Devin
Where the hell are you? We’re supposed to play in less than twenty minutes.
Cash
We’re pulling in right now. Trey had to take his dog to the vet and they took longer than expected. Then he had to take him to his mom to watch him while we’re here.
Devin
Trey, I’m glad your dog is better. But please hurry. We started late last week and I don’t want to make it a habit.
Cash
Yes sir.
It’s a valid reason for being late. But did he have to choose today of all days to get his dog checked out. He knows we play on Friday and Saturday.
Finally, I see headlights shine into the alley. I turn the handle on the outside to make sure it’s actually unlocked before walking outside. My steps are quick as I make my way to the opening. Trey and Cash as jumping out of the car. The trunk is already popped open and I grab as many things as I can.
Trey unloads the backseat, and Cash gets what I couldn’t. We really need a better system to carrying our instruments around. One of these days shoving them into any open area in our vehicles is going to break them, and then we’ll be screwed.
“I’m sorry, Dev.” Trey says as we get closer to the back door. “It’s the only day the vet had open for weeks and I had to get my baby checked out.”
“It’s fine.” I open the door and hold it for them to go through. “Y’all ready to do this thing?”
“Hell yeah,” Cash yells as we carry the equipment onto the stage.
This is one thing I hope we don’t have to do for much longer. I know every band has to earn their stripes. They set up their equipment and take it down, but it’s exhausting after being at work all day.
We have it down to a science, though. Within fifteen minutes are instruments are in place. The wires are where they are supposed to be and we have a few minutes to kill. I run down to the bar and ask for a few bottles of water. This is a bartender I don’t know well, and Eric is down at the other side of the bar. “Can you open a tab and I’ll take care of it after the show.”
“Sure thing.” He presses a few buttons on the computer and hands me the water.
I rush back to the stage and toss a water to both of my friends. Setting mine on the stool next to the microphone. I clear my throat and lean forward. “Hey Asheville, how are y’all doing tonight?”
“Y’all were great tonight.” Lisa throws her arms around my neck before I’ve even made it down the stage stairs. My hand grips the railing to keep me from falling backward.
“Glad you made it in time.” Now that we’re off the stairs, my hands wrap around her waist and I pull her toward me. “It felt like the crowd really enjoyed the performance.”
“I don’t think I’ve seen that many people out on the floor since New Year’s.” Lisa voice is loud against my ear to be heard over the chatter of the bar.
It’s nice she notices things like that, especially because I don’t. Does that make me a bad performer? I don’t think so. The entire time I’m on the stage, I’m doing what I can to keep the crowd engaged. Everything is based on vibes. The more energy the audience is putting out, the better we play. The intensity increases and it feels like we’re untouchable.
Releasing my hold on her, I reach for her hand. “Let’s grab a drink before they make last call.”
“That should be in about five minutes.” She glances at a clock on the wall. “It’s one of the things I’ve learned in the class I’m taking.”
I weave us through people on the way to the bar. “How are you liking class? Is it everything you thought it would be?”
Even though we’ve talked and messaged each other, we haven’t talked much about music or bartending. There’s too much stuff each of us missed during our time apart, and we spend that time filling each other in. We’re getting reintroduced to one another.
“Well, there’s this one guy in class who is a complete ass and rude for zero reason. But I’ve made a friend. Her name is Joan. She’s a bit older than me and has two kids, but she wants to earn extra money on the weekends.”
We squeeze into an open space at the bar, and Eric nods toward us. He finishes up his current order and starts on our drinks. At least, I think they’re ours. I’m also not sure how I should feel about the fact she hasn’t shared any of this with me prior to now. I’ve also never asked.
“That’s awesome. How is the actual class?”
“Meh,” she shrugs. “The instructor is kind of a hard ass, but he’s good. I keep screwing up the drinks, though, and it’s frustrating.”
