Jakoby

My roommates are overall pretty good guys, but a year is not really a long time in terms of knowing someone. Johnny is the only one that I really trust, since I've known him longer, but he's the one I see the least these days.

   And David is the one in the kitchen early the next morning when I get up and start looking for something for breakfast. He's so tall I have to look up at him to see his eyes. I check the fridge first but it's mostly empty. Luckily, there's two bananas on the counter, so I swipe one and open it right away. I didn't buy them and I don't know who did.

   "What's with the smile?" David asks me, pouring himself a coffee. "It's creepy."

   "Me smiling is creepy?" I ask. I didn't realize I'd been smiling.

   "This early, yes." He turns and crosses the room and then leans against the doorway, facing me again.

   It's 7A.M. He's a mechanic and usually leaves pretty early. Sometimes he offers me a ride to work, sometimes he doesn't. I usually leave at 7:30A.M. if I'm walking. Johnny's still fast asleep because he's on afternoon shift this week.

   "I'm happy, I guess," I tell David, who's waiting for an answer.

   "What about?" he asks, but then nods to himself. "I heard you had a real gig on Saturday. Did it go well?"

   I had told the guys about the gig, but none of them showed up. I mean, I didn't expect them to. Johnny was working. David and Topher are not really guys who stand around a bar and listen to music.

   "Oh, yeah. It was good," I say and then take another bite of the banana.

   "But you're happy about something else?" David wants to know, eyeing me carefully.

   Finally, I nod. "I met a girl."

   "A girl. Wow." He says this as if this was the last thing he'd expected me to say. I watch as he downs the rest of his coffee. "Just remember how small this apartment is."

   I grin at him because I know he's referring to the fact that we basically agreed to not bring girls here. There's no where to do anything that requires privacy. Johnny's too busy working, David is very much single and Topher has a girlfriend, who I've never even met.

   "I know," I say anyway.

   "Well, I'm happy for you, Jakoby. You need some good in your life," David finishes and then turns and leaves the room.

   Cool. I mean, I don't think I've been, like, angry or anything in the past year. It's just that nothing extraordinary has happened to me. Getting my job with Doc was amazing, but I don't even really talk about it much with them. They don't ask. I didn't realize that David really thought so lowly of me. It sounds like he thinks I'm depressed or something. Yes, I was in a low place when I came to Youngstown. The first time David met me, I'd already been stay in their apartment for a few days. My mom had only died about a month before that, so I wasn't exactly happy go lucky. But I'm in a better place now.

   After quickly getting dressed and unplugging my phone from the charger, I slip into my shoes and go outside. I am wearing a sweater, thankfully, because it's cold this morning. I can see my breath as I walk towards the corner and turn left, the wind tossing around my hair. I'm not ready for winter, but it's on it's way.

   Yesterday, my boss, Doc, was irritated with me. He didn't say anything about the gig, exactly, but he sent me out three different times to get lunch for everyone. I didn't even get to sit in on the recording session that happened in the afternoon. He usually lets me sit in or at least watch from the window. I made coffees and delivered food all day. I'm hoping today is better, but I'm not crossing my fingers.

   But Doc is half smiling when I push open the studio door, at five to 8A.M.

   "My office, Jakoby. Now."

   I follow right away, avoiding eye contract with the two other men in the lobby. I'm confused. He better not be firing me. I sit across from him at his desk and wait.

  "So, Gabe called me last night," Doc begins, finally.

   Shit. The bar owner?

   I nod, still waiting.

   "He said the crowd on Saturday night - Rotten's Clue's crowd - loved you. They wanted you to play another few songs, but you disappeared."

   They loved me?

   "I'm sorry about that, really," I say. I haven't exactly given him an explanation yet.

   "Why'd you take off without even thanking Gabe?" Doc wants to know. He doesn't look angry but he definitely doesn't look happy.

   Shit. This is it. I am in trouble.

   "Honestly..." Do I tell him the truth? Will that make me look weak? "A friend of mine, she came to watch me play. And I just wanted to catch up with her after."

   Doc narrows his eyes. He believes me but he's not sure it was a good idea. A moment later, he slides a piece of paper across the desk, towards me.

   "Gabe dropped this off this morning, for you. He wants you to play twice a month, Saturday nights. That's your cheque from Saturday night, and your offer."

   "Wait, offer? What?" I ask right away, even more confused.

   "Jakoby, this could be your break," Doc says and I never thought I'd hear these words from him. "You're good, kid. Your original songs are really good."

   This guy has known me for six months, since that first day I walked into the studio and asked about a job. He's never really said anything this nice to me before. He's listened to me play a few times. He knows I want to be a musician, song writer, singer. Now, this is huge.

   "Wow. Okay. Yes," I say, reaching for the paper.

   I open it up and read it over in my head. The cheque is for eight-five dollars. The other paper says he's offering me three hundred dollars a month. Contract is for six months, with the option to extend. Gabe Kyson has the right to change the contract as he sees fit. I read it twice before looking up at Doc.

   "Wow," I say again, my heart pounding in my chest.

   My portion of the rent is two hundred dollars a month. I spend another hundred or so dollars on food each month. I also have my credit card bill and my phone bill. I've been barely surviving for a year, playing for money on the streets and borrowing from Johnny. This would be huge for me.

   "It's not life changing, I know that. But it's a start. And Gabe wants me to record one of your tracks so he can start promoting you." Doc says all of this like it's not big deal, but I've been hoping and praying and waiting for this moment for a long time.

   My face must show my shock.

   "I know I've been hard on you, Jakoby. But handing things to kids like you on a silver platter doesn't help you. You've needed to prove yourself, and I was hoping you were ready, when I booked you that gig. And you were," Doc goes on.

   "Thank you," I manage to say.

   "Okay, okay. Now go get to work. There's some contracts that need to be emailed out and there's a stack of paperwork to get through." His demeanor changes but I'm totally fine with that.

   "Yes, sir."

*

   I spend the whole day working hard and trying to focus but I can't stop thinking about Doc's words. I have proven myself. I deserve this. I finally have a real shot at doing what I love. I wish I could tell my mom. I even wish I could tell my dad, but the harsh truth is that I don't have anyone in my life that I can really share this joy with.

   I can't wait to tell Ruby, though. And that is overwhelmingly confusing.

   It's after 6P.M. before I'm able to leave the studio. There's no way I would get to the coffee shop by the museum by 7P.M. if I walk, since it's way across town. So I suck it up and order an Uber. My one and only credit card is only for things like this. I haven't had a steady income in the last year, so I hate using the credit card. Paying my share of the rent and being able to eat has been hard enough. But I just can't be late to meet this girl.

   My luck is changing, I can feel it. I came to this town a year ago for a reason - because it is where my mom grew up. I ran into Johnny randomly and he let me move in with him. It was supposed to be temporary, the four of us living together, but it stuck. I finally got my dream job at the studio and I was sure it was fate, even though the guys said I needed a paying job. I was so sure that my mom somehow brought me back here for a reason.

   If I hadn't come back to Youngstown that summer, I would never have gotten this break. And I would never have met Ruby. Even though she's gone, my mom is still looking out for me. I've never been more sure of anything.