This story is a follow-on to the various CJDL stories I have written. Time has passed since those stories were set, the four members of the band have all since married and had children.

I'll try and make this story a bit shorter than the last one!

So let's catch up with Linda, shall we:

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Chapter 1


Linda Jacobson is now in her forties: for the last 15 years she has been a very successful solo singer-songwriter.

Many years ago now, Linda married Tony, and they have two children: William is 13, his elder sister, Lucy, is 15. Unsurprisingly, they are both quite musical.

We'll catch up with the other members of her old band, CJDL, a bit later on, but 'Auntie Jenny' married 'Uncle Ben' around 20 years ago (see my other story 'CJDL on Tour'), and they too have two children. Despite CJDL effectively splitting up some time ago - three of the four girls are still writing and performing - all four are still on good terms - occasionally writing or performing together in pairs, or even a threesome. There have been several discussions about getting CJDL together again, but for many reasons (mainly one specific member) it has never happened.

Currently, Linda is working on a new album. It's a bit different from her last one: this time, all of her songs will be collaborative duets. She has already written and recorded a song each with two of the other members of CJDL, Carol and Jenny. She finished writing a song with her daughter last week, and she's still hoping that William, her young son, will record one with her too. She hasn't asked her husband, Tony: whilst he enjoys listening to music, he has absolutely no actual musical talent himself!

You may have noticed one obvious name missing, and we'll learn a bit more about her later on. Suffice it to say that Linda would dearly love to sing a duet with her, but she's not been persuaded yet.

She has been in touch with many other musicians that she knows, including Fiona Lewis: after CJDL's copyright issue with her many years ago, they had become life-long friends. She is still hoping that Su-metal (now also in her 40's) would get in touch, and be willing to do something together. Even more interesting, Linda has persuaded Ginger, lead member of Darkest Knights, to write and sing with her!

----

Linda was sat at the table, and looked over at the calendar that was on the wall. She saw that January was already halfway through, so next month would be February. Then she spotted the year: next month her first-born child would be 18.

Ok, I can see you are looking a bit confused... I just said she was married with two children, aged 13 and 15. So who is this 18 year old?

Well, a year or two after the earlier Linda & CJDL stories, Linda was on tour with the band. And she did what many pop musicians do when they are on tour... one (or maybe two) night stands. And on one of those occasions, Linda was stupid, and got herself pregnant. Whilst she did actually know who the father was, he had no interest in being involved either with Linda, or bringing up a kid. This didn't worry Linda, because the 'relationship' had been a very transient one, and it wasn't as if she would need any financial support. And to be honest, the idea of of being involved with him didn't greatly appeal to Linda. So Linda had needed to make a choice.

Realistically, there had been 3 options:

- have an abortion: for many reasons, including her beliefs, that was not really an option.

- have the baby, and bring it up herself. Linda quickly decided that, not only wasn't she ready to be a mum, she realised it would be very unfair on the child for so many reasons. She would be a single mum. If she continued to be an active musician, it was not a life for a kid. And many many other reasons.

- have the baby, and give it up for adoption as soon as it was born. There were plenty of childless couples out there desperate to have a child, especially a new-born. They would be able to provide a good home, a loving environment, and so on.

For Linda, it was a no brainer: get the best care possible for the next 6 months, put together her health details in a package, then give someone more able the joy of raising the child. From a practical perspective, their latest tour had finished, so hiding away from the public gaze for the next 6 months wasn't THAT hard.

And that is what she had done: with a Solicitor and an Adoption Agency between her and her child's new parents, she updated them with further health information over the years. Whilst she 100% accepted that the baby girl was NOT her child, Linda was very interested in finding out how her baby girl had done over the last 18 years, so about 3 months ago, knowing that her child would soon be 18, and entitled to ask about her birth parents, she put together an information pack, in case her birth-daughter wanted it. She had passed it to her solicitors, and it was now with the adoption agency, waiting for either the parents or the child to make the enquiry...

----

January came and went, and finally it was February. The birthdate of her baby's 18th birthday was the 7th, and it was currently the 6th. She had thought about this date many times, and wasn't sure whether she wanted her baby girl to actually get in touch or not... whatever happened, she knew she would be going through an emotional few days.

