Chapter 33
Darren
Leah and I left the studio together. I had Bo’s leash in one hand, and a memory card in the other. She locked the doors behind us, and I held the memory card out for her to take from me.
“You promise you’ll give it to her?” I asked as she accepted the memory card.
“I’ll give it to her as soon as I see her.”
Within the digital sandbox that resided in that memory card sat a gift, from me to Bailey. It was made directly from my heart, and it felt just as right as it had been getting in the car and driving to Memphis.
“Thank you so much,” I told Leah.
“You’re welcome, Darren,” she said. “And, don’t worry—she’s going to love it.”
As I watched Leah drive off from the studio, Bo and I got back in the Focus, and I considered our next move.
“I could just call Bailey,” I thought out loud. “Crash with Leah or get a hotel— wait till Bailey gets back. Or, we could just drive on back to Rome at the speed of sound and hope we catch her before she comes back to Memphis. She’s probably staying the night at her father’s place, anyway.”
I quickly texted Garrett.
So, you aren’t going to believe this. Apparently, Bailey flew back to Rome when I was driving here to Memphis. It’s insane. I’m heading back to Rome now. I’m hoping I can catch her before she comes back to Memphis.
I didn’t receive a response from Garrett until a few hours later, just as we were driving through Birmingham.
Cool. Hey come by Chelsea’s before you go home.
I’ve got Bo in the car with me.
Oh, shit yeah. Drop Bo off then come to Chelsea’s.
Once I got back into Rome, I did exactly that. I dropped Bo off at the house, let him do his business, put him inside, and I went right to Chelsea’s. I felt tired; the hours were catching up, making my eyes heavy and my cares diminished.
I parked beside Garrett’s car and found him near our usual seats inside. He was polishing off a pitcher of beer, ushering the bartender over as he saw me approach.
“Two fire torpedoes,” Garrett ordered.
“You trying to get me all liquored up so you can have your way with me?” I asked, hitting him lightly on the shoulder.
“I want to buy you drinks, so you don’t get mad or weirded out by what all I have to talk to you about,” said Garrett.
“By ‘all you have to talk to me about’?” I asked with concern.
“It’s about this whole fairy tale thing you’ve been writing with this chick,” he said with slurs interlaced in his speech. “I became a secondary character in it earlier today.”
To say I was puzzled would’ve been an understatement. “Okay. How so?”
“Bailey was here earlier,” Garrett said.
“Yeah, no shit,” I said in annoyance. “I told you that earlier.”
“What I was going to say next was that I saw her earlier today,” he said.
I shut my mouth, immediately brainstorming at a rapid pace on what she and he said to each other.
“Did she go by Mel’s today looking for me?” I asked.
“That’s exactly what she was doing,” he confirmed. “She came back to Rome, looking for you, and of course you weren’t here. She had a lot of questions about you and her and your love for each other.”
“Oh, Lord,” I said, laughing uncontrollably.
“I’m glad you think it’s funny, because I totally sold you out, man,” said Garrett. “I told her how much you loved her. I admitted so much shit to her—totally stole your thunder. I don’t know what I was thinking. She was bumming so hard, and wanted to know if you really loved her.”
“Garrett, bro, I’m not mad!” I reassured him.
“You’re not?”
“Dude, I’m just happy to hear that she came back to Rome for me,” I said like a fool in love. “I wish I could’ve seen her, but I’m sure we’ll find a way back to each other soon enough.”
“Bailey totally panicked when I told her you’d texted and said you were coming back home,” said Garrett. “Should I not have told her you were coming back? I didn’t know what the right thing to do was.”
“Dude, don’t worry about it,” I said, slapping him lovingly on the shoulder.
“Man, you may have been right all these years,” he conceded. “You two might be made for each other after all.”
“I’m glad you finally see it that way,” I said.
“I said you might be right,” he underlined. “Bro, stop this game of tag y’all are playing and put a ring on that girl’s finger, or something!”
