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*** Disclaimer: I do NOT own Clay Aiken, RCA, or Clay Aiken’s Autism Society. However, Funds of Love, the characters in this story and the basic plot line are owned and copyrighted by me, the author. Any connections to real people or real events are purely coincidental with the exception of those aforementioned. © ® JRD ***

Author’s Note: Yes, my name is Julia. I know there is much confusion, but I used this name because 1) I happen to like it. 2) It’s not THAT common. 3) I think it sounds good both with Clay and with Aiken. I apologize for any problems this may cause in the interpretation or reading of the story. Thank you for reading and please send comments!

---

“Clay! Honey, you’re cell phone’s ringing!” Julia yelled from the kitchen window out to her boyfriend.

He was outside cooking barbeque on the grill. Julia had to smile at how cute he looked. He always insisted on wearing a tall white chef’s hat with bright blue oven mitts and an apron that said “Kiss the Cook”, whenever he barbecued on the grill.

“Answer it! Can’t ya see I’m busy here? I’m cookin’!” Clay teased, flipping over a rack of ribs.

Julia put down the head of cabbage she was grating to make coleslaw and answered the phone.

“Clay’s phone, this is Julia.” She felt silly answering it that way, but she felt she had no other choice.

“Julia? It’s Faye.” Clay’s mom said softly. “How are you, darlin’?”

“I’m just fine, and how are you? Are you ready to eat some fabulous BBQ? You’re son’s outside cookin’ it right now as a matter of fact.” Julia said, walking outside to take the phone to Clay.

“Oh I’m ready; I’m bringing a big appetite. I promise!” Faye said. “But, I was wondering if it would be possible to bring along two friends as well. Do you think you’ll have enough food?”

“Who is it?” Clay mouthed silently as Julia came outside. He often got calls from people he didn’t want to talk to, especially when he had time off.

“Your mom.” Julia answered back, silently as well.

“What’d you say about my mom?” Clay said, suddenly finding his voice again.

Julia laughed. “I’m sorry, Clay’s being a bit rowdy this evening. Sure! We’ll have plenty of food. Bring over whomever you want.”

“Great. We should be there in just a few minutes. I think you’ll like the folks I’m bringing. They remind me of you!” Faye said, as she hung up.

Julia hung up as well, and walked closer to the grill.

“You mean my own mama; flesh and blood didn’t wanna talk to me? I’m hurt.” Clay made a sad puppy dogface.

“Save it for an audience, Aiken.” Julia said. “Get to cookin’, we need to make some extra food. Your mom said she’s bringing friends.”

Clay gave a mock salute and grabbed another rack of ribs from the cooler and put them on the grill.

Julia turned to leave, but Clay stopped her. “Excuse me, aren’t you forgetting something?”

“Yeah, the coleslaw that’s on the kitchen counter. I need to go make it!” Julia said, smiling.

“No…what does the apron say?” Clay asked, holding it out with his blue oven mitts still on his hands. “What…does…it…say?” He said slowly.

“Kiss the cook.” Julia said, rolling her eyes.

“Now do as it says.” Clay said sweetly, puckering up his lips.

Julia leaned over the grill and gave him a quick kiss.

“That’s all?” Clay sighed.

“First my mom doesn’t want to talk to me, and now my own fia…” he paused, hoping she wouldn’t notice the slip.

“…girlfriend cheats me out of a real kiss!”

“Your own what?” Julia asked, confused by Clay’s stumble.

“Hmmm?” Clay asked, pretending he didn’t hear her question.

Julia laughed at him as she started back toward the kitchen.

“Hey.” Clay said, just as a plume of smoke came out from the grill. “I love you.” He said seriously.

“I love you too.” She smiled, closing the sliding glass door that led out to her patio.

“Just remember there’s more where that last kiss came from.” Julia winked at him from the kitchen window once she was inside.

“Now get cookin’! They’ll be here in about 15 minutes.” Julia went back to making the coleslaw and checking the mash potatoes.

---

After a year of working in Washington DC, Julia decided to look for a job in North Carolina to be closer to Clay’s family and friends. It made it easier with Clay always being so busy. Now instead of having to stop in Maryland and Raleigh, Clay was able to see everyone and stay longer in one place.

Julia had been lucky enough to get a job heading up Clay’s Autism Society, working closely with his mom. She had also started her own non-profit organization. It was a company that made appointments with other organizations who needed to raise money. Her company was called Funds of Love, and Julia along with a few others, helped come up with ideas for organizations to raise money for charity. It had become fairly popular around the Raleigh area and people were beginning to notice something was up between her and Clay, even though their relationship was supposed to be kept hush hush.

Clay had found a relatively small town home for Julia, and paid the down payment on it himself, against her wishes. She had just moved in a few months prior to this BBQ event. Clay was home for a few more weeks after promoting his first album. He’d leave again soon to discuss a tour, but nothing was set in stone yet.

“Everything is ready!” Clay said, coming into the kitchen with two heaping plates of food.

“It’s smells great, babe.” Julia said, washing her hands in the sink.

Julia set out the mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, coleslaw and rolls and went outside to make sure the picnic table was all set up as well.

“It’s nice outside. Tonight should be perfect.” Clay said, taking off his chef’s hat.

He went to the sink to wash his hands as soon as he heard the doorbell ring.

Julia went to the door and answered it with a smile. The smile however, quickly turned to a confused frown when she saw who was standing at the door.

---

“Mom? Dad?” Julia held the door open, but was puzzled and frozen. “What on earth are ya‘ll doing…Faye?” She looked into the driveway and saw Clay’s mom locking her car door.

“I told you you’d like ‘em!” Faye said, laughing.

Julia however, didn’t think it was that funny. Her mom and dad had drifted in and out of her life since she graduated from college. They didn’t get along like they used to, either. Her mom and dad had been fighting since Julia was 8 years old, and she hated it when they were together. They had only met Clay once and that was when Clay got them tickets to the AI show in Dallas.

From a small town in Texas, Julia’s parents weren’t always the most sociable people around those they didn’t know. Her father was a bitter and cynical man who hardly every laughed. He used to be a Southern Baptist preacher, but gave up on God when “everything was taken from him” as he so often said. Her mother was a schoolteacher, but often forgot she wasn’t talking to first graders, even when she was with adults.

“Mr. and Mrs. Simmons!” Clay screeched in a high-pitched voice, running to the door.

“Good to see ya!” He immediately gave them hugs and ushered them inside.

“We thought this would be a great surprise for you sweetheart, since your parents haven’t seen you in a while and you can show them your new place here in Raleigh.” Faye said, feeling a little tension from Julia.

“Well, it’s definitely a surprise.” Julia said, closing the door. “I don’t know about the great part…” She said under her breath.

“Come on in. We have iced tea in the pitcher over there by the sink, the food’s on the table and we’ll all bless the meal outside once we all get settled.” Clay said, taking charge.

Julia was quiet and had yet to hug her parents.

“What’s wrong?” Clay asked her, coming up behind her.

“Nothing, you know how I am around my parents. It’s just awkward.” She slowly smiled but patted Clay on the back.

“Thanks for thinking of me. It’ll be fine.” She went to get herself a plate of food and then joined everyone outside.

Faye was making great conversation with Julia’s parents as Julia and Clay joined them outside.

“Uh oh, you better get Gonzo inside, Jules.” Clay said, motioning to the table.

“Gonzo! No!” Julia clapped her hands after she put her food on the table. “You do not lick the table.”

Gonzo was Julia’s golden retriever. He adored Clay, and of course food, but Julia quickly grabbed him by the collar and put him inside so he wouldn’t bother them while they ate.

Clay and Jessica took their seats and everyone clasped their hands together, with the exception of Julia’s father, Martin.

“Mr. Simmons, please at least bow your head.” Clay said, not able to be quiet on this matter.

“Clay.” Julia whispered, not wanting to start anything.

Martin glared at Julia. Julia looked at her father with pleading eyes. “Please Dad.”

Everyone grabbed the hands of those next to them and Clay began the prayer.

“Lord, we come before right now, so thankful for the food we have before us. We thank you for family and for love…” he squeezed Julia’s hand.

“We thank you too for nature, for being outdoors and marveling in the little miracles you have given us to live with every day. But God, most of all we thank you for your son Jesus Christ who died for our sins on the cross. It is in His name we pray, Amen.”

Everyone unlocked hands as they responded with Amen and looked up, but Clay held onto Julia’s and kept his eyes shut. “One more thing, God.”

Faye, Mrs. Simmons, even Mr. Simmons locked hands again and waited for Clay to finish.

“I thank you for Julia. For all that she has given me, all that I have learned from her and all the love I feel for her. I know it is in your plan for me to be here right now, with her and her family and to ask her this…”

Clay let go of Julia’s hand and turned to face her. Julia was again confused and wondered what was going on, although she thought she had a pretty good idea.

“I love you, Julia. You keep me going on days when I feel I have nothing left. I think and I hope you know what you mean to me, and that’s why I want to love you and live with you for the rest of my life. That’s why I wanted your parents and my mom to be here with us tonight. I want them to be here when I ask you the most important question I’ve ever asked anyone in my entire life.”

Clay took a deep breath and got down on his knee while holding Julia’s hand and pulled out a solitaire, round-cut diamond on a gold band, in a red velvet box.

“I want you to be my wife. I want you to be my bride. Will you marry me?” Clay looked in her eyes, shaking just a little bit, and waiting for what seemed like an eternity for her answer.

---

Julia smiled and answered with a quiet “Yes Clayton. Yes, I will marry you.” 

Clay slipped the ring on her finger, and got up with a smile on his face. He quickly kissed her, holding her in his arms a while longer than normal. He gave Julia a squeeze and whispered in her ear “I love you.”  

Everything was happening so fast, Julia had almost forgotten there were other people around her. She let go of Clay reluctantly and made eye contact with her father, then with her mother; both of who were kind of smiling but also kind of frowning. Faye was obviously excited with her hands clasped and a smile of pure joy on her face. 

“Wow.” Julia said, putting a strand of hair behind her ear. “This is exciting but now it’s time to eat. I’m starving!” She laughed a little bit and grabbed her fork. 

Clay laughed a little, feeling uncomfortable, but began to eat anyway. 

“Are you working a lot on the yard, Dad?” Julia asked, trying to get him to talk a little. 

“Oh, yes he is! You should see what he has done with the garden it is absolutely lovely.” Glenda, Julia’s mom answered. 

“Was she talking to you?” Martin asked, putting his fork down. “I believe she asked ME a question.” 

“I was just commenting on how good the garden looks, Martin. Really, there’s no need…” Martin cut her off by responding to Julia’s question. 

“The yard looks like crap. No matter how hard I work on it, it won’t ever be the way I want it.” 

“That’s because you’re a perfectionist, dear.” Glenda laughed, as Julia and Clay exchanged worried looks. 

Before Martin could get even more upset, Faye jumped in with a question about the wedding. 

“Well, we now have a lot of plans to make for the wedding, don’t we?” Faye asked, taking a drink of ice tea. 

“Yeah, we do mom. I think we’ll probably wait a while before we get married, but at least we know it’s coming now.” Clay rubbed Julia’s leg underneath the table. 

Julia was quiet, watching her parents whisper back and forth to each other. She no longer had much of an appetite and excused herself from the table. 

Clay knew things were getting to her, but he also knew she needed time alone. The four of them kept talking about how nice North Carolina was and all there was to see and do. By the time Julia came out with dessert, everyone seemed to be in a fine mood. 

“Here’s dessert, I hope ya’ll saved room.” She said, her southern drawl coming out. 

“Looks good.” Clay said, as Mr. Simmons took his first plate back inside the house. 

“Tastes good too!” Faye smiled, winking at Julia.
“Thanks, this is actually mom’s chocolate pie recipe.” She answered, looking at her mom. 

“You used my recipe, how wonderful!” Glenda was obviously very excited about that fact. 

Clay looked at Julia to make sure she was okay. She nodded and smiled, walking back to the house to get more napkins. 

“You be careful now.” Martin said to her, as he stopped her in the doorway. 

“What?” Julia asked, confused. 

“I know you and Clayton are in love, but you just be careful. Marriage isn’t always what you think. You better know what you’re getting yourself into before you say I do. Don’t make a mistake like I did.” Martin walked away, back to the table and got himself a piece of pie. 

Julia stood at the door for a little while, asking God for patience with her father. He had been saying things like that to her for as long as she could remember. She hated how he always found a way to ruin every happy moment. 

After dessert, everyone helped bring plates and bowls back inside. Gonzo was rambunctious, running around the kitchen wagging his tail and waiting to get any scraps that might fall to the floor.  

“Here Gonzo.” Clay whispered as he squatted down and gave the dog a little meat from a rib bone.  

“Clay!” Julia yelled from the other room as if she was watching him. “Be sure Gonzo doesn’t get any of the people food. I don’t want to be cleaning up after him tonight!” 

“Our little secret…” Clay patted the dog on the head as he went to the sink to wash the dishes while Julia gave her parents a tour of her new home. 

---

About an hour later, Julia was saying goodbye to her parents and Faye out in the driveway with Clay by her side.

Julia hugged her mom and then her dad, as both of them said how happy they were for her.

“How long are ya’ll gonna be here?” Clay asked, as he said goodbye to them as well.

“We leave tomorrow evening.” Glenda said, standing in front of Faye’s car.

“I thought we’d just drive around, go to the mall, nothing too exciting. Our flight leaves at 4:55.” Martin said.

“I’ll give you a call when I get back from church tomorrow, okay?” Julia said. “Thanks for coming.”

Her parents got into the car and Julia hugged Faye after Clay said goodbye. “Thank you, Faye.”