Linda was drinking her second cup of tea of the day: her two children were at school, her husband was at work, and Linda was sitting in the 'music room' of the quite substantial house where she and her family lived. It was big enough to hold a proper baby grand piano, as well as electronic keyboards, guitars and amps, and a drum kit. Not that it was all hers, the drum-kit was mainly used by her daughter! She was practising on the piano when her phone rang.

"Hello!" said Linda. The number was that of her solicitor's.

"Hello, Ms Jacobson? This is Mary Wilson from James Furwell solicitors."

"Oh, hello Mary, how can I help?"

"Well, I see from the notes here that a few months ago we sent an information pack through to the adoption agency, in case your birth-child wanted to contact you."

"Yes, I remember that..."

"Well, I just had a call from the girl's mother: she was hoping she could talk to you. It seems that her daughter is 18 tomorrow, and her daughter is very interested in finding out who her birth-mother is. The mother's name is Julie Sergent."

Linda took a big breath. She had thought about this day for a long time... about 18 years, if we are honest about it!

"Did you form any opinion about what sort of person she was?"

"Well, she was well spoken, and very polite, very relaxed and no hint of aggression: I felt comfortable talking with her."

"Ok... I guess its time to take the next step then: what do you suggest?"

"I would suggest it's probably best if she calls you, so - if you are ok with it - let me call her and give her your number."

"That's fine with me. I'm free during the day today, also tomorrow...". Linda had, in fact, made sure that this week was completely clear in her diary, in case something happened. Although she hadn't actually expected it to happen until tomorrow.

After the call ended, she sat there for a bit. Tears were involved, but her conclusion was that she hoped that Julie Sergent called sooner rather than later.

Chapter 2


Her phone rang, but she didn't recognise the number.

"Hello, I'm hoping that is Linda Jacobson?" said the voice of a lady, probably the same sort of age as Linda. And as for Linda's surname: Linda still used Linda Jacobson - or more usually 'Linda J' - as her stage name, although she was also known by many as Linda Smith, her married name.

"Yes, I'm Linda Jacobson, how can I help?"

"I'm Julie Sergent, I received an information pack from my daughter's adoption agency today. Would I be right in say you are the birth-mother of a baby girl, born almost 18 years ago?"

Despite trying to prepare for this moment for a long time, Linda was suddenly overcome by a strange mix of emotions. Joy. Panic. Elation. Worry. And quite a few more. It was finally happening. Yes, her husband knew, and knew pretty much all the details. Linda's children were aware that, historically 'mum had had another baby, who had been adopted' but not a lot more.. heck, they were both still quite young.

A couple of small tears welled up in Linda's eyes... She took a very deep breath, to calm herself. "Yes, that's right. Her birthday will be tomorrow."

There was a pause. "My husband and I are the parents who adopted that baby, 18 years ago. Funnily enough, she is also called Linda. But she wants to find out who her birth mother is: we both support her decision to do so - although now it's happening...." she paused.

"It's ok," said Linda, "I don't think this is going to be easy for either of us, is it?....". They both took deep breaths.

"So, I'm assuming from the fact that you provided your details, that you are interested in meeting her, and explaining things?" Julie's voice seemed to be a little tense.

"Yes. Although let me be clear from the outset: I just gave birth to her, you and your husband are her mum and dad! You're the ones who have been with her, looking after her, encouraging her, and so on... for the last 18 years. I say that from personal experience!"

"You have children yourself?" asked a slightly more relaxed sounding Julie.

"Yes, I got married to a lovely man a couple of years after giving birth to... Linda. And we have 2 amazing kids!".

"Ok.." said an even calmer Julie. "So... what do we do now?" she asked.

"Good question." Linda looked up at the clock. "Would you like to meet up for a cup of tea or coffee, and a chat. Or, if you're relatively close, I would be very happy to treat you to lunch."

"Well, we live in Bromley..."

"Oh, that's not far away at all, I'm in Sutton. Can you suggest somewhere? Probably near you. I guess we would want somewhere reasonably quiet and discrete..."

"Well, there's a pub called the Pig and Whistle, it does nice food, and has several 'quiet corners' we could sit in."

"That sounds fine to me...." Linda glanced at the clock: it was only just after 10. "How about we meet at 12 at the pub?"

"Ok. But how will I recognise you?"

"Just go online and search for me: 'Linda J', I'm a well-known singer and songwriter."

"Oh, right... THAT Linda Jacobson!"

"Yes, that's me, but please... don't judge me too soon..."

