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Kris found himself singing the new tune more like a ballad than the alternative tune he’d first envisioned. The cool thing about the musicians he played with was they were so in tune with him, they just went with it.
Rainy stood up and picked up a guitar. Kris noted that she was seasoned enough to know that all the instruments were tuned. She followed along. Kris was entranced. She played along, though she kind of went off on her own in a different space in the garage like she was working something out. He let her do own thing. It was like they were talking to each other through music.
Then she rejoined the band, moving towards him, in between him and the microphone. She harmonized with him. Kris had to keep from gasping—they were amazing together. He was quite a bit taller than she was so he looked over her head to the other band members who clearly liked what they were hearing.
She couldn’t have known the tune since he and his band just wrote it. It was basically unfolding in a new way with her contribution. She improvised with perfection. They were in total sync. It was the ultimate experience as a musician for him to share the moment so perfectly with her.
The tune ended and Kris wanted to lean forward and kiss her on the top of her head, but he exercised restraint. She must have felt him looking at her. She tilted her head back and looked up at him.
“Beautiful,” he said, entranced.
“And we got it on record,” announced his bassist Kenyon.
“Yesssss,” cheered Kris, very pleased. “Let’s make sure Rainy has a copy.”
“Didn’t know I was going to get up and do that,” she said self-consciously. “Just had to play.”
“I’m so glad you did.”
She set the guitar down and sat back on the couch.
“Aw… is that it? Not going to play with us anymore?” Kris stuck out his lower lip in a pout. It wasn't a natural reaction for him but it seemed like it
might work.
“We’ll see,” she said with a faint smile.
“Okay. Feel free to step in whenever you want.”
The band played a couple other tunes and when their fire faded, they took a break. Kris took a spot on the couch next to her. A little electric wave washed through him. He had to take a deep breath. Music was a high, but being near her was even more so.
“I’m going to stop pretending,” he confessed. “I want to hear some of your stuff. You sounded so good.”
She took a deep breath. He didn’t want to push, but he had to know if she’d mind him listening to her recorded stuff.
“Go ahead,” she said giving him permission. “Our band’s name is Fixture. We have a video channel.”
He handed her his phone. “Show me.”
She flipped through his phone to her channel. Rainy selected a song. He took the phone and turned up the volume. He listened. He liked the tune mostly, not a hundred percent, but her voice he loved. He clicked on another choice, and this one he liked a lot. He picked up his guitar and played along to it with no power to his instrument.
“Do you mind if we take it out for a spin?”
“Sure,” she said, shrugging. “I don’t see why not.”
She looked so relaxed on the sofa.
“You relax here,” he said gently, carefully resting his guitar against the armrest.
He reached for an afghan resting on the corner of the couch and covered her legs.
The other band members stilled while they listened to Rainy’s band. Kris replayed it. They listened to it a second time, this time working out the tune on their instruments.
The video had words so Kris projected it onto a section of the garage he used liked a screen. They all followed along like karaoke. Kris sang Rainy’s song, this time with Sally doing the harmony.
Kris kept an eye on Rainy to see how she responded to their rendition. She looked worn out and kind of homesick. He almost didn’t have the heart to keep her there, but singing her song was so intimate, so powerful, like he was being filled with her energy. He closed his eyes, and it was like he and Rainy were the only two people in the room.
When the song finished, the band high-fived each other, all of them stoked by the power of it. Kris felt like it was something they could record for real.
