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Piper brightens. “I would love that.”
“Really?” I’m sure she’s just being nice.
“Yes. Don’t you agree Mindy?” She nudges her with an elbow.
Mindy glances at me and attempts a smile that’s only halfway successful. “Yeah. Sure.”
“Let me give you my email.” Piper shoots Mindy a glare so quick I almost miss it. “In return, I’ll send you an invite to my next showing. You have to come, if you’re not too busy.”
She gives me the address and I key it into my phone while dipping my head in acknowledgement. “I can’t wait to see it. I heard your last piece sold well at auction.”
Piper beams. “It did. I’ve been very lucky. We’re also going to be showcasing some up-and-coming talent which I think is really exciting.”
I glance back over at Mindy, who won’t meet my eyes. “Well, I better get going. It was really nice to see you both again.”
“You, too.”
Mindy nods her goodbye.
“Good luck with everything. Don’t forget to send me those files. I mean it,” Piper calls over her shoulder as they’re walking away.
I tip my hat to them. “I will.”
* * *
“I brought you a sandwich,” I tell Walter, walking into the common area of the hostel I’ve been staying at for nearly a year now.
His eyes gleam behind his thick-framed glasses. “Roast beef?”
I give him a pointed look. “Turkey.”
He grunts but holds out his hand for the paper-wrapped hoagie.
I toss it over, shrugging the strap of my guitar off and laying it on the coffee table before taking a seat on the sagging old sofa next to him.
He probably hasn’t eaten all day. Most people in the hostel are temporary visitors, but Walter has been here longer than me.
“How was it out there today?” His bushy gray eyebrows rise at me in inquiry.
“I ran into Mindy Fox.” Literally.
He unwraps the sandwich. “Huh. Who is this Mindy Fox, and is she the one who put that smile on your face?”
I rub my jaw. “Sort of. She’s a very well-known A&R director. Well, she was.”
“A&R? What does that mean?” He takes a bite of his sandwich, chewing slowly.
"It stands for artists and repertoire. A&R people sign and develop musical talent, help in planning an artist’s entire career, and supervise recording projects. They basically act as a liaison between the artist and the label.” I shift on the lumpy sofa, trying to find a comfortable spot around a spring digging into my thigh. “It’s kind of funny, actually. When I first came to the city, I was sort of fixated on signing with Rebel Records because of her.”
“She’s that good?”
“It’s more than that,” I tell Walter. “She thinks about music the same way I do.”
It’s a lame explanation, but if I tell him the full truth, he’ll probably think I’m some kind of obsessive stalker. A few years ago, when I was still in residency, I read an interview with her inRolling Stoneand she quoted something about music and grief and how a simple song can heal thousands of souls. It was like she reached through the pages of the article and grabbed me by the heart and squeezed. Like with her words, she forged this bond between us, something almost tangible.
A completely moronic and fanciful notion but true all the same.
I give him a synopsis of both the first run-in with Mindy this morning and then the subsequent conversation with her and her sister.
