Page 10 of Counterpoint and Harmony

Chapter Eight

A capriccio:a free and capricious approach to tempo

Charlie

I unlock the door to my house in Spokane, pushing aside all lingering pangs of nostalgia for everything this house represents. Being normal. Having friends. Damian. I knock twice on the open door. “Lauren? You here?”

“Charlie!” she yells and skips out of the kitchen at the back of the house. “You made it!”

I step all the way inside, pulling the door mostly closed behind me, a huge grin on my face. “Of course I did. I told you I wouldn’t miss your recital.” I return her exuberant hug. It’s fun making someone happy just by showing up. I mean, technically that isn’t a new thing for me. But most people are happy to see me because I’m Charlotte James, pop princess. It’s my celebrity they’re excited about, not me. But Lauren’s just happy that I’m here for me. That’s a rare and precious thing in my world, which is why as soon as she told me the date of her recital, I cleared everything on my schedule. My mom gave me multiple lectures about it. I listened politely to the first two or three. After that, I started getting up and leaving the room. Or hanging up, if we were on the phone.

I’ve started looking for my own place, but between working with The Professor, writing the new songs for my album between our meetings, and laying down the demo to bring to the label execs next week, I’ve been busy. It doesn’t help that I’m trying to keep the fact that I’m moving out under my mom’s radar.

When Lauren steps back, I grip her shoulders so she’ll look at me. “I have a surprise for you.”

Lauren’s eyebrows jump up. “Really? What?”

Pushing the door open behind me, Gabby pops into view. “Surprise!”

Lauren squeals and practically shoves me out of the way to throw her arms around Gabby’s neck and pull her inside. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming? You said you couldn’t make it!”

“I didn’t think I could. But we made it work, so here I am.” They separate for a second, smiles on everyone’s faces, then Gabby grabs Lauren for another hug. “I’ve missed you.”

“Aw, I missed you too, Gabby.” Lauren throws her arm out. “Get in here, Charlie. I’ve missed both of you. It’s weird living by myself.”

Gabby throws her arm out too. “Yeah, Charlie. You need to get in here for a group hug.”

Laughing, I do. These girls are the friends I always wanted as a teenager. The kind I saw in movies and read about in books, but never had the opportunity to encounter in real life. Happy tears sting my eyes.

When Lauren hears me sniff, she pushes away, giving me a look. “None of that. If you start crying, I’m going to cry, and I don’t want to cry right now. I’m happy that you’re both here. How long are you staying?” Her hands fly to her mouth. “Oh my God, you guys are going to cause a riot.” Eyes narrowed, she looks us over. “If you’re in the audience, no one’s going to be paying attention to my recital.”

Gabby laughs. “We’ll listen from the greenroom.”

My mouth twists in disappointment. “Yeah. If that’s what we have to do, we will. I was really hoping to watch from inside the hall, though. It’s not the same in the greenroom.”

“True.” Gabby sighs, then waves her hands. “We’ll figure it out. That’s why we came a couple of days early. Do you have another rehearsal with your pianist? Can we sneak in for that? I mean, you won’t be in your awesome dress, but at least we’d get to hear you play from the audience.”

“Hmm.” Lauren’s brow furrows, and she strokes her chin as she thinks. Gabby and I exchange a smirk. When Lauren considers something, she strokes her chin like a man stroking his beard. She calls it her existential beard and swears it helps her think better.

“That might work.” Her hand drops and her focus sharpens on Gabby and me. “You guys will have to sneak in. I’m rehearsing on Friday afternoon so we’re out in time for the recital that night. That means people will be around. If anyone recognizes either of you, you’ll get mobbed.”

Gabby gives her a skeptical look and gestures at me. “I can see Charlie getting mobbed. Especially since no one realized who she was when she was here before. But me? I thought you said that I was a cautionary tale around here.”

Lauren laughs. “Yeah, you kind of are. But that doesn’t mean people aren’t also starstruck. And if you ask me, I think the people who snipe about you are jealous of your success more than anything.” She waves her hand, as if waving off an unpleasant odor. “Don’t worry about stupid people. I am serious about the mob, though. If you stay for at least part of the day on Sunday, you should do something so that people here can come see you, talk to you, get an autograph or something. I’ll seriously get in trouble if people find out you came after the fact and they didn’t get a chance to meet you both.”

“Oh.” I chew on my lip. “I’m sorry, Lauren. I wasn’t trying to make your life more difficult by coming. Or bringing Gabby. I just …”

Lauren’s eyes go wide. “No! No. I’m so excited you’re here. It means a lot to me that you’d make the effort. I know how busy you both are. And it’s not like you’re close by, either. Not everyone I’d like to be here is able to make it.” She says the last part quietly, and swallows visibly, before shaking her head and moving on. “I’m just saying, it’d be cool if you guys did something on Sunday that we could invite people to.” Then she narrows her eyes, and one corner of her mouth lifts in a sassy smirk. “But not before. I don’t want anyone distracting from my big day.”

Gabby laughs. “You sound like a bridezilla.”

Lauren’s smile widens, and she shrugs. “A violinzilla? Does that work as a thing?”

“Ha. No, I don’t think so. But I can’t blame you. You’re the diva this weekend. We’re not here to overshadow you. I’ll have my manager see if there’s a venue available on such short notice. Hang on.” I pull out my phone and send a quick text.

“Ooh.” Gabby nudges my shoulder with hers. “How are you liking your new manager?”

I look up from my phone and flash her a grin. “She’s awesome. And she’ll totally make Sunday happen somewhere great. Just wait.”

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