From the Top - Chapter 31

I couldn’t help but smile as the sign for the Wellsville exit came into view. I’d only been gone for a week and a half, but it felt like a lifetime. Even not counting the competition and all the insanity around that, Los Angeles was a weird place. I hadn’t realized it until now, but somewhere along the way, I’d become a small-town boy, which was wild because I’d only lived here for two and a half years. All I knew was, I didn’t mind going into cities for gigs, but I knew I’d never want to live in one … at least, not if I could help it.

Vinney skipped the Wellsville exit and took the next one that would take us to the Blue Ridge, claiming he’d left something he needed to grab. I barely resisted smirking. They were all too slick for their own good. Mrs. Phillips, Chef, Seth, Warren, and Lyla had all claimed they were too busy to come get me, forcing Chef to send Vinney, which told me all I needed to know.

They were throwing a welcome home party and wanted to surprise me. Since I still had a heart, I didn’t say anything since I wanted them to have their fun. I think even Vinny knew the gig was up when we pulled into the parking lot. It was two in the afternoon, which was after the lunch rush, but there were usually a handful of people who’d come to eat late, or early I guess. This time, however, there was a sign that said ‘Closed for a private event.’ Vinney visibly grimaced when I gave him a sideways glance.

Still playing along, I flung the front door open and stepped in as if I had no clue what was happening. Everyone I knew, well, except for Hanna and Kat who had finals and couldn’t make it, was inside waiting for me, probably having watched me walk up from Vinney’s car, and all cheered the moment I stepped through the door.

“The triumphant hero returns,” Seth called out.

“Oh, Charlie, we’ve missed you so much! But we are so proud of you!” Mrs. Phillips said, coming over and giving me a big hug.

“Thanks, it’s really good to be back.”

“Were the other contestants completely crazy? Did you see any celebrities?” Lyla asked.

“Yeah, spill. Anyone get into fights or go to jail?” Peyton, one of my lunch friends from school, asked.

The previous season there had been this big brawl where three contestants started going at it, and one even went to jail when he tried to take a swing at one of the cops who’d been called out. At the time, I’d thought it was wild and wondered what was wrong with these people. Of course, now I knew it was all the alcohol they made available to the contestants, hoping for exactly that kind of drama. I wasn’t sure if Amanda going to the hospital was going to top the brawl, but it would definitely be up there.

I held up my hands in mock protest. “Whoa, whoa! Too many questions! I told y’all before I left I’m not allowed to talk about all that, yet! You should have seen the stack of paperwork they had me sign swearing I wouldn’t tell anyone anything that happened. I’ve been in enough lawsuits this year, thank you.”

That got a chuckle out of everyone. If I couldn’t laugh at my past trauma, who could?

Mrs. Phillips took my arm gently, leading me out of the doorway where everyone had crowded around to surprise me, and said, “Don’t mind them. They’re just enthusiastic. We know you’ll tell us everything as soon as you’re allowed.”

“I promise,” I said.

I made the rounds, stopping at my school friends, the guys from the kitchen, Warren, and everyone else, thanking them for coming and finding out what I’d missed. It really was good to see everyone, and it made me feel lucky to still have so many people who supported me like this.

Chef had set out big platters of food for everyone, and I knew he’d probably refused to let Mrs. Phillips pay for it. I’d try later, but I doubted I’d be that lucky. Considering everything he’d done for me, I was still going to try.

“Charlie!” Cameron said, intercepting me. “You have to tell me all about the celebrities you met! Were there any famous actors there? Please tell me you have an amazing story with a huge star!”

I had quite possibly the biggest celebrity sighting he was ever going to hear, and it killed me to not be able to tell them yet, but I knew if I did, it would be all over school by tomorrow and on the internet tomorrow night. The producers might let me get away with dropping something about one of the other contestants, but they had to have pulled out the stops to get Trey Mitchell, so letting that slip was guaranteed to get me into trouble.

“You guys are killing me,” I said instead, over-exaggerating it a bit to try and deflect. “They will have my head if I say anything.”

“Oh, come on!” Cameron pleaded. “Just a little hint?”

“Nope, sworn to secrecy.”

“Fine,” he sighed dramatically. “But you have to tell me everything as soon as you can.”

“That I can do. So how was everything while I was gone?”

“Really slow. A few of us came out both nights to support you guys, but ... I swear I’ve never seen it so dead in here since I first started coming to listen to music.”

I frowned slightly. Willie had drawn okay crowds when it was just his band, so I’d assumed it would be okay while I was gone. Worse, giving it even a moment’s thought, it wasn’t hard to work out that I was the reason for the drop-off. Willie had been getting mostly regulars, people who came out to see him specifically, plus the occasional fan of blues music who’d heard about someone here playing the classics.

