Lennon's Jinx (17 page)

“You’re
picking up on this pretty quick,” I say, helping her work through the easy songs
first.

She
snorts. “How’s this going to teach me to read music? It’s nothing like the
staff.”

“We’ll
get there. You’ve already moved to the second level.”

Jinx
blows a stray hair from her face. She’s like a little pixie. “Whatever.”

She’s
quiet through most of the lesson, listening carefully. Unlike me, Jinx is a
good student. As well as she plays, it’s hard to believe she never learned to
read music.

After
the other night at Sammy’s, I’ve been dying to ask her about Zach. I didn’t
have much of an opportunity yesterday in Chicago with my girls there. She
probably won’t tell me anything, so I go in the back way. “Why do you act like
the Virgin Mary, when you go downtown and party like there’s no tomorrow?”

Jinx
glares at me. “I didn’t get drunk. I don’t go whoring around and sleep with
everything that slinks into my path. We just drink and dance. That’s it.”

“Yeah,
right. Even before you were slipped something, you were hitting on Ran hard.
Was it because Zach was there? Making him a little jealous?”

Jinx
bumps my shoulder hard with hers, well hard for her. “You are a jerk. Zach and
I split up my sophomore year. That’s ancient history.”

“Is
it? That’s not what your body was saying.” The way Jinx looked at him. Pain? Regret?
Is that why guys scare her? Zach hurt her? No. That can’t be it.

Her
face twists like she’s going to pummel me. I’d probably enjoy it.

“Are
you hitting on me?” she asks.

“Why?
Is that surprising to you? It would be to me.” I knock out several stanzas of
Rachmaninoff’s menacing
Prelude in C# Minor
.

“Let’s
talk about you instead. Have you ever had a girlfriend?”

I
laugh. “What for?”

“Don’t
you ever want to cuddle with a girl? Have someone to talk to, share your
feelings, your dreams?”

I
don’t have any dreams other than helping Currie acquire hers. “Girls want to
share feelings. Guys don’t.”

“You
don’t. Zach did. We wrote music and jammed together.”

“You
still like him.” I nudge her shoulder with mine. Payback. I catch her by the
arm before she falls off the bench. “Did he ask you to join his band? Of course
not. Otherwise, you’d still be with him. My band doesn’t discriminate.”

For
a moment, doubt shadows her face before contempt replaces it. “You never
answered my question. Is Bailey your girlfriend?”

“No
and no.” I don’t mention Mei Lin. I don’t think she counts. We were both young.
It was very innocent.

“What’s
the point of having a girlfriend?” I get laid a lot, though I sometimes wonder
what it would be like to have a relationship like the Nowaks. They get along
with each other, but that’s rare. Why make a commitment I have no intention of
keeping. I guess in some ways I am like Jonathan. That slashes a nice hole in
my gut.

“You’re
hopeless.” Jinx whips through the easy songs, avoiding talking with me by pounding
the keys with her slender fingers. She takes a deep breath when I pull out
music with the staff.

I
guide her through a first year Thompson song. “Take your time. Remember the G
clef circles ‘G.’ Locate the steps from there.”

She
struggles a bit. “That’s a ‘C,’ right?”

“Yes,
good.”

Jinx
plays through the whole song with few mistakes. “I can’t believe it. I did it.”
In her excitement, she clasps my arm. “Oh, sorry. Thanks for doing this. You’re
a good teacher.”

She
touched me. I’m surprised she’s not wiping off the germs. “I know.”

“And
modest.”

My
mind wrestles with how I can touch her and make it seem perfectly natural. What’s
wrong with me? I should leave her alone. “Have you memorized our cover songs?”

“When
have I had time?”

“When
you were out drinking Wednesday night.” Jinx is actually really good on the
piano without reading music, but to become exceptional, she needs to learn. “Your
pay depends on it. Let’s work on a few songs.”

“But
I just learned to read the staff.” Panic rises in her voice.

Here’s
my chance. “We’ll work first on your singing technique.”

“I
sing just fine.”

“You
can do better.” I take her hand. “Stand up.”

With
her castrating glare, handholding is out, so I drop hers. “Straighten your
spine. When you breathe, use your abdomen.” I place her hand over her belly
with mine on top. “Breathe.” I love stealing a feel of her soft skin. I should
have my head examined.

