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Chapter 19
Jet
Mila’s arm snaked around Jet’s waist and she looked up at him, her face shining with pride and excitement. “I can’t believe you’re really here at my Christmas recital! I didn’t think it would really happen!”
“Hey, what are we? Chopped liver?” Troy joked.
“Yeah, Mila. Come on. You didn’t even pick the best brother to be excited about,” Donovan teased, and punched Jet in the shoulder.
Jet looked at Gavin. “What? You don’t have some joke or dig you want to toss in?”
Gavin shrugged. “What can I say? The kid’s got taste.”
Jet gave him a satisfied grin. “That’s right.”
“I mean, it would be better if she had good taste. But, what are you gonna do?”
Jet laughed and gave Mila’s shoulder a squeeze. “They’re just jealous.”
Mila stepped away. Jet thought that she was all but vibrating with excitement. “Okay, you guys. I have to go backstage and meet up with the choir. For, like, warm-ups and stuff. Will you make sure you’re sitting where I can see you?”
“Trust me, kiddo. When those doors open, we’re gonna be shoving little old ladies aside left and right. It’s front row or bust.” Jet said and gave her one last hug.
She hugged each of her other brothers in turn and then went running off across the lobby of the school’s performance center and disappeared through the side door that led to the backstage area.
Troy looked around the lobby. “Dang. It’s getting crowded. Maybe we’d better move toward the doors. I mean, unless we actually want to have to do Jet’s ‘old lady trampling’ thing.”
“Hey! I said old lady shoving. Not trampling. I’m not a monster.”
The four guys edged closer to the auditorium doors. Gavin gave him a small jab with his elbow. “Who’d have thought that Mila would be playing to bigger crowds than you these days?”
“Oh, very funny,” Jet deadpanned. “It’s only a matter of time until I’m performing again.”
Donovan’s eyebrows shot up. “Really?”
Jet was taken aback by the surprise in his voice. “Uh…yeah.”
“What have you heard?” Troy asked.
Jet shook his head. “Nothing. I mean…I was just talking about in general. Just because my band, you know—disbanded.”
His brothers groaned but he pressed on. “Just because I won’t be onstage with Valentine doesn’t mean I’ll never perform again. It’s in my blood. It’s who I am. I’ll get back there again at some point. I…shit. I have to.”
Gavin said, “I’m more worried about what else gets in your blood when you tour. Or should I say, your bloodstream.”
Jet nodded. “Fair enough.” He knew he had that coming. A lot more than that, really.
They were all silent for a moment, and Jet had to admit that he was a little unsettled by how shocked they were at the idea that he’d return to performing at some point. He’d just assumed that was a given.
And, it made him even more reluctant to tell them about the fact that Rome, one of his former bandmates, had texted him that afternoon wanting to meet up for coffee.
Jet didn’t know what it was about. But if just the idea of him someday, even far in the future, returning to the stage took his brothers this much aback…crap, how were they going to react if they found out that he was reconnecting with an old bandmate? Especially at this early stage of getting his shit together, and his sobriety?
Not well, would be his guess.
The doors opened and they hurried down to the front. Although they didn’t make it onto the front row, they did get into the second. Jet figured that, with the number of eager and proud parents that had flooded into the aisles at the same time they had, the second row was a win.
After just a few minutes, the houselights came down and about forty middle school kids, all dressed in the choir uniform of black pants and a white button down shirt, marched out onto the stage. They stood on risers, watching the director for the cue to start.
Jet had to smile. There was a distinct nervous energy in the air, between the kids getting ready to sing and the parents waiting for the show to start. It reminded Jet of the many times he’d performed on this very stage when he was Mila’s age. It was where he’d gotten his start.
Mila’s scanning eyes found her brothers and she gave a small, fluttering wave. Jet returned it and shot a thumbs up back at her. After the quick exchange, she turned her eyes back to her director and her whole demeanor changed. She became focused and serious, waiting for the cue to begin.
Jet’s heart clutched in his chest. He’d come so far from the kid that stood on this middle school stage. That was true in both a good way and a bad way. He’d had wide swings of both victory and defeat.
But now, watching Mila and her classmates fill the space with their voices, showing off all of their hard work to family and friends, he thought he might know how he’d dial back that clock a little bit. Maybe the key wasn’t so much to move forward in his life and career, but to find the path to the future by looking back.
If he could manage to recapture the joy that he’d felt at this age when he’d performed– the same joy that he saw on his little sister’s face at that very moment as she sung her heart out– then maybe that could be the thing that showed him where he was meant to be, and what he was meant to be doing.
Yeah. That felt good. It felt right. For so many years, he’d been chasing lots of things in his career– fame, money, a place on the charts. But what he really needed to chase was the one thing that was missing. Joy in his work. The love of the craft.
