Chapter 39: Like a Broken Heart Song

Pissing in a River is a powerful song, but very rooted in the 70s. Jacklyn knew she could count on Nico to take the music and make it his own, but listening to him play it, just like every time she hears him play her own songs, she's blown away by what he can do with his guitar. 

"What's this song about, anyway?" he asks her.

"Smith said the lyrics are about trying to find meaning as a musician," she answers.

"Really?" Nico raises a surprised eyebrow, "It seems more romantic than that. Like a broken heart song."

"Yeah, that's why I want to cover it. It's deeply moving, but the meaning is ambiguous, so you have to give it your own meaning."

"Like your songs," Nico observes, "It suits you vocally, too."

"Like my songs," Jacklyn says quietly, "Nico, I haven't been able to write anything since we got together. I'm afraid I might have lost it, that I won't be able to write songs that don't come from a place of pain or unhappiness. "

"The suffering artist," Nico says, "Jacklyn, that's bullshit. You have an amazing talent. It comes from you, not from your circumstances. Give it time, you'll write more songs. Great ones."

Andrea has met with Debbie's trainer and the two of them are talking about getting into business together.

"That's great," Nico says, happy for his brother, "But you and Debbie...I worry that you might be moving a little too fast with her. You're always with her, and now she's controlling your life..."

"Debbie isn't controlling my life," Andrea says, "She gave me the push I needed to get my life started. And I love her, Nico. Who are you to tell me I'm going too fast?"

"I just don't want to see you get hurt," Nico says.

"When I want relationship advice from a cheater, I'll let you know," Andrea says coldly as he get up to leave.

"We're going to parents soon," Jacklyn says as they watch the sun set from the balcony, "And then we're getting married. Leave it to me to get the whole thing backwards."

"We're not backwards," Nico laughs,"We just do thing our own way."

"And that way just happens to be half-assed?" Jacklyn laughs with him, "Debbie's been talking to me about dresses for the wedding. I'm just so not that girl. You should have seen her face when I told her I was going to wear a black leather miniskirt with flames."

"If you want to do it like that, we'll have to get the pyrotech guys to set up effects for us."

"Don't even joke about this with Bill," Jacklyn says, "Or we really will end up with some heavy metal horror wedding televised on MTV."

Nico pulls her close and kisses her hair. He strayed so far from her, he almost lost his way home. Being caught out by Andrea may have lost him his brother's respect forever, but Nico is glad it happened, just in time to wake him up to what he was doing. What he has with Jacklyn is more important, more real, than anything he ever had or could have with any other woman, and when he thinks about Marilyn now, he can only wonder what the attraction was, why he'd even bother with something so shallow and empty. He's left that behind forever, but the peace he's found in his own redemption is shadowed by the worry of what Debbie might have heard from his dressing room that day of the shoot, and how he's going to tell Marilyn that it's over.

Jacklyn looks out anxiously for Nico to finish his shower and come downstairs.

Watching Debbie and Andrea audition for World's Sappiest Couple get a little tedious.

Nico finally comes to her rescue.

Just in time for her contractions to start.

Andrea has plenty of nieces and nephews back in Italy, but Trillare is special, being Nico's daughter, and coming at time when he's starting to think about marriage and family for himself.

"I guess I have to start planning a wedding now," Jacklyn says with a sigh.

"No hurry," Nico says, "I want to be married before Trill starts school, but you don't need to start stressing yourself now."

Jacklyn smiles, "I'm going to be stressed anyway; Bill has already started harassing me about losing my baby weight and getting back on stage."

"I'm going to punch Bill one of these days," Nico says, "Or better, I'll send my brother to punch him. Don't listen to his crap, you don't have any baby weight to lose. If anything, you're too thin."

"I'm glad you're here," Nico embracing his brother when they find themselves alone in the nursery, "I've missed you so much."

"It's going to be all right," Nico says, more to himself than to his daughter. He only has one loose end to tie up, and then he can safely bury his sordid past and move forward, to be the husband and father he wants to be.

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If you've ever wanted to light Nico's ass on fire, check out the new pics in the Breaking Immersion page.