Chapter Text
Thursday
Noel slid the key card for his hotel room and pushed the door open. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and placed it on the desk, then he bent down in front of the minibar, grabbed a beer, and popped it open by pressing the cap against the edge of the desk.
The first day of rehearsals for his gig in Paris had been unexpectedly heavy due to some latency issues that were completely resolved only in the afternoon. Technical problems or not, at least touring was keeping his mind away from the rough divorce he was going through.
Noel took a sip of the cold beer and glanced down at his phone on the desk.
Three missed calls from Paul.
Weird.
They kept in touch, but not enough to expect three calls on a regular working day.
Then a message.
“Call me when you can.”
“Shite”, he mumbled under his breath, feeling that something was off.
Then he put down the beer, scrolled through the recent calls and hit dial.
“Hi, Noel”, Paul answered almost instantly on the other side.
“Hey, did you call me?”
“Yeah, I've been trying to reach you all afternoon, did you not hear the phone?”
“Sorry, crazy day of rehearsals...you alright?”
“Where are you?”
“Paris. Got a gig in two days. You?”
“Home...- Paul let it hang for a little too long before continuing – Listen, man, I don't know how to tell you this-
“What happened?”
“It's about Mum. She had a respiratory crisis this morning. We took her to the hospital, the doctors tried to do everything, but she couldn't make it.”
“What?”
“Sorry, man.”
Noel sat down on the bed.
“Fuckin' hell - he exhaled – But she was alright, last month when she had that other crisis, they said that the worst was over and she would recover completely...”
“I don't know what to say, it all happened so quickly, I'm as shocked as you are.”
“Shite...”
“At least, they said she didn't suffer. She probably didn't even realise what was happening.”
“If they say so...”
“Look, the funeral is on Saturday, could you be here?”
“Yeah, 'course I will – then he had a sudden realisation – Fuck...I'll have to cancel the gig.”
“Can you do it?”
“Management and fans won't be happy, but...sure. They'll understand.”
“Alright then. See you here. I'll text you the details as soon as I know them.”
“Yeah, thanks.”
Suddenly, a thought crossed Noel's mind.
“Paul, wait.”
“What?”
Noel took a deep breath and sighed, not sure whether to go on and ask the question he was thinking.
“Have you... – he finally mumbled – Have you called 'rKid yet?”
Paul hesitated a bit.
“Yeah. I called him earlier.”
Noel paused for a moment, too.
“And...How did it go? I mean, he was very close to her...”
Paul shrugged.
“What d'you want me to say? He took it like the rest of us, fuckin' bad.”
“Yeah...dumb question, sorry.”
“You know you can call him if you wanna know how he's doing, right?”
Noel exhaled deeply.
“We haven't properly spoken in 14 years, you know I can't just call him like nothing happened.”
“Why not? I think he'd be happy if you do it.”
“Oh, come on, fuckin' stop it. If he wanted to talk to me, he would've already done it years ago.”
“You two are so bloody stubborn. Anyway, you're gonna meet him at the funeral, so...”
“Is he gonna come?”
“Noel, it's Mum. 'Course he's gonna come.”
Noel sighed.
“Yeah. Dumb question again.”
“So...see you on Sat, alright?”
“Yeah. Bye.”
“Bye.”
Noel ended the call and tossed the phone on the bed.
Then, he sat with his elbows on his knees and stared blankly at the closet in front of him for a few moments. The hotel room felt suddenly ominously empty and the silence around him almost oppressive.
Noel glanced at his acoustic guitar, leaning against one of the walls. He always kept one in his room wherever he went — just in case inspiration struck suddenly, far from the studio, maybe even in the middle of the night.
He stood up and reached for it. Carefully, he removed its case and sat back down on the bed. Then, he did what had always kept him grounded whenever life challenged him and the world around seemed to fall apart. Playing.
Saturday
Noel was in a car with his driver and his two younger sons, as the British countryside flashed past before his eyes.
