The Guitar Player Ch. 03

Once again, I have self-edited this story, so all mistakes are mine and mine alone. I hope they won't detract from the story.

I met my wife when I joined her musical group, Tanya and the Crew. Back then, we were a cover group that sang mostly country and pop songs made famous by other people. Our music careers were on the verge of crashing and burning when a musical agent, Alex Misner, agreed to manage us. Slowly, he began to build up our act. After Tanya and I were married, we had established a decent reputation. We weren't superstars by any means, but we were making a damn good living.

Married life with Tanya, for me anyway, was great. She seemed to be happy, and our love life was good. Still, I knew that Tanya wasn't satisfied with our careers. She was always after Alex to get us better everything. Tanya wanted better venues, better studio musicians, better recording contracts, more television exposure. In short, Tanya was chasing the dream of being a superstar and was frustrated that we weren't making more progress. And I had to admit that this worried me because, occasionally, Tanya would take her frustrations out on me. This always hurt because I was working harder than anyone to make her dream come true. At the time, I accepted that was just who Tanya was. Besides, the makeup sex was really great.

I think that things changed a little when Tanya wrote two new songs, and we recorded them. They went nowhere. Then I wrote a new song, which we recorded and it had a fair amount of success. It made it up to seventeen on the Country One Hundred charts. For some reason, Tanya was a little snappish to anyone who mentioned the song's success. That surprised me because it was a solo written just for her. But that strange mood only lasted for a week or so, and then Tanya was back to normal.

After returning from a short four-city tour, I decided we needed a break. I talked Tanya into coming with me to Tifton to visit my parents. Not having parents of her own, Tanya was always a little uneasy around mine. So, I was surprised and happy when she actually agreed to come with me to my hometown. I, personally, was keen to visit as I had only been able to spend an odd day with mom and dad every so often. Occasionally, they came up to Atlanta to visit for a few days. But we were usually very busy during the day, so we only got to see them in the evenings. I guess I was a little homesick because I hadn't spent any real time in Tifton with my parents and the rest of my family in years. And, of course, none of us was getting any younger.

When I told my parents about our plans, my mother insisted on throwing us a party to see my relatives. Most of them had only met Tanya at our wedding. It was supposed to be a small affair at my parent's house. However, it quickly grew to several hundred people, necessitating my parents renting the community center.

I was frustrated with my mother's ever-expanding party, but Tanya told me to let her have her fun. However, the day before we were supposed to go, Tanya came down with a bad cold. Instead of canceling, Tanya insisted that I go by myself.

I checked Tanya's temperature before I left, and it was hovering around a hundred and one. After assuring me that she would be fine, I headed south. Of course, my parents were very disappointed that my wife couldn't make the trip, but they were thrilled to see me nonetheless. During the week, I visited with most of my relatives. I also caught up with a lot of my high school buddies. And I called Tanya every night to check on her. By Thursday, she seemed to be getting better but sounded totally congested.

The big party was set for that Saturday, and I wasn't particularly looking forward to it. Still, it was something that my mother wanted, and I wanted her to be happy. Anyway, on the way to the party, my mother told me that it would be nice if I sang a few songs. I kind of expected that but pretended to grudgingly agree. But just as we pulled into the parking lot, she floored me with her next announcement.

"Oh, Robbie," my mother said as the car came to a stop, "I just want to let you know that I invited Suzie and George Menard."

What?" I almost choked. "Why the hell did you invite my ex-wife and her turd of a husband?"

My mother just smirked and said, "Spite."

When I saw the crowd, I relaxed because I figured that I'd never see them amid the hundreds of people there. Besides, there were many of my relatives hovering around me and a ton of my friends. Still, my hope that I wouldn't run into my ex-wife wasn't to be. About a half-hour after I got there, I turned around and came face to face with Suzie and George.

Suzie looked like she had put on at least twenty pounds, the dress she was wearing made her look like ten pounds of potatoes stuffed in a five-pound sack. George looked like he was a seventy-year-old man, and I knew he was only in his fifties.

"Robbie," Suzie's eyes lit up, "how are you doing?"

