A Beautiful Melody

by Lilliana Anderson

  Sitting on the bench in front of my old acoustic piano, that reminds me of the one I used to play at school, I slip the card into the music stand and lift the lid off the keys.

  Closing my eyes, I position my fingers and begin to play. Immediately, the notes of the first song Matiari played last night fill my apartment. It was a beautiful song, and Marcus is so right. It would sound wonderful with a string accompaniment.

  Letting my fingers drop on the keys in a nonsense note, I glance over at my violin case. It’s so rare that I open it these days, it actually has dust on it. I normally only play when I’m really sad or lonely, and I haven’t been feeling that way in a long time.

  Today though, I miss it.

  Taking it out of the case, I run my fingers over its body, loving the smoothness of the wood beneath my fingertips, plugging at the strings to check and fix its tuning. When the sound is corrected, I take a deep breath, positioning it on my shoulder, my bow ready. I want to see how Marcus’s songs sound on it.

  As I’ve said before, I can play by ear. So it doesn’t take long before I’m going through their set and thinking about the best parts to bring the violin in, and when to leave it out.

  Before I know it, my stomach rumbles loudly, demanding to be fed. I’ve been playing for hours. My neck is stiff and my fingers are sore, but I barely noticed the pain coming on – I was so caught up in the music.

  Letting out a loud sigh, I place my violin, lovingly, back in its case. As I stand up and stretch myself out, I glance over at the business card that’s still sticking out of my piano. It’s like it’s waving at me, beckoning me to come over and take it – to commit to playing with the band.

  “I’ll think about it,” I tell it. Although, deep down, I know I’m going to go. I’ve really missed performing, and this opportunity is too good to pass up. Even if it does come with a bit of baggage.

  Chapter 8

  Marcus

  “What’s going on with you two?” Lachlan asks, while sitting on a stool in our rehearsal space and strumming at his unplugged bass. I can hear the light twang of the strings as his fingers fly over them and he looks between Theo and me, waiting for an answer.

  “Nothing,” I reply, focusing on my own set up.

  “Nothing? I don’t think inviting a girl to join the band without consulting anyone is nothing,” Theo growls out from his seat behind his drum kit. He taps his foot on the pedal of his hi-hats, letting it drop with a crash as he glares at me.

  “What the fuck man!?” Jack yells. “Are you insane?! Can’t you just fuck her and be done with it? The last chick nearly ruined everything for us.”

  I hold my hands up in front of me, showing them my palms in the hopes that they’ll calm down and listen. “Just hear her play ok? And Jack – it’s Naomi. Remember her?”

  “The violin chick from school?”

  “Yeah,” I nod, noting how his expression changes. I can see the thoughts written all over his face. He can already see how much better our sound will be with her in the band.

  “Alright,” he says after a moment, nodding his head. “Let’s give her a run. See how we sound.”

  “Who the fuck is Naomi?” Lachlan asks. He’s the only outsider whose been allowed in the band. We used to have a girl bassist, but hers and my relationship got reckless, and she kind of lost her shit and had to leave. Lachlan was the best of the bass players we interviewed after taking out an ad. So he got the gig.

  “She was at The Metro last Saturday. The little blonde girl with Erica and Amy,” I tell him.

  “They were there on Saturday?” he asks, scratching at his messy blond head thoughtfully, as he tries to remember what ended up being a very drunken party for him.

  “Yeah, briefly. Before Marcus here, chased them away. I don’t reckon she’ll show up,” Theo supposes.

  “I didn’t chase them away, and she will come. I know her, she’ll come,” I say confidently. Although as the minutes tick by, I’m not feeling quite so sure.

  Just as everyone is starting to get restless, the door opens and in walks Naomi, with her violin case in hand. She’s wearing a tight pair of faded jeans, knee high boots, a fitted white t-shirt, and a black vest on top with this long silver locket hanging down between her breasts.

