Lance
"Hey, are you guys still working?" Lance asked picking up his phone when Jonah called him back.
"We just wrapped up," Jonah said. "We're gonna watch a little bit of it just to make sure we got all we need, and I promised the crew dinner, but I think we're done shooting. I thought you were gonna come by."
"I was, but I didn't want to interfere while you were working."
"You wouldn't bother us," Jonah said. "It's your commercial. You could have been in the control room the whole time. There's one-way glass. We wouldn't have even known you were there."
"I talked to Dale earlier and he told me the same thing," Lance said. "But I didn't want to bother y'all. I was just calling to see how it went."
Jonah chuckled. "It's gonna be so classic, bro. I’m telling you, the guys really stepped it up, and Sidney's a natural. She's awesome. I'm gonna have fun with this one."
"That's great news," Lance said. "I can't wait to see it."
"You should come by," Jonah said. "I'm headed to pick up dinner for everybody, but I'll be back in a few, and you can watch a little of it with us. It's still rough, obviously, but it'll be fun, and you can see what we're working with."
"I might do that," Lance said, looking at his watch. "I'm on my way home from my sister's place, so I'm not far from the studio."
"I'll probably be another half-hour or so getting back, but you can go in without me. The studio's open. Sidney's still there with Trevor and Chris."
Lance was headed in the opposite direction of the studio, and he proceeded to turn into the first available driveway so that he could turn around.
"All right," he said. "I'll meet you up there."
"Sounds great, man. I’m stoked on it."
"Me too," Lance said.
He said goodbye to Jonah and hung up his phone before tossing it onto his passenger's seat. He was driving his Camaro, which meant he only had access to the radio. He turned it up, and found that the station he'd been listening to was airing a commercial, so he changed the dial until he heard some music. It was Easy by The Commodores. It wasn't a song that had been in heavy rotation with him in the past, but it sounded good, so he turned it up. Plus, it helped that it was a Sunday like the song was saying—it wasn't Sunday morning, but still, it was Sunday, and the slow groove of the song fit his mood.
The song only played for a minute or two more before it was over, and the next one that came on caused Lance to experience a yearning sensation. It was the Van Morrison song that he and Sidney had danced to at the wedding—Crazy Love. He turned it up. The song was a soundtrack to his memory of the dance they shared—the first day he had met her. He remembered it so vividly that he could almost feel her, smell her.
The windows in his Camaro were down and the wind whipped through the car as he drove. He felt like everything was right with the world as he listened to that song. He wasn't sure that he believed in signs, but if he did, that song coming on the radio would have definitely been one. He couldn’t wait to see Sidney. She had taken over his thoughts. He had seen his family for lunch earlier that day and they asked him a ton of questions about her.
When would they be done with the commercial?
When would they get to see it?
Were they dating?
When was she coming over again?
He told them the truth, which was that he didn't know the answer to any of those questions. Lance had dated some over the years, but it had been a while, and his family kept remarking about how they thought Sidney was different, special. There was no doubt in Lance's mind that she was special, but he played it cool with them, laughing it off and telling them they were getting ahead of themselves. The truth was, he was falling too hard and too fast for this girl. All the pieces were falling into place, including this dang song that had come on the radio, calling to his mind every feeling and sensation he had experienced during that dance. He wanted her so badly that he felt masculine urges like he wanted to find every other guy she had ever dated, or joked with, or talked to, and fight him.
He pulled up at the studio just as the song was ending. He couldn't help but smile. He was smiling at the timing of the song, and the sight of her car, and the fact that he would walk through those doors and see her again.
He went in through the control room. "Hello," he called. It was fairly dark in there, and his eyes had to adjust.
"Her husband was physical with her. I think he was with my cousins, too. My dad never hurt us, not physically, at least. He was mean, though. And cheated on my mom constantly. He finally left when I was in fourth grade."
Lance's heart dropped at the words. He would know Sidney's voice anywhere, but why in the world was she saying such things, and where was she? He thought, hoped, that this was some joke—some acting she was doing for whatever reason. Her voice was loud and clear in the control room, like he was listening to a recording of her.
"Hello?" he repeated.
Cautiously, he stepped further into the room peering into the studio through the window. Lance started to call out again, but he stopped himself when he came far enough into the room to catch sight of Sidney. She was sitting on a couch with a guy. They were looking at each other, and the sight of them instantly caused Lance to feel sick.
"I was thirteen when my dad finally left," the guy said, his voice loud and clear through the speakers in the control room, just like Sidney's had been. "But it was a relief. He drank, and he used to hit us or push us and not even remember it the next day. By the time I was thirteen, I started taking up for myself and the rest of us. I started fighting back. I guess that was more than the old man bargained for, and one day, he just up and left. My mom still blames me for it sometimes. She brings it up when she's feeling lonely. But if I hadn't done anything to stop him, he would have really hurt one of us one day."
"You did the right thing," Sidney said.
"You need to come talk to my mom about that," he said, laughing a little. "She still romanticizes him… like I chased off her prince charming or something."
Lance came further into the room—closer to the window. Sidney was sitting with a guy named Trevor—Lance had met him once before. They were on a plaid couch that lined the wall of the studio. There was about a foot or so of space separating them, but they were too close for Lance's comfort. Trevor had his arm on the back of the couch and his legs shifted toward Sidney, smiling at her as they talked. Sidney had her feet on the couch and was curled up in a ball, hugging her knees and looking at Trevor.
