Page 70 of The River in Spring
Her hand reaches for mine.
“Yes. Of course. I’m sorry,” I say, spinning my index finger around my temple. As if she didn’t figure out I’m crazy already. “I’m Dove. We’re Montana, this is Jimmy and Tony. Oscar and ZZ.”
She makes eye contact with each person and they exchange the pleasantries.
“Oh! You’re the ones who booked my favorite room tomorrow.”
She raises a fist in a comical stance.
“We did?” Jimmy says.
Now I watch her put something interesting together.
“Or maybe someone booked it for you?”
None of us know what to say, but she expertly reads the room and puts what she knows together.
“There’s talk about your song. But don’t say it came from me,” she says, walking away with a backwards wave. “Good luck, y’all.”
I feel my nails digging into Tony’s bare arm.
“Ow! Fuck, Dove. I need this one!”
“Sorry. Oh my God, that just happened!”
“We’re here to see Arthur James,” Jimmy says to the young, hip receptionist.
I expect a nonchalant attitude, but she surprises me.
“Hi. Welcome! Mr. James is ready to see you. Through the double doors to your right.”
It’s like a scene in a television show. The naïve talent stands nervously, ten steps away from another world.
“Tell me about it,” Nobel says across the miles.
It’s early. Watching the morning sunlight stream through the blinds of the hotel room, I’m still in bed.
“Oh it was everything we have ever dreamed about. Baby, I almost started crying.”
“That’s so exciting. What did he say?”
I sit up against the headboard and cross my legs.
“He said our song is really good. My little songwriter heart practically stopped. We were all like that. But today we’re going to rerecord it. It’s so exciting to think we are going to be in this famous, first class studio, with the pros. The mixing, the equipment, the guidance. It’s all so far above what we have experienced before.”
“What about that Archangel guy? Did you meet yet?”
“No. He’ll be there this afternoon. We are nervous about impressing him, but if Arthur’s right, it’s already a done deal.”
“Sounds like this Arthur is a pretty straightforward guy. What’s your general impression?”
“That’s exactly what he is. At least that’s how it seems now. He was cool with Deborah, who he immediately figured out. She didn’t try to oversell her talents, and he didn’t undervalue her good sense and natural abilities. He wasn’t talking down to her, just because her exposure to this level is nil.”
“That’s impressive.”
“I think he reads people really well.”
“It sounds like you are on your way. I’m so happy for you, Dove.”
