“Don’t show up married.”
“Really? That’s a rule?”
“I don’t fuck married women anymore.”
Tina didn’t respond to that because it sets him off on his talking points of how sleeping with her is bad for his psyche and soul and how he wants all of T, not just a taste, blah, blah, blah. She heard it too many times.
“A funny thing about that song,” Joe continued. “California King was a fill-in track. We needed something with a punch because the album didn’t have enough edge. That song was a late throw-in.”
“That’s a pleasant surprise.”
“Yeah, it is. I wrote those lyrics on a napkin on a flight home from a tour, two years ago. I could’nt wait to get home to my bed. Then I forgot about those lyrics until I found them a when we were warming up to record. I was digging through scraps of paper and notebooks.”
“Do you still keep a journal?”
“No. I told you that years ago. I stopped doing that when I settled here.”
“Do you have all your journals from the eighties?”
“Every one. There are thirty-eight Mead composition notebooks stuffed in a box in my closet with other junk. It’s almost eleven years of my life.”
“Do you ever look at them?”
“Nah. I’m trying to not look back, T. I’m focusing straight ahead.”
— Empty Nest —
Joe pulled into his parking lot with a U-Haul van. Danny jumped out of the van Joe backed up to the studio door. Danny guided him in. It was a moving day for Danny. Joe was giving him the sleep sofa and coffee table from the green room. Already in the back of the van was a bedroom set with a mattress they just picked up at a second-hand store. Once they loaded up the sofa, table and Danny’s belongings, Joe suggested he leave his guitars and amp at the studio, for security purposes.
“I’ll take my Les Paul, so I have something to play at home, but I’ll leave the rest.”
“Do you have Betty’s business card?”
“Yes. I’ll call her this week, once I’m settled in.”
“She will hook you up with sessions if you call. Betty owes me a favor. You just have to show up and do the work. Once she sees you’re reliable, you’ll get more work and referrals.”
Joe closed the back of the fifteen-foot box truck and jumped into the driver’s seat. Danny buckled up. As they drove away, Danny looked over his shoulder at the building. “I can’t believe the last year of my life. I was on Chele’s couch, fighting with her boyfriend with no prospects, then I moved to Venice and toured the world.”
“You worked your way up.”
“Because you gave me a chance.”
“You were a safe bet.”
“Thanks, Joe.”
“You can thank me by making a good life for yourself in California. You have people here now. That’s how roots grow.”
“I’ll do my best. We have to get The Eldorados together. We both have time on our hands.”
“I’ll get around to that. We need a drummer. Bobby’s in another band.”
Danny found a place a mile inland from Joe, renting half of a duplex, two bedrooms, and no yard to speak of. It was fine for a single guy. Joe gave him a great reference. Danny was employed by Guerilla Records but since the tour, he was working more hours at Grants Music than at Joe’s studio. Joe had just given him a good lead on session musician work with bigger studios Joe was friendly with. He also gave him a reference as a guitar tech. Danny was scheduled to tour with the road crew for another band… Beacon Hill.
The kid was ready to fly the nest and Joe wanted to make sure the launch went well, so he rented the truck and found the used furniture, and then donated items… to make sure the birdie flew in comfort.
After several trips unloading the truck and carrying furniture up a half flight of stairs, Joe stood in the doorway drinking bottled water. He was hoping to avoid an emotional departure. “Go buy some groceries. Fill that fridge. Cook. Don’t dine out too much. That’s a waste of money. Come over Wednesday and I’ll cook you dinner. Don’t be a stranger.”
Danny gave Joe the one-armed man-hug and back pat. “Thanks. Joe.”
Joe walked away, not looking back, avoiding the emotions as best he could. He returned the U-Haul truck and began planning the redecoration of his studio green room and offices in his head. He had ideas to make his studio more comfortable.
He hoped Danny would follow through with his contacts on The Strip. Joe was a small-time hustler in the LA music scene, a mosquito compared to the big hitters. Still, he had a successful recording career, toured the world multiple times, and along the way made connections in the business, big and small. Some were friends who traded favors. Joe cashed in a chip for Danny.
— Girl Talk —
Jenna stepped into Tina’s office near the end of her lunch break. She was on the phone. Jenna sat across from her and waited.
“Jenna just walked in,” Tina said over the phone. She smiled at Jen. “Joe says hello.”
“Hi, Joe.”
“Jenna says hi.” She listened to Joe for a bit. “Okay. I’ll call you mid-week. I have to go. Okay. Love you, Bye.”
When Tina hung up the phone she took a bite of her lunch and looked up at Jenna. “He’s a fucking mess.”
“What do you mean?”
“He’s alone and doesn’t have much going on. Joe’s not good with idle time.”
“That’s what he says, but he’s perfectly capable of being a lazy do-nothing.”
Tina sipped her drink. “I’m sure you saw that when he was with you. If Joe has someone, he can chill out and do nothing because he has you to give his attention to. When he’s alone he gets fidgety. He needs something or someone to keep his mind occupied.”
“So he’s got no one and no business?”
“He just helped Danny move out, so he has some remodeling to do in his studio, and I guess he has a garden, but he says business is slow. Oh, and he’s bartending to help a friend.”
“Sounds like he’s busy,” Jenna said while drinking Coke through a straw.
“When you don’t have a job to go to, there are a lot of hours to kill.”
“I suppose.”
“I want to go out and visit him,” Tina said. “I want him to know I’m here for him, for whatever he needs. It’s just not easy making that happen.”
Jenna sighed, “If you do that while you’re married you’re only going to fuck him up.”
“I don’t know,” Tina smiled. “I’ll definitely fuck him, and I don’t think that would fuck him up. I think it’s just what he needs.”
“He does need you, I’m sure of it, but not in little doses once in a while.”
“You sound just like him. I bet a vacation with Joe in California would be incredible. You know he’d treat you right and show you a good time.”
Jenna let her mind wander, not replying to Tina’s vacation comment. She had thought about taking that trip, for a minute, until common sense woke her up.
“What do you think?” Tina asked.
“About what?”
“About a vacation in California.”
Jenna grinned. “It would be everything you dream of and probably more than you can imagine. Yeah, I would love to visit Joe out there.”
“You have his open invite, right?”
“You don’t want me going to Venice, T.”
“Because you won’t come back?”
“That’s what Joe says, but you know him. He likes to exaggerate.”
Tina leaned back in her chair. “I’m trying to get him to open up. This platonic bullshit is killing me. He’s holding us back with these stupid rules. I want to hear him laugh and talk sexy and maybe…”