The Guitar Player Ch. 04

I once again take full ownership of any and all mistakes in this story. I would also like to thank all of you for your comments. Some of the comments are very insightful, and some are confusing. The insightful ones are where the reader likes my story. The confusing ones are from those who don't like the story. But seriously, I appreciate all the comments. They help me, hopefully, to get better. As I mentioned before, I write stories that I'd like to read on this site. This is one such story.

The day before, my wife, Tanya, blindsided me by dropping divorce papers on me. She also had all of our personal and company assets frozen and put a restraining order against me. Tanya accused me of abusing her mentally and physically, which was bullshit. At that point, I thought my life had hit rock bottom, but I was wrong. What brought me to pure despair was when I discovered that Tanya had stolen all the songs I had written. A few of them had great sentimental value, but now they were gone. I knew that she would destroy my originals once she had copied them in her own handwriting. That was really depressing. But that was yesterday.

Today, however, when I awoke, I was no longer filled with self-pity. Instead, I was filled with a burning desire to get revenge against my cheating bitch of a wife and her business manager and lover. And I now had an idea about how I might be able to get back at them. And if nothing else, it would restore my self-respect.

One of the things that really sent my blood pressure spiking yesterday was their attempt to strand me in New York City for a few days. I realized after the fact that it was done for two reasons. Not only did they want to humiliate me, but Tanya and Todd wanted time to get back to Atlanta and implement their plan. I was sure they wanted to record the stolen songs and spread as many lies about me as they could. They canceled my first-class ticket and replaced it with an economy one for a flight three days later to give themselves the time. And I believe they were hoping that I would become enraged and do something stupid. Then they could use that against me. But if Tanya and Todd had let me go back with them the same day, I wouldn't have had that chance to meet with Dawn in Central Park.

It didn't take a rock scientist to realize one reason Tanya and Todd wanted to trap me in New York. They believed that if I had no financial resources, I would become desperate. However, they had no idea that I had significant monies in my own name. But as I sat in my hotel room planning my revenge, I knew was I severely limited in what I could do. I couldn't touch them physically, emotionally, or financially at the moment. Oh, the thought of killing both of them had bounced through my head several dozen times. Yet, each time the thought appeared, I discarded it. First of all, I was not a man of violence. But more importantly, that would be too quick and easy. Okay, maybe the first one was the most important, but I truly wanted Tanya to feel whatever pain I could bring down on her for a long time.

Even in my shattered condition, it was clear to me what was driving Tanya. She had fallen into the trap that my granddaddy had warned me about all those years ago. Tanya was now totally consumed by becoming a megastar, and she was blind to anything else. That was confirmed when I talked to my old agent, who informed me that Tanya was rebranding her musical image. Of course, her new plans had me totally out of the picture. Tanya also sought to gain publicity and sympathy by portraying me as the evil partner who abused her. But I wasn't going to play their game. I had the smallest glimmer of an idea on how to strike back. And it would all hinge on whether Dawn would show up today and if she was willing to trust me.

Yesterday, in an attempt to clear my head, I decided to take a walk in Central Park. However, when I got there, I found a pretty young woman desperately trying to make a little money playing the guitar and singing. Her guitar playing was pretty bad, but she had the voice of an angel. On a whim, I decided to sing with her for a bit, which turned into a mini-concert. As I was singing, my plan came to me. It was a crazy plan, but it was probably the only way I could ever possibly strike back at Tanya. If possible, I was going to sabotage her new act. Also, I was going to try and make myself a bigger star than she ever could be. However, to do this, I was sure that Dawn was the key to my half-baked plan. If she didn't show up, I wasn't sure what I would do because I had no way to contact her. I didn't even know her last name.

Despite my deep concern about whether she would actually show at ten o'clock, I was filled with a renewed energy. All the time I had played and sang with Dawn, I hadn't been thinking about Tanya. But that night, the pain and self-pity came rushing back in, which brought the tears flowing again. But when the morning arrived, the thought of playing my music caused my self-pity to evaporate. I grabbed a quick shower, breakfast and headed out. I found a music store that opened at nine and bought myself a guitar. It wasn't an expensive one, but I'm sure it cost at least four times what Dawn's cost her, and mine was a lot better.