“You are so welcome! I’ll call you tomorrow, Clayton.” She got into the car and Clay and Julia’s guests pulled away as the couple breathed a sigh of relief.

“We finally have some alone time.” Julia sighed, leaning into Clay as he put an arm around her waist.

“Are you okay?” He asked her, looking her over as they stood in the front yard of Julia’s home.

“Now I am.” She smiled, standing up on her toes to give him a kiss.

At that moment a car came driving down the street; the driver was a young girl, honking the horn and rolling down the window. She catcalled and yelled as soon as she recognized who it was.

“CLAY!” The young girl screamed and waved out of her window, as Julia lowered her head, pulled away from him and started to blush.

“Let’s go inside.” Clay smiled as he waved and walked with Julia back to the house.

Julia closed her front door and started reading through the mail as Clay flopped down on her oversized leather couch and turned on the TV.

“Come snuggle.” He whined.

“Lemme go change into my PJ’s first. I’m beat.” Julia walked upstairs to her bedroom.

“I’ll be right here.” Clay grinned, waiting for Julia to find the surprise he had left for her.

Julia walked into her room and flipped the light on, going immediately to her dresser to pull out some plaid pajama pants and an old sweatshirt. As she got her clothes she looked in the large mirror that set upon her dresser and noticed light coming from her bathroom.

A little bit confused, she went into her bathroom and saw a bouquet of white tulips on the counter with a card from Clay. Julia recognized his writing instantly. The bathtub was filled with water and lots of bubbles. She thought the water would be cold, but when she put her hand in, she found it to be very warm.

“How did he do this?” She asked herself as she opened the card.

---------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------

Jules –

I love you. Take some time for yourself and relax.
Don’t be too mad at me for inviting your parents without telling you.
Please?

I cannot wait to spend my life with you.

All my love forever,

Clay
---------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------

Julia closed the bathroom door and indulged herself as Clay suggested in his note. Sinking into the bathtub was wonderful. She let the jets run a little bit and kept her hair up; drying it would take too much time and energy. Julia stayed in the tub for about 45 minutes, drifting in and out of sleep, dreaming about the wedding a little too.

She washed her face and put on a satin, ankle-length crème colored robe. She let her hair down in a low, lose ponytail with a few strands of hair falling in her face. Julia guessed that Clay had fallen asleep on the couch in the living room. It wouldn’t be the first time that had happened. She stepped out of the bathroom and was again surprised by what she saw.

---

Clay was sitting on the edge of her bed, looking out the window, but when he heard the door open, he turned to look at Julia. He was holding pink tulips this time (they were her favorite) and he stood up taking in the site of her.

“Clayton Aiken, you are spoiling me!” She smiled, walking over to him as he presented her with the flowers.

“I know.” He smiled, looking down at her. “I don’t get to do it enough, so just humor me, okay?”

Julia nodded and put the flowers on her dresser. There were French doors that opened up onto a balcony facing the backyard of her home and she noticed they were open just a little bit. Clay went to turn off the lights and Julia couldn’t help but laugh.

“Chucky.” Julia said in a softer tone, calling him by her nickname for him.

She always teased him that he reminded her of Chucky the cartoon character from the Rugrats, minus the stuffy sounding voice; especially when he wore his glasses.

“C’mere.” Clay beckoned, grabbing her hand.

He led her out onto the balcony where there was a table with more candles, a bottle of champagne, a platter of fresh fruit and a CD player. Julia leaned against the railing and looked out.

Her property backed up to the woods. The sounds of frogs on a nearby lake could be heard as well as birds chirping. Lightening bugs were glowing every now and then and Julia was in awe of the day she had just had.

“Look at the stars.” Clay said as he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

“They’re beautiful.” Julia almost whispered, wanting to stay quiet.

“So are you.” Clay said, kissing her head.

“You know, I remember when I was recording my first demo. I remember thinking of how I would want to propose, if I ever got the chance to. I honestly thought for the longest time that I would never, ever find anyone to love, and to love me in return.”

“Did you always imagine it like this?” Julia asked, turning around to look up at him, while still in his arms.

“I did, but this is even better than I imagined. When I recorded all those love songs, I just kept thinking of the day I’d have someone to sing them to. Now I do and I couldn’t be happier.”

“Neither could I.” Julia said, reaching up; as Clay leaned down to give her a kiss.

“Will you dance with me?” He asked, pulling her away from the railing.

“You’re actually going to dance?” She was surprised.

Clay nodded, going to the CD player and pressing play.

“This is cheesy, but just bear with me, okay?”

Clay took her hand and placed her arms around his neck as he held onto her waist and pulled her close.

“Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me” started to play and Julia giggled a little bit. They danced slowly, in silence for a while. The next song was “The Love of My Life”, one of Julia’s favorites.

Clay had picked his favorite love songs from his past albums and the couple danced to them on the balcony, sweetly talking to each other, kissing every now and then and holding onto each other trying to capture every moment so they could remember this night forever.

---

Clay and Julia had a seat at the table while more music kept playing. Clay popped the cork on the champagne and poured a glass for Julia and him.

“I don’t know if I can eat this.” Julia sighed. “I’m still stuffed from dinner.”

Clay reached across the table and got a strawberry, taking a bite.

“You don’t have to.” He added, with his mouth full. “But if you want some…” Clay got another strawberry and fed it to Julia, as she took a small bite.

“Mmm.” She said, wiping a little bit of the juice from her chin.

“Babe, I’m a little cold. I’m gonna go put my pajamas on, okay?” She got up and ran to her room, grabbed her clothes and changed in the bathroom.

She came back out, feeling warmer and more comfortable. Julia moved her chair closer to Clay and was able to lean against him as she continued to drink champagne and Clay continued to eat.

Clay was rubbing his hand up and down Julia’s arm and she was looking up at him. “Are you sure you’re ready for all this?” She asked.

Without answering, Clay kissed her, slowly and sweetly on the lips. He pulled away and looked into her deep green eyes.

“Did that answer your question?” He smirked.

Julia nodded. “Let’s go in.”

She offered to pick everything up, because Clay was obviously tired. He had yawned several times and his eyes were getting droopy. It was beginning to get quite late as well. It was the least she could do after this night of pampering. She was in love with him and he had worked so hard to please her.

Julia wrapped up the fruit and saved what was left of the champagne. She blew out the candles and cleaned up the remaining dishes in the kitchen.

“Did you wanna watch a movie or something?” She called out to Clay from the kitchen, hearing the TV on.

There was no response. Julia was drying her hands with a towel and asked him again. “Clayton?”

Gonzo came to get Julia and she followed him, wondering what was wrong. She smiled when she saw Clay sleeping on the couch. Gonzo nuzzled him with his nose, and then licked his face. Clay stirred a little bit, but didn’t wake up.

Julia went and found a large blanket from her linen closet. It had become Clay’s favorite blanket actually, because of all the times he had fallen asleep and ended up sleeping over on that couch. She put the blanket on him and gave him a light kiss, stroking his cheek and running her fingers through his spiky hair.

Julia carefully untied his shoes and took them off, laughing to herself because his feet hung off the edge of the couch.

She turned off the television and whispered “Gonzo!” while patting the side of her leg, wanting him to follow.

Instead, he yawned himself and lay down at the foot of the couch, opting to stay with Clay.

“Good boy.” She smiled as she turned on her porch light and walked up to her bedroom.

---

Clay woke up suddenly, forgetting where he was. Realizing he slept with his contacts in, he rubbed his eyes fiercely as he swung his legs over the edge of the couch to reach the floor. 

Gonzo squealed a little, moving out of the way. 

“Sorry boy; didn’t see ya there.” Clay’s eyes were itching and he knew Julia had contact solution upstairs in her bathroom. 

He made his way up the stairs, squinting a little bit as his right eye began to water. Julia was still asleep when he opened the door, but she woke up when she heard him opening cabinets and drawers in the bathroom. 

“Clayton?” She asked, looking at the clock, confused.  

Julia pulled the covers over her head with a groan, not wanting to get up. The alarm was about to go off in 3 minutes. She had to get ready for church, but was regretting staying up so late the night before. 

Clay didn’t hear her moving around, but was elated to finally find the contact solution.  

“Ahhhh.” Clay let out an exasperated sigh as he took out his contacts. 

“I have an extra container if you need one.” Julia said, coming into the bathroom to see what he was doing. 

She reached around him and opened up the medicine cabinet and got out another holder so he could keep his contacts wet. 

“Good mornin’ sunshine.” Clay said, smiling at her.  

Julia shot him an irritated look. Her hair was a mess, and all she wanted was more sleep. Clay kissed her on the cheek. 

“Hi.” She responded, walking back into her bedroom and flopping down on the bed. 

“I know; I’m tired too.” Clay said, screwing the lid on the contact case. “I’m gonna go on home and change. You want me to give you a ride to church?” 

Julia nodded, pulling the covers back over her and closing her eyes. 

“Don’t go back to sleep now, we have lunch with your parents too.” Clay said, kissing her one more time. 

“That’s all the more reason not to get up, then.” She smiled, pulling him down on top of her to kiss him. 

“Later, baby we really have to get going.” Clay said, not wanting to leave. 

“I know, I know.” Julia mumbled. “Go on, get outta here. I’ll see you at about 9:30.”  

Julia sighed as she got up and walked to her bathroom to take a shower. 

Later, after church, Clay and Julia met her parents for lunch. The meal seemed to be going well. Clay filled Julia in on the story of how he asked her parents if they would come down and if he could propose. All of them were laughing and miraculously Julia’s parents weren’t bickering with her or each other. 

“Are you planning on having the wedding outside? Wouldn’t that be beautiful?” Glenda asked as they walked out to the parking lot. 

“Mom, we haven’t even talked about the wedding ourselves, much less set a date. We have no idea if it’d be too hot or too cold or if it’s inside or out.” Julia looked at Clay, smiling. 

“Well, just keep outside in mind. You know how your father is…he won’t set foot in a church.” Glenda spoke in low tones as Martin was up ahead, in a hurry to get to the airport. 

Clay looked at Julia, worried. This would definitely be something they needed to discuss. 

“I know, mom. But maybe he’ll just have to. If anything, he can do it for me…can’t he?” She asked, getting agitated. 

“Do what?” Martin asked as they arrived at the car. 

“Oh, nothing honey.” Glenda said, exchanging a look with Julia. 

“You guys have a safe trip, and call me when you get back to Texas.” Julia said, hugging her mom. 

“I love you dad, and thanks for everything.” She said to him as she gave him a hug as well.  

On their way back to Clay’s house, Clay couldn’t help but bring up the wedding and the idea of not getting married in a church. 

“Jules, will your dad really not come to the wedding if we have it in a church? I mean, I just assumed that’s where it would be…” He trailed off, wanting to hear her reaction. 

“I don’t know.” She sighed, rubbing her temples. 

“That’s just going to be one of those decisions we make for ourselves and if he has a problem with it, so be it. Of course I want him to walk me down the aisle, but if he’s going to be that stubborn about it…” 

Clay nodded; glad she wanted to be married in a church too.  

“I guess we do have a lot of details to iron out.” He added.  

“We don’t have to be in a rush though, okay? We have plenty of time.” Julia patted his knee as he pulled into the driveway. 

“Don’t you at least want to pick a date?” Clay asked, getting excited. 

“Yeah, we can do that. Let’s find a calendar once we get inside, okay?” Julia said, using her key to unlock the front door. 

Clay followed her inside after locking his car with the remote on his keychain. He was sad that he had to work his own wedding into his busy schedule, but he knew this was right and he knew this would work. 

---

Clay and Julia were watching TV, snuggling on the couch when Clay’s phone rang, waking Julia up a little bit. She had kind of dozed off as Clay mindlessly flipped through the channels. 

“Can you get that, sweetie?” Clay asked, not wanting to talk to anyone. 

“Yeah.” Julia said, reaching over him to grab the phone. 

“Aiken residence. Yes. Hi Melody. An emergency? Yeah, hold on.” She gave the phone to Clay and then got up to go get something to drink. 

“Hey Mel, what’s up?” Clay asked, turning down the volume on the television. 

“What? Are you kidding? Oh my goodness, wow. That’s really odd. Why didn’t he tell me?”  

Clay’s voice was rising in pitch and Julia knew that wasn’t a good sign. She sat down again and rubbed her hand on his back, trying to calm him down. 

“The flight leaves tomorrow at noon? Okay, gotcha. Well thanks for calling me, I guess. Oh, Melody, can Jules come? I know, but she won’t be a problem, she never is. Thanks. See you tomorrow.” Clay sighed in aggravation as he hung up. 

“What’s wrong?” Julia asked. 

“Tom quit.” He answered, standing up.  

Clay put his hands in his pockets and began pacing in front of the couch. Tom was one of Clay’s publicists, the only one he really liked. He knew that Melody (his other publicist) was a nice person, but they didn’t really get along that well. 

“Tom quit? Why?” Julia asked, shocked. 

“Melody didn’t really say. But they’ve already hired someone to take his place and they want me to fly to New York tomorrow to meet him. I have to sign another contract, with this new guy, stating he’s my new publicist.” Clay explained. 

“Tomorrow?” Julia said, wanting to spend more time with him. 

“Yeah, but it’s only for one day. I’ll just fly up and back. Don’t worry though, because I had them get a ticket for you too.” He smiled, looking at her. 

“Great! I’m sure everyone at the studio will love that.” Julia’s comment was dripping with sarcasm. 

Ever since she was fired from RCA it had been hard for her to be taken seriously by the other people who worked there. She didn’t get along with Melody; Clay’s other publicist or anyone else on Clay’s “team” for that matter. She was always afraid they were going to take him for a ride and not look out for him the way they should. Whenever Julia was around, she made them explain things more clearly and she asked a lot of questions, wanting to make sure things were being done the right way. 

