| 16. What�s Not To Love? Paul could hardly contain himself aboard the plane from Cleveland to Chicago. Chad and him hadn't been on good terms since the argument the morning before. Paul expected him to put on his biggest smile and welcome Meg with open arms, like he had truly missed her. I just hope Meg can see through him. He doesn't deserve her; I don't even think he wants her anymore. Christina's the bigger superstar; no wonder he jumped at her the minute Meg was unavailable. He exhaled, staring out the window. He could see the wing of the plane just barely hovering over the clouds. Beautiful. If Meg were here, she'd say something like, "And we deserve to be on this earth...why?" Meg's faith in God amazed him. She�d always wondered why God allowed her to have her career and why she deserved it. Still, she made sure she served Him with her music, videos, and words. She was by far the most non-risqu� of the women on the tour. Maybe that was why Paul enjoyed her presence so much. She was humble, yet still had a great story to tell. He didn't quite understand, however, why she was so attracted to Chad. Chad was only into the fact that she was a celebrity�and a very good looking one at that. It disgusted Paul. Chad didn't see the beauty within her soul, only the superficial layer: the gorgeous superstar. If only Chad knew the intensity of her as a person, not as the object of his affection. Still, he knew Meg would be miserable without love in her life. Her folks, particularly her mom, didn't approve of her choice to turn down a scholarship to Julliard and pursue a recording career. They wanted her to become a Broadway singer. Her singing had got her into Julliard in the first place. But that wasn't her dream�it was her parents'. Her mom, Beth, the failed dancer who lost her chance at the Met, or as it was more appropriately called, The New York Metropolitan Opera House. Her father, a composer, fell in love with her mom while he was working at the Met. Their love affair had lasted three months when her mom was 17 and discovered she was pregnant. The two married quietly, but soon enough, administrators at the Met found Beth having morning sickness too often and found out about the marriage and the pregnancy. She was expelled from dancing at the Met for her own safety and to prevent scandal among patrons of the opera, while Meg�s father, Garrett, went unpunished, as he was an honored composer at the Met. When Meg was old enough to talk, Beth didn't return to dancing, but instead enrolled Meg in ballet, tap, and jazz, determined to live out her dreams through her daughter. Meg, however, began singing along with her father when he'd play the piano at night in their huge New York home. Beth saw that Meg's talent was not in dancing, but in singing. She jumped at the chance to see her daughter bring glory to the family; she put her in voice lessons and a Broadway-style drama league. Meg prospered in both programs, and the relationship between her and her mom did as well. Meg quickly became known for her singing and auditioned for a role in a national tour of "The Phantom of the Opera" when she was 17 and made the lead female role, �Christine Daae�. She was the youngest person to ever play the role and drew national attention among the Broadway crowd. She was happy singing in the musical, but Meg had bigger dreams. Behind copies of various productions of "Requiem" and "Les Miserables" thrown in the back of her car hid Meg's true love: pop music. She had to buy Boyz 2 Men's newest CD while she was on tour with "Phantom". She'd learn dances from Janet Jackson videos and even began to write her own music. All this she kept from her parents, who despised any secular music because it "lacks effort". So Meg pursued pop music quietly. She had almost given up all hope for a recording career. That is, until Rob Landon, a musical theatre enthusiast at heart and manager, attended the national tour of "The Phantom of the Opera" starring an unknown soprano named Meghan Whitley. Rob was entranced by her amazing voice and obvious beauty. After the show, he approached Meg, wanting to hear more. So, on the stage of the theatre to an audience of one, she sang an acapella rendition of Celine Dion's "To Love You More". Rob was blown away and wanted to be her manager immediately and help her get a record contract. Meg was thrilled! Her time had come to make something of herself other than the unknown Christine. When she told her parents about Rob's offer, they, however, were furious. "My daughter will not waste her voice on prefabricated garbage!" "Do not turn down Julliard on a whim, Meghan!" Meg was flabbergasted. "This is my voice, not yours! This is how I want to use it!" So began the battle: The aspiring pop star versus the ambitious parents. Meg refused to let her parents control her talents any longer. On her eighteenth birthday in December of 2000, she graduated high school early, and boarded a flight to Los Angeles, moved in with Rob and his wife, Cameron, and began auditioning for record contracts. Cameron began taking Meg to a local Christian church, which changed her perspective on her life as she knew it. In the meanwhile, she lived on the money she'd made on the "Phantom" tour and taught voice lessons for three months until an offer came from Hollywood Records. Within a month, she was on her way to Orlando to record her first album. It had been four months since she'd spoken to her parents. That was when Paul first met her. She�d walked into the studio in a worn pair of jeans and tank top, her hair up in a messy bun, her eyes red from either exhaustion or crying. FOUR MONTHS EARLIER� "Meg! You're here!" She looked up and smiled meekly. "Yep." "I want you to meet your band. Meghan Whitley, this is Seth Allen, Kevin Freeman, Paul Sterling, Chad Bishop, and Gabriel O'Brien." She shook each of their hands and said, "Excuse my appearance. My mom just called." Rob asked, "Oh great. What'd she have to say?" "Oh, the usual, 'I can't believe you're sacrificing Julliard to be a pop star. I wish you'd never been born or I might still be dancing.' Nothing too strange. Know what she's calling me now? Eve. Eve! She only does that when she's really embarrassed to know me, like when I'd mess up at a recital in high school." She sat down on a couch and buried her face in her hands. "She wishes I hadn't been born." Rob sat by her and patted her back soothingly. "You know she doesn't mean that." "She does, Rob. She hates me. You know my mom. My dad just chooses to ignore me. Mom just has to make my life miserable instead." "Now, now, Meg." He paused, then stood up. "Listen, I'm gonna go pick up breakfast. That danged delivery boy probably got the order wrong anyway. I'll let you get to know the guys, alright?" "Alright." She leaned back on the couch and sighed, a bit embarrassed. "Sorry." She smiled sheepishly. "I'm not like this all the time. I'm really a happy person." Gabe studied her. �You�re not gonna be one of those people I end up hating, are you?� |