By nine-thirty, I was sitting on the stairs waiting. I was convinced that Dawn wasn't coming by ten-twenty, and I began to pack up my new guitar. I was bitterly disappointed. But as I was getting ready to leave, I saw her hurrying along the street. Dawn was clutching a little girl's hand. She was trying to move as fast as possible, but the small child's short legs limited their speed.

"I was afraid that you weren't coming," I said to an out-of-breath Dawn.

"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry," Dawn apologized. "I couldn't get anyone to watch my daughter."

I watched her as she fought to catch her breath. Her eyes showed uncertainty as if she was afraid I'd be mad. She looked up at me with her lips trembling.

"Not to worry," I grinned as I held up my new instrument. "It gave me a chance to buy a guitar."

"Wow, that's a really nice one," Dawn said as she looked between my guitar and hers.

"It's not that good, really," I commented as I began tuning it. "Still, it is an upgrade from that old thing you use."

As I tuned the guitar, I looked over at Dawn and her daughter. I estimated that the little girl was about four or five years old, and the resemblance was clear. I also noticed that Dawn had brushed her hair and even put on a little make-up. She wore a different dress today, and it was as thread-bare as the other. Dawn was pretty but too much on the thin side. Sadly, her daughter also looked too thin. If they had to survive on what Dawn was making singing in New York City, they were in a bad way.

Dawn's daughter hung on her mother's leg, sticking her head out every so often to look at me. Finally, I smiled at her and said, "You're a pretty little girl. Are you going to help us sing?"

The girl quickly buried her face in her mother's side. Dawn apologized, "I'm sorry, she's very shy."

"No need to apologize," I offered easily. "When I was a kid, I wouldn't even come out of my room if someone came to visit."

"Hey," I said suddenly as I remembered I had brought some snacks from the hotel room. There was still plenty of everything after I had the mini-bar restocked. "Would you like some cookies?" I offered, reaching out with a package of chocolate chip cookies.

The little girl looked at the package and then at her mother. Dawn nodded, but Allison wouldn't take them from me. So, I handed them to her mother. "She's smart not to take cookies from someone as strange as me."

Dawn smiled and then knelt down next to her daughter. "This nice man and I are going to sing some songs. I want you to be a good girl and sit next to me. You can eat the cookies while we play. Can you do that?"

Allison nodded but said nothing. Soon, she was sitting next to her mother, wolfing down the small package of cookies. It was pretty apparent that the girl was hungry. I fished around in my pocket and pulled out a couple packages of granola bars. I tossed them to her. "Here, I don't know if you like granola bars, and it's okay if you don't."

Dawn opened the new packet before whispering in her daughter's ear.

The little girl nodded and looked over at me, and smiled. "Thank you for the cookies."

"My pleasure," I said as I returned the smile. "And I still say you're a pretty little girl."

The little girl giggled and buried her head in her mother's leg again.

"Before we start, I'd like to introduce myself," I said with a smile. "I'm Robbie Wilder, and you are?"

Dawn blushed slightly. "Yeah, I guess we didn't introduce ourselves yesterday. I'm Dawn Samuels, and this is my daughter Allison."

"Now that we have the introductions out of the way, let's sing," I said as I began to strum my guitar.

We started off again with Amazing Grace, which immediately drew a small crowd. As we continued to sing, the crowd grew bigger and the donations dropping into Dawn's open guitar case continued at a steady pace.

About eleven-thirty, I decided that we needed a break. I could see that Dawn was getting tired, and Allison was starting to get antsy.

"We're going to take a half-hour to forty-five-minute break," I told the crowd, which had grown to about a fifty or sixty. "We're just going to get a bite to eat, so come on back and tell your friends."

The crowd groaned a little bit but then began to disperse.

As I put my guitar away, I looked down at Allison. "Hey, little one, would you like something to eat?"

Allison's head popped up, and she began nodding.

"Do you like hot dogs?"

Again, she nodded.

"There's a vendor just over there," I motioned with my chin. "I'll get us something to eat and drink. How many would you like?" I asked Allison.