Her
shoulders lift as she inhales. “When you take a breath, your abdomen should
expand, not your chest.”

“Oh?”
Jinx tries again without lifting her shoulders this time. “Like that?”

“Yes.”
We cover only a couple more techniques including the soft palate, so I don’t
overwhelm her before she removes my hand. Her stomach is flat and firm and
warm. I’d like to wrestle her to the ground right now.

“Why
do you need to touch me?” she asks.

“That’s
the way I was taught.”

“I’m
sure she did.”

“He.
I had the same coach Jonathan used.” The thought needles me. “My teacher was
gay, so he might have gotten something out of it.”

Jinx
laughs. “Good.”

I
finally get a smile out of this girl. That was painful. At least, I don’t get a
stiffy while holding her this close. God, she smells good.

Before
I can step away from her, Clive and Danny Boy stroll into the warehouse. Susan treads
behind him. Her finger is looped through his belt. Now that Jinx has joined the
band, I’m positive Susan will attend every practice.

Clive
shuts the door with his foot and whistles. “Blimey, you’re already chatting up
that totty.”

Jinx
shoves me hard. I don’t budge an inch as I mouth, “Thanks” to Clive.

“No
problem,” he says.

Susan
sticks to Danny. She’s probably worried about Miss Frigidaire. I’d like to ask Susan
if she doesn’t have something else to do, like school or work, but Danny has
ordered that she’s off limits for harassment. Occasionally, I break the rules.

Clive
unpacks his bass guitar and sets it into a stand. “How’s Zoe?”

I
think of Currie hanging out with her and wonder how she’s coping. “Zoe goes in
for chemo tomorrow.”

“I’ll
try to make it by after the wedding,” Clive says.

“We
will, too,” Danny adds, kissing Susan’s hand before letting it go.

Danny
Boy grins at me. He’s happy we’re practicing. We get down to business, starting
with our cover songs. It’s important that we do well at the Winthrop wedding.
It can get us a lot more jobs.

Jinx
is off just a fraction of a second on several songs, probably because she’s not
familiar with them. She needs to practice more.

Clive
bumps Jinx with his bass. “Come on baby bird. Get with the program.”

Jinx
grits her teeth, fighting back either anger or tears or is it fright? It’s hard
to say which. I don’t like to see her scared.

“I’m
trying,” she says.

Danny
twirls a drumstick. “Lighten up, Clive.”

“It’s
okay, Jinx,” I say, distracted by her nervously chewing on a nail. I don’t
understand what’s up with her. She’s got talent, but something eats away at her
self-esteem. “You need more practice.”

She
hangs her head. “I will.”

Susan
opens a book and tries to study. It’s not working too well. The slightest
innuendo of Danny caring the least bit for Jinx sets Susan on edge. Her gaze
darts to him then back to Jinx. How he puts up with her yanking on his nose
ring, I’m clueless.

“I’ll
meet you guys at the train station and give you a ride from there,” I say,
wrapping up the session.

“We’re
going to drive into Chicago,” Danny Boy says, “so I can take my snares.”

I
tell Jinx again, “You have to seriously work on these songs the rest of the day.
We haven’t even covered our originals for tonight. Let me know if you want my
help.”

“Plan
on chatting her up?” Clive says.

I
glance at Jinx, glad she didn’t get the British slang for pick up.

Her
face puckers for a moment. She’s clearly upset. I want to feel bad for her, but
if she wants to play with the boys in the band, she’ll have to man up.

It’s Friday night, and as usual, Kichee’s
Joint is wall-to-wall people, mostly bikers, some with prison tats and chains
hanging from their belts to secure their wallets. Some of the women sport
bandanas and chaps, and their biceps bulge as big as some of the men.

Poor
Jinx is sweating and rubbing her hands together, like her failed debut is
imminent. I grab her a beer to loosen her up, along with a couple for the guys.

Jinx
shoves the beer away. “I don’t like beer.”

“Okay,”
I say. “More for me. Would you like something else?”

She
shakes her head.

I
rest my hand on her shoulder. She briefly shudders, so I let go. “Ease up.
You’ll do fine.”

“I
hope so,” Jinx says, hanging her head.

