Much to his surprise, he found Lori and the kids outside as well as his sister and her boys.
“Family outing?” he asked as he unlocked the truck.
“We’re going to the outlets for an hour or two,” explained Lori as she hugged him. “Do you need anything?”
“Can you pick me up some jeans and a pair of black Converse hi-tops?”
“Sure. Anything else?”
“If you see a shirt or something that would do for the memorial show can you grab it?”
“I’ll see what I can find,” promised Lori then, spotting a tall, dark haired woman approaching them, asked softly, “Who’s that?”
“Nicole,” he whispered before turning to face the head of the music department.
“Family party?” asked Nicole brightly as she reached them.
“Kiddie handover,” replied Jake. “I’m taking my nephew on an errand with me. The others are going shopping.”
“Aren’t you going to introduce us?” prompted Lori, discretely eyeing up the tall slender music teacher.
“Sorry,” apologised Jake. “Nicole, this is my wife, Lori, my sister, Lucy, her two boys, Josh and Sam. The two little monsters in the back seat are my kids, Melody and Jesse.”
“Pleased to meet you all,” purred Nicole, not taking her eyes off Jake for a second. “Beautiful kids.”
“Thank you,” said Lori plainly. “You’ll need to come out to the house sometime. Jake’s told us so much about you. I hear you’re new in town too.”
“I’ve been here a few months,” replied Nicole, smiling sweetly. “Still trying to find my feet. Jake’s been a Godsend helping me out at the apartment. My ex always dealt with those kind of issues.”
“Speaking of which,” interrupted Jake. “Did you pick up those fuses?”
“On my way to Lowes now.”
“Great. I’ll fit them when we finish at JJL tomorrow. Now, Josh and I need to run or we’ll be late,” replied Jake hurriedly. “Lori, we’ll be back for dinner or do you want me to bring something in?”
“You could grab something from the fish restaurant,” suggested Lori. “I’ll message you when we get home.”
“Ok. Have fun,” he said. “Josh, you ready?”
“Yes, sir.”
When Jake stopped the truck outside a house just off the highway on the outskirts of Lewes, Josh turned to stare at him.
“Who lives here?”
“No one,” replied Jake, switching the engine off. “It’s a music store.”
“A store?” echoed the boy, looking confused.
“Yes. The sign’s round the other side,” explained Jake grinning. “Come on. We’re going shopping too.”
As they entered the building, Josh let out an audible gasp as his eyes scanned the main showroom. Smiling, Jake ushered him inside. The shop resembled a standard house layout inside and what would have been the lounge room was a veritable Aladdin’s cave of electric guitars. Through an archway to their left, Josh could see the back room was lined with acoustic guitars.
“Well, well, if it isn’t the legendary Jake Power,” called out an older man loudly, approaching through the archway. “It’s been a while, son.”
“Mike! Great to see you,” said Jake, embracing the older man with obvious affection. “This is my nephew, Josh.”
“Pleased to make your acquaintance, Josh,” greeted Mike formally.
“Mike was my first guitar teacher,” revealed Jake quietly to his nephew.
“And your best,” joked the older man with a hearty laugh. “Now, what can I do for you lovely gentlemen?”
“I’m looking for an acoustic guitar for this young man,” answered Jake. “Nothing too fancy. Narrow neck ideally. Nice warm tone.”
“Price bracket?”
“Seven. Seven fifty. Maybe a bit more.”
“Follow me,” said Mike, pointing towards the back room. “I’ve a few you can try out. Oh, Jake, I’ve one you might be keen to try.”
“What you got?”
“An old Gibson from the late 1940s. Picked it up last month at a house clearance in Maryland. Showed it a bit of love. Plays like a dream.”
“I’ll take a look,” agreed Jake, curious about the vintage instrument. “But, let’s get Josh sorted out first.”
It took them almost an hour but, after checking out several acoustic guitars, Jake made his final selection for his nephew, opting for a PRS SE Angelus acoustic. The youngster watched wide-eyed as his uncle haggled over the price tag and negotiated a hard case to be thrown into the deal as well as a discount of fifty dollars.
“Now, where’s this Gibson you mentioned?” asked Jake when they’d struck a deal.
“Grab a seat and I’ll bring her out,” replied Mike. “She’s not on show. She’s in the office.”
A few moments later, he returned and handed Jake a dark sunburst finish oversized acoustic guitar. Reaching into his pocket for a pick, Jake settled down to play. With a wink to Josh, he started with the song he’d been writing the night before then ran through a few others, a mix of Silver Lake tunes and various other rock classics.
“Nice. Very nice,” nodded Jake after he’d been playing for about forty-five minutes. “No history with it?”
“It came with the original case and receipt,” explained Mike. “But, as far as I can tell, it wasn’t owned by anyone special. Suspect it’s been bought back then for someone to learn on and then found its way into the attic. Looks like it has barely been played.”
“I could be tempted….”
“It’s been a long time since I’ve had a find like this,” commented Mike slowly. “Would like to see this old lady find a good home.”
“Ok, let’s talk money, Mike,” conceded Jake, running his hand lovingly over the guitar’s smooth finish.
Carrying the two guitars, Jake led his nephew back out to the truck. He sat both guitars safely on the back seat before taking his seat behind the