The devil on my shoulder was feeding dozens of nasty things to say into one ear, but the angel up there was telling me to play nice in the other ear. The angel won out mostly because I figured my mother would be annoyed with me if I let my temper get loose.

"I'm doing great, thank you," I said through a fake smile. "How are you guys doing?"

"We're going great, also," Suzie continued to beam. "George now has four car dealerships. He's even more successful than when I married him."

"That's nice," I said, wanting desperately to be away from these two. When nothing obvious presented itself, and Suzie continued to tell me how great she was doing, the devil won out. "Hey, I want to thank you, guys."

"Thank us?" George said, looking at me quizzically and suspiciously. "Why would you be thanking us."

"Well, George," I said with a wide smile, "if you hadn't stolen my wife, I never would have moved out of Tifton. I never would have found this great career I have now. Instead, I'd be sitting in our old house watching Suzie get fat. You guys have a good time."

With that, I turned and headed to the other side of the hall. I glanced at my mother to see if she had heard any of the exchange, and she had. However, as I moved past my mom, I could see that she was trying to hide her amusement behind her hands. A quick glance back saw Suzie, beet red, giving her husband an earful.

The party was actually very enjoyable. I learned that all of my mother's sisters and their friends had put the festivities together. And when the final count was made, four hundred and fourteen people showed up. I know this because I paid for most of the party. There was no way I was going to let my parents pay for a party this big.

The day before I was scheduled to return to Atlanta, I got a frantic call from Tanya. Alex had had a heart attack. That was the beginning of the end for Tanya and me.

I made it back to Atlanta in record time and thankfully found that Alex would recover fully. But he was very troubled, and he expressed his problem the first day he was back at his office. To him, the heart attack had been a wake-up call. Alex thought it best if he retired. He would stay on until we found someone else, and then he would allow us to cancel the remainder of his contract with us. That was exceedingly generous considering that the contract had three years remaining on it, and he really didn't have to do anything during that time except collect his ten percent. But that was the kind of guy Alex was.

Tanya and Alex did all of the original interviewing of potential new managers. When it came down to two candidates, I was brought in for the final interviews. Todd Wilton was a good-looking guy in his early forties. He had managed several well-known groups successfully. Sonja Hillicker, on the other hand, was a thirty-three-year-old Blonde with an impressive resume but only managed smaller groups. However, each group she guided managed to come from nothing to some significance. On the other hand, Todd had only managed to hold his groups at the same level.

I was fine with either. However, I thought Sonja was probably the better of the two because she had managed to increase the popularity of her groups. In contrast, while Todd managed his groups well, he hadn't been able to grow them much at all. I wasn't surprised, though, that Tanya favored Todd. I could tell very quickly that my wife didn't care for Sonja at all. I should have fought for my choice, but at the time, it didn't seem wise to bring in a manager that would be butting heads with Tanya right off the bat. Besides, I was fine with either. In the end, Todd was hired. I didn't realize it at the time, but he was a complete dirtbag.

For the first six months, I didn't notice anything different. Then I began to get a feeling that something was off. Tanya began to spend more time with Todd, supposedly going over the finances or schedules. Then Todd began scheduling personal appearances for Tanya and me separately. He explained that by splitting up, we could cover more ground. It seemed reasonable, even though I wasn't happy with it.

My world turned to shit right after the last concert of the most recent tour, and I was completely blindsided by what happened. I felt particularly good that the tour was over and Tanya and I could spend some alone time together. We'd been the opening act for a group called the "Down-Home Boys." They had gone on tour after scoring their third number one hit. We had opened for eight of their ten shows, and they seemed very happy with us.

I had just finished writing two new songs that I thought were pretty good and was eager to get back to Atlanta to record them. I wasn't going to tell Tanya about the songs because I wanted to surprise her with her birthday only a couple weeks away. However, after a passionate night of lovemaking, I told her about them anyway. Tanya became excited and wanted to see the songs right away, so I dug them out. Then we played them a couple of times, naked, in bed. Tanya was thrilled with both.

