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“You’ve been humming that song for days,” said Guillermo. “Want me to play some Pink Floyd?”
Yeah, she’d been humming Wish You Were Here for three days already. It’d also been three days since her mood had finally improved, and she’d focused on helping her little sister get ready to leave.
A couple of days later, she sat her little brother down to talk. She told him that if he wasn’t capable of keeping basic manners, she wouldn’t either and she would pretend he didn’t exist. After a whole week of ice treatment, forced to cook his own meals, do his own laundry, and being completely ignored, the boy gave up and agreed to restore diplomatic relations. Silvia cooked his favorite meal, did all his laundry and spent a couple of hours gaming with him. Truce was signed.
Mika’s farewell party worked out just perfect, and Silvia hugged her little sister goodbye on a windy November morning, making the girl promise she would stay in touch often, not only if she
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No Return Little Wing
But the year wasn’t quite over yet. Two days later, Jim updated the Hey, Jay! “Task of the week: the song to illustrate this year,” he wrote, followed by YouTube video. His post found Silvia at home with Paola and Claudia, like any other Friday night. Her friends saw her drop on her chair with the tablet in her hands, moving her lips without a sound. “What is it?” Paola asked, concerned. Silvia looked up at her, pointing at the tablet. Claudia stretched in her chair to see the screen and frowned. “What,” she said. “The— The song,” Silvia mumbled. “Yeah, Pearl Jam’s cover of Little Wing,” said Claudia. “So?” Paola narrowed her eyes, suspicious. “Jim?” she asked. Silvia managed to say a whole sentence before her voice broke. “His pick for a song to illustrate this year.” “And what’s wrong with it? It’s a hell of a song,” said Claudia. Paola kept her eyes on Silvia
No Return Honesty, Such a Lonely Word
Silvia had actually thought about a song for such a strange year before Jim came up with the task, because it was something she used to do every December, just for fun. But Jim’s pick shook everything up. Little Wing wasn’t just any song. And even though she’d tried to look confident and sure in front of her friends, she still didn’t know what to make of it. Yeah, it was the perfect picture of them in many ways, but it was the last song he should’ve sent her. Because it was true, both of them had been there for each other, and the song might also refer to that funny evening at the inn, drinking, singing, dancing. But no matter how many references and interpretations she might possibly find, Little Wing was a love song. Hendrix wasn’t singing about a friend but about someone he loved, be it his acid dealer, his favorite guitar or a woman. And a straight man dedicating such a song to a straight woman wasn’t talking about friendship but about love.
No Return 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
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
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