By: Lisa Anne Hetu
Disclaimer: All events that take place in this story are fictional; any resemblance to real events are purely coincidental. Abigail Black and Kevin Larry Glenn McCann are fictional characters, made up for the purpose of this tale. All other major characters are real people. Any similarity to their actual personalities is only by coincidence. Now, on with the story...
Another Sunday, another day of singing. Abigail Black enjoyed singing in Church, accompanied only by her guitar-playing friend. Scott played guitar and Abby sang; the congregation enjoyed it. Abby sang well. On this particular Sunday morning, four guests had arrived at church, just stopping for mass before passing through. It had always been Abby's dream to be able to sing for Great Big Sea, as they so often did for their fans, and her heart jumped when she saw them. Abby thought she was dreaming, but she wasn't. When they smiled at her singing, Abby could have died.
After mass, Abby began to collect her music sheets and put away her microphone. She was tying up the microphone cord when the four guys came up to her. "You sing beautifully" said Alan, "We all enjoyed it very much."
"Thank you, you're very kind" said Abby, "But I could never be able to sing the way you do."
"You know us then?" asked Alan, teasingly.
"I certainly hope so, I've been listening to your music for over three years. I have all your albums."
"A Great Big Sea fan, huh?" Sean smiled.
"Some might even say an obsessive" Abby added, handing the microphone to Scott.
"So, I would assume you attended our concert last night" Alan said.
"That I did," Abby said, "But I never get the opportunity to tell you guys how much I enjoy your music and your energy. But, I guess I just told you now, didn't I?"
They all laughed.
"I'm surprised you still have a voice to sing after last night." Sean said.
"What can I say, I'm addicted to my work." Abby said, "It's volunteer work, of course, but I enjoy doing it just the same. And it was really an honor to have been able to sing for you today. Having you listen to me sing as opposed to me listening to you was truly a dream come true."
"Well, we're glad to have heard you sing" Alan said, "The pleasure was ours."
Abby talked with the band for a few more minutes about how their tour was going and stuff. By the end of the conversation the band was almost set on having Abby come with them on their next tour. They spoke to their manager and decided to take Abby's phone number down, just in case. As it turned out, the band did decide to have Abby along for their next tour. So, that summer, Abby hopped on a plane to meet the band in Vancouver BC, where they were to begin a new Canadian tour.
The strange part was that Abby didn't actually open for Great Big Sea. Scott hadn't come on the tour, so Abby was guitar-player-less. Instead, Abby joined Great Big Sea after intermission and sang with them. Although strange, Abby had fun doing it. She was introduced on stage, playing the part of the "Fair young maiden" (as Alan put it) during "I'm A Rover". Great Big Sea then accompanied Abby while she sang a few songs of her own, sang a duet of "Petty Harbour Bait Skiff" with Alan, and concluded her set by accompanying Sean with "Captain Wedderburn". The band even invited her back on stage during the final encore, to sing "Time Brings" with them, a song that they had added to their play list just this once because it was one of Abby's favorite songs.
Abby had always had a deep affection for Alan, even before they ahd met. However, Abby knew that Alan was dating and his loyalty to his significant other had become all too clear to Abby during the course of the tour. Still, Abby wouldn't let a lost chance spoil her love for the band. She respected Alan's love and didn't, in good conscience, have the heart to compete for him. Alan's happiness came first and foremost in any case, and Abby respected that. She never even had the heart to tell him how she felt towards him; Abby figured he'd be better off not knowing.
However, unbeknownst to Abby, Sean was taking a liking to her. They became close friends so slowly that Abby haden't even noticed. Deep down inside, Abby was beginning to enjoy Sean's company more and more too. The kiss on the cheek that Sean gave her before running out on stage every show seemed second nature to Abby. Knowing that Sean was liable to do the same to Alan, Abby decided it probablly meant nothing.
Then, one night in Toronto, the band was returning to their hotel for the night. "Danny? Do you need any help with that?" Abby asked, having done nothing for the past hour while Great Big Sea chatted it up with their fans.
"No, that's okay" Danny said, "Tony and I can handle it."
Abby was completely bored, but she had nothing better to do, so she got on the bus and sat quietly by herself. Abby never even noticed the guys showing up outside the bus, and she didn't notice Sean getting on the bus either. "You sang well tonight" he said, making Abby turn her head from the window.
"As you've mentioned every night this tour," Abby said, "but, as it seems our little tradition, that I dare not break, I must say ... you sang well too ... as usual."
"Have I ever told you how much I enjoy singing with you?" Sean asked after a moment.
