Emmy And Me

As much as I wanted to stay in bed with Emmy, I just had too much running through my head once I woke, so I quietly slipped out of bed and went up to the rooftop pool for a swim. There was nobody up there at that early hour so I had the place all to myself. Really, no surprise since the wall-mounted thermometer read sixty degrees. That, and the fact it was five in the morning.

It was perfect for me. I could swim my laps completely unbothered by anybody else, and that’s just what I did for a couple of hours. I uncoupled my brain from work, from Night Children stuff, from all of it and just let the water flow around me as I took long, steady strokes. I didn’t bother counting laps, just stroke, stroke, breathe, stroke, stroke, breathe. Kickturn, then resume.

It was just what I needed.

Emmy was still asleep when I got back to the room, so after my shower I got out my laptop and answered a bunch of emails. I was hip deep in that when Emmy emerged from the room, sleepy but smiling.

“It looks as if you got up on the right side of the bed this morning,” I told her after a little hello kiss.

“I did,” she agreed, her smile widening. “I slept very well last night. Thank you, Leah.”

“Thank you,” I replied. “You were the one who made last night so special.”

Emmy smiled again, then leaned down to give me a bigger, more intense kiss. “I think we will have to disagree on that one,” she said, yawning. “Do you have any plans for today?”

“We have plans for today,” I said. “We’re having lunch with a group of local Night Children at one. After that, no plans.”

“That is today?” she asked, surprised.

“Yes it is,” I confirmed. “There’s no backing out- thirty-two of our locals have RSVPed. Samuel tells me that everybody is excited to meet you.”

“Thirty-two?” Emmy asked, surprised. “I did not know we had so many here.”

“We actually have forty-six on the roster here in the area, but a bunch of them couldn’t get out of work or other obligations,” I told her.

“How long will it take us to get to the restaurant?”

“Not long. Fifteen minutes or so. You have plenty of time.”

“What should we do in the meantime?” Emmy asked.

“As much as I hate to say it, I kinda do have to keep working for a while longer,” I said, indicating my open laptop.

“Oh,” Emmy said, disappointment in her voice. Then, perking up a bit, she asked if I would mind if she played guitar while I worked.

“Of course not,” I replied. “I always love to hear you play.”

The restaurant that Samuel had chosen for the meet and greet was due east of Downtown in an older part of town. Not that far from Skye Blue’s apartment building, for that matter. He’d told me that the restaurant was popular with the area’s Night Children, but left out the fact that it was kind of a dump.

The view of the restaurant from the street immediately set my expectations low. The beat-up old sign that proclaimed “Zoey’s World Famous Fried Chicken” didn’t raise my hopes up much, either, but we were here, and so were quite a few Night Children milling around expectantly.

Our arrival created quite a stir, and only Nick and Eddie’s intimidating presence kept everyone from rushing Emmy when she emerged from the Range Rover.

Samuel stepped forward from the crowd and loudly proclaimed, “Welcome to Seattle, Queen Emmy, Queen Leah. We are pleased and proud that you have come to visit.”

“Thank you, Samuel,” Emmy said graciously, exuding every bit of her regal demeanor. “Shall we enter?”

Eddie opened the door and quickly slipped inside to make sure it was safe, then held it open for Emmy and me, followed by Nick, then Samuel and all the rest. The guy behind the counter was one of ours, I was pleased to see. He had the air of being the manager and not simply the counter guy, which was also a good sign.

“Queen Leah,” he said, bowing his head in respect.

Thankfully I was saved by the fact he was wearing a name tag. “Rodney,” I nodded back. “Today everyone dines on my tab. Anything anybody wants, as much as they want. I’m paying for everybody.”

“Thank you for your generosity,” he said with a smile.

Glancing up at the menu board behind the counter, I said, “Emmy and I will share a basket of your world famous chicken, plus a large side of slaw and some of the fried okra. Two iced teas also,” I said.

“You’ll want some rolls and definitely a couple of pieces of the sweet potato pie,” Rodney said.

