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Life's Illusions - Book Five - Chapter 13
Following Pil's outburst the whole family was questioning what was the truth behind Baz and Annie's breakup.
Milo was consoling a clearly upset Baz whilst Piers went off in search of Pil.
He found him in his room, still angry.
"Pil I need you to explain what that was all about, I've never seen you so angry".
Pil's response showed clearly how angry he still was.
"And why wouldn't I be Poppa, he's painting Annie as the bad one when she's not, he caused everything that's happened and he's causing it to get worse, he's lucky I didn't punch him out".
Piers was shocked, and annoyed.
"Stop that right now, we didn't bring you up to act that way, this is your brother you're talking about, if there really is a problem like you say, we need to help him recognise it, not antagonise him and force him into a corner, now calm down and explain what you know".
Pil heard the rebuke and reacted immediately.
"I'm sorry Poppa, you're right I know, but it makes me so angry, he's throwing away a life with someone he loves and values more than his own existence, and he can't see what he's done, or what he's doing, someone had to step in and give him the wake up call".
Piers sat next to him on the bed.
"Okay, let's forget how you delivered your wake up call, tell me what's going on".
Thirty minutes later Piers was heading for the lounge where he found Milo.
"Where's Baz, I need to speak with him, and I want you there, if what Pil just told me is true, Baz is acting very strangely, something's not right".
Milo led Piers out to the garden where Baz was sitting with his head in his hands.
Piers sat next to him and spoke gently, whilst Milo sat opposite not really sure what was going on.
Baz, can we talk about this calmly, I don't understand what's going on, I'm worried you might regret not acting if you just let Annie go, will you talk to us son?".
Baz looked up, his face covered in tears, but he nodded.
"I don't understand Poppa, she said there was someone else, now Pil says she lied, why?".
Piers pulled him into a hug.
"In retaliation son, you'd just asked her a question that wasn't really a question, it was an accusation, when you asked if there was someone else, what she heard was the man she thought was her soulmate accusing her of being unfaithful, it hurt her, so she hit out".
Just at that point Pil walked up to them, and knelt in front of his brother, Gracie was behind him.
"I'm sorry Baz, I never meant to hurt you, I just wanted to make you think, to realise what you're losing, and you are losing her Bro, she's leaving tomorrow evening, she told me she's going to start divorce proceedings when she gets home, talk to her Bro, please, don't throw everything away because of a misunderstanding, she hasn't done anything except hit out in anger".
Baz started to cry, shaking and sobbing as all four of them enveloped him into a hug, with Pil saying.
"Let me try to set up a meeting, can I do that?".
Baz looked at his brother and said only one word.
"Yes".
They'd listened as he waited for Annie to answer.
"Hey beautiful, how are you fixed to have lunch tomorrow?, ..... What about tomorrow afternoon?, I'd like to see you before you leave, ..... What?, aren't you being a little premature, can't you leave that until you get back to Oz?, .......... I'm sorry I didn't know, he was a great old guy, ............ No Annie don't, you're both making a big mistake, ............ Okay, call me when you get it all done, I'd like to meet up if possible before you leave, night luv".
When he turned to look at his brother, his face was full of sadness.
"I'm sorry Bro, she's with TF Management from nine tomorrow morning, she's terminating her contract, then she's meeting with a lawyer to start divorce proceedings, I tried to get her to delay until she gets home, but she's not staying in Oz, she's only going back to pick up some personal items, apparently whilst you've been estranged, her Father passed away several months ago?, she's going back to NZ to sort his estate, I don't know what to say Baz, she cried all the way through that conversation, she sounded heartbroken".
Baz didn't say anything for a couple of minutes, then.
"Where's she staying?".
Pil had to think, then he remembered what she'd said when they spoke earlier in the day.
"The Presidential, room 1821".
Baz got up.
"I'm going to try and talk to her, I can't believe I've let it get to this, thanks Bro".