  Suddenly, I’ve got these visions of taking a hold of that locket and pulling her toward me, so I can slowly peel off every layer she’s wearing. I’ve become so used to girls wearing clothes that leave nothing to the imagination – hell, half of them don’t even bother with underwear, that the idea of undressing Naomi to get to what I know is under there is causing quite a stir in my nether regions.

  “Hi everyone,” she smiles, as she stands awkwardly in front of us. “Where do I set up?” she asks, looking at me.

  I stand there with my mouth open slightly, trying to force the visions out of my mind, as I watch her reach up and secure her hair into a high ponytail. She seems all business today.

  “Oh, um. Just over here,” I stammer, covering it up by clearing my throat as I indicate the extra microphone stand and amp for her to plug in. She walks over and places her things on the floor busying herself with her own setup. She’s a pro, and already has a tuner pick up attached to the bridge of her standard violin so it can be used as an electric without compromising her acoustic sound.

  Jamming my hands into the back pockets of my jeans, I watch her and try to make some sort of conversation. “So, this is the rest of the band. I don’t think you met everyone on Saturday. You left kind of suddenly.”

  “Yeah, well. You seemed pretty busy and I’d had a big day,” she tells me evenly.

  “Fair enough. Well, this is Jack, and that’s Lachlan, and I’m sure you remember Theo,” I inform her, pointing each one out to her as she continues to set up.

  “Great,” she nods. “I remember Jack too. Nice to see you again, and you too, Theo,” she nods. “And of course it’s nice to meet you Lachlan. You were all really great on Saturday.”

  “Well, let’s see if you can make us even better,” Jack smiles at us. “Do you need the sheet music or can you still do that thing where you can play everything straight away?”

  “I can still do that thing,” she smiles. “Although, I might be a little off on the words at times.”

  “Great,” I say. “Well, we’ll play the same set we did on Saturday. Naomi, you come in where you think works and perhaps add some backing vocals? We’ll work through it as we go though.”

  We all watch as she finishes getting ready. I can’t help but smile when I notice she has a purple violin. She was always doing something to make hers look different in school.

  “Ready?” Theo asks.

  “As I’ll ever be,” she replies.

  He counts us in and we start to play ‘Fragile’. For the entire first verse, Naomi stands ready, swaying her body as she feels the music, causing me to wonder when she’s going to join in. The moment the chorus starts, she begins to play, causing all the hair on my body to stand on end as her music gives the words so much more emotion.

  When you whisper to me,

  I want your words to be true,

  But you know we can't be,

  Not like this. Not like this.

  I expect her to keep going, but I forget how good she is. She stops at the perfect time, allowing me to play just the few quiet notes on my guitar, as I sing the last two lines of the chorus in virtual silence.

  Why did you sing your song to my heart?

  When you knew we were fragile right from the start

  The rest of the session goes on much like this. In some songs she adds some vocals, and in some she adds only violin, others she adds both. I thank god Theo has this session recording, because I need to hear it again. She’s so much better now than she was when I knew her – it makes me wonder why she quit ANU.

  Theo

  There’s a song that Marcus wrote that I’ve never been a fan of. It’s called Then You Were Gone and it’s about this chick leaving him and hi
s ability to write music suffers as a result. It’s ok, and the fans seem to like it, but I’ve always felt that he could write better than that.

  However, today, it just became amazing.

  The moment we’re getting ready to wind down the song after the last chorus, Naomi starts to play this amazing solo. I keep the beat with her, I can see where she’s going with this, and it adds a lot more body to the song. When her solo is over, she leans in to the microphone and hums. I continue my gentle tapping, feeling pleased when Marcus joins in, humming the tune along with her to finish off the song.

  “Whooo,” yells Lachlan as they finish. He starts clapping his hands, smiling broadly, closely followed by Jack, who is nodding his head excitedly. “That was fucking brilliant!”

