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Cassie
“It’s ba-da-da-ba-da-da ba duh-duh-duh be-dum be-dum and then I come in,” Nora was telling Toby.
“Uh uh.” Toby wagged his drumstick like a finger.
I laughed. Nora did not find it amusing.
Toby continued. “It’s ba-dada-ba-dada ba duh-duh be-dum be-DUM, you come in on the DUM.”
“Cassie, tell him.” Nora looked at me, flipping her pick between her fingers.
“Uh.” I lifted a shoulder. Toby was right. But only this time, and I didn’t want Nora to think I was taking his side. “Let’s just play again and find out!”
We launched into “Merlin,” and I went into the forest. This song was less about foraging and more about chopping undergrowth. Staccato blades, an easy rhythm, bossa nova–influenced. Toby really was at the heart of this one, keeping the beat driven forward but the overall mood of the song light. With the wrong production it could sound like the theme song to The Jetsons, but it was in good hands.
Nora stopped again. “I’m not feeling that, Toby. I can’t pick that up. I have to come in after the be-dum.”
“Mm,” Toby said, and played a quick train beat. “Fine. Let’s just call it. Cassie and I wanted to catch a movie anyway.”
“Do you want me to pick this up or not?” Nora said, looking back and forth from me to Toby. I avoided her eyes, and popped open a can of sparkling water.
Toby said slowly, “I do, but I’m tired.”
Nora said something like “poor baby” under her breath. “Cass? For real?”
“I’m good with giving it a rest,” I said. “It’s Thursday.”
“What the hell does Thursday have to do with anything?” Nora checked her phone. “It’s seven thirty! It’s been an hour. We can’t call rehearsal now.”
Toby said, “I’ll do whatever Cassie wants to do,” but he was already standing up, setting his sticks in place on his snare.
“Um.” I weighed the options. We wanted to catch a showing of Tombstone in Pease Park. “I’ve never seen Tombstone, and we wanted to get a blanket and a bottle of something. À la Paree,” I joked. I turned off my keyboard.
Toby stepped over his set and wrapped his arms around my waist. “Plus I quote it all the time...”
I put my hands on his hands, running them up his solid forearms. “And I never know if he’s quoting something or just speaking nonsense words.” I looked up at him. He stuck out his tongue. I giggled.
“We can pick this up over the weekend, Nor,” I told her. “I promise. It’s just been a long week.”
Toby looked at Nora. “You can come if you want.”
“I’d rather die in my own vomit, thanks,” Nora said. She lifted her bass strap over her head.
“No, come!” I broke from Toby, and hooked my arm in Nora’s.
“Nah,” she said, and gave me a small smile, freeing herself to put away her bass. My heart sank. I could feel judgment coming off her like heat. Maybe I wasn’t spending enough time with her. Maybe she was feeling left out. It used to be Nora and me escaping from practice.
“Cassita!” Toby called, pulling out the keys to his pickup.
“Just a sec,” I said.
“K, I’m going to get the truck and bring it around,” he said, and jogged up the stairs. He paused at the top, and ran back down. He extended his face toward mine. I gave him a kiss, my face burning under Nora’s eyes. “There,” he said, and ran back up.
“Sorry,” I said to her. “He’s cute but he’s a bit much.”
She nodded toward where Toby had disappeared from. “So you guys are, like, dating seriously now? Like, going to public parks and holding hands and making out?”
I felt a smile creep over my face. Other than rehearsal and Luke’s occasional funny quips, seeing Toby was what I looked forward to all week. “Yeah.”