“Don’t worry. I know you’re just looking out for me. Who knows? Maybe it’ll be fun.” Clay said, hoping to make things positive. 

“Yeah, maybe.” Julia said, turning the volume up on the TV. 

“You can come over about 9:30 tomorrow morning and we’ll head over to the airport. Our flight leaves around noon.” Clay said, sitting down again beside her. 

“You’re the boss.” Julia smiled, giving him a kiss, as Clay settled back in on the couch and they watched TV together.  

---

When Clay and Julia arrived at RCA in New York it was a little odd. It was always strange going back to the place where they first met. They saw some familiar faces and both of them were always nice to everyone there, but Julia felt as if people were always talking about her. Her relationship with her old boss, Larry, was well known and she was almost sure that there had been a lot of horrible things said about her when she left. 

Clay knew it was uncomfortable for Julia being there. He himself was taking a chance by being seen with her. People were always waiting for some bit of juicy gossip to come their way so they could sell information to the papers, but luckily, no one knew how serious Clay and Julia were. 

Once they got to Melody’s office, Clay and Julia were escorted inside and instructed to have a seat. As usual, she was in a meeting and running late. 

“I’m going to use the restroom real quick, okay? I’ll be back.” Julia said, getting up. 

“Are you all right?” Clay asked. 

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Julia smiled reassuringly to him, just before she made her way down the hall to the bathroom. 

“Thanks for waiting, Clay. I’m sorry I’m late.” Melody said, bursting into her office. 

“I’m used to it by now.” He responded, only half-joking. 

“Well, here are the copies of the contract, you can read that over if you’d like. I’m surprised he isn’t here yet…he’s usually so punctual.”  

She put her glasses on top of her head and read over some e-mails on her computer. 

Clay ignored the comments she made to herself. She was always talking out loud. There were so many things about her that he didn’t like. However, he chose to just ignore them instead of dwelling on them. If he nit-picked every little thing she did that drove him crazy, he wouldn’t be able to get through the long days he spent with her. 

“Oh!” Melody pushed her rolling chair away from her desk, as if she just had an epiphany. 

“Was Julia not able to make it?” She asked, just now noticing she wasn’t there. 

“Nah, she’s here. She just ran to the bathroom for a sec.” Clay said, biting his lip as he read over the contract. 

His green eyes scanned what seemed like a million words a minute. The contract was thick and there was so much information jam packed into each paragraph, he wanted to be sure to understand as much as possible. 

Melody tried to hide the look of disappointment on her face. She really had hoped Julia wouldn’t come with Clay. Julia always found a way of making things more difficult, in her opinion. 

Julia checked herself in the mirror one last time and threw away the paper towels she used to dry her hands. As she opened the door, she had to stop herself from running into a rather tall man who was obviously in a hurry to get somewhere. 

“Whoa!” She said, stopping herself just before she made contact with him. 

“Oh, excuse me…” the man turned around, shocked at who he saw. 

“Julia?” He asked, stopping dead in his tracks. 

“No way!” She thought to herself. “It can’t be you, please Lord, no.” 

---

“Well, well, well. I didn’t ever think I’d see you around here again.” The man said, smiling and stroking his chin. 

“You really should pay more attention to where you’re going, Larry.” Julia said, putting her hands on her hips. 

“I see the attitude hasn’t changed.” He said, walking down the hall. 

Larry stopped at the receptionist’s desk and said “Please give Melody a call and tell her I’ll be there in just a few moments, I had a meeting that ran late.” 

Julia heard him say “…Melody’s office…” and immediately walked to the receptionist desk. 

“Melody Chamberlain’s office?” She asked as Larry turned around, surprised she was still there. 

“Yes, but that’s no concern of yours.” He added, smugly. 

“Actually, it is. Why are you needed in her office?” She asked, not budging an inch. 

“If you must know, I have a meeting with Clay Aiken. You remember him don’t you?” 

“Yes, I remember him very well. What business do you have with him?” Julia said, starting to put the pieces together. 

“I’m on my way up the corporate ladder, my dear. I’m signing on as his new publicist. If I can handle him well, I’ll get the chance to be an executive here; which in layman’s terms, means I would own part of the company. Now why would that matter to a poor insignificant young lady like you?” Larry leaned on the receptionist’s counter, smiling evilly. 

“Clay is my fiancé.” Julia said, looking him in the eye. 

“Oh! Look at you, you little gold digger. You got yourself a good one. Way to go! You can just give him the message for me then. I’ll be with you two shortly.” Larry turned on his heel and walked back to his office, whistling as if he had just won the biggest battle of his life. 

Julia ran her hands through her hair and quickly walked back to Melody’s office. 

“Clay, I need to talk to you.” She said, out of breath. 

Clay looked up with a worried look on his face. “What is it?” 

He got up and left the contract on his seat, and went out into the hallway. Julia shut the door behind him. 

“I don’t have much time to explain this to you, because he’ll be here soon…” She tried to talk fast. 

“Jules, calm down. What’s wrong?” Clay took her hands in his and tried to understand what was going on. 

“Larry is your new publicist. I ran into him out here on my way back from the bathroom, and he told me he’s trying to become an executive here and they’re putting him on with you.” Her eyes grew wide as she gave Clay the details of what was happening. 

Clay sighed and now it was his turn to run his hands through his hair. “There’s nothing I can do about that, sweetie. Maybe it will work out…I’m sure I can handle him.” 

“But Clay…really, I know you don’t like it when I try to give you my opinion about your career and stuff, but I really don’t think this is a good idea. Tom was a wonderful guy and I trusted him, but now he’s gone. Larry and Melody put together is an instant recipe for disaster!” She said, not wanting Clay to make a mistake. 

“I know you’re worried, but I can handle it. Larry won’t be that bad. I’ve got control, remember? Just trust me, it will be fine.” 

Julia gave up and followed Clay back into Melody’s office, not saying a word. Larry arrived a few moments later. Julia sat in her chair, biting her lip and anxiously bobbing up and down. Her legs were crossed, but her foot was moving back and forth as she watched Clay sign on with Larry. 

Clay was talking with Melody as they walked out of her office. Julia stayed back as Larry was packing up his things. 

“I’m telling you right now Larry, that if you do anything to damage his career because of your hatred for me, you’ll regret it.” Julia said, walking to the door. 

“Spoken like a true lawyer. Should I be afraid?” Larry asked as he kept packing up his briefcase with papers. 

“I don’t know. I learned everything I know about being a lawyer from you.” Julia said; pausing to let the sting of her words set in.  

“I think I’d be afraid if I was you, but that’s just me.” Julia's eyebrow rose as she turned to walk out. 

“You comin’ Jules?” Clay called to her from outside in the hallway.  

“Yeah.” Julia walked into the hallway, immediately to Clay. She stood by his side and grabbed his hand as they walked to the elevator to catch their flight back to Raleigh.

---

There were only a few days left in Clay’s off time, before he’d fly back to NY to discuss plans for his solo tour. During these last moments at home, Julia and Clay booked the church, registered at department stores and picked out invitations, all hoping to get as much done as possible before the rush started. 

Clay was going to end his tour only 2 weeks before the wedding was to take place on September 30th. Faye was being a huge help, and was genuinely excited for her son and her soon to be daughter in law.  

Both Faye and Julia accompanied Clay to the airport the day he left for NY. After his meetings with the executives, it was off to rehearsal in LA then the tour would begin. 

“I can’t believe you’re leaving already! Your time here flew by.” Julia said, hugging him. 

“I know, but I’ll call everyday, just like always.” Clay said, giving her one last kiss and holding her tightly. 

“Don’t let Larry run the show, okay? Stand your ground. I’m worried about him and his plans to become an executive.” Julia warned, straightening the collar of Clay’s shirt. 

“Honey, for the last time, don’t worry. I’ll be fine, okay?” He kissed her forehead and hugged her again. 

Clay went to his mom and hugged her tightly as well, giving her a kiss on the cheek. 

“Be careful now, Clayton. I love you.” She said, tears in her eyes. She was forever proud of her son. 

“I will be mom. Take care of Jules for me while I’m gone.” He smirked then waved as he made his way into the line of passengers, waiting to get their luggage x-rayed for security. 

“You want to go get some lunch before I head back to the office?” Julia offered. 

“That’d be great.” Faye answered. 

Clay turned around just in time to see the two most important women in his life walk away together. He said a silent prayer asking God to protect them and bring him back safely to them when his tour was over. 

His flight left almost an hour later, and he landed in New York, ready to work. 

Over the next few weeks, Clay found hardly any time to call Julia or his mom, much less have an extended conversation about the wedding or life in general. 

Julia had tried calling him several times, just to check in with him, but Melody or Larry always answered his phone and she didn’t feel like leaving a personal message for Clay with either one of them. 

Clay was able to get a 15 minute break from rehearsing and found that Larry was nowhere in sight. He found his cell phone and dialed Julia’s number at work, hoping she would answer. 

After 3 rings, she picked up, much to Clay’s surprise. 

“Julia Simmons.” She answered. 

“Hello darlin’.” He said quietly, not wanting to make a lot of noise since Melody or Larry could be lurking around anywhere, wanting him to get back to work. 

“Clay!” Julia said, not caring that she was in the middle of a meeting with other people in her office. 

“How are you?” He asked her, smiling at her excitement. 

“I’m fine, but more importantly how are you? Is Larry treating you okay? He’s not giving you problems, is he?” She asked, holding up her finger to signal one moment to the people in her office. 

“Well, yeah, he’s just got me working really hard. I haven’t had time to call or anything.” Clay explained. 

“Yeah, I know. I’ve been worried about you.” Julia said.
 
”I miss you, but I’ve been working on the wedding stuff with your mom. I think you’ll like what I’ve picked out so far.” She stopped when she heard talking in the background. 

“I miss you too, but I have to go. Larry needs me for somethin’. I’m sorry, but I’ll try to call when I can. I love you. Bye honey.” He hung up in a hurry. 

“Clay?” Julia heard a dial tone and hung up, confused. 

“Sorry about that delay.” She said getting back to her meeting.  

Julia tried to focus, but found it hard, wondering why all of a sudden he was too busy to call or talk. He never went long without calling and this was the first she had heard from him in almost a week.

---

Clay had been gone for almost a month now, and Julia could count the number of times she had talked to him on one hand.  

There were a lot of decisions to be made about the wedding and Julia was beginning to feel alone. Her parents weren’t helping at all, and her mother was starting to worry about her father. He hadn’t been feeling well as of late, but that was nothing new. Julia wanted her mom to come to Raleigh and help her plan the wedding, but with Martin needing Glenda to wait on him hand and foot, it was looking more and more like the only person Julia could rely on was Faye. 

As near as Julia could figure, Clay was now in LA for rehearsals. She had a business meeting scheduled out there, and was hoping she’d have a chance to see him. Julia was driving herself to the airport in Raleigh when she was finally able to get a hold of him.  

“Clayton?” She asked, when a male voice answered the phone. 

“No, this is Lawrence Allemagne, his publicist and attorney for RCA, can I help you?” Larry answered, wondering who it was. 

“Larry, why are you answering Clay’s cell phone? This is Julia; I need to talk with him. Please put him on.” 

“You’re interrupting his rehearsal time; you’ll have to call back.” Larry told her, matter-of-factly. 

Julia let out a sigh of frustration. “What’s on his schedule for tonight? I’m gonna be in town and I was wondering if he has any free time.” 

“Let me check.” Larry ruffled some papers around, making it sound as if he was looking through the schedule.
He knew that the evening was not free for Clay as he would be eating dinner with Clive Davis and other executives from RCA. They were coming out specifically to watch some of Clay’s rehearsals, and to see how Larry was handling everything. Julia however, had no idea about this, because it had been a number of days since she had spoken with Clay. 

“Yes, actually he does have the night off.” Larry said, smiling as he devised a plan. 

“He does?” Julia said, smiling herself as she parked her car at the airport. 

“Great! Is there a café or something close to his hotel? I want to meet him for dinner, but I fly out early tomorrow.” Julia explained. 

“Mmhmm, there sure is. I’ll tell him to meet you there at about 7. That should give him enough time to change and shower. I’m sure this will be a welcome surprise.” Larry said. 

He proceeded to give Julia directions to the café that was supposedly by his hotel. This café couldn’t be farther away from the place Clay was staying, and there wasn’t any possible way that he would be able to meet Julia for dinner that night. 

Julia was a little surprised by Larry’s willingness to help, but was trying hard to look at him differently and give him a second chance. Maybe Clay was right, she thought. Maybe he has changed. 

Julia’s meeting was over at 5:30 and she went to her own hotel to change clothes, but found the café without a problem. It was 6:30, and Julia didn’t want to bother Clay, as he was probably running late and trying to get ready. 

She pulled into the parking lot with her rental car and quickly went to get a table for two. Julia sat at the table waiting anxiously to see him. Quickly, her anxiety turned to sadness as 6:30 became 7, 7 became 7:30, 7:30 became 8 until finally at 8:15, she left the café feeling sad and somewhat upset. 

---

Julia got back to her hotel room and took a shower. She then changed into her pajamas and snuggled into bed. 

She reached over and grabbed the telephone off of the nightstand, dialing Clay’s number. Again, there was no answer. It kept ringing but not even his voicemail picked up. Julia ended the call, feeling dejected. She turned on the TV, hoping to find something that would take her mind off of the night she had just had.  

“We’ve got a behind the scenes look at Clay Aiken’s first solo tour since he was named the runner up on American Idol.” Julia watched as Access Hollywood flashed pictures of Clay on the screen.  

