Chapter 9

At precisely 7:30, there was a knock on Madison's door. Although she didn't know it then, it was quite unusual for Richie to be on time for anything.

Letting him into the suite, she finished putting on her jewelry.
Richie picked up her hand and looked at her bracelet. "That is so cool. Did you make this, too?"

"Nope, made by another artist. I saw it online and just had to have it. Looks like glass doesn't it?"

"It's not?" Richie touched it and it jiggled slightly. "What is it?"

"Flexible PVC. It's one of my favorite pieces."

"What about the things you make? Aren't any of them your favorites?"

"I do have ones that I simply can not part with, but I always want to support other artists. That's just what we do for each other, even if we don't know them."

"That's sort of how we feel about music."



The short cab ride brought them to Sushi Yasuda. The light wood interior was simple yet elegant and Madison felt like she was transported back to Japan.

Richie had reserved seats at the sushi bar. "Is there anything that you don't like?"

"No. I usually leave the choices up to the chef. How about you?"

"I'm game."

The sushi was the best she had tasted in the states and she enjoyed the light banter they shared with the chef.

After they could not eat another piece, they exited the restaurant.

"Let's walk back to the hotel," Madison suggested. She wanted to walk off the heavy dinner.

"What?! It's like at least a mile from here."

"It took us only 5 minutes to get here."

"Well, we're not going to walk at 40 miles per hour, darlin'."

"Wimp."

The light was about to turn green when Richie suddenly grabbed her hand and started across the street.

"Are you crazy?! You could have gotten us killed!"

"Do you always wait for the walk signal?"

"Of course we do." Madison was still shaken from being pulled across at breakneck speed.

"Yeah, I remember from the few times I was in Hawaii. You locals just stand there waiting even when there are no cars for miles," he chuckled.

"You're one of them!" Madison squealed and pointed at Richie.

"One of them?"

"One of those crazy tourists in Waikiki that I want to run over."

"Aha! Beneath your laid back ways lies a heart of evil! Is that what you call the Aloha Spirit?"

She had to laugh, he was a nut.

He also had not let go of her hand.

*****

"How about some coffee?"

They had been walking for a while now just looking into the windows of the shops that lined Park Avenue. They found a coffee shop and settled in a back booth and ordered their coffees. Feeling relaxed, sipping their coffees, they talked a bit about their work and their art. Richie regaled her with some stories of the band's adventures on the road. Recalling the events of the day, a thought crossed his mind.

"Madison, are you afraid of fire?"

The question startled her and she was quiet for a few minutes. Richie was starting to wonder if he had hit a sore subject when she spoke.

"When I was about seven, back in Japan, my best friend lived right across the street." She paused as if she was struggling for words. "One night, during a hot summer, I woke up to hear people screaming. I also heard this roaring sound. It was just so loud...."

"What happened?"

"I got out of bed. My parents were already outside. People were yelling and running around. I went out and saw her house engulfed in flames. It was so hot even from across the street. Her mom was screaming and people were trying to hold her. It scared me so much, though I didn't know why at the time."

Richie waited for her to continue.

"I woke up the next day to find her parents in my house. They looked so.....I don't know.....broken. I couldn't understand what was happening and asked them were Rika was. That's when they told me that she had died in the fire..."

"I'm so sorry, baby." Richie instinctively wrapped his arms around her.

"From that day on, I thought of fire as something that took what you loved away, something to fear."

"And so," Madison tried to lighten the mood, "that is when you found me in my dilemma."

"With the crab."

"Yes," she laughed, "with the crab."

"So how do you cook?"

"Oh, no problem. Mic helps me with that."

"Mike? Your husband? Your boyfriend?" Richie was feeling nervous. Just my luck.

"My microwave." she laughed, again. "Actually, I'm okay with an electric stove."

"Barbeques must be a bitch, huh?"

*****

They strolled slowly back to the hotel, with Richie still holding her hand. Walking her to her room, they stopped outside the door and could hear voices inside.

"I guess they're back already. Early start tomorrow?"

Richie grimaced. "Damn Jon for booking such an early flight. He did that on purpose, you know."

"To meet a schedule?"

"To piss me off."

Madison laughed then turned and smiled up at him. "Thank you for the dinner...and the company"

"I'll see you tomorrow." With that Richie leaned down and kissed her gently on her cheek.

"Like you have a choice!" They both laughed and he winked at her, turned and walked back towards the elevators.

Entering the room she expected Kris and Patti to be there but was a little surprised to see Nina and her sister sitting with them. She thought maybe the ice had melted but was proven wrong when Nina turned to her and coolly asked, "had a nice time with your little friends?"

"Actually, I did." Madison sat down on the only available seat; right next to Nina. She wasn't about to tell them where she went or who she was with. Though she was not a fan of the band she instinctively knew that it would be a bad idea.

She listened to the conversation, mostly provided by Joanna, Kris and Patti, with an occasional grunt thrown in from Lindsey. After a few minutes, though, she decided to call it a night and went to the bedroom, "see you in the morning."

Nina sat there with a perplexed look on her face. There was something familiar that was floating around Madison but she could not put her finger on it. Then, it suddenly came to her.

It was the scent of Richie's cologne.