----

Linda arrived at pub several minutes early. As she sat in her car, she felt rather nervous. Actually, no, she was very nervous! Would Julie accept her? Would Julie even let her meet her birth daughter? Linda closed her eyes. "Dear Lord, please be with me....." she prayed, like she had prayed so many times over the years.

"Oh, Linda, Linda, Linda, why do you even have to ask? How many times have I been with you as you walked alone onto a dark and empty stage? How many times have I been with you as you have given birth? And so, so many other times too? You should know by now I'll always be with you - I'm here in the hard times, but I'm also here with you in the good times too, to help you celebrate. So, of course I'll be with you today - and I'll promise you are about to have an amazing day!" She felt those warm arms embrace her, and felt a LOT better.

She got out of the car, walked over to the pub's door, went in, and waited just inside. Moments later, a lady also in her 40's drove in to the car park, then came over to the front door.

"Hello, Linda!" she said, holding out her hand ."I must say, the resemblance between you and my daughter is uncanny, there's no doubt that she's your birth-daughter!"

"Hello Julie, it's nice to meet you too! Come on, let's go in and have a chat!" Linda smiled: Julie was being very positive towards her, which made her feel a LOT better.

Having ordered some food and drinks, they went and sat in a quiet corner.

"Why don't I start by showing you a picture of Linda?" suggested Julie. She brought up a picture on her phone, and passed it to Linda.

"Oh my goodness, I see what you mean!" From Linda's perspective, she could easily have been looking at a picture of herself, from when she was 18. Even her hair was the same.

"Yes, and the similarities don't end there: you're a musician, yes?"

"Yup..."

"Linda is a great musician too, and I'll promise you it's NOT as a result of either my or Eric's abilities, we're pretty much tone deaf! It all makes a lot more sense now!"

Linda laughed... it was strange how nature sometimes trumped nurture.

"By the way, thank you for sending that information through: Linda so wants to find her birth-mum, and I wasn't quite sure where to start. Oh, yeah, we also appreciate the ongoing health updates over the years too: we never actually needed them, Linda was quite a healthy girl, but it was reassuring to know the details were there if they were needed."

"My pleasure, it was the least I could do. I'm betting that Linda - and you too - are wanting to know why I gave her up for adoption..."

"Yes, Linda especially, it's the main question that she wants answering."

"Well, I'll be more than happy to tell her everything, and answer any questions she has. Why don't I tell you too, while we wait for our lunch?" While they waited, and then while they ate their lunch, Linda shared her background: her love of music, becoming a session musician, joining CJDL, getting pregnant, then passing Linda on to... well, Julie and Eric. "From the little you've already told me, I think I took exactly the right decision, it sounds like Linda is a lovely girl."

"She is.. let me tell you a bit more about her... Like you, she discovered a love of music at school, and went on to to 6th form college to study music. I will admit that, at the time, we found it hard to back her decision: we know how hard it can be for musicians to end up with a good job. But she's a very conscientious girl, studies hard, and does well."

"Yes, life can be hard as a musician, unless you are both very good AND get very lucky. I've always believed I was given my abilities as a gift, and that it is my job to use them to my best ability. Being a session musician wasn't over easy, but it seems I was rewarded by an opportunity to do even better things..." and she explained how she ended up in a major pop band. 

"I think Linda is going to love meeting you..."

"You sure you're going to be ok with that? Let me repeat what I said before: I 100% understand that YOU are her mum, and here I am, a stranger, coming along 18 years later..."

Julie cut her off. "A stranger who clearly cares about what happened to the girl she gave birth to, then trusted us to take over and raise her. That must have been a VERY difficult decision for you to take, and I would say that you have every right to want to find out how your daughter has done. And having met you, I'm actually feel pretty good about letting you and Linda meet up. In fact..." Julie paused a moment. "...  are you doing anything this afternoon?"

"No, why?"

"Well, why don't you come to our house? Linda will be back from college soon after 3pm, and I know she'd really love to meet you!". Linda was pleasantly surprised: she had not been expecting to meet Linda quite so soon. She thought back to in the car... she had been promised an amazing day...

Linda and Julie chatted for some time, she told her more about her own children, and Julie explained that they had adopted a boy too, who turned 16 just before Christmas: clearly Linda had made a good impression on Julie, and decided that, yes, she would love to meet Linda. However, she needed to think about her own two children.

