All I Want Is Everything

Solutions

Memories rising from the past
The future's shadow's overcast
Something's clutching at my head
Through the darkness, I'll be led

Iron Maiden, Purgatory

Ella got up mid-afternoon, having missed both her ballet and her cooking classes. She was tired and moody; she was finding out that life-changing events made it difficult to hang on to grudges. She heard from Bec, who told her that she and her parents were doing a rotation at the hospital so that Bucky would not wake up alone. "He's not at all with it," Bec said. "Which is a good thing. I don't know how he's going to react to his arm. A serious car wreck is one thing, but the loss of his arm... I don't know. Being a drummer is a huge part of his identity. But Steve told me that they're not going to replace him. He's sure that they can come up with something to keep him playing. But will he want to? I'm so worried, Ella." And there wasn't anything Ella could say to make her feel better.

The next day she went to her music class; the lecture in the morning, two hours, then had a session with her piano tutor. She was waiting for the student ahead of her to finish up with their lesson and heard a knot of students talking. One of them needed money and wanted to offer Spanish guitar lessons, but his friends were saying that it would be easier to get a job at a restaurant; students were known to flake out, not practice, have frustratingly slow progress. Ella waited until most of the group wandered away before going up to the would-be tutor and asking for lessons.

"What do you want to learn?" the student who introduced himself as Chad said.

"Classical music, flamenco. I'm not terribly familiar with those styles."

"What do you play?"

"I haven't played acoustic for a long time, really. I play electric right now." Chad snorted.

"What kind of music?"

"Rock." He snorted again.

"This is going to be a lot more challenging. I've got time on Thursday after lunch, if you're interested. I'll sign up for a rehearsal room." Ella smiled serenely.

"That'll be fine. See you Thursday." Ella couldn't wait. Puncturing mens' expectations of her abilities was one of her hobbies.

Ella talked to Bec once or twice a day; Bec needed to vent to someone and her parents had enough on their plates. "Dad's going to go back to New York after Buck gets at least stable, he can't abandon his responsibilities. Mom's going to stay here until Buck's back on his feet. I know this is asking a ton, but she's going to move into the spare room at his house to help out. Um... I believe I mentioned a mildew problem?" Ella groaned. "I know, but I'd owe you forever."

"You don't owe me anything, dork, you're like my sister." She sighed. "How big is this house?"

"About the size of your guesthouse." Hope colored Bec's voice.

"Ok. I'm available tomorrow afternoon after 2 pm. Friday I'll be available after 1, and I could be free both days of the weekend. I'll bring my cleaning supplies, you bring yours, and we'll cuss out Bucky as we go." Bec laughed. "And you're responsible for his bedroom and bathroom."

"Ok. Thanks, Ella. I know it's a huge ask, after everything that's happened."

"I like to think I'm not a total asshole," Ella said wryly.

The next day after politely forcing Chad to revisit his expectations for a rock female musician, she drove grimly to the address Bec had given her. Bec was already there, hard at work. She'd cleaned his bathroom top to bottom and started on the walls of the bedroom. The house could be nice, but its landlord didn't apparently agree. Ella got started in the kitchen. They'd been at it for several hours when they took a break. Suspicious of the house, they had water from a cooler Bec had brought with her.