  “I’m so glad you all liked it,” she says, placing a hand on her chest. Her cheeks are flushed and she looks over at me. I guess she’s looking for some sort of approval, but I just can’t give it. Call me a jerk all you want, but even after what she just did, I can’t be happy about her being here.

  She’s an amazing artist, I’ll give her that. But I still feel that this is all wrong. Her eyes hold mine for a moment, and I see her smile falter before she turns back to Marcus.

  “I um… was worried you’d hate it,” she says to him, her eyes flitting toward me a couple of times before she positions her body so she can’t see me in her periphery anymore. “You said to do what I felt was best, so…”

  “No, that was perfect,” praises Marcus. I can tell he’s really affected by how that song played out, and admittedly I am too – I think we all were. As I look around at the guys, they gush like little girls over how great she was. I realise that I’m going to get overruled. So as much as I didn’t want her to, I think Naomi just became a part of the band.

  Shit.

  While everyone stands around talking about songs they want to show her, I quietly leave the room. I admit that she makes us sound better, and I agree we can benefit from a violinist and some female vocals. But she’s not the only woman capable of joining us.

  I simply don’t want her in the band. Not that it seems to matter what the fuck I think.

  Chapter 9

  Naomi

  “I think it’s time to take a vote,” Marcus announces. “All in favour of Nomes joining the band?”

  Immediately, Lachlan and Jack raise their arms above their heads in agreement.

  “No question,” Jack says, running his hand over the top of his close cropped black hair. “She’s awesome.”

  “Aw, thanks Jack,” I smile, nudging him gently in his arm.

  Winking, his blue eyes shining amusedly, he says, “I only speak the truth.”

  “What about you Theo?” Marcus asks, drawing all of our attention to the empty seat behind the drums. “Where the hell is he?”

  Switching off his amp, Marcus removes the lead to his acoustic guitar and takes it off his shoulder, leaning it up against his amp, mumbling something under his breath about his brother.

  The rest of us stand and watch as he stalks out of the room, undoubtedly looking for Theo. As the door bangs shut after him, I jump slightly.

  “Don’t worry about them. They’re always fighting over something. This is pretty normal,” Jack explains.

  “Theo doesn’t seem too happy about having me around,” I add, starting to pack up my violin and bow.

  “Yeah, well. That’s Theo. He’s got issues. But he’ll come around. You make his songs sound too good for him not to.”

  “What do you mean ‘his songs’? Does he write them all?” I ask.

  “Sure does,” answers Lachlan. “Most of them anyway. Marcus has written a few, but our most popular stuff is all Theo.”

  “Hmmm. Maybe he thinks I’m ruining them? Maybe he doesn’t want strings in his songs?”

  “No, that’s not it at all. I saw him, he liked what you were doing. He’s just got a bug up his butt. He’ll come around though. You’ll see,” Jack assures me.

  We all sit around making small talk while we wait for the brothers to return. I have to admit that I’m worried right now. I haven’t felt more alive than I did while playing just now, for such a long time. I don’t want this to be it. This can’t be it.

  Theo

  “What the fuck is your problem?” Marcus bites out from behind me.

  “You’re the one with the problem. What the hell are you thinking, bringing her in the band? After what happened! Are you retarded? Of all the girls you could have gotten to play with us, why does it have to be her?”

  “Because she’s the best Theo.”

  “That’s bullshit and you know it. You can’t just bring in every girl you want to give a good fucking to. Remember how crazy you made the last one?”

  “Fuck you. It’s not like that. And you’re only pissed about Naomi because you want to fuck her and you’re annoyed I got there first. You can have her if you want. I’ve already been there.”

  “Shut up dickface,” I say, shoving him in the chest. Fuck he pisses me off. I would never touch one of his whores. I might as well be fucking my own brother, and that’s just gross – there are just some things you don’t ever share with you family, and women is one of them.

  “I’m right though aren’t I?”

  “No. You couldn’t be more wrong. I just don’t want her in the band Marcus. She’s going to be the end of us. Get somebody else.”

