He grabbed Aiden’s hair and bumped their foreheads together. “We have a lot to catch up on.”
Aiden put his hands on his brother’s shoulders and steadied him. “I think you have something else you need to handle first.”
Finn felt the sharp tap of the cane’s handle on his arm and turned to face his idol.
Trevor Roy looked at the two men. It was impossible not to know they were brothers. He turned to Charlotte, “Ginger Snap? Is there a private room?”
“There’s an office just down the hall, dad,” she replied.
Without another word, Trevor Roy walked away.
Finn turned to Aiden. “Should I follow him?”
“I don’t know, man. It’s Trevor fucking Roy. Remember your poster?”
“I was just thinking about that.”
Tox’s big hand on Finn’s neck brought him back to the present. “Dude, go and get your ass handed to you, so we can get back to hearing his stories. He was right in the middle of telling us about a poker game with Steve McQueen, Sean Connery, and Paul Newman.” Tox turned Finn and pushed him out of the room.
Finn entered the office to find Charlotte’s father sitting at her small desk. Finn stood at attention. Trevor Roy watched him, his steepled index fingers touching his lips.
“Take a seat.”
Finn looked around the room. There were no other chairs. He turned back to meet Trevor’s impassive gaze. In the corner, he spotted a low, collapsible lawn chair people brought to sporting events. He grabbed it from the corner, set it up, and sank into the canvas seat six inches above the floor. Effectively reduced to half his height, Finn waited.
“Do you know how many drugs I’ve consumed over the course of my life?” Trevor asked.
“No, sir.”
“I tallied it up once. I estimated that I spent two million, three hundred and eighty thousand pounds on drugs. And that doesn’t count the legal stuff: alcohol, Xanax, oxy.”
Finn didn’t respond, and Trevor continued. “Two million and change on heroin, LSD, angel dust, crack, ecstasy, molly, quaaludes, mushrooms, pot, opium. Shit, sometimes my dealer would hand me a pill, and I’d take it without ever knowing what it was.” He sat back and crossed his legs. “I tell you this because I was a man who couldn’t find happiness, so I went looking for it in all the wrong places.”
Finn sat forward with his elbows on his knees as Trevor continued. “I have stood on a stage with fifty thousand adoring fans screaming my name—hundreds of times. I have won seventeen Grammys and an Oscar. You know what the biggest thrill of my life has been?” He opened his wallet and grumbled, “Feck phone storage. I couldn’t find a picture in that bloody thing with a gun to my head.” He pulled out an old photograph and passed it over.
In the picture, Charlotte looked to be about seven. She held a pancake as big as her head and had flour in her red hair. Trevor was kneeling next to her, holding a plate of wonky flapjacks. Behind them, the kitchen was a hurricane of pots and pans. They were both sporting toothy grins, and Charlotte leaned into her dad, who pressed his cheek against her temple.
“Making Mother’s Day breakfast with Charlotte for Daisy,” Trevor said.
Finn cleared his throat and returned the precious photo.
“It wasn’t until Charlotte was born that I really understood what life was all about. Shite, that’s corny as hell, but I’ve spent half a century writing crap lyrics and sometimes corny works. Charlotte is the most precious gift I have ever received.” He swallowed thickly. “And I nearly killed her.”
Trevor must have seen the knowing look on Finn’s face. “She told you.”
“Yes, she told me.” Finn wondered what Auggie was up to. Trevor would love meeting the grandson of the man who had saved Charlotte.
“It’s my biggest regret, but I’m grateful for it too because it got me sober and made me the best fecking husband and father that ever walked the earth.”
Finn snorted a laugh.
“I’m dead fecking serious, mate.”
Finn wiped the smile off his face.
“Nah, I’m only messing with you. I will say this, though.” Trevor stood and walked over to where Finn sat. “Don’t get me wrong. I love all my children, but that one out there? She was a gift from the love of my life. There is no lovelier child, inside or out, than our Charlotte.”
Finn looked up with serious eyes. “She’s the most incredible woman I have ever met.”