Page 28 of Wild Tonic
In the background, Clem could hear someone knocking on Nate’s door. She watched as he put a hand over his mouth, trying to stifle a chuckle.
“Yeah, give me a minute, Alik. I’ll be down in a few, fell asleep didn’t I?” Nate winked at her. “I guess I’m going to have to go.”
“Do you have to?” Clem pouted, not quite ready to end the call yet.
“I’ll see you soon. And we’ll recreate everything we’ve just done.”
“You’re still coming down to Westbourne Deane, aren’t you?”
“What? Yes, of course.” Nate seemed distracted, and Clem knew he didn’t remember her asking him about the Festival weekend. “And if you’re still awake later, maybe we can talk again?”
The smile that crept across her face was wide. “I’d love to.”
Chapter Eighteen
On the last night at The Blacker Lodge, Parker joined the band for a meal and a discussion about the new songs.
The past few days had been intense and Nate was knackered. Despite their differences, he and Alik managed to put them to one side and had come up with some mind-blowing material. With Richey and Dev’s contribution, the music was coming from the band as a whole and it sounded tighter and slicker than ever. Nate couldn’t wait for people to hear it.
They had escaped from the house to a country pub about a mile down the road, which had a reputation for good food. The Hatch Inn was an old-fashioned, nineteenth century building with all the character one expected of a pub in a small village. When they walked in, the bar fell silent and the few locals turned to look at them. After a beat, they all turned back and resumed whatever they were doing.
“We had the Rolling Stones here a few years ago,” said the barman, as they approached him. “Never know who you’re going to get. Looks like no-one was really bothered about you.” He laughed. “What can I get you?”
Nate took charge and got five beers, while Alik and the others went into the restaurant and found a table.
“I’ve heard rough cuts of the material,” began Parker, when Nate joined the group.
“Sounds ominous,” said Nate. He sat down next to his manager and took a huge slug of beer. After the effort they’d put in on the last session, he felt he deserved it. The buzz was still with him after putting down some incredible riffs.
“Not at all. I think you’ve got some formidable tracks there, at least three of which I think you should release as singles.”
“That’s good to hear, Parker,” said Alik. “Which ones do you think will work?”
“There’s one calledBig Periods of Nothingness. It’s got a totally awesome hook.”
Nate and Richey burst out laughing. The one song that had been written totally under the influence was the one that Parker thought was the best.
“Best not ask us how that came about,” said Nate, between breaths. “Alik did justice to the words though.” He looked over at his best friend, who nodded sagely at him.
The waitress came over. “Are you ready to order food yet?”
“Yeah, steak please.” Nate smiled and handed her the menu back.
“That bacon and cheeseburger looks the business.”
“And the chicken pie, please.”
They bombarded her with requests, changing up the sides and ordering extra chips and onion rings, none of them completely convinced they were going to get what they ordered.
“What happens after we finish here?” asked Alik, turning the conversation back on track once the waitress had gone back to the kitchen.
Parker picked up one of the olives that the waitress had left and chewed thoughtfully on it. “I think the guys can get on with editing, mixing and mastering what you’ve put down. They’ve done some arranging and tracking already. Then we can aim to get it in a state for release. I’ll get in touch with Olivia Cole and work out when we can do promo.”
“Are we touring it again?” asked Nate.
Parker nodded. “The last tour was a success, so if you wanted to do something low key again like that, I’m sure that can be arranged.”
“Low key sounds good,” said Alik. “And I know Caro’s keen for us to play at the reopening of The Roca Bar.”
