Total pages in book: 45
Estimated words: 43920 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 220(@200wpm)___ 176(@250wpm)___ 146(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 43920 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 220(@200wpm)___ 176(@250wpm)___ 146(@300wpm)
I didn’t say a word.
“That face you’re making right there, that’s the same face Angie’s making, but I told her, one of these days, he’s gonna bring home some weird girl, and then we’re screwed.”
“Or the girl will want him to live with her in a treehouse or something.”
“Oh, okay. Yeah. That’s good. I like your thought process there. But in the meantime, realize that Luther will be talking to all your people about their chakras and shit.”
“I can’t wait.”
He groaned. “Anyway, at the place on Telegraph, Enoch has his showroom on the first floor and his sales office behind that. On the second floor, overlooking the street, is Neville’s office, where he draws and everything, and the room behind that is their bedroom. It’s really nice, and they’re down there by a lot of other shops, not by the bars, so it works out great.”
“I will have to go check out Enoch’s stuff.”
“Oh, man, he’s got a website, he ships stuff all over the world, he’s doing great with it. He started doing all that while waiting for me and Daw to figure out our lives and get out of rehab.”
“Good for him.”
“Yeah, I’m glad he wants to work on the new album and play with us again. It wouldn’t be the same without him.”
“And how is he with Luther’s plant-based diet?”
“He might try it if he was still allowed a cheeseburger now and then.”
I was chuckling as I asked after the last member of the group, Carlos Ortega.
“Carlos married Rebecca, remember her?”
I did. “She played keyboards for you guys, didn’t she?”
“Yeah, and now she writes soundtracks for movies and TV shows, and since she can do that from wherever, and because she’s in demand, so she can pick the projects she wants to work on, they moved here as well. She loves the Quarter, was gushing about it the other night. She feels inspired here.”
“Most artists do.”
“And Carlos was more than happy to leave Crisis and rejoin us.”
“Crisis is a huge band. They were here last year and sold out the Superdome.”
He nodded.
“And Carlos was willing to leave that?”
“C’mon, man, we’re not only a band, we’re a family. But what’s different now is, even when Daw’s ready and we start recording, it’s never gonna be the same, and I mean that in a good way. In the best way.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I mean, we’ll play some live shows, do some appearances to promote the album, but the days of us being gone for nine, ten months outta the year—hell no. That’s over.”
“You won’t become millionaires like that.”
“And that thinking right there, that used to matter. Not anymore.”
I looked at him.
“What?”
“The last time I saw you, all you wanted was for you and the guys to be the next Led Zeppelin.”
He groaned. “Yeah, I know. And don’t get me wrong, we’ve put out some really good music that people love, but why can’t I have both? Why does it have to be all or nothing? Why can’t I have a home with my wife and my daughter, and still make music with friends?”
I gave him a clap on the shoulder. “You can do whatever you want. The world is your oyster and all that.”
He squinted at me.
“You know what I meant.”
“Well, what we’d like now is to be your house band again because that’s home, yanno? Back where we started, split profits again, and when we go out on tour or when we start making the record, we’ll be responsible for finding people to fill in.”
I met his gaze, and he smiled slowly.
“Unless you don’t want to do that,” he said innocently. “I hear gospel’s really hot right now.”
I flipped him off. “I thought they were a country band.”
“I’m sure you did with your discerning eye and all.”
Shoving my hands into my pockets, I walked toward the club entrance. Ben followed, but instead of letting me go back, he shoved me sideways so I was forced to take a hard seat on the windowsill—I’d had it widened years ago so people could sit there when the band was playing in the evening.
“Two things,” he said flatly.
“Go ahead.”
“First, you’ve gotta be hurt that we were all here, all back in the Quarter, but no one came by or looked you up.”
I shrugged.
“It would hurt me, so I know it has to be the same.”
“You had your reasons,” I conceded. “I know that.”
“Which might sound stupid to you but, there was no way without Dawson here that we could’ve just shown up,” he told me. “It wouldn’t have been right to come before he could. Before he was ready.”
“I get that.”
“But I really need you to hear me on this,” he choked out, and I saw his eyes narrow so he wouldn’t cry, heard his breath catch, and saw him press his lips together tight for a moment. “We don’t work without him, and he’s the same. So it had to be the group ready to return, not just one of us. Not only me, or only Luther or any of us. But together.”