The two of them were way too comfortable. They obviously had no idea he was there. Lance wasn't trying to sneak around or go unnoticed, but they couldn’t hear or see him. He looked around, trying to understand how he could hear them so clearly and then he realized the lights on the control board were on, which must have meant the microphones were too.
"He wasn't a prince," Sidney said to him. "Not if he hurt you guys."
"I know he wasn't," Trevor said. "But if you catch my mom in one of her nostalgic moods, she'll swear he was."
"My mom gets nostalgic about my dad, too."
"Has she been with anyone else?" Trevor asked.
"A few times, very rarely. She or Aunt Regina will go on a date here and there. But really, I think they're both just content being single. Aunt Regina said she had her eye on this guy who just started working with her at Waffle House, but she'll probably never even go out with him."
"That's your mom's sister?" he asked.
"Yep."
"They live together?"
"Yep."
"How long has that been the case?"
"Forever, it seems. She moved in with us not long after my dad left. That was back in Cutler Bay."
"Did your cousins move in, too?"
Sidney nodded. "That was a crazy time. It was a tiny, three-bedroom place. One minute, me and Brandon had our own rooms, and the next, my aunt is moving in with her two kids. I had to share a room with my brother. I stated off trying to share with my cousin, Brandy, but that didn’t work out."
"Is she a mean person?" Trevor asked. Only he used a profane word in the place of 'mean person'—one that could describe a woman who isn't nice.
That made Sidney laugh nervously. "Yeah, we didn't get along," she said. "I tried, but she's got problems. I felt bad for her because of how her dad was, but I was better off sharing a room with my brother. Brandon and I both got out of there the day we turned eighteen."
"What'd you do?" Trevor asked.
"Moved to Miami. Went to college. I got scholarships and moved into the dorms."
"And look at you now, Miss High School Teacher." He smiled and reached out to pinch or poke her. "You should be proud of yourself."
"I am," she said.
"I got out the minute I turned eighteen, too," Trevor said, decorating the sentence with a few more cuss words. "I'm the only one in my family who's making it," he said.
"Do the rest of them ask you for money?" Sidney asked.
"I pay for my mom's cell phone, but that's only because she wasn't gonna get one otherwise. She kept calling me until I finally broke down and got her one. Now she texts." He laughed. "It's a small price to pay." He paused, but when Sidney didn't say anything right away, he continued. "I got money, but I'm not rolling in it, you know? I can't just walk around passing out hundreds. Every once in a while, I'll give my mom or one of my little brother's a little cash. They always say it's a loan, but it never is."
Sidney laughed and shook her head like she knew exactly what he was talking about.
"Why don't you let me take you out sometime?" Trevor asked, out of nowhere.
Lance had seen him staring at Sidney the whole time, but he was gazing extra hard as she laughed just then. Lance was already completely thrown off by the intimate conversation they were having, but his palms instantly began sweating when that proposition was made. His hands balled into fists, his jaw clinched, and the muscles in his temple flexed. He felt like he was in real danger of picking up a chair and throwing it through that window, just to get their attention—to stop this conversation.
"Come on," Trevor said, smiling and nudging her. "Let me take you out to dinner."
Sidney was curled up in a ball, so she teetered when he pushed at her. She smiled at the feeling of being off balance, but quickly her face fell like she was contemplating something. She stared at the space in front of her with a serious but otherwise unreadable expression.
"It won't hurt you to let me buy you dinner. You know you're short on cash, anyway, after giving it all to your mom the other day."
He was teasing her, and she gave him a little smile, but she still seemed to be lost in thought. "I'm sorry, Trevor, I didn't mean to… I'm uh, I'm actually seeing someone."
Lance's heart began to race, and he felt a flood of relief.
"Who is he?" Trevor asked with narrowed eyes, teasing her like he was gonna find the guy and teach him a lesson. Lance was primed and ready to burst in there and fight the guy.
"His name's Nick," Sidney said hesitantly. "He lives in, uh, Cutler Bay."
A sharp, stabbing sensation happened in Lance's chest. It was as if a sharp object had actually penetrated his body. He winced at the pain.
"Hey man," he heard from behind him.
Startled, Lance turned. He expected to see Jonah, but it was someone else. The drummer. Chris, maybe.
"Hey," Lance said. He couldn't manage a smile, but at least he didn’t turn over the table like he wanted to do.
"Lance, right?" the guy said.
"Yeah," he answered, turning to leave.
He would have walked right out the door without another word, but as he crossed the room, the guy said, "Did you come to watch?"
"Oh, yeah, but I can't stay," Lance said vaguely as the two guys switched places, Lance heading for the door.
"Is that your Camaro out there?" Chris asked.
"Yeah," Lance said, forcing a little smile as he reached out for the door and held it open. He gave the guy a wave with his other hand. "Thanks for all your work on the project," he said. "I'm excited about it."
"Oh, thank you," Chris said. "I've really been enjoying it." He was going to say more, something about how much he liked that Camaro, but Lance seemed to be in a hurry, so he just turned and made his way into the studio to meet the others.