Pil could see DJ looking over toward them from the house, he knew he had some explaining to do there, he'd been so angry earlier he'd skipped the concert venue without explanation".
"Do you want me to come with you?".
Baz shook his head.
"No thanks, if I can't convince her to forgive me it won't make any difference who's there, and I think you might have some explaining to do if DJs expression is anything to go by".
Pil smiled.
"Yeh, it looks like I'm in for a rollocking, seems like you raised some pretty dumb kids Poppas".
As Baz walked toward the house Gracie followed him, as they passed DJ she said.
"Be gentle Bro, he had good cause, let him explain".
DJ nodded.
They were almost at the car before Baz realised Gracie was still following him.
"I'm going alone Gracie, I didn't ask you to come with me".
She smiled.
"See that just proves how dumb you are, I was the one who decided I was coming with you, and you know I don't change my mind once it's made up, I'm going to make sure that door opens and you get a chance to talk, once you're in I'll disappear, but I'm not leaving until you're in there, now, are we going to waste time debating the inevitable, or shall we just accept it and go?".
Baz sighed, getting into the car with his sister beside him.
Piers and Milo had watched Gracie following her brother, nodding to each other with a smile, they knew exactly what she was planning.
DJ had walked out to where Pil was still sitting with his Poppas, he had four beers, offering one to each of them.
Pil waited for him to sit.
"I'm sorry about leaving without telling you where I was going, I was angry, but hopefully it worked".
DJs reply wasn't quite what Pil had expected.
"I'm not your jailer Pil, and I'm neither stupid, nor possessive, so what else could I be upset about, because I am upset, make no mistake".
Pil turned to face him.
"I didn't talk to you about what was troubling me, I let it stew all day, then I exploded at Baz and again at Poppa".
DJ smiled.
"Seems you're not quite so dumb after the fact, just before, we're a partnership, your troubles are mine, and vice versa, good, bad, whatever, we work it out together, that's all I'm going to say, mainly because Gracie threatened me very subtly as she passed me earlier, and I have to admit, that girl scares me".
They all laughed out loud, and the tension was broken.
In the city Baz and Gracie took the elevator at The Presidential to the eighteenth floor.
In the corridor Gracie made him stand well to the side, out of view from the spy hole, before knocking the door.
She saw the shadow of someone looking through the spy hole before the door opened halfway.
Annie was wearing a robe.
"Gracie, it's good to see you, I've missed you, but it's late, I was planning an early night, I have a lot to do tomorrow before I leave".
Gracie eased herself into the room, holding the door open.
"I've missed you as well Annie, and don't worry, I'm only going to be here a matter of seconds, but the one I brought with me will hopefully be here longer, come on Bro, it's showtime".
Baz slipped past his sister into the room, to a look of both shock and annoyance from Annie who immediately blurted out.
"Oh no you don't, I've spent years trying to get you to respond to me, you couldn't put yourself out then and I can't put myself out now, like I said, I have a lot to do tomorrow, now out, both of you, before I call security".
Baz looked dejected and turned to leave, only to be stopped by Gracie's steely grip on his arm, as she spoke directly to Annie.
"I love you Annie, but I'm not above getting you thrown out of this place, and quite possibly all of us arrested, I'll be in the hallway for the next ten minutes, in case you want to test me, now talk, and remember, you actually love each other".
She'd been backing out of the room as she spoke, the door closed on her as she finished, and Baz was left looking at Annie who had tears streaming down her cheeks.
Gracie waited ten minutes in the corridor before taking a cab back to Barrington Hills.
Everyone was waiting when she returned, but she went straight to her room without saying anything.
A few minutes later Piers was knocking at her door.
When she opened the door Piers was surprised to see she'd been crying.
"Hey, come here, don't be upset, I'm guessing you did everything you could, if it doesn't work, we'll deal with the fallout, I'm proud of you".
She mumbled a reply through more tears.
"Are you?, proud I mean, you've not had much reason to be for a long time Poppa, I'm sorry, it seems parenting is a bit of a thankless job, lord knows why anyone would choose to take kids on, all we do is bring heartache".
