“I know that, Mama. I. . .” My voice cracked and I wanted to break down and tell my mom everything, but I’d promised Asher that I would keep us a secret. And I wasn’t ready to talk about my job until I knew my next steps. Otherwise, Mom and Dad would swoop in to fix it all. “I just love you. That’s all. I can’t wait to see you at the end of the tour. I’d really like that.”
“Oh, sweetie. I’ll make sure to get a pass for Katy too. It’s been too long since I’ve seen her.”
“Yeah, she misses you too. I’ll be sure to tell her when I get back. I mean when she gets back. She’s um. . .spending some time with her folks this weekend.”
Mom and I continued to chat for another ten minutes or so. She told me all about the little shops along the city center in the little town they stayed in. All of the colors and textures inspired her for a summer line. Mom tended to get inspiration everywhere. I was in awe of her.
We finished our chat and I ended the call after saying goodbye to Dad. The call made me too antsy to sit down, the lies crawling on my skin like the little spiders that wove them. I moved around the room, admiring some of the pictures hanging on the brick wall that used to be the exterior of the house. As I made it to the glass panes, I noticed Asher off in the distance. He was perched on a bench by the pond; his laptop open beside him and a weird-looking guitar on his lap.
God, he was gorgeous and the light was shining on him just right. I wish I had my camera with me. Instead, I opted for my phone because sometimes it was just as good, and I held it up to the glass. I snapped a few images, but the glass pane gave it a weird effect.
I moved quickly from the solarium down to the lower level, walking out onto the deck. I hoped he hadn’t moved from the spot and I lucked out. Quickly I snapped a few pictures from a distance and continued to take more from different angles as I approached him.
“Always working, aren’t you?” he said when I was about fifty feet away.
“Can’t help it. I have a great muse,” I told him as I snapped a few more then put the camera down to my side. “Having any luck?”
“Yeah, actually. It seems I have a muse here too.”
“Well, look at that. We must be each other’s lucky charms or something.”
“Or something,” I heard him mumble under his breath.
I took the open spot on the other side of his laptop and pointed to the funny guitar in his hand and asked what it was. Asher explained that when the cramping started up, he had a custom electronic guitar made. Instead of strings, it used an insert from a tablet. The entire neck of the guitar was covered in sensors. All of it fed into an application on his laptop. Apparently, it took him a couple of months to get used to, but it was helpful when he was writing.
“I’m not a big fan of the way it sounds when I play, which is why this isn’t a permanent option for touring, but it atleast gives me something to go by while I write.”
“I think it’s really cool. Can I hear something?”
“Sure.”
On his computer, Asher queued up a drum beat and then added on a baseline. There was a slow melodic beat to the rhythm, and the entire harmony flowed when he added the guitar. Asher filled the space with his deep voice, singing words about pain and triumph. I had a feeling his diagnosis inspired the lyrics. When he finished, I smiled at him with the biggest grin my face could muster.
“That was freaking amazing, Asher. God, you’re so talented.”
“It’s the kind of song that could be done slow or fast, whatever the band decides on. What do you think?”
“Personally, I vote for faster, but is there a way to hear it first?”
Asher clicked a few keys on his computer and rendered the play back with his vocals at three times the speed. It wasn’t perfect and the computer version made it sound almost animated, but the beat was much stronger and more forceful at that pace.
“Yes. I absolutely think that one should be fast.”
“I do, too,” he added as he closed the laptop screen and propped the funny-looking guitar against the bench. “So, how did the call go with your parents? Better than with your ex-boss?”
“Yeah. I have a feeling Mom knows something is up with me, but she’d never try to pry it out. She’s one of those people that makes sure I know that she’s around when I’m ready to talk.”
“That sounds like her.”
“She really is the best. I lucked out in the parent department.”
“You did.” Asher moved the laptop on the ground at the edge of the bench where he sat his guitar and then beckoned me closer. When I was settled next to him, he wrapped his arm across my shoulders. Instinctively I rested my head on his shoulder.
“So, I was thinking about your job prospects. What kind of work would you like to do? What kind of photography?”
“I don’t know. I enjoy photographing people over nature, but I’d take just about anything.”
“Hmm. . .” he mumbled