Chapter 5: What Was Your Name?

March 6, 2003
San Luis Obispo, California

The Cessna Citation business jet touched down gently on Runway 29 of San Luis Obispo Regional Airport at 11:33 AM, only sixty-eight minutes after taking off from Henderson Executive Airport just south of Las Vegas, where Intemperance had performed the night before. The plane rolled to the general aviation area and came to a stop. The pilot did not bother to shut the engines down as they would be continuing on to Santa Monica Airport as soon as a few passengers deplaned.

The door was opened by the copilot, Mike Merkel, who then led Jake, Celia, and Nerdly down the steps, making sure they stayed well clear of the turning jet engines. Sharon Archer and Laura Kingsley were waiting for them outside the terminal door. The three musicians waved at their respective spouses as the copilot opened the cargo door so they could retrieve their travel bags. The three then said farewell to the copilot who had helped carry them from city to city for the past five months. This was not their last flight with the crew of November-Tango-Five—the Canadian leg was still coming up—but it was the last time they would see him for two and a half weeks thanks to the upcoming tour break after the wrap up of the American portion. Jake and Nerdly shook his hand. Celia gave him a big hug.

“It was good flying with you, Mike,” she said after the embrace.

“It’s been a good mission,” Mike replied. “I wasn’t so sure about it when they first assigned us to it—you know, the band’s reputation and all—but all of you were very respectful to us and treated us as people and friends, not employees. I’ll sign up for any future Intemperance tour or one of your tours.”

She smiled at him. “I’ll ask for you by name,” she said.

The three of them then walked over to the terminal entrance while Mike went about the task of securing the cargo door once again. Sharon rushed into Nerdly’s arms—she had not seen him in two months now. Laura rushed into Jake’s and then Celia’s—she had not seen them in five weeks.

“Welcome home,” she told each of them as she covered their faces with kisses.

“That was some welcome,” Celia said after having a little girly tongue slipped into her mouth.

“Couldn’t help myself,” Laura said with an impish smile. Fortunately, no one was outside the terminal doors and able to witness the spectacle of the ex-wife and the current wife exchanging passionate kisses.

“Oh my God,” said Sharon. “Look at you, Celia. You are most definitely pregnant now.”

“Yeah,” she said, good naturedly, tightening her shirt to further enhance her swelling belly, which was quite obviously pregnant at this point. “I’m getting as big as a whale.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Laura told her. “You’re hot as hell and you know it.” She reached over and touched the prominent baby bump, which was now well into the second trimester and going strong. “And look at your boobs,” she added, resisting the urge to touch them as well—though she definitely planned to do that as soon as they got home. “They’re huge now.”

“Wait until you see the nipples,” Jake told her with a smile.

“Yeah?” Laura asked, interested.

“Almost twice the size they used to be,” he told her.

“That’s fuckin’ hot,” Laura said, nearly drooling and clearly making the Nerdlys uncomfortable.

“Well, I’m glad we’ll all be together for Jake’s birthday tomorrow,” Celia said. “Even if we do have to spend it in LA.” The final three nights of the Intemperance American tour started the next day, Jake’s birthday, at Staples Center in Los Angeles. It would be the first time that any of them had played in the venue or even actually been inside of it. Caydee would be joining them to see her daddy make moo-zick for the peoples. So would his ex-wife Laura Kingsley and his current wife Celia Valdez-Kingsley. They would all sit together in the SVIP section that had been arranged. That would be sure to create a little media drama (again).

Laura had driven Jake’s Navigator to the airport. The three of them climbed into it while the Nerdlys climbed into their Honda. All were looking forward to a little taste of home. It felt good to Jake just to be back behind the wheel after months of being driven and flown everywhere. As they made the twenty minute trip, they caught up on things a bit. Jake brought up the investigation into the Columbia Space Shuttle disaster that had killed seven astronauts a little more than a month before. The suspicion was that a piece of insulating foam had broken off from the external tank and damaged the left wing, ultimately leading to failure of the wing during reentry. Laura brought up the near certainty that the United States would invade Iraq very soon. All of the pieces were pretty much in place at this point, just waiting for someone to give the nod for them to push over imaginary lines in the sand. Though the United Nations was not behind the invasion, the Bush administration and a good majority of the US congress was prepared to vote to go in even if they did not have UN approval. And since France, an ally of the United States, was opposed to and very critical of the buildup to this particular war, people in the US were now making “you’re a pussy” jokes about France, bringing up how the US and Britain had saved France’s ass during WWII, and calling French fries “Freedom fries” to show their contempt. Talk then turned to more pleasant things, such as what Laura was going to do to both Celia and Jake when she was able to get them alone in a private place.