Piers hugged her closer just as Milo came into the room, he'd heard her and answered before Piers.
"It's true there are some heartaches, but there's a whole lot of joy as well, and the good outweighs the bad many times over, so how did it go, I take it you got him in?".
She smiled through her tears.
"Oh please, as if you doubted me".
No one said anything until she added.
"It's up to them now, the whole world can see how much they love each other, I only hope they can get past the hurt and see it for themselves".
In the city at Annie's hotel things weren't going well, Annie and Baz had sat through several minutes of uncomfortable silence before he tried to break the ice.
"I do love you Annie, it's why I'm here, I wanted to talk, to try to mend whatever went wrong, I don't see a future where we're not together".
It worked, the ice was broken, but Baz hadn't been expecting the almost vicious response he received.
"You think it's just a case of mending some fences do you?, it's been years Baz, you haven't responded to any of my attempts to contact you, haven't tried even once to get in touch with me, you didn't even tell me you'd sold our home, or where you were living, you left me out there on my own when I really needed you the most, everything that happened in that time I had to deal with on my own, but I still came here to try to see you, and you walked away from me, up to that point it was possible, now I'm not really interested, I've coped with everything that's happened on my own, I'm sure I'll manage somehow going forward without you".
Baz had been shocked and saddened by her reply.
"Annie you have to remember how this started, you can't put all of the blame onto me, yes I was wrong to ask if you'd found someone else, that was wrong, it was said in the heat of the moment, I was frustrated, I wanted you home, I never meant it, never gave it credence, until you said you possibly had, that came as such a blow, it devastated me, I needed time to take it in".
He could see the anger on her face, her response came like a whiplash.
"So you ostracised me, this person you love so much that you can't envision a life without, you closed the door on me, refused to communicate, left me to deal with everything that happened after that on my own, you've no idea how much that hurt Baz, you knew how ill my father was, that he'd been diagnosed terminal, I sat four days at his bedside before he slipped quietly away, then I went back to a hotel room to grieve alone, there was just me and a half dozen of his friends at the funeral, I was all alone in that pew, my heart breaking".
Baz's reply was quiet.
"I'm sorry, you're right, I shouldn't have blanked you, that was stupid, but please, don't let us end because I wasn't there for you".
Her face hadn't softened at all, and what she said next through streaming tears, hit him like a hammer blow.
"That's not all you weren't there for Baz, you weren't there when I found out I was pregnant, nor were you there when I was five months pregnant and suffered a miscarriage, I actually thought about ending it all, I'd lost you, my dear sweet father had died, our baby had died, it was so overwhelming I didn't see what was left to live for, but I held onto the hope, if I faced you, you'd take me in your arms and I would feel loved again, but you didn't did you?, you walked away from me, you left me all alone again, my father died, my baby died, and where were you?, I'll tell you were you were, up in your bloody ivory tower, telling yourself how bad a person I was, well now you know what I've dealt with in your absence, and I don't know if I want to be with you anymore".
They'd talked until the morning light was appearing over the horizon, they'd cried a lot, but they hadn't embraced, not once.
He'd offered to go with her to TF's offices, she was determined about giving up her music career.
Whilst Annie was in the shower Baz took a call from Gracie, he explained what was happening, they were going to TF's offices and then travelling back to Oz together later that day, but his description of their truce did little to give Gracie hope, and voicing it out loud caused him to think again.
Breakfast at Thorn House in Barrington Hills was a fairly quiet affair, everyone seemed to know that Baz had gone to talk with Annie, it was as if they were all holding their breath, until Gracie in her usual fashion grabbed her cell phone saying.
"Okay enough, I can't stand this, I need to know".
She'd pressed a speed dial number, which answered as she finished speaking.
"Tell me you're good, this place is like a bloody funeral parlour, we need to know, ......... Oh ...., well I'm relieved at least that you're still talking, ......... Yes I'll tell them, ......... Okay see you soon, I love you Bro, give Annie a massive hug from me".
