Shattered Hearts

by Coral McCallum

  “And you all feel that?”

  “Yeah,” replied Grey. “He’s left us in the shit. Least he can do is help us out a bit from the other side.”

  “Jake,” began the producer. “You got the files?”

  Jake nodded, “I’ve a copy in my bag for you.”

  “Ok, leave those with me and I’ll see what I can extract from it. You ready to pull double duty, Mr Power?”

  “Do I have a choice?”

  “No,” stated Dr Marrs plainly. “Right, let’s work out a rough plan here. Start marking up that board with what we have so far.”

  Having completed their shopping with time to spare, Maddy suggested that they drive up to Starbucks at Safeway saying that she needed to pick up some groceries while they were up there. Checking the time, Lori agreed that a coffee sounded like a good idea.

  When they reached the parking lot, Maddy pulled into the space beside Lori then both friends headed into the store. Coffees in hand, they sat at the first empty table they came to. Again, Lori checked the time.

  “School doesn’t get out for nearly an hour,” laughed Maddy. “Chill out here, girl!”

  “Oh, I can’t!” laughed Lori. “I keep thinking about her. Keep fretting.”

  “Stop stressing,” scolded Maddy playfully. “I’ll put ten dollars on it that Miss M skips out of class saying she’s had the best morning ever!”

  “Oh, I hope so.”

  Stirring her latte, Maddy commented, “Feedback from Saturday night has been awesome. Has Jake said much about it?”

  “We’ve not had a chance to talk about it. He was wiped out by the time we got back to the hotel,” replied Lori, staring into her Americano. “He still struggles to talk about Rich.”

  “How much do you know about that music teacher that was hanging about?”

  “Nicole?”

  “Yeah. I was watching her,” said Maddy, an edge of mistrust to her voice. “Keep your eye on her. She’s worth watching.”

  “Why?” asked Lori innocently.

  “Just something I thought I saw,” replied the band’s tour manager. “A couple of things actually.”

  “Like what?”

  “She caught Jake’s towel as they headed back out for the encore. She was sniffing it. Inhaling the smell of it.”

  “Jake’s sweaty towel?”

  Maddy nodded, “And I think she’s helped herself to the shirt he had on. He took it off on the way backstage. Threw it onto a table in the green room. Next minute I looked round, it was gone. Only person near it was her. I think she stuffed it into her bag along with the towel.”

  “Why would she steal Jake’s shirt? You sure it didn’t fall down the back of the table onto the floor?”

  “I don’t like her, Lori,” stated Maddy sharply. “I think she’d steal more than your husband’s laundry if she got half a chance.”

  “You think she’s after Jake?”

  “Call it a hunch. I’ve seen her type before,” replied Maddy. “Keep an eye on her.”

  Hauling a plastic crate from the stack at the side of the building round to the rear of JJL, Jake settled himself down in the late afternoon sun to work on some lyrics. Since lunchtime, he’d been working with Grey to build on a half-finished song that he had been playing with on and off for a few months. On the last leg of the tour, every few shows Jake would play the riff over at soundcheck. When they’d gone into the live room just before lunch to set up, he’d subconsciously played it again after he brought his guitar into tune.

  “For Christ’s sake!” growled Grey. “Not that fucking riff again!”

  Jake looked up, genuinely surprised by his friend’s reaction.

  “Either write it into a song or quit playing the fucking thing!”

  Over the next couple of hours, they’d expanded on it under Dr Marrs’ calm supervision. Having requested that Paul and Grey work on the bass and drum tracks for it, the producer had suggested that Jake find himself a quiet corner to come up with some lyrics.

  Conscious that some of the song content they had already gathered was quite dark and heavy, Jake felt that this song needed to be more tongue in cheek to lighten the load. Grey’s frustration proved to be the creative catalyst he needed. As the idea developed, the words flowed from his pen onto the page. He was so engrossed in his work that he never heard the car pull up at the shady side of the building.

  “Hi.”

  Looking up, Jake found himself face to face with Nicole.

  “Hi,” he replied, wondering why she was there.