“I want those big boobies in my mouth,” she told them. “And that big belly touching me, and that big cock inside of me. I will not be denied.”

“You won’t be,” both assured her. It had been too long since both of them had touched her in intimacy.

Elsa was happy to see Jake and Celia when they came in through the kitchen door (where she was working on the sausage, garlic, and bread crumb filling for her stuffed pork chops for that night’s dinner). She gave both of them big hugs. Caydee, however, was ecstatic to see her daddy and See-Ya at home. She hugged and kissed both of them for nearly two minutes and exclaimed about how she was going to see Daddy and his friend Matt and Uncle Nerdly make moo-zick for the peoples tomorrow.

“That’s right, Caydee girl,” Jake told her. “Front row center. Best seats in the house.”

“Fuckin’ A,” she proclaimed, getting a look of disapproval from Elsa.

Since Caydee was awake and only rarely took naps these days, and since neither Jake nor Celia thought it fair to “take a little nap” with Laura, they had to wait until after Caydee bedtime and Elsa go back to her quarters time for the main event. That did not stop the two ladies from enjoying a little bit of fun when Celia changed out of her traveling clothes and into her sweat pants and long t-shirt shortly after arrival.

“Oh, my fucking God,” Laura said, staring at her female lover after she took her top and bra off. “Look at those boobies! Look at that belly. Come here. I have to touch you.”

“Just a little touch,” said Celia, who was eager to feel girly hands on her (and a girly mouth too).

Laura squeezed and stroked and palpated the large perfect breasts before her. They were so much bigger than normal now. And Jake was right. The nipples had grown considerably. They were now the size of raspberries. She then slid her hands down to the protruding baby bump and began to caress there. As she did so, she slurped first one and then the other nipple into her mouth for a little suckling.

“All right, Teach,” Celia said breathlessly after two minutes of this action. “No more until tonight. You’re driving me insane.”

“Can I just give one little lick to your pussy?” Laura asked, giving the puppy dog eyes. “It’s been soooo long since I last tasted it.”

“One little lick,” Celia agreed, unbuttoning her jeans and pushing them down. “But that’s all you get right now. Tonight, I want you licking Rev’s come out of me.”

“You know it, love,” Laura told her. “Give it to me.”

Celia pulled her lavender panties to the side, revealing her very wet, smoothly shaven slit. Laura did manage to get in more than one lick—it felt so good to have a girly tongue down there—but not much more.

“All right,” Celia panted when she pulled herself away. “I’m putting my sweats and long t-shirt on now. Nothing more until after Caydee bedtime.”

“Prude,” Laura grunted, relishing the tang of Celia’s juices in her mouth.

“Am not,” Celia said indignantly.

That night, after Caydee was put down for the night and Elsa was in her quarters, was one of their hottest interludes ever. They would later rate it up there with their very first. Celia was slowly stripped down and Laura spent the better part or fifteen minutes rubbing baby oil all over her naked, pregnant, boob-swollen body. She started with her swollen belly then worked her way up to her swollen breasts, paying particular attention to the nipples, which both she and Jake took into their mouths and suckled on. Laura then rubbed Celia’s very wet vagina with her oil covered fingers, getting it nice and slippery and extremely aroused. Jake then slid his swollen manhood inside of that slit, starting off slowly and then working his way up to a frantic thrust that brought the first orgasm of the night to Celia. He then had his own, shortly after Celia’s thrashings and guttural Spanish profanity died away. Laura then went down between Celia’s legs with her mouth to lick out the spend. Jake took the opportunity to rub Laura’s body down with the baby oil, starting with her back, moving to her belly and breasts, before finally sliding his oily fingers in and out of her slit from behind. All of this brought his member back to full attention so he slid inside of her from the rear and fucked her to first one, then a second orgasm (while Celia enjoyed two more from Laura’s tongue on her clitoris). He then had his own second orgasm inside of Laura. He licked her pussy for her while Celia tongue kissed her and suckled her breasts until she had one more come, finishing out the session.