She couldn’t help but wipe a few tears from her eyes, realizing that it seemed the only way she could see him or hear his voice, was by watching him on TV, listening to his CD or reading about him in magazines. 

Clay got back to his hotel room rather late. The executives at RCA always made dinner a long and drawn out, elaborate process. He was tired. His whole body ached and all he wanted was to go to bed. Clay couldn’t get Larry’s voice out of his head as he got ready for bed, though.  

It seemed like Larry and Melody were double-teaming Clay every chance they got. They were constantly telling him to go here, do this, sign that, eat this, get in the car, wave to that person, sing this song…it never stopped. He couldn’t do anything unless they told him to do it, or unless it had been cleared with them. 

Clay just assumed he was frustrated because he wasn’t used to being the only artist to get all the attention. His last tour was right after American Idol and there were nine other people to focus attention on. 

As he was climbing into bed, he noticed his cell phone sitting on the end table.  

“Darn it. I forgot it again!” Clay scolded himself.  

He was always forgetting to turn his phone off, and he was always leaving it behind in his room. He checked the screen and saw he had several missed calls. 

“Julia.” He sighed, knowing it was now too late to call her, and having no idea she was in town. 

“I’ll make time tomorrow to call her.” He told himself as he turned off his phone, then the light and crawled into bed. 

“Tomorrow…” He mumbled, drifting off to sleep trying to stamp into his mind that he had to talk to her soon. 

---

Melody woke Clay up the next morning in a hurry. Clay had forgotten to set his alarm and was running late. She helped him gather his stuff as he changed in the bathroom and soon they were on their way to rehearse. The tour began in two days and Clay would leave LA to go back to Raleigh. He had specifically requested that he kick off the tour in his hometown. That was one of few requests Clay made that was actually granted to him. 

On their way to rehearsals, Clay’s cell phone rang. Both Melody and Larry reached for it and Clay swiped it up quickly. 

“I’ll answer it thank you. This is MY phone.” He said, grumpy.  

He hated waking up late and starting the day in a rush. 

“Clay?” Julia said, her connection was breaking up a bit. 

“Jules!” He said, putting his finger in his ear so he could hear her more clearly. 

Larry exchanged a worried look with Melody, who also knew about the fake café meeting. They both tried to listen to as much of the conversation as possible. 

“Did you have a long night last night?” She asked, still a little hurt that he never called. 

“Yeah…how’d ya know?” He smiled, wishing he could be with her. 

“Why didn’t you call?” Julia asked. 

Clay answered her, still not knowing she was in the same city. 

“I got back late and I was really tired. Things are just so busy right now, you wouldn’t believe it.” Clay said, wondering why Melody and Larry were staring at him. 

“Well, I’m at the airport now, getting ready to head back home. You’ll be there in a couple days right?” Julia asked, hoping he’d say yes. 

“Yeah, the tour kicks off in just two days.” Clay didn’t even respond to the fact that she was at the airport.  

He realized he had no idea what was going on in her life anymore. 

“I can’t wait to spend time with you, and I’m really sorry I haven’t called you like I usually do. I promise to make it up to you when I come back, okay? But unfortunately, I have to go.” He said, feeling bad. 

Julia could tell Clay was busy and that he truly was sorry. She couldn’t stay mad at him too long. After all, he couldn’t help it if things were busier than expected, it happened to her all the time. 

“It’s okay, I just miss you. I’ll pick you up at the airport, so call me and tell me when you’re coming in.” She smiled. 

“I love you, Jules. We’ll talk soon. Bye.” Clay said, waiting for her response. 

“Love you too.” Julia said, hanging up.  

“Is something wrong?” Clay snapped at his publicists, who were sitting on the edge of their seats in the limo, hanging on his every word. 

“No…nothing at all.” Melody said, trying to act normal. 

“Is everything okay?” Larry asked as he made notes on a legal pad. 

Clay rolled his eyes and stared at the window.  

Like you care. He thought to himself. 

“Yeah, everything’s fine.” He lied, as they drove to the last rehearsal before his tour began. 

---

Clay was running. He was literally running through the airport trying to catch his flight. Larry and Melody were on a flight coming out to Raleigh the next day, so for now, he was alone. He barely made it on the plane. Once he was seated, he noticed he was breathing heavily and began trying to collect himself. Luckily he had an aisle seat and could stretch out a bit. The flight was off the ground within minutes and Clay was able to relax. 

When the plane landed, Clay remembered that in his rush to leave LA he had not contacted Julia and told her when he was coming in. He walked down the long hallway and realized he didn’t want to take a cab. Reluctantly, he tried to call Julia and see if she was able to come and get him. 

There was no answer at Julia’s home, in her office, or on her cell phone. So instead, Clay called his mom. 

“Sure, I can come get you. Julia’s in a meeting right now. We had a little bit of an emergency situation with the Autism Society today, so she’s handling it.” Faye explained. 

“I should be there in just a few minutes.” Faye hung up as Clay waited by the luggage carousel for his bags. 

When Faye pulled up, she noticed Clay around a mass of people, signing autographs and taking pictures. She helped to clear a path through the people to her car, and they were finally on their way after a few minutes of chaos. 

It was good to be home again, but Clay knew he wasn’t there long. After chitchatting with his mom for a while, both of them became quiet, until Faye asked about Julia. 

“Have you been keeping in touch with her enough?” She asked, sincerely. 

“No.” Clay said, not really wanting to talk about it with his mom. 

“She’s really been depressed lately, Clayton. She is swamped at work and is trying to plan this wedding all by herself. I try to help her, but she’s awfully independent and I really think you should make every effort to talk to her once a day, or at least twice a week.” Faye said, not wanting to overstep her boundaries. 

“I know, mom, I know. I really do feel bad about it, but there’s not much I can do. Larry and Mel have me going non-stop and by the time I get to call her, it’s late and I don’t wanna wake her.” Clay explained. 

“I’m gonna take her out tonight and hopefully we can get things back on track.” He sighed as they pulled up to Clay’s house. 

“Good.” Faye said, smiling.  

“Let me give you another hug before I go back to the office. I’ll have Julia call you and I’ll let her know you’re home.” She patted her son on the back and held onto him longer than normal. 

“Bye mom.” He waved as she pulled out of the driveway. She waved as well and honked the horn a little bit as she drove down the street. 

Once she left, Clay went inside and sat down on his couch, turning on the TV and taking this time for himself because he knew he wouldn’t have it again for quite some time. 

---

Julia called Clay and told him she didn’t know how long the meeting would go, but she’d try to get out of the office as soon as possible. Clay had made plans at a ritzy, upscale restaurant and told her to meet him there as soon as she was done. He had been at the restaurant for only 15 minutes, when Julia called him. 

“Hi honey.” She said with a sad tone. 

“I’m not gonna be able to make it tonight. It looks like I’m going to be here a while; and I want to be sure this mess gets taken care of. I’m really sorry!” Julia said, knowing Clay would be upset. 

“Are you sure you can’t come? Not even for a little while?” Clay asked, desperately wanting to see her. 

“I don’t think so, Clayton. If I don’t stay and make sure this is handled the right way, we could lose a lot of funding. You know how much I fought for extra funding this year. I don’t wanna see it all lost because of one little mistake.” Julia said, understanding his reaction. 

“I need to see you. I’m only in town one more night!” Clay said, his voice rising a little bit. 

“I know, I know. I can call you as soon as I get out of the office, I just don’t know when that will be.” She responded, feeling awful about the situation. 

Clay sighed, getting frustrated. “I understand. You have to do what you have to do.”  

“Thanks for understanding, honey. I’ll try to hurry, I promise.” Julia said, her heart breaking at the sound of Clay’s voice. 

“Just call me when you’re done, okay?” Clay said, leaving the restaurant. 

“All right, talk to you soon.” She hung up and walked back into the conference room, biting her lip and holding back tears. 

“Okay, people we really have to move on this. Let’s get this mess figured out.”  

At 10:00, Julia was able to end the meeting. She was in her car, driving to Clay’s. After giving him a call, he seemed reluctant to see her all of a sudden. Julia didn’t know what was up with him. Surely he couldn’t be too upset with her, could he? Sometimes she felt like she didn’t even know him anymore. It had been too long since she’d seen him. But she knew once she hugged him, everything would be okay. 

As she got out of her car, she smoothed her skirt and stood up straight, almost getting nervous. She always got butterflies before she saw him after a long trip. Julia rang the doorbell and slung her purse over her shoulder, waiting for him to answer. 

Clay came to the door sleepily, his hair a mess; wearing his glasses, shorts and a t-shirt. 

“Hey.” Julia said, slowly extending her arms for a hug. 

Clay left her standing there, with her arms open for a few minutes. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and brought a hand to his chin as if he was pondering whether or not to hug her. 

---

“Clay?” Julia said, wondering what he was doing. She put her arms down, just as Clay stepped forward and hugged her tightly. 

Julia smelled his cologne and stood on her tiptoes to hug him back. 

“God, I’ve missed you.” Clay said, tears almost coming to his eyes. 

“I feel like I haven’t talked to you since you left.” Julia sighed, not letting go of him. 

“You really haven’t.” Clay whispered. 

Finally, they broke their embrace and went into Clay’s house. 

After talking for a while, Clay wanted to show Julia exactly why he had been so busy.  

“I wanna show you somethin’.” He said as he went into his office and grabbed a folder. 

“What is it?” Julia asked as she opened up a kitchen cabinet to find some crackers or something to eat. 

“This is a copy of all the dates and locations of my tour. And this…” He said, pulling out a thick packet of paper “is an outline of everything that happens during a concert.” 

Clay smiled and wiggled his eyebrows. “Pretty amazing isn’t it?” 

“Oh my goodness, this is crazy.” Julia said, eating a cracker. 

“Hey, look! You’re gonna be in Cleveland when I’m at the national non-profit convention.” Julia said, pointing to a date that was almost 5 weeks away. 

“Yeah, I’m in Cleveland for three days instead of one because of an awards ceremony that RCA wants me to attend.” Clay explained, grabbing a few crackers himself. 

“Maybe we can meet up in Cleveland for a little bit.” Julia suggested. 

“Yeah, maybe.” Clay said, not wanting to give an answer one way or another. 

“Listen, honey, I would love to stay up and talk but I’m beat and it’s already 2 am.” Clay said, sitting down next to her. 

Julia wanted to stay, but understood that he was tired and needed his rest. 

“Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow.” She nodded as she got up from the table. 

“Bye honey.” Clay said, giving her a hug, and then walking her to her car. 

She waved as she pulled out of his driveway, wishing she could stay in his arms forever. Julia would be happy when Clay’s life as a recording artist was over, but she would never admit that to Clay. 

---

Luckily, Julia and Clay were able to meet for lunch the next day. They wouldn’t have a chance to see each other until that night, right before the concert began.  

Julia arrived at the venue by herself and had to show her ID and VIP pass over a dozen times it seemed. While it was annoying, she was thankful for the tight security. There had been many times Clay had come close to getting hurt by the mobs of fans always after him.  

Along with her VIP pass and ID around her neck, Julia also wore a press badge. That had been Clay’s idea from the beginning of their relationship. He didn’t want fans finding out about Julia and how serious they were. He was worried something might happen to her, so they always acted as if she were a member of the press when they were in public and if anyone asked, she was a reporter who tagged along with RCA. 

Julia was escorted by two security guards to Clay’s dressing room, but was surprised when she saw how many people were already in there. Hair and make-up stylists were tending to Clay in the chair while a rack of clothes was being wheeled towards him. People with head sets were running around as if the world was about to come to and end and Melody and Larry were in Clay’s face every five seconds reminding him what to say between songs, who to wink at, where the executives were sitting, etc. 

The room was buzzing and Julia had to watch her steps as not to run into someone. The door to Clay’s dressing room slammed open and in walked Clay’s choreographer asking if he remembered the steps and giving him a last minute overview. The producer of the concert and director of lighting were also in the room going over last minute details with Larry and Mel. Then in the room came the local radio DJ’s from the station that was sponsoring his concert in Raleigh.  

Julia was standing in the middle of the room wondering which way she could go to not be in the way.  

“Sweetheart, you’re in the way. MOVE!” An old sweaty man said loudly, pushing a food and drink cart through the crowd of people.  

Julia could feel wet residue on her face after he said those words to her. She didn’t know if it was drops of sweat he had left behind, or spit.  

Gross! She thought to herself as she wiped her face.  

Clay hadn’t even seen her yet, he couldn’t even see in the mirror because people were in front of him, behind him and beside him. He thought it was only a matter of time before he’d get used to this, but now witnessing how much had to be done just for one show, he realized he’d never feel comfortable with all this attention. 

“Julia!” Faye cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled to her from the back corner of the room.  

She was sitting on a green couch, clutching her purse. Every now and then she had to pick up her feet or move to the side to let more people through. Faye was so petite that Julia almost didn’t see her, especially with all the people in the way. 

Clay’s younger brother Brett was beside her and Julia had never been so relieved to see familiar faces. 

“This is absolutely nuts in here.” Julia said her eyes wide as she sat down next to Faye. 

“Isn’t it crazy? I haven’t even seen him yet, but for some reason I don’t think they seem to care about that too much.” Faye said, a little disappointed. 

“Julia! Faye! Brett! Good to see you.” Larry came walking over with a big smile on his face. 

He shook their hands and hugged Faye. Julia immediately suspected something, but was surprised when he personally escorted them closer to where Clay was seated. 

“Hold on, just a moment. Let me get these people out of here so you guys can spend some time with him.” Larry said turning to the hair stylist.  

Julia was genuinely touched and shocked that Larry would be so considerate.  

“Is he done here? Let me have a look at him.” Larry spun Clay’s chair around and looked him up and down.  