Susan
sits at a table up front. She never misses a gig because girls love the boys in
the band, hers being Danny. Rena and the twins join her. It’s good that Jinx
has friends supporting her. I nod at them in acknowledgement. This can be a
rough place, so I’m surprised Rena came.

Jinx
wears black stockings and a really short multi-colored dress, cinched at the
waist with a wide red belt. She looks awesome, which elicits catcalls from the
overzealous crowd. They really like us here because we mix it up with original,
alternative, and classic rock.

The
rest of the band wears jeans. Clive has on a leather vest and no shirt. He’s
got the physique for it. When it gets too hot, Danny Boy shucks off his shirt
as well. The girls go wild over it. Me, I’m not fat, but I’m not ripped either.
I promise myself to start using the gym in my house.

Bailey
strides in with two of her friends. A frown creeps into my mouth. She knows I
don’t like her to cut into my gig time. She must be determined to make up for
the other night, but I’m not so sure I want her to.

I
give her a half-smile. She’s still a paying customer.

Clive
nudges Jinx as we prep on stage. “Relax, Jinxy. If we suck, they only throw
empty bottles at us, not the full ones.”

Jinx
is shaking in her high-heeled leather boots, my personal favorite. “They do?”

I
love girls in boots, in fact, any kind of leather gets to me. Hers spell sex on
a stick. What a waste.

“No,
they don’t,” Danny says. “Give her a break.”

I
do a sound check. “One-two-three.” There’s a bit of feedback, so I gesture to
the sound guy to adjust the settings.

Three
girls, who are regulars, crowd to the front. I’ve done two of them. The other
one has blonde hair with blue and green feathers intertwined throughout. She
dances like there’s a pole beside her. I like that in a girl.

One
lifts her beer to me, so I grin back. Bailey doesn’t look too happy about that.
It’s bad enough I’ve got Jinx here to give me a hard time, especially when
there are at least three good prospects here tonight. I hope Bailey doesn’t
make another scene.

Jinx
hides behind her keyboard, which I arranged close to the front. Can’t let her
get under my skin or she’ll ruin my fun.

“Ready?”
I ask.

Danny
Boy and Clive nod while Jinx locks onto me with wild, frightened eyes.

“It’s
okay,” I say to her. “We’ll start with
Hold Down the Wall
.”

“I
don’t know that,” Jinx mouths to me.

I
shake my head. The set list I gave her is in order of popularity. That song is
second out of our originals. The first one on the list we leave for last.

Clive
lifts his beer to the crowd. “Cheers, big ears.”

The
crowd lifts their beers in response, whooping and hollering. The girls down
front are already wriggling, even though the music hasn’t started. The song
begins with me, lead guitar, then bass, then—too soon, Jinx comes in on the
keys with diatonic chords to my lead. Drums are supposed to be next.

She
shrivels under Clive’s glare, so she backs off, which is where she’s supposed
to join us. It’s going to be a long night. When we get to the chorus, I sing to
Jinx so she’ll harmonize with me, but she’s scared out of her mind.

A
big burly biker shouts above the crowd. “Hey, Honey. Get with the boys. Or at
least shake that sweet ass of yours.”

She
practically growls at him, though a nervous tremor ripples across her
shoulders. I don’t like seeing her frightened.

The
crowd hasn’t drunk enough to overlook her deer full of buckshot confusion.
After Jinx butchers that song, I try a very old Stones tune.

Anyone
can play their music. Most of the songs only require three chords, and this one
is a crowd pleaser. This time, Jinx catches on and though she doesn’t know the
words, she picks up on the chorus this time.

Just
when I think she’s come out of her shell and she’s got the guys mesmerized by
that Hayley Williams tone of hers, Jinx loses her concentration. I follow her
line of sight.

Dammit.
It’s Zach. He’s heading for a table reserved by a fellow band mate. He didn’t
bring his scary girlfriend. She’s a freak. One time she lit into me after I
turned her down. I knew she was dating Zach, and he plays the same circuit as
we do. No sense causing problems when there are plenty of fish to swim with.

Jinx
slowly unravels beside me. Her face grows paler than its normal creamy tone. I
tap her with my knee, take my hand from my guitar, and with two fingers I point
at her eyes then mine. She stares at me and then it happens, all her hate pours
into me. Good. The old Jinx is back. That’ll help her stay with us.