  “I’ve a meeting with Jim,” explained Nicole, almost as if she’d read his mind. “I’m trying to convince him to help me out with a music production course.”

  “He’s inside with Grey and Paul.”

  “And have you been banished?” she quizzed softly. “Been cast out into the wilderness?”

  “Something like that,” replied Jake, noting the short skirt she was wearing and the white silky shirt. “You been at work?”

  “Classes started back today. I had a year nine class and a year eleven group before lunch,” explained Nicole. “Then had a double class with the seniors. They’re working on composition. Lyrical and musical.”

  “You given them a theme for it?”

  “Fairground,” she revealed.

  “Interesting topic,” mused Jake. “You could get some quirky unique stuff from that.”

  “That’s the hope,” replied Nicole, leaning in closer in an attempt to see what he was writing.

  Her citrusy perfume caught his attention as Jake calmly closed his journal over.

  “Sorry,” she apologised, stepping back slightly. “Just curious.”

  “It’s still a work in progress,” replied Jake then changing the subject asked, “Did you enjoy the show on Saturday?”

  “Very much. You guys were incredible,” gushed Nicole. “I’ve no idea how you held it together.”

  “Wasn’t easy,” admitted Jake. “The fans helped us through and our guests. Helped having our families there too.”

  “I thought I might have seen you afterwards. I think we were in the same hotel.”

  “We went to dinner then Lori and I went straight back to the hotel. The kids were wiped out,” explained Jake. “Was pretty wiped out myself.”

  “No after-show parties?”

  “Not for me,” laughed Jake a little awkwardly. “Some of the crew and Paul went out to a club. Not really my scene.”

  “And what is your scene?” purred Nicole, taking a step towards him, her bare thigh brushing against his arm.

  Behind them, the back door opened and Grey appeared beside them. He took in the scene before him then said coldly, “When you’re ready, Mr Power.”

  “Coming,” replied Jake, relieved to have been rescued from Nicole. “Not quite finished those lyrics.”

  “Been distracted?” accused Grey sourly.

  “What you on about?”

  Following Grey inside, Jake left Nicole standing in the sun, gazing after them.

  Once inside, with the fire door slammed shut, Grey turned to face Jake, “What the hell are you playing at, Jake?”

  “What you talking about?”

  “Her!” spat Grey brusquely. “What’s she doing out here, apart from drooling all over you?”

  “Nicole? She’s here to see Jim,” answered Jake then, as he realised what his friend was implying, added, “And I’m not interested in her!”

  “Well, she’s sure as hell interested in you!” growled the band’s bass player then, softening his tone, cautioned, “Be careful around her, Jake. She makes me uneasy. She’s got her eye on you and she strikes me as the determined type.”

  “She’s just a bit lonely. Still new in town. Mid- divorce too.”

  “Looked to me like she’s looking for the next husband! Just watch her, Jake. Keep your distance.”

  “I’m not interested in her, Grey. I’m not about to cheat on my wife!”

  “I sure as hell hope not,” mut
tered the bass player. “Let’s get back to work.”

  As he parked the truck in his usual spot under the tree, Jake could hear the kids squealing and arguing round the back of the house. Grabbing his book bag and stuffing the key fob into his pocket, he hurried round the side of the house.

  “What’s all the yelling about, kids?” he asked as he stepped up onto the deck.

  “Daddy!” shrieked Melody, running straight into his arms. “Jesse tore up my school worksheet.”

  Spotting the shredded sheet of paper lying on the deck at his son’s feet, Jake let out a long, exasperated sigh.

  “Jesse,” he began firmly. “Why did you tear up Melody’s worksheet?”

  “Melly not play with me!” he wailed.

  Hearing the commotion, Lori appeared out from the sunroom. One look at the scene in front of her was enough for her to declare, “Jesse Power, time out seat now!”

  “No!”

  “NOW!” yelled Lori, pointing into the house. “You better be sitting on it by the time I count to three. One…. two……”

  The little boy fled indoors, sobbing loudly.

  “Melody,” said Lori calmly. “We’ll fix it.”