Looking around the room at all of the questioning faces she announced.
"Mission accomplished, Baz is going back to Oz today with Annie, she has to sort out her fathers estate and take charge of the business, but thank the lord they're together at least".
The mood in the room changed immediately to one of happiness, and the noise level increased noticeably, everyone was happy, except Piers, he was looking intently at Gracie, who was staring back at him, and he could see what the others hadn't, the sadness, the glistening wetness of imminent tears as she left the room.
She knew it wouldn't take long before her Poppa cornered her.
"So what didn't you tell us?, it's not the fairytale outcome everyone thinks, is it?"
Gracie sighed audibly.
"It's not sunshine and roses no, it's a very rocky truce at best, that's exactly how Baz described it, they're together, but only just by the sound of it".
Piers didn't respond, he was too sad and Gracie could see it.
"Poppa, don't, I can see it in your face, you can't blame yourself every time one of us does something stupid, you and Poppa Milo gave each of us the best, the most amazing start in life, stop beating yourself up when things don't go right, it's not your fault, it's ours, if Baz and Annie are meant to be, then it will happen, if it doesn't you can't take the blame, we need you to be there to help us up, dust us off, and push us forward".
Later that day Josef sat with Piers and Milo in the garden, they were going to the evening concert again so could enjoy a relaxing afternoon.
"When I said there were things I wanted to chat through with you Piers, it wasn't anything sinister, in fact it's something I've been dwelling on for quite a while, but recent events have made me realise we need to get moving".
Piers was baffled but didn't say anything, he knew Josef would explain.
"That episode with the London company, and our own Finance Director advocating that we go for a late payment deal, which you then explained was complete folly, they aren't the only things that concern me, in almost every area of the business, across different continents, until recently with your reform of the ordnance requisition, supply and billing process, there were no set patterns of practice, we've grown at such a rate it's been a case of find a way that works and run with it, that has to stop, I want to overhaul the business in its entirety, I want standard practice rules applied world wide, but how do we do it?".
Piers was quiet for a few moments, obviously thinking, before he answered.
"You decide at board level what particular areas of the business you want overhauled, then you give me your directive, I will devise a plan for accomplishing what you want, I'll present that plan to you, with a timeframe for its implementation, which you can either sign off, or amend, after that I make it happen".
Josef looked surprised, Milo on the other hand just laughed, saying.
"Why the look of surprise Jo?, you know how methodical he is, after all, ask yourself who taught him".
Jo said only one word, a name they all knew well.
"Pierre".
Milo went on.
"The master himself, cool, calm and collected, never fazed".
Josef nodded, saying.
"Thanks Piers, as a board we'll work on it and give you that directive as soon as possible".
Ary's forecast that Rory would be a hit was reinforced on day two of the concerts, when several major media outlets started mentioning him by name.
Rory himself was completely overjoyed, and just as completely in awe of Ary, Trevor, Pil, and DJ, his only regret, that his dear Momma wasn't well enough to attend any of the concerts, or so he thought.
On the night of the last concert, as Rory stepped onto stage about to start his set, a stage hand passed him a note, it read:
'Look to your right, in the VIP seating, in a wheelchair, I'm waving to you, love Momma'.
Rory was ecstatic, he could see her, waving her good arm like crazy.
He grabbed his mic and almost ran across the stage until he was in front of the VIP area, speaking to the audience as he descended the stage steps into the VIP enclosure.
"Sorry for the delay folks, but I've just discovered my Momma, who should be recovering in bed after a nasty car accident, is here, and I need a hug".
As Rory bent to hug his Momma a pin spot illuminated them and the audience applauded loudly.
He'd bounded back up the stage steps launching into his song set, each song, or medley, he ended looking at his Momma, with a huge grin on his face.
When Ary, Trevor, and Pil did their last spot before closing the concert, Ary stopped for a chat with the audience.
