Hallelujah Ch. 09

I groan. "What time is it?"

"It's two."

"In the morning?"

She giggles. "No, honey. I know you probably haven't slept long, but there are a few messages on the answering machine I think you need to hear."

"So play them. No way am I getting out of this bed."

The hide-away shifts as her weight leaves it, and a second later I hear the beep of the answering machine.

"Mr. Currie, this is John Kennedy calling in regards to our mutual friend Teddy Fields." I recognize the thick-tongued voice instantly. I suppose this is my official kiss-off. "We're all just as sorry as can be for your loss, son," he says. I almost believe him. "And Teddy wants to know when you'll be ready to get back to the studio. He's still itching to make this record, and...uh...we still think you're the guy for the job. Call me back when you get into town, and we'll look at scheduling it. You have my number."

I sit up, wide awake now.

"What the fuck?" I blink uncomprehendingly at the machine. "Did I hear that right?"

"I don't know," Jasmine shrugs. "But it sounds good, doesn't it? Listen to the next one."

She pushes the button again, and Bennie Rich comes coasting out through the speaker. "Jake, this is Bennie. Call me. Soon. Before you call Kennedy." A pause, like he wants to say something more. "Bye."

I shake my head. "What the fuck is going on?"

Jasmine shrugs again.

Pushing up, I go to the phone and dial Blackbird. A familiar airy voice answers on the second ring. "Blackbird Studio. Jennifer speaking."

"Hey, Jennifer. It's Jake Currie. Do you know what's going on?"

She breathes out through her mouth. "I don't. But I know that Bennie was trying to reach you. He's out of the office right now, but he said if you called to ask you to meet him in his office tomorrow morning at eight o'clock. Can you do that?"

"Sure. I guess. But I don't get what-"

"Sorry, Jake. I have another call coming in. See you tomorrow!" She clicks off.

I stare at the phone a minute, then hang up. Well, I'm not entirely sure what all is up, but maybe I'm making a record after all. If that's the case, it doesn't change my plans. It only postpones them.

Speaking of plans, Jasmine comes up behind me and wraps her arms around my stomach. "What'd you find out?" she asks.

"Nothing," I admit. "Jaz, I think I've made some decisions, and I need to talk to you about them."

"Sure," she says, slipping away from me and leaning against the kitchen counter. "I was wondering if you were going to tell me what all the thinking was about."

"Yeah," I look over at her. She's relaxed, happy, and gorgeous. "What I was-"

There's a knock at the front door.

With an apologetic look, she goes to answer it. Buck is standing there with two bottles of wine. His clothes are looking pretty dirty, and he looks like he spent the whole morning sweating.

"Would you two mind joining me for a drink?" he asks.

"Now might not be the best time," I admit.

"Now might be the last time," he says. "I'd sure like it if you would say yes."

Jasmine and I look at each other. She shrugs. "Yes," she says.

So we sit out on the deck and drink. My moment will have to wait.

"Why is this the last time?" I ask.

"I'm moving. I have moved, actually. Everything I own is in a U-Haul over at my friend's house. All that's left is to hand over the keys and do the walk-through."

"That was fast. What happened?"

"Got a job offer. A good one, in Minneapolis."

"Yikes. Going cold weather, eh?" He nods. "Better you than me, I guess. What kind of work is it?"

He shrugs. "Doesn't really matter what kind. But it's more IT work. Boring ass, mind-melting, check-cashing IT work."

"What about your wine?"

"The two dentists can manage without me. I'm not much of a financial contributor these days, so they really will only be losing a small amount of manual labor. Nothing they can't survive without."

Jasmine tilts her head. "But what about YOU? Can you still do that up in Minneapolis?"

He scrunches up his face. "It'll be a challenge. I'll never have such a good thing as I had going here, I guess. It'll never be as easy to get grapes, and they'll never be as nice. I'll be pretty limited in what I can make, and I won't be making as much. But I can still hack it, I guess."

"I'm gonna be real sorry to see you go," I admit. "I'd hate to think where I'd be right now if I didn't have you looking out for me."

"Yeah, well," he looks uncomfortable, "I'll be telling stories about Jake Currie until the day I die. You can count on that."

"When you tell them, make me sound like a bodybuilder."

"I was thinking more like a midget wrestler." He smiles. "Bald, too."

We lapse into silence. Later, as the last of the wine is consumed, we shake hands and say our goodbyes. I watch him walk down to his car, one more person I don't know anymore.

And then Jasmine Knox, the only person left in my life, turns to me and smiles.

"What did you want to tell me, before?"

*

If you're reading this as it's being published on the site, then this is where I apologize and warn you that the last two chapters (which will appear together, since they're each likely to be no longer than this one was) won't be up for a week or more. I know what happens in them, but I haven't written a damn word yet. This being the holidays, my time is simply not my own.

Fortunately, this being the holidays, you should be too drunk to care for the next week anyway.