"Julie, before I agree to coming, I need to have a word with my husband, Tony, see if he can get home to be there when when Will and Lucy get home..."

"Of course you do....".

Chapter 3


Linda got up, and walked outside where it was quieter.

"Hi Linda, wasn't expecting you to call..."

"Yeah, I wasn't expecting to call either. Look, Tony, I need a big BIG favour: can you get home to be there when the kids get home. I've just had lunch with the lady who adopted my birth-daughter, and she has offered to take me back to her place to meet her. Her name's also Linda, by the way!"

"Oh my goodness, that is AMAZING! Don't worry, I'll make sure I'm there. And don't feel you need to rush home, just take as long as you need!"

"Thanks Tony! I love you!"

----

Linda (older Linda, that is!) was sat in Julie's kitchen, drinking tea (it's a British thing: if in doubt, drink tea!), and chatting: Julie and Linda seemed to get on very well. Linda heard the front door of the house open, and a girl's voice called out "Hey, mom, I'm home..."

"Hey Linda, come into the kitchen will you?" called Julie. The kitchen door opened, and in walked a quite attractive, a-day-from-being-18, teen girl. As Linda stood up, she could see that younger Linda was actually slightly taller than her. Her hair was the same non-descript (yet quite good looking) brown as Linda's, long and down to her shoulders. Lovely brown eyes too, just like Linda had.

For both of them, it was like looking in a mirror: one younger version, one older version, but an amazing similarity. Neither Linda nor Linda said anything for a moment. In fact several moments.

"Linda..." said Julie, "This is Linda: she's your birth-mother."

As the younger Linda smiled a lovely wide smile, Linda could see not only a set of lovely teeth, but teeth with the wires of a pair of hawley retainers over them.

It goes without saying that the two of them embraced, holding each other for a long time. Linda could feel tears of joy running down her cheeks, and suspected that Linda was feeling the same.

"What?.. I mean how.... Um..." asked a slightly tongue-tied Linda (the younger one).

"Linda sent a letter, through her solicitor, to the adoption agency, who forwarded it to me. It arrived this morning, so I spoke to the solicitor, then to Linda, and we ended up having lunch together..."

Linda couldn't stop smiling. "I thought it was going to take AGES to find out who my birth mum was... and now... well, you're here, and I can't believe it!". The joy on teen Linda's face was very obvious.

"Your mum says you really want to understand the story of why you got adopted.... and I'm VERY happy to share that story with you. Your mum already knows, I told her earlier."

"Look, why don't you two go into the dining room, you won't get disturbed in there. I'll bring some drinks through - tea again Linda?"

"Can I have a black coffee this time?"

Linda and Linda walked into the dining room, and sat down. Linda (the elder) pulled her tablet out. "Why don't I start by showing you some pictures of me when I was younger?"

"Hold on..." said young Linda, and disappeared off, returning with a photo album. She opened it at a page that showed her whe she was 10, and they compared it to Linda's picture, at 10, on the tablet. "Oh, my goodness...." she said.

Linda went through a few, finding one of her on her 18th birthday. They both smiled as they realised how so alike they were at that age.

"So, like you, when I was 18, I knew I wanted to go into music. I went to a music college for a year, then started to earn my keep as a session musican. I'm very lucky that I can sight-read music, so it wasn't too bad."

"That must have been hard." said young Linda.

"It was more tiring than hard at the beginning. Luckily I quickly found a really good agent, who got me some good work."

"What sort of stuff did you do?". Linda explained that it was a mix of adverts, films, backing music... in fact anything that paid! Mostly in recording studios, but occasionally doing short tours with bigger artists, as part of the backing band. She also explained that she played guitar, including bass, and also sang backing vocals.

"I got a good reputation, so I started to get some good work, including appearances and short tours with well known performers. Then one day, I was asked if I'd be interested in working for a few weeks - possibly longer - with a big girl band: they were a threesome, were working on a new style of music, and needed a fourth player. That was CJD. I helped them with their new music, went into the studios, then toured with them. And at the end of the tour, I joined the band, renamed to CJDL!"

"Wow, you joined CJDL? I've heard of them, they used to be mega! I bet that was fun!"