"We're coming to the end of four fantastic days shortly, I wanted to thank you, and everyone who's attended over these four days, along with everyone who's helped make these concerts happen, including Margie, one of our dedicated usherettes, who should be somewhere around section D, raise your torch Margie, ..... Ah there she is, brilliant, a little bird told me it's your birthday today Margie, so happy birthday from everyone here today, and Margie just sums up how wonderful all of those unpaid helpers are, how they have given their time to make this series of concerts such a phenomenal success, thanks also to all of the artists, famous, or unknown, it's you who the audience come to see, it's you who wow them, with your time dedicated free of charge which is so greatly appreciated, and finally, I saw an article this morning in the news about a young guy who has apparently wow'd our audiences all week, well I have to agree, I told him at auditions he was going to be a star, shall we get him back up here folks?".
The audience were going wild, and Ary was listening to a message currently in his earpiece.
"Oh dear folks, it seems he's gone missing, now normally I'd be worried, that's if I didn't know exactly where to look".
Ary strolled across the stage toward the VIP area.
"Yep, there he is folks, with his arms around his Momma, totally oblivious of the fact it's him we're referring to, Rory, it's you they're calling for, give your Momma a kiss and get yourself up here, you're back on son".
Rory bolted up the steps, where Ary guided him back to centre stage.
"I have to admit folks, we've been a little sneaky, yesterday we asked him to prepare an extra set of songs, in case we needed a replacement act to fill in, and we know his songs so we'll be his backing singers, it's over to you Rory, take us home son".
Rory ran easily through a four song set, not realising, as he sang his last song all of the artists who'd performed that day, plus the backstage crew, had been filing out onto stage behind him.
As Rory's last song came to an end Ary took to the mic again.
"Thank you all, have a safe journey home, we leave you with the voice of the late, great, and beautiful, Bobby Thorn".
The backdrop, and every screen around the venue showed a beaming Bobby's face, as his beautiful voice rang out and the lights came up, signalling the end of the concert.
Back at Thorn House that evening there were mixed emotions.
The concerts were over and most of the visitors would be leaving the following day.
Piers had sat with Jace for some time that last evening.
"Those audits you helped me build proved pretty damned effective, so much so, I think you might possibly have made a rod for your own back, I may have to come begging again soon Jace".
His cousin only laughed before replying.
"Ask away when you're ready Piers, it was actually a pleasure to dabble in something unconnected to JBJ, what have you got coming up?".
Piers shook his head.
"I really don't know Jace, Josef wants to overhaul and streamline practices across the company as a whole, I'm waiting on a directive to define what the board are looking to achieve".
Jace looked puzzled, so Piers explained further.
"You know we have offices around the world, but there has never been a central script, a handbook of expected practice, every office has always been autonomous, until recently when I implemented the ordnance requisition, supply and billing process, there were no set patterns of practice, we've grown at such a rate it's been a case of find a way and stick with it, Josef is determined that has to change, he wants standard practice rules implemented, but as yet I don't know what areas he has in mind".
Piers could see Jace giving thought to what he'd said.
"It sounds a pretty daunting task to try and corral individual areas of a whole international company, but it's not as difficult as you might imagine".
Now Piers was puzzled and said so.
"You have me completely baffled now, I'm talking about supposedly similar departments, in supposedly similar offices, in different countries right around the globe".
Jace smiled.
"Yes, I agree, but they already have one thing in common, Guardian's central computer system, which can be used for direction, once you establish what your objectives are let's talk again, I have a feeling Vinny is going to be immensely useful in achieving your goal".
In the same room Pil and DJ were chatting with Trevor and Ary, Dillon was sat next to Trevor when Ary asked DJ how the stardom thing had affected him, and DJ replied candidly.
"It's been a lot easier than I'm guessing it would have been if I hadn't had Pil to guide me, but I still can't seem to get it through my head how much I'm worth, only twelve months ago there were days when I didn't even have the price of a coffee, in fact I was going to ask you about subscribing to, or supporting a charity, I want to dedicate a large part of my income to a homeless charity, or charities".