By this time in our careers, Tanya and I had perhaps moved to the middle of the B group. I was hoping that my two new songs would move us up a little further. I knew that Tanya was becoming less and less enchanted as an opening act. She wanted to be the sole attraction. However, I knew that the chances of that happening were slim, but I thought my two new songs would push us a little closer to that possibility. Lord knows that Todd hadn't come up with anything new to help us. In fact, I had checked the schedule for next year, and it was pretty sparse. I remember at the time wondering why Tanya thought Todd was doing such a great job. Of course, I was a trusting fool, and it would come back to bite me in the ass.

It was a Monday morning, and we were catching a 10 am flight out of La Guardia Airport back to Atlanta. Tanya's bags had already been taken down to the lobby, and I was just waiting for someone to come to get mine.

Tanya told me she wanted to pick up something at one of the stores and would meet me at the airport. I told her we were cutting it kind of close and not to dawdle. I was just sitting on the bed waiting when a gentleman in a light gray suit appeared at the door.

"Mr. Robbie Wilder," he asked.

I nodded.

He handed me an envelope and said, "You've been served."

I was totally confused and asked, "What are you talking about?"

But the man was already gone. I had a sinking feeling as I looked at the envelope in my hand. And when I opened it, my world imploded. Tanya had filed for divorce against me. I sat on the bed stunned for quite some time, trying to process what had just happened. Finally, I was roused from my trance by the bellboy.

As the young man was collecting my bags, I started to read through the papers. Tanya was divorcing me, citing mental cruelty and physical abuse. That charge was a fucking lie, and the red-hot anger that filled me actually overpowered my feelings of despair. I had never raised my hand or my voice to Tanya. Why would she make such an outrageous accusation? Right now, however, my only thought was to confront her and ask her why.

As I read further, I was stunned to find out that she demanded most of our assets. I kept telling myself that this had to be a terrible mistake. I had to talk to Tanya and get this straightened out. But my call to her cellphone sent ice-cold fear to my heart. Her cellphone was no longer in service. Then it hit me, and everything clicked into place -- Todd. All the late nights, the coolness, the snide comment or two, the smirks by Todd when he thought I didn't see. Right then, the red-hot anger turned to white-hot rage. But then, as quickly as that feeling came, I was lost again in a sea of despair.

I dropped the divorce papers on the floor, and I was also about to drop the envelope when I realized there was more inside it. Shaking out the other piece of paper, I discovered another legal document - a restraining order. It stated that I was to stay five hundred feet away from Tanya. I was also to stay five hundred feet away from our home and the studio if Tanya was there.

My heart was totally and utterly broken. I couldn't understand any of this. Tanya and I made love the night before, and it had been passionate. Surely, she didn't fall out of love with me in one day. It suddenly hit me like a thunderbolt; maybe she never loved me at all.

My head was spinning, and my stomach was churning, ready to revolt. At that moment, I don't think I was having anything close to rational thought. When the nauseous feeling overwhelmed me, I bolted to the bathroom. When my stomach was finally empty and somewhat calmed, I wandered to the window. Looking down at all the people hurrying around below, I envied every one of those thousands of people because they weren't me. If I could have gotten the window open, I might have even considered jumping. I felt like my whole reason for living was gone.

I don't know how long I stood there, but suddenly, I needed something to drink. My attention instantly went to the mini-bar, and I helped myself to one of those mini-bottles of scotch. My mind went into a sort of haze by the third bottle, and the pain wasn't as acute. Despite my brain being clouded, the alcohol did calm me and allowed me to begin reviewing my current situation. Yet, every which way I looked, I was totally and completely screwed. I needed to do something, but for the life of me, I had no idea what. The only thing that kept flooding my mind was that I wanted to totally destroy Tanya and Todd. But then I'd flashed back to Suzie leaving me and how impotent I had been then. And it looked like, once again, I wouldn't be able to do anything to my betrayers.

