“That was fun,” agreed Jake, before taking a long chug on his beer. “Those kids are good. Really tight.”
“Yeah, they’re great,” agreed Garrett, keeping his eyes on the stage. “I suspect they’ll go far, especially if Silver Lake take them out on the road next time out.”
“Now that’s not a bad idea.”
Staring down at the doodles all over the sheet of paper on her drawing board, Lori sighed. She’d spent two days playing around with ideas for the Silver Lake record. The page was littered with half-drawn themes but nothing seemed to fit. True to his word, Dr Marrs had sent her through the remaining files, with the caveat that they weren't much more than demos. Hearing the powerful and raw emotions in the tracks and hearing Rich’s distinctive playing style had torn at her own heart. What the band had accomplished gave her some insight into just how tough this record had been for them to complete.
One idea kept returning to her and repeatedly over the past two days she had discarded it as too simplistic an effect for the artwork. Now, as she surveyed her doodles, she wasn’t so sure. Knowing that there was only one way to get it out of her system, she began to draw. Opting to work in pencil, Lori sketched the outlines, carefully angling things to allow sufficient space for the lettering. Shadows were going to play an integral part in the design so the shades of gray proved to be the perfect medium for the design.
Time ceased to have any meaning for her as she focused on the piece of paper in front of her. Creating the artwork for the band was proving to be cathartic and, for the first time in weeks, Lori felt herself relax.
“Lori? Lori, you there?”
Paul’s voice echoing out from the kitchen startled her back to reality as both Melody and Jesse came running through the house.
“Mommy!” wailed her young son tearfully. “You forgot me!”
“And me,” added Melody, her cheeks still flushed and blotchy from crying.
“Lori, you ok?” asked Paul as he appeared behind the kids.
“What time is it?”
“Gone four-thirty,” he replied. “Did you lose track of time?”
“Oh, kids, I’m sorry,” gasped Lori, suddenly realising she’d worked all day without either a break or a second thought for the time. “I got so caught up with this.”
“You forgot us!” accused Melody, staring directly at her mother, her blue eyes brimming with tears.
“No harm done,” soothed Paul, trying to ease the tension. “I was picking the meatballs up anyway. Would’ve helped if you’d called me though.”
“Oh, Paul, thank you!” said Lori, her own eyes filling with tears. “I can’t believe I lost all track of time. Oh, kids, Mommy’s so sorry.”
“Daddy would’ve remembered us!”
Melody’s accusation hung in the air for a few tense seconds until Paul laughed.
“Miss M, your daddy is late for everything,” laughed Silver Lake’s drummer. “He might have remembered but you could’ve been waiting an extra half hour in the cold for him.”
Smiling, Lori said, “Uncle Paul’s right.”
Slowly, she got up from her desk and came round to hug her tearful children. “I’m sorry,” she apologised softly as she held them. “I’ll set an alarm on my phone. It won’t happen again. Promise.”
“It better not,” grumbled Jesse, pulling away from her.
They watched as the three-year-old stomped off into the sunroom.
“Miss M,” began Lori quietly. “Go and help Jess find the cartoon channel. I need to speak to Uncle Paul for a minute.”
Signalling to Paul to go into the kitchen, Lori limped through behind him. Her t-shirt was stretched tight over her growing baby bump and, as she paused in the middle of the kitchen, Lori caught Paul staring at her.
“You’re….”
“I know,” she interrupted. “Not a word.”
“Does Jake know?”
Lori shook her head.
“Lori, he deserves to know.”
“Sh,” she hissed. “Keep your voice down, Paul.”
“Sorry,” apologised Silver Lake’s drummer. “But you need to tell him and, from the looks of things, you need to talk to him soon.”
“Thanks. I’d figured that much out,” muttered Lori sourly. Taking a deep breath, she sighed, “Sorry. Look, I’ll tell him soon. I just need a little more time. Right now, I need to run an idea past you.”
“Idea?”
Lori nodded. “I’ve been working on your artwork all day. Want to run my rough sketches past you.”
“Sure. Is that what you were working on when you forgot your kids?” teased Paul, mischief twinkling in his eyes.
“Oh, don’t! I feel so bad about that. Thank God you were there!”
“No need to feel bad. You’ve a lot going on,” assured Paul, putting his arm around her shoulders. “Now, show me this design that caused you to leave your daughter standing out in the cold.”
“Paul Edwards, you’re evil,” she giggled as together they walked back through to her workspace.
As they stood side by side surveying the rough sketch for the band’s album cover, Lori felt Paul tremble as if he were wrestling with a fresh wave of grief.
“Lori,” he said, his voice thick with emotion. “It’s perfect. I love it.”
“Thank you,” she sighed, resting her head on his chest as he hugged her.
Life at the gothic palace was surprisingly calm and, after a few days, Jake found he’d slipped into an easy routine. He quickly established that Garrett wasn’t a morning person but that suited him. While his host went about his usual methodical morning routine, Jake made himself scarce and headed out into the chilly New York air to pound out a few miles along the sidewalks. City