Dillon spoke up surprising DJ.
"I can help there if you like".
DJ's answer wasn't meant to be offensive but that's exact how Dillon took it.
"And what would a multi millionaire businessman know about homelessness?".
All conversation stopped, DJ realised they were all staring at him with the same look of horror on each of their faces.
Dillon didn't reply, he just rose from his seat and walked away.
DJ didn't understand, obviously he'd said something which had upset Dillon, but he hadn't got a clue what it was, until Pil explained.
"Dillon ran away from home around the time of his tenth birthday, he was missing for nearly ten years, a lot of those years were spent living rough, he still finds it hard to talk about".
DJ was completely mortified.
"Oh shit, I had no idea, I need to apologise, what I said must have hurt him".
As DJ made to get up Trevor put a hand on his shoulder easing him gently back down into his seat.
"Not now, give him some space, it will have caused him what we call a mind jumble where he can't think straight, he'll get his thoughts in order and understand you just made an off the cuff remark, but when he does talk to you he can really help you, he supports a whole network of homeless charities around the world".
Two days later the Australian party arrived back into Sydney mid afternoon, completely jet lagged.
Dale and Fleur had agreed it would be better to spend a day and a half with Piers and Milo than to set off driving the couple of hundred miles home immediately.
Piers suspicions were aroused when he saw Baz's car in the driveway on their return.
He was sitting in the lounge when they entered.
After the usual hugs as greeting, which were all pretty sombre, Piers beckoned Baz to join him and Milo out in the garden, where he asked.
"Is everything okay Baz, where's Annie?".
Baz looked sad, sitting down opposite them he answered.
"She's gone to Christchurch to sort out her fathers estate".
Piers looked visibly relieved.
"So when will she be back?".
Baz's answer shook and saddened both of them.
"She won't be coming back Poppa".
Piers was caught completely off guard.
"What?, I thought you were working things out, what happened?".
Baz explained, slowly, quietly.
"We tried Poppa, but there were things we couldn't get past, things that we would never be able to forgive or forget, it's best this way, we made a clean break".
Piers wasn't having it.
"What things, what could be so great you couldn't talk it out?".
Milo saw the look of hurt on Baz's face and stepped in.
"Piers, that's enough, it's not our business, Baz and Annie are adults, we have to respect their decision, I'm as sad and sorry as you are, but we'll ask no more".
Piers heard Milo, and nodded, rising out of his seat with tears running down his face, he walked away.
Milo turned to Baz.
"I meant what I said, you can see how upset we are, but it's your private business, just know that we'll always be here if you want to talk, if you need a shoulder".
Baz nodded.
"Thank you Poppa, I understand, and maybe one day I'll be able to explain properly, just not now, it's too painful".
Milo found Piers in their suite, he was still crying as Milo drew him into a hug.
"I know how upset you are, I am too, but we can't interfere, I was watching him as you were talking, whatever it is that they couldn't get past, it's something he finds really painful to even think about, I'm pretty sure he'll explain it some day, but I know it won't be for a while".
Piers was cuddled into Milo.
"I'm sorry luv, it hit me like a brick, I didn't mean to be so blunt, Baz has always been the strongest, after Vinny left to marry Paulette he stepped so effortlessly into Vinny's role, guiding and reassuring his brothers and sister, then there was that business with TF where Jezz just followed him without question, I always saw him as the undefeatable one, I thought there was nothing he couldn't do, I'll apologise, you're right, he deserves privacy if it's what he wants".
Milo hugged him tighter.
"Don't take this the wrong way my love but I think it would be better if you didn't say anything, Baz knows you were only acting out of concern for him, he won't be expecting an apology, and like I said, the very thought of whatever it is causes him pain, let's just leave it alone".
Milo felt Piers nodding.
TBC Allan
Comments are welcome to cfgw2000@aol.com.
Thank you for giving me your time, enjoy.