Love's Requiem (ENG)

Chapter 5 : Right here in my arms

« She'll be right here in my arms
So in Love »
(Right here in my arms - HIM)

Three months of intense touring. Three months on the road, filling and emptying venues, getting tired, meeting fans and journalists everywhere. Little by little, Kim's sadness drowned in the flowing alcohol of the afterparties. Then it turned into a frightening void, and she was walking on a rope. That's how she felt outside these rockstar parties. Finally Kim was back home in Los Angeles. No schedule, no constrains, she had all her time to write new songs. 

****

In Helsinki, the guys in Highnesses were working hard on their upcoming album. Most of the instrumental parts were written, Ville was just finishing his lyrics and singing. Mikko caught a glimpse of one of his singer's latest pieces.

The music was complete but Ville had not come up with vocal parts for this song yet.

- Do you have an idea of what you want to do with this song ?
- Yeah, I was thinking about a second voice on this, female voice.
- Who are you thinking about ? Asked the bass player, rather surprised.
- Kim Lowell, said Ville nonchalantly.

Mikko jumped from the sofa, then sat on its edge to face Ville.

- And you really believe she has time for this ? Or that the record company will let you do that ?

Ville scoffed. 

- She's just finished her european tour so she has some time off. I don't care about the record company, and Johan will love this ! He laughed at the thought of his old manager having to pitch this to some label representative. 

- You're way too confident. But whatever, when you have something in mind...

***

As usual when she woke up at home, Kim was in her music room early in the morning. She played piano, letting her fingers lightly run on the keys. Notes echoed all around the two stories of the vast and empty house, then stopped suddenly. Beethoven would not finish his Letter to Elise as some more unpleasant notes were escaping from the phone.

- Miss Lowell ? Johan Westinen on the phone, manager for the band Highnesses...

She damned herself for letting her record company forward these calls to her but listened with attention. She hang up with a smile on her face as she accepted the man's proposal. She would receive the first demo of the song during the day. When she did, she played the song as loud as she could in her living room, opened the door to her sunny garden and plunged in her swimming pool.

***

It was panic all over the small apartment. Ville woke up late. A taxi had been honking outside the building for long minutes and the singer could not find proper clothes. His girlfriend eventually handed him parts of his outfit. He seized his pair of socks from Ela, kissed her and ran downstairs. He jumped in the back of the taxi and let it drive him through the foggy streets of the Finnish capital. A few minutes later, they stopped in front of Helsinki Vantaa airport, which was rather empty this early.

Kim was waiting for her luggage. She only had one small suitcase, her stay would be two short days. Around her, people were coming and going and she could not understand a single Finnish word from the speakers. Then she saw Ville. She waved at him but he had already spotted her.

- Hi Kim.

- Hello Vi... Shit my suitcase ! 

Kim ran to catch it as it was taken away by the conveyor belt. Ville laughed when she made her way back to where they were standing.

- Give me that, the taxi's waiting outside and I think he'll be too pleased to overcharge me, he said, taking the rebel suitcase from her and offering his arm to lead her outside.