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A New Year
On New Year’s Eve, Silvia sent Jim a DM.
“Did you notice our years don’t start at the same time? Happy Argentinean New Year, Jay!”
He replied in under a minute, “Ur fkn right! Happy Argentinean New Year!”
It was just obvious that he’d DM her again five hours later, to congratulate her on LA’s New Year, and that she would be waiting to reply right away like he’d done.
Her birthday party was two days later, and it was a night to remember. She had so many pictures and videos to share with her friends, that she refused to spend hours uploading it all twice, first to Facebook and then to the Hey, Jay!
Jim frowned when she sent him a link to Facebook. “Come to Suckerborg county to take a look.”
Barbara was getting dressed for the opening of an art gallery they’d been invited to, and it looked like he had time to read Shakespeare’s com
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No Return Due Notice
On the last days of March, Jim’s tweet made Silvia’s knees buckle. “U ready Latin America?” Her hand was shaking as she opened his DM. “Got the breaking news? C u soon! :D” She dropped the tablet and smoked until her head felt a little clearer. Okay, Mexico was Latin America and Jim had a thing for grandstanding, so this might be nothing to have a heart attack over. Just in case, she followed the link on Jim’s tweet to the band’s official website, where she found the confirmed dates of this unexpected fifth leg of their world tour. Her lips trembled as her eyes moved down the list of countries. Mexico, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Peru, Brazil—Oh God! Argentina. Two concerts in Buenos Aires, at the GEBA stadium, the weekend before Revolution Day on May 25. And considering the national holiday was a Monday that year, those concerts could very well turn into three if the first two sold out. Her heart was hamme
No Return In the Way
When Jim knew Silvia would go to Buenos Aires with a friend, he told their road manager Tim Costa he needed two full-access passes for Argentina. He didn’t want anything to come in her way to get to him in any situation.“Okay, I’ll email the local producer,” said Tim. He noticed Jim’s look and smiled. “Give me the full names and some ID number, so they can go pick up the passes before we get there. I’ll warn the locals to wait for them.”Jim knew a thousand ways that could go wrong, so he turned to Deborah, dead serious. “I ain’t playing unless she’s at the stageside, Deb.”“Okay, but who is she? Someone from the local Squad?”“She’s a friend.”“Don’t worry, Jim. We’ve got this,” she replied, just as serious.“You better.”Tim hardly waited for Jim to leave to turn to Deborah. “A friend?&
No Return On the Way
It took Silvia four days to realize what Jim’s call had been really about. And the son of a bitch had hit his mark alright, for a change. He’d made her talk about things she loved, and let the conversation turn into an easy small talk, resourcing to every joke and tease they’d ever shared. Until she’d let go of her absolute terror to being face to face with him again. And now she wasn’t afraid anymore. She was anxious, and her guts twitched as days pushed her closer to May, but the fear was gone. Both of them had made a deal with the devil, opening their phones to have the option of texting and making video calls online in case they needed, but the Hey, Jay! remained the virtual place to share their stuff. Being on tour, Jim returned to his habit of posting mostly pictures of the places he was visiting. And the titles soon looked like a countdown of sorts. Mexico was Still Cold, Puerto Rico was Warm, Colombia was Warmer
No Return Sold Out
“Hurry up.” Jim chuckled when he saw the picture of Silvia’s tablet on a bed, the screen showing his own last post on the Hey, Jay! “Leave a light on 4 me,” he typed on the comments. He glanced up and found Sean’s frown across the bus aisle, where he was sitting with Jo. Jim winked at him and went back to his Twitter feed, while their bus cruised through Rio to their hotel. Sean grunted under his breath, because he already suspected who was the only person in the whole world that could make his brother chuckle and smile like that. He launched his fist across the aisle to punch Jim’s arm. “Fuck you,” Jim grumbled, rubbing his arm. “News from Argentina?” asked Sean in his best casual tone. Tom heard him and turned around in his seat. “Sold out, both shows. Deborah is opening a third show on Sunday.” “Busy weekend,” said Jo. “Don’t say,” said Jim. Sean scowled at them and turned t
No Return One that Looks Like Her
Against all odds, obstacles grew fewer and easier on the way up the fancy building downtown, as Silvia and Claudia reached more important desks. However, first they had to actually reach them. The front desk of Vector Productions was like a machine-gun nest from World War II, disguised as a nice counter with an even nicer girl in a pretty uniform suit. True to her training, she first tried to send Silvia away, telling her she should call or email the person she wanted to see. Then she turned to take about a dozen calls. When Silvia was able to make her understand that first step had already been taken by No Return’s road manager, and she’d been directed to come get the passes in person, the girl was as kind as to make a call, and then another, and then another. Silvia and Claudia waited by the desk, mustering all their patience while the girl asked and held on the line and spoke in whispers. “Why don’t you text Jim?” Claudia said. Silvia shook her hea
No Return Good Night
The picture showed Silvia and Claudia outside the Vector building, holding their green passes. The foot read, “Four frigging hours to get them!”Jim showed the picture to Tim, who frowned when he read the foot.“Four hours? Damn!”“You should have emailed them like I told you.”“I did!”“Then good thing she’s nothing like me and had the patience to wait, huh?”Deborah saw the way Jim glanced at her, his eyes full of reproach, and decided to pretend she hadn’t noticed it. But she took careful note of how much Jim seemed to care about this woman coming to see him in Buenos Aires.Silvia’s post to the Hey, Jay! included a link to a photo album on Facebook, but Jim kept it for later.The dead time on the trailer, waiting to play, felt shorter that night, following her on pictures all over Buenos Aires. He recognized Silvia’s little
No Return Drops in Glasses
Just like any highly-expected and carefully-planned moment, Thursday didn’t think so. Silvia couldn’t believe the thousand ways things got complicated, in a geometric progression that seemed determined to push absurd into plain surrealistic before her gaping eyes, taking any control out of her hands until she could only hope she’d made it through alive. Claudia’s parents lived forty minutes away from Jim’s hotel by car. The other way to get there was by train and bus, and it took almost two hours on a good day, like a Saturday afternoon. So the Commodore had promised he’d take them there. Keeping traffic and other odds in mind, they would be leaving about four to get there by five. Until the Commodore’s phone rang and he was asked to cover for a colleague that had just called in sick. He was assigned a flight scheduled to take off at four, so he hardly had a chance to grab a bite before leaving for the airport. On the family car, of course. C
No Return The Thirteenth Hour
The musicians were just chilling out, having a beer before the presser, when they heard the first thunder. All of them looked up, surprised. “What the fuck?” Tom cried. “It was sunny not five minutes ago!” Jim went up to the nearest window, looking out to hide a smile. A sudden storm when they were about to meet again. What were the odds? He shook his head slightly. She was on the way. “She’s a fucking force of nature,” he muttered to himself. Deborah and her assistant Ron came to take them to the conference hall where the press waited for them. She nodded at Jim to let the others take the lead to the elevators and walk with her. “No green passes so far, Jim,” she said, keeping her voice down. He took his phone, searched for something and handed it to her. “Here’s a picture of her,” he said. “Go wait for her at the lobby, Deb. Keep my phone, in case she texts me while I’m busy in there. And bring her to me the minute she gets h
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