When I’d started getting my own sets, some of that had dropped off, I know, but most had just moved to Willie’s later time slot, so none of us thought anything of it. With everything going on with my music and Willie’s health, I hadn’t been paying much attention to the later set after Dwight took over, but I needed to check on that. Because there was a good chance I’d replaced Willie’s regulars with my own, and there wasn’t enough crossover to keep them coming when I was gone.

Beyond what this was doing to Dwight and his guys, who must be suffering if they’d dropped that much, I also worried about Chef. While it wasn’t the core of his business, it had become a good moneymaker for him, and I didn’t want to let him down now. Not with everything he’d done for me. Besides, if things went well after the show aired and we got back to touring, I’d be gone more, and he needed a more long-term solution. I needed to talk to him.

We talked for a little bit more, until I saw Seth and Lyla break off by themselves. While I did want to talk to Cameron more, ever since he mentioned the slowdown, I couldn’t take my mind off it. So I excused myself and went to catch them before they either left or started talking to someone else.

“Hey, guys,” I said, walking over. “I heard the last weekend was bad. Really slow.”

“I mean, maybe a little,” Lyla said.

“She’s being modest,” Tabitha said, coming up behind us. “She made next to nothing.”

“It wasn’t that bad,” Lyla said defensively. “And Charlie isn’t responsible for that.”

This had obviously been some source of contention between them, and we were seeing their argument spill over. Lyla was usually very careful about sharing that side of her life, but I knew Tabitha wasn’t my biggest fan. While I could live with that, and I appreciated Lyla sticking up for me, I didn’t want my choices to cause friction in their relationship.

“Tabitha’s right,” I said, going off what I knew she meant rather than her actual words. “I had hoped I’d set you guys up with enough work to make it through while I was gone. The last thing I wanted was either of you struggling, which I know you have been since the beginning of summer, and I’m really sorry about that.”

“You should be,” Tabitha said, earning a look from Lyla.

“And I am,” I said, holding up my hands. “But there is good news. Before I say anything else, you all have to swear this stays between us.”

“Of course, whatever you say,” Lyla nodded eagerly.

“Absolutely,” Seth said.

Tabitha was less easily convinced, “Why?”

“Just promise,” Lyla hissed, the two sharing a look.

“Fine. I promise.”

“Okay, so ... I made it. I got through the prelims and I’m going to the finals.”

Lyla’s mouth fell open, “Oh my god! Charlie, that’s amazing!”

“Dude, congrats. Knew you had this,” Seth grinned and slapped me on the back.

“Shhh,” I said, stepping closer to them. “Keep it down.”

“Why is that good news though?” Tabitha asked, if anything getting louder. “So who cares how you did. That doesn’t help them.”

“God,” Lyla huffed. “That was the whole reason for him going. If he gets to the end, he gets a record contract, just like before. If not, he’s going to have enough name recognition that MAC can’t stop us. Either way, we win.”

“Assuming he brings you with him,” Tabitha said, clearly not wanting to give it up.

“Charlie, I’m thrilled for you. That’s amazing news. If you could excuse us though,” Lyla said.

Without waiting for me to reply, she grabbed the four-inch taller and much more muscular Tabitha and practically dragged her away, the two arguing in hushed tones as soon as they got out of earshot.

“Shit. I was hoping to keep them from getting into it over me.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Seth said. “They’ve been going back and forth on this for months now. It’s not just about you. Tabitha wants her to come work at the factory, and Lyla refuses.”

“I mean, if I was still getting us gigs, she wouldn’t have to,” I said.

“Maybe, but they’ll work it out. You don’t hang out with them together that much, mostly because Tabitha wants it that way, but they are crazy about each other. They’ll get over this fight, just like the others.”

“God, I hope so. I really hate to see my friends fighting,” I said, and then let it drop. “I’ll talk to Warren this week about what we need to do to start prepping to use this. I’m not going to be able to announce anything, or even tell promoters anything until the episodes air; but I still want to make sure everything’s ready for when I do. The sooner we start getting gigs again, the better.”

“Hey, no worries here,” Seth said. “I know you’ll take care of it.”

“Thanks.”

Seeing Chef had reappeared from the kitchen, I excused myself from Seth.

“Hey, Chef,” I said, coming up next to him. “Got a minute?”

“For you, always,” he said, turning to me with a smile before sticking his head back into the kitchen and calling for another plate of mini-sliders, which everyone was gobbling up as fast as he could make them.

“So how’s business been?” I asked. “I heard it was real slow last weekend.”