“Rolls for sure, but hold the pie until later,” I told him, pleased that Rodney seemed to be enjoying his job.

“Coming right up,” Rodney assured me. “We’ll bring it to your table.”

Emmy had already sat herself down at one of the large tables in the middle of the room, so I took the two drinks Rodney handed me and set one down in front of her. A lot of the Night Children were looking at each other, some sort of quandary going on over who should sit down with the two of us.

“Queen Emmy and I want to talk to each and every one of you today,” I announced loud enough for everyone in the room to hear. So please, sit down anywhere, and we’ll make sure everyone gets their time with us. In the meanwhile, tell Rodney what you want for lunch.”

Just as people were settling down, Sana barged in with Aaron in tow. He was the only child in attendance, drawing a lot of attention from the other Night Children women in the room. He was being shy and hiding behind his mom’s leg until he saw Emmy and me. That was all it took- he rushed over to give Emmy a hug, then gave one to me.

I urged Sana to get in line to order lunch, lifting the little man up onto my lap, where he looked around wide-eyed at all the Night Children who were just as fascinated by him.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” I announced. “This is Aaron Edwards. He’s the first baby born into our New Nation. The oldest of our second generation. He has never known the old ways. He has never been in hiding. He’s what we are striving for.”

This caused quite a murmur, making little Aaron bury his face in my shoulder in embarrassment. I gave him a squeeze, kissing the top of his little head. “You’re doing great, A-Ron,” I said softly. “They just all want to see you, that’s all. These people here? They wish they had kids as awesome as you, that’s all.”

This made Aaron look around again, curious. I was certain he’d never seen so many people that looked like him and his mother before, so it must have been a bit of a shock for him to realize that there were, in fact, plenty of people just as dark as he was.

When a non-Night Child black teenager brought our food, I asked for another plate for Aaron, and dished him up some of the chicken and the sides. He was skeptical of the battered okra, but tried one anyway, then immediately requested more. I was perfectly happy to help him eat lunch, and happy to have his bony little butt parked on my lap. Sana, conversely, was pleased to hand off those duties to me, so it was a win all around.

The meet and greet went better than I’d expected. Everyone had their turn at our table, and we made sure to ask how their lives were going and what we could do for them. I took notes, but it was generally the same story- life was good, and our shadow was the best thing that had ever happened to them. A few had some minor issues and some of the couples, seeing Aaron in my lap, admitted that they wished they had children of their own.

“We can set you up with a fertility doctor,” Emmy assured them. “We will pay for any costs associated with whatever treatment is required. We want our nation to thrive, and bringing a new generation into the world is the best way for that to happen.”

Emmy only had one bite of the pie, so Aaron and I finished off our slice together. The little guy had gotten used to the wistful looks he was getting and actually seemed to enjoy the attention by the time we all cleared out.

I complimented Rodney on the food as I paid the bill, and asked him how many people were working there at the moment. I peeled a bunch of bills off my cash reserves, giving him enough for a fifty dollar tip for each and every person working at Zoey’s that day, which was well received.

As we parted I told Samuel that I was pleased with how the lunch had gone and thanked him for putting it together, which pleased him greatly.

Sana asked about concert details and mentioned that Aaron was going to spend the whole day and that night with his grandparents, so they had some free time. “Donny’s actually taking the whole day off from school,” Sana said, looking pleased.

“It is a Saturday,” Emmy protested. “He should not have school at all.”

“Yeah, for normal school that’s true,” Sana sighed as she finished buckling Aaron into this car seat in the back of the Mini we’d given them.

“I had no idea medical school was so difficult,” Emmy said on the drive back to the hotel.

“I think Donny’s making it a bit harder on himself than he needs to,” I told her.

“How so?” she asked, puzzled.

“He’s killing himself to be the top student in his class. Really unnecessary, if you ask me. Do you know what they call the guy who graduates last in his class at med school?” At Emmy’s look, I answered. “Doctor.”

