After an hour of playing together on the beach, my phone interrupts us. It’s a local number so I answer it on speaker.
“Hello?” I say.
“Is this Josh? Jim Jones here from Lite Rock 94.1.” The booming voice comes through the speaker. I glance at Melanie, who gives me an eyebrow raise.
“It is. Great to hear from you, Jim,” I say. Truthfully, I’d forgotten that I’d given Jim my number, but talking to him can’t hurt. “Melanie is here with me.”
“Great! That’s great! Hi, Melanie.” Jim’s enthusiasm carries through the speaker, and this time when I look at Melanie, she’s got her hand over her mouth, muffling a giggle. “Listen, I’d love to have you two on the morning show next week. You can talk about your story, how you met, and the concert in September. What do you say?”
I meet Mel’s gaze and she casually lifts a shoulder, which I take as approval.
“Sure, sure, we can do that,” I agree.
“And, do you think you could play an original song? Live? On the show,” Jim asks.
This time Melanie holds up her hands and shakes her head, mouthing the wordnoat me.
“Oh, well…I’m not sure we’ll have one ready,” I muster.
“Just a small taste of something. What do you say?” Jim Jones is persistent.
I hold a hand up to Melanie and arch my eyebrows.What do you think?I mouth.
“I guess,” she says quietly but out loud. Jim hears.
“Great!” Jim booms. “How is Wednesday?”
“Wednesday is good,” Melanie chimes in for the first time.
“Let’s do eight a.m. at the studio. I’ll send you the address,” Jim says, suddenly speaking quickly. He’s probably afraid we’ll change our minds.
“Sounds great, Jim. Talk to you soon,” I say. We end the call.
“This should be fun, right?” I give Melanie my most optimistic grin.
“Super.”
* * *
By the timewe head back to the condo, Melanie and I are both exhausted. We’re trudging up the creaky wooden steps when my phone rings. This time it’s my manager.
“Hey, Gary,” I say, cradling the phone as I unlock the door. “What’s going on?”
“I was just checking in to see how the acoustic album is going,” Gary starts slowly. “Have you written anything yet?”
I glance over my shoulder at Melanie as we walk inside. I can’t help but notice her listening with interest.
“I have actually. Well, revisiting an old song I’ve never produced. And writing a new one for my sister.” I sit down in the armchair.
“Great. That’s good stuff. How long are you staying?” Gary doesn’t pressure me outright, but there’s an underlying urgency to his question.
I huff a laugh. “I don’t know, Gary, I just got here.”
“I’m just asking,” Gary says, and I can imagine the way he’s holding up his hands defensively.
“I know, Gar. I think it’s…good for me to be out of Nashville for a while,” I admit. I look at Melanie who is now sitting across from me on the couch, watching.
“Well, don’t stay away too long. Keep me posted on your progress,” Gary says.
