Shattered Hearts

For once, the house was totally silent. Coffee in one hand and cane in the other, Lori wandered through from the kitchen to her workspace. She’d dropped the kids off at daycare, stopped off at the grocery store and still been home before ten o’clock. Ever since Melody had come along, she had become more selective about which commissions she picked up. With all that had happened, her plans to make the most of Jake being home for the summer had been thrown into disarray. Now, as she settled herself at her desk, it was time to sort her schedule out and play catch up. One design sat half-finished on her drawing board. Her deadline for it was looming but, with the kids booked into daycare for four extra days and Jake tied up at the school, she felt a bit more confident about completing it ahead of schedule. Taking a sip of her coffee, Lori opened her emails. It had been almost a week since she’d checked her business email and she wasn’t surprised to see several from her financial advisor, David, relating to business papers for Hyde Properties. Checking her calendar, she realised that she was pencilled in to attend two meetings in New York in a couple of weeks. She made a note to email David to say she would dial into them rather than attend in person. Another date stood out – Tuesday 2nd September- Melody’s first day of kindergarten and the day that Jake was due back in the studio with Silver Lake. A big day for the Power household.

Turning her attention back to her emails, Lori spotted one from Garrett Court. In true Garrett style, it was worded formally but was, in essence, a request for her to design the artwork for his forthcoming album. He’d attached some music samples and informed her that the title was “Young Hands, Old Hands, Same Strings.” There were two emails from Jason Russell also offering her commissions. Keeping her calendar open, Lori weighed up the pros and cons of accepting all three. Her plan, once Melody started school, was to send Jesse to daycare three days a week so she would have time to take on more work if she chose to. Both emails from Jason had music files attached so, while she enjoyed the remains of her coffee, she played these through. Within a minute or two, she had dismissed one of the offers. If she accepted Jason’s second offer plus Garrett’s commission, she could have both completed by mid-October, which should tie in nicely with the Silver Lake project that was sure to land around that time. Fall was going to be busy, deduced Lori as she fired off an email to Jason and a second one to Garrett.

Emails dealt with and a second coffee poured, Lori turned her attention to the half-finished design. It was less intricate than her usual style and more geometric with strong hints of Escher about it. The central part of the design was a detailed double helix that cast multiple shadows into the four corners of the design. She had opted for an ocean colour scheme, lots of blues and turquoise and green. All very tranquil, therapeutic tones. Soon, she was totally absorbed into the task and oblivious to the time passing around her.

After a hectic morning class, Jake was glad to hear the lunch bell ring. Trying to teach the students about his approach to songwriting hadn’t proved to be as straightforward as he’d hoped but, eventually, they seemed to grasp the theory behind it. As they had all leapt to their feet at the sound of the bell, he had reminded them that after lunch it was their turn to start writing.

Running his hands through his hair, feeling exhausted after the morning’s class, Jake entered the teaching base hoping to find some fresh coffee waiting. He was surprised to find Nicole sitting at the table in tears.

“Hey, you ok?” he asked warmly, a little unsure about how to approach her.

“I’m fine,” she replied sharply.

“If you say so,” said Jake. “Want a coffee?”

“Please,” answered Nicole, her tone softer. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to snap. I’ve just been talking to my lawyer and my landlord.”

Passing her a mug of coffee, Jake asked, “Problems?”

“Divorce and a blocked sink.”

Taking the seat opposite her, Jake said, “I don’t know much about divorce but I do know how to unblock a sink. Want me to take a look at it after school?”

“A rock star who knows plumbing?”

“I wasn’t always a rock star,” laughed Jake. “A bit of a Jack of all trades. I’ve worked construction. Done some basic plumbing and electrical work. I also cooked pizzas.”

“And you’re a qualified teacher too?”

“Long story. I didn’t teach for a few years after I got my diploma,” he replied slightly cryptically.

“Why not?” asked Nicole directly.

“Bad habits,” said Jake simply.

“Drugs?”

“Bad habits,” he repeated, uncomfortable at revealing his past to her. “Now, would you like to abuse my plumbing skills or not?”

Forcing a smile, Nicole answered, “If it’s not too much trouble that would be great. Landlord says his plumber is out of town till next week.”

“Where do you live?”

“I’m renting a small apartment in town, just off the boardwalk. Hickman Street.”

“I know it,” replied Jake. “I still own an apartment on Laurel Street.”

“Is it on your way home? I don’t want to drag you out of your way.”

“We stay on E Lake Drive. You’re on my way home,” explained Jake with a smile.

“Thank you,” she said, sounding relieved. “Pity you don’t know anything about divorce.”

“Sorry, I can’t help you there.”

They sat in silence for a moment or two before Nicole asked how the workshop was progressing.

“Ask me at the end of the day,” sighed Jake, more than a hint of exasperation to his tone. “I’m not convinced that