He had plans to check in with Carter later, but in the meantime, he did have a concert in a few days and he should at least make sure he remembered how the songs went. On top of that, he had to choose something to play at the memorial. He needed this vacation, but he wasn’t going to shirk his obligations.
He’d just finished going through the acoustic half of the set list when Joe’s name cropped up on his caller ID.
Jeff’s stomach sank as he answered.
“What’s up, Joe?”
“Hey, buddy. Just wanted to give you a heads-up.”
Great. Jeff raised a hand to his temple to forestall the incipient headache. “How bad is it?”
“Max and Trix convinced Tim to book416 Morningon the twenty-first. Or, I don’t know, vice versa.”
“Jesus Christ, why?” Jeff burst out, anger flaring. “That’s the dayafterthe concert. After that we’re going out West. What’s the point?”
“I’ve got my suspicions.” He sighed. “Rumor has it they want to add a show in Toronto.”
What a surprise. “Timeline?”
“Possibly the day of the show, maybe between the Winnipeg and Ottawa dates.”
“They know we have to approve this shit, right?” The number of concert dates was specified in the contract.
“Yeah, they do. Except remember that concert that got canceled because of that electrical fire?”
Fuck.Jeff had forgotten. “All right. I’ll keep an ear out for Tim. How are Max and Trix? Any fallout from the whole public urination thing?”
“You know Tim. He’s convinced all publicity is good publicity.”
Unless it was Joe making a statement about Indigenous sovereignty, treaty rights, and systemic discrimination, or Jeff making one about queer representation, or Trix talking about misogyny in the music industry…. “Tim’s a windbag.”
“Yeah,” Joe said. “Listen… when you’re in town, you think we can get away a couple hours, just the two of us? There’s something I want to talk to you about.”
That sounded ominous. “Something bugging you?” Jeff’s stomach did an unpleasant twist. “You and Sarah are okay, right?”
“We’re fine. And it’s nothing you need to worry about.” A voice spoke in the background, too far from the mic for Jeff to catch it. “Look, I’ve gotta go, but call me if you need to, all right? If they go for the twenty-first, we can probably make a case that it’s too last-minute if we present a united front.”
The problem with the twenty-first was that it cut down the time between the Toronto show and the one in Vancouver. At that point it almost didn’t make sense for Jeff to come back to Willow Sound between concerts.
Jeff really liked being in Willow Sound. Heneededto be in Willow Sound. So that was a problem.
“Thanks, bro. Talk to you later.”
So that put a damper on the afternoon practice.
Sure enough, true to Joe’s prediction, Tim called half an hour later. Jeff let it go to voicemail, then texted Joe.
Do it the 21st like they want, or hold out for something in late June?
Joe texted back a few minutes later.Might as well get it over with.
Jeff set his phone back on the table, trying to tamp down his disappointment. It was probably for the best. A week away from Carter would help restore some of his equilibrium. He could get a little distance from the situation and figure out….
Figure out what? Jeff didn’t need a week in Toronto to decide if he wanted Carter. He’d known he wanted that since he was thirteen.
Figure out if he was going to do something about it, now that he knew a relationship with another guy was explicitly a thing Carter was interested in?
How could he, though? They lived different lives. Jeff was on the road all the time—neededto be on the road all the time even if he decided to leave his band and do his own thing. Carter loved his home, loved his family. Jeff couldn’t pull him away from that. And that was assuming Carter would ever consider him anything more than a friend, an additional brother. There was a lot stacked against them.