“A little, I guess.”

“I’m so sorry. I’d hoped with the guys playing, you’d still get the business.”

“You don’t have to be sorry. I only started doing music because Willie was tired of traveling so much and wanted to settle down, but didn’t want to move in with Keenan and needed a way to support himself. Since I knew he’d refused any charity, I set this up. Then you came along and it … got out of hand.

“But, the last time we talked about the business of end of things, I got the impression you were actually doing really well off of it. I’d hate to see your business struggle because I left you high and dry.”

“Charlie, I never, not for a moment, thought you’d be playing here forever. You’ve got the talent, drive, and heart to go as far as you want to. I haven’t even decided if I’ll keep the music nights open once you head out into the world, especially if Dwight doesn’t want to keep going. I mean, he’s damn near seventy, and I never got the feeling that he was planning on going till the end like Willie did.”

“And how has Dwight been doing with his band in the later sets?” I asked.

“Not great, which is why I said he might not keep going once you’re not here. I don’t think the guys have it in them to keep doing two and three hours and I can’t charge people for only an hour of music. Which is why I said I might just cut it off when you leave.”

“But, the music has helped your bottom line though, right?”

“Yeah, but I’m a terrible businessman. I didn’t start this because I wanted to get rich. I bought this place off of Phil Jessep all those years ago because he was underwater on it and was looking at losing his house. I liked cooking and thought I’d give it a go. I didn’t expect it to take off like it did.”

“Sounds like a theme with you. I know you’re not in it for the money, but I also know you use this place as a way to help out people you think might be worth helping. Like an annoying kid who just moved into town and kept getting into fights he wasn’t ready for.”

“Those are the best kinds of kids to help,” he said, putting a hand on my shoulder and giving it an affectionate squeeze.

“And we appreciate it. More than you’ll ever know. I think it’s great, and I want you to be able to keep doing it. And the more resources you have, the easier it will be to do. Plus, it gives you a chance to help out others, like young musicians. I’ve met a lot of jerks the last few years out playing gigs and whatever, but I’ve also met some great people. Artists with huge hearts, but who struggle to make it in an industry that chews people up and spits them out. Look at Lyla and Seth. There are a lot of other musicians out there just like them, that need help. If you keep the music going you’ll be able to help people like them, and use the money you make from it to help other, non-musical kids. It’s a win-win.”

“Maybe,” he said, his mouth going tight as he thought about it. “Although I’m not even sure how I’d go about finding people to play. You and Willie found me, basically. And Willie brought Dwight and the rest, and you found Seth and Lyla.”

“Just put out the word. Musicians talk to each other, and once it gets passed around that there’s a venue out here, you’ll have people calling you. Mention it to Dwight and the rest, and I’ll mention it to Lyla and Seth, and have them spread the word that you’re looking for acts to play here. Musicians are dying to find a place to play, I can tell you that for a fact.”

“I don’t know. It sounds like a lot of work. If I’m spending all of my time trying to find people to play here and run the restaurant, I won’t have time for much else.”

“How about this. Let me talk to Warren and see what he can do to help you get everything organized. Right now, we’re not doing much, and even once we are, managing one local band isn’t a hugely taxing job. I’ll foot the bill even. If things take off and you’re making enough, we could even look at hiring you a booker to take the workload. Warren knows a ton of people in the industry, and I’m positive he can help you find one that has similar values. I’m telling you now, a place where they want to book acts of people who deserve to be booked, small acts who’re just looking for a hand up… there’s got to be someone out there who will jump at the chance to not only do their job but do it in a way that matters. It’s a win-win-win. You get more money to help people, small bands get a hand up, and you find a booker who gets to live the dream of helping people instead of just going for the dollar.”

“Maybe,” he said again, although I knew him well enough to know he just said that to say something while he really chewed on it. “Are you sure Warren will be willing to do the work?”

“I am, but I’ll still ask first. And since you’re not going to be just working with people you know personally, we should probably get some performance contracts drawn up and waivers. I know you have insurance, but in case we make a bad choice, I don’t want someone getting you sued or mixed up in something. I have to sign a ton of stuff every time I go somewhere to perform, so I have a pretty good handle on what’s needed, but I’ll have Mr. Eaves look everything over.”

“That sounds like more work,” he said, although I could hear him softening to the idea.

“Come on, Chef. This is a good thing, everyone wins, and I’ll make sure it keeps working for you. I promise I won’t let you down.”

“You never have,” he said, and then gave a resigned shrug. “Fine. You can set it up. Now go enjoy your party.”

He was trying to be gruff, but I could see right through him. I knew he liked the idea and was proud of me for the offer.