A New Era-Chapter 1

The night wind was cold, whipping across her cheeks almost painfully as she stood outside the train station looking hopelessly lost. She couldn’t read any of the signs, and there was no one around to ask for directions. With a soft sigh, Anette dragged her fingers through her hair, and leaned against the brick wall of the building. Surely they hadn’t forgotten that she was coming today, had they? That was impossible. She had just spoken to Marco on the phone before she left. They would come. She would wait, calmly.

Letting her duffle bag slide off of her shoulder and onto the snow covered ground at her feet, Anette squeezed her eyes shut, trying to focus on what was to come. But the conversation she’d had with her husband just before she left kept playing through her mind like a bad dream.

“Anette, you’re 36 years old, a married woman, with a child!” he yelled as she packed her bags. “You don’t get to just take off after your dreams anymore. You have responsibilities here, a commitment. What are we supposed to do while you’re off touring 10 months out of the year?”

She didn’t answer, and continued to fold her clothing as neatly as possible while rushing. Finally depositing the last item into the duffle bag, she zipped it closed and got to her feet, gently but firmly pushing her way past him. She didn’t want to have this conversation yet again.

“Anette, don’t ignore me. We put up with you trying out for Nightwish because none of us thought you would actually be picked. Look at who you’re replacing. There is no logical way they should have chosen you!”

‘Damn,’ she thought. ‘Now even he’s going to compare me to Tarja. I can’t win, can I?’

She cleared her throat, and turned around to look at him. “It’s nice to know that my own family had such confidence in me, really. The fact of the matter is, they did pick me. I’m sure that Tuomas has his reasons for wanting a different voice to sing his music. I’m honored that I’ll have the chance to be a part of something so amazing, and I really just wish that you’d be happy for me.”

“How can I be happy for you? This is going to take you away from us! How are you supposed to raise your son when you’re off gallivanting across the globe with a bunch of guys singing metal music and being chased by crazy fans?”

Anette sighed. His jealousy was starting to become monotonous. “There isn’t anything you can say that’s going to stop me from doing this. It’s not like I don’t know how to use a phone, and it’s not like I’ve never toured before. We’ll manage, just like we always have. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to get to the train station. I was supposed to be there an hour ago.”

She lifted her bag onto her shoulder, and walked out the door. He didn’t say a word, didn’t follow her to say that he loved her. All he did was glare at the back of her head, and she felt like if looks could kill, she would have died right then and there.

“Anette?”

The male voice beside her jolted her out of her reverie, and she jumped into the air, her eyes flying open. It took her a minute to recognize who was talking to her, but when she did, she smiled with genuine relief.

“Tuomas, I wasn’t expecting you. Marco said that he would be picking me up.” Her voice trailed off, and she bent down to pick up her duffle bag, but before she had a chance to grab it, he had already lifted it effortlessly off the ground.

“Slight change of plans. Marco and Emppu decided to start celebrating your arrival a bit early, and by the time he was supposed to leave to come and get you,” he paused and smiled, laughing a bit, “well, let’s just say that the two of them had already done enough celebrating for the entire band.”

Anette rolled her eyes and laughed. “From what I’ve heard about those two that sounds fairly typical.” She stood up away from the wall, and reached to take her bag from him, but he hefted it up over his shoulder and shook his head. She nodded her thanks, and shivered, stuffing her hands into the pockets of her coat. “I appreciate you coming to get me. I know you must have a really busy schedule, but I don’t know my way around here, and I’m terrible with directions.”

“Don’t mention it. You’re one of us, now, and we tend to stick together. Besides, this will give us some time to talk about the schedule we’re going to have for the next few days, and I’d love for you to go over some of the new songs with me.” He motioned for her to follow, and began walking towards a small blue car that was parked about thirty feet away. “This has to be rather strange for you, coming into this not knowing what you’re about to sing, or what to expect.”

She laughed nervously. “Well, I have to admit, it’s a bit nerve wracking knowing that I’m going into the studio tomorrow to start recording and I haven’t even seen the lyrics or heard the music yet, but it’s also strangely exciting.” She paused, and sighed, lowering her head to keep the wind out of her face. “The only bad part is, no one else in my life seems to be as happy about this as I am.”

They reached the car, and Tuomas opened the trunk, setting Anette’s bag inside gently. Then he came around to the passenger side of the car, and opened the door for her. She smiled, thanking him quietly, and slid into the seat, pleasantly surprised to find that he had left it running so it was already quite warm inside. She pulled her hands out of her pockets and held them in front of the heat vents, trying to get some feeling back into her digits, and Tuomas slid into the driver’s seat beside her.

“You can’t tell me that you’re not used to the cold. I’ve been to Sweden, the weather isn’t much warmer there,” he said, teasing her.