Emmy laughed, then asked why Donny was trying so hard.

“He wants the best residency he can get, which will lead to better professional opportunities. He’s as much as told me that he’s sacrificing home life right now so he can provide nothing but the best for Sana and Aaron once he starts practicing,” I explained.

“I do not believe that is a trade I would make,” Emmy said, thinking about it.

“He grew up in reasonable affluence,” I said. “His parents are what you’d consider upper-end middle class. His dad’s a doctor, after all. So he never really knew poverty, but Sana… She went into the foster care system in England when she was nine and bounced around until she turned sixteen and was aged out. Most of her childhood was spent in less than ideal situations. Donny is acutely aware of that and wants to give her the comfortable life she didn’t have when she was young.”

“That is admirable,” Emmy said, lost in thought.

The road crew dinner at the wine bar cost a whole lot more, but Jackson and Lee had pulled me aside to let me know they wanted to split the cost, which was nice of them, but really, it wasn’t a ton of money anyhow, so it didn’t matter to me.

Emmy had wanted to make sure that she and the two guys sat at tables with the roadies and didn’t maintain any sort of isolation, so I found myself at at table with Jen,Stephanie and a roadie named Tommy.

Tommy had been with the tour from the start, through all of the Europe and Asia stops as well as the Americas. He lamented that he’d had very little time to do any sightseeing, but at least he had a really good idea about which cities he wanted to go back to spend more time in.

“You guys were working pretty much non-stop,” Jen agreed. “Hell, you worked twice as hard as the people in the band did, and we hardly got to see anything, either.”

“Yeah, but I can’t complain,” Tommy said. “It’s been a real sweet gig, you know? And having The Downfall on my resumé… That’s gonna guarantee work going forward. And the money! My bank account looks better than it ever has.”

“So you’re telling me I pay you guys too much?” Stephanie teased.

“You got the best- never mind the rest,” Tommy said, puffing out his chest. “Seriously, the crew has been the best I’ve ever worked with. No tweakers- not even the drivers. Do you know how rare that is? It’s so much easier when everybody does their jobs like professionals. Even with all that bullshit we had in Mexico City, once the locals stopped being asses we just got down and got it done.”

“What happened in Mexico City?” I asked Stephanie.

“The local riggers tried to shake us down,” she said dismissively. “When I made it clear that we were absolutely not going to play that game, they played ball. I made sure to give them a little extra, but not too much. I wanted it to be clear that I wasn’t paying them off, just thanking them for doing the right thing in the end. Well, all except that one jackass. The guy that was the ringleader. I didn’t give him one single peso more than was owed. In fact, I made sure he saw when I was handing out the bonuses to the rest. And that reminds me- thank you, Tommy, and tell the other guys thanks for making sure that asshole didn’t shank me or anything. Don’t think I didn’t notice the way you guys kept an eye out.”

“All in a day’s work,” Tommy said, leaning back and pushing his plate forward. “All in a day’s work, Steph.”

For some reason that wasn’t clear to me Emmy and the guys had to go to the ballpark early on Friday for the sound check, so I took the opportunity to head in to the Seattle office. Partly it was because I wanted to talk to Brian about some of the local properties he’d mentioned and partly because working from the hotel room was demotivating. At least at the office I could sit at a real desk, right?

I could tell that me being there put people a little on edge, but everybody calmed down after a little bit and the mood settled down soon enough.

Frank asked if I had plans for the evening as we walked out to the parking lot at the end of the workday.

“I’ve got concert to see,” I told him.

“Yeah? Who’s playing?”

“The Downfall, down at Safeco Field,” I said.

“Wow- a stadium show. I haven’t been to one of those since I saw U2 at the Tacoma Dome back in the ‘90s,” he said with a laugh.

“It hasn’t been that long for me,” I replied, laughing. “In fact, it hasn’t even been a week.”

“Who’d you see last week?” he asked, surprised.

“The Downfall in Phoenix at Chase Field,” I said as we arrived at my rental Range Rover.