“Yeah, looks good. Thanks Trina.” Larry stood up tall, trying to look out over the crowd, and handed his clipboard to Melody. 

“Okay people!” Larry clapped his hands and yelled at the top of his lungs. “Let’s give our star some alone time, he needs to prepare. Thank you for your work, now off to your posts. Show starts in 15…now, 14 minutes!” 

The room cleared out almost as quickly as it had filled up. Now, the room was a war zone. There was a food and beverage cart that had been brought in, but it was untouched as Clay had no time to eat, plus he was too nervous. Clothes had been laid out all across the room so Clay could change easily in-between songs. 

Larry and Melody were conversing a bit but other than the two of them, it was just Julia, Faye and Brett left in the dressing room. 

“We’ll leave you all alone for a few moments. Enjoy the peace and quiet. Clay, you have 10 minutes then, we’ll meet with the crew for a prayer before we start okay? Good luck buddy.” Larry gave Clay the thumbs up as Clay nodded, not showing much emotion. 

“Are you okay?” Brett asked, seeing the look on Clay’s face. 

“I think so.” Clay sighed, looking at himself in the mirror.  

He had a towel around his neck to keep the make up from getting on the collar of his shirt. 

“Look at this, Clayton; all this hustle and bustle just for you!” Faye said, smiling. 

“You really should be proud of yourself.” Julia said.  

“Are there a lot of people out there?” Clay asked. 

“That’s kind of a stupid question, bro.” Brett said, making his way over to the food cart. “You’ve been sold out for weeks.” 

Clay cracked a smile then reached for Julia’s hand. “You gonna be okay?” 

“Me? Of course. I’m pumped. Your mom and I will be cheering you on from the safety of our press box.” She winked. 

“Are you gonna be okay is the better question to ask.” Julia pulled him out of the chair and looked up at him. 

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. I’m just glad you guys are here.” He reached out to his mom and hugged both her and Julia at the same time. 

“Let’s pray.” Clay told them as Brett slowly walked back to the group. 

They said a quick prayer and then Clay asked to be alone for a few minutes. Faye and Brett left first, but Julia stayed just a bit longer. 

“I love you, you’re gonna be wonderful. Just remember Who you’re singing for.” She motioned to his WWJD bracelet, and then reached up to give him a hug. 

Meanwhile, out in the hallway, Larry was eagerly anticipating Julia’s departure from Clay’s dressing room. Earlier that day, Clay had mentioned something about Julia accompanying him to the awards ceremony he would attend while he was in Cleveland.  

Again, Larry saw an opportunity to shake things up a little bit. After all, Julia had warned not to ruin Clay’s career, she didn’t say anything about ruining her relationship with the new superstar. In Larry’s opinion, she’d only get in the way the longer she was around, so the sooner she left the better. 

As soon as Julia emerged from Clay’s room, Larry put his cell phone up to his ear (even though there was no incoming call). As Julia walked by, Larry improvised and pretended to be having a conversation with someone in Cleveland. 

“No. Clay specifically told me that he does NOT want an extra ticket for his girlfriend. She’d be too much of hassle, and she’d only get in the way. Of course I’m not making this up!” 

Julia heard Larry mention her name and casually stopped next to the wall to hear the rest of his conversation. Larry had hoped she would stick around to hear more and he knew his plan had worked when he could make out her shadow from around the corner. He smiled to himself, delighted that his plan had worked, knowing she was listening.  

“I am Clay’s publicist and I have only his best intentions in mind. Would I lie about this? This is what Clay specifically told me. Julia will not be coming with him to the awards ceremony and that is the way he wants it.” 

---

The concert was unbelievable. Both Faye and Julia commented on how wonderful it was, and how Clay had really become a star. They both laughed hysterically as they watched him dance, not to be mean, though. It was just different and something they had never seen him do before.  

After the concert there was a party at a hotel in downtown Raleigh and everyone stayed out much later than they should have. Clay and his team left early the next morning. Julia had said goodbye to Clay without much emotion, still hurt from what she had heard Larry say on the phone. 

The longer Clay was on tour, the less and less Julia talked to him. It was the same thing as before, only worse. Julia spent longer and longer hours at the office and cancelled her trip to Cleveland. Clay called the night before he was to do his show in Ohio, and asked her if she was coming. She replied with a simple no, and before Clay could ask why she wasn’t coming, he was of course needed somewhere else and had to hang up. 

Clay tried hard to make Larry and Melody understand that he needed to talk with Julia, but they didn’t listen. Julia was losing her patience with Clay. They still had a lot to plan for the wedding.  

The tour had been going for almost 2 months now, and Clay was to do a show in Atlanta. A few hours before the crew was set to leave for the venue, it was discovered that one of the pipes had burst and flooded the lower level of the arena. Clay had to cancel his show, but knew exactly where he would go instead; home, to North Carolina. 

Larry and Melody advised against it, but Clay went anyway. He had a rough flight and wasn’t sure he would be able to get in on time, as they were experiencing a horrible storm there in Raleigh. The wind was ripping through the trees and lightening was flashing every two or three seconds. Rain was falling in big, fat drops that stung the skin if any was exposed. 

Clay was driving fast, but trying to stay safe. He was in a hurry to see Julia. He hadn’t talked to her for longer than a minute or two in…well, he didn’t really know how long. He knew his relationship with her was suffering and there had to be something he could do.  

Julia had never forgotten about the conversation where she overheard Larry. His comments had hurt, but she hadn’t gotten the courage to bring it up to Clay; but then again she hadn’t really had the time either. 

Clay pulled into her driveway, his brakes screeching. He had rented a car from the airport; it was easiest since he was only there overnight. He turned off the car and ran up to Julia’s door, using his jacket as an umbrella as he pulled it up over his head. Clay knocked on the door loudly and called out her name. 

Julia quickly went to the door and looked through the peephole. It was almost midnight and she wasn’t expecting anyone. It was actually the first night in a few weeks that she hadn’t been at the office past 8 or 9.  

“What are you doing here?” She asked as she opened the door. 

Gonzo immediately came running out to greet Clay, obviously excited to see him.  

“Back, Gonzo. Back!” Julia called; grabbing his collar and ushering him back inside. 

“There was a flood at the center in Atlanta and I knew I had to come see you. We really need to talk.” Clay said, following Julia up the stairs into her bedroom. 

“Hmm.” Julia smiled. “That’s funny. I guess now it’s my turn to say that I don’t have time to talk.” 

Clay stopped dead in his tracks as he entered Julia’s room. Clothes were everywhere and it was a complete mess. Her luggage was spread out on her bed and some clothes were already packed. 

“What’s going on here?” He asked, truly bewildered. 

Julia folded another t-shirt and put it inside a duffel bag. “I’m leaving, that’s what’s going on.”  

---

Julia zipped up one suitcase and set it on the floor. Gonzo whined and came into the room. He was afraid of the storm going on outside with the thunder and lightening. 

“What do you mean, you’re leaving?” Clay said, feeling his heartbeat quicken and his throat tighten up. 

Julia was obviously in a hurry and was literally throwing things into another bag. She was emptying drawers from her bathroom and grabbing handfuls of clothes and slinging them into the luggage. 

“My dad’s sick. He has been for a while. Apparently it’s getting real bad and he won’t go to the hospital. Danny’s picking me up at the airport. My flight leaves at 2 AM.” She looked at her watch. 

Julia kept running around the room as Clay slowly sat down on the edge of her bed. He couldn’t believe that just a few months ago, he was sitting in that very spot with flowers for her, and now he was so far removed from her life he didn’t know her own father was dying. 

He watched as Julia picked up two bags; one on her shoulder, one in her hand. He heard the front door slam as she was going out to her car in the rain to load it up. A few moments later she came back in and got the rest of the bags, Clay got up to help her, not knowing what to say. 

“You don’t have to do that.” Julia said, out of breath and dripping wet.  

“Yes, I do.” Clay said, following her out to the car. 

“Where’s Gonzo going to be?” He asked, as he helped Julia put bags in her trunk. 

“I’m taking him to Emily’s. She’s gonna watch him until I come back.” 

Both of them were getting wet now, but neither one seemed to care.  

“When are you coming back?” Clay asked, hoping she’d say soon. 

“I don’t know. I need to be at home right now, there’s a lot of stuff going on. Mom’s all by herself and quite frankly, I need to get away from here.” She closed her trunk and went back inside the house. 

“Come Gonzo!” Julia said, calling the dog downstairs. She was in the middle of putting his leash on him, when Clay stopped her. 

“What can I do? What can I do to fix this? I’m in shock right now, it’s hitting me just how much I’m hurting you, and US.” 

“It’s not so much you; it’s just your job. I’m sorry you’re being hurt by what you’re seeing here.” Julia clipped the chain on Gonzo and again took him outside to get him in the car. 

“Jules, stop, please. Just talk to me.” Clay stood in front of her, holding her at an arm’s length away from him, in the rain. 

“What do you want me to say, Clayton? I’ve been trying to talk to you for the past two months, but you don’t ever seem to have the time to listen.” She pushed through him and went back inside, turning off all the lights and grabbing a jacket. 

Clay was standing on the porch, his mind going a thousand miles a minute. He ran his hands through his wet hair. 

Julia stopped him as she turned on the porch light.  

“Look, I’ve tried to be patient with you, but I can’t just sit around and wait for you to call me. My life is still going on, with or without you. I can’t promise I’ll be back in time for the wedding. I think we should postpone it.” 

Clay nodded and slowly bit his lip. He had his hands in his back pockets. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt so alone.
 
”We’re not calling it off, though, right?” Clay asked, still hopeful as Julia opened her car door. 

“No.” Julia said. “Not yet.” 

Clay grabbed her as soon as she said that and kissed her as rain fell on their faces and their bodies almost melted into each other. 

Julia pulled away. “I don’t even feel like I know who I’m kissing anymore…”  

“I’ll be at my parents. Call if you get a chance.” She climbed into her car and left him standing in her drive way, in the rain, all alone. 

---

The only person Clay could think to call this late at night, was the one person he could always count on; his mom. 

He drove to her house and she was up and out of bed, wearing a robe. She had poured him a glass of juice and made him something to eat as he told her the story. 

“Clayton, I can’t believe you didn’t know about her father. I would have told you, but I assumed you knew. Even our conversations seem to be cut short, though.” Faye said, sitting down at the kitchen table with him. 

“What do I do, mom? I’ve messed up. I don’t want to lose her!” Clay said, feeling like he had made the biggest mistake of his life. 

“I think this is one of those decisions you have to make with your heart instead of your head.” She smiled at him, getting up to go back to bed.
 
Clay was going to stay the night there as the storm had gotten really bad. He hoped and prayed Julia made it out of town safely. 

“You’re heart is telling you something, Clayton.” She patted his hand. “Maybe you should listen to it.” 

She kissed Clay on the forehead and walked down the hall to her room as Clay sat at the kitchen tabled and thought about his future with Julia. 

---

Down in Texas, Julia was spending time with her brother, Danny and her mom. When she arrived, she was shocked to see her father’s limp and lifeless body on the bed in their large farm house.  

Her father had a stroke and could barely talk, but he was aware of who was around him and who was taking care of him. He refused to go to the hospital, because it was Christian. 

Julia was staying in the room with her father for a while, and felt the need to talk to him.  

“Dad, I know you can hear me but you probably can’t respond. But I have a question for you. I have to know if you love Mom. I mean really, love her. Did you ever? Do you still? There’s so much I have yet to learn about love.” She paused getting, teary eyed as she reached for his hand. 

Julia moved her chair closer to his bed and wiped a few tears from her eyes. 

“I guess what I’m asking is, is it worth it? Is a lifetime of love worth a little heartache every now and then?” She felt him squeeze her hand, and she smiled. 

He tried to speak but the words only came out in a whisper.  

“If…you…love…Clayton…” He gasped. 

“And…he…makes…you…happy…don’t let go of him…not…even…for…me…” He squeezed her hand again and opened his eyes. 

“Thanks Daddy.” Julia kissed him and sat with him for a while, still not knowing what to do. 

Glenda and Julia spent day and night waiting on Mr. Simmons, as it was only a matter of time before he would pass on. After spending a long day with Martin, the ladies were sitting on the porch of the farm house, rocking back and forth on the porch swing, looking out onto the acres of land they had spent their lives on, listening to the bugs. 

“How do I know what’s right though, Mom? You and Dad thought it was right, but there were so many times it felt so wrong, even to me and Danny.” Julia said, after filling her mom in on the situation with Clay. 

“Honey, your father and I may not have had the most wonderful marriage. It was like any other, we had our ups and downs. But we did love each other. We DO love each other. Look at all that we’ve gotten out of our marriage; friendship, memories, love and especially two wonderful God-given gifts in you and your brother.” She smiled, looking at her daughter and thinking how beautiful she had become. 

“But there’s only one person in this world who knows what will make you happy for the rest of your life and that’s YOU. All I can tell you is to listen to your heart and let that be what leads you to make your final decision.” She hugged her daughter and walked back inside the house, leaving Julia to think about the decision she’d have to make.

---

Clay was winding up his tour and called Julia consistently, every day. He tried to talk with her, but could tell she was distracted. He didn’t want to take her away from her father and even though he wished he could be there with her, the tour was something he just couldn’t put off. Their conversations lasted only a few seconds, and neither of them were exactly warming up to each other, yet. They were both too busy and distracted to think about their future together. 

Clay’s last show was in Dallas, Texas and he was ready for his tour to be over. He planned on driving out after the show to the Simmons’ house, which was only about an hour outside of the city. It had been long and tiring and he was ready for some time to relax and sit at home watching TV with Julia. He was ready to be married to her and start their life together. The morning of his last show, he got up early for some reason. He couldn’t sleep and had a bad feeling about Julia. 