“I can’t get a read on you, Garrett!” I shouted. “One minute you think I need to let things be and get back to business. Sometimes you think I should just move right the hell out of Georgia. One day you’re saying I should just hookup with her, the next you’re saying she’s my soul mate. What do you really think?”
“I think you guys should do what makes you happy,” he replied. “I think there’s no harm in trying something real with each other and seeing where it takes you. Yeah, y’all might break up. So, what? Does that mean you’re never going to try being in a relationship ever again?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t really want to do the casual thing anymore, but you’re afraid to try a committed relationship,” he surmised. “You’re telling me you’d be happier being alone?”
“I don’t mind being alone,” I said honestly.
“I know you can do it, but are you truly happy?” he asked. “I know you’ve got a routine that you enjoy, and you’ve got Bo, but is that enough to make you happy?”
“What did you and her talk about?” I asked, ensuring that he stayed on topic.
“We talked about a lot,” he said. “A lot of it was just a sappy session on love. We tried figuring out how you two could compatibly date.”
“Wonderful,” I remarked.
“She really wants you guys to be together,” said Garrett. “That’s why y’all have to stop playing these games with each other. The time for games has passed. Things are different now. You can probably live anywhere in the world you want, and you could probably start a career in music like you used to want. And, you’d do it all with the girl you’ve been obsessed with since I’ve known you. Does that not sound fucking great, man? What’re you wasting your time here in Rome for? Come back to visit sometimes. You’ll always have a place to stay with me. You’re supposed to do great things, Darren. And, that girl is really into you, and she’s successful, hot, and you both get along better than any guy and girl I’ve ever known.”
“I can’t live in Memphis,” I said.
“Don’t live in Memphis!” he yelled. “You’re not listening to me! You two could live anywhere! Mel will write you a great recommendation if you want a job like what you’ve got now. If not, you could finally put all that musical talent of yours to good use.”
“You know, I have to admit. I’m not sure how much fun I’d have at a different A/C place,” I said. “You’re really the one that’s kept me at this job the longest.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, I’ve stayed at Mel’s because I love being able to work with my best friend,” I said. “I’d probably be happy working anywhere as long as we both did it, you know? We’ve worked at like three of the same places together, and they didn’t seem like boring pits. Mostly because we made it fun, you know what I mean?”
“Yeah, man, I feel the same way,” said Garrett.
Then, I had an epiphany. I didn’t enjoy my job because it was fulfilling and what I wanted to do. I enjoyed it because I got to work with someone I loved and respected.
I thought about writing music with Bailey, and working every day together at her studio or any studio, and how I’d be working with someone I deeply loved and greatly respected.
“You know what?” I said. “Moving wouldn’t be so bad after all. It would be risky, scary—”
“Hell, yeah man,” he agreed. “There ain’t no shame in admitting that. It’d be weird if you weren’t scared.”
“You’d have to come and visit me,” I said. “At least twice a year, no matter where I might end up.”
“We’ll figure it out,” said Garrett. “Even if some time passed, we’ve got phones and computers. We’ll be fine, man.”
We shook hands, doing a drunken version of an old handshake we used to do sometimes in school. It was that handshake that sealed my fate.
I sat in bed with Bo, aimlessly plucking the strings on my guitar.
I thought about how strange it would be to sell my house and leave Rome behind. I would miss it, but I knew that I would miss Bailey so much more if I chose to not have her in my life. I was without her for six years, and even at the height of my happiness, I was leading a half-life.
I imagined Bailey and I picking out a house together, with a big tree out in the front and back, and grass as green as it could be. I would look out back and see one of my children climbing the tree, similarly to how Bailey and I used to do as kids.
I thought about standing on a spectacular stage with Bailey, playing songs together and singing in perfect harmony. I imagined what different holidays would be like together, and how amazing it would be to get to do everything together with my closest friend.
I considered getting back in the car and going to Memphis again, but I held off. It was torture to practice patience with how anxious I was, but I took a deep breath and relaxed.
I leaned over and pet Bo. “We’ll see Bailey again soon, Bo. One day soon.”