"Dozens of times," Abby smiled, "And you've also mentioned that our voices blend well together, and that our harmony is ... how did you put it?"
"Out of this world" Sean smiled.
"That's right," Abby nodded, "And I agree with you. How could I ever refuse those dimples of yours."
Sean just looked at Abby with a look she had never recieved from him before, but she knew the wheels in his head were spinning over something. "What..." Abby asked, wondering about the look she was getting.
"Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?" Sean asked.
"No, that's a new one" Abby said, surprised and flattered.
"Good, I don't want you thinking all I ever do is repeat myself" Sean said, "but it's true ... You are a very beautiful woman."
"Your not so bad lookin' yourself" Abby said, not knowing how else to respond.
"Don't look so surprised," Sean said, "I thought you knew you were pretty."
"I..." Abby was speechless and she was blushing. She turned her head away, but Sean made her look at him.
"I want to give you something," Sean said.
"And what would that be?" Abby managed to say.
"This." Sean said, and kissed her on the lips.
Abby felt like she could fly, and for a moment nothing existed except Sean. But, when Sean pulled away, reality floated back into her head, and she looked at him questioningly.
"What about Kim?" Abby asked, "I thought you were dating?"
Sean's face saddened slightly. "I broke it off with her a while ago." he said, "I'm officially single for now."
"Oh," Abby said, but didn't have time to say anything else because Bob and Alan entered the bus, followed shortly by Darrell, Louis, Danny and Tony.
The next morning, Abby had packed all her things in her hotel room and was heading down for a quick breakfast before the band continued on. She met Alan at the elevator; he was also going down for breakfast. "Good morning Abby" he said.
"Good morning," Abby smiled, "Alan, can I ask you something?"
"Sure, shoot" Alan said, getting on the elevator with Abby.
"Is Sean still dating Kim?" Abby asked, as the doors closed.
"I can't tell you that," Alan said, "You should ask Sean if you really want to know."
"He already told me that he broke up with her." Abby said.
"So, why would you not believe him?" Alan asked, curiously.
Abby didn't answer; she felt a little ashamed.
"Sean wouldn't lie to you." Alan said, reasuring her as the elevator doors opened, and he got off.
That day, Great Big Sea and their tour bus continued on to North Bay for another concert. Again, Abby sang with the band. It was quickly becoming one of her favorite things to do. However, this concert was slightly different for Abby because she noticed that Sean was looking at her differently. While she was on-stage, Abby paid no attention to the look in Sean's eyes. After the show, Abby debated with herself. Part of her wanted to avoid Sean, and the other part wanted to get as close to him as humanly possible. However, despite what she would have chosen, Sean made that decision before she had a chance to.
As the band was coming back stage after their second encore, Sean came over to Abby where she had been waiting for her cue. "You're doing great," Sean said, "Ready for the last one?"
"Ready as I'll ever be." Abby said.
"Good luck" Sean smiled, and kissed Abby's cheek.
The band caught their breath and soaked up the chant of "Great Big Sea" coming from the audience.
"I'll call you out" Alan reminded Abby.
"As usual" Abby smiled, and the guys ran out on stage through a barrage of screams and cheers.
Abby stood just out of sight.
"We've got one last one to do for you" Alan told the crowd, "We've had a wicked time here tonight, and we'd like to thank Abigail Black for joining us on our tour. Here she is again to say good-night."
Abby jogged out onto the stage and half-hugged Alan and Sean as she had done many times before. Danny handed her a cordless microphone (as she didn't need a stand like the guys) and she said "I had a great time tonight thanks to all of you, and thanks to Great Big Sea."
The crowd burst into cheers.
"The guys have invited me to do this last song with them, and it just happens to be one that I'm very fond of." Abby told the crowd, "Unfortunately, the guys don't play it nearly often enough in concert, but Alan said they'd make an exception for me. So, to say good-night, we're going to sing Time Brings from Great Big Sea's first album."
Again, the crowd cheered, until the music began and Alan began to sing.
On the bus ride home, Sean and Abby started talking. A small discussion then included Alan, and was soon joined by Darrell and Bob as well. The five singers got into an idea of writing a duet just so that Abby could sing with them again. Further discussion led to the possibility of using that song in the next album, and then Abby could tour with them again. That night the song idea was just a playful conversation to pass the time on the way back to the hotel. At least, Abby thought it was playful conversation.