Julia had been up all night with her father. Her brother and mother had taken turns staying with him, but Julia wasn’t going to leave his side. He had gotten pale and was having trouble breathing. His coughing had gotten worse and he was in bad shape. In her heart, Julia knew she didn’t have much time with him and tried to make his last moments as comfortable as possible. 

Clay began packing his bags and using his cell phone to get in touch with Larry. Finally, after a few hours, of trying his phone, Clay took his bags with him and walked to Larry’s hotel room. He knocked on the door, but there was no answer. Frustrated, he knocked again, louder.  

“Larry, open up. I know it’s early, but I need to talk to you.” Clay said, through the door. 

Larry mumbled as he got out of bed and looked at his clock. It was 6:30 am. He rubbed his eyes and unlocked his door; yawning as Clay stood in the doorway, his arms folded across his chest. 

“Cancel the show for tonight.” Clay said firmly. “I’m driving out to the Julia’s ranch right now.” 

Larry stood there, his mouth opening, about to protest, but Clay cut him off. 

“No, Larry. I mean it. I have a bad feeling about her, she’s out there, without me and I need to be there. No show tonight, we’ll reschedule or something.” Clay picked up his luggage and made his way down the hall. 

Larry stepped out of the door way and yelled to Clay. “What about the fans? What about the press? What am I supposed to tell them?” He asked. 

“Oh, I don’t know Larry. How about the truth?” Clay said getting in the elevator. 

“Clay, no. You can’t just leave. You don’t make decisions on your own. I make them for you. Clay! Clay! No. Do not do this to me. I’m this close to being a partner.” Larry was banging on the metal doors of the elevator as they closed. 

Clay smiled, feeling good that he had stood up for himself. He pulled out his cell phone to get the number of the nearest car rental office, so he could be on his way to Julia. 

---

It was becoming harder and harder for Julia to stay awake. Her eyes were feeling heavy and the breeze from the open window in the room was lulling her to sleep with its easy rhythm. It was now around 8 am, and the sun was shining brightly. She could tell it would be hot outside today. 

“I brought you some coffee.” Her brother Danny said, coming in to sit beside her. 

“Thanks.” She said, taking the warm cup from him.  

There was a long pause, neither of them wanting to break the silence. The only sound in the room was the heavy breathing, more like gasping, of their father. Both of them stared at him, wishing there was more time, wishing there was something they could do to bring him back. 

“What’s new in your life, sis?” Danny whispered after a few moments. “How’s Clay?” 

Julia tried to answer, but realized she had nothing say. She couldn’t really tell him how he was doing. 

“I…I don’t really know. I haven’t talked to him, but for a few seconds. I guess he’s just busy with the to-…” She was cut off as she noticed her father’s breathing had stopped. 

“Oh my God.” Julia whispered, tears coming to her eyes.  

She exchanged glances with Danny.  

“I’ll call an ambulance.” He responded, running out of the room. 

“Mom! Mom!” Julia began shouting as she left the room too.  

“What? What is it honey?” Glenda said, the color draining from her cheeks. 

Julia met her mother at the foot of the stairs. “It’s dad. He’s not breathing.” 

She ran back into the bedroom and couldn’t keep herself from crying. 

“No…No.” Julia tried to tell herself it wasn’t happening, at least not yet. 

She was finding it hard to breathe herself. She felt as if all the air had been taken from her body. A few tears were sliding down her cheeks. Her mother was now hovering over her father’s unresponsive body, trying to talk to him and get him to breathe again. 

Danny re-entered the room, running his hands through his dirty blonde hair. As their mother continued to pray out loud and talk to Martin, Danny and Julia looked on. After a few moments, Danny wrapped an arm around his older sister, knowing they now needed each other more than ever. 

---

“Where did these clouds come from?” Clay said, looking out the window as he pulled into the driveway. 

What looked to be a bright, hot and sunny day, had suddenly turned gray, overcast, and humid. Clay was excited to see Julia. He ran to the porch and knocked on the door, but got no answer. 

“Julia? Mrs. Simmons?” He called as he opened the unlocked door. 

Clay walked down the hallway, not hearing anything. He walked to the foot of the stairs and called out again. 

“Julia! I’m here; I cancelled the show in Dallas.” His tired, but cheerful voice echoed in the hallway. 

Meanwhile, in her father’s bedroom, Julia put her head in her hands and wiped away a few tears. She looked up sharply at the sound of Clay’s voice, however. 

“Clay?” She whispered, confused. 

“Jules, are you in here? Did you hear me? I cancelled the show and the tour is ov...” Clay stopped in mid-sentence, surveying the situation as he slowly entered the room. 

Glenda looked to the doorway, her white face glistening with tears. Danny turned around, looking confused and stressed, thinking it was the paramedics.  

“Clayton! What are you doing here?” Julia asked, exhausted and perplexed at his sudden presence in the room. 

“I’m…I’m sorry, I just thought…” Clay locked eyes with her and could feel her pain.  

He thought at that moment maybe he shouldn’t have come. He wanted to be there to help, but it was only going to cause more stress. The last thing Julia needed was to be confronted with the thoughts of her relationship with him and the wedding that was now nothing but a distant thought in her mind. 

The sound of sirens was now being heard as the ambulance came closer and closer to the house. The paramedics arrived and Clay could do nothing but stand in the corner and watch as Julia and her life as she knew it, crumbled to pieces. 

“Danny, help them lift him on the stretcher.” Julia instructed, taking charge.  

“Mom, are you okay?” She looked over her shoulder to her mother, who was looking as if she was about to faint. 

“Here mom, sit down.” Julia said, motioning to a nearby chair. 

Clay greatly wanted to help these people, they were going to be his family soon; but he knew if he tried it would only make things worse. He’d only be in the way. 

Once the room was clear, Julia was following the paramedics to the ambulance. 

“Danny, take mom in the car to the hospital. I’ll ride in the ambulance and meet you there.” Julia was lightly jogging, trying to catch up with the gurney.  

Julia had pretty much ignored Clay. She wanted desperately to run into his arms and have him hold her. She wanted to hear him say everything would be okay, but she wasn’t sure that was the truth this time. She had to stay focused on her dad and keeping her family together. 

Clay couldn’t just stand there and not do anything. He followed Julia to the back of the ambulance and grabbed her arm as she got in. 

“Jules, what can I do?” He asked, sincerely. 

“Clay, you really shouldn’t be here right now.” She responded, pleading with her eyes for him to let her go.  

The doors to the ambulance closed and the sirens turned on, as the vehicle sped out of the driveway, leaving Clay in a cloud of dust, watching it drive away with the woman he loved inside. 

---

Martin had almost been pronounced dead before he had gotten to the ER, if it hadn’t been for Julia’s persistence in asking for real doctors to at least try. She knew he was dead as soon as he stopped breathing, so did Danny. They read it in each other’s faces, but neither one of them wanted to admit he was really gone. 

“Well, Daniel, let’s head on home. It’s time to make phone calls to the rest of the family.” Glenda said.  

She stood up from her chair in the waiting room, just a few moments after they had received the grave news. The family was in shock, but at the same time knew it was coming. While Glenda and Danny were obviously saddened, they weren’t taking it as hard as Julia was.  

Danny stood up and nodded, taking keys out of his pocket. Julia was still sitting in the chair, staring blankly at the wall. 

“I’ll take her back with me.” Clay said quietly, rubbing Julia’s back. 

“Okay, we’ll see you at home.” Danny sadly smiled, knowing Julia would at least be taken care of. 

“I’m sorry.” Clay said, leaning down to whisper in her ear. 

Julia nodded, trying not to cry. “Just take me home, please.” 

He stood up and guided her out of the hospital with his hand on the small of her back. They walked to the car together, holding hands.  

The clouds had rolled in and a light rain was falling outside, reminding Clay and Julia of the last day they had seen each other; standing in the rain in Julia’s driveway, back home in Raleigh. 

“Perfect weather for a day like this.” Julia said, looking up at the dark clouds looming overhead. 

Clay squeezed her hand as he opened the car door for her.  

“I’m here for you.” He hugged her again before she got in the car. 

She hugged him back, holding on tight. 

Both of them knew, they still had a lot to work through, but now was not the time to pull away from each other. 

The next few days were busy and stressful for everyone involved. Extended family flew in from all over the country, funeral arrangements were set, and Julia decided to give the eulogy. Clay was staying, of course, and was able to be a huge help. 

Julia hadn’t slept for a number of days and whenever she tried to rest, her head was filled with memories of her father and thoughts of her future. Clay had been right by her side through everything, and she was glad he was there. Although, they hadn’t had a chance to really talk since he arrived. 

All Clay could think about was the wedding, and how soon he wanted to put the past and his mistakes behind him. Life and love aren’t valued enough, until death rears its ugly head and brings everyone back to reality. He couldn’t bear the thought of bringing up the wedding now, knowing that it was the last thing on Julia’s mind and rightfully so. 
 

The night before the funeral, Julia was standing in front of the mirror, rehearsing the eulogy she had written, when there was a knock on her door. 

“Come in.” She said, softly, quickly scribbling more notes on her paper. 

“Honey, come outside, sit with us. You need to relax a little bit, and more importantly, you need to pay some attention to Clay.” Her mother said, sitting down on the bed.  

“I have paid attention to Clay.” Julia said in defense, scratching her head and not looking up from her speech. 

“Julia.” Glenda took the paper out of her hands and put it down on the desk beside her. 

“Hey Jules, are you gonna come sit outside with us?” Clay asked, popping his head in the doorway. 

“Clay, go on in. I was just leaving.” Glenda said, excusing herself. 

“I guess I owe you an apology for the way I’ve been acting.” Julia said as she let out a sigh. 

“Don’t. Let’s not get into that now, okay?” Clay said, coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist. 

Clay looked at their reflection in the mirror, and made eye contact with Julia. She turned around and hugged him, thanking him for being there for her. 

“It’s just so hard, not knowing where he is. There are so many unanswered questions about my father and his spiritual life. This whole funeral may just be a waste.” She said, still holding onto him. 

“I know.” Clay answered honestly. “He’ll be able to hear your words tomorrow though, no matter where he is.” 

“Yeah, I know.” Julia said, pulling away. “I should try to get some rest. I think I’ll turn in early.” 

“Goodnight.” Clay said, closing the door on his way out.  

“I love you.” He whispered on his way down the hall. 

“I love you, Clay.” Julia said, as she turned off the light and tried to sleep. 

---

Julia and Clay stayed in Texas for a few days after the funeral was over. There were a few loose ends to tie up around the home, and Julia was reluctant to leave her mother. 

It was time to head back to North Carolina and the couple had to leave early, as they had an hour long drive into the city, a rental car to return and luggage to check. Clay felt rested and was ready to try and get his life back to normal. Julia, on the other hand, was tired and stressed. Now the funeral was over, but she had a mountain of work waiting for her at the office and details of a wedding to plan. 

“Thank you so much for being here.” Glenda said as she reached up to hug Clay. 

“Take care of her.” Danny said, shaking hands with Clay and giving him a brief hug. 

“Please, let me know if there’s anything I can do.” He answered sincerely, as he took more bags to the car. 

“Mom, please call me, okay? For anything. I love you.” She hugged her mom tightly and said a quiet prayer. 

“Bye. Be good, Danny.” She said, hugging her brother quickly. 

Julia walked away slowly, looking back at the house. She approached the car and sighed heavily.  

“Okay. I think everything is ready.” She said, coming up behind Clay. 

Clay nodded and got in the car. Julia got in the passenger side and waved goodbye, trying to relax and comprehend everything she had gone through in the past two weeks. 

“You’re gonna be okay.” Clay said, putting his hand on her knee. 

Julia held his hand, and closed her eyes, not wanting to think anymore.
Once they got to the airport and seated on the airplane, Clay put his bag underneath the seat in front of him and turned off his cell phone. Julia was staring out the window, looking at the clouds, until she heard his phone beep. 

She turned to look at him, and smiled a bit. “Did you….” She began, but was stopped when she saw someone approaching Clay. 

“Oh. My. God!” The young teen age girl screamed. “Can I have your autograph?!”  

Julia turned her head back out the window and rolled her eyes. The young girl’s voice was piercing within the small confines of the airplane. 

Never one to turn away a fan, Clay hesitated, but granted her wish anyway. He loved his fans and was so grateful to them for all they had done, but now was not a time he wanted to play Clay the superstar. He just wanted to be normal. 

“There you go.” He smiled, ruefully then, turned back to Julia. 

“I’m sorry. Jules, what were you going to say?” Clay asked her, resting his hand on her back. 

“Did you really cancel your show in Dallas to drive out to the ranch?” She asked, turning around with a look of disbelief. 

Clay nodded with a slight smile. 

“What about Larry and Melody and all the executives, weren’t they upset? What will they do to you?” She asked. 

Clay noticed the signs of panic and worry flush her face. 

She was worried for him and his career. It seemed like a risky and gutsy decision to make. 

“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “They called several times, but each time I told them that I was handling important, personal business and I couldn’t be bothered at the moment.” 

Julia looked at Clay, astonished. “You did?” 

“Yes, honey.” Clay said, putting up the arm rest that separated the two airplane seats, as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulling her closer to him. 

“Don’t you believe me?” 

“Thank you.” She said, looking into his deep green eyes and sighing. 

Julia rested against his chest, feeling protected and safe from all the cares in her world. She closed her eyes and fell asleep to the steady rhythm of his beating heart. 

---

Clay smiled, knowing that Julia was already out cold before the plane had even taken off. He would see to it that she got her rest. He desperately wanted things to get back to normal, but was praying for the patience to wait as long as necessary. 