"Yes, but also hard work. So, they had done 2 major tours before I actually joined them, then a third when I was with them, . The fourth one was a massive European tour, all over Europe - we teamed up with another girl band for that. The tour lasted over 3 months, but we got good reviews, and earned quite a bit from it, so worthwhile. Oh yeah, I was in a car accident, ended up having to tour with my leg in plaster for six weeks! Not quite such fun. Hey, does the name 'Ziggy Starr' ring any bells?" asked Linda.

"No, not that I remember. Why?"

"Oh, she joined the tour to be my 'assistant'.." and explained briefly about her leg being in plaster, and then about how the band helped Ziggy join a band in London. "And then I appeared on 'Singer Behind the Mask'... and won it! That was fun!"

Linda looked at Linda: it was clear she was wanting to hear about why she was adopted.

"Don't worry, we'll be at the exciting bit in less than a minute. So, two tours later was a UK, American / Canadian, and a few dates over in Australia tour.... And while we were up in Manchester, I had a two-night stand with a local guy."

"I'm guessing by 'a stand' you really mean..."

"Yup. That's when I got pregnant. Of course, I didn't realise until quite a few weeks later."

"So, you know who my dad is then?"

Our Linda took a big breath. "Only two or three people actually know who he is. I got in touch with him a couple of months later, and asked if he had any interest in bringing up a baby with me. Unsurprisingly, he had no interest, and to be brutally honest, I don't blame him in the least. He was looking for a 'bit of nookie', and no more. And, if I'm brutally honest, I don't think it would have worked between us."

"Are you still in touch with him?"

"I've spoked to him just once since, that was almost 6 months ago: I wanted to simply give him the option to meet you as an adult. Like me, he has a family, but he doesn't want to be involved, so I respect his decision, so I'm VERY sorry, your birth-father remains anonymous: it's no use asking, I already deleted his phone number."

"Oh...." said young Linda sounding a bit sad.

"Yeah, sorry Linda, but sometimes life doesn't QUITE give you what you want. But at least you found me.... and I found you."

"So I'm guessing, as a pop star, you didn't really want a kid? How come you didn't just 'get rid of me'?"

"It's not quite that simple. For a start, having an abortion just didn't seem right. So I guess I then had three choices: bring you up whilst still being a member of the band; quit the band and be a single mum; or let you be adopted. The first two would NOT have been a good life for you. Or, for me too. So I gave birth to you, and let someone else - your mum and dad, who wanted a baby, and would be able to give you the life you deserved - take you. Here, I have a handful of pics the day you were born: you may have already seen a couple of them." Linda got the pictures on her tablet, and passed it over to Linda.

Linda - both of them in fact - had big smiles as she slowly scrolled through the pictures. "Yes, we have a copy of those last two...". There were tears in young Linda's eyes.

"So, Linda, DID I make the right choice?" There was quite a silence, as young Linda thought how her life MIGHT have been, and ended up coming to a similar conclusion.

"Yes, I think you did.... so, you stayed with the band... surely the press and so on must have found out?"

"Well, when I came off tour, I was almost three months pregnant, so not too obvious. Now, usually after a tour, we go and hide away for a bit, you know, to de-stress and that sort of thing. So I just 'hid away' for 6 months. Our manager, Ben, put out suitable cover stories, and we managed to cover it up. Having money certainly helped." Linda went on to briefly explain how the band members started to want to do solo things. "So we never ACTUALLY split up, although we're still the best of friends. Now, I'm a solo artist, still making a fairly good living, but taking things at my own pace."

"Are you married? Do you have children?"

"I'm sorry, how could I forget about them? Yes, a couple of years after you were born, I met Tony, and we married about six months later. We have two children: Will is 13, Lucy is 15.. so you have a half-brother and a half sister." Linda found some pictures on her tablet.

Other Linda looked at the pictures for a few minutes, smiling - she had a brother and sister!

"So, you know lots about me, and I'm happy to tell you anything you want to know... But I need to know what my birth-daughter has been doing for the last almost 18 years... And I understand you have a brother."

Young Linda explained to Linda that she had what was probably quite a 'normal' upbringing. "Mum and dad have always been there for us: I have a younger brother, Vernon, he's 16, he's also adopted. They explained to both of us when we were quite young that we were adopted, that they had chosen us because they wanted us, and it's never been a problem, although I always wanted to know who my birth-parents were. I knew that I'd be able to start looking when I was 18, but a friend of mine is also adopted, and her big brother has spent ages trying to find his birth parents. So I was sort-of assuming I would have a struggle too."

