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“Hello to you, too,” she said when I released her. “Are you ready for lunch?”
I smiled at her with a wide, goofy grin. It was strange to realize how happy it made me just to see her face. I couldn’t get over the butterflies that flew around in my stomach anytime I knew we would be spending time together.
“I’m starving,” I said as I grabbed her hand and walked with her back toward the main reception area.
“That’s what happens when you work for six hours straight without a break!” Darcy laughed.
We had been into the studio early this morning since the band only had one day left of their visit in town. We’d completed their album, but there were a few songs I knew we hadn’t quite unlocked yet, so I’d offered them an additional session this morning before their flights home. But it meant we didn’t stop much throughout the day. Truth be told, my team and I were acquiring a bit of a reputation for getting absorbed in our work. Thankfully I had Darcy around to pull me out of these obsessive periods.
“I’m headed out for a bit,” I told Jess as we crossed through the lobby. “Make sure you take a break too.”
I saw Jess focusing on the computer screen in front of her, a new logo for the studio open in Photoshop.
“Yeah, I will,” she mumbled, but I could tell she was barely listening. When Jess got like this, not much would pull her away from whatever was in front of her.
“Better yet, why don’t you order food for the team? Aidan and Gen could use some fuel too.”
The thought of free food actually made Jess look up at me, and she smiled.
“Sure thing, boss. Hey, Darcy, I didn’t even see you come in!”
Darcy chuckled as she said hello to Jess who was already sorting through her drawers to find the takeout menus. With the staff taken care of, I opened the door to the old hardware store and held it open for Darcy to cross out in front of me.
“That place is really buzzing,” she said, taking my hand again as we crossed the street to the park.
“I know,” I answered. “It’s hard to believe how far we’ve come in less than a year.”
“How long do you have?” Darcy asked.
“About an hour. The guys are coming in to take another crack at that new song.”
“The big number one hit the band keeps talking about?”
It had taken a bit of convincing, not to mention the hiring of a new manager, to get my bandmates to agree to my solo album. Despite some bruised egos, everyone seemed to realize it was what I needed to keep my creative juices flowing. Or at least they pretended to understand, once I promised them we could do another the Horizon album by the end of the year. Lucky for us, the solo album had only increased the public’s interest in our music.
“I know we’re dangerously close to going off schedule,” I said, “but we want the album to be perfect.”
“Hey it’s your studio,” Darcy laughed. “I think you’re entitled to a little extra recording time.”
I looked up to see Liz, Maggie, and Alan waving enthusiastically from the park.
“I didn’t know it was a family affair!” I laughed as Darcy pulled me across to Liz and her children. I pulled Maggie into a hug and ruffled Alan’s hair as they told me all about the end-of-year concert they would sing at next week.
“I hope you didn’t volunteer for this one,” I said as I looked over at Liz. She looked back with a sheepish expression.
“How can you say no to these faces?” she asked as she put her hands on top of each child’s head. “And I probably should have told you sooner, but ... I’m not the only one volunteering.”
We settled down on to the picnic blanket Liz and the kids had set up while Darcy came across the street to get me.
“Let me guess,” I laughed. “I’m running sound.”
“Well, if you insist!” Liz laughed, and though I rolled my eyes at her, I was secretly excited to help my niece and nephew with their school play.
“You know, I have some people who might be even better suited for the job,” I said, thinking about Aidan and Gen working hard back at the studio. Hopefully my employees had agreed on a lunch spot by now so they could order.
“As long as the parents and grandparents can hear their children, I don’t care how it gets done,” she said.
We settled into our lunch, and I was delighted by how ordinary it all felt. I never imagined I could meet my family in the park for lunch before I headed inside for my own afternoon session in the studio. I marveled at the way Liz and Darcy could weave in and out of conversations about work while still engaging the children in tidbits of information or questions about their days. And most of all, I delighted in how close Darcy sat to me, as if it were the most comfortable and ordinary thing for us to lean against one another as we snacked on cheese and fruit.
