Page 32 of If Not for My Baby
“So you can talk about Ireland all day long, but you’re famously private about your personal life. Does that add to the mythos, if you will? Is that a marketing strategy?”
My eyes cut to Jen. For as much as I find her callous and self-serving, she’s good at what she does. And the way she’s gripping her phone is telling me Joe’s tone is bothering her, too.
“Jesus, I wish I were that smart.” The audience laughs and I exhale a little. “I’m elated when folks know me through my music. That interpretation of me is far more exciting than anything else I have goin’ on.”
“But when asked about, let’s say, your romantic life, is there a reason you avoid those questions?”
Halloran twists his fingers into his palm. “I don’t think it necessarily helps people connect to the work, to know the intricacies of my—”
“Can I just ask you point-blank if you’re seeing anyone?” Joe presses. “Or if you’re recovering from heartbreak? This album seems to say so.”
“You know,” Halloran says coolly, “it’s something I’ve just chosen not to really speak on.”
“All right, all right,” Joe says, hands up in mock defense. My hackles rise at his tone. He’s making it sound like Halloran is being difficult.
“One song on your album, ‘Halcyon,’ is a tragic tale of a love lost. Can you tell us about the woman who inspired it? Was Halcyon her name?”
Halloran chuckles good-naturedly, but now that I’ve seen him really laugh—the way he practically glows when his joy radiates outward—I can tell this one is just masking irritation. “You may be disappointed to learn no person I dated directly inspired the song.Halcyonis actually a term that means—”
“Person!” Joe quirks a brow at the audience. “That’s something new, isn’t it? Is your fan base wrong to assume you’re straight?”
Jen rolls her eyes. “I’m going to string this fucker up by his balls.”
Eleven
I am not a Jen fan,but in this moment, I’d swear fealty to her. “I’ll help.”
“He’s just grilling him relentlessly.” Indy bites her nail. “Can we cut the interview early?”
Poor Lionel is sweating bullets. “It’s live TV. How would we even—”
But Jen shakes her head, eyes glued to the monitor. “Tom will be fine. And after, I’m going to make sure Joe Jennings never interviews another artist on the label for the rest of his life.”
While initially that doesn’t sound like much of a punishment, Halloran is signed with Sierra Records, the largest recording group in the industry. Being blackballed would likely be the end of Joe’s career. Go Jen.
“But this is why I always tell them to keep Tom off thegoddamnlive shows,” she snips. Her eyes are tight with fury, but there’s something else there. Concern?
Lionel pulls out his phone. “I’ll send a strongly worded email to the team.”
“Ah, sure, look,” Halloran says on the monitor. We all lean in just as he leans forward. He looks like he’s about to share something explosive. “Regardless of my sexual orientation, if you’re after intimacy advice, Joe, I’d be glad to help you out after the show. You needn’t suffer alone, mate.”
The crowd cackles and Joe’s porcelain demeanor cracks a smidge. Jen exhales audibly. Before Joe can open his mouth, Halloran moves back to the original question.
“In answer, ‘Halcyon’ is a nod to a Greek myth about a woman called Alcyone and the man she’s wed to, Ceyx. Ovid writes that the two were so fervently in love, Zeus himself—the king of the gods—had Ceyx killed out of envy. Alycone drowned herself rather than live another moment in a world without her husband. In guilt, Zeus turns them both into halcyon birds, which are known now as kingfishers.”
“Which is the name of the album,” Joe adds. Gold star for you, Joe, you absolute moron.
“Right. So the wordhalcyon, which means a time of idyllic peacefulness, actually comes from the thought that despite Alcyone and Ceyx’s punishment, they were at peace together in death. And there’s some catharsis in turning the tale on its head. Taking their lives, their story, and making it into folklore—a fable of devotion and acceptance.”
Joe frowns performatively for the audience. “Not a very joyful song, is it?”
My bloodboils. Not a veryjoyful song? Was he evenlistening?It’s a literary ballad spanning doomed love, memory, and metaphor. It covers everything from modern language to the stages of grief. How has this loser made a living interviewing people?
“I despise him,” Indy seethes.
“Same,” utters Lionel.
But Halloran just crosses his ankle over his knee and scratches at his beard thoughtfully. “Ehm,” he mutters, something I’ve noticed he says in place of the more Americanum. “I dunno, I guess not. It’s a tragedy, absolutely. But I’d like to think it’s hopeful, too. The whole—”