"Two," she said quietly as she held up two fingers.

"Allison," Dawn said sternly.

The little girl looked down at the ground, then at her mother, and finally at me. "Please."

I laughed. "How many do you think your mommy would like?"

Allison held up two fingers again and smiled shyly. I laughed again.

"I can pay," Dawn said as she fished around in her guitar case.

I waved her away. "Save your money. This is my treat. I rather suspect that you need the money a whole lot more than I do."

"Thank you," Dawn said, nodding. "I made four hundred and forty-seven dollars and fifty-two cents yesterday. I was able to pay some of my bills and give some money to my aunt. If I can make that amount today, it will really help Allison and me."

"Don't worry, you're going to make more than that today," I said confidently as I headed over to the hot dog vendor.

I brought back six hot dogs, ten bottles of water, two apples, and a dozen cookies. Both Allison and Dawn ate hungrily. I suspected that they hadn't had any breakfast. As I ate, I realized that I hadn't thought about Tanya or the whole mess I was faced with the whole time we played. However, now that I was thinking about it, my heart squeezed; I felt so totally alone. What filled my head was that I would never find anyone to ever love me again. But then the thought of being able to play my music lifted my spirits some. Also, now I was mentally putting together the pieces to strike back at Tanya. That also helped to soothe the pain within me.

Once we finished eating, we moved to a different location. This one had a more wide-open space with benches all around. We found a shady location, and Dawn could put her coat on the ground. Allison curled up on it and was soon asleep.

We started off the afternoon, once more, with Amazing Grace. In short order, a crowd began to gather. As the people began to stand ten and twenty deep, I told Dawn we needed to sing a little louder. I was impressed with the power and purity of her voice. And as we sang, people continued to drop money into the case.

After about an hour, I noticed a television reporter standing on the edge of the crowd with her cameraman. After finishing a song, I told the crowd that we were going to take a five-minute break. Then I walked over to the reporter.

"What's up, guys?" I asked.

The reporter, who was pretty in that commercial sort of way that most female news reporters seemed to look like, smiled at me. "You're Robbie Wilder, aren't you?"

I smiled and nodded. "Guilty as charged."

"Is it true that you and Tanya are getting a divorce?"

I remembered what I had been instructed to do to change the narrative Tanya was surely going to push. I shrugged. "Sadly true, but not my choice."

"According to the reports, she says that you subjected her to physical and mental abuse during your marriage."

"If you're interested in the truth," I said, working hard to control my anger. "You should talk to all the people who have worked around us all these years. They'll tell you that I'm not an abusive person in any way, shape, or form. The last time I hit someone was in the fifth grade when I punched Jimmy Fuller because he pushed me down."

"So, what are you doing singing here in Central Park?" the reporter turned the interview in a different direction. I had no idea whether she believed me or not, but I had spoken the truth. I had no idea whether the television station would choose to broadcast my denial or try to spin it in Tanya's favor. The media decided what they believed was true, whether it was or wasn't. But there was nothing I could do about that. I just had to play nice with the reporter and hope they would report what I said truthfully.

"It's a beautiful day," I finally responded to the reporter with a smile. "Who wouldn't want to be out in Central Park today."

"But why are you singing with that girl?"

"Oh, Dawn," I continued to smile. "I'm trying to help her earn some money, so she can take care of her little girl." I pointed to where Allison was sleeping.

I talked to the reporter for about five more minutes and made sure she understood that it wasn't just a divorce going on between Tanya and me. I touched on how I had been frozen out of the company. And for good measure, I threw in that Tanya had canceled my plane ticket to fly home on the same flight and replaced it with one for three days later.

After the interview, I went back to playing and singing with Dawn. About two-thirty, Allison woke up and was hungry. That's what I had bought the cookies for. She was as happy as a clam eating her chocolate chip cookies, drinking her water, and listening to her mother and me sing.

By three o'clock, the crowd had grown to over a hundred people, and then the police showed up. They told us we had to call it quits. Everyone dumps on the police, and none more than on the New York City police. And some of it is justified. But the two policemen that told us to pull the plug were really nice. In fact, they kept apologizing and telling us it would be alright for us to come back tomorrow, but once the crowd got too big, they'd have to shut us down again.