  Marcus folds his arms across his chest and leans against the kitchen bench. “No.”

  “No?”

  “Yeah, you heard me.”

  “Seriously Marcus. If she stays, I go. And all of those songs come with me.”

  “So, we’ll write more. I’m pretty sure she’ll be a great song writer too. Just imagine it Theo, me and her, spending long nights together, working on songs. It’s going to be pretty sweet.”

  “Don’t,” I warn, gritting my teeth and balling my fists at my side.

  “Why? It’s not like anything ever happened between you too. She doesn’t even remember who you are.”

  “Don’t be a jackass.”

  “No Theo, don’t you be a jackass. If you’re going to let your feelings over a girl - who doesn’t even know who you are; ruin this band, then you’re more fucked up than I realised.”

  I continue to glare at my brother. He’s got me. He knows I’ll agree to her joining. There’s no way I’m walking away from something I worked so hard to build. Plus, she’s fucking awesome.

  “Fine. We’ll do this. But we need to see how the fans react before we make anything permanent. Alright?”

  “Deal,” Marcus grins, slapping me on my arm as he shakes my hand. “And just to be sure. Hands off alright – for both of us. Neither of us chases her.”

  “Agreed. The past is the past. I’ll let it go.”

  “Well, don’t let it go too far. I don’t want it to ruin your ability to write good lyrics.”

  Chuckling together, we make our way back to the rehearsal space. Lachlan, Jack and Naomi are all talking and laughing together. She seems to be fitting in really easily.

  “So are we good now?” Jack asks.

  “Yeah we’re good. Naomi’s in,” Marcus smiles.

  “Well, she is for now. We’ll see how the next show goes. If the fans like her, she stays,” I add.

  “Sounds fair to me,” Naomi says standing. “Thanks guys. I won’t let you down.”

  “Oh, and before any of you guys get the wrong idea, I just want to put this out there now. Since we now have a woman in our ranks, there is to be no hitting on her. Relationships break up bands, so sniff around girls anywhere but in here. Understood?” I announce, looking pointedly at each guy, who whole heartedly agrees.

  “We’ll consider her one of the guys,” Lachlan smiles, his blue eyes watching Naomi closely for a reaction.

  “I think you should consider me one of the girls, you’ve all got such long hair,” she teases, reaching up and pulling on Lachlan’s dirty blond do.

  “Alrigh
t ladies,” I boom over their laughter, as I clap my hands to break up the joke. “Let’s get out of here. I think we need to meet a couple more times this week to make sure Naomi is up to speed with our set list. We’re playing The Basement this weekend, so we don’t want to mess this up.”

  The guys all file out one after the other, leaving me behind.

  “Are you coming too?” Naomi asks as she collects the last of her things.

  I shake my head. “No, I live here.”

  “Oh really? Wow, that must be great. You can play whenever you want with a soundproof room like this.”

  I simply nod.

  She takes a couple of steps towards the door, but pauses, turning around to face me. “I just wanted to say thanks for giving me a go. I can tell you don’t really want me here, but I hope I’ll win you over. I’m happy to play however you want me to. I mean, I don’t want to mess with any of your songs.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with your playing Naomi.”

  “Oh… so it’s just me then?”

  We stand and look at each other for a moment, and I wonder if she does actually remember me. I open my mouth to ask her, but she gets her words out first.

  “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. I mean, we don’t even know each other – do we?”

  “No… We don’t,” I respond, deflated. She lifts her hand in a wave and makes her way to the door, leaving me with my own thoughts.

  After a while of just staring after her, I walk over and remove the sheet that covers my piano then sit down in front of it. Positioning my fingers, I start to play. The notes flow out of me easily, as it’s a song I’ve played hundreds of times. Only one other person has ever heard it. It’s music I wrote years ago, and reminds me of who I was, and what I wanted to be. I’ve never given it to the band. This one is mine. I won’t share this either.