Page 119 of Playing By Ear

Jamie

Oh I did not need 2 see that

Perry

Headless pigeons not your thing?

Jamie

Perry

If it helps, that pigeon had a quick and painless death

Jamie

Doesn’t help a lot

Perry

Still want to snuggle the falcons?

Jamie

Yes

Sweet wee murder birds

“Mariah Carey Shopping Trip Starts Le Brawl en Paris.”

Perry scowled at the interruption from his TMZ app. He usually turned off news notifications when he was writing—currently a rave review of the upcoming Car Seat Headrest release—but rumors of an imminent Beyoncé album drop were swirling.

He had his laptop read his previous sentence back to him, then kept typing. The review wasn’t due for a week, but he liked to finish early to have time to comb for errors.

Perry was nearly finished a rough draft when the TMZ app chirped again.

“Now what?” He reached for his phone to silence it.

But the notification’s next spoken words stopped his hand—and even, for a moment, his heart.

He grabbed the phone and tapped the notification to hear the article. Its scant details held more questions than answers. It ended with, “This is a developing story. Stay tuned for updates.”

A heartbeat later, Perry’s phone blooped. “New text message from Jamie.”

Oh God, he’d heard.

“Nearly at yours,” the phone recited. “If you’ve got champagne, put it on ice, because I’ve brilliant news.”

Oh God, he hadn’t heard.

Perry went into the hall and stood beside the security button. It buzzed, and he pressed it without a word of greeting, knowing his voice would give him away.

A minute later, Jamie swept open the door and practically danced into the hall. “Who’s got two guitars and a new agent? This—” He cut himself off. “Perry, what is it?” He came closer, into clear view. “Your eyes? Another setback? What’s happened?”

“I don’t know yet exactly, but…” He found Jamie’s hands and held them gently. “Prince has died.”

The joy drained from Jamie’s face.

“What? No.” Jamie pulled his hands free. “He’s fine. He’s fine.” A nervous laugh rasped out. “There were rumors last week when he canceled shows, but it was just the flu, and he got better. He was seen Saturday night. He was—he was…He’s fine.” The final word was a whisper. “Right?”