Anette
leaned back in the deckchair and put her sunglasses on. Her long, blonde hair
stuck to her sweaty and light sunburned face. The sun was merciless and she was
almost glad that she and her family were going home to Sweden tomorrow. Johan
and Nemo were playing around in the sand while Seth was out swimming. The waves
were calm, but Anette still kept an eye on her oldest son.
After
a few minutes of sunbathing Anette couldn’t take it anymore and rose from her
chair.
“Can
you keep an eye on Seth?” she screamed to Johan. He answered by holding his
thumb up. Anette smiled and walked to the hotel lobby, where she ordered a diet
coke. She shivered when the cold liquid ran down her throat. After drinking it
she ordered some water for her boys back on the beach. In the corner of her eye
she saw a man and a woman walking towards the desk where she stood. When the
desk clerk had given the water bottles to her, she glanced at the people behind
her as she walked to the door. Anette spotted the long, black hair that
belonged to the woman and by her side stood a South American man. Even though
it was just a quick glance, she knew she had seen them somewhere before.
After
a few minutes of building sandcastles with Nemo, she had forgotten all about
the incident. The boy threw sand all over himself and his mother. In the end
there were no castles left. Anette picked up the boy and went down to the water
where she glided him over the water and dipped his body from time to time. Nemo
laughed hysterically and caused Anette to break out in laughter as well.
Anette
looked up and saw the two people from the lobby walking down the shore. But
before she could put anymore thought into it, she felt something grab her
heels. Anette jumped straight up and screamed loudly, with Nemo still in her
arms. When she saw the face of her boyfriend emerging from the water, with a
big grin on his face, she felt the sudden urge to drown him.
“Are
you crazy?! You scared me to death!” But Johan just laughed and kissed Anette
gently on the cheek. She giggled and looked over her shoulder.
“Where
is Seth?” she asked and gave Nemo to her boyfriend.
“He
is up there” he pointed “by the trees.”
Anette
saw him lying on a towel in the shade.
“Can
you get the boys ready for lunch? I have to cool off a bit first.”
“Sure
sweetie” Johan said and kissed Anette on her lips.
With
Nemo under one arm he went to get Seth and then the boys disappeared out of
Anette’s sight. She sighed and lowered herself into the water. She swam near
the shore and noticed that the man and the woman from the lobby stared at her.
They quickly looked away while Anette dipped her head in the water and started
to get up. She grabbed the towel that laid near Nemos smashed sandcastles, and
started walking towards the hotel. The man and the woman were nowhere to be
seen.
“Mom,
I want to play some games in the arcade” Seth said after the lunch.
“Johan
can take you there; I will be there after I’ve changed Nemos clothes”
The
little boy sucked on the juice stains on his shirt. Anette sighed and lifted
the boy up from his chair. She took the elevator up to their room. When the
doors opened, and when she saw who stood on the other side, Anette could have
sworn that she had fainted and that this was a dream.
“Tarja?”
Anette asked hesitantly. She could see that Tarja was just as surprised as
herself. The two women stood silent for a while, but then Nemo broke the
silence by mumbling in some language that only he could understand. Tarja
giggled and stepped away so that Anette could get out of the elevator.
“The
press would have loved this, the two ex Nightwish singers together in the same
room” Anette agreed and coughed before she spoke up.
“So…
do you want to grab a drink or something? Or are you busy?”
Both
women could feel the weird tension, but when Tarja agreed on the suggestion the
air got lighter.
“Okay,
I have to go change this little rascals shirt, but meet me in the bar later”
“Yeah
sure, see you then!”
Anette
walked to her room while the black haired woman took the elevator down.
Well
in her room, Anette reached for Nemos suitcase and pulled out a clean shirt for
him. After Anette checked herself in the mirror, and decided that she looked
decent after a quick brush through her hair, she took Nemos hand and they went
down to the ground floor again.
“Can
you believe it, she is actually here, what are the chances?!”
Johan
was still a bit dumbstruck after what Anette had told him.
“What
am I still doing here; she is already waiting for me at the bar!”
“Good
luck, you will need it”
“Oh
come on, she doesn’t seem so bad. I remember clearly what Tuomas and the other
said about her, but I want to get my own opinion.”
