Scott:

A week later, Zane and I finally talk about the future of Evolving Whistle, and we both agree. If the choice is between Nina and the band, we’re both going to pick Nina. No contest, not even close.

But Evolving Whistle isn’t just the two of us. Andy and Jeremy need to weigh in too.

We’re deliberately not including our manager Chris Muller in this meeting. The guy’s going to have a coronary at our decision, but that’s life. He keeps pushing us, telling us that we’re on the verge of signing with a major record label, but I’m a realist, and I know how low the odds are of that happening. Chris has been saying the same thing to us for the last five years, and by pushing us on tour after grueling tour, he’s become very rich.

In the last two weeks, I’ve been happier than I’ve been in the last twenty years. I’ve found my long-missing muse. I’m more creative. The music feels effortless and fun, not the relentless drudgery it’s been ever since Nina left us.

Zane and I are incredibly lucky; we found Nina again. A second chance is a rare thing, and we’re not going to squander it.

What about Nina? A voice in the back of my head prods me. She’s never come out and said that she wants a second chance too.

I dismiss that voice. Nina might not have said those words, but her actions speak louder than her words. The night we ate Chinese food at her place, last Saturday at the Merry Cockatoo, earlier this week when she spent all night with us—these things tell us all we need to know.

Jeremy and Andy arrive at one on Sunday afternoon. “How are your parents doing?” Andy asks Zane, as we settle down on the couches and turn on the TV to watch the football game. “Has your mom forgiven your dad yet?”

“I think they’re doing better,” Zane replies. “Of course, they’re on vacation right now. The real test is when they get back home.”

I open a couple of bags of chips and set a six-pack of beer on the coffee table. Andy reaches for one, but Jeremy shakes his head. “I’m not drinking,” he replies. “Do you have any soda?”

“There are a couple of cans of Coke in the fridge,” I reply. “I thought you guys were sticking around all afternoon. There’s plenty of time for you to sober up before you head back on the road.”

“Nah, that’s not it.” Jeremy takes a deep breath. “I need to tell you guys something,” he says, with a resolute expression on his face. “I have a drinking problem.”

Andy, Zane, and I exchange glances. I don’t think any of us know what to say next. “You do?” Zane asks after a long pause.

“Yeah.” Jeremy opens the can of Coke and tips it down his throat. “In public, I had pretty strict rules,” he says. “I had a two-drink limit, and I tended to stick to beer. But after the shows, in the privacy of my motel room, when there wasn’t anyone around, I was polishing off a half-bottle of bourbon a night.”

“Damn.” Andy’s voice is astonished. “We never knew.”

“I’m a high-functioning drunk,” Jeremy says wryly. “But I’m a drunk nonetheless. I’ve woken up in the middle of the night covered in puke. I started placing a bucket at the side of the bed, every single night I was on the road so that I wouldn’t destroy the bedding. I was a fucking mess, but I was brilliant at pulling it together by the morning. I was great at keeping it a secret.”

He looks squarely at Zane. “For the first time in five years, I’ve spent two weeks sleeping in the same bed,” he says. “It’s been good for me, Zane. For five years, I’ve told myself that Evolving Whistle was the most important thing in my life, but it’s not. My grandfather was an alcoholic who used his wife and kids as a punching bag. My entire family has a deeply troubled relationship with booze. I’m going to do whatever it takes to make sure I’m not another Knox statistic.”

He gives Zane a steady look. “I’m not going to go on tour to Asia this winter,” he says. “No matter what Chris says. In fact, I’m quitting the band.”

“What Asia tour?” I ask blankly. “We told Chris to cancel it.”

Andy frowns. “Are you sure? I talked to him two days ago. He told me it was a go, and I’d be letting everyone down if I didn’t cooperate.”

Jeremy nods. “Yeah, he said the same thing to me.”

“Is this what you think this meeting is about?” Zane demands. “You thought we were going to discuss the tour?”

“Yeah,” they both reply, both with identical unhappy expressions on their faces. “I love you, man,” Andy adds, “but I can’t do it. I’m with Jeremy; I want to quit. I know this is going to sound like sacrilege, but I don’t give a fuck anymore.”

“That’s not why I called you,” Zane says. His voice is tight with anger. “Chris lied to you. Like Scott said, we told him Asia was a no-go. I don’t know why he would tell you we were on board.”

“I do,” Andy says. “I mean, come on. Let’s just call a spade a spade, okay? Chris has pulled this kind of shit before. Divide and conquer, that’s his style. And it’s not just the four of us. Remember that tour extension two years ago? He told Nina it was all arranged, even though he hadn’t cleared it with you, and she snapped. I’m pretty sure that’s why she left.”

“You knew why Nina left?” I glare at Andy, my hands clenching into fists. I thought Andy was my friend, goddamnit. How could he conceal this from us? “Why didn’t you tell us?”

He meets my angry gaze squarely. “Because though it was the wrong reason, it was the right result. Nina was miserable on the road, Scott. You were too fucking stubborn to see it, and Zane was too busy chasing the dream to pay attention.” He takes a long sip of his beer. “And I was right, wasn’t I? Neither of you cared enough to go after her.”

“Enough.” Zane’s voice is hard. “We all fucked up in a thousand different ways. I can’t go back and fix the past, but I can learn from my mistakes.” He gives Andy a steady look. “Chris is your cousin,” he says. “I’d have fired him years ago if it weren’t for that.”

“I wish you’d talked to me,” Andy replies unhappily. “I thought you kept Chris around because you liked the rock star lifestyle. He was getting us bookings, and you were chasing the dream.”

“I don’t know what I was doing.” Zane has a frustrated look on his face. “I never had a moment to think. There was always something to do.”

“That wasn’t an accident, was it?” Jeremy says. “Chris kept us busy for a reason. Had we talked to each other, we would have realized we were all miserable.”

Jeremy’s hit the nail on the head.

“Why did you call us today?” Andy asks. “If it wasn’t for Asia, what was it for?”

I exchange another glance with Zane. “Nina lives in New Summit,” I admit. “In the last two weeks, we’ve, uh, reconnected.”

There’s a big grin on Jeremy’s face. “Fucking like rabbits, you mean,” he mutters under his breath. “How she doing?”

“Really great,” Zane beams. “She owns a bar called the Merry Cockatoo. It’s busy all the time. She’s killing it.” He looks around at the three of us. “You’re my friends,” he says quietly. “I should have seen that you were miserable. I’m sorry I didn’t.”

“What now?” I ask. “Jeremy wants out. Andy too.”

Zane looks calmer than I expect him to. “I think the answer is clear,” he replies. “We’re done.” He lifts his bottle of beer toward us. “We had a good run of it,” he says.

Andy is burned out. Jeremy has a drinking problem. We lost the woman we loved. The price of fame is too high, and we’re done paying.

I tip my bottle against his. “To Evolving Whistle,” I say. “To the end of an era.” I think of Nina’s green eyes, and I add, “And the start of another.”

“Chris isn’t going to like this,” Andy warns. “He’s going to try to change our minds.”

I smile grimly. “Let him try.”