Page 93 of Only After We Met
You could hear Alexa and the presenter laugh.
“You weren’t so uncertain, right, Alexa?”
“Not at all. I knew when I heard the material, I had something big. Rhys is modest, but he obviously has talent, and this is just the beginning. There’s much more to come.”
“How do you guys get along?”
“Great, great.” Alexa’s enthusiasm kept striking me as excessive. Everything for her seemed to befascinating, amazing, incredible,and she always drew her words out to give them more emphasis. “Working with him is so easy. And we had a connection right away, didn’t we, Rhys? Now we’re basically inseparable.”
“She’s kidnapped me,” Rhys joked, and she laughed.
“You’re clearly very close. What are your future plans?”
“Right now, we’re just focused on promotion. Next Saturday, we have a show at Club Havana. After that…” Alexa lowered her voice to sound more interesting. “Let’s just say it’s a secret, right, Rhys?” Another stupid giggle. “But most likely we’ll soon be confirming our dates at a very well-known festival. That’s all I can say for now.”
“You’re clearly keeping busy!”
“We sure are,” Alexa replied.
“One last thing. Before we say goodbye with “Edges and Scars” one more time, I’d like to ask you both one question: What is success for you?”
“Success is fulfilling your dreams, reaching your goals.”
“What about for you, Rhys?”
“Success…” I could hear the uncertainty in his voice. “I guess it comes when you learn who you are and you can be faithful to that.”
There was a brief silence before the presenter spoke again, overdoing it with the enthusiasm, telling his listeners goodbye and putting on the track. I listened to the first chords, but then I turned it off. I was thinking about what Rhys had said. In his words were secrets, pain, longing. No matter how relaxed he seemed, I knew he’d had to drag those words up from the depths.
47
From: Rhys Baker
To: Ginger Davies
Subject: Congratulations!
Happy birthday, Ginger Snap! Sorry I’ve been away so much lately. I’ve been busy. How are things? What are you up to today? Sorry I couldn’t give you the present you deserved this year. I finally decided to go home. I’ll spend Christmas Day with my mom since my dad won’t be around; he’s got an important business trip. I hope I don’t feel weird just dropping in after three years away.
Tell me about you, Ginger. How does twenty-three feel? How are things at work? Is Dean still going out with that chick?
Kisses (lots of them, for real).
48
Rhys
There are places that have a certain kind of light. This occurred to me as I parked in front of the home where I grew up. The winter sun struggled to pierce the sky in Tennessee, and when I looked up, I had to squint. It was cold. I knew that cold. It seeped into my bones.
I walked slowly up the sidewalk. I had a knot in my throat. My mind was a blank as my feet led me up the front stairs and I rang the doorbell. My mother opened up. Her sweet aroma enveloped me, her trembling arms; she seemed to think I’d vanish if she let me go. Her voice whispered in my ear: “I’m so, so happy to see you…”
She trembled as she stood back to look at me. “Rhys... You’re so handsome. You’ve lost some weight. But still handsome.” The words seemed to stick in her throat, and she made me follow her to the kitchen, which was huge with flawless white cabinets and our breakfast table set with a bowl of fruit and flowers from the garden.
“You look good,” I said. “Pretty.”
My mother managed a thin smile before turning around and glancing at the oven, which was giving off a delicious scent ofsomething. I came close and looked through the glass.
“Spaghetti?” I asked, surprised.