As the eastern stretch of the tour spread into the Atlantic stretch of the tour, things between Sean and Abby became more serious. After every concert, every night, Sean would knock on Abby's door to say good-night. Then, one night in St. John New Brunswick, Abby was drying her hair after a shower. Sean had already come to say good-night, so Abby was dressed for bed. Just as she turned off the hair dryer, there was a knock at the door.
"Just a minute," Abby called, running to her bed to put on her house coat, but forgetting to tie it up.
Sean was at the door with a few sheets of paper and a pen in hand. "You already said good-night." Abby said, wondering why he had come knocking a second time that night.
"I know, but I've been playing around with a few song ideas and I wanted to share them with you." Sean said, "Is it too late to talk now? I didn't want to wait until morning."
"No, I guess I can look at it now," Abby said quickly, stepping out of the way to let Sean in, "So, what've you got?"
Sean looked mildly stunned for a moment, then silently handed Abby the sheets of paper.
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" Abby asked, then noticed her nightgown and instinctively tied up her housecoat, "Oh sorry, I wasn't expecting you so I got ready for bed."
"I, uh ... that's fine" Sean said, "It doesn't bother me if it doesn't bother you."
"Why would it?" Abby said, sitting on the edge of the bed to look at the notes Sean had given to her.
"No reason" Sean said quickly, and sat down beside her.
"I just took a bath, so I probably smell like vanilla" Abby said idly, "I like this part, but maybe the chorus should be only after every two verses."
Sean quietly breathed in deeply through his nose, to smell the vanilla scent from Abby's hair. "Vanilla is a pretty scent on you," he said, "And maybe we could stick an instrumental in here, and the chorus twice at the end."
"Yeah, that sounds good ... there's a rhythm problem here, we'll have to change that" Abby said, then paused to look at Sean, "What did you just say?"
"About the chorus?"
"No, about the scent of vanilla"
"I ... just said it smelled nice on you" Sean said.
Abby was touched. "You think so?"
Sean nodded.
"I use that scent all the time. It's in my shampoo, my soap, bubble bath, deodorant ... I guess I like vanilla."
"You probably smell good even without the vanilla" Sean said, then wasn't sure if he should have said that out loud.
Abby didn't know what to say. She felt herself blush.
Sean looked at her, slowly deciding to kiss her. When their lips touched, Sean wrapped his arms around Abby and pulled her close. Abby dropped the sheets of paper and kissed him back ... until something snapped and Abby pulled away. "It's getting late, we should probably sleep now." she said getting up.
Sean picked up his notes and uncertainly headed for the door. He turned back to Abby, "Can I come back tomorrow night to talk about the song some more?"
Abby paused momentarily, but couldn't bring herself to say no; she needed him to come to her again. "Sure, tomorrow night then."
Sean smiled. Then he kissed her again quickly. "Good night." he said, and happily left the room.
Sean came to see Abby every night at the hotel, and together they brainstormed lyrics, polished up verses, scrapped entire sections of the song and brainstormed some more. Every night they worked on their song, whether they had just put on a concert or it had just been a travel day. The other band members never said anything about it, except for the occasional "How's the duet coming?"
On the second last day of the Canadian Tour, Abby realized that her time with Great Big Sea was quickly coming to an end. By the time Abby's last performance had ended, she was feeling quite sad. On the bus, the boys started to notice that Abby seemed kind of low. "How's that song coming Abby?" Darrell asked, trying to get her attention.
Abby didn't answer.
"It probably needs a few small changes, but other then that it's done," Sean told Darrell, "Isn't that right Abby?"
"I'm sorry, what did you say?" Abby asked, as if coming out of a daze.
"Is something wrong Abby?" Alan asked, concerned, "You seem a little down."
"I, uh .. I guess I am" Abby confessed, " I guess I'm just feeling a little sad, that's all."
Sean put his arm around Abby's shoulders. "Why are you sad?"
"The tour's over and I have to leave you tomorrow" Abby said sadly, looking at Sean, then to the others, "I enjoy your company so much that I don't want to leave."
"Uh oh." Sean said playfully, "We've got another one attached to us, b'ys!"
"Sean, seriously" Bob said, "Can you not be sincere even now?" I mean, the poor girl is really going to miss us and you're joking around about it."
"I was just trying to cheer her up a bit." Sean said defensively.
"Guys, please don't argue, not now" Abby said, "I haven't seen you guys argue once on this entire trip. Don't start now."
"We're sorry Abby" Bob and Sean apologized together.