They cuddled together on the bed, all of them in the large wet and oily spot they had produced (and which Elsa would shake her head at and sigh over the next afternoon when she stripped the bed down—she was going to have to wash the mattress cover too after this reunion) and drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, after showers, coffee, and the eggs Florentine and fresh squeezed orange juice that Elsa made for everyone, the trio drove back to SLO Regional. The Nerdlys (including Kelvin) were waiting for them there.

“You two looked relaxed,” Laura observed with a smile.

“Yes,” Nerdly agreed. “Reengagement of marital liberties after an extended time without them will have that effect.”

Jake chuckled. “You’re a stud, Nerdly.”

“Yes,” he replied, “I am.”

“At least Jake and Celia had each other out on the road,” said Sharon. “Poor Bill didn’t have anyone.”

“I did have my extensive imagination and my own masturbatory skills,” Nerdly told her.

“Yeah?” Sharon said. “Who were thinking about as you did it?”

“You, of course,” Bill answered immediately (and wisely). His eyes, however, did not meet hers as he said it. Most of the time he had been looking at internet porn on Kim’s website during those self-pleasure sessions. Sharon chose (wisely perhaps) not to call him out on this.

Jake did a very extensive preflight of his Avanti since it had been so long since he had last flown it. He had the FBO pump in some fuel and the two families roared into the sky at 11:20 AM. They went out over Morro Rock and turned south, heading over the spine of the coastal mountains en route to Whiteman Airport in Los Angeles. Below, hundreds (if not thousands) of SLO County residents heard the distinctive sound of Jake’s plane and looked up in annoyance. He was back in town, it seemed. He and his knocked up, so-called wife. Many wondered who the real father of Celia’s baby actually was. Only about a third believed Jake was the father. Everyone knew that Jake had had so many STDs over the course of his career that he was now long-since sterile. And he wasn’t really into girls anymore anyway. He’d had too many of them over the years, had become bored with them, and was now fucking (and probably sucking) dudes.

He brought the plane in for a smooth landing at 11:47 AM and then taxied over to his rented hangar where his truck had been hooked up to a trickle charger for the past five months. It fired up right away and he pulled the vehicle out. He then had everyone—including Caydee and Kelvin—help push the aircraft into the hangar because there was no electric tug at this end. He locked up the hangar, not bothering to apply the trickle charger to the aircraft since it would only be four days before they went back home for the two week tour break. It took two trips, but Jake drove everyone to the nearby Granada Hills house.

Caydee and Kelvin both wanted to get into the pool and go swimming. It was not exactly pool weather, even for Los Angeles, but the parents allowed it anyway. The two kids put on their bathing suits and jumped in, both shivering for a bit in the sixty degree water, but having a blast all the same. Jake heated up some of the frozen Elsa meals that were in the freezer so the adults could have lunch.

A limousine arrived in front of the house at precisely 2:00 PM. Jake, Nerdly, and Celia got inside. There was one record store signing in Inglewood and an interview scheduled at KRON.

“Three more days and then we’ll be free for a bit,” Jake said. They were all suffering from a significant amount of road fatigue by this point and eager for any break in the action except for that brief period where they actually got to step up on a stage and play moo-zick for the peoples.

“I am looking forward to it,” Nerdly said. “For more than one reason.”

“Oh?” Celia asked.

“Your pregnancy has inspired myself and Sharon,” Nerdly said. “We talked about it last night and came to the conclusion that we are going to create another human being in order to eventually replace ourselves among the human race in a mathematically neutral manner.”

“Uh ... so ... you’re going to shoot for another little Nerdly?” asked Jake after translating all of this in his mind.

“That is correct,” Nerdly said. “She stopped taking her oral contraceptives this morning. By the time we return from the Canadian leg of the tour and we resume sexual interaction with each other, she should be fertile.”

“That’s really cool, Bill,” Celia told him, rubbing his shoulder a little in affection. “Hopefully it doesn’t take Sharon as long to catch as it took me.”

