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I grabbed the table in front of me and held on as none other than Tommy Evans strode toward the stage like it was familiar to him, or maybe it was the couple on it.
“Hey, man,” Tommy said to Kyle, then did a double take when he noticed me, but he didn’t break stride.
Had his father told him about me?
Lifting his hand in the air, Tommy headed for the stairs on the opposite side of the stage from Kyle. He climbed them and pointed to a drum kit at the back of it. “Mind if I join you?”
Struggling to take it all in, I couldn’t believe it.
Barry’s son and Collin’s were friends? Claire too? All three ABCR progeny were Southside High students and musically inclined? I was watching the past turn into the present right before my eyes.
“That would be awesome.” Claire beamed at Tommy.
Yes, they all knew each other, and well. My already wide eyes grew wider.
“With three,” Claire said with a smile, “it’ll be almost like we’re a band.”
Almost was right. Kyle as a guitarist like his father. Tommy on percussion like Barry. Claire as lead singer like Andy. They only lacked a bassist.
“Kyle?” Tommy asked. Stopping beside the kit, he gave Collin’s son an expectant glance. “It okay with you?”
This was different. It appeared Kyle was the leader among the three.
“Yeah, man,” Kyle said, but he looked a little unbalanced. I wondered if he was processing emotions like me, and wondered yet again what he knew about the past.
I wouldn’t be surprised if he knew a great deal. With the addition of Tommy, three ABCR children were onstage together. Who would appear next? Did Andy have a child we didn’t know about?
Questions tumbling in my head, I watched Kyle find a cord and plug his father’s acoustic into a nearby amp. The equipment that stayed onstage like the guitar kit was for all the bands to use who played at Footit’s.
Kyle seemed strangely comfortable up there. Claire too. She marched to the center and switched on the mic attached to a pole. She looked as confident as Andy in that position. Moving to the right of her, Kyle flipped on the mic on his side. Apparently, he was planning some harmony.
My slumbering music spirit stirred.
“You ready?” His guitar at the ready and his weight on his back foot, Kyle hit Tommy with that question.
His brown eyes sparkling like Barry’s did when he was excited, Tommy responded with a wicked little drum fill.
The ground rocked beneath me. It was uncanny how much the son resembled his father.
“Showoff.” Kyle rolled his eyes.
Claire’s hip shimmy got Kyle’s attention. “Ready?”
“Always.” He gave her a once-over and a grin.
A shiver rolled through me. Those two were like Collin and I had once been. How Barry and I had been briefly.
I was glad for Claire and Kyle, but also worried knowing how hard Southside was on relationships.
My chest tightened with other emotions as I watched them. Lots of nostalgia and too much regret. If only I hadn’t made all the mistakes I had. But I did, and now here I was suffering the consequences. Alone, unimportant, and forgotten, I wished my best friend was here to hold and steady me.
But he’s not.I gave myself an internal shake.And it’s good he’s not.I did the right thing ending it, even if it felt all wrong.
I hadn’t seen Barry since. He knew where I was. He was probably relieved to have dodged the bullet that was me.
The speech that only I could hear done, I got myself in motion. Leaving the younger generation to it, I headed back to my familiar though lonely role behind the bar.
“‘When Doves Cry,’” Claire said into her mic, like this wasn’t just the three of them fooling around but an actual professional gig.
