Thin Air Read Free Page A

he said. ‘I just like privacy at times like these. People
can’t get their heads round that.’
    She glanced at him. His face was
serene, his eyes warm. Should this be a warning sign? She
swallowed. Would a time come when she’d be crouched in a corner
somewhere, her arms over her head, afraid?
    That night, she seriously
considered she should not see him again. She’d had abusive lovers
in the past and certainly didn’t intend to have one again. She was
too wise for that now. But, the following morning, when Dex called
her, she again felt a strong rapport with him. Perhaps she’d been
too judgmental. It must be hell to live under public scrutiny all
the time. She agreed to meet him again. They were rarely apart
afterwards.
    Jay would have understood if Dex
had wanted her to remain in the background of his life – permanent
women were often seen as something of an embarrassment to stars
whose main audience was a host of adoring females – but Dex wanted
no such thing. He was proud of Jay and wanted her sizzling in the
lime-light alongside him. She knew Dex’s backing band was not
wholly happy about it, but no-one would dare voice their
complaints. She knew, and so did they, that her presence in Dex’s
life had transformed him. There were fewer temperamental displays,
and when they did occur, they were not as unpleasant as they had
been before Jay had come into his life. The band was really just
backing musicians. When Dex went on tour with them the posters
never carried anything but his own name. Still, Jay made a point of
getting to know the band girlfriends and organised social events
that they could all attend. Dex pulled a face about that at first,
but Jay explained that she didn’t want to be seen as a pushy rock
wife. She was her own person, who could make her own friends. Gina
Allen, the wife of the bass player, Dan, was the last to crack
beneath the pressure of Jay’s relentless friendliness, but they
eventually became close friends. Jay told herself that the
friendships which took time to develop were often the most
enduring.
    Jay felt that Dex saw his life
with her as a sanctuary. He had chosen her deliberately, and had
perhaps been looking for someone like her for a long time. Maybe he
thought the right woman would hold him together. She managed to
influence his appearance to a large degree, realising his
scruffiness came from self-neglect rather than choice. They moved
into the ranks of the beautiful people, photographed smiling in
airport terminals, laden with bags from L.A. During the first year,
Jay’s life became a hurricane of activity. Her own work had to be
slotted in between media events and rushed trips abroad, but she
did not feel it was taking a back seat to Dex’s career. There were
just so many good opportunities for travel and meetings with
celebrities she could not miss, and anyway she could always write
about them for ‘This’ afterwards.
    Every year, Dex scooped up
trophies at the MTV Awards and the Brit Awards, as well as other
ceremonies in America and Europe. Each time, the spotlight would
sweep across Jay in the audience, who would be wearing exquisite
designer gowns, her hair a sleek cap curling around her shaded
cheekbones. On one occasion, Dex even dragged her up on stage to
tell the audience she was his greatest inspiration. Jay kept a firm
control over these situations, exuding the right blend of
self-effacement and pride in her partner. No-one could accuse her
of hogging the limelight, or of using Dex as a vehicle for her own
ascension. She made sure of it.
    Every summer, Dex and his band
would play at one of the big music festivals. Jay would make one or
two appearances back stage, haloed by camera flashes. She spoke to
the Press more than Dex did. She knew the ropes, and could appear
to speak freely without actually saying much. At home, she was
interviewed for women’s magazines, when she spoke warmly of the
harmony in her home. Dex might be a wild man of popular rock,