“Crystal.” She dropped her bookbag behind her, sat on the stool, and bounced a little on it, staring at the set, one piece at a time. Then she stood to twist the stool a little higher before sitting back down.
“Need sticks?” I asked at the same time as she twisted to pull some out of her bag.
“It probably needs a good tune. I think I have—” Again, I was cut off when she held up her finger. She did a run of the drums, hitting each one in turn, eyes closed, and then did it again. The hairs on my arms stood on end. I hadn’t heard these beauties for a while, and all the memories came rushing back. Even after all this time sitting alone in the dark, they still sounded pretty good. The tension might need to be brought up on the snares, but otherwise, I was shocked at how good they sounded.
I had been just about to suggest I tune them when Cath leaned to the side again and dug in her bag. A second later, she whipped out a small silver drum key and began to tune by turning a few screws on the snare, then the toms, ever so slightly. Without missing another beat, she ran the drums through again, and they sounded perfect. She even managed to catch what I hadn’t been able to.
She looked up at me expectantly as I picked my jaw off the ground. It took me years to ear tune, and she just did it in seconds.
“These are nice,” she said, and it felt like a boon.
“Okay. Good. Uh, where should we start?” I asked.
“Isn’t that what you’re supposed to tell me?”
My hands still had the forever calluses that would shape my fingers, but the skin on top would blister the first time I played again. If I played again.
“Have you ever seen the movieWhiplash?” I asked.
Her eyes widened. “No. I tried and turned it off. It gave me stress dreams for a month.”
“Yeah. Same.” I scratched the back of my neck and sighed. “I guess, just start at the beginning. Do you know what you’ll be asked to do?”
She nodded.
“All right. Let’s hear it.”
Cath played through four different rock and classical songs and thenimproviseda jazz bit. The whole thing was awe-inspiring. She was incredibly impressive. But as the songs went on, especially during the jazz set, I could start to see areas for improvement. Maybe that wasn’t the right term. She was technically perfect, but she held back a piece of herself. But it was only her first time playing for me.
We wrapped up and made plans to meet again. I’d finally relaxed and realized I wouldn’t be running into Vander or any of the other guys by the time we got ready to leave.
I found Devlin in the hall as Janice and Cath went upstairs to say hi to Devlin’s wife, Kim, and the kids.
“You’re sure that it’s cool I keep my kit here?” I asked him.
“Beatrice and the kids are always welcome. You won’t miss them? In case you want to practice?”
“Hasn’t been an issue yet.”
I flinched at the sound of a door opening and closing at the top of the stairs. My heart raced, wondering who would come around the corner, but nobody did. I’d rehearsed a thousand different things to say to Vander if I saw him again, but my mind blanked out with the burst of fear.
“They won’t be here today. I made sure of it,” Devlin said, following my gaze.
I felt my cheeks burn and nodded at the floor. “You didn’t need to do that.”
“It all worked out. How do you feel now about Cath?” he asked.
“Good. She’s a real talent. Still not really sure what I’m doing here,” I confessed.
“Just keep up with it. Maybe you’ll find an area where you can help.”
“Hmm. Maybe. I’m just tired.” I scrubbed a hand over my face. “It’s been a weird few days.”
“I heard you were something of a celebrity on Saturday.”
“How do you always know the gossip?” I asked.
He shrugged an eyebrow. I didn’t even know a shrug could be conveyed through that small motion but here he was. “Small town.”
