch?" her mom scolded.

"No." Her eyes rolled again. "Ken left a few minutes ago. She can bunk with Jill."

"So then where would Jasmine stay?" her dad asked.

"Ashley..." Joe warned.

Ashley didn't heed him. "Our room, of course."

"Ashley!" Kim breathed, echoing Joe's warning.

"What? Everyone knows that Jasmine..."

"Ashley SHUT UP!!" This was yelled by nearly everyone in the room, including her mom.

"...is sleeping with you." Commander Roberts had finished his daughter's sentence.

Ashley's blood ran icy when she finally realized what the others were warning her about. Not quite everybody knew that tidbit. "Oh fuck," she breathed as her eyes fell to her lap, embarrassed by her shortsighted and accidental admission to her father.

All eyes in the room darted back and forth between Ashley and her dad. Whatever outcome they predicted in their heads was blown away by what the father said next.

"Well, that is a hard lifestyle to keep, I hope you understand what that entails as word about your talent grows stronger." He stood up. "You are a wonderful performer and I am proud of you." He ignored the gapes and turned toward the elevator. "Doug, can you help me fetch the bags?"

Doug followed him into the elevator, leaving a stunned and silent room behind them. Ashley finally moved to pick up her crutches. "I'm beat, so I'm just gonna go..." She finished her sentence by nodding toward the stairs.

Jasmine tapped the call button, her face seeming to radiate fire. The elevator car returned empty, and she tugged Sam in with her.

"Is it true?" Sam asked as they walked across the courtyard.

She nodded. "Please don't think poorly of me."

"Well, we knew you girls played around with each other, but...is this serious? Like, I don't know, a commitment thing?"

"Oh come on! Is this as much a surprise as you're making? Y'all watch us constantly, don't you?"

Sam got defensive. "I haven't been detailed to you or anyone in your household for over two years!" He thought about things for a moment. "Why are you so embarrassed, anyway?"

Jasmine slumped onto a bench. "It's a lot different when you're doing it as opposed to when someone labels it out loud."

"Do you think it will be a lifetime thing?" he asked.

Jasmine sighed. "I don't know. I love her and Joe. I love being around either of them, and especially her music."

"So you're with Joe, too?"

"No!" she said a little too sharply to be taken as truth. "Well, not completely. We don't have sex, or at least not all-out fucking. Ugh! It's complicated, okay?" She huffed while trying to unravel her knotted thoughts. "Besides, I gave him an unsolicited promise."

Sam sat down beside her. "So, uncomplicate them for me. Lay out the pieces in jumbled piles for me, if you have to. I've got time to pick through them."

Joe had said goodnight to Cindy and Doug, and spent a few minutes tidying up, then making sure the Roberts got settled in the guest room. Everything done, he went to his room and found Ashley sitting up in bed, bad leg stretched out in front, the other knee was hugged by her arms against her chest.

"Why can't I think before I open my mouth," she asked as he came in.

Joe smiled wryly. "Well, I know what you want for your birthday this summer. A new filter to go between the two."

"Hmph. That would be awesome, if possible. I'm a nut, aren't I?" She rested her cheek against her kneecap. When Joe didn't answer, she broached another subject. "What was up with Jasmine tonight? Or Sam suddenly taking an interest in attending one of our little parties?"

Joe laughed slightly at this. "Babe, history does unfold even without the benefit of your presence, you know."

Ashley took her shirt off, wadded it and threw it at him playfully. "Don't make fun of me," she pouted. "I'm injured."

"Ho ho!" he replied, easily catching the garment, then draping it over a bed post. "It was such a detriment that you decided the best thing for it would be to dance all week?"

Ashley grumped, "Fine. Back to Jazz and Sam. What don't I know?"

Joe finished undressing and snuggled up to her in his boxers. "You remember the things I did for the girls in high school, right?" Ashley nodded. "Well, Sam was newly hired by our firm, so when Jasmine would get in trouble, he was the one they usually sent to pick her up, at my request. I imagine those drives to her house or mine were not always silent."

That piece brought the puzzle together for Ashley. It made sense that Jasmine and Sam would become friends, especially if Jasmine confided in her driver what her newest nightmare was about. Another thought dawned on her, as well. "Do you think they ever...you know?"

"Sleep together?" Joe finished as he caught the look of disgust on Ashley's face. "He's only five years older than us, Ash. But no, I don't think they did. Jasmine has done a lot of dumb things, and more than a few stupid people, but I don't think her and Sam ever got together like that."

"Good, because I think he could split her in two."

Joe picked Ashley up and moved her to her usual spot in the middle of the bed. "That hasn't been a problem for you and I," he defended.

"Mmm, that's true. I guess you're about as big as he is." Her body softened as she finally allowed herself to relax in Joe's arms. "I love you Joe," she murmured as she drifted off.