I gave each of them a bottle of water and a cookie. I assured the two policemen that it wasn't a bribe. They laughed and wished us well. I was glad the officers didn't know who I was and just treated me like anyone else.

I took Dawn and Allison to an early dinner. When they put our placemats down and gave Allison some crayons, she melted our waitress' heart. Allison asked in a tiny voice if it would be okay if she could color one of the pictures on the placemat. Allison said that she'd only color the one and leave the rest for someone else to do. The waitress brought three more placemats with more crayons and told Allison to color whatever she wanted. The waitress even brought Allison a special dessert that she didn't charge us for.

During dinner, I briefly explained to Dawn the idea rolling around in my brain all day. What I was hoping was that I could set up a new act with the two of us. Dawn was very hesitant at first. I kept pressing that it would be a way to make some money to take care of her daughter. Finally, Dawn relented and said that she'd have to talk to her aunt Claire.

I didn't know if Dawn was just trying to blow me off, but I did understand. This was a huge decision for her. I mean, I was asking her to uproot her life and that of her daughter to follow me to Atlanta.

I told her I would be fine with whatever decision she made. Besides, I told her that I still had a lot of pieces to pull together. And if I couldn't get everything worked out, at the very least, I'd leave my new guitar for her and five hundred dollars. But if I could pull it all together, then she and her aunt would have to decide if they wanted to come back to Atlanta with me and take a chance on my plan. I told her that I would call in the morning. If they weren't interested, the guitar and the five hundred dollars were still Dawn's, and I'd fly back to Atlanta by myself.

However, after three hours on the phone that night, all the pieces fell into place. Even Alex was on board. He wanted back into the music game, and his doctor had cleared him to work. Alex also told me that Todd had announced that Tanya would be releasing two new songs the following week. I was sure that they would be the two stolen songs. But there was nothing I could do about it because the songs weren't copyrighted. The thought that Tanya was going to profit from her betrayal just fueled my anger. I so wanted to destroy her, which would be my driving force for years to come. Now I was chasing stardom with every ounce of my fiber. If my grandfather was trying to reach me from the great beyond, I certainly wasn't listening.

I watched the newscast that night and was very pleasantly surprised. Apparently, they had done some real investigation. They had contacted some of the people who had worked with me, and those people confirmed that they had seen absolutely no abuse. In fact, all of them stated that as far as they had seen, I was a loving husband who would do just about anything to make his wife happy. Some even said that I was too nice.

When a sister station's reporter caught up with Todd, he seemed a little flustered. The reporter told Todd that the people working around Tanya and me didn't confirm the abuse. But Todd was quick on his feet, saying that all of the abuse had happened behind closed doors. He also informed the reporter that Tanya had never reported it for fear that it would damage their act. Todd continued lying and said that Tanya was finally fed up and couldn't take it anymore, so she filed for divorce.

When they asked Todd about freezing my assets and changing the airline ticket, he was smooth as silk. He explained that the courts would decide the asset distribution. And the airline ticket had been a simple mistake by the travel agent. I'll give him credit; he was a consummate liar.

One part of that news story that I really liked was the part they did about Dawn and Allison. They looked so vulnerable and scared as the cameraman photographed them. And I was especially pleased with the final line of the report.

The reporter said, "Even as Robbie Wilder's career appears to be in a tailspin, he seems more interested in making a mother and her daughter's lives a little better."

I had recorded the interview and sent a copy off to Alex. My phone rang a few minutes later.

"Robbie, that interview was pure gold," Alex said brightly. "It's not going to erase what Tanya and Todd have done already, but it will give us a leg up that they never thought we'd have."

We talked for another half-hour, going over what I needed to accomplish before Alex could begin working his contacts to get my new career launched. There were hundreds of decisions to be made and things to do in the meantime.

But to exact my revenge, there was still a big piece that had to be put into place. I had to convince Dawn and her aunt that I wasn't some creep and that my plan was real. So, the following morning, I called Dawn, and she invited me over to New Jersey to meet her aunt.