18

John's grave was freshly sodden. Harmony sat down, leaned back against the head stone, and closed her eyes. She was emotionally exhausted and wanted to sleep. But nothing she did would bring sleep.

"I am so mad at you right now." She said to the cold stone behind her.

"How could you leave me like this? You didn't tell me anything. I don't know what to do." As she wept her phone started ringing.

She wiped away the tears and answered it. "Hello?"

"Hi Harm."

"Hey James arrive all safe?"

"I just got in the car." He replied.

"That's good. I'm glad you made it." She said.

"Thanks. I'm on my way to the hotel for a nap and a shower. I just wanted to talk to you first." He said.

"I'm glad you did. It's been a really scary, long day so far. For a minute I thought I was going to lose it." She admitted.

"You can call me whenever you need to Harm. I don't care if I'm in the middle of a show. You come first to me." He said.

"Thank you James.��� She smiled. "Quit being so nice to me. I don't want to start crying again."

"Think happy thoughts Harm. I know I do." He replied. "I'm at the hotel I'll call before I go on stage to check in."

"Alright James, rest well. I'll talk to you later." She replied.

"Thanks. Bye for now, never forever." She heard the phone click and he was gone.

What a strange thing to say, Harmony thought to herself. She had forgotten where she was and how angry she had been before the phone rang. She stood up, dusted the dirt off and kissed the top of the head stone good bye. Then she made her way back into town. She thought if she had to promote the largest museum in the state then she had better get a good look at it. She had never been to the building before and feared getting lost and looking ridiculous on the big night.

Harmony walked in and was met with a strange look by the elderly woman at the door. She gave the lady her best smile before blowing her ego away.

"Will you be a dear and tell the curator that Miss Pond is here to see him." Harmony spoke.

The woman's eyes went wide, "Yes of course madam." She said as she scampered away.

Harmony giggled. That part was never going to get old. She knew that she didn't look more important than any other stranger on the street. But, after the funeral, word traveled fast. Pond was the new Prichard and whatever that meant, it commanded respect in the community. She felt a bit odd living up to all the responsibility.

David Moon was about what you'd expect for a museum curator. He was an older gentlemen, well dressed with wire rimmed glasses and a kind smile. As he rushed into the room and shook Harmony's hand she felt instantly at ease.

"It's a real honor to meet you Miss Pond. I've heard so much about you from Mr. Prichard. It's like I know you already." Mr. Moon grinned.

"Thank you Mr. Moon it's a real honor to be a part of this fundraiser." Harmony replied.

"Yes, of course. What can I do for you today?" he asked.

"Well, I thought I'd come and have a look around to get some background on the place before next week." She replied.

"What a splendid idea. I'll be most happy to show you around." Mr. Moon beamed. "Follow me."

"Yes, of course. Lead the way." She replied as they made their way down the hall.

Harmony got the grand tour. There were local history rooms, human history, dinosaur exhibits, art rooms, and an activity room for hands on learning for the children. She was very pleased to be a part of the expansion project. It seemed very worthwhile by the time she walked out into the early evening.

It was getting late and Harmony just wanted to go home. She was tired, hungry and in desperate need of a break. Before she left town she grabbed food from the nearest fast food restaurant. When she finally made it back to the house she slipped quietly inside, grabbed a bottle of wine and took the food to her room. She put the music on and leaned back on the head board attempting to relax.

Harmony didn't realize she had fallen asleep until the phone rang. She looked around and noticed that she hadn't touched her dinner or the wine. When she managed to locate her phone she noticed it was almost midnight.

"Hey, did I wake you?" James asked when she finally answered.

"Yeah, but it's alright. I needed to get up." She replied.

"How was your day?" he asked.

"It was busy. But I got a lot done." She said. "How was yours?"

"It was uneventful until now. I've got fifty thousand screaming fans outside this door and all I could think about was you." He said.

"You had better get your head in the game James. Those groupies will eat you alive." She chuckled.

"Yeah, yeah. I got to get out there. I'll talk to you later."

"Have a good night James." She said.

"You too Harm, good night." He said and was gone.

Harmony smiled and put the phone down on the nightstand. She took her food and the wine and made her way to the kitchen. While her food heated up she poured herself a glass of the wine. Then she took it all to the sitting room and flipped through the TV channels while she ate. It didn't take long with the buzz from the wine and a full stomach before she fell sound asleep where she sat.