Page 85 of You Spin Me

He grunts out a laugh. “Actually, I thought I wanted to be a fireman.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah, it seemed like the right thing to do. But when I was in high school, I tried to interview the fire chief at our local station for some class project, but the crew showed up fresh from fighting a fire, and I couldn’t be in the same room with them. The smells were… too much.”

“So then you decided to be a DJ?”

“That was more of a winding road. I got into a program my senior year of high school where instead of going to regular classes, we did internships. One of them was at a radio station, and I fell in love with the equipment. I’ve always loved music, ever since I was in the hospital the first time—”

“Wait. How many times were you in the hospital as a kid?”

“I’m not even sure. At least once a year from the time I was four till I was fifteen.”

“That seems like a lot.”

“It was, but it was necessary because as you grow, normal skin grows along with the rest of your body. But scarred skin doesn’t make new cells, so they have to keep creating grafts to keep up.”

“Oh.” Picturing him as a little kid, having to go through surgery over and over again breaks my heart.

“Anyway, the first stretch—the time where I stared at the picture of the flowers—the ward was a really quiet place. I was little, so I don’t remember too much except that it was lonely. I didn’t see other patients. But when I went back for skin graft surgeries, I was on the other end of the ward, surrounded by other kids. When I whined to my parents that it was still boring, my older brother gave me his Close ’n Play and a stack of 45s so I could listen to music.”

“That was nice of him.”

“Well, he did get a nicer player out of the deal. Anyway, I wanted to listen all day long. It helped distract me from the pain, the itching, and having to lie still. It was always something. But you can only listen to one 45 over and over so many times before you go nuts. I’d push the call button to get a nurse to turn the record over for me, which of course drove them crazy, so at some point an actual stereo appeared on the ward. Some nurse convinced the powers that be that it was calming for everyone. They’d stack LPs and let ’em play one after the other. The staff had some pretty eclectic tastes. You never knew what you were going to get.”

“But it helped?”

“There are some songs from that era that I can’t listen to. They’re locked up with memories I can’t… I don’t want to revisit.”

Picturing my nieces going through something like this? I can’t even imagine it. “Maybe that’s why you like newer music.”

He huffs out a laugh. “I definitely couldn’t work at an oldies station. I’m thankful for those songs, though. They kept my heart beating, my lungs moving the air in and out.”

“I get that. Like your organs moved in rhythm with the music. I feel that when I get lost in choreography. It’s not the same, but—” There’s a knock on the pantry door, and Tim sticks his head in.

“Do you still want a ride to the theater? Bus is leaving in five.”

“Oh shit. Sorry, Cal, I have to go.” To Tim, I whisper, “Yes, please.”

When I haul myself up off the floor, I make a very unladylike sound.

“You okay?” both Tim and Cal ask.

“Yeah, I think my butt fell asleep.”

I wave Tim out of the way as I head back to the kitchen.

“Can we talk tonight?” Cal asks.

“Won’t you be at the club till late?”

“Right. So… will I see you tomorrow night? Will you come to my place after your shows?”

Gripping the receiver in both hands, I bounce on the balls of my feet, partly to wake them up, but partly because this man makes me feel giddy. “I will.”

“Good. I miss you, princess.”

As I follow Tim down the front steps, he says, “I think I need to hear all about whoever it is that put that blush on your cheeks, girlfriend. Someone’s not going to need any makeup this afternoon.”

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