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“Right. I bet.”
“Everything good with you?”
“Yeah, man. Weird to have some time off.”
“Uh-huh.” I grumbled my agreement, though in reality I felt the opposite. I knew my bandmates were eager to continue our tour. They loved life on the road and the adventures they could have in each new city. I seemed to be the only one eager to find some stability in my life.
“Hey, I saw some of the new music you played. Where have you been hiding those songs, man?”
I felt my body go cold.
“You saw the concert?”
“Yeah. Some clips on YouTube. Those songs are killer, man! I showed them to the guys. With the right beat and some backup vocals, we might have our next album on our hands.”
Panic was setting in, making my thoughts race. That music was mine. I hadn’t written those songs for the Horizon.
“I don’t know,” I said, struggling for the right words. “I think they’re better in the acoustic version. Sort of a solo thing, you know?”
“Solo?” Liam asked. I could almost feel him bristling on the other end of the phone. “What does that mean?”
“It was just something I was trying, man.” I said, attempting to lessen the impact of those new songs. I wasn’t ready to tell my bandmates that I wanted to branch out on my own for a bit. Right now, it was still an idea I was considering. “I had this concert on the books. And I knew it was a solo event. So, I just wanted to try out an acoustic sound.”
“Got it,” Liam said, but I could hear a tightness in his voice. “Well, the songs are good, man. If you want to keep working on them, we could really make ‘em great.”
I swallowed hard, ignoring Liam’s dig. My bandmates always thought I couldn’t do my thing without them. Was Liam saying I couldn’t succeed on my own?
“Maybe you can find some time to write more while you’re out there relaxing. You know, something other than this new acoustic sound.”
“Hey, I have to go,” I said, needing to get off the phone. “I’ll talk to you later.”
“Yeah, man. Talk to you soon.”
I hung up and dropped my phone face down on the table. I never thought my bandmates would see that concert. How could something leak from my small hometown theater? I’d seen it as the perfect, private place to debut some new music without any risk, far away from the eyes of the world.
Curious, I picked up my phone and flipped to YouTube with a sense of dread in my stomach. I typed in a few key search terms, praying I wouldn’t find anything. But there, right up top, I saw a still shot of my face at a microphone, the curtains of the Maplewood theater behind me. I clicked on the link and heard my own voice filter out from the phone’s speakers. Under the video I saw a number rising in front of my eyes: 60.7 thousand views.
I needed some air. I pushed my way out of the house with my head swimming. Somehow, without realizing it, it seemed I had just launched my solo career.
9
DARCY
“Your usual?” Stephen asked from behind the counter.
“Yes, please. It’s busy in here today!” I looked around the coffee shop to see most of the tables occupied. The store had opened only a few months ago, but it was quickly becoming one of the most popular spots in town.
“I know,” Stephen said, a twinkle in his eye. Stephen and his wife Maura were recent transplants to Maplewood. They came here for a slower life, but I found it amusing that they brought the busy coffee shop with them. The place was reminiscent of some of the cafes I visited when I was on vacation in larger cities.
“Hey Darcy!” Maura came out from the back, bags of coffee in her hands. “Were you at the concert last night?”
I felt a blush creep into my cheeks. Why did the mere mention of Callum’s concert turn me red?
“Yeah,” I said, trying to keep my voice neutral.
“Wasn’t it great? I can’t believe we witnessed his new music! Who knew he would use the concert to announce a solo career!”
“What?” I asked. I didn’t remember Callum mentioning anything to the crowd about officially branching out on his own. Had I missed something? It seemed unlikely given how drawn I was to Callum up on that stage. I had stared at him, hanging on every word from the privacy of the crowd.
