Chapter 4

Alex

"Alex? Knock, knock."

Startled, I looked up. I'd been staring at my laptop but not seeing anything for a few minutes.

"Yeah, sorry, Lini. What's up?"

"Just wanted to go over the schedule for next week if you have a minute."

"Sure."

Lini was our office manager. Part of a pretty good church choir, she was the one who organized the singers when they all came in to use the studio. We must have been pretty messed up that week because she came back a few days later, told us how we were screwing everything up and presented us with a five-page typed up document about systems we could put in place for scheduling and sharing space and half a dozen other problems she saw. Then she told us we should hire her and let her take care of it.

Big Mike looked at me, I nodded and he told her she was hired. That was more than fifteen years ago and it was the best decision we've made. I don't care how good we were as a collective of engineers, studio musicians, and assorted staff; if we couldn't book enough hours, we wouldn't make money. Within a month Lini had us running like clockwork.

"Anything for today?"

"Uh-huh. You have a meeting at noon with Bryn. He likes what you did on what he sent over and he has some new material he wants to run by you. Sort of unfair for you two to be working together. Maybe you'll give it a rest for a while and let someone else win a Grammy."

Bryn Lake was one of the best songwriters working. Labels paid the two of us astronomical amounts of money and a piece of the back-end when they wanted sure-fire hits for someone new they wanted to push. He specialized in pop and I focused on rock. We balanced each other out and worked well together. To be honest, he was the more talented of the two of us, but he couldn't play guitar, so I had that going for me.

I'd kept writing after I dropped out of the band and had gotten enough acclaim and awards after giving the songs to old friends that I was offered gigs as a song doctor. Bryn and I would write together or fix someone else's work. We both moaned and groaned to the labels about how hard it was to write in someone else's style, but it was all bullshit. We could fix something within a couple of days.

He was always either back home in England or traveling, so we did everything via teleconferencing. It was another way for me to keep my toe in the industry water without actually playing gigs. Those days were long gone. I could BS with Bryn, exercise that creative muscle, make some damned good money and live my quiet life.

When we were done talking, Lini left and I went back to staring at my laptop. There was just something off about that little girl and her mom. It kept poking around at the edges of my brain. Eventually, I sighed and picked up my phone.

Her voice was slightly raspy like Amy Winehouse's had been. It sounded oddly warm and as if it was from someone who had truly lived life.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Ms. Reilly. This is Alex from Afterglow Studios. We, uh, well, you know who I am."

"Oh, hi Alex. You can just call me Em, you know."

There was a hint of teasing in her voice, a flirty kind of undertone that I liked. As much as I liked it, it also made me nervous.

"Uh, listen, I put some thought into it and I'd be happy to teach Leia."

"Oh. That's... Look, I wasn't trying to get you to do it yourself, I just wanted recommendations or to see if one of the people there were looking for a side gig. No offense, but are you... There's no right way to put this, so I'll just say it. You any good?"

I chuckled. "I think I can handle it."

"Okay. Are most of your students advanced?"

"No, I, uh, I haven't taught in a while. Quite a while."

"Yeah? And something changed?"

"Actually, it's been too long. I enjoyed it when I taught. Immensely. I sort of put that behind me when... Well, I changed my life a lot and gave up teaching. I think I'd like to get back into it."

"Yeah, okay. I don't really know anything about this. How often should she get a lesson? Once a week? And... You know, I really should have opened with this. Um, I appreciate the offer and everything, but how much do you charge?"

"It's on the house."

"No, seriously. I can't accept that. How much?"

"Really, if I want to get my chops back as an instructor I need a beginner student and it wouldn't be right to charge you when I'm not on top of my game. How about $25.00? And twice a week? My schedule is pretty flexible. Let me know what days and times work for you."

"Tuesdays and Fridays? Say, four-thirty or five?"

"Four-thirty works. Do me a favor?"

"Uh, yeah, sure."

"If she brings any more cookies to sell, be careful where you unload your car. The red zone is for immediate loading and unloading of passengers only. There is no stopping in a white zone."

