Chapter 7: Carry That Weight

Warm Gun's fans aren't bothered by the fact that the bass player is a ghost. Even Philip has stopped throwing up at the sight of the not-quite-dead Rory on stage.
Philip has recently married Maya Riley, Jasmin's mother, and they are expecting a child.

Rory readjusted himself to the world of the living readily. Having experienced death and gotten a second chance at life, he's decided to do all the things he missed out on the first time around. First, he bought a better house, the one Carey and Foster recently vacated, and second, he adopted a child so he could experience parenthood. And, he's been dating. He's currently got three women he sees regularly.

Rory's adopted daughter Maebe is schoolmates with Dante.

Foster signs autographs outside the theater before his concert. Young Abraham Vamp is thrilled to meet his idol.

"Just keep your fangs away from my daughter," Foster grumbles as he signs the boy's autograph book. Jasmin hasn't talked about or brought any boys home from school, never mentioning having any kind of romantic life, so Foster is suspicious of all teen males in town. 

A more grown up fan approaches for an autograph. Foster is much more comfortable socializing with women.

"Make it out to Yvonne," she says, "I'm your biggest fan!"

"Yvonne?" Foster asks, her name ringing a bell, "Yvonne Malfeasance?" That was the name of the girl that Sandra's last boyfriend dumped her for.

"Oh my God! You know who I am?" Yvonne shrieks.

Foster gives her his sexiest smile. She did a big favor for him by stealing Jacob Martin from Sandra, and thus freeing her for Foster. Apparently it was less of a favor to herself; Jacob has a worse reputation than Foster as a heartbreaker, and has already moved on through several girlfriends since Yvonne.

Foster more grudgingly signs an autograph for Perseus Gryffon, a local sports star. Foster hates jocks, has always hated jocks. This particular jock is his jock son Parker's hero, so Foster has all the more reason to hate him.

Carey and his band have been gaining some local notoriety, and Bamboo-Zle has offered him two grand to have a drink in their club for their own publicity. The money could buy the computer the kids have been asking for, and it seemed like a simple enough thing to do, so Carey dressed up and took Roslyn out to the fusion lounge for a drink.

Carey has a drink, and they pay him the two grand.

Once it's done, Carey feels dirty.

"Maybe I shouldn't have agreed to this," he sighs to Roslyn, "I feel like I've compromised the band's integrity."

"It's not like you sold one of our songs to advertise cereal," Roslyn says, "It was just a drink in a bar for publicity. And it was a lot of money."

Bamboo-Zle's customers gape to see Carey, so maybe they got what they wanted out of the deal. Or maybe people are just shocked to see a guy who normally slums around dive bars in this upscale lounge.

"Even if it were a million simoleons, I shouldn't be so willing to sell myself like that," Carey says. "What kind of example am I setting for Gibson?"

Roslyn kisses him passionately, earning a disapproving stare from bouncer Mint Crunch.

"I don't know anyone who's a better father than you, Carey," she says, "You are being way too hard on yourself."

Carey isn't convinced. "Let's go," he says, "This place makes me uncomfortable."

Alone in the elevator, Carey surprises Roslyn with a sudden storm of passion, making love to her with a fierce desperation. Public sex is very unlike him, and Roslyn understands that this isn't about love or even lust, he's just releasing a huge tension that's been weighing him down. He carries all the responsibility in their relationship, he raised their child largely on his own. And he carries the band as well, arranging the gigs, the jams and rehearsals. He does it with such an ease of manner that Roslyn never saw how much pressure it put on him; how much pressure she put on him, until now.

If she loves him, she thinks, she's going to have to change that, take some of the burden onto herself.

Sandra asked Foster to join her family for a picnic on quay, which her family owns. She's recently made up with her father, Morty Roth, and moved back into the Roth mansion. She's hoping to reinstated as her father's primary heir as well, so that her brother Xander doesn't get it all. The fact that Xander didn't show up for this gathering, and his girlfriend Doreen sat with her back to Morty, her face in a book, can only help Sandra's cause.

"You need to work out more," Morty comments to Foster, "You need to be fit to father an heir for my Sandra."
Sandra kicks Foster gently under the table, reminding him not mention that he and Sandra already have a child. Her family still doesn't know about Dante.

Morty is impressed with Foster's celebrity status, and with Sandra's, comparing his son Xander's photography career unfavorably. "Roths shouldn't be nobodies," he says "We're somebodies. Big somebodies."
Sandra keeps a straight face throughout, though she's dying of embarassment.
Foster doesn't care that her father is a pompous ass, he's just glad Sandra considers him an asset in her quest to impress the old man.

Foster gets a little private time with Sandra, but it's interrupted by a call from his agent. He has to rush off and do a a publicity stunt at Howl before tonight's concert, so he kisses Sandra goodbye and gets to work.

Foster has no qualms about taking money to just have a drink at a bar. He wouldn't have any qualms about selling his music as cereal jingles, either. Money is money, and you can always use more of it.

Foster's publicity gig at Howl is over quickly and he rushes off to the theater for this evening's concert, so he's gone by the time Gibson and Jasmin show up. They were supposed to be doing homework at Christa Vamp's house after school, but they snuck off to visit the nightclub.

"Do you want to dance?" Gibson asks.

"I would if there was a band," Jasmin answers. Howl's basement dance floor is less active than a graveyard.

Bored, the teens go outside to the club's balcony.

"You look really pretty," Gibson says, "Too bad it's wasted on this dump."

"Well, not completely wasted," Jasmin answers, giving him a look that sets him on fire, "At least you appreciate my beauty."

Gibson has tried hard to think of Jasmin as a sister and to squelch all the other non-fraternal thoughts that persistently crop up. Tonight his self-control fails, and he kisses her the way he's been pretending he hasn't been dreaming about kissing her for weeks.

"Gibson, that..."

Whatever she was going to say will have to wait. They are out past curfew and the cops have found them out.

They put Jasmin in the front seat of the patrol car, and Gibson has to take the back. He can't even hold her hand on the ride home.

Jasmin is thrilled to be brought home by the police. Gibson is less excited, anticipating a strong lecture from his father.

"Go inside, Jas," Gibson says as Carey comes out to them, "I'll take the heat for this."

"What were you thinking?" Carey demands, "You know there's a curfew!"

"I also know you and Foster used to get brought in by the cops all the time when you were my age."

That's true, but it isn't Carey who tells the kids stories about their misspent youth. That's Foster's doing, and Foster is conveniently asleep now that it's lecture time.

"I know," Carey relents, "A little trouble isn't necessarily a bad thing. But don't drag Jasmin into it; you're older, you should be more responsible."

Gibson dutifully promises to be more responsible, and doesn't mention that going to Howl was Jasmin's idea in the first place.

Being caught by the police and lectured by his dad were all worth it, though, and Gibson happily greets Jasmin the next morning before school.

"Gibson, last night never happened, okay?" she says when he tries to hug her.

"It did happen," Gibson protests, "And it was great!"

"It can't happen again, ever," Jasmin insists, "You're my best friend. I don't want to ruin that."

"Nothing's ruined," Gibson tries to reason with her, but she shakes her head.

"Please, Gibson, forget it ever happened, and don't ever mention it to me again." She turns and runs into the bathroom before he can say another word.

Usually, they sit together on the bus ride to school. Today, an uncomfortable space has risen between them. Jasmin fears she's already ruined the friendship she treasures, and Gibson just needs to avoid physical closeness to her, for his own sanity.