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That was the fantasy anyway. But the ball was going to be left in Shelly’s court. It was up to her if she wanted to play this that way.
Chapter Ten
Shelly
“Ok, now put your index finger here, at the third string, second fret. Then your ring finger here, at the second string, third fret. And last, you will place your middle finger here on the first string, second fret. Now that is your basic D chord shape. Keep your fingers arched and pressed down and then you strum.”
I listened to every single direction that Gary gave me, but it was awkward and my fingers were cramping up a little bit. Still, he was patient and very attentive. He would occasionally move my finger a little bit left or right to hit the right angle, and he would instruct me the proper way to intonate the notes so they rang out. I was doing pretty well for the first lesson, or at least I thought so anyways.
I strummed the chord down, dragging my pick across all six strings. It sounded better than I thought it was going to, but there was still something off and a little clunky about the whole thing. What was I doing wrong? My hand kept wanting to slide off.
“Ok, almost,” Gary said. “With the D chord, the root is this D string. That’s the fourth string. So, you really want to start your strum on that note. If you want to drape your thumb gently over the bottom two strings to mute them, you can, or if you just want to concentrate on hitting that D string and strumming from there, I’m sure you will get that going in no time.”
“Alright,” I said. “Let me try again.” I held my fingering and tried once more. The chord sounded bright and a bit flashy. “Alright,
I’m getting it.”
“Yes, you are,” Gary said.
I was glad I’d asked him to teach me to play. I was shocked at myself that I had inquired about this. I was, once again, putting myself in a position where things could end up getting hot and romantic with Gary. Those feelings were hotter inside of me now than they had ever been. What was I thinking?
I knew what it was. The accident. The fire. When I heard that Gary had almost been killed, my whole body went numb. I felt sick. I had to go to the bathroom and cry it out for a few minutes. The idea of losing him in such a horrible way, for all of the members of the crew for this tragedy to befall, it was just too much for me to handle.
The minutes ticked by the rest of the day until I could talk to Gary freely and let him know I cared and to make sure that he was alright. I never would forget the relief that came over me when I finally spoke to him. It was maddening, not knowing how he really was, if he was hurt and shook up more than he was letting on, and if he’d actually done something to stupidly put himself in harm’s way or if there really was no other choice about it.
But he was fine. He was strong. I admired that strength and wished I could internalize some of it for myself.
“Ok,” Gary said. “Now let’s go back to that C chord we did earlier. It’s important to be able to switch cleanly between the chords. It will feel awkward at first, but eventually you will get that muscle memory down.”
“Ok,” I said. I tried to think of exactly where to put my fingers. I made the first two but forgot where my ring finger went. Gary reached over and lightly corrected it.
“Now strum that one,” he said.
I did and it sounded very clunky. I groaned.
“Don’t get discouraged. You need to be aware of the open third string there. That G note. It has to ring out. So pivot your wrist slightly.” Gary moved my wrist back a little bit so it was at an angle. I loved it when he touched me. I wanted him to take me right then and there. It would be so romantic, just knowing that our passions overflowed and we couldn’t help ourselves. I’d played through the scenario in my mind so many times that I’d almost willed it to happen. Maybe if I dreamt it enough, that dream would come true.
I hadn’t forgotten all of the reasons why it was a bad idea, either. I was just tired of fighting it. I think we both were. There was only so long you could ignore your deepest, darkest desires. And mine were on the verge of crippling my spirit. I was not strong enough to hold it back anymore.
“I’ll get us a few beers,” Gary said. “You’re doing well. Don’t get flustered.”
“Beers? At noon?” I teased.
“Don’t judge me. It’s our day off. Why not? It will loosen you up and you’ll stop thinking too much about where your fingers go. It needs to become natural.”
“Ok, you’re the teacher,” I said.
Gary returned with two bottles of beer. I took a swig and sighed as the refreshing concoction rolled down my parched throat. I wasn’t aware I was that thirsty. Now, that felt so much better.
“That’s a nice guitar, by the way,” Gary said as he sat down.
“Would you believe that I only paid ten dollars for it at a yard sale a while back?”
“That’s great. I love getting those types of sweet deals. Someone doesn’t know the value of what they have, or they are just sick of the sight of it and want something different badly enough they just want to get rid of this thing, right?”
“I guess,” I said. “I just happened by it. I was thinking I’d want to learn to play at some point, so I picked it up. It’s been sitting in a closet for six months.”
“That’s fine,” he said. “That’s the great thing about a guitar. It can be the best friend you have, but you can just put it away until you are ready for it.”