She laughed.

I looked at the time on my laptop. It was still early. "Do you guys have an hour free now? Might as well get started."

"I think so, but we have to leave right after so I can head over."

"Over where?"

"Over Macho Grande."

It was my turn to laugh.

"No, I don't think I'll ever be over Macho Grande."

They arrived in less than half an hour, Leia clutching her guitar. She was a hugger and I was definitely not, so I turned as if we were going to walk back to the studio to forestall any full-on hugging attempts. As I turned to her, she looked almost hurt and I felt like shit.

She grabbed my forearm, which was a little weird. "Where's Mr. Mike?"

"His office. We have to pass right by it." I turned to her mom. "Em, did you want to join us? We can pull in a chair from the snack room or grab mine."

"Sure."

When we got to Big Mike's office Leia walked in and stood there patiently as Mike spoke on the phone, his back towards us. I cleared my throat loudly and he turned around.

Looking down at Leia, he almost smiled and continued. "Hey, I gotta call you back." He paused. "Yeah? Well, what if I don't give a fu... crap, dammit... a darn. What if I don't give a darn? Don't like it, I'll find someone else that wants our money." He paused. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

He hung up.

"Hey, darlin'. Here for a lesson?"

"Yup, and I brought these for you." She handed him a brown paper lunch bag.

"You did? What is it?"

"A sleeve of Thin Mints, but I froze them. They're the best that way and you like Thin Mints, so... And I put them in the bag to keep them cold."

"Well, that was really, really nice. How much do I owe you?"

She looked surprised. "No, those were from my own cookies. I bought some with my chore money."

"You... No, let me give you something."

"It's... I wanted to just do something nice. I didn't want any money."

She sounded hurt and it was like something broke inside Mike.

"Oh, sweetie, that was... um, okay. Ah, thanks, that was really, uh, nice. I, uh, listen, don't start crying or anything, okay? I really like them. I'll have some now. It was nice'a you to think of me."

He opened the bag and then the plastic sleeve of cookies and popped one in his mouth.

"Delicious."

"Okay, see you later! Today's my first lesson!"

She pushed his hula-girl again, starting it swaying. The crotchety old fuck had a smile on his face. What was the world coming to?

I'd forgotten how tedious it could be to teach beginners. I'd also forgotten how contagious their excitement was when they heard themselves do something the right way and produce the right tones. Leia was nothing if not passionate. She'd clearly practiced Happy Birthday and Shake it Off.

She put her hand on my arm again. "Where did you get your tattoos, Mr. Alex?"

"Just Alex is fine. A bunch of places. I used to travel a lot when I was younger. I'd find the best in whatever city I was in and go there."

"I like them. They're different than Mom's. This one looks sort of scary."

She'd pointed to one on my left forearm. "It's a Japanese Oni. They're supposed to be scary. I got it done in Osaka."

"It's sorta cool. I want to get one when I get older. When did you get your first one?"

"Uhm, wow. I guess I was eighteen. A long time ago."

"EIGHTEEN! That's... That's so old!"

Em stifled a giggle. It wasn't quite so funny to me.

"Yeah, real old. Let's get started."

We spent our time going over some basics. She was studiously watching her fingers as we went through repetition after repetition. I was able to talk her through it and simultaneously fish my phone from my pocket and text Em.

Invest in earplugs.

A minute later she checked her phone and snorted with laughter. I got a quick reply back.

I thought I had a good poker face. That obvious?

Sorta.

I thought I was done with this after I went through it w Jimmy.

I smiled. Sorry. Two in one family. Brutal.

She snorted again. It was sort of cute.

When we were done, I walked them to the front door. Leia wanted to give me a hug and this time I didn't turn away. I'd rather feel uncomfortable for a few seconds than like an asshole for the rest of the day.

I turned to Em. "So, you'll be back on Tuesday?"

She grinned. "Unless Leia learns how to drive in the next few days, yeah."