Page 35 of Echoes of a Muted Song

The best part was seeing the note about there not being anyone to come around and take our orders. We just needed to key them into the kiosk at the table, and food and beverages would be brought while the movie played.

“This is so badass,” Johnny whisper-squealed as our guards took up positions nearby while we indulged ourselves. “How the hell did you find this place?”

“After seeing you in the comedy club doodling away, I thought you’d get a kick out of seeing all of the different kinds of animation and comic strips they described on the website,” I conveyed through my device.

“You thought right,” Johnny said, snuggling against my side and hugging me. “Thank you.”

I cupped the back of his neck, kissed the top of his head, then tugged him up so I could kiss him properly.

“You already did,” I murmured. “With the look on your face when you walked through the door.”

With a squee and a squirm, he picked up one of the menus and I snagged the other.

Holy shit.

Every dish was character themed. Now I understood why the website suggested touring the museum before checking out the food. There were so many inside jokes and subtle references that came from the clips on display, that it made reading through it hilarious.

“I’ve gotta do it,” Johnny declared.

“Do what?”

“I’ve gotta dish the duck.”

Groaning, I pinched the bridge of my nose and shook my head.

“With some devilish dumplings and pickled daikon.”

Scrubbing a hand over my face, I resisted the urge to bang my head on the table, but only by the barest margin.

“Gonna have to get the bacon and bill sauce, too, with a feathered mocktini to top it all off.”

Chuckling at his thoughtful ensemble, I felt compelled to pay just as much attention to my meal selection as he had.

With vivid images of the room that had allowed us to experience what it was like to live beneath the waves still fresh and flashing through my head, I chose the bucket of blue crabs with mini lobster rolls, reminded of the shortfilm about competing food trucks and the chaos they’d brought to their seaside town.

“This has been an awesome day,” Johnny said, dancing a hand up my arm as I put my final selection in, of an ocean lite-breeze. “Thank you for bringing me. I’m gonna have to up my game when it’s my turn to plan a day out.”

“I’ll let you set up the next one, as long as you remember to check in with me about dates and times,” I reminded him. “The list of radio engagements is growing and I don’t expect that to slow down anytime soon.”

“Good, those are fun. I’d rather interact with the fans over the airwaves than have them swarming all over me.”

“Same. And now I don’t ever have to worry about doing another one again,” I said. “Can’t have dead air while I fuck around typing.”

“Well, I don’t mind, and I know Rebel loves them. We’re happy to do them, even when the other guys don’t feel like going.”

“Good to know,” I typed.

Many of the smaller stations wouldn’t have enough room in their booth for the whole band and the host so it was good to know which guys didn’t mind putting in an appearance as a duo. Their band was close, but it had always felt like there was a special bond between Rebel and Johnny. They really fed off of one another, especially when they were up on stage, rolling on a wave of cocky exuberance that allowed them toenthrall crowds of all sizes.

“Did you ever think about pursuing art instead of music?” I typed, worried as I hit play, because the machine only had one tone, and I didn’t want the question to come off like I thought he’d made a poor career choice.

“Not really,” Johnny said and propped his chin on his hand. “I just liked to doodle my thoughts. Some people journal and write out a bunch of stuff about how their day went, I drew the things that stood out. Now I have these visual diaries of my life dating back to when I was a kid.”

“Where do you keep them all?” I typed.

“My apartment, except the current ones, those are always on the road with me,” Johnny explained. “I’ve been thinking about what you said about using them on merchandise and on the website with more frequency. You’re right, we should, that’s something the fans have never stopped asking for. We decided to go ahead with the cookbook idea we’d been tossing around, too, and include some stories from the road and whatever prompted or inspired a particular recipe, if we remember. I can already see three different stories for every one meal we introduce.”

“Nothing wrong with that. It will just give your fans some greater insight into who you guys are and what living a mostly nomadic lifestyle has been like for you.”

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