A cheerful voice came over the speaker, as the flight attendant began her safety speech. Clay decided to rest a little as well, and leaned his head against the padded headrest, as she concluded her speech. 

“And we’d like to extend a special welcome from American Airlines to all our platinum partners, our passengers seated in first class, and a very special passenger, American Idol finalist, Clay Aiken.” 

Clay’s eyes shot open and he sat up a little bit, causing Julia to stir in her sleep.  

Now why would you go and announce that? Clay said to himself, a bit frustrated. 

“We know you have a choice when you fly and we thank you for choosing us. Now sit back and enjoy your flight.” 

Does she have any idea that it’s now impossible for me to enjoy my flight? Clay thought, sighing inwardly. 

Not only did he now have to worry about people bothering him throughout the flight for his autograph and pictures, he also had to worry about how to explain Julia to the people who would inevitably see her laying on him. 

Every few minutes Clay was tapped on the shoulder, or asked for another autograph, sometimes even a picture. He had placed a pillow next to the window and gently rolled Julia’s head to rest against the wall, instead of him. He didn’t want her to be bothered by the fans, and he didn’t feel like answering questions about who she was. 

A few hours into the flight, the flight attendant announced that the seat belt signs were turned on, and that passengers could no longer be moving up and down the aisle. The captain was expecting turbulence and they didn’t want anyone to be injured. 

Clay was glad that he could take the remaining moments of the flight to himself, and rest. He had a lot to do when he got back home. Normally, he would be dreading a talk with Melody about his decision to cancel the show, but this time, he wasn’t. He was sure that he did the right thing and no one could tell him otherwise. Soon, Clay was asleep himself, thinking of all the things that awaited him once he landed in Raleigh. 

***
“Good morning Mr. Aiken!” A young boy said as he walked past Clay with a back pack on his shoulders. 

Clay was walking through the halls of an elementary school, dressed in a business suit, with his glasses on. 

He entered a classroom, but things were beginning to get fuzzy. His vision was blurred and there was a heavy fog in the room. 

“Mr. Aiken! Mr. Aiken! I know the answer. Over here! Mr. Aiken!” The room was filled with young kids, all vying for his attention. 

The voices of the children were now echoing as their images quickly blended together. Their cries for Clay were pulsing and echoing in his head, almost becoming unbearable. 

With a bright flash, the kids morphed into adult photographers and journalists. “Clay! Clay! Over here! Can we get an interview? Mr. Aiken! This way, look here!” 

Instead of walking down the hall, Clay was now on the red carpet walking into the crowd of people screaming his name. 

The voices were still echoing and beating in his head like a drum. It soon became thick with a heavy beat, almost like a tribal chant of some sort. 

“Clay…Clay…Clay…Clay…” 

**** 

“Clay? Clay?” Julia gently spoke into his ear, trying to wake him. 

“We’re here, honey.” She smiled at him. 

“Huh?” Clay said, waking up with a start. 

“We’ve landed already?” He asked, confused.  

“I must have been dreaming. That was weird.” He shook his head to empty his memory of the foggy dream. 

“Let’s go.” Julia laughed at him, and thought nothing of it.

---

It had taken a while to get back into the normal routine of life, for Julia. She had thrown herself into her work, and Clay wasn’t surprised. For her, work was a distraction and an easy way to avoid grieving the death of her father, as well as the daunting task of planning a wedding. Luckily, everyone around her was letting her take her time and no one pushed for details about the big day. 

Clay had taken the time to explain to Larry and Melody what was going on with Julia and their relationship. He hoped this would help them to understand why canceling the Dallas show was necessary. Larry and Melody put up a front, stating he had no right to put them in that position without more than a few hours notice. They were upset at the loss of money, and the stories the press had spread about the cancellation, but word quickly got to Mr. Davis and any problems between Larry, Melody and Clay were snuffed out immediately. 

It had been a few weeks since Clay and Julia had been back home, in North Carolina. To his surprise, Clay was actually enjoying the little things in life. He felt normal and wasn’t worried about rushing to an interview, photo shoot or recording studio. Julia and he talked every day, seeing each other whenever they could and enjoying each other’s company. Things weren’t the same as when Clay left to rehearse, it seemed almost as if Julia and Clay were nothing but good, close friends. 

After making a long overdue trip to the grocery store, Clay fell asleep on the couch and was again plagued by the same type of dream he had on the plane. 

*** 

“Can you point to the letter S?” Clay was seated at a table with a young girl, who was autistic.  

She was rocking back and forth, mumbling to herself with her eyes closed. 

“Try again.” He asked, patiently waiting for her to make a choice. 

“Show me the letter S. Do it again.” Clay said, more firmly this time. 

The young girl pointed to the letter O, instead.  

“Try again.” Clay said, his own voice echoing. 

“Try again. Try again. Try again.” The voice became deep and pulsating, like the beating of a heart. 

“Clay, did you hear me? Let’s try that again.” The record producer was on the other side of the glass, asking Clay to sing the song again. 

He was now in a recording studio, standing behind a microphone, with earphones on. 

The producer buzzed in on the intercom. “Clay. C’mon, let’s go. Try it again.” 

The music began and… 

Clay was woken up by the phone ringing. He shook the cobwebs from his head and tried to steady himself as he went to answer the phone. 

*** 

“Clayton, this is Clive Davis.” The slow, steady and smooth voice filled the phone as Clay answered it. 

“Mr. Davis! Hello. I’m surprised to hear from you, what can I do for you sir?” He asked, suddenly worried. 

Clay was looking for his glasses, knowing he had put them on the kitchen counter somewhere. 

“I wanted to apologize. I just spoke with Melody and I cannot begin to offer you anything but my most sincere apologies for the way your life has been handled as of late.” Clive began. 

“Um, well thank you, sir.” Clay said, not really knowing what he was referring to. 

“Larry is no longer working with RCA and you do not have to worry about Melody trying to run you into the ground either. I may be a shrewd business man son, but I know the importance of love and family. You have my permission as well as my recommendation, to take as much time off as you need. We have pushed you too fast and too hard, but you’ve done well for us, Clayton.” Clive spouted off, leaving Clay baffled. 

“Thank…thank-you sir. I don’t know what to say.” He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. 

“Please let me know if there’s anything I can do for you, and I’ll expect to hear from you in two weeks, at the earliest. We’ll do an easy record, like a Christmas album and then you can get to work on the album you want to co-produce and write, whenever you feel ready.” Mr. Davis instructed. 

“Send me an invitation to the wedding, and tell Ms. Simmons I am sorry to hear of her father’s passing. We’ll be in touch soon, Clayton.”
 
Clay muttered another “Thank you” and hung up, stunned by what he had just heard. 

---

What could Larry have done to cause Mr. Davis to fire him? And what a shame, he was so close to becoming a partner. I actually feel a little bit sorry for him.  

Clay thought to himself as he stepped out of the shower. 

He shrugged it off and felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders, now that Mr. Davis had called and reassured him things would be okay. 

He was putting shaving cream on his face and had just begun to shave, when the phone rang once again. 

“Whatcha doin’?” Julia asked when Clay answered the phone after about four rings.  

It was an exceptionally long time for the phone to ring at Clay’s place. He usually pounced on the phone after it rang once. 

Clay smiled, hearing her voice. It sounded like she was having a good day, and that was rare. 

“I’m shaving, what are you doing?” He countered. 

“Nothing really…it was a slow day at work, so I came home early. Do you wanna come over?” She offered. 

Clay glanced at the clock, it was a Friday and only 4:30. Julia left the office early; yet another rarity. 

“Of course I do! I’ll be there soon, let me get dressed and clean things up around here. I have some news for you.” He told her. 

“Yeah?” Julia questioned, walking into her kitchen with the phone cradled between her ear and her shoulder as she opened the refrigerator. “I can’t wait to hear it.” 

“Well, you’ll hear it in a few minutes if I can finish shaving and get ready.” Clay laughed. 

“I know, I know.” Julia smiled. 

They ended the conversation, both hopeful and confident that tonight their relationship could get back to normal. 

Once Julia hung up the phone, she began work on her surprise for Clay. Lasagna, one of Clay’s favorite meals, was baking in the oven. It should be ready just in time for him to arrive. She ran upstairs to change into a sleek, navy-blue polka dotted dress. After putting on some make up and using a clear butterfly clip to secure her hair, she entered the dining room and set out the china. 

“How does it look, Gonzo?” She asked, lighting the last of the candles on the table. 

Julia took a step back to observe the scene. Plate and silverware were shining in the dim candlelight. Two, white candles stood in the middle of the table, set in silver candle holders.  

“I wish there were flowers or something to put in the middle. I forgot to pick those up at the store. Why didn’t you remind me, boy?” She smiled, looking at her dog. 

The doorbell rang as she reached down to scratch Gonzo behind the ear. 

“Perfect timing.” Julia smoothed out her skirt and checked her reflection in the mirror before answering in the door. 

---

Clay had his back to the door and was looking at the flowers Julia had hanging on her front porch. He had rushed to get ready and his hair was still a little wet. He had on his glasses and a light blue polo shirt. Clay slowly turned around as soon as he heard the door open. 

“Hey!” Julia said, excited to see him. 

“Wow.” Clay said, looking Julia up and down.  

“You look…” He couldn’t find the right word. 

“Like it?” Julia asked, twirling around. 

“I went shopping with Emily the other day and thought I needed a new dress. Come in, come in!” She extended her arm into the house and opened the door wider. 

Clay smiled, noticing her mood. “I brought these for you.” He handed her a small bouquet of pink roses. 

“Wonderful! Thank you.” She leaned in and kissed his cheek. 

“I’ll go get a vase. I was just telling Gonzo we needed flowers.” 

“Speaking of…there he is!” Clay said, kneeling down to play with Gonzo a bit. 

“How are you, huh? Yes, you’re such a good boy.” He smiled as Gonzo showered his face with licks. 

Julia reappeared from the dining room. “I hope you’re hungry. I made your favorite.”  

She smiled, linking arms with him.  

“Lasagna? Awesome!” Clay was surprised at the way she was acting, things had been so rough lately, but he got the feeling it was like old times. 

“Please join me in the dining room for dinner, sir.” She asked in a fake English accent. 

“Of course.” Clay laughed a little as he walked towards the dining room, but stopped once he entered the room. 

“Julia.” He said, looking at her, confused. 

“What? I know things have been really rough lately, for both of us. But I want to take advantage of the time we have together, especially since you’re here now.” She led him to the table, holding his hand. 

“I’ll go get the lasagna.” She said, as Clay took his seat. 

Julia came back in holding the pan with the same blue oven mitts Clay had worn the day he proposed. A few memories flashed in his head when he saw them. 

She came in and out a few more times bringing in salad, breadsticks and something to drink. Once she took her seat, she looked at him and bowed her head, waiting for Clay to say the blessing.

It took a while for the couple to start up conversation. There was awkward silence at the beginning of the meal, with the only sound being Gonzo’s whining in the kitchen and the scraping of silverware on plates. 

Soon, Clay began relaying stories from the tour to Julia. Telling her about the wild and crazy things fans had thrown at him, like panties, and he told her about the many marriage proposals he had received. 

Both of them were laughing and it felt good for both Julia and Clay to smile with each other again. They stayed in the dining room talking much past the time they finished their meal. 

“The flight attendant announced you were on the plane?” Julia asked, giggling. 

Clay nodded, taking a drink. 

“I’m glad I was asleep for that!” She smiled, standing up to take the plates to the sink. 

Clay got up as well and followed her into the kitchen. 

“You have officially reached superstar status, my dear.” Julia said, running the water. 

“It’s going to get to the point where I can’t even go out in public with you without being mobbed myself! Can you imagine the uproar if people knew we were engaged?” 

“Actually.” Clay said, leaning against the counter. “They already do.” 

---

“They do?” Julia asked, wiping her hands off on a nearby towel.  

“Mmhmm.” Clay said, crossing his arms in front of his chest. 

“I told Larry to tell everyone the truth when I cancelled the show in Dallas.” He explained. 

“But…no one has bothered me, or called me. I’m surprised.” Julia said, showing her amazement. 

“Mr. Davis was able to ‘stop the presses’ so to speak. Everyone still knows about it, but luckily they’ve respected our privacy. I’m not sure how he did it, but I assume it won’t last long.”  

Clay walked back into the dining room and blew out the candles. He came into the living room and Julia was nowhere in sight. 

“Well, that was nice of him.” She said, coming down the stairs into the living room with two small boxes in her hands. 

“Was that your good news?” Julia asked. 

Clay shook his head and said “No, but we’ll talk about that later.”  

He then raised an eyebrow and asked, “What’s all this?” as he motioned to the boxes. 

“Open them and find out. Take this one first.” She gave him the smaller of the two boxes and sat down on the couch as Clay remained standing. 

“What did I do to deserve presents? Let me know so I can do it more often. I love surprises!” He winked at her, taking the ribbon off of the package. 

“They were meant to be welcome home presents for when you got back from the tour, but with everything that’s been going on, I obviously haven’t had time to give them to you.” 

Clay opened the box and was surprised at what he found.  

“A video tape?” He asked, holding it up. 

“Not just ANY video tape.” Julia smiled. 

“While you were gone, you missed Amazing Race. I taped every episode and it’s all on that tape. It’s nothing special, but I know how much you like that show.” She looked up at him, trying to read his reaction. 

Clay sat down next to Julia on the couch and wrapped an arm around her. “Thank you, sweetheart.”  

He said, planting a long kiss on her cheek and pulling her closer to him. 

“Does this mean we get to spend a night together watching it?”  

“If you want to.” Julia nodded. 

