An Autumn to Remember: A Novel (Elmtown Series Book 1) (4 page)

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   Amy wanted to hear more about what Jamie intended to do with jazz music in the future so she asked him to continue from where he stopped when John and Chelsea interrupted.

   “I think I can push the boundaries of possibility and make jazz music mainstream. Although mixing genres like hip-hop and rock is not new to jazz, I think it needs to be a bit more catchier. What I’m trying to do is infuse it with sounds that will grab the attention of a younger demographic like people our age and even younger. So Jerome, a friend of mine, and I make sure each song is not more than four minutes. I think young people have a very short attention span, more so nowadays. We start most of our songs with a little bit of rap in the first minute, that’s where we hook them, it’s like an invitation.” They listened intently, the passion in his voice drawing them in.

   “Then in the middle of the songs we move on to more traditional jazz sounds. We also infuse the drumming styles and baselines of rock music in the final parts of the songs.” He sensed that they probably didn’t understand fully what he was saying.

   “How can I explain this?” He paused, looked up, and then continued, “Ok...it’s like those bacon-wrapped veggies they serve at Valerie’s. You are lured by the bacon but when you bite into it, you feel your teeth bite into the hidden asparagus–maybe for the first time you realize asparagus doesn’t taste bad at all.” He watched as they all nodded. “The responses have been positive so far, at least from the audience at the club, though the older guys we play with are still a bit skeptical about the whole concept.”

   “Wow that sounds like fun and very innovative. But wait–is this something you wanna do part-time while you’re working in finance? Or is this really what you wanna do full time?” John asked.

Speaking so passionately, it didn’t seem like Jamie wanted to do music part-time.

   “I’m still trying to figure that out,” Jamie said with a low tone. Something about this made him look and sound unsure. The truth was, he didn’t really have a plan and he didn’t really know what to do. His heart cried music but his head said finance. He had a mother to take care of. She was his responsibility and they had no one else but each other so he had to be pragmatic. Going straight into finance was much less risky; with the potential salary he could start on, they could both be out of their destitute situation in just one year. It just made more sense to go straight to Wall Street. His mother was depending on him. She sacrificed so much for him to get the best education available.

   “I am actually interested in the music business. My father’s company just bought a large chunk of Purple Jam Records and I’ve been tasked with running it till we find the right CEO.”

   “Oh good,” Jamie said wondering what that whole music business world was like.

   “Yes it is but finding talent that is ready to be marketed is pretty difficult,” John said. “If you’re interested I think we can work something out. Your ideas sound really interesting. I’d like to work with you.”

   “Oh really? Thanks. I’m interested in anything that could possibly help me get my foot in right now.”

   “Fantastic. We still have some legal work to do to tidy up the acquisition and we are trying to set up a new studio and office in Allen City so give me until January. I’ll come back to you with some good news.”

   “Wow. Thanks so much. You have no idea how big of a deal that would be. I will have graduated by then so it’ll be perfect timing.”

   “Hey hey hey, boys, what am I getting out of this deal exactly? You both wouldn’t have met without me,” Chelsea said.

   “You already have me baby. What you get out of the deal is me,” John said just pulling her leg.

   Chelsea and Amy later went down to get some potato chips and soda since no one was really hungry for real food.

   “Where in the world did you meet him again? That boy is so hot,” Amy said as Chelsea opened the fridge.

   “You know exactly how I met John, Amy,” Chelsea said, handing over two cans of Pepsi, “and stop looking at my boyfriend, I’m not sharing.”

   “No Chelsea, I meant Jamie, please don’t ever leave me alone in the room with him again–ever–I could have kissed him. He is so good looking and so intelligent. And then he’s into music too? You know how I feel about a man with a guitar. Lord help me.” She placed the lightly sweating Pepsi cans on the kitchen counter and fanned herself with her hands like she needed to cool down.

   “If only you were not dating anyone,” Chelsea said whispering and laughing quietly.

  “Gabe doesn’t have to know. Maybe I’ll just poison him so I can go out with Jamie for just one night,” Amy winked.

   “I see why everyone thinks you’re a nutcase.”

When they rejoined the boys upstairs, they all talked some more until 3:00 p.m., then John had to leave. 

   “It was really good meeting you man–to finally meet the famous Jamie. We should hang out sometime and talk more about business. Here’s my card.”

   “Sure thing man, good to meet you too. I don’t know about famous though.” They shook hands and then John got up to leave.

   Amy also had a pedicure appointment at Stephanie & McCoy, the oldest beauty salon in Elmtown, so she couldn’t stay either. They both said their goodbyes and drove off in their respective cars.

   “Do you have to go too? Stay for a little while, I’ll be bored now if you leave,” Chelsea said. From Jamie’s body gesture she could tell he was about to leave too.

   “Ummm...OK, I’ll stay for one more hour then I’ll have to leave. I’m supposed to be working on a few things with my mom today.” He wished he could tell her everything they were going through, tell her everything about him: the good, the bad and even the ugly. He wanted to tell her things about himself he’d never told anyone. How could he have let their friendship slip out of his hands because of distance?

   “Make it two hours?” she pleaded.

   He confirmed his agreement with a nod and smiled at her.

   “Thanks, let’s go watch something while we catch up on what’s been going on.”

   They sat on the two brown office chairs in her father's library. The shelves were still empty and books were still in boxes, but her father had set-up his iMac and connected it to their internet.

   “When was the last time you saw an episode of ‘Leave it to Beaver’? You remember how we used to binge watch that?” she asked.