I grabbed another bottle of scotch and gathered up the papers. I almost tore them to shreds but, instead, I read further. And it just got worse. All of our joint assets had been frozen pending the court deciding a final division. Then I found the final insult, which sent fury racing back through my alcohol-muddled brain. My first-class ticket back to Atlanta had been canceled. It had been replaced with an economy ticket for two days later. This was all so cold and hateful. At that moment, pure white hatred of Tanya and Todd filled my being. I wanted them destroyed. I swore to myself that I would have some measure of revenge for the total disrespect and contempt with which they had treated me, even if it took the rest of my life. But, at the moment, I couldn't think of one thing that I could do to hit back at them.

I just couldn't get my head around the fact that Tanya had not only betrayed our marriage but also our business partnership. That wasn't bad enough, but Tanya and Todd were trying to totally destroy my music career. If they could make those abuse accusations stick, I was in deep shit. This was especially true because of the "woke generation." The mantra these days was that the woman had to be believed. She had to be believed regardless of whether there is any proof or not. A cold chill ran through me as I suddenly realized how dire my situation was. It became apparent that if I didn't do something soon, they would steamroller me, and I'd be nothing more than a grease spot on the pavement.

My first decision was to go online and examine our checking accounts -- personal and business. As the court papers said, the accounts were flagged. I had no idea how much should be in the business account, but I knew it should be considerably more than it was. As for our personal account, I knew it was seriously depleted. I had taken money out of an ATM last evening, and I still had the receipt, which showed the balance was almost three times what was displayed today.

After two failed attempts to operate the phone because of my alcohol-impaired brain, I finally reached the front desk. I told them to hold Tanya's luggage there for a bit. I would be down shortly to make arrangements for it. As for my luggage, I asked them to bring it back up because I'd be staying an additional two nights. Then I sat back down and started going through the paperwork in detail.

I dumped the remaining scotch in the little bottle down the sink. Right now, my anger was overriding my self-pity. Over the following weeks, those two emotions would take turns dominating. But at the moment, I was beyond furious. If I wanted to defend myself, I needed a clearer head to plan what I would do next. I read through everything twice and was still outraged by it all. I put the papers aside and decided to take care of Tanya's luggage first. I arranged to have it put into an offsite self-storage unit. I paid for it with a personal credit card that I don't think Tanya knew I had. It was a petty thing, but I had no intention of telling Tanya where her stuff was. Then I called our attorney, Greg Pinder. That was another shock. Greg told me that he had been retained by Tanya and could do nothing for me. I was furious with Greg and lashed out.

"Of course, you know that this means that I will never use you again, and we are no longer friends," I said testily.

"Robbie, I'm going to let that remark pass because I know that you're extremely upset at the moment."

"You think I'm upset, Greg?" I asked with cold fury. "You have no idea. You were my parent's attorney before you became mine. I was the one that brought you on as our business attorney. And when you decided that you wanted to become an entertainment attorney, I referred clients to you. You knew all this shit was going on, and you let Tanya stab me in the back without a word. You should have stayed out of this and referred Tanya and me to different attorneys. But instead, you've chosen sides. That was a bad decision on your part because I will no longer refer anyone to you, and in fact, I'll advise anyone who asks that you can't be trusted."

"Are you threatening me?" Greg said with some anger.

"No, I'm telling you to fuck off, you piece of shit!" I slammed the phone down.

I didn't know if I could hurt Greg's practice or not, but I was sure going to try. I knew that he had about a dozen show business clients, and I'd sent seven of them to him. I also believed that a word to three or four of them would have them looking for a new attorney.

As I raged in my head about Greg's betrayal, it struck me that he probably wasn't the only one who knew what was going on. As I thought back to the people in the studio. They might not have known what Tanya and Todd were up to, but they had to know that Tanya was cheating on me. But Greg and all those other assholes were the least of my problems. This day was just getting worse and worse, and I had to try to stop the bleeding.

With my whole world turned to shit, I hit the mini-bar. But instead of alcohol, I grabbed a soft drink. I needed my wits about me so that I could plan my revenge. Then a small thought struck me. I suddenly realized that the company would still be responsible for the room until check-out time. If I couldn't access any money from the company, I'd force the company to pay for my snacks and drinks, so I called the front desk and instructed them to double stock the mini-bar.