  “He’s spoiled it,” sobbed Melody quietly. “He spoils everything.”

  Hugging her close, Jake suggested, “Let’s get the tape and see if we can piece it together. I’m good at jigsaw puzzles.”

  “Daddy, it’s a mess,” sobbed the little girl. “Tape can’t fix it.”

  “If you tape it together, we can make a new copy on my printer,” proposed Lori softly. “Had you written your letters and numbers on it?”

  “Yes,” wept Melody, resting her head on Jake’s shoulder. “Now I get to do it all over again. It’s all Jesse’s fault.”

  “Leave him to me,” stated Lori, anger simmering in her usually calm blue eyes. “That kid’s gone too far this time.”

  Leaving Jake and their daughter to pick up the torn pieces of paper, Lori headed indoors to deal with their errant son.

  “It’s not so bad,” commented Jake as he taped the last fragment of the worksheet into place.

  “Daddy, I can’t turn that in to Miss Wade,” said Melody, fresh tears filling eyes.

  Looking at the worksheet, Jake had to agree, “Give me five minutes. We’ll copy it like Mommy suggested and see how it looks.”

  As he switched on the printer, Jake could hear Lori shouting at their son. Offering up a silent prayer, he ran the tattered sheet through the machine. The first copy came out with the tape lines still visible but, having run the copy through, Jake finally produced an acceptable looking fresh worksheet. He could still see Melody’s writing faintly on the lines and in the square boxes.

  “Ok, Miss M,” he began as he stepped back out onto the deck. “Let’s get this written up and put safely in your backpack.”

  With a sad smile, Melody said, “Thank you for helping me. I don’t want Miss Wade to be mad at me. She yelled at Joe today and it was scary.”

  “Poor Joe. What did he do?”

  “Spilled the pencils on the floor. Twice.”

  “Ah,” said Jake. “Not good. You ok writing the letters out while I go and see your Mommy about dinner?”

  Melody nodded.

  The house was suspiciously quiet as Jake walked through the sunroom and into the kitchen. Two pots were sitting on the stove bubbling away and the timer on the oven said there were two minutes left till something was done.

  “I’ve put him to bed,” said Lori as she entered the kitchen.

  “Without dinner?”

  “Without dinner. He’s almost asleep already. Screamed himself to a standstill,” sighed Lori wearily. “That kid’s hard work.”

  “He sure is,” agreed Jake, wrapping his arms around her. Inhaling her floral fragrance, he whispered, “You smell good, li’l lady.”

  “So do you,” whispered Lori, snuggling into his chest. “Is Melody alright?”

  “She’s writing that sheet up again,” replied Jake. “She’s still upset but she’ll be ok.”

  “Poor kid. She’d had such a good day,” sighed Lori as the timer “pinged”.

  “So school was a success?”

  “Seemed to be,” began Lori as she moved to stop the timer and turn everything off. “She bounced out of class full of stories. All I’ve heard all afternoon is Miss Wade this and Miss Wade that.”

  “All your worrying was for nothing then?”

  “Yes,” conceded Lori with a smile.

  After their spaghetti bolognese dinner, Jake spent half an hour with Melody giving her a guitar lesson before Lori interrupted them, declaring it was bedtime.

  While she took the little girl inside, Jake continued to play. He still had a final verse of the song from earlier to finish. Some of the lyrics had come to him during dinner and he was keen to get them down before he forgot them.

  The sun had set by the time he was happy with the final verse. Closing over his lyrics journal, Jake sat listening to the waves breaking on the beach. At the end of the day that rhythmic rush of water was one of his favourite sounds. Half-heartedly, he began picking out a few notes on his guitar, subconsciously trying to replicate the natural rhythms he was listening to.

  “That’s nice,” commented Lori as she came out to join him.

  “Just messing about.”

  “Sounded like the ocean or rain,” mused Lori. “I’ve a couple of hours work to do. Jason sent me through a couple of new commissions. Oh, and Garrett mailed me to ask if I’d do his artwork.”

