Chapter 41: Pub Crawl

They spent the rest of the morning in the studio, recording different versions of the various tracks that made up the finale – both the show’s version, and the one for whatever album they decided to put it on. When they broke for lunch, Jon spent time at the mixing board while the others ate. Julianna left a plate by Jon’s arm, which he ignored. “Don’t mind him,” Richie said. “He’s in work mode. He’ll eat when he’s done.” He kissed her temple. “That was a sweet gesture, though.”

Several hours later, Jon finally had the mixes for the various versions of the song done to his satisfaction. Everyone was lounging around up in the studio, listening to the finished products when Julianna spoke up. “I just can’t get over the fact that that’s me on that recording.” She shook her head. It was still hard wrapping her head around everything that had happened in this past month. She had a thought. “Guys, when I take the song to the company to stage it, I’d like to take one that doesn’t have me singing – if that’s alright with you all.” At Jon’s quizzical look, Julianna continued. “I want to keep my personal involvement with this a secret as long as possible.”

“How come?” Jon asked.

“Purely for selfish reasons, actually,” she answered. “Part of it is that I don’t want to deal with all the questions or to detract from the intense rehearsals we’ll be having. I also have a few people I’d like to surprise.” She smiled, thinking of the reactions she’d get from the rest of her family, Estelle, and her friends at BIO. “Also, remember that we weren’t planning to announce your personal appearance until the last possible moment. We arranged that with your people. I want the show to be booked and tickets sold on the merits, not just because you guys may be there.”

Julianna took a breath, and sunk onto the couch. “And finally, my asshole ex-husband has resurfaced, and I don’t want him getting wind of this yet. I don’t trust him not to try to capitalize on the connection somehow. He’s been hanging around my theater, and starting or feeding all sorts of rumors.” She had a look of distaste on her face, which quickly turned into one of epiphany. “Oh! I’ll bet his show is sucking ass.” She jumped up and went to her desk. After firing up the laptop she kept there, she Googled Mark’s show. As she suspected, it wasn’t doing well in the ratings, and the network was talking about not renewing.

“Son of a bitch,” Julianna said. “Usually, I enjoy being right, but this time,” she broke off shaking her head. “Well, anyway, Jon, those are my reasons – right, wrong, or otherwise.” She shut down the computer, and began cleaning up in the studio.

He nodded. “I can live with that. Now,” he looked at his watch, then at his friends. “We’ve worked through dinner, and I’m hungry. Who’s up for a little fun?”

“What’d you have in mind?” Dave asked.

“I thought we’d load up in the Hummer, and head out to some dive,” Jon answered. “Julianna, you come too. You worked just as hard as the rest of us. Let’s go somewhere were we can shoot some pool, have a bunch of beers and chow on some pub grub.”

“Pub grub?” Julianna asked, laughing. “You? You mean you actually eat that stuff?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well,” she said, blushing now. “I mean, look at you! Not an ounce of fat on you. You don’t maintain that by eating hot wings and onion rings.”

Jon laughed, and smiled at her, his eyes crinkling. “True, but I don’t indulge too often, and I understand from Rich that uh,” he winked at her, “you give quite a workout, and might be persuaded to help me out there.”

“WHAT?” she screeched. Her reaction sent the foursome into a fit of hysterics.

“I mean in your gym downstairs, you pervert,” Jon said, tears streaming from his eyes.

Julianna groaned, and turned the approximate color of a fire truck. Richie, laughing so hard he could hardly walk, crossed to her and gave her a kiss. “Baby, that was priceless.”

“Jesus,” she answered. “I’m not ready to be going out with all of you guys; there’s no telling what would happen.”

Richie looked at Julianna. There was something there in her eyes; he could see real hesitation. “Everything OK, baby? You don’t have to come out with us if you don’t want to.”

Julianna was touched and a bit chagrined that Richie was able to read her so easily. It was time to cowboy up. “Of course I’m coming with you. C’mon, going drinking with Bon Jovi? What red-blooded American woman could turn that down?” She sighed sharply. “One question: who’s driving?” Everyone looked around, and nobody volunteered. “Never mind,” she said, pulling out her cell phone. After selecting a number from her speed-dial list, she spoke with whoever answered.

