“Maria,” he said, flashing her a smile. “How you holding up?”
She smiled, a smile so like her brother’s that it tore at Jake’s heart. “I’m ok. Having everyone here and listening to all their stories helps. He meant so much to folk in so many different ways.”
“Rich was one of the good guys. Always a teacher at heart.”
“Always,” echoed Maria with a wistful smile. “Can I beg a huge favour from you, Jake? Feel free to say “no” but you’re the best qualified to help here.”
“Happy to help if I can,” said Jake, curious to learn what Maria wanted from him.
“Hear me out first,” suggested Rich’s sister quietly. She paused before she began to explain, “I got a call from Dr Jones at the high school to offer his condolences. Seems Rich had signed up to teach a two-week course for their music department’s summer school programme. Dr Jones was going to call you later in the week about it but I said I’d try to speak to you first. Will you fill in and take the class?”
Momentarily lost for words, Jake could only utter, “Me?”
“Please? It would mean a lot to me to know those kids would still get to learn some of the Silver Lake magic through you.”
“Let me talk to Dr Jones and find out what’s involved. I’m not promising anything here but, if I can, I’ll see what I can do,” vowed Jake, stumbling over his words. “It’s been a long while since I was up the front in a classroom.”
“Guess I can’t ask for more than that. Thank you,” said Maria, her brown eyes glistening with unshed tears. “Teaching still meant so much to him. Rich always said you were the best music teacher he’d ever worked with.”
Before Jake could reply, Maria moved on to the next table to talk to Scott and Dr Marrs.
Down in the basement, the air was cool. Surrounded by the calm familiarity of the rehearsal space, Jake was busy restringing his Mz Hyde custom guitar. It was a chore he had been putting off since he’d come back from the tour but Melody had asked him to “play the guitar Mommy painted” and he’d had to explain he couldn’t as it had a broken string. He’d broken it during the encore at the final Silver Lake show and finished the tour on five strings.
Over the years, he had grown superstitious about letting others touch the instrument, preferring, when possible, to care for it himself. Todd, the band’s guitar tech, was the sole exception to that rule.
With a fresh set of strings added, Jake sat down to pull it back into tune. He liked to test his pitch and tune it by ear first before resorting to using his tuner pedal. It was a game he played regularly with himself. Smiling as he checked his handiwork, Jake confirmed he had all six strings perfectly in tune.
Keeping the volume on the amp down low, he began to play. Soon, he was lost in practicing some of his solos from the various songs on the Silver Lake set. Eventually, he came to play the song he had worked out on Melody’s half-size acoustic.
So lost was he in the music that he never heard the basement door open nor Lori coming carefully down the steep steps. When he paused in his playing, Jake looked up and saw his wife sitting on the bottom step watching him.
“Hey,” he said with a smile.
“Sounding good, rock star,” observed Lori softly. “I like that one.”
“Still a work in progress.”
“Does it have any lyrics yet?”
“A few. Still working those out,” confessed Jake as he played the song’s melody line over softly.
“And how are you getting on working out Maria’s request?”
“That’s another work in progress,” admitted Jake, setting the guitar back on its stand.
“And where’s your heart at on it?” pressed Lori gently.
“It’s been shattered, li’l lady,” he sighed sadly. Running his hand through his tousled hair, Jake said, “It’s hard enough playing down here on my own. How do I teach a group of students without losing it? Where do I start?”
“You could start by talking to Dr Jones?” she suggested, reaching out to take his hand. “Be honest with him about how you feel. Ask if he knows what Rich had planned for the course. Get as much information as you can then see how your head and your heart feel about it. Get the rest of the band to help. You’ve done it before. Maybe Garrett’ll even help if he’s still here.”
“I don’t know……”
“Sleep on it, rock star.”
A sense of déjà vu swept over Jake as he drew up in the same parking spot he used to stop in daily outside the high school. Four years had passed since he had last visited the school to deliver a seminar, along with Rich, to some seniors, who were hoping to study music at college. The difference between then and now was that he was arriving alone and that the school was virtually deserted. Voices were echoing up from the nearby sports fields but there were no summer school students to be seen.
Stuffing his truck keys into his pocket and hooking his shades into the neck of his t-shirt, Jake entered the building. The first thing to hit him was the familiar “school” smell and, as he sat outside the principal’s office a few moments later, he thought back to the first day Rich had brought him in to meet Dr Jones. It had been Rich who had vouched for him; it had been Rich who had encouraged him; it had been Rich who had inspired him to return to teaching. Taking Lori’s advice, he was listening to his heart. He had to teach this
