Even with that bait, it surprised the hell out of us both when she accepted and traded in California weather for the sweltering Texas sun six months out of the year.
A perk of when she’s here is that she’s one less testosterone-driven man to take up Austin Speak office space, for which I’m thankful. Because of my admiration for her work—and our closeness in age—we took up easily together as friends, so my lunch invitation isn’t out of the ordinary. However, my motive for extending the invite is far from innocent.
“What are you working on?” she asks, forking a bite with a manicured hand, her blonde locks pulled into a high ponytail. Though she’s got a little of that California-bred Barbie look going on, she’s down-to-earth and can quickly shift to a split-tongued devil when provoked. These traits made her an instant ally. She can drive the most ego-driven man to his knees on any given day of her choosing. Another reason to love Rosie today is that she’s prompting me with the right questions out of the gate. Bless her.
I shrug nonchalantly. “Just going through the archives and pulling old columns for the thirtieth edition. We’re going to highlight the headlines that got the paper where it is today. I just finished year one.”
“Damn, that’s a task.”
“I’m up for it and have months to prepare, so I’m determined to do it justice.” I sip my lemonade and decide it’s go time. “I’m sorting through some of Stella’s old articles now.”
Rosie’s eyes widen, letting me know she’s already on the hook. Despite her age and the fact that she’s brushed elbows with countless A-list celebrities, she is a die-hard fan of all things Crowne family.
“Oh,” she jumps in her seat as if in afterthought. “Speaking of,” she palms her forehead dramatically as I hold in my chuckle. “I totally forgot. I just got a line on something big.”
“Oh, yeah?” I ask, keeping my tone even and proud of my acting skills for the moment. “What’s that?”
“Well, according to my source,” she starts as we share a smile, “young Crowne is releasing a debut album very soon.”
“Young Crowne? You mean—”
“Elliot Easton Crowne.” She fans herself as I try to conceal my victory smile behind my sandwich. Here we go.
“Did you know Easton was named after The Cars guitarist; you know, the band who wrote the song—”
“Drive,” I finish for her, clear hearts flashing in her eyes.
“Technically, a man named Ben wrote that song and sang it, but Ben was obviously taken because Ben First is the Sergeants’ lead singer. He and Lexi made Benji, who is fire hot as fuck now, by the way.”
“Really?”
“Oh yeah, at least the last time he was pictured. I’m guessing Easton’s namesake was Stella’s idea, and she didn’t like Rick.”
“Rick?”
“The lead singer of The Cars.”
“Ah.”
“So, I’m assuming they grabbed Easton’s name because you know Stella believes in all that cosmic stuff,” she waves her hand around animatedly, “and that song helped bring them back together, so no doubt that’s where he got his namesake.”
Recalling the movie, I place the part where Stella walked into a club she used to frequent with Reid and discovered him singing her favorite song as if willing her back to him. I’d teared up watching it as she sobbed at the edge of the stage while Reid sang, oblivious that she was standing there. That scene took place just before the end of the movie, a few scenes before they found each other in Seattle.
“I watched the movie last night,” I declare, knowing it will earn me points.
“Really?”
“Yeah, I mean, I’ve been reading her articles, so I got curious.”
Rosie sighs dreamily. “It’s still my favorite.”
As subtly as I can, I lead her back to the point. “So, Easton’s releasing a debut album? I didn’t even know he was a musician.”
“Honey, have you seen a recent picture of Easton Crowne?” She admonishes, pulling up her phone and tapping furiously.
While I do genuinely love Rosie and her company, this behavior is precisely why I dragged her out of the office to dig around. If there’s any dirt—good or bad—on the Crownes, she’s the one to go to. Reid and Stella’s story is one she considers a modern-day Elvis and Priscilla. Though it’s old news, it happens to be her favorite news, especially since King and Queen Crowne had a prince. A prince that’s rarely ever mentioned in the media.