“I’m not used to standing outside in the cold. I should have brought my gloves, I guess,” she replied, rubbing her hands together and wincing as the feeling painfully crept back into her fingertips.

“I probably have a spare set back at the house that you can borrow. Don’t worry about it.” He put the car into gear, and began to drive through the dark, abandoned streets. “I’m glad to hear that you’re excited. We’ve all been waiting a long time to get this album put together, and prove to the world that Nightwish can live on without our resident diva. But what do you mean no one else is happy for you? They should all be proud of you, it wasn’t an easy choice for us to make, picking a new lead singer.”

Anette just shook her head. How could she explain this to him without sounding childish and naïve? “It’s just…it’s my husband. He and I had a fight before I left. He doesn’t want me touring, doesn’t want me away from home. He thinks I’m too old to be a rock star, I guess, and wants me to stay home and raise our son like a good little housewife.” She sighed again, looking at him out of the corner of her eye. “Please, don’t think that this will interfere with my work. I’m very dedicated to this, just like you guys are. I’ve never felt more honored than I do to have a chance to work with one of the greatest bands I’ve ever heard.”

Tuomas flashed a smile at her, and shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. Marco and Emppu both have families, too, and they managed to keep up with the pace just fine. I’d imagine it has to be a bit different for you, being a mother, but we’ll make sure that you get home often enough to see that little boy of yours grow up.”

“Thank you,” she whispered, turning around in her seat to face him properly. “That solves one of my problems, anyway.”

They pulled up to a stop sign, and he turned to look at her. Their eyes met, and Anette’s breath caught in her throat. There was something about him that struck a chord in her. Maybe it was his artistic, creative soul. Maybe it was something else. She couldn’t let herself think about it. After a very long pause, he turned away, and the car began to move again.

“And what’s the other problem, then?”

Anette felt her face flush, and immediately wished she had kept her mouth shut. But avoiding the question didn’t seem like a very good way to start her new working relationship with Tuomas, so she drew in a sharp breath, and confessed. “He’s jealous. He seems to have it in his head that I’m going to forget all about him touring the world with a bunch of guys.” She paused, laughing nervously. “Pretty silly, don’t you think?”

“I don’t know if I’d call that silly,” he replied, his voice completely serious. “If I had a beautiful woman like you to call my own, I don’t know that I’d want her traveling the world with a bunch of crazy guys, either.”

She felt her face go an even deeper red, and felt a wave of heat wash over her. Had he really just said that she was beautiful? Not even her husband said that to her anymore. It seemed so small, but that one comment made her feel like she was floating. This was crazy.

“I don’t think it will be a problem,” she whispered, entirely unconvinced by the sound of her own voice. “I know how to control myself, even if you guys all lose your minds.” She turned to look out the window so that he couldn’t see the flustered expression on her face.

“Don’t worry about me,” Tuomas said, his voice just as unconvincing as hers had been a moment before. He reached up into the visor and pulled out a tattered folder, handing it to her. “Here, take a look at this. That’s the first song we’ll be working on tomorrow. I have a tape of the music at the house, I’ll let you listen to it when we get there, but you may as well familiarize yourself with the lyrics.”

Anette took the folder from him, her hands shaking a bit. Their fingers brushed against each other briefly, and she felt her heart skip a beat. ‘Control yourself, Anette,’ she scolded herself in her head. ‘You’re acting like a school girl with a crush!’ She opened the folder, and reached up to turn the interior light on. “That won’t bother you, will it?” she asked, not sure that her voice was actually going to work.

“No, it’s fine. I could drive these streets with my eyes closed, to be honest with you,” he said. “It’s the first one on the top. Tell me what you think.”

She nodded, and began to read silently. The lyrics were so beautiful, so poetic; she had never read anything like it before in her life. By the time she was finished, she had tears in her eyes. She didn’t even realize that the car had stopped until she saw him turn the key in the ignition.

“Tuomas…that’s beautiful. Simply beautiful. I can’t wait to hear the music that goes along with this, I’m sure it’s amazing.”

“Thank you. You won’t have to wait long. Everything is set up inside,” he said, opening the door and walking around to the trunk to get her bag.

She stepped out of the car, shivering once again as the cold night air hit her flushed skin. The tears which were running slowly from her eyes froze against her cheeks, and she sucked in a deep breath, coughing from the cold.

Tuomas walked around to her side of the car, and took her by the arm. “Hey, take it easy there. I don’t need my new singer killing her voice by inhaling frost the day before we start recording our new masterpiece.” Gently but quickly, he led her to the door, put his key in the lock, and pushed it open. She slid inside and waited for him to close the door, keeping the chill out. “I’m sorry, but I figured you wouldn’t mind just staying with me for one night, since we’ll be flying out to London first thing in the morning. It didn’t seem practical to put you up in a hotel for just a few hours.”