   “Of course I do. I haven’t seen that in years. The last time I watched it was with you.” You were wearing that big blue tee shirt you always wore and were the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen, he thought. Could it be that he’d always been in love with her but was too young to know what it was? Well it didn’t matter anymore.

   “Seriously?” She looked at him curiously. “I even bought the complete DVD in London. It’ll be hard to wean myself off those sixties and seventies shows.”

 As Chelsea browsed through her Netflix account she asked, “What shows do you watch then?”

   “I used to watch Seinfeld, Star Trek…but I haven’t watched TV much in the last two years.”

“Oh! So what do you do to relax in your downtime?”

   He understood her surprise, this was the same guy she used to endlessly watch TV with, but they’d grown up in almost opposite realities. She had parents who provided everything she needed and more. He had to work really hard (together with his mom) for every little thing they had–nothing came to him on a platter of gold. There was no time for TV. With school and working at the club, his spare time had to be used for the most important thing to him, jazz.

   “I listen to jazz, write songs or just practice on my guitar. I also cook when I can though. I started cooking at eighteen. I actually find it relaxing. Looks like the older I get the more boring I become. So what about you?”

   “Me? I don’t really cook much. I mean, I know how to cook but I’m just lazy about it.”

   “No I mean what do you do in your own downtime?”

   “Oh right. Honestly I just watch my favorite shows on TV. Sometimes I feel like the characters are my friends and I’m spending time with them, like I’m a part of their world. I know, I know it’s the same old classic case of escapism. It comes in handy when I’m overwhelmed.”

   “I guess music is my way of escaping the real world too then. Imagine if I could turn it into my means of livelihood. That would be me ‘living my dream.’ I think people who do what they love for a living are so lucky. I want that so bad.” People who get to be with their dream girls are very lucky too, Jamie thought.

   “I know right. Sometimes I wonder if I’ll always be happy being a doctor. Anytime I say that, my mom thinks it’s because I’m afraid of medical school. But the point is, if you are going to dedicate yourself to something for the rest of your life, it had better be something you really love,” she said.

   “So do you think you love medicine?”

   “I like it. I don’t know.”

   “I guess I’m not the only one in this room a little confused about what to do with their life then.”

   “I guess you’re not.” They laughed then she said, “I think its one of the things that attracted me to John. He is so clear about what he wants to do in the future. He has everything planned out. For him it’s so easy, this thing called adulthood. Amy, as crazy as she is, is like that too.”

   “So how did you guys meet?” He knew he shouldn't have asked.

   “You mean myself and John?” she asked.

Jamie nodded.

   “We met at a bar in Soho, it’s a really nice part of the West End area in London. Anyway, I was sitting by myself having a glass of wine when suddenly this guy walks up to me and says ‘My friend over there thinks you’re cute, but I think you’re more than that. You’re incredibly beautiful.’ Apparently his friend had seen me first but he was kinda quicker. I noticed girls were staring towards our direction. I didn't know he was the son of someone significant. I didn't care about that anyways. He seemed nice and we started dating. He's not perfect or anything but he is really nice to me. We are still getting to know each other but so far so good. How about you? Who's the lucky girl?”

   “I haven’t met her yet.”

   They filled each other in on things that had been happening while she was away in England, people they had dated, places they had been. She told him about England, the ex-boyfriend who kept stalking her, prom night. Jamie also shared a few things he’d experienced and mentioned his time in South Korea teaching English as a foreign language just before college, but he didn’t go into any details. He had never ever told anyone the details of what happened while he was in South Korea, and even if he could summon the courage to tell her, this wasn’t the right time.

   “So you say your dad is in New Jersey indefinitely?”

   “Um...well you could say that.”

   “Aw, I know you’ll really miss him. I still remember how close you guys were.”

   “Yes we were. To be honest with you, we aren’t that close right now. My dad is presently separated from my mom. They aren’t divorced or anything but they aren’t together right now and I’m not talking to him because he crossed the red line.”

   “Wow, I’m so sorry. I wouldn’t have asked about him if I’d known.” He still remembered Chelsea’s mystic red line, the one you never dared cross. There was no forgiveness beyond the red line.

   “It’s OK. Like I said, he crossed the red line.”

   After all these years, she still had this principle of not forgiving anyone who did anything like cheat on her or someone she loved or did anything bordering on deception. Her father must have cheated on his wife. Jamie saw in her eyes that it was something that really hurt. He didn’t want to keep talking about something so private so he changed the subject.

***

   The cool evening breeze from the waters that surrounded Elmtown blew against Jamie’s face as he walked under the shadow of the rustling trees which lined the sidewalk. He checked the time on his phone. It was almost 6:30 p.m. He spent over five hours at Chelsea’s and could have stayed even longer, but he needed to go home and talk things out with his mom.

   Thoughts about the house followed him as he walked away from Chelsea’s house and crept up his back, again taking their place in his head.

   He got home at 6:45 p.m.

   “Mom, I’m home.”

He was met with an awkward silence. The TV was left on but there was no sound coming from it. A torn envelope lay on the couch, a half-empty cup of water on a stool.

   “Mom?”

   He checked her room, nothing. He looked in the kitchen, his room, the guest room, then checked her room again. She wasn’t there. She told him she was going to be home all day but she could have changed her mind. He sent her a text but after waiting for five minutes without a response, he felt a little uneasy so he called her phone from the landline. It just kept ringing as he walked towards her room again.

   Then he heard her phone ringing. He traced the source of the sound and it led him to the bathroom. He opened the door and saw her on the floor.

   Shock.