“We’ll all need to pull together to get through this,” sighed Kola sadly. “This one’s hit hard.”
Just as the kids were bored with building sandcastles, the boys and Maddy came to join them. They all looked strained but did their best to play with the junior members of the Silver Lake family. All was quite harmonious until Jesse trampled the giant sandcastle. Recognising that he’d be in trouble, he scampered off down the beach at full pelt. Hot and tired after an afternoon in the sun, Grey and Kola’s girls began to cry, saying Jesse was mean.
“Time to head home,” declared Grey, scooping up a wailing Anna. “Becky. Linzi. Time to go.”
As the bass player and his girls got ready to leave, Jake came back up the beach with a wriggling, screaming Jesse in his arms. “Want to take this one with you?”
“No, thanks,” said Grey swiftly. “That one is all yours, Mr Power.”
Calmly, Lori took her son from Jake, scolding him firmly for destroying the castle and running off.
“Jake,” said Becky quietly, appearing beside him.
“Hey, princess, you ok?” he said with a sad smile, hugging her close.
“Been better,” revealed the teenager awkwardly as she snuggled in close to him. “Guess there’s another one at the bar with my mom and Gary now.”
“And my mom better set another place for dinner,” added Jake, touched that Becky was recalling their conversation from shortly after Gary’s death.
“Don’t die, Uncle Jake,” begged Becky tearfully. “I can’t lose anyone else.”
Holding her tight, Jake kissed the top of her head and promised, “I don’t intend to. I’m going to live to be a hundred and be a cranky old man on his rocker on the porch.”
Smiling through her tears, Becky said, “My dad’s a cranky old man now.”
“Yeah, he is,” agreed Jake with a grin. “But don’t tell him I said that.”
“Said what?” called out Grey, raising an eyebrow as he stared at them.
“I said you’d buy them all pizza for dinner on the way home.”
“Pizza! Pizza!” shrieked Linzi, jumping up and down excitedly.
“Thank you, Mr Power.”
“My pleasure,” joked Jake, giving Becky another hug. “You best go rescue your old man.”
Soon after Grey left, Maddy announced that they should be heading home too. Pre-empting Jake winding the twins up, she promised that they would be stopping for pizza on the way home.
“Oh, you spoiled my fun, Maddison.”
“I know you too well, Jake,” replied the band’s tour manager. “And I know your munchkins would just love pepperoni for dinner!”
“Pizza!” screamed Jesse shrilly. “Cheese fries! Want cheese fries, Daddy!”
“Touché, Maddison,” laughed Jake as he shook his head. “Yes, kids, we’ll get pizza too.”
Two large empty pizza boxes and an empty carton that had contained cheese fries lay discarded on the table as the sun set. While Jake lit the citronella lanterns and candles, Lori took Jesse indoors for a bath before bed. Quietly, Melody slipped indoors unnoticed. As Jake sat back down to finish his beer, his young daughter stepped back out onto the deck carrying her guitar.
“Daddy,” she began hopefully, “Can we play?”
“Did you go into the basement without an adult with you?” asked Jake sternly.
Her bottom lip quivering, Melody nodded.
“You know the rules, Melody.”
“I know but everyone has been all sad all day. I wanted to make you happy. You said you like our lessons. Said they make you happy,” said the little girl with tears brimming in her eyes. “I didn’t touch any of your stuff. Promise.”
“Our lessons do make me happy,” agreed Jake. “You know you did wrong though by breaking the rules?”
Melody nodded as a single tear ran down her cheek.
“No tears, angel,” said Jake softly, “There’s been enough of them around here today.”
“Why’s everyone so sad?” asked Melody innocently.
“Because we’ve lost Uncle Rich,” replied Jake, trying to find the right words to explain things to her.
“Can’t you look for him?”
“I wish we could,” sighed Jake, running his hand through his hair. “We don’t really know what happened yet. An accident maybe. Uncle Rich was found dead yesterday. The police and the authorities are trying to work out what happened to him.”
“So, he’s never coming back?” asked Melody, her big blue eyes wide and tear-filled. “My friend’s Grandpop died. She said he went to heaven to be an angel.”
With a smile, Jake said, “I can’t see Uncle Rich as an angel, can you?”
Giggling, Melody said, “He’d look funny with big white fluffy wings.”
Visualising the Silver Lake guitarist with large feathery wings, Jake laughed, “He sure would.”
“Will you still be a rock star without Uncle Rich?”
With a child’s innocence, Melody had voiced the one unspoken question that had hung in the air all day. What did the future hold for Silver Lake?
“It’s my job,” replied Jake, trying to dodge giving a real answer.
“Being a rock star isn’t a job!” giggled Melody. “You go to an office to do a job.
“You don’t do all jobs in an office,” countered Jake. “Teachers don’t work in an office. Police officers. Paramedics, Doctors.”
“Hmm,” mused the little girl, thinking. “I guess not but being a rock star isn’t a job, is it?”
“It’s a fun job,” answered her father honestly. “My dream job. Yes, I’ll still be a musician but I’m also a teacher so, what are we playing tonight, Miss M?”
“I don’t know.”
“Show me what you’ve been practicing.”
Confidently, Melody played through the various chord progression exercises that her father had shown her. She now had seven chords that she could play and moved between them with a skill far beyond her years. Impressed with her