Anette swallowed her heart, and drew in a deep breath. The warm air felt good in her constricted lungs, and she finally felt as if she could speak. “It’s no problem, really. I don’t like hotels much anyway. Too impersonal, too lonely.” She laughed. “Can you tell I’m not used to being away from home much?”

He smiled and walked around behind her, helping her to struggle out of her coat. “Come upstairs, I’ll show you your room. The stereo is set up in there; I thought you might want to have access to the music so you can practice if you can’t sleep tonight.”

She nodded, following him up the stairs. On the walls, she saw pictures of the band, framed set lists, and a few different paintings that she didn’t recognize. She couldn’t help but wonder if he’d painted them himself, but was too nervous to ask. He stopped in front of the third door on the right, which was slightly ajar, and pushed it open.

“Welcome home,” he said, moving into the room and setting her things down on the bed. “Come on in, don’t be shy. If you hate hotels that much, you may end up staying here with me more often than not. Of course, I don’t mind. Feel free to make yourself at home.”

Anette felt the color creeping back into her cheeks. Why was the prospect of making herself “at home” here with him so inviting to her? She shook her head slightly, hoping that he wouldn’t notice, and sat down on the bed. The mattress was one of the most comfortable things she had ever sat down on, or maybe that was just from spending several hours on a train, sitting on a cold, barely padded seat. Either way, she already felt like she belonged here. If she had had any doubts about whether not she would fit in with the other members of Nightwish, spending the last 45 minutes with Tuomas had chased them away.

“Do you want to hear the music for Eva, or did you want to try and get some rest?” he asked, pulling her out of her thoughts. “You look exhausted.”

She shook her head. “No no, I’m fine, truly. I’d love to listen to the music. Whenever you’re ready for me to hear it,” she said.

Tuomas walked over and pressed the play button on the small stereo which was sitting on the desk in the corner of “her” room. Immediately the small space was filled with the sounds of piano and violins, and she felt herself getting swept away in it all. She picked up the sheet of paper with the lyrics on it, reading along while the music played through once. When it stopped, she let out an audible sigh.

“Amazing. I don’t know how you write like this, Tuomas, I really don’t. It’s beautiful, breathtaking…I hope that my voice can live up to such a work of art.”
Tuomas looked a bit uncomfortable at the praise, but nodded his head in thanks. “I’m sure you’ll do just fine. Did you want to give it a try? I’ve been dying to hear this song sung by someone other than Marco.”

She nodded, laughing at the thought of Marco’s deep, so often angry vocals trying to blend with the soft, emotional music she had just heard. “I’m as ready as I’m ever going to be,” she replied, clearing her throat and holding the lyrics in front of her.

He pressed play, and the music began again. She didn’t even have to watch him for a cue on where to come in; it was like she knew in her soul when the time was right. Effortlessly, her voice soared over the chords, a union of near perfection. When it was over, her heard was pounding. Tuomas applauded, and walked over to sit down on the bed beside her.

“Anette, that was beautiful. You were practically flawless! I’m impressed, considering that you’ve only heard it once. You have amazing talent,” he said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and giving her a quick squeeze of encouragement. “I don’t think you even need to practice anymore, tonight. You’re going to nail this, easily. It’s unbelievable, really.”

She blushed, and found herself leaning into his touch. Turning her face towards him, her eyes locked with his again, and she truly felt as if she could see into his soul. Without even thinking, she leaned in, and let her lips brush against his lightly. Much to her surprise, he didn’t pull away, but kissed her back, pressing their lips together a bit harder and deepening the kiss. By the time it was over, she was breathless.

“I’m sorry, Anette,” he whispered, pulling away from her. “I shouldn’t have done that; you’re a married woman…”

She brought her finger up to his lips, quieting him. “Don’t be sorry. I’m not. You’re an incredible man, Tuomas Holopainen. If my marriage has to fall apart, which I’m sure it would have anyway, with this new job and responsibilities…I’m rather glad to have someone like you to lean on.”

He kissed her fingers gently, and moved his hand up to brush the hair out of her eyes. A grin spread across his lips, and he took her hand in his, caressing her fingers softly. “If you’re sure…” he whispered.

Anette stared back at him, allowing herself to get lost in his eyes. She hadn’t planned on this, hadn’t foreseen it at all, but that didn’t matter. Her life was changing, every aspect of it. And for once, she saw that as a good thing. “It’s time for a change,” she whispered, leaning in and kissing him once more, allowing him to wrap her in his arms and hold her close. She would deal with the consequences later. For now, she was right where she wanted to be, right where she belonged. She was home.