“We can do whatever you want.” She offered. “But here, open the other one too. This one is more fun, at least in my opinion.” 

Clay took the top off of the box and realized it was a photo album. Thinking there would be pictures of them inside, he was surprised to see pictures of flowers, a wedding cake, napkins, invitations, dresses and tuxedos. 

Seeing his confusion, Julia spoke up. 

“This is our wedding book. I realized that you would be gone while I was working on the details of the wedding, so I put together pictures of things like table settings, centerpieces, the finished invitations, the dress your mom picked out, my bridesmaids’ dresses. Oh, here on page 6 are some tuxedo choices you can look at too. I wanted you to see what I had picked out so you still feel like you had some part in the behind the scenes wedding work.” 

She looked up and noticed that Clay was looking at her and not the pictures inside the book. 

“What? You don’t like it?” Julia asked, not understanding his reaction. 

“It’s great. It’s better than great, it’s wonderful. I almost thought I’d never hear you speak about our wedding ever again.” He explained. 

“Am I correct in assuming that you still want to get married?” Clay asked with hope in his voice. 

---

“Of course I want to marry you!” Julia took Clay’s face in her hands and looked into his eyes. 

“I know things got rough there for a while, but it was just because I wasn’t used to this whole tour thing. Now we both have one under our belts and I know next time we can handle it.” 

“I’m so glad to hear you say that.” Clay hugged her as the wedding book slipped off of Julia’s lap and onto the floor. 

“I love you.” He said, resting his forehead against hers.  

Clay leaned down and kissed Julia softly on the lips, for the first time since he’d been back. Both of them had forgotten how nice it was to be holding each other again. 

The kiss became a little deeper and things got heavier as Clay lay Julia down on the couch. He was leaving a trail of kisses down her neck, but Julia stopped him. She pulled his face back up to hers and began to kiss him again. 

Gonzo had come into the room and was sniffing the wedding book that was now at their feet. He recognized the smell of the rose scented paper used for their invitations, and decided to give it a lick. Liking the taste, he began to chew on the book and the papers inside began to come loose and fall out. 

“Gonzo.” Julia whispered, trying to push Clay off of her. 

“Hmm? What is it darlin’?” Clay asked, looking down at her. 

“I’m not talking to you. It’s the dog. He’s eating our book!” She sat up and yelled. 

“Gonzo! No! Stop! You’re a bad dog!” She leaped off of the couch and grabbed him by the collar. Even though he was growling at her, she put him outside. 

Clay’s hair was a little messed up and in the middle of making out he had somehow managed to kick off his shoes. Now, he was sitting on the floor, trying to pick up the papers from the book. 

“Wow.” Julia sighed, kneeling down beside him. “Let me go get a trash bag. We really don’t need this stuff anyway.” 

“No!” Clay grabbed arm. “I wanna keep it. Just help me pick up these papers.” 

“His slobber is all over everything.” Julia said, disgusted. 

Clay laughed at her. “Now you know how I feel. Just a few seconds ago YOUR slobber was all over ME.” He joked. 

“You’re funny! You should take your stand up act on tour. Oh wait, you already have a tour!” Julia joked, lightly punching his arm. 

“You’re going to attack a skinny little white boy with your harsh words? That’s a big mistake, missy.” Clay tackled her to the floor and began to tickle her ribs. 

Julia rolled over onto her stomach and began kicking her legs as she gasped for air between the laughs. 

“No! Not my tickle spot, please!” She screamed. 

Clay pinned her down and was tickling her behind her knees. Julia kept kicking, but then Clay flipped her over onto her back and kept his arms on top of hers as he looked into her eyes. 

“What went wrong, Jules? How can we go from this, to almost breaking up, and now back to this?” Clay asked, knowing he was in danger of ruining the moment. 

Julia sat up and took a deep breath. 

“Well, if I had to pinpoint one specific instance where it all started, it would probably be the café.” 

“The café?”  

“That night when I was in LA and you never met me, I was crushed. I chalked it up to probably being so last minute and you being so busy. But it was like waving a red flag in front of my face the next day when you didn’t make any reference to it. You didn’t apologize at all, and I knew that just wasn’t like you. That was the first time I really felt like you were changing. I was angry with you at first, but forgave you when you came back. I hugged you and I knew things would be okay.” 

“The café?” Clay asked again, not following. “In LA? Jules, what are you talking about?” 

“It’s in the past. We really don’t have to talk about it. Everything is fine now, so let’s focus on the future, okay?” She asked, standing up. 

“No, I honestly don’t remember. Tell me more.” Clay said, looking up at her from his spot on the carpet. 

“I had a meeting out in LA about the same time you were rehearsing. I called your phone, but Larry answered. He told me you were free that night, and was surprisingly nice to me. I decided to give him a second chance like you said, and I was really thinking he might have turned things around. But anyway, he told me that there was a café on the corner right by your hotel and that you’d meet me there at 7 or something like that. I waited about an hour and you never showed up. There was no call from you or anything, and I just couldn’t believe it.” 

Julia was now back in her kitchen, getting herself a glass of water. Clay had followed her and was leaning against the counter, trying to put things together. 

“Jules, you have to believe me. I never got that message. I had no idea you were in LA. I swear!” Clay said; knowing Larry had lied. 

“He never gave you the message?” Julia asked. “I guess I’m not that surprised. I should have made sure, but I really wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt.”
 
She put her hands on her hips and shrugged, not thinking it was that big of a deal. 

Clay nodded, biting his lip, wondering what else Larry had lied about. 

“Was there anything else, anything else suspicious that wasn’t like the real me that you know and love?” He smiled. 

“Yeah…there was one other thing. Gosh, now I’m almost embarrassed to admit that I believed it.” She bit her lip, and sat down at her kitchen table. 

“I heard him on the phone, backstage on opening night of your tour and he was talking to someone saying that you had specifically asked for me NOT to come with you to the awards ceremony in Cincinnati.” 

“What?” Clay was shocked. 

“I cannot believe the nerve of this guy! I was just as shocked when I found out that you weren’t coming. He sabotaged everything!” Clay was getting angry and it took a lot to make him angry. 

“Unfortunately, I can see it. I wouldn’t put it past him to have done all this. He was keeping you from talking to me and keeping me from seeing you every chance he got. His stupid and twisted plan almost pulled us apart.” Julia said, staring out the kitchen window. 

There were a few moments of silence as the two of them reflected on the events of the past few months, fuming at the new knowledge that Larry was behind it all.  

“I’m sorry I believed him.” She said, almost in a whisper. 

Clay came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Honey, it’s okay. I probably would have too. Considering the circumstances, you had no idea what to believe. I understand.” 

“Do you think Melody was in on it too?”  

“Probably. I actually think she was the one who went to Mr. Davis. She must have cracked under the pressure and felt guilty. He did say that I wouldn’t have to worry about her anymore.” Clay said as Julia turned around to face him. 

“What do you mean? Clay, what are you talking about?” 

“Larry’s been fired and I guess Melody has been removed. I don’t know if she’s completely gone, but Mr. Davis assured me that he was sorry for everything that happened and that they wouldn’t be a problem anymore.” He explained. 

“Wow. At least Clive knows the truth.” She said, looking up at him. 

“And now it looks like we do too.” Clay said, leaning in to kiss her again. 

“I’m glad.” Julia smiled as she kissed him back. 

“You know somethin’? This whole time I felt like something was wrong. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but something in my heart was telling me this wasn’t right.” She stopped kissing Clay and explained. 

“When I was in Dallas, I told my mom what was going on and she gave me some pretty good advice. She told me there was only one person who knew what would make me happy. That person is me.”  

She held onto Clay and rested her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes and taking in his scent.  

“Let me guess.” Clay said quietly. 

“The next thing she said was to listen to your heart, right?” Clay asked, raising an eyebrow, wondering if his guess was correct. 

“How did you know?” Julia asked, pulling away with a confused look on her face. 

“My mom told me the very same thing.” 

---

Clay and Julia had set a new date for the wedding. They were going to be married at the end of January in a beautiful ceremony at the church they had both grown to love so much. 

The planning for the wedding had come on all at once. It was almost Thanksgiving when Julia and Clay had decided on a new date and it was insanity around their homes with Christmas and the wedding come up soon. 

Clay and Julia had done a few interviews with the press around Christmas time, in-between his recording and release of a Christmas album. 

Everyone now knew about Clay’s soon-to-be wife and while many fans were not happy to see their idol walk down the aisle, most of them accepted it and were glad to know he was in love.  

Julia’s family from Texas had flown to North Carolina and met with all of Clay’s family. The big day was coming up soon. The couple had rented out a ballroom at an upscale hotel in downtown Raleigh, and their entire wedding party as well as close friends and family, were on hand for the rehearsal dinner. 

Clay and Julia stood up at the front of the room and were ready to give their toast. Clay took a fork and banged it against his champagne glass to get everyone’s attention as Julia began to speak. 

“Thanks.” She whispered to Clay as she put his arm around his waist and stood beside him. 

“Both of us are so incredibly lucky to have y’all in our lives. It’s no secret that our relationship has been rough. We have the press to thank for that, now.” Julia laughed and waved to the crowd of photographers in the very back of the room, trying to get pictures for the papers and magazines. 

“But in all seriousness, we would never be able to have made it this long without the love and support of all of you. We thank you and we love you and we are so thrilled that you will be celebrating the most important day of our lives with us tomorrow.”  

She turned to Clay and let him speak. “This toast is to our friends, and our family and everyone who has been with us from day one. We love you, and we thank you. Our words will never say enough. Cheers!” 

He touched glasses with Julia as they drank some champagne. Once the dinner had ended, Clay drove Julia back to her house and stopped with her on her front steps. 

“Well, this is it!” Julia said. Her breath could be seen in the cold night air. 

They were now standing on Julia’s porch, saying their last goodbyes as an engaged couple. 

Her green scarf accented her eyes. It was obvious she was excited. Clay had on a black leather jacket and gloves. It was cold, and he was beginning to shiver. 

“The last time I say goodnight to you as Julia Simmons. And the last time we say goodbye on this porch. It’s crazy!” Clay smiled, hugging her. 

“I’m so ready though. I’m ready to be your wife.” She looked up at him and gave him a rather long kiss. 

“I love you.” He said, pulling away from her. “Goodnight Ms. Simmons.” Clay said, walking to his car. 

“Goodnight Mr. Aiken. I love you too.” She unlocked her front door and walked inside.  

She found Gonzo sad and whining, because Clay hadn’t stopped in to say hello. 

“He’ll be back Gonzo. Soon you’ll get to see him everyday.” 

Clay was tired when he arrived home. He quickly loosened the tie around his neck and took off his suit jacket. The festivities of this wedding had worn him out and he would be glad when they could be alone in London, on their honeymoon. 

As he changed into his pajamas and got ready for bed, he began to pray out loud. 

“Please, Lord let the press leave us alone tomorrow. I understand they want pictures. And that’s one thing if they wait OUTSIDE the church. I don’t want my bodyguard to be fending young girls off of me and turning people away at my very own wedding. Lord, please keep me sane tomorrow and Julia as well. Let our honeymoon be peaceful, beautiful and romantic. We deserve a chance to be together.” 

Clay crawled into bed and set his alarm for 6 am. “Thank you for the blessings you’ve given me Lord, but keep the press away tomorrow. I’m not up for it, not on my wedding day. I just wish, for one day, that I wasn’t famous. Just for a day. I wish I wasn’t famous…one day…wasn’t famous…” 

He quickly drifted off to sleep, and was dreaming again before he knew it.

*****
“I’m home!” Clay set his briefcase down at the entryway and smiled as Gonzo came bounding down the stairs to greet his master. 

“Jules?” He asked, loosening his tie a bit. 

“I’m in the kitchen!” Julia yelled to him, as she bounced a baby girl on her hip and tried to cook dinner at the same time. 

She was on the phone and the baby was crying. Gonzo started whining for more food. 

“Clay can you take this call please? It’s a telemarketer asking if we want some kind of home loan insurance or something like that. Stacy just called too while I was on the other line with your mom. She’s still at the school and was wondering if she could borrow your answer key to some test or worksheet. I’m not sure what she was talking about.” 

Julia was frazzled. She reached out to hand him the phone, Gonzo continued to whine, the pot of water on the stove boiled over making a cloud of steam and the baby continued to scream as hot tears rolled down her cheeks. 

“I’m home.” Clay smiled, leaning in to kiss Julia. 

As he leaned in to kiss Julia, the scene around him changed to him kissing Julia as he sat in his seat at the Grammy’s. 

“You won! You won! I’m so proud of you!” Julia hugged him and then pushed him up out of his chair as he buttoned the coat of his tuxedo and made his way onstage to the microphone. 

He saw Julia sitting in her seat in a beautiful beaded gown. 

Clay stepped up to the microphone and held his award, looking at it in awe. 

“This is really great, but I just want to go home. I want the baby to cry, I want the phone to be ringing. I want to come home at 5 every day, have the dog lick my face and the pot on the stove boil over. Thank you, but I just want to go home.” 

****
“I just want to go home…just let me go home…just wanna be home…” The alarm went off and Clay sat straight up, wiping some sweat from his brow. 

He went to the bathroom and splashed cold water on his face. As he looked at his reflection in the mirror, he began to talk to himself. 

“What’s happening to me? Those dreams, they seem so real.” 

“C’mon Clay.” He said with a sigh.  

“Snap out of it. You’re getting married. Today is the day.” 

THE END

.. Or is it? Checking back for the final installment of the Clay and Julia series, 'Forsaking Solid Ground', to be coming soon!

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A very important thank you goes out to Julia, without her, this part of the site wouldn't be here! Thank you Julia!!!

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