After days of being surrounded by arks things I decide it's time that I sort through them and make our home mine. Penelope has agreed to take the house on and do a whole new revamp, it's handy having a step daughter who is an interior designer.
I have decided that I'm going to open a museum where all Arks Ryder memorabilia can be available to view the public. It seems a shame to take everything to storage when his fans can enjoy it and learn the history behind the band. I had called the others from the band and their ex Manager Maggie and they are going to look at what they can add to the collection. Maggie even suggests we charge a small entrance fee and start a charity in the bands name. We decide to form the Ryder music program, all the proceeds from the museum will go into providing free music lessons for children across America. It's a lot of work but Maggie is bored since the band retired so is happy to take the job on. Within a week she has a large rundown music venue in downtown LA secured and has arranged for it to be secured with cameras and security systems. We decided to keep the Interior as it was, old bar and all.
I decided I wanted to design and arrange the rooms and everyone agreed that I could. The band had all donated their outfits they had worn 20 years ago when they had performed in the very club for the first time, I want to dress the mannequins that are going to stand by the old bar. We agree the mannequins on the stage will be the outfits they wore at the last tour. I even plan on displaying Arks drum set on the stage, he had some other equipment in his collection that we will display as the other guys in the band aren't ready to give up their instruments.
I have every inch of the club planned from the stock room to the the basement where the beer barrels would have once lived. It's exciting and I'm happy that I have something to keep me busy and something to keep arks memory alive.
I feel bad that I'm loaning so much of his stuff to the museum but I get no joy from seeing it, it's wasted here. I'm keeping things that mean something to me like the jacket he wore when we got married. At least I can visit his things whenever I want to walk down memory lane. Penelope had asked for his silver pendant and a framed magazine cover where he was holding her when she was a baby and Betty had asked for the small silver ring he wore on his pinky and his first set off drumsticks. They had both agreed that this was a great way to honour his memory.
It looks odd in the bedroom without arks things the yellow bed spread looks even stranger. I look at them empty closet and feel a small pain in my heart, it feels so empty without Ark but I will make this a home again in no time. With all this closet space I now have an excuse to go shopping, not that I need one.
I push the last of the boxes into the hallway, they are getting sent to the museum tomorrow so I can start to arrange everything.
A chime on my phone notifies me that I have a message. I smile as I see Ben's Name, we've hung out a few times since we met at the club and it's been fun.
Ben : why are you still up
I smile and head to the window, Ben is stood at the end of my driveway.
I send him a message back calling him a stalker.
Ben: I was taking a walk and saw your light was on, are you letting me in?
I skip down the stairs almost tripping on boxes as I go.
"Teenage me is screaming now" I joke as I open the door and see him filling the doorway.
"Oh really"
I nod "my bedroom wall was full of your posters"
"Was, when did your crush end"
"Who said it did" I flirt as I move in for a kiss.
"Have you been robbed" Ben asks as he steps into the house. It is very empty in here, most of the furnishings have been donated to good will.
"I'm decorating, the kitchen is finished. Do you want to see" I don't wait for his answer I pull him through the empty home to the white gloss kitchen. It's the same cabinets and units as before but the black marble floor and work surface are now white marble with gold running through it and the royal blue walls are now yellow. It's so much brighter in here now, it feels like a completely different room.
"It's nice" I hand him a glass of wine before sitting on the counter between his legs.
"So tomorrow I have a show in west Hollywood, do you want to come"
'yeah"
"Oh that was easy"
I laugh"why wouldn't it be"
He shrugs "I didn't know if it would bring back too many memories"
"I can handle the memories, I've actually missed live music plus I've never been to one of your shows so that's another tick off my teenage bucket list"
He kisses my neck and pushes down the stairs of my top until it pool on my lap.
"Sex with a celebrity on a kitchen counter" I lie. I had dreamt about him as a teen as many of my friends had. He was a teen heart throb.
"Another one off the teen bucket list" he whispers as he strips.
Thirteen year old me is screaming in delight, the present me is screaming with pleasure. Life is good.
