Bailey's Black Dog

The Beginning

DISCLAIMER: This chapter references many disturbing topics, if you are easily triggered DO NOT READ!!!! And I know we absolutely LOVE the original four members of Led Zeppelin but stick with the fifth, it will make sense in the end

I opened the door to my house and walked in, I slammed it behind me and threw my keys on a nearby table. I had completely ignored my drunk or hung-over, cheating husband lying on the sofa. I stomped up the stairs and into my bedroom to pack a bag, I hadn't even grabbed my gym bag before Jimmy was standing in the doorway.
¨Bailey, I'm truly sorry,¨ he said, I didn't even glance at him. ¨Bailey, baby, I really truly feel bad, I didn't want to hurt you,¨ he whined,
¨Maybe you should have thought about me before you screwed that fifteen-year-old!¨ I spat . Jimmy stumbled towards me,
¨Oh please, let me make it up to you! You know I love you,¨ he said, reaching to wipe a tear off my face.
¨Don't touch me,¨ I said, swatting his hand away. I finished packing my bag and headed downstairs, meanwhile, Jimmy had gone from apologetic to angry. I grabbed my keys and opened the door,
¨Where the hell do you think you're going?¨ Jimmy yelled from the top of the staircase,
¨Not here,¨ I said, before I knew it Jimmy had flown down the stairs and had pinned me against the wall.
¨Bailey Page I swear if you leave this house I will do my damnedest to make sure you never get back in,¨ he yelled in my face,
¨What if I don't care?¨ I shouted back, tears rolling down my face,
¨Then tough shit,¨ Jimmy screamed. I finally managed to squirm free and get out the door,
¨Bailey Mary Page, if you don't get back here, you'll be lucky you don't end up dead,¨ he yelled,
¨You're not my father, I don't have to listen to your cheating ass!¨ I screamed,
¨Then don't make me act like I'm your father!¨ he said loudly, I got in my car and slammed the door before driving down the road. I started to sob, so I turned up the radio to drown out the sound of my ugly cry. Of course, the radio just had to be playing a Led Zeppelin song, it just made me think even more about Jimmy. It was Led Zeppelin after all that connected Jimmy and I. We had met in the summer of 1967 when my band had opened for the Yardbirds, Jimmy's band. I was seventeen, naive, and a damn good bass player. He wanted to write some songs together, and as the story goes, we fell in love. The Yardbirds had imploded, he wanted to start a new band, and he wanted me to play bass. We almost immediately got a record deal, but I wasn't allowed to sign until I made a very important decision. If I wanted to be in the band, Jimmy and I were going to get married, but if I said no, I'd lose my spot in the band and kiss Jimmy goodbye. I should have known then that he was a manchild, but being seventeen, all I saw was a record deal and the love of my life. While our band took off, our marriage went careening down a very steep incline at two hundred miles per hour with no breaks. Almost exactly when we had gotten married, Jimmy's attitude had changed towards me, he had me captive now, I couldn't leave him and break up the biggest band in the world, it would be a selfish thing to do.  So I just put up with being the good girl who listens to every word he says and will fuck him on demand. Frankly, I've been putting up with it for too long, nine years now, and I won't give up until the band does. I kept driving to Jonesy's house. John Paul Jones, or Jonesy, was Led Zeppelin's electric organ player and my best friend, and I was on my way to his house to cry some more. I pulled into the driveway, turned down the radio which was now playing a Yardbirds song, took the keys out of the ignition, and walked to Jonesy's door, bag in hand. I knocked and the door almost immediately opened.
¨Oh Bailey girl, what did Jimmy do now?¨ Jonesy asked, seeing that I was crying and knowing that  I usually came over when I was upset with Jimmy.
¨Take one guess,¨ I said, following him into his house,
¨He cheated,¨ he stated,
¨How did you know?¨ I said sarcastically,
¨How old was she this time?¨ he asked, Jimmy had a reputation of being a bit of a pedophile,
¨ I'd say fifteen,¨ I said, throwing my bag on the bed of the guest bedroom Jonesy had led me to.
¨Can I just say, Jimmy is a fool, he has a kind, pretty girl who is uber faithful and constantly mistreats her,¨ Jonesy said as I followed him downstairs and into his tearoom. We sat down at the table, Jonesy poured me a cup of tea,
¨Why don't you get a divorce?¨ he asked,
¨I've thought about it but, we did just release a double masterpiece and are about to start recording again, I can't be the unmarried Yoko of Led Zeppelin, and even better, Peter would have my head if I even hired a lawyer,¨ I said, referencing Led Zeppelin's manager, let's just say I was afraid of him.  Jonesy buried his nose in his teacup and rolled his eyes,
¨I absolutely hate the people Peter has hired for our security,¨ he said, I nodded, I didn't like them but I was used to their approach: If they're in the way, mow 'em down; It was very American. Speaking of America, I was very very homesick, I missed my parents and my little row house on a Boston street, not to mention, my job at WBCN was pretty cushy when I was there. Jonesy always teased me about my homesickness, I knew better than to bring it up. I looked behind Jonesy, there was a picture of Led Zeppelin in 1970, all of us looking quite smug, holding our gold records, I was standing in between Jimmy and our lead singer, Robert Plant. Just the thought of that man made me tumescent, Robert was the most attractive man in the world. He was tall and thin, but not too thin like Jimmy, his curly gold mane was reminiscent of a lion's, his eyes burned a clear shade of blue and he had the face of an angel. He spoke sweetly in his black country accent, he was sensitive and kind, Robert was the polar opposite of Jimmy.