"So, tell me about your music."

"Yeah, of course. It's odd, I've always loved music. Listening to it. Singing it. Playing it. I was playing guitar when I was only eight! Mum and dad always reckon they are both tone deaf, so we all always wondered where it came from."

"Well, you were sung to and had music played to you while I was carrying you, maybe that helped to inspire you?"

"Yeah, maybe! I was in school choirs and that sort of thing. A couple of years ago, when I had to choose my college subject, choosing music was a bit of a no-brainer!"

"Yeah, your mum said earlier that they were a bit apprehensive about that choice..."

"I know, but they supported my choice. So, I've learnt to play keyboards, I also do guitar too, and we have a sort-of band I play in."

"So, what are you going to do after A-levels?"

"Well, until about half an hour ago, I wasn't really sure. But it seems I've just been given an amazing 'resource', who might be able, and willing, to give me some practical advice."

"I am sure I can help guide you, share my experiences, maybe more."

They continued talking for a while. Linda and Linda were getting on amazingly well, and Linda was realising that, not only COULD she help Linda get into a music career, she WANTED to help her, if that was what she really wanted. But she'd only just met her, so she would need to take things slowly.

"So, what actually happened to your band... CJDL? You said you never actually split up..."

"The funny thing is that there was never a formal split, more of a 'fading away'. After I had you, Jenny had her first child. Carol and Dianne also got married. And we all started to do solo stuff. Carol did a bit of radio work, and a bit of interviewing too. I'm not quite sure how, but Dianne ended up doing some acting, she was on a 'soap' for a bit, then she got offered a load of cartoon voicing work, which she quite enjoyed, so did less music and more of that. Add in her kids, and the fact they bought a pub, and she just pretty much stopped doing music and working with us."

"Couldn't you, Jenny and Carol have continued without her?"

"Oh, we did for a little while, but it wasn't the same. So we all just concentrated on our solo careers. But the good thing is that we're still all good friends, and we occasionally all get together. Our kids are all pretty musical too, and they love playing together!" 

Linda told younger Linda more about her musical history, and about her family.

"You know, I really should get back to my own family. I'm sure Will and Lucy are gonna go bonkers when they find out they have a big sister! Look, let me give you my  phone number..." said Linda, looking at a very happy teen Linda, who was currently smiling, and once again letting Linda see the shiny metal wires across her teeth.

"I'm looking forward to meeting them too!" said the younger Linda.

"I have no problems with that, but.... well, how do I say this? I'm an outsider here, and I don't want to upset your parents by seeming to 'take away their daughter'... I think I need to build up a bit of trust with them. And being a 'pop musician' ain't going to help matters!"

Linda nodded "Yes, I understand. Hey, before you go, come and say hello to Vernon!"

Linda followed Linda out of the dining room, and in to the living room, where Linda's parents and brother were.

"Umm, well this is my dad, and this is Vernon."

"Hello Linda, I'm Bob, Julie's been telling me about you: I remember when you were in CJDL!". Linda smiled and shook his hand.

"Hi, Bob... thanks to both of you for letting me meet Linda, and see how well she has grown up! And hello there, Vernon!"

"So, it's Linda's birthday tomorrow, you are very welcome to come around and join us." suggested Julie.

"No, birthdays are something for families to celebrate, so that means you four. However, are you free at the weekend, say Sunday? I know that Linda wants to meet her half-brother and -sister, and I'm certain they will want to meet her. You are very welcome to join us for Sunday lunch, or maybe afternoon tea? All of you, of course."

"I understand... and yes, Sunday would be nice!"

"Ok, well I'll be in touch with the details..."
 

That chapter was a bit of a short one, wasn't it. How about I give you another one??

-----------------------------

Chapter 5

The doorbell rang.

"Go on you two, you go and answer the door..."

It was Sunday. Linda had organised for a simple bouquet of flowers and a card (which she already had) to be delivered to Linda on her birthday - which had been on Thursday - and younger Linda had called Linda to thank her.

There was screaming at the front door as William and Lucy met Linda for the first time. Linda's two kids brought Julie, Bob, Linda and Vernon through to the lounge, where hands were shaken, and the two Lindas hugged once again.

"So, I have a birthday present for you. It's one of a set of four, and I'd like you to have it...". She passed over what could easily have been a reasonably sized picture in a frame. Young Linda took it, and started to unwrap it. When she realised what it was, she screamed.

