Page 77 of Elusion

True happiness is for her,

Not for you or me or those

Who choose to sit idly by,

Letting the best parts fade away,

Lost forever deep inside.

He plays for several measures, the song regaining speed. After two choruses, the notes slow for a final time.

I’ll always remain bound,

Bound to you.

The last chord of the song resolves, and he jumps up for a bow. The applause for him is much more genuine than what they gave Guitar Girl. Well deserved, of course. He’s a born performer.

Mike reclaims the stage. “Who needs a band with that kind of talent?” He slaps Benji on the shoulder. “Next up, we have Dan Williams.”

Benji trots down the steps toward Callie. He picks her up, and she beams at him, her arms tight around his neck. I make my way over. When he spots me, he sets her down. “Hear that, man? That’s what it sounds like when no one holds me back.”

“Yeah, just remember my writing credit after you make it big.” I kiss Callie and sit in the chair beside her.

“Where’s Felicia?” she asks.

“She found a more attractive guy.”

She juts out her lower lip, feeling bad for me, and I let her.

Benji takes a seat on the other side of her. His foot hooks the leg of her chair, and he drags it closer to him. “My date.”

She laughs, shrugging her shoulders. I almost comment about her being more his girlfriend than mine but stop myself. The middle of a crowded bar is not the place to sound like an idiot on the label front.

The kid on the stage with his guitar earns our attention. His song’s a little too twangy for my taste. During the chorus, Benji whispers something in Callie’s ear. She wrinkles her nose and smiles. Honestly, I’m not sure what to think of their interaction and unsure if it bothers me.

He notices me watching and nods.

Twangy finishes, and Mike announces a short break between performers. When the regular bar music kicks on over the speakers, Callie goes to get another drink and leaves Benji and me at the table. Other than short exchanges coming and going, our last in-depth conversation happened weeks ago. Since returning from spring break, he’s given me space with Callie. I figure he’s enjoying a vacation after dealing with the mopey ghost of Jordan.

“When did you start working on your own stuff?” I ask.

“A onetime thing, I assure you.”

“The one song you write and perform alone is about Callie?”

He takes a swig of his beer. “My song’s not about her, man. It’s about her struggle.”

“Her struggle?”

“Your girl inspired me. She finally figured out how to keep the worst part of her life from ruining the rest of it.”

My eyebrows pull together at his choice of phrasing. Callie used the exact same description when talking about Graham.

“You know about her father?”

He nods. “We had a long talk on the drive back from the State party.”

“You drove her home that night?”

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