This is the conclusion of the Guitar Player. I know that there will be plenty of readers that won't be happy with my story. But as I've said before, I write stories I like to read. Anyway, I hope most of you enjoyed it.
When news of Todd's betrayal of Tanya became public knowledge, you would have thought that I would be ecstatic, but I wasn't. I mean, I couldn't have planned a more perfect revenge than to have Todd steal a big chunk of Tanya's money. And then to have the man who stole my wife sent to jail. Not only that, but my cheating ex-wife's career had taken a major hit.
The following day, another scandal erupted about Tanya. Apparently, Todd had stolen songs from young writers and had Tanya record them. One of those songs had done well, making it to number fourteen. To make matters worse for Tanya, there was some question about whether she knew about the thief.
I should have been over the moon happy about Tanya's fall. But the truth was that I was just sad for her and for me. My grandfather's words were now thundering around in my head. I'm sure that losing the money hurt Tanya, and the song scandal had tarnished her reputation. But I was certain that what really hurt her was the realization that Todd had used her and hadn't helped her career at all. That had to be a crushing blow to her. But that was only a passing thought for me. I no longer loved Tanya, and while I was sad for her, I wasn't going to lose any sleep.
Now that Dawn and I were engaged, my main concerns were centered on my soon-to-be wife and my new daughter-to-be, Allison. I was a little sad to be dialing back our act, but I would gladly trade any musical career for the love of Dawn and Allison. Unfortunately, I had pushed everyone so hard for so long that just as I found true happiness, disaster struck.
When we finished our last concert, it was obvious that Dawn was totally worn out. I had to admit that I was also exhausted, so I suggested we skip the Grammys and just rest. But to my surprise, Dawn really wanted to go. When I asked her why Dawn smiled and said she wanted to see all the famous people. I couldn't help but laugh. However, the Grammys turned out to be a nightmare, and my whole life began to tumble out of control.
I had planned to jump back into the studios as soon as we returned from our tour. However, Dawn was so exhausted and suffering from some intestinal problems that I told her to rest. I also insisted that she go to the doctor for a check-up. Our primary care physician diagnosed diverticulosis and prescribed antibiotics, bed rest, and a change of diet. All this Dawn did, and it seemed to help.
While Dawn was recuperating, I had recorded a song,
Please, say you'll love me forever.
I had hoped to record it with Dawn, but I did it as a single because of her health problems. Once Dawn was rested, and well, I figured we could redo it as a duet. Anyway, when it was finished, Alex released it as a single. I figured if we won a Grammy, it would give the song a boost. However, that isn't what happened.
The day we were to attend the Grammys, Dawn complained of a stomach ache, and again I suggested that we skip the event. Dawn told me she would take some antacid, but we were definitely going. I wasn't happy but agreed to go as long as Dawn rested the whole day before the award ceremony. This she did. So, the night of the big event, we were both dressed to the nines. I had a tux on, and Dawn was wearing a beautiful light blue gown.
Before we left, I put the television on and tuned it to the station that would be carrying the Grammy Award Ceremony. I told my parents that Allison could stay up until nine o'clock that night. I was hoping that she would at least see us on the red carpet before the event.
As we were pulling up in front of the theater, I could see that Dawn was pale, but she insisted that we should go in. I should have put my foot down and told the driver to take us to the hospital. When I suggested it, Dawn refused but agreed to go to an urgent care unit after.
When we were about halfway down the carpet, we were asked if we'd give a short interview. Dawn eagerly agreed because she knew that Allison would be glued to the television at home. But as the reporter asked his first question, Dawn turned pale and began to crumble. I quickly grabbed her and lifted her into my arms. Hustling back toward the street, I hoped to find our limousine, but it was long gone. Fortunately, I came upon a policeman and begged him to call an ambulance. Five minutes later, we were on our way to the nearest hospital.
Dawn disappeared down a hospital corridor where I wasn't allowed. Instead, I was directed to a waiting room. I've never been so scared and distraught in my life. All I could do was pray and cry.