“It should not,” Nerdly said. “Sharon, after all, has both of her fallopian tubes intact and we will set a strict sexual schedule designed to balance sperm count with ovulation opportunities and proper positioning of the act to achieve conception. It is what we did when we decided to have Kelvin and that worked out well.”

“Wow,” Jake said, shaking his head a little. “You are a fucking party animal, Nerdly.”

“I like to think so,” he replied.

“Thanks for reminding me of my missing fallopian tube and all that went with it,” Celia said sourly.

“You are welcome,” Nerdly replied.

They arrived at the downtown hotel where the rest of the band and road crew were staying. Matt joined them in the limousine, greeting everyone jovially. It was apparent that he had just indulged in a final few lines of cocaine before the moratorium period kicked in.

“Did you have some good threesome sex last night?” he asked Jake and Celia.

Jake nodded. “It was quite excellent,” he said.

“I would have to agree,” said Celia.

“I had some of that kinda action too,” Matt said. “Kim came to visit and we both slammed some goth bitch with a tongue stud that we picked up in the gift shop. Hot shit. She really knew how to work that piercing on both of us.”

“Good story,” Jake said, since some reply seemed necessary.

“She had a mondo set of tits too,” Matt said.

“I’m sure she did,” Celia said with a little roll of the eyes. It was quite clear that she was not interested in Matt’s description of his exploits.

“Why are you hanging out with us today?” Matt asked the Venezuelan. “You don’t usually do the meet and greets with us.”

“I’ll be attending the show tonight,” she said, “so I thought I’d hang out today. Is that cool?”

“Whatever juices your clam,” Matt said with a shrug. “And what about you, Nerdly. Will you be attending the show tonight as well?”

“Of course I will be attending the show,” Nerdly said. “I am the pianist.”

Matt shook his head a little. “You’ve never been to the meet and greets though.”

“Gahn wants him along for the ride on this one,” Jake said. “It’s LA and Nerdly is popular here—more so than other place except Heritage. He’s gonna contribute to the autographs, the radio station interviews, and the sound bites.”

“That should be fuckin’ rich,” Matt said.

“Speaking of Gahn, where are he and Dan?” asked Jake. “We need to get this show on the road.”

“They were dealing with the hotel manager about some shit that happened last night,” Matt said. “It seems that one of the crew got into a fuckin’ bar fight with one of the hotel guests and the fuckin’ cops had to respond.”

“Again?” Jake asked, rolling his eyes.

“Sounds like quite a mess,” Nerdly said. “Did anyone get arrested?”

“No, but they all got kicked out of the bar,” Matt said.

“Hmmph,” Jake said. “What a shame.”

Greg Gahn and Dan Baldino appeared a minute later. Neither of them looked very happy. They shared the news that, while no one was being evicted from their lodgings for the three night stay, no one from the band or crew was allowed in the bar or restaurant and, after this visit, for the indefinite future, no act associated with KVA or National Records would be welcome in the Hyatt Regency in Los Angeles.

“Oh well,” Matt said as the limo pulled away. “Their fuckin’ loss. How much coin did we drop on those assholes to have us and the crew stay here?”

“More than thirty-five grand just in rooms alone,” Gahn said. “Probably fifteen grand in bar and restaurant fees.”

“That’s some serious money to kiss off just because one of the crew had a go with one of the guests,” Jake observed.

“Oh yes,” Matt put in.

“I am sure other hotels will be happy to have our business in future endeavors,” Nerdly said.

“And I didn’t even tear any holes in the walls,” Matt said. “I just banged one of their gift shop bitches.”

“I guess people are just less tolerant these days,” Celia said.

“Yeah,” said Matt. “It’s not like we tore that fuckin’ hotel down. We really have matured since the old days.”

“Agreed,” said Jake, nodding.

They pondered their maturity as they made the twenty minute drive to the Tower of Power Records store in Inglewood. Once there, they went into the very familiar routine of setting up for the autograph sessions. Jake, Matt, and Nerdly all sat down behind a table while Celia remained in the limo, out of sight. This was not her show. The line formed and people began to come by, getting their albums, CD cases, t-shirts, and, occasionally, their body parts signed by one or all of the musicians. Pictures were taken, hands were shaken, inane questions were asked, and all of the musicians were looking eagerly at the clock, waiting for the ninety minutes to pass so they could go get something to eat before the interview session at KRON.

