El & Em: Two hearts, one band, a long slow ride

Chapter 4

The tour routine fell into place quickly. They'd play a concert, pack up, drive to the next location, crash at a cheap motel, and wake late in the day with a few hours to spare before another show or onward drive. Only Jerry got a private motel room; Emmett elected Gordon for his room-mate, and even Luke shared with Mark. In his free hours Emmett tried to keep up with laundry, work out with the weights he'd packed, maintain his instruments, or pick up postcards and trinkets for the boys.

A couple of weeks in, Emmett noticed Luke giving him an odd look after a show, as though he couldn't quite make up his mind whether to say something or not.

"What's up, man?" Emmett asked, trying to sound reassuring. When something awkward was in the air, his experience said it was best to get it out into the open as soon as possible.

"Yeah, hey, Mountain...I was just wonderin' if you might want to move up a little more for your solos. Y'know, we could put a spot on you, let you have a moment out there with the crowd. What do you think?"

Emmett thought that sounded – surprising. Lead singers weren't usually so eager to put spotlights on anyone besides themselves. But he shrugged and nodded agreeably. "Sure, if that's what you want. I can do that."

"Cool, thanks." Luke looked relieved. "I'll talk to José about the lighting."

There it was again, that slight hint of deference Emmett kept picking up, as though Luke was worried about offending him. Emmett didn't quite know what to make of it.

Later, when he and Gordon stopped for a nightcap at the motel bar before crashing, as they often did, Emmett tried to sound him out a little.

"Hey Gordie, what's the deal with Luke anyway?"

Gordon was a hugely proficient young musician, and also a bit of a nerd, fastidious and precise, which made him a good room-mate. "What do you mean, what's the deal?" he asked.

"I mean...you've been working with him for a while now, right?"

"Five and a half years."

"So what's he like to work with? In the long run?"

"Luke's a good guy." Gord spoke definitively, with a little shrug. "Not the most educated." He meant something specific by that. "What you see is what you get, really."

"I mean, I know he's brilliant, musically at least. And he's kind of a control freak about that. But then he doesn't seem to care about anything else."

"Well, he's been playing since he was very young. I believe I met him when he was 18, and he'd been around for a while by then. So, you know. It's his life."

"Yeah, but..." Emmett frowned down at his beer bottle, trying to figure out what he was trying to say. "I mean, he acts like the boss when we're practising. Like, you play one note out of time and he's all over you! But then...he doesn't give a shit where you stand on the stage, or when you get to the venue, or whatever else."

Gordon was smiling at Emmett, as though amused by his confusion. "He doesn't care about those things when you're doing them."

Emmett stared at him. "What do you mean?"

"I mean...I think it's a bit different with you. Maybe he's kind of scared of you."

"Scared? Of me?"

Gord laughed. "You're a big guy, 'Mountain'".

"Oh, come on. He doesn't think I'm going to hurt him."

"No." Gord stopped laughing and grew serious again, which was kind of his natural state. "But you know, you're older than us and you've been around, you're married with kids and a job...I think he's afraid you won't take him seriously, or you'll decide he's just a kid and go find some other band."