Luthor emerged from the bedroom towel drying his hair. “I thought I might go for a walk. I’m guessing you don’t need my input at this stage, so I’ll just be in the way.”
Spook put aside the Scotch and held out his mug for fresh coffee. “Don’t forget you said you’d wash the bedsheets,” he reminded Xane.
“I will. In fact, I’ll do it now. He upended a yogurt drink into his mouth, and then took a banana with him back into the bedroom.
Luthor refilled Spook’s mug, then poured himself a coffee into a cup with a lid. “Catch you in a bit. No rampant cavorting now.”
They spent the morning doing rough-cuts and recording them on Xane’s phone so they could send them to the rest of the band. The album had grown to thirteen songs, plus another handful of maybes. They both had notebooks full of angsty scrawl and music notations. They hadn’t spoken about the call again. Spook didn’t want to talk about it, but he kept expecting Xane to mention it, so he was antsy, and that made it difficult to focus.
“Washer’s stopped,” Xane said. “Help me hang it all out?”
Line-drying, it was hard to argue with that. He found the pegs while Xane emptied the machine into the laundry basket. The day was bright and breezy. There was no sign of Luthor or the silver machine he’d arrived in. They stood either side of the line, Xane throwing the sheets over it, him pegging them in place.
“You know that we’re going to have to hit a studio before long,” Xane remarked.
“I’m not—”
“I know. I’m just saying it so it’s out there.”
“I can’t do people, Xane, and I said I’d work with you on the songs. I never agreed to record, and I definitely said I wasn’t playing live anymore.”
“I think I told you where you could shove your resignation too. This isn’t about that. It’s about the album, and there wouldn’t have to be a ton of people about. We’re more than capable of doing most of the work. We can add the rest of the band as we need them.”
“I’m not ready for that.” Why was it so hard to get this message through?
Xane nodded. Dipped and lifted a pillowcase. “Not immediately, then, but some decent acoustics and a soundboard would seriously add something. You can’t deny that.”
“And no doubt you’re going to add a sound engineer or a producer to that mix.”
“We don’t have to. Not immediately. Look, fine. I’ll admit that I think it’s time I took you away from here. It’s cramped. And there’s more than one safe space in the world. Places where we’re not rattling around in two rooms.”
He surprised himself by asking, “Where? You’ve obviously somewhere in mind.”
“I thought maybe Ric’s. He’s opened a studio, figured that rock stars were less of a threat to his hermitage than tourists, and Liddell Island’s dead this time of year other than the traffic to and from Blackwater’s, and we don’t need to go anywhere near the restaurant. You don’t even have to occupy the same accommodation on the island as the rest of us.”
Evidently, Xane had given this serious thought.
“Will you at least think about it?”
He would, though he didn’t want to. He didn’t want to leave or face any more of the world than what he could see from his current position. “Is it because you want to see Dani?”
“No. I mean, I do, but this isn’t about that.”
Meaning it was primarily about winkling him out of his blanket fort.
“When’s she arriving?” Xane and Dani had hardly been apart since they first hooked up. Now that Luthor was here, it wouldn’t be long before she arrived.
“She isn’t.” All done, Xane picked up the empty laundry basket.
Spook followed him back indoors. “Why not?” There wasn’t space, but something told him that wasn’t the reason. Now that he thought about it, he’d sensed there was something off, it just hadn’t percolated enough to realise what until now. “Where is she?”
“Huh?”
Xane’s nonchalance was too strained to be convincing. “I said where is she?” Spook stopped on the threshold, while Xane made himself look busy. A random spoon got dumped in the sink. He filled a glass of water, but only drank a sip. “What aren’t you telling me, Xane? You’ve been here, what?”
“Nearly two weeks,” Xane supplied.
That long already!