They were about forty-five minutes in when Jake’s eyes were drawn to a woman who was making her way forward in the queue. She had a good body on her, with breasts that were up there in Celia’s ballpark. She had on a skirt that showed off sexy legs. Her hair was dark brown, her face pretty but not Hollywood actress pretty. She appeared to be in her mid-thirties to early forties. And she looked incredibly familiar to Jake. She was carrying an album cover—not a CD case—in her hands. Jake recognized from the brief flashes of cover art that it was Intemperance’s very first album, Descent Into Nothing.

As she worked her way patiently forward, he kept glancing at her, trying to place her. He knew he had seen her before. Finally, it came to him. Oh, my fucking God, he thought, taking a deep breath. That’s Angelina Hadley! The first girlfriend he had been with upon arriving in Los Angeles all those years ago. The woman he had said goodbye to before climbing on that first tour bus. The woman he had never talked to since.

His first thought was danger. He well remembered his ordeal with Jenny Johansen and this was another woman who possibly believed (probably believed even) that he had scorned her. True, it had been twenty-one years since that had occurred, but Jenny had taught him that some things never died. And there was literally no security in place here. She could have a fucking .44 magnum with hollow point bullets in her purse and nobody would have any clue.

“Dan,” Jake whispered loudly, his voice alarmed enough to get the security chief’s attention.

“What’s up, Jake?” he whispered back.

“The woman that is eight back in line,” he responded. “Dark hair, white blouse, skirt, carrying a Descent Into Nothing album, she’s an ex-girlfriend of mine from a long, long time ago. It did not end well for her.”

He looked over and locked his trained eyeballs onto her. “Why do you think she’s here?” he asked.

“I have no idea,” Jake said. “Keep an eye on her.”

“Will do,” he promised, scanning for the telltale bulges of weapons and seeing nothing. But she did have that purse.

The woman worked her way toward the musicians. Jake had done enough of these sessions that he could keep ninety percent of his attention on Angelina yet still interact with the fans. Finally, she was the next in line. She was looking at Jake, a small smile on her face. Her hands were well clear of her purse, which was zipped shut anyway, and she had no waistline to conceal a firearm in since she was wearing a skirt (and those legs looked really nice—the kind of legs a man liked to suck on). Nevertheless, Dan and one of the Inglewood cops (who Dan had just had a whispered conversation with) stepped a little closer to her, ready to spring into action if need be.

She stepped up to the table, her eyes remaining on Jake, ignoring Matt and Nerdly (Nerdly had recognized her as well, but had yet to say anything to anyone). Her smile got wider. She held out her right hand. “Hi, Jake,” she said. “I’ve been a fan of yours for years. Since the beginning, really. It’s so good to meet you.”

“Uh ... hi,” Jake said slowly. Was it possible that this was not Angelina Hadley? Just someone who looked remarkably like a twenty year older version of her? After all, the last he had heard about the real Angie, she had been in jail for drugs and prostitution. If that was the case, would she really look as good as she did at this moment in time? She was attractive enough that Jake would likely have made a move on her had he not been married to two women in actuality (if not legality). “It’s nice to meet you.” He shook her hand. It was a soft hand, well textured. “I see you have a copy of Descent Into Nothing there.”

“Yes,” she said. “A friend of mine gave this to me back in 1982, when it first came out. I’d love for you to sign it for me.”

“Absolutely,” Jake said, giving her a little smile in return. This is not Angie, he finally concluded. “What’s your name, hon?”

“Angie,” she told him.

His eyes got wide. “Uh ... would that be Angie Hadley, by chance?” he asked her. The cop and Dan stepped even closer when he asked this one.

But she did not attack him. She smiled wider. “You remember me,” she said, almost in awe. “I didn’t think you would.”

“Of course I remember you, Angie,” he told her. “There is no way I could ever forget you. Oh my God! It’s so good to see you again.”

“It’s good to see you too,” she said, now nearly crying.