“This is Julianna Cavanaugh. I am entertaining friends, and need a car and driver at my disposal for the remainder of the night.” She paused for a moment, listening, then descended the stairs from the loft. “There are five of us, but there will be a few more we pick up along the way.” Julianna paused and listened a bit more. “Perfect. When can you be here? Good. We’ll be waiting. I trust I don’t need to tell your driver that my friends relish their privacy. Excellent. Thank you.”

She closed the phone and turned to see the guys all staring at her. “What?” she said. “Why is it that I always seem to find you guys staring at me? You’re gonna give me a complex. What is it this time?”

Tico shook his head, smiling. “Man, I’ve never seen anyone but Boss here get things done like that. That was amazing.” He turned to Jon. “I mean it, man, we should hire her. Kidnap her. Marry her. Something.”

Julianna laughed and gave Tico a big hug. “God, you’re good for my ego. I think I’ll keep you.” She winked at Richie. While she downloaded the rehearsal track she wanted to her ever-present MP3 player, she said, “I have been doing business with this car service since I started the Company. I’ve given them lots of business and referrals, so they treat me really well. They’ll be here within the hour. I need to go change.” Four pairs of eyes looked at her. “Hey, I’m a girl; I need to wear a skirt when I go out. Gimme a break. Feel free to hang out here, or whatever.” Julianna flounced from the room. The men looked at each other, shrugged, and went back to the house to clean up before going out.

* * * * *

When Julianna answered the doorbell, phone glued to her ear, she stared wide-eyed, and nearly dropped the receiver. The guys had all cleaned up very nicely. To a man, they were clad in tight denim, leather boots, and snug T-shirts. The bills of ball caps stuck out from their back pockets. They laughed at her expression, eyeballed her short skirt, tall, high-heeled boots, the three inches of flesh in between, and the filmy top she put on over her tank. Whistling appreciatively, they brushed past her into the library, Richie squeezing her ass as he passed. Julianna finished her conversation and hung up the phone. Following the seductive sound of men’s laughter to the library, she found the guys lounging around on her furniture as if they lived there. Damn, they look good in my space, she thought.

“That was Gianni. I was letting him know we were heading out, and would probably make it around to where they were, and to not worry about driving since I have a car tonight,” she said. “Anyone have a problem with that?” Four wide-eyed heads shook back and forth, making her smile.


The doorbell rang again, bringing everyone out into the foyer. Looking through the window, Julianna saw the car service had sent an 8-passenger limo to be at Julianna’s disposal for the night. She opened the door to a driver she’d driven with before. “Evening, Michael,” Julianna said.

“Evening, Ms. Cavanaugh. Where are we off to this evening?”

Julianna turned back to see the others had trailed her to the door. “Well, guys, where do you want to go? Do you have someplace specific in mind? Or do you want to pub crawl?” Nobody really cared where they went; they just wanted to get going.

Julianna told Michael to make the rounds of the dives and pubs in the area, starting with one in particular – the one where her brothers were hanging out. “Michael, we’ll probably pick up a few passengers at the first stop we make.”

“No problem, Ms. C. – whatever you need.” Michael studiously avoided looking into the faces of Julianna’s guests, but their identities didn’t escape his notice.

Richie spoke up. “Michael, is it?” He strode over, hand outstretched. “Since none of the others have any manners, and we’re going to be spending the majority of the night in your care, let me make the introductions.”

“Sir,” Michael interrupted, shaking the proffered hand, “I know who you are; I mean I recognized you right off. Let me say, it’s an honor to make your acquaintance, and Ms. Cavanaugh can attest to my discretion.”

“Glad to hear it. I’ll dispense with the other introductions, since you know the assholes over there,” he waved his hand toward the rest of the guys, who promptly flipped him off.

Julianna, laughing at their antics, came to Michael’s rescue. “Guys, shall we?”