Page 18 of Verses

Pedro’s earthy eyes gave away that he’d expected Wolf to jump on the offer, like he’d been a man lost in the desert dying for a drink of water. “Uh…how long you need?”

“Just give me till tomorrow. You guys have your hesitation about bringing me on board due to age, and I have the same hesitation. We’re from two different generations, fellas, and that can make for miscommunication, among other things.”

Although he had a point, I had my heart set on his joining. But I also found it hopeful that he wasn’t even mentioning his other sticking point—that of our band’s constant conflicts. I wondered if it was because we’d been having a rational conversation instead of a tense discussion.

“That’s more than fair,” Kyle said, uncharacteristically calm, rational, and thoughtful. Maybe having a guy like Wolf around would do far more good just by being a wiser influence. I imagined he’d been through all the pitfalls and bullshit we were making our way through—and had no interest in living that part of his life again.

Then again, maybe we could make him feel youthful, energized. The positives seemed to outweigh the negatives by far.

But no one had asked me.

“Shall we call it a night?” Kyle asked.

Pedro said, “You don’t wanna play?”

“Not yet.” Kyle was already standing, pulling his keys out of his front pocket. “Hayley, you good heading home on your own? I’m gonna go to Silver City.”

Jesus. And I’d been stupid enough to not wear a jacket. Plus I was still hungry. And, as much as I’d wanted to stick around soI could talk Wolf into accepting our offer…my preference was for him to decide free and clear, without my pushing or persuading. “Could you drop me off on your way out of town? At least close to the apartment?”

“We can take you, Hayl,” Adrian said.

“Thanks.” Kyle had barely spat out the word before he was practically rushing out the door. Maybe he’d made a few strides tonight, but he was still an asshole at heart.

“How long you staying?” I asked.

“I’m ready to hit the road now. Pedro?”

“Yeah. I can’t afford the beer on my salary. Thanks for buyin’, Hayley. The least we can do is take you home.”

Sliding off the stool, I said to Wolf, “Thanks for showing us your skills…and for thinking about it. I hope you sayyes.”

For the first time in a while, he smiled. “I’ll let you know tomorrow.” Then he gave me a wink…but I wasn’t sure what that meant.

Thinking about it kept me awake far later into the evening than it should have.

The next day,I was glad work kept me busy. Otherwise, I would have been antsy, worrying about what Wolf was going to decide. And when my minddidwander to that topic, I reminded myself that, even if he saidno, he could connect us to other people. One thing I knew about that man more than anything else was that he wouldn’t let us down. If he chose not to be our guitarist, he’d point us in the direction of someone else who might be interested.

But I hoped he agreed. After hearing him play the night before…I knew he was at least as good as Liam had been.

Maybe even better.

I’d never say that out loud, though. That would be sacrilege.

When I left work, I almost headed straight to The Apothecary, even though I knew Wolf wouldn’t be there for a while. The bar was open by now, but Wolf worked the evening shift. The guy who owned the place always opened up and served the people who’d barely made it through the night.

Why the hell did people go to the bar at noon?

Maybe because it didn’t open at nine.

That was an old Pedro joke, but there seemed to be a little truth to it. Twice we’d rehearsed when the bar unlocked its doors for the day, and both times a couple of people came in as soon as the doors were opened.

And theyweren’tthere for the pretzels. I’d confirmed that last night.

Still…I understood it on one level. Life was fucking hard—and if these folks had had it half as bad as what I’d experienced as a kid, I guessed they were just doing what they could to survive. That they were still upright was maybe testament to their instinct to stay on the planet however they could.

The people who came in the bar at night were a mixture of those kinds of folks and others who just wanted to unwind after a long day or hang out with friends. Once in a while, they were actually there to hear live music. Every now and then, a couple of people who came to the bar were folks I’d served earlier in the day at Early Rise.

Sometimes, like I’d tried last night to tell the guys—orKyleanyway—they weremyactual fans. When we weren’t practicing, I sang karaoke one or two nights a week at a little bar called Sal’s Place on Petroleum Street, just off Main. At first, I’d just figured everyone was taking a turn at the mike and having fun—but after regularly participating for over a year, I realized there were people who just watched and listened. And, as I got to knowtheir faces and saw them at The Apothecary off and on, I figured it out.

---