Johan
knew that he couldn’t stop her. She had always been this stubborn and
determined. So he continued playing the air-hockey game with Seth while Nemo
were clinging to his leg. Anette left after cheering for her son to win.
She
got around the corner and saw Tarja sitting in one of the booths. After ordering
a soda for herself, she started to walk towards the black haired woman and sat
down opposite of her.
First they talked about small things, like how
their vacation went and how hot the weather was. But as the minutes passed, the
conversation got deeper and soon the topic of Nightwish came
up. Tarja sensed that Anette still had some sort of grudge against the guys,
even though she wouldn’t admit it to herself.
“Forget
about them; focus on your solo career instead. I did, and now the past is
forgotten and my third album is in the making.”
Anette
took comfort in the singer’s words. She had listened to Tarja’s albums and had
liked them from the beginning.
After
an hour of talking and laughing the two singers parted ways, but promised to
say goodbye to each other before Anette went home tomorrow.
After
a relaxing evening, with some more swimming and raiding of the buffet table,
Anette were lying in her boyfriend’s arms and listened to his soft breaths. Seth
and Nemo slept softly in an adjoining room next to theirs.
Anette
had a hard time sleeping and after the fourth attempt she had given up. Memories
of the happenings during the day flooded her mind.
For
months she had been trying to forget about Nightwish and all the drama surrounding
it. But the talk with Tarja brought it all up again. For years, Anette had been
living in her shadow. During concerts, people sometimes screamed the name of
her predecessor.
Anette
thought she could handle it in the beginning, but it built up inside of her and
eventually she couldn’t take it anymore. The whole drama with her as Nightwish
new singer was just the top of the iceberg. Her loyal fans were so sad when the
message about her leaving the band were out. The comments she received on her
blog brought tears to her eyes.
But
now, after meeting Tarja, she felt that she could truly move on.
Anette
shook it off mentally and sighed heavily. Johan started to caress her hair and
kissed the top of her head. Anette smiled and closed her eyes and let her
thoughts float away until morning.
“I
feel sorry for her” Tarja said to her husband as they wandered up and down the
beach. The countless stars shone brightly in the sky. They were not the only
ones on the beach and the hotel staff had put up torches here and there.
“If
she went through the same shit as you, then I would feel sorry for her too”
Tarja leaned her head on Marcelo’s shoulder as they continued walking.
“Do
you like her?” Marcelo asked.
“She
is a really nice person and I would really love to talk to her again”
“Hmmm,
people would be drooling over the idea of you two becoming best friends. Think about
all the attention you two would get!”
“Haha,
maybe not best friends, just two ex bandmembers talking and having fun together.”
Marcelo
became quiet and Tarja stopped walking.
“Are
you thinking about a collaboration in the future? Between Anette and me?
“Maybe”
Marcelo winked at his wife and put his arm around her shoulders.
But
to Tarja their talk had been so much more than just the opportunity to work
together, but also a chance to help the blonde swede to move on. She knew how
hard it was and how angry she had been herself.
After
their breakfast, Anette and her family began packing. After touring all over
the world, both Johan and Anette were used to pack things up in suitcases. Nemo
were running around and tried to help them, but only caused chaos instead when
he threw the clothes out from the bags instead of in them. In the end, Anette
calmed him down and asked Seth to watch him.
When
they were done, they took the elevator down to the lobby. Johan handed the
keycards to the desk clerk and the family went to the door. Just outside, by
their taxi, stood Tarja and Marcelo. Just where Anette told Tarja to wait.
While
Johan loaded the bags in the car, and made sure the boys put their seatbelts
on, Anette stepped up to the couple. She shook Marcelo’s hand and then looked
at Tarja. The black haired woman had a big smile on her face while she handed
Anette a note with her e-mail on it.
“Keep
in touch, maybe we will see each other again someday.”
“Maybe
even make music together.” Anette said and flashed an even bigger smile at the
woman in front of her.
“We
have to go now, or we’ll be late to the airport” Johan said while he put his
own seatbelt on. Anette opened the door and got into the car. She closed the
door and when the car drove away she waved to Tarja and Marcelo, who answered
by doing the same.
While
the car drove on the bumpy road, Anette fiddled around with the note in her
hand.
This
was a new beginning for her, the big lump in her chest had been lifted away and
she could finally forget about the bad things she had gone through with
Nightwish, and instead focus on the good ones, her fans and future career.