  “Don’t take on too much,” cautioned Jake, knowing all too well what a workaholic his wife was.

  “I won’t,” promised Lori. “I’ll take on Garrett’s but I’m not sure about one of the commissions Jason sent through. I want to review it fully though before I turn it down.”

  Jake nodded, “I’ll stay out here for a bit. I’ve half an idea I want to work on.”

  “Don’t stay out here too late,” cautioned Lori. “You’re on the school run in the morning.”

  When Jake pulled into JJL next morning he was surprised to discover he was the first to arrive.

  “Morning!” he called out as he walked into the studio’s spacious lounge.

  “Morning, Jake,” called back Dr Marrs. “Head in. I’ll be with you in ten. Got a call to make.”

  The air in the live room was cooler than usual and Jake shivered as he walked across to where he’d left his guitars the day before. Picking up his acoustic, he settled himself on a stool and began to play the song he’d been working on the night before. Inspired by the rhythm of the ocean, he’d written a ballad about shutting out the chaos of the world around them and focussing on its natural rhythms. He’d tentatively called it Nature’s Heartbeat.

  “That got any lyrics yet?” called through the band’s producer half an hour later.

  “Some,” revealed Jake. “I’ll finish them at home tonight.”

  “Fine,” agreed Dr Marrs. “Get it on the board.”

  “Without the others hearing it?”

  “Add it,” instructed the producer bluntly. “That fucking board needs all the help it can get!”

  “Guess it does,” admitted Jake. “Still a bit to come up with.”

  “Sure is and we need it fast, Mr Power.”

  As he scrawled the new song title onto the next free line, Jake asked, “Did you find anything else in Rich’s files?”

  “A fair bit. I’ll run over my thoughts when the others get here.”

  “Ok,” said Jake, putting the lid back on the marker pen. “How many more do you want us to come up with?”

  “Eight. Preferably ten. Gives us plenty to work with,” replied Dr Marrs. “Paul mentioned something he had and Grey said he’s got a couple of ideas to bring to the party.”

  “Could we add in a couple of live tracks?” suggested Jake, concerned at the number of songs still required.

  “We could if we had them.”

  “I thought we recorded
the Baltimore show?”

  “We did. Well, most of it. Jason has a plan for it. Fan EP or something. Maddy said she’d mail me this week about it.”

  “Guess I’m pulling a few all-nighters on this.”

  “Looks like it, Mr Power.”

  Midnight had come and gone and Jake was still working down in the basement. When he’d arrived home from JJL, he’d taken Jesse for a long walk along the beach before dinner in an effort to wear him out then, after a relaxed and, for once, peaceful family meal, he’d spent an hour with Melody and her guitar. Compared to the night before, it had been almost a perfect evening. Both kids had gone to bed without complaint. Lori, too, had said she was worn out and was having an early night. Leaving his family to sleep, Jake had headed down into the basement, hoping to come up with something to add to the whiteboard in the morning.

  He looked up from the desk where he’d been wrestling with some lyrics that he was trying to tie into one of the pieces of music Rich had left behind. A movement in the far corner of the room caught his eye. The small desk lamp was casting shadows around the cluttered desk. Pausing for a moment, Jake gazed into the dark corner of the room where he thought he’d seen something. With a smile, he realised that it had come from Rich’s preferred spot in the basement. He could almost visualise his late bandmate sitting there, guitar in hand, issuing directions to the rest of them. Precious memories, he thought as he glanced down at the lyrics he’d been working on.

  A noise from that corner distracted him. Laying his pen down, Jake turned to stare back into the dark corner. It had been a small, familiar noise but not one he could instantly pinpoint. Feeling a little uneasy, he got to his feet and crossed the room to switch on the main overhead light. As his eyes adjusted to the bright lights, he gazed over at the corner. The chair that Rich used to sit on for rehearsal sat empty. Something lying on the floor underneath it caught his eye. It was a slide and a pick. Rich’s slide and one of his stage picks from the Bonded Souls tour five years previously.

  Picking them up and turning them over in his hand, Jake’s mind wandered back to the song he’d been struggling with.