“You’re a good man, Wes.” Her features stretch as she yawns. She shifts so her body is nestled in the corner of the couch. “It’s a shame you don’t show it more often.”
“Don’t lie to me now.”
“I’d never.” Her lashes flutter as her eyelids droop.
Minutes pass but she doesn’t stir. Rising to my feet, I go to her and scoop her sleeping form in my arms. I tuck her into bed. It’s the least I can do after keeping her up, and I’d rather her not blame me for getting a backache from sleeping on the couch.
Even though I don’t want to leave, I head back to my room a few floors up. I have this whirring need to do more, to act on our agreement to make us work. Then there’s the promise I made to Garrett to take better care of myself.
Unable to sleep, I reach for my phone. I want to change, but it doesn't mean a thing if I don’t take the steps to make it happen.
“You know it’s four in the morning?” Jared’s voice is a sleepy rasp.
“Oh, yeah. Sorry about that. I’ll call later.” Shit. Once again, not thinking about the basics.
“You already woke me up.” He yawns. “What is it?”
“Could you send me the number for that therapist of yours?”
“I don’t think she’ll take you.”
My stomach plummets. Does Jared think I’m so fucked up that I need someone more specialized? “Why?”
“Conflict of interest.”
“Does that mean you talk shit about me?” It’s to be expected, but the thought stings.
“I’m not going to answer that.”I’m taking that as a yes.“But I’ll see if she can refer you to someone else.”
“Thanks, man.”
“Of course, but next time you decide to include me on your self-improvement journey, try to do it during normal business hours,” he says before hanging up.
Track Six
Martin:I wanted to try something new. It had been a few years since I started producing, but everyone I worked with was hoping I could make them sound like me. I’m not in the business of copycats. I had no plans on being in Nashville that night, but my flight was delayed, so I got a beer. I knew potential when I saw it.
Avery:Do I ever wish I was there? I’d be an idiot not to. I was at a school dance, wondering how much trouble I’d get in for breaking our quarterback’s hand after he kept trying to feel me up while they were getting the deal of a lifetime.
Avery:But that doesn’t mean I resented them. I just wondered what the future would look like…
Wesley
Winter 2008
Our senior year, it seemed like all the long nights coming home from practice, only to stay up studying until midnight were finally paying off. We were in talks to open for Wit’s End, an indie-folk band that we met because they played the coveted Saturday night spot at Dave’s. After playing for the same crowd every night for a year it was finally something new, and all we could seem to talk about.
“Why do I need to learn about derivatives? We’re going on tour,” Luca groaned. It was nearly midnight, and we were the only group left shrouded in the warm glow of the library lights.
“Because you need something to fall back on,” Garrett ever the pragmatist reminded us. He was the only one who had done his work and was helping Jared edit a paper onHamlet,which by that point had more red ink than black.
“Let’s be real. If Luca is going to get a real job, it sure as hell won’t have anything to do with math,” I added. We had stars in our eyes. Besides Garrett who was planning on college, the rest of us were excited to graduate and have time to take music seriously.
“You can’t go on tour if you have to retake calculus,” Jared reminded him.
“I hate when he makes sense,” Luca said, throwing himself back, causing the chair to slip out from under him and send him onto the thinly carpeted floor. He sat disoriented as delirious laughter tore from the rest of us until the librarian had to come hush us.
The next week, Garrett, Jared, and I were sitting in the hall outside of Luca’s class waiting for him to get the results from the test that would determine whether or not he passed calculus. While the minutes stretched by, I got a call from the lead singer of Wit’s End. At first, I hoped it was the final confirmation for the tour. Luca would come out of his test and I’d have the news.