"No way!! You really want me to have this?"

"Absolutely. Maybe it will inspire you to get your own one day! It's the gold record for the first hit single I wrote by myself for CJDL - 'Friends'." Whilst the younger Linda had never seen a gold record other than on a TV screen, our more mature Linda actually had several of them.

Tony organised drinks for everyone, then they sat and chatted for a bit. Lucy and Linda looked to be getting on well.

"Hey, Lucy, why don't you and Willian take Vernon and Linda and show them the music room?". Linda had spoken with Lucy earlier, explaining that she would ask her to do this, and that she wanted her to try and persuade Linda to play something with the two of them. Thus the four children went off, leaving the adults.

"Linda has been so excited about today: seeing you again, and meeting your two children, her half-brother and sister."

"I'm not surprised... but are you two ok with what's happening?"

"We've had a couple of chats, and are both ok with things. Linda says that you have offered to 'help' her in some way: what exactly do you mean by that?"

"Well, I don't want to be seen to be getting in your way, but there's all sorts of things I can do, if she really wants to become a professional musician. Or even if she doesn't. A lot's going to depend on Linda, but to give you an example, I'm working on a new album of duets: I've done one with a couple of my old band-mates, and I also did one with Lucy, and if she's up to it, I would love to work with Linda on a song. I'll be honest, part the reason for getting Lucy to take Linda off to the music room is so I can creep in there in 5 or 10 minutes, and see how Linda is doing!"

Julie smiled. "You don't miss a trick, do you. But I'm sure she will surprise you...."

"I'm hoping so. So, other things I can do would be to introduce her to people in the business, open a few doors, the sort of stuff that's close to impossible for someone in her position. Also introduce her to my manager."

The adults chatted for maybe 10 minutes. "Come on, let's go see what's happening!" suggested Linda, and led them quietly to the music room. They paused outside to listen. Linda recognised William on his guitar, and Lucy on her drums, but in addition she could hear someone playing piano, and a surprisingly nice female singing voice. As she opened the door, she could see Linda playing the piano and singing - and she was suitably impressed. Young Linda had her back to the door, so older Linda didn't interrupt them, letting them all finish the song. Linda smiled over at Lucy, to thank her for what she had managed to do, and applauded.

"I just realised that I never sang for you the other day, did I? How did I do?" asked younger Linda.

"Very nicely. I'm suitably impressed. But what do William and Lucy think?"

"She's pretty good, but not quite as good as you on the piano!" said Lucy, smiling.

"So, Linda, I have a simple question for you: I'm working on an album of duets... Lucy and I have already written a song... but would you be at all interested in writing and singing a song with me?"

"Wow! No way!!! Erm, yeah, of course I would!" said Linda, smiling widely, showing off her shiny retainers. "What sort of song are you thinking of?"

"Hmm, good question. Something that represents you, and your style. And something you can live with for the rest of your life."

Younger Linda looked a bit confused. "What do you mean?"

"Well, it will be your first ever recording. And when the press get a sniff of the fact that you are related to me, they will be all over us. It's quite likely we'll end up on TV and asked to play it too. Time and time again! So, it's got to be something you feel ok with! Which leads onto another topic..."

"Which is?" asked Linda.

"Well, once the press get onto us and the fact that you are my birth daughter, I'm not the only one they will be after. You, and your whole family, are going to end up being in a bit of a spotlight."

Julie looked a bit worried. "Isn't there something we can do?"

"Well, if Linda wants to take advantage of me - and I have NO problem with that - then you just have to be aware that there WILL be consequences. Now, experience shows that the best defence is to play offense."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, luckily I'm not quite as visible as I was when I was in CJDL, so I reckon we can sit on this for a week or so. But we need to somehow introduce Linda to the world, and one obvious way to do that would be to hold a press conference... but I've actually got a better idea, one which would put us in a lot more control."

"And that is?" asked Julie.

"Well, I know a friendly news reporter / photographer called Sarah: over the years CJDL gave her quite a few exclusives, and she's been very supportive of us. I'm thinking about asking her to arrange an interview, which she would of course be able to sell to the media. But for us, I think it would give us a much nicer way of telling our story. I can 'softly' introduce you as Linda's family, but most of it would be about me and Linda, taking the spotlight away from you guys. Anyway, we don't need to do anything about it straight away."

