A Taste of Candor

Chapter 25

~Declan.

The warmth of Tahlia's smile lingered with me long after our date was over. I could feel her presence in some ways even after I got home, and that made it hard to concentrate on much else. Though I ran through a series of exercises on saxophone to hone my technique some, my mind couldn't fully stay on it. Finally, I settled on tidying up my place instead, which I'd been needing to do for a while anyway.

Then the next day came around, and of course, that meant I'd have another rehearsal to attend. As I got ready to go, I reflected on how most my world in Silverport revolved around specifically the Paige mansion at this point. I played most my music there, earned my living there, and seemed to have found love there too. The least the Paiges could do was spare me a guest room, I mused.

By now, the route from my apartment to the mansion might as well have been etched into the back of my hand. Though how well anyone really knew the back of their hand was anyone's guess. All the same, walking that path with my saxophone case in one hand and music bundled under the opposite arm had become so commonplace I barely needed to think about where I was going.

When I got inside, I made my way to the rehearsal space, where I found Madden, Chip, and Pete were the only players to have shown up so far. Amusingly, each of them balanced something on one or both their legs. For Pete, it was baritone, for Chip, a big bowl of soup, and for Madden, his stack of music. They all greeted me pretty much at once, and I took the time to return the favor for each.

"Spicy noodles again?" I asked Chip as I passed.

"Not this time; I got the savory beef. More filling than I'm used to."

Pete cackled. "You should eat that more often. Maybe then you'd finally get fat."

"Chip'll burn himself down to a bony husk before he gets fat." Madden remarked with mirth sparkling in his green eyes.

Chip held up his head proudly. "My metabolism's my gift."

"And my charm's mine. A gift I worked for, of course, but a gift all the same."

"I think you're better off, Maddie." Pete jested, briefly scratching his gray head, "Believe me, your gift's the one that won't go away with age."

"What can I say? I invest in what matters."

"Wait..." I said, opening my case to reveal the tenor within, "nobody's gonna address the fact you just called him Maddie?"

Madden let out a hearty chuckle. "It's a story I told Pete the other day, but you weren't there. My parents originally thought I was gonna be a girl, and my dad really wanted to name me Madelyn. But they were gonna call me Maddie, because my mom hates Madelyn. When it turned out I was a boy instead, they went for Madden; my dad claims Mom was so cantankerous during the pregnancy that 'the mad just had to stay'."

We all shared a round of laughter at that story, nearly causing Chip to choke on his soup in the process. He recovered, but only with a great effort.

"That's great." I said, "Your dad seems like a character. Just like mine."

"Yeah, Mom said when she was younger, all she really wanted in a guy was someone who could thrill her. Now her main complaint is Dad's too thrilling."

"Watch what you wish for." Pete said almost in a whisper, as if he were letting us in on some secret. "You might get it, and then that'll be the worst thing that ever happened to you."

Madden rolled his eyes, but playfully. "Spare us your sagely words, old man. You won't catch me wishing to go back to freelancing downtown."

The door to the rehearsal space creaked open, and we all glanced over to see the director had arrived. He greeted us kindly as usual, but as he ascended the steps onto the stage, I couldn't help but notice a certain sorrow in his eyes. Clearly, something heavy was weighing on his heart, and I could only hope he was able to unload it soon.