“Only if you let it. We’ve got one amazing kid. That’s all that matters. And we’ve certainly got room for another.” Mr. Corbin patted Ru’s hand. Whatever Ru had said must have gained him Mr. Corbin’s approval, because the man let him go back upstairs alone while he went off to find his wife.
When Ru was alone in Tommy’s condo that evening, Ru picked up his guitar and began strumming randomly and just playing through chords. His body ached since he’d worked out harder than he ever had in his life without even realizing it. He sent a text to Tommy before returning to the condo, asking if his friend would be joining him soon. The place was big and lonely without Adam or Tommy to brighten it up.
After a while Ru sang “Starting Something” again and began practicing the two other tunes he’d written. Adam had given him an entire memory stick with journal ramblings to read. A year’s worth, he’d said. And when Ru opened up the folder, it was a lot of material, but just as meticulously sorted and cataloged as everything else was.
After a few minutes of playing, he made his way into the tiny studio just to queue up some of the background tracks. He had a few ideas and wanted to play through them; after all, it would be hours before he could see Adam again.
* * *
The next morning he Facetimed Tommy, bright and early, pinging the man until he got out of bed. “Is AJ letting you sleep all day?” Ru asked him.
Tommy groaned. “I wish. Gotta be at the studio at one to work on some moves. I tried talking to the label about the songs yesterday. Oh, did I tell you we got handed a stack that AJ chose? And guess who gets most of the solos?”
“I’m sorry, man.”
“Not your fault. Talk to me. You woke me up for a reason.”
“Can we do this”—Ru motioned to the two of them on the laptop—“and work on music? I’ve got some songs that I think could use some help.”
“You know I don’t really do anything other than ask you questions, right?”
“But it makes my songs better ’cause it’s stuff I wasn’t thinking about before.”
“Okay, okay, beat me over the head already.” Tommy sighed and pulled the tablet back with him as he lay back down on his bed. “Let’s hear it. Sing for me, pretty boy.”
They worked on the songs together, nailing down another song before Tommy had to go get ready for his own job. Ru read thought Adam’s journals after Tommy left. Watching the clock, waiting for the time to pick up Adam. His journals ranged from truly incoherent and pure genius. Giving Ru a half dozen more song ideas he added to his own notebook.
Ru wondered if the changes correlated to when Adam could run and when he couldn’t. He’d highlighted some things and started a file of thoughts, phrases, and ideas he liked best and could try to cull for songs later. And while Ru wasn’t looking forward to spending time working out, he did want to see Adam pretty badly by the time 4:00 p.m. rolled around.
“So you walk on the treadmill,” Adam said after they had changed and headed up to the main workout area of the community center. “Let’s do a little jog on the track to get your heart rate up.”
“As long as you do some lifting with me, I’ll try to jog with you,” Ru offered as a compromise. He spent a lot of time working on his back, abs, shoulders, and arms. While he would never get the definition in his abs he wanted, he had great core strength. Adam was all amazing gluts and strong calves. Not that Ru had a problem with either of those things.
“Sure. We’ll start slow.” They ran together. Ru pushed himself hard to keep up with Adam’s much subdued pace. He worried a lot when his lungs started to burn. Would that be bad for his voice? He slowed to a stop, and Adam walked back toward him, keeping his legs moving. “Don’t just stop, your muscles will get tight and cramp.”
“Can’t breathe,” Ru panted.
“Oh. Forgot about that. Let’s work through it together, but walk while we do it, okay? I’ll teach you how to breathe right.”
“There’s a special way?” Ru asked as he began moving his feet. His side ached, and he felt like he was breathing through a straw.
“First, stop fighting for air. Your body knows what it needs. Take long breaths. Inhale, deep, and exhale, hoooo,” Adam said, huffing out a long breath.
Ru did his best to mimic him. After a few minutes of walking and breathing, he began to feel better, and Adam bumped them back into a run. This time they kept going until Ru’s legs trembled. It was odd how focusing on the breathing took his mind off the work his body was going through. He just moved, talked through each breath in his head, and followed Adam’s lead. Adam stopped them and led him over to the mats for a stretch.
“Always stretch after running. Here are a few I do to keep from stiffening up.” He went through a few different poses that almost looked like yoga. Ru followed somewhat clumsily. His body was warm and fluid. He wondered if he could always get this weird adrenaline push when he ran. “Now some weights. Do you target muscles?”
“My personal trainer usually tells me what to do,” Ru admitted, somewhat embarrassed.
“And when he’s not around?” Adam asked.
Ru shrugged. “I don’t really like working out.”
“Okay, then.” Adam nodded, more to himself than to anything Ru had to say. “Let’s target different muscle groups on different days. What area do you want to work on most?”
“My abs,” Ru said. “I’ve never been able to get rid of my cupcake top.”
Adam frowned, looking over Ru like he was searching for something. “We’ll work on the fitness ball today, then. Let me show you some good exercises to work the whole core.”
