Page 23 of Tumbling Hearts

Her voice is just as lovely as he remembers. “Hey, Toshiko? It’s me, Gene. Gene Hillard, of the Dusty Brooms.”

“Gene?” She gasps. “Oh, you called me back! That makes me so happy, thank you.”

He chuckles, feeling a little light headed from the weed. He honestly didn’t smoke that much, but even a small hit can still make him, at the very least, buzzed. “Of course. I just got back from vacation today, and Santi let me know you called.”

“Yes, he said that. How have you been? How was your holiday? It’s been a while.”

“It’s been good. After we were done recording in Las Vegas, I took a trip with Ray to northern Michigan. We had a fun time; we watched the fireworks. Just got home earlier today.” Toshiko doesn’t need to know more than the basics. “What about you?”

“Hiro and I just got done recording all the vocals he needs for my new album,” she says cheerfully.

“Hiro?”

“Oh, I mean Yasuhiro. He’s been wanting to go by Hiro more while in the States since it’s easier for Americans to pronounce. So, I’ve been calling him that, too.”

“Ah, okay. Yeah, that’s cool.” Gene remembers Yasuhiro. He’s the man Toshiko came to America with: her manager, producer, and close friend. They are only friends too, as Gene remembers Yasuhiro describe in his own words—‘no romance’.

“I had to do quite a lot of recording, and rerecording, since not only did I sing in Japanese, but English as well.” She chuckles in Gene’s ear. “Japanese was easy. But I had to redo my takes so many times in English. Hiro thought I sounded fine, but the record label representative who was listening in thought my pronunciation was off. I thought that was unfair. My English is great, is it not?”

“That’s crazy. Your English is amazing! You barely even have an accent.”

“You flatter me.” She giggles. “I know I have an accent, but yes, I didn’t think it was that bad to where I had to redo so many takes. Oh well. My part of the album is done, and all the rest is up to Hiro.”

“Well, that’s good, at least. You’re all done for a while, until the release.”

“Yes, definitely. We even had a photoshoot earlier in the week, too, so I’m done with press photos for the moment. I really don’t have anything to do for about a month or so. Which… well, is why I tried calling you, to see if you were available.”

He wraps the cord around his finger. “Really? A month?”

“Yes. With all the work that still needs to be done on the album, finishing it, mixing it, distributing it, and there’s two versions—Japanese and English—that’ll take about a month. I’m free, though, because it’s not like I have to worry about any of that. I just sing,” she laughs.

Thinking about it, Gene gets it. Even with his own music with the Brooms, once they were done recording, Gene himself didn’t have to worry much. Ray mixed their singles and first album with Dennis, and then the tapes were sent off to the RCA to make masters of. That’s basically all they have left to do still with their second album, too—mixing it and the like.

“Okay, then… did you want to meet up?” he asks.

“Of course!” Toshiko says cheerfully. “I’m not sure what works best for you, though. I’m all the way in California, and you’re in Michigan.”

“Hmm…”

Could he fly out there to California to meet her? Money isn’t really an issue for him so he technically could, but honestly, he doesn’t feel like traveling somewhere all on his own yet. He just got back home. His head feels heavy even trying to think of traveling again right now. But maybe, if she were up to travel, and the fact she has so much time on her hands…

“What if you stayed at our place for a while? Would you be able to?” he asks.

“Yes, of course I can!” Her voice pitches higher, talking quickly. “I can fly there as soon as you want me to. Michigan is your home, right? I’d love to experience where you are from, show me around places you know. It sounds more fun than being bored at this hotel for another month.”

“A-alright, sure.” Gene lets out a shy laugh. “You can come over whenever you’re ready. The band is taking a break for the moment anyway, so we’re not busy. We could do whatever. And we live in a pretty big house, so we’ve got tons of room for you to stay with us. I’m assuming Yasuhiro would stay in California if you came over?”

“Yes, he has to since he’s the one working on the album. But I don’t think he’ll mind me doing whatever I want to do, since I’m not needed. Uwah, I’m getting excited!”

Gene’s mouth stretches in a smile. “I’m excited, too. It’ll be good to see you again.”

They continue talking for a bit, with Gene giving Toshiko their address and her telling him plans of when she hopes to fly over. She still needs to buy plane tickets, of course, but Gene promises that whenever she does arrive, he’ll be there to pick her up from the airport. They exchange polite goodbyes, with Gene’s cheeks feeling a little warm as he hangs up the phone. This will be good for him, finding the company of a woman again. He remembers how they’d met before, how beautiful she was, her sophisticated, artsy aura, and how lovely her voice was when singing. But even that notion, just thinking of singing, brings his mind back to Ray.

And as soon as he turns around to walk through the living room—Ray is standing right in front of him, blocking him from going anywhere.

“Oh, uh… hey Ray,” Gene says with a sheepish smile.

“You heading to your room?” Ray asks flatly.