Part 28 (1/2)

”Sure.” Brian pa.s.sed the cigarette. ”As long as I don't start making

you hot and bothered.”

And that had been the end of it.

When Johnno took a lover, he took him discreetly, and never discussed

it. His s.e.xual preference was common knowledge within the band, but for

his own privacy, and at Pete's insistence, he cultivated an image of a

heteros.e.xual stud. For the most part, it amused him.

There were regrets, though he hated to acknowledge them. It came to him

now, as he bounced Emma on his lap, that he would never have a child of

his own.

And with frustration, he was forced to admit, as he watched Brian slip

an arm around Bev, that the one man he truly loved would never be his

lover.

EMmA WAs DAZZLED by New York. After a late breakfast where Brian

indulged her with strawberry jam and sugary pastries, she was left in

Bev's hands. It didn't worry her, not this time. Her Dad was going to

be on the telly that night, and he'd promised that she could go to the

place where the telly pictures were made and watch.

In the meantime, she and Bev drove around the city in the big white car.

She giggled at the blond wig and big round sungla.s.ses Bev wore. Though

Bev didn't smile much at first, Emma's excitement soon distracted her.

Emma liked watching the people rush along the sidewalks, jostling each

other, streaming across intersections while horns blared. There were

women in short skirts and high heels, their bouffant hairdos as steady

as carved stones. There were others in denim and sandals, with their

manes of hair hanging straight as rain down their backs. On the corners