Chapter 106

“Those sweet lips. My, oh my, I could kiss those lips all night long. Good things come to those who wait.”
—Jess C. Scott, The Intern

I LIED TO CINDY about taking Tuesday off. The truth was I didn’t want to let her down in the rehearsal room. I’d been playing the lute guitar for the past ten days and hadn’t been on the concert guitar at all. The concert guitar has a wider neck than the lute and, though it might not sound like much of a difference, I don’t feel confident enough in my playing to make the transition without practicing. I played the lute guitar while walking around the village. The concert guitar was bigger and heavier and I needed to be seated so I could rest it on my knee.

First thing Tuesday morning, Nanette picked me up and kicked my butt around two golf courses as I realized I’d been eating a lot of fair food and only running every other day or so. I was drained when I got to her house to shower. She joined me but didn’t try to make love, though I got reacquainted with her body while we washed.

“If you’d been faster on the run this morning, we might have had time for more,” she laughed as she kissed me. “Keep that in mind for tomorrow.” She left for work and I walked the block home.

Beca was in the kitchen with Mom when I got there. She almost bowled me over when she jumped into my arms and wrapped her legs around my waist. She kissed me intensely. I hugged her to me, just relishing the closeness of my best friend.

“I was lonely without you!” Beca said. “I’m so glad Rachel and Livy came back last week. I thought I’d go crazy waiting for ... you know ... Joan to call.”

“You’ve been with Nanette, haven’t you? And Donna?”

“Well, yeah. I stayed at Nanette’s after Mom left. This week, I’ve been out to Donna’s a lot. So have the others.”

“Where’d your mom go?”

“You were really out of it preparing for all the shows, weren’t you? She went back to Thailand a week after school got out. For a while, she was determined not to go and I had to convince her I had a support network here to take care of me in an emergency. She’s been doing the summer teaching gig in Chiang Mai for two years and they really wanted her back. She won’t get home until the second week of August—just before school starts.”

“Boy! I didn’t realize how out of it I’ve been.”

“Jacob,” Mom said as she put down her phone. “I need you to take Peyton over to the pool this morning. You don’t need to stay, but Lupe Adams is having a discussion with her daughters and can’t drive this morning.”

“Is everything okay?” I asked, concerned about Brittany.

“You’ll have to find out that when they are finished with their discussion. I’ve no doubt keeping Sophie and Brittany in Kansas for an extra week will figure into the conversation.”

“Okay,” I said. It was likely that sleeping with Brittany would also figure into the conversation.

“It’s good to have you back home,” Mom said. “Not just for errands. I didn’t realize how much I missed my children when they’re gone. I need to get to work. If you could mow sometime today, I would appreciate it. I know you’ll be in rehearsals all day tomorrow.” She kissed Peyton at the table and then kissed both Beca and me on the cheek, then headed out. I realized I was still holding Rebeca with her legs wrapped around my waist and my hands on her cute little butt.

“Well, so much for practicing this morning,” I said.

“Eat breakfast, J,” Pey said. “I need to leave for the pool in half an hour. I have a busy schedule, too.”

“Says my nine-year-old busy sister,” I laughed.

“I’m almost ten.”

“I stand corrected. I missed you, Pey.” I said. I set Beca down and we got our toast and coffee. Mom had left cheesy eggs in the frying pan for us. They were yummy, but that meant the pan would need to be scrubbed before I got to practice, too.

Beca also considered it her day to hang out with me. I was good with that. I didn’t realize how much I’d missed her the past two weeks. Sure, we talked on the phone, just as I did with Em, but having her near where I could just turn and make a comment or ask a question, having her reach out and touch my hand or my shoulder, having her presence in the room with me, it really made it feel like I was at home. After we got Pey to the pool, I went out to mow the lawn and Beca scrubbed the awful frying pan and did the rest of the dishes. At last, I had time to sit and practice a while.

I spread the classical music Cindy and I were working on out in front of me. We had a contemporary piece—well, 1995—by Pujol called ‘Suite Buenos Aires’ that Vinnie had suggested for our next recital and recording that had a wonderful mix of traditional classics with an overtone of Latin influence. Mr. LeBlanc had provided us with an arrangement of Debussy’s ‘Arabesque No. 1’ for guitar, flute, and string quartet. I wanted us working on it for the winter concert in December. I had no idea who the strings would be.

I’d been working on the Suite for an hour with Beca sitting on my bed with her cellphone, no doubt chatting with our girlfriends.

“Smile,” she said. I looked up at her and smiled as she held her phone toward me to take a picture. “The girlfriends are all thrilled to hear you playing that and can’t wait to hear Cindy with you.”

“You streamed it?” I asked.

“Just about five minutes on Snapchat. Come on. Donna invited us to lunch.”

“I really need to practice,” I said. An hour out of the day was not enough to get ready for our lessons tomorrow. Sure, I wanted to see Donna but I was torn.

“Bring your guitar. You have to eat anyway and you can practice there. It will just be the three of us and Donna and I can sit in the next room to chat while you play. Please, Jacob?” she whined. My stomach growled. She was right. I did need to eat anyway. I packed up my guitar and music and music stand and we loaded into the truck. Beca slid to the middle and fastened her seatbelt. I chuckled at remembering what a difference between her and Livy in that position. She didn’t distract me from my driving and I navigated out to Donna’s farm.

That might have been the best thing ever. First, there was the greeting hug and feeling Donna’s incredible breasts softly pressed against my chest. I held the hug a little longer than necessary but she showed no inclination to break it off.

“I think you’ve missed me as much as I’ve missed you,” she finally laughed.

“Me, too,” Beca said, soon lost in Donna’s embrace.

“You were here yesterday!” Donna said. Nonetheless, she held the hug with Beca at least as long as she had with me. I could see things had become far more relaxed with them than before I left.

Second, there was the lunch. I didn’t realize how hungry I’d become. Donna had another of what she called a farmer’s salad but it seemed to have even more ingredients than the last one I enjoyed here. This one included ham and big chunks of cheese along with shredded beets. That took me back a time as my V3 body discovered a V1 favorite. We cleaned up after a very nice time getting caught up.

Third, there was my practice. I took my guitar and stand out to the deck. Donna brought me a dining room straight chair and for the first time I could remember, I practiced my classical guitar outside. This was different than playing the fair or working in our practice sessions before it opened. I was out here alone, facing the open fields, sending the notes out into the wild, so to speak. I could smell the cut grass of Donna’s back field. There was an animal manure scent from far enough away that it just added a little spice to the atmosphere. Facing this direction, I couldn’t see another sign of humans on my horizon. My guitar and I were in a kind of Zen state and I felt like I accomplished a lot.

Donna set a glass of iced tea next to me on a small table and I looked up as she went back to the porch swing where she and Beca were chatting and having their own drink. I hadn’t noticed whenever they came outside. I drank greedily of the iced tea and then switched music. I’d been working for nearly two hours on the Arabesque and wanted to spend more time with the Buenos Aires. In a matter of minutes, I was lost in the music again.

“You must have fingers of steel,” Donna whispered in my ear. “Don’t you think you’ve practiced enough for today?”

I flexed my fingers and could feel a little numbness in the tips. I’d been going at it for another two hours and the sun had just broken the shadow of the deck roof to reach my lap. I nodded.