“You must really like ‘em,” Frank said, amazed.

“I saw them in Tokyo, too, and Sidney, Australia, and Bogotá, and Miami and London and Paris. A lot of other places, too,” I said, amused at Frank’s expression. “But then, I am married to the guitarist.”

“Are you serious?” he demanded.

“One hundred per cent,” I confirmed. “That’s why I’m here in town this week.”

“Well, damn,” he said. “I guess that would do it.”

“Yeah, so on Sunday we’re off to the Bay Area, then finally back home for the end of the tour.”

“Crazy,” Frank said, shaking his head in disbelief.

“The whole ‘rock and roll lifestyle’ thing? I don’t recommend it,” I told him as I got in my car.

Donny and Sana came to our hotel a few hours before the show started the next day. When Emmy left to go get ready, Sana asked why we didn’t go with her.

“Because it’s crushingly boring,” I said. “They do a final soundcheck, then get dressed and get styled, then just sit around for a couple of hours until it’s time to go onstage. I have no idea what you’re picturing it to be like backstage, but it’s mostly just sitting around, waiting.”

“Why?” Donny asked.

“Why what?”

“Why do they mostly sit around for hours? Why not just chill here in the hotel until last minute?” he clarified.

“You’d have to ask somebody involved. My guess is that they don’t want to possibly not be ready when the time comes, but I really don’t know for sure,” I said, thinking about it.

“So they’re not doing lines of coke off groupies’ asses or anything like that?” Donny asked.

“I’m sure some bands do, but not The Downfall. They’re actually really boring in that sense,” I said, chuckling at the thought.

The highlight of the show for me was when Jackson explained that they like to do songs that are connected to the city they’re playing in.

“Now, with Seattle, that presented us with an incredible challenge, since we love so much music that came from this town, y’know? Lee suggested we do ‘Yellow Ledbetter’ by Pearl Jam, and Emmy figured out the guitar part- it was freakin’ amazing, let me tell you,” he said, looking out over the forty-five thousand fans in attendance. “But, fuck me! For the life of me I just couldn’t figure out the lyrics! So we had to give up on that one and play something that I actually could sing. Something with clear, understandable lyrics. This left us with one obvious choice,” he said, before turning back and nodding to the rest of the band.

Emmy played a simple but very familiar riff, which almost everyone in the crowd immediately recognized, roaring with laughter and approval.

“Aw, Louie, Louie, oh, no, I think I go,” Jackson sang. Of course, I couldn’t understand any of the following lyrics, but that was the point. Everybody just ate it up, completely in on the joke. Of course, later on he did sing “Heart-Shaped Box’ by Nirvana, and I understood every word.

Emmy finished the concert off with another Seattle band’s song- a solo, slowed-down acoustic rendition of Soundgarden’s ‘I Fell On Black Days’, which really brought down the house. When Emmy sang, “How could I know that this would be my fate?” for the last time, letting the notes fade away, I felt as if I’d been holding my breath for hours.

“God damn,” Donny said, wiping his eyes. “This was about what happened, right?” he asked.

“Probably, yeah,” I agreed, wiping my own tears away. “I know she won’t sing ‘Killer In The Dark’ or ‘Born To Die’ anymore, but she’s probably expressing her grief with that song. She’s been working through things, but it’s been tough.”

“I can’t even imagine,” Donny said, helping Sana up.

We made our way backstage, where Jackson and Lee both greeted Donny warmly.

“Been a long time, dude!” Lee said. “Emmy tells me you’ve got a kid and everything now!”

“Yeah, we do,” Donny said, a proud smile on his face, his arm around Sana’s waist. “He’s staying at my parents’ house tonight.”

“You guys have the night free?” Jackson asked. “You gotta come party with us. We’re headin’ to a club we heard about. You two up for it?”

Donny looked at me for guidance, but I just shrugged. “We aren’t doing anything fun tonight. Go ahead.”

“We never get to go out,” Sana said, and that was all it took.