“I’ve put him to bed,” said Lori as she entered the kitchen.
“Without dinner?”
“Without dinner. He’s almost asleep already. Screamed himself to a standstill,” sighed Lori wearily. “That kid’s hard work.”
“He sure is,” agreed Jake, wrapping his arms around her. Inhaling her floral fragrance, he whispered, “You smell good, li’l lady.”
“So do you,” whispered Lori, snuggling into his chest. “Is Melody alright?”
“She’s writing that sheet up again,” replied Jake. “She’s still upset but she’ll be ok.”
“Poor kid. She’d had such a good day,” sighed Lori as the timer “pinged”.
“So school was a success?”
“Seemed to be,” began Lori as she moved to stop the timer and turn everything off. “She bounced out of class full of stories. All I’ve heard all afternoon is Miss Wade this and Miss Wade that.”
“All your worrying was for nothing then?”
“Yes,” conceded Lori with a smile.
After their spaghetti bolognese dinner, Jake spent half an hour with Melody giving her a guitar lesson before Lori interrupted them, declaring it was bedtime.
While she took the little girl inside, Jake continued to play. He still had a final verse of the song from earlier to finish. Some of the lyrics had come to him during dinner and he was keen to get them down before he forgot them.
The sun had set by the time he was happy with the final verse. Closing over his lyrics journal, Jake sat listening to the waves breaking on the beach. At the end of the day that rhythmic rush of water was one of his favourite sounds. Half-heartedly, he began picking out a few notes on his guitar, subconsciously trying to replicate the natural rhythms he was listening to.
“That’s nice,” commented Lori as she came out to join him.
“Just messing about.”
“Sounded like the ocean or rain,” mused Lori. “I’ve a couple of hours work to do. Jason sent me through a couple of new commissions. Oh, and Garrett mailed me to ask if I’d do his artwork.”
“Don’t take on too much,” cautioned Jake, knowing all too well what a workaholic his wife was.
“I won’t,” promised Lori. “I’ll take on Garrett’s but I’m not sure about one of the commissions Jason sent through. I want to review it fully though before I turn it down.”
Jake nodded, “I’ll stay out here for a bit. I’ve half an idea I want to work on.”
“Don’t stay out here too late,” cautioned Lori. “You’re on the school run in the morning.”
When Jake pulled into JJL next morning he was surprised to discover he was the first to arrive.
“Morning!” he called out as he walked into the studio’s spacious lounge.
“Morning, Jake,” called back Dr Marrs. “Head in. I’ll be with you in ten. Got a call to make.”
The air in the live room was cooler than usual and Jake shivered as he walked across to where he’d left his guitars the day before. Picking up his acoustic, he settled himself on a stool and began to play the song he’d been working on the night before. Inspired by the rhythm of the ocean, he’d written a ballad about shutting out the chaos of the world around them and focussing on its natural rhythms. He’d tentatively called it Nature’s Heartbeat.
“That got any lyrics yet?” called through the band’s producer half an hour later.
“Some,” revealed Jake. “I’ll finish them at home tonight.”
“Fine,” agreed Dr Marrs. “Get it on the board.”
“Without the others hearing it?”
“Add it,” instructed the producer bluntly. “That fucking board needs all the help it can get!”
“Guess it does,” admitted Jake. “Still a bit to come up with.”
“Sure is and we need it fast, Mr Power.”
As he scrawled the new song title onto the next free line, Jake asked, “Did you find anything else in Rich’s files?”
“A fair bit. I’ll run over my thoughts when the others get here.”
“Ok,” said Jake, putting the lid back on the marker pen. “How many more do you want us to come up with?”
“Eight. Preferably ten. Gives us plenty to work with,” replied Dr Marrs. “Paul mentioned something he had and Grey said he’s got a couple of ideas to bring to the party.”
“Could we add in a couple of live tracks?” suggested Jake, concerned at the number of songs still required.
“We could if we had them.”
“I thought we recorded the Baltimore show?”
“We did. Well, most of it. Jason has a plan for it. Fan EP or something. Maddy said she’d mail me this week about it.”
“Guess I’m pulling a few all-nighters on this.”
“Looks like it, Mr Power.”
Midnight had come and gone and Jake was still working down in the basement. When he’d arrived home from JJL, he’d taken Jesse for a long walk along the beach before dinner in an effort to wear him out then, after a relaxed and, for once, peaceful family meal, he’d spent an hour with Melody and her guitar. Compared to the night before, it had been almost a perfect evening. Both kids had gone to bed without complaint. Lori, too, had said she was worn out and was having an early night. Leaving his family to sleep, Jake had headed down into the basement, hoping to come up with something to add to the whiteboard in the morning.
He looked up from the desk where he’d been wrestling with some lyrics that he was trying to tie into one of the pieces of music Rich had left behind. A movement in the far corner of the room caught his eye. The small desk lamp was casting shadows around the cluttered desk. Pausing for a moment, Jake gazed into the dark corner of the room where he thought he’d seen something. With a smile, he realised that it had
