Monarchy of Roses

Chapter 14

Josh frowned when he recalled what Nika had told him last night. She had been so carefree and uninhibited while dancing to Northern Soul but had quickly withdrawn into her shell once they left. And her remark about not losing control made him wonder about what sort of upbringing she'd had with her mother, if perhaps her mother thought her daughter was a mistake.

The band was doing their soundcheck at Budokan and Joh went to get some tea. He didn't go looking for Nika since he knew she was in John's dressing room with her clarinet, just like she did when in Korea. "Josh, has Nika been acting oddly today?", asked John, his hazel eyes accusing.

"I didn't do anything, if that's what you think. I mentioned that she was so tightly wound up so soon after we'd gone dancing. She said her Mom had made a mistake after losing control", he replied.

John sighed and looked down into his cup of tea. "Her Mom was the most uptight girl I'd ever met, we met after the band did a show in a club to promote KROQ. She'd been drinking but in a very methodical way, like she was forcing herself to get drunk. I thought she was hot and I was a horny dumb kid, we back to a hotel room and fucked", he replied, his mouth twisting on the last word.

"Next day we were both hungover and she just left without saying a word and I never saw her again. I thought nothing of it since that happened so much back then, I was an immature little bastard who was thinking with my dick most of the time. Nika's grandparents told me later that Zoe desperately wanted a kid since she was past twenty five and thought she needed to have a kid to extend the family line, she'd read something about the band and thought I'd be a good match to father her kid. That's why she went to the club that night and made herself get drunk, she was a virgin with no interest in sex. That night I was thinking with my dick, I ended up fathering my daughter. From what her grandparents said, Zoe was always the most serious, tightly wound person and not an affectionate mother, but she did give Nika a brilliant education. I don't want my daughter to be so tightly wound up she does something foolish, I want her to have fun and date like a normal woman her age", said John.

"Wow, that's seriously fucked up, damn. So her Mom targeted you so she could get pregnant, to make some sort of genetic super baby. And she taught Nika Classical stuff but wasn't affectionate at all. I can't believe that, I hope her grandparents are better people than that", said Josh incredulously.

"You could say that. Her grandparents wanted her to go a public school and be a normal kid but since Zoe didn't live with them, they had no say in the matter. Nika was such a serious girl, she didn't play or watch cartoons or even listen to pop music, she was like a little adult. But between you and I and Clara, she's making baby steps. You did go out dancing, right?", asked John.

"Yeah, at a Northern Soul club owned by her cousin. Uh, if she got pregnant accidentally, are you going to get angry?", Josh asked nervously.

"No, but I'd rather you'd wait a while, I'm too young to be a grandpa. But yeah, it wouldn't be a disappointment, and I don't want you to think your kid is a mistake. Her grandparents were upset at first, I'm sure, but I never got the sense that they rejected Nika or Zoe at all. But I want my daughter to be happy and have fun, like a normal girl", said John.

Josh nodded as he went to make a cup of tea. He carefully to the cups to John's dressing room where he heard her clarinet through the door. Josh carefully set down the cups of tea on a little table by the door and slowly opened it as he went inside. Nika had her back to the door and her long brown curls fell to the small of her back, swaying slightly as she played. From his vantage point, he could see her slim fingers on the clarinet deftly manipulating the keys as she played.

Nika finished playing and turned around, a sad smile on her face. "I know I'm tightly wound, guys don't like that. You're not the first", she said.