At the hotel, the guys all said good-night to Abby and hugged her. "Don't worry about good-bye's until you have to" they said. It made Abby feel a little better. As Abby undressed for bed, she began to think. The song was finished, so Sean had no reason to come and see her tonight, but Abby still wanted him to come. Sadly, she brushed her hair, and washed her face and teeth. On her way out of the bathroom, Abby looked at the door expecting Sean to knock, but he didn't. She sat on her bed, and looked at the door again. She got up wondering if maybe she shouldn't go to Sean's room and surprise him, then decided against it and sat down again.
After about ten minutes of tossing the idea around, Abby realized that she wasn't about to get any sleep until she saw Sean. But, just as she was getting up, Sean knocked on the door. Abby paused, almost surprised that he had come. When she opened the door, Sean just walked in and shut the door behind him. "I don't like seeing you sad," he said, "And I needed to see you again tonight anyway."
"See me for what?" Abby wondered hopefully.
"I just needed to see you, that's all." Sean said.
That wasn't really the answer she had been hoping for, but Abby supposed it was good enough. Slowly, she walked further into the room. And, for a minute, Sean stayed at the door. Then, he walked over to her and kissed her. Without warning, Abby found herself pressed against Sean's body with his arms around her. Abby wrapped her arms around his neck as he continued to kiss her entire face and neck. "I love you" Abby found herself saying, and it surprised Sean.
He looked at her, still wrapped in his arms, then realized "I love you too."
"Oh Sean, I don't want to leave you" Abby said suddenly, wrapping her arms around him tighter and pressing herself as close to him as possible.
"Then, I won't leave you," Sean said, holding her close, "Not tonight."
The next morning the band and Abby went to the airport. The guys were to get on a plane to St. John's and Abby on a separate plane back to Toronto where she lived. Abby said good-bye to Danny and Louis, then turned to the b'ys of Great Big Sea. Darrell hugged her and said, "We're glad you joined us on the tour, your voice was pleasant and your company was a treat."
Bob hugged Abby and said "You take care of yourself now."
Alan hugged her and kissed her on the cheek. "We'll see you again really soon." he said.
Sean hugged Abby tightly and kissed her gently on the lips. "I'll miss you" he said.
"I love you Sean, I'll always love you." Abby said.
"We had a time, didn't we?" Sean said forcing a smile, "I love you too."
When Abby's plane began to board, she had to wave, and they all waved back. The image stayed with Abby forever... but the rest of Abby's life had only just begun.
* * * * * * * * * *
Three months later, Abby was at home and her life was back to normal. She still sang at her church every Sunday because it kept her happy. Scott was happy to have Abby back too, as was the rest of the congregation. "Things just weren't the same without you" people had said. But slowly, Abby began to feel sick. She tried to ignore the pain until about two weeks later. The illness hadn't faded, and in fact it had actually gotten worse, so she went to see a doctor. He said Abby was pregnant.
For the next few months, Abby started thinking seriously about having a baby. She wasn't sure if she was ready to raise a child as a single mother. Soon she realized that Sean should at least know that she was pregnant. She tried as often as she could to reach Sean, but he wasn't at home, and nobody would let her through to talk to the guys on tour. As her time grew nearer, Abby found herself wanting Sean by her side. Even from the hospital, Abby tried to call the band, but she hadn't been able to reach them. They didn't know she was pregnant, but if they did Abby knew they would all be on the next plane to Toronto. That thought was what got Abby through labor.
A month and a half later, Great Big Sea were having a concert in Toronto. Abby showed up shortly after the concert had started and stood out by the swag table, holding the baby against her chest to protect his tiny ears from the noise. No one said anything about her being there until Abby tried to see the band. "Look, I have to see them" Abby protested.
"I'm sorry miss, but I can't allow you to see them, especially since you didn't see the concert."
"I wasn't about to bust my son's eardrums, he's just a baby." Abby said.
"Then you should have left him at home."
"He's the whole reason why I came here in the first place," Abby said, "Look I have a pass from when I was touring with them, and I even bought a ticket to this concert ... I just can't reach them because my hands are kinda full."
"Sure you do, I'm afraid you'll have to leave now." said the guard, pushing her toward the exit.
"No, you can't send me away!" Abby screamed, as the baby started to cry, "God damn it, Sean has a right to meet his own son!"
Luckily, Bob just happened to hear the baby crying and something said about Sean's son. Curiously, Bob peaked around the corner to see what was going on. As soon as he saw Abby, screaming fans be damned, he ran out to stop the security guards from throwing her out. "Bob! Oh, thank God you're here" Abby said relieved.
"It's okay, I'll take it from here" Bob told security, then ushered Abby backstage to his dressing room.