He stood up from the table and came around to her side. He gave her a big hug, feeling himself almost near tears himself. After all these years, after all the guilt, here was Angie standing before him again. And she was not trying to kill him. He was good at reading emotions and he could tell that she was sincerely happy to see him. She hugged him back tightly. Her breasts pushed into his chest and he remembered what they had felt like in his hands and mouth twenty-one years before.

“How the hell have you been?” he asked her once the embrace broke. He noticed for the first time that she had a wedding ring on—and quite a respectable one at that.

“I’ve been doing well,” she told him. “I hit a bit of a rough patch after ... you know ... but I’m happy. I’m married—my name is Angie Brooks since 1987—and we have two kids, a boy and a girl.”

“That is great!” Jake said, feeling a tremendous burden that he had not even really been aware of lifting off of his chest. A part of him often wondered if Angie had been found dead in a ditch at some point since he had last heard about her. And, though he had had the connections to look into her pretty much since partnering with Pauline in the KVA venture, he had never done so, likely afraid of what he might discover as opposed to indifference. He truly had loved this woman at one point in his life. And she had loved him as well. He could not just let this be a fleeting encounter.

“Listen, Angie,” he said. “We have to get on with this session.”

“I understand,” she said softly.

“But I want to catch up with you a little if you’re okay with that,” he added. “We’ll be going to get some grub after this. Any chance you would like to join us?”

She looked shocked at this suggestion. “Join you?” she asked. “For ... for food?”

“That’s right,” he said with a smile. “It’ll be on us. A KVA business expense that is fully tax deductible.”

“Uh ... well ... sure,” she said, her smile returning. “I’d love to.”

“We’re going to hit up the Camino Real restaurant over on Imperial, just off the 105,” Jake told her, keeping his voice quiet so the other fans—who were now growing impatient with this extended interaction—would not overhear him. “Are you familiar with it?”

“I’ve never been there,” she said, “but I know where it is.”

“Meet us there in about an hour,” he told her. “We’ll catch up.”

“I’ll be there,” she promised.

She walked away. As soon as she was gone, the police officer and Dan both relaxed. They had really been nervous when Jake had hugged her.

“Wasn’t that the snatch you used to bone when we first moved to LA?” Matt asked lightly. “The one who used to be the body double for hotter actresses? The one you used to go on and fucking on about not calling on that first tour?”

“It was,” Jake confirmed.

“She still looks pretty hot,” Matt said. “A little old for my tastes, but I’d still rail it.”

“You did what?” Celia asked him as they rode in the back of the limo toward Imperial Highway.

“I invited an old girlfriend to eat with us,” he repeated. “It’s Angelina Hadley, although she’s married now and has a different last name. I’ve told you about her before.”

And he had—long ago, long before any overt romantic attachment between them, long before either of them knew Laura Best even existed or that they would one day need her to play sax for them. And she remembered the story. She had been his girlfriend in Los Angeles when Intemperance had first made it big. He had gotten on the bus for the first tour shortly after promising to call her every day out on the road and had never spoken to her again—until today apparently. The one time he had enquired about her situation he had been told that she was serving time in jail on prostitution and drug charges. Celia—unlike Teach, who had never been told the story—knew that Jake harbored a large burden of guilt about the relationship. “Is this like a closure thing?” she asked.

“Not my favorite word in the world, but yes,” he replied. “I only got to talk to her for a minute or so at the signing. I want to talk to her a little more so I know she’s doing okay. She looks like she is. I also want to ... you know ... apologize.”

She nodded, more sympathy in her eyes now. “I think that is very appropriate, Jake,” she said. “Why don’t the two of you get you own table?”

They did just that, getting a booth in the corner after introductions were made all around. Celia greeted Angie politely and Angie expressed awe at being in her presence, assuring her that she was a huge fan.

“Thank you!” Celia said brightly. “We’re going to talk some concert business over here at this big table. How about you and Jake take that one and catch up with each other?”

Angie seemed a little taken aback by this suggestion but agreed to it. “Concert business?” she asked once the two of them were seated.

“Celia is one of the owners of KVA and is involved in the production of our music,” Jake said.

“I see,” Angie said softly. She took a deep breath and then said, “Jake ... this isn’t like ... some sort of setup so that you and I can ... you know? Because I am a happily married woman with children.”