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Laura joins me on the edge, kicking water with her feet as we watch everyone enjoy the now darkening sky, a spectacular sunset cresting behind the mountains, turning the sky brilliant shades of pink, purple, and orange. If I had to pick one thing about Arizona that is remarkable, it wouldn’t be the Grand Canyon or the world class golf courses; it would be the sunsets. They are unearthly when the sky is filled with clouds, stretching endlessly over the mountains, and you feel as if you could die a happy person for having seen it.
“You can ask me about him,” Laura says quietly.
“I know,” I sigh.
Sensing she wants to say more but she’s hesitating, I turn my head slightly in her direction, meeting her eyes. They are the same color as Adrian’s.
“I wish I would have known the two of you together,” she says, and I don’t miss the slightly sad undertone, as if she’s mourning something. “Addy is the baby of the family,” she explains. “As much as he liked to think he was looking out for his sisters, most of the time it was us protecting him.”
“I used to do the same for Beth,” I say. “Being the oldest, it was my job to make Beth’s life a living hell,” I laugh, “but God help anyone else that messed with her.” I tilt my head, giving Laura a devilish smile. An image of her ex-husband, Eric, comes to mind.
Laura laughs heartily. “I’m not surprised.”
Lightning flashes in the distance meaning the pool party will have to come to an end soon.
“I promised I wouldn’t get in the middle,” Laura says, and I feel myself holding in a breath, as if all the air has been sucked out of the space between us. She didn’t say she promisedhim, she just said she promised.
“And I’m only saying this because I want you both to be happy.” One of the beach balls flies in our direction, and Laura tosses it back in. “But he almost passed up on a once in a lifetime opportunity because he was waiting,” she pauses, “for you.”
Taken aback, I know my cheeks are flushed, and not just because of the summer heat.
Opportunity?
“What do you mean?” I ask, swiveling my body towards her.
“It’s in the Phoenix New Times,” she laughs nervously, and then looks around for Beth who’s gathering up her nieces and drying them off. The impending storm gets closer as lightning shatters the darkened sky and thunder rumbles close behind. “Beth said you have a subscription.”
I push myself up from the pool’s edge and grab a towel, remembering the pile of papers Noelle brought in. Leaving Laura outside, I push open the patio door and rush into the living room. On the coffee table is the pile of papers, and I tear the rubber bands off, one by one, until I see the article mentioned on the cover.
Local band gets their start at the Yucca Tap Room, Tempe’s oldest live music venue.
Flipping through the pages, I stop when I see a picture of Adrian on stage. His dark hair covers his eyes as he sings into the microphone. Scanning through the article, it provides some background information on Adrian, and then my finger stops on the wordssigned with Stonewall Records.
Long time music journalist, Erin Langford, who is married to rock legend Jack O’Donnell, was in town covering a charity golf event hosted by Alice Cooper and stopped in at the Yucca Tap Room. With an ear for music and responsible for discovering rising band, No Cover, Langford used her connections to sign Adrian Corvin with Stonewall records, owned by Wade Kernish and Adam Grant. Adrian Corvin and band will be giving a farewell concert at the Yucca Tap Room on Friday night before joining the last half of the Summerfest Tour.
Flipping the paper over to look on the front, I check the date. This was from last week. “Beth!” I yell, spotting her tiptoeing through my kitchen with a towel wrapped around her lower half, still dripping water from her hair.
I show her the paper. “Is the concert tonight? Did I miss it?”
Not waiting for an answer, I grab my phone from the side table and check the time. I can’t believe how late it is. We’d lost track of time in the pool, but I just might make it to Tempe before the show is over.
“Why aren’t you guys there?” I ask suddenly, realizing if this is the last time he’s playing at theTap Room, wouldn’t they want to be there for him?
“We wanted to be here with you,” Beth says, as if it’s obvious.
“Yeah, but,” I stammer, trying to figure out what to do. If this is a sign, some kind of fate, I should take the chance.
“Lake,” Beth interrupts my chaotic thoughts, “go,” she says sternly. “Go tell him how you feel.”
Nodding, I feel out of breath but then I stop, looking at everyone in my house, and I can’t just leave. Catching Noelle’s eye as she tightens the towel around her chest, shivering from the sudden shock of cool air compared to outside, I hold up the paper.
“What have you been waiting for?” she asks.
“I can’t just leave everyone here,” I say, scanning the room.
“I’ve been waiting for someone to knock some sense into you,” Georgie says, smiling. “Go, I’ll watch these hooligans and make sure no one steals anything.” Georgie gives Ianna’s middle daughter theI’m watching yousign with her fingers, to which she sticks her tongue out. “This one looks like she’s going to be stamping license plates when she gets older,” Georgie teases, scooping her up and tickling her.
There’s a sense of urgency that rushes through my body like adrenaline. I almost forget that I’m wearing a bathing suit as I grab my purse to rush out the door, so I run into my bedroom to change. There’s no time to fix my hair so I leave it air dried and curly, shoving my feet into a pair of tennis shoes, grabbing a t-shirt off the hanger, realize it’s fromGraceland, but not having the time to care. This is how I rush down the hallway, wearing anI’ve been to Gracelandshirt with Elvis’s face on it.