The ceremony was supposed to take place in a small church just outside Manchester and was meant to be private, just for family and close friends. Despite this, a large crowd of people, made up of fans, journalists and paparazzi had gathered at the end of the road that led to the church, hoping to spot the brothers and maybe also to capture their first picture together after 14 years. The police were also present to ensure that no one attempted to proceed further along the way.
As the car turned onto the road, the crowd got loud, immediately spotting him in the backseat.
Noel cursed under his breath.
“How did they know it was taking place here?”, asked the older kid.
“No idea – replied Noel – You know socials better than me.”
The car pulled over in the church yard, where the situation was quiet and only a few invited people were allowed.
Noel got out with the boys and had a quick scan around.
He saw Paul and the three of them reached him.
“Alright, mate?”, Noel greeted him.
“Hey, Noel”, he replied as they hugged.
“Hello, boys”, Paul then said to the kids.
“Hi, uncle.”
Paul turned back to Noel.
“Have you seen the size of the crowd at the end of the road?”
“Yeah. Bloody madness.”
“Yeah. It's mental how people would like to see you two together.”
“Don't tell me. Speaking of which...”
“He's not here yet”, Paul affirmed right away.
Noel shook his head in disbelief.
“Typical – he replied with a sneer - He's gonna be late even at Mum's funeral.”
Paul smirked. Then, he turned serious and asked:
“Are you nervous about seeing him again?”
“With everything that's going on, yeah, that’s exactly what I’m worried about”, Noel stated, flashing a sarcastic smile.
Paul smiled too, catching the irony.
Noel then noticed some folks from his staff.
“D'you mind?”, he asked.
Paul shook his head.
“Go. We'll catch up later.”
“Yeah.”
Noel stepped away and greeted them and other friends.
Later, a voice from behind his back called him.
“Dad!”, said the girl.
Noel saw his daughter and walked over to her.
“Hi, honey.”
“I'm so sorry for Granma”, she said, hugging him.
“I know...Did it take long for you to get here? Any problem?”
“No, it was fine. Just crazy people outside.”
Noel smiled.
“Yeah.”
They talked for a bit, but then something caught Noel's attention in the background. Two men, hidden behind some bushes, were taking some photos of them with cameras with a zoom lens.
“Fuckin' hell”, he snapped.
“What's up?”, she asked, a bit worried.
“Nothing, just some paps that shouldn't be here.”
“Oh.”
“I'll be back.”
Noel walked away to reach his assistant.
“Hey Emma, I think we've got a problem”, he said as soon as he found her.
“What problem?”
“Some bloody paps waiting to take the shot of their life.”
Then he glanced over her shoulder.
“There.”
Emma turned around.
“I'm sorry, I thought we got this covered.”
“Yeah, it's not your fault, they're everywhere. I hoped that, considering the circumstances, they would give us some privacy and show some respect, but I was wrong.”
“I know, but a shot at your reunion is worth thousands of pounds, they would inevitably try anyway.”
“This isn't an Oasis reunion, it's a fuckin' funeral.”
“I know, I know. I'll handle it right now, don't worry.”
“Thanks.”
Emma walked away, Noel sighed.
He then took a few steps forward and when he raised his eyes again, he froze.
A car had just parked in the church yard and Liam and his fiancée Debbie were getting out of it.
Noel stared at them blankly for a few seconds, as this was hitting him harder than he expected.
Liam and Debbie stopped walking to chat with a few people they encountered on the way.
Noel walked back towards the church front doors, where other people were standing and casually resumed talking with them. But his mind was fixed on what he had just seen and, before he could even realise it, he found himself scanning again the back of the yard.
Then, it happened.
Liam looked up in his direction and their eyes met for a few intense seconds.
Fourteen years of silence, anger and frustration lingered in a single gaze.
At last, Noel tore his eyes away and turned around.