About two hours later, my parents and Clair arrived with Allison bundled up and asleep. My mother pulled me into a hug, and I cried on her shoulder for a long time. When I had no more tears, I took Allison and held her in my lap. Three hours later, a surgeon came out to talk to us. He explained that Dawn's intestines had ruptured. They had to remove about four inches of the lower intestine, and Dawn would have to wear a colostomy bag for a few months. But, right now, their biggest concern was the infection that had already spread to her abdominal cavity. If they couldn't control the infection, Dawn would die.
About six in the morning, Allison woke up in my arms and hugged me.
"Where's mommy?" she asked as she stared up at me.
"Your mom is very sick," I tried to explain with a voice choked with emotion. "The doctors are trying to make her better."
Allison hugged me. "Mommy told me that you were going to take care of us and keep us safe now. So, as long as you're here, I know mommy is going to get better."
I broke down again, and I guess I must have scared Allison because she began to cry also. My mother took her from me at that point, and I just sat there numb. Shortly after that, a nurse appeared in scrubs.
"The doctor said that you can see your wife for a few minutes."
I didn't correct the nurse and tell her that we weren't married yet. I was afraid that they wouldn't let me see Dawn.
She looked so small and frail lying in the hospital bed. I couldn't believe the number of IVs that were pouring antibiotics into her. When I sat down next to Dawn's bed and took her hand, she opened her eyes and smiled weakly at me.
"How do you feel?" I asked.
"I guess about as well as you look," she said with a scratchy voice.
"I love you," I told her as I kissed her hand.
"I love you, too," Dawn then went back to sleep.
They told me I could come back that afternoon for another visit. So, I gathered up my parents, Claire and Allison, and we went home. My mother made us breakfast, but I wasn't very hungry. Allison insisted on eating her breakfast sitting on my lap.
When Allison went down for a nap about nine-thirty, I crashed. I slept for seven hours. When I went back to the hospital by myself, Dawn was awake, but she looked so pale. For three days, Dawn ran a fever and slept most of the time. I was terrified that she was going to die.
Finally, on the fourth day, the fever broke. After that, each day, she got stronger and stronger. Eventually, we were able to take her home. Dawn needed a lot of help because just getting in and out of bed was a struggle. They had cut her stomach muscles, and you don't realize how much you use them until you can't.
The next four weeks were very hard for Dawn, and she was in a lot of pain. And I learned something about healing from major surgery. You don't heal at a steady pace. You can have three good days in a row and then feel like you haven't healed at all. But slowly, you do heal. However, there were days when Dawn would be very depressed, and she would break down crying. What made this sickness so severe is that about seven weeks after the first operation, Dawn had to have another to reattach everything and get rid of the colostomy bag.
The recovery from that second surgery was even worse than the first. Some days, Dawn was so depressed that I wondered if she would ever get better. But finally, after about three months, Dawn seemed strong enough to do something other than visiting the doctor. I decided that we'd have a picnic by the lake that was on our property. We had purchased fifty acres of land where we built our house. The contractor had dug a lake to use the fill to raise our house and surrounding area to the proper elevation. I invited my parents and Claire to join us. It was the first time that I saw Dawn truly relaxed and enjoying herself. Even though she just sat and watched what everyone was doing, Dawn was happy.
While we were sitting there watching Allison playing with my dad, Dawn turned to me. "I never asked about the Grammys. Did you win?"
I smiled at her and shook my head.
"Oh, I'm sorry," she said, looking at me to see if I was disappointed.
"I'm not."
"Why not?" Dawn asked with confusion flooding her face.
"Because if I had won, then there would be a ton of pressure for us to start touring again. I know that you wouldn't be happy with that, and right now, I'm not interested in doing anything except staying close to you and Allison. Alex has scheduled a concert for us toward the end of the year, but I'm not sure I want to do even that. We've also been asked to be part of a Christmas Special. That one, I definitely think we should do. They've asked if Allison could be part of it. I think it will be fun."