"An interview sounds like a better idea to me than a press conference." replied Julie.

"Ok. Now, I'm also thinking that I should also introduce you to Ben... he's Jenny's husband, and is manager to Jenny, Carol and me. Linda needs a manager to look out for her best interests, and, at least in the short term, Ben will definitely be able to look after you. Put it this way, he's still my manager after 20 years! Anyway, enough of all that for today, it's something we can talk more about in the next week or so. Let's have some fun, and play some music!"

"Hey, mum, can we sing our song?" asked Lucy.

"Why not. You gonna be ok with everyone else watching?" replied Linda.

"Well, if I'm ever going to play it with you live, I need to get used to having people looking at me....". Linda was very aware that Lucy was still only 15, and had so far managed to shield her and William from the press. But with Lucy singing with her on her new record, she knew that she was going to have to let 'the public' finally meet Lucy.

Linda sat at the piano, and Lucy came over and sat next to her: Linda played the piano, while they both sang. Whilst Lucy was only 15, her singing voice was surprisingly mature, no doubt helped by having a mum who was herself a very good singer!

"Hey, William, want to sing your song too? You don't have to if you don't want to." With William only being 13, Linda didn't want to push him.

"Yeah, ok....". Whilst Lucy's song was just the two of them with a piano, William's song included him on bass guitar, Lucy on the drums, and Linda on lead guitar. Given William's younger age, it was actually quite good.

"So, Linda, fancy playing something with us?". Young Linda sat down at the piano.

"It's quite strange playing a real piano, I normally just play an electronic keyboard, like the one over there." she said, as she started to play some chords on the piano. Then she started playing something that had been in the charts a year or so ago. Linda recognised it, and joined in, as did William and Lucy. It was far from perfect, but given Linda's children's inexperience, plus the fact that they had never played together before, it wasn't too bad.

"So, you any good at reading music?" asked older Linda.

"Oh, easy peasy..."

"Sounds like something else you inherited from me: I can sight-read music, which was really helpful when I was doing session work. In that case, how about we try something that William and Lucy know?". Linda got out her tablet, and found one of CJDL's old songs: it was quite simple, and she had played it several times with her kids. This time, the playing sounded quite good.

"I think it's time we got the food out of the oven. If you guys want to play a little bit more, that's fine with me. Vernon, I'm guessing you aren't quite so musical as Linda is?". When they had come in, Vernon had just been playing a tambourine. "Don't worry, my husband, Tony, isn't that musical either, but he has his own strengths, just different to mine."

----

"That was lovely, hearing you all play together." said Julie.

"Yes, Linda really does seem to be quite capable..."

"Yes, she is quite good, but I think she's needing more than the college can provide right now...."

"Well, like Carol, Jenny and Dianne, I went on a one year music course after college, which helped quite a lot, assuming that's what she would like to do. I can also coach her with her singing and playing, but I know some really good vocal and piano coaches too: I think she could gain massively from some one-on-one coaching. I've already mentioned about asking Ben to manage her: having a manager you can trust is so important, and I would trust Ben with my life. And then I have a few contacts in the industry, and know a good lawyer too, to make sure that, when she gets a contract, she's not ripped off. But don't panic, that's not all gonna happen in the next week!"

"But doesn't all that cost?"

"Yes, but don't worry, that is something I'd be very happy to look after, it's the very least I can do. You and Bob are going to be busy enough still being her parents: just because she's 18 doesn't mean you're rid of her just yet! Look, I need you to know that you guys are in control, but I'm so wanting to help her make a go of it... all assuming that's what Linda actually wants."

"It sounds like we and Linda need to have some serious discussions about her future. But don't worry, I trust that you have her best interest at heart as much as we do. But it's all happening so fast!"

"Sorry about that. We can slow things down, if it helps. No-one knows about our relationship yet, and I'm sure we can keep it like that for a while longer, if we're careful. But I'll warn you: once we actually remove the stopper, there's no getting the genie back into that bottle again! Once the press get to know, things will happen quickly. I've been there a few times. But I'm happy that I can manage things, we just need to be prepared."

----

The two Lindas met a couple of times in the next week, and started working on ideas for their duet. They decided to see if they could write a 4-handed piano duet together.

Reality Nice so far Hope you introduce young Linda's Charakter more in upcoming parts maybe even tell it a bit out of her sight!