Page 13 of The Reboot
‘Yeah. Group therapy.’ He rolled his eyes.
Charlie laughed. ‘Post-group therapy. That’s what we all needed.’
‘Even Zack?’
‘Yeah, probably not Zack.’
Roly felt a surge of warmth and sympathy towards Charlie. They’d first bonded over slagging off Zack.
‘Did you hear him on the radio the other day?’
‘Aw shit, I missed it.’
Charlie smiled. ‘He said that Liam had predicted when we split up that Zack would be the most successful of us all – and Zack says “and he wasn’t wrong”!’
‘Yeah, modesty was never his strong point, was it?’
‘Once he started believing his own publicity, there was no stopping him!’
Roly laughed.
‘Sometimes I envied you, you know,’ Charlie said quietly.
‘Me?’
‘Yeah. That you got out when you did – when it was still a laugh, you know? Before it all got so serious and all the bitching and in-fighting started. You had the best of it, and then you got out, got your life back.’
‘You think that’s what happened?’
Charlie turned to look him square in the eye. ‘Honestly? I envied the shit out of you. It was like you had the best of both worlds – you got to be in Oh Boy! when it was all new and exciting and …fun. And then you got to not be in it and go back to having a normal life.’
‘Yeah, it must have been a nightmare travelling the world, making tons of money, going to all those parties, girls throwing themselves at you everywhere you went…’ It came out more bitterly than he intended. He got where Charlie was coming from, so why did he have to sound so angry? It was pathetic.
Charlie smiled. ‘I’m not saying it was all bad. It had its moments.’
‘And rehab isn’t exactly normal life.’
‘No, I’m sure. I just mean we all had to go through it at some stage – Oh Boy! being over. And it was always going to be an adjustment. At least you got to do it before things went sour.’ He drained his Coke and stood. ‘Anyway, the chilli should be done. Let’s eat.’
‘So, do you see much of the guys now?’ Roly asked. They’d moved to the kitchen/diner and sat on high stools at a marble-topped counter.
‘No. I used to see Liam a good bit, but not for ages now. We’re still in touch pretty regularly, though. The others, not so much … well, until recently.’
Roly raised his eyebrows.
‘That’s kind of what I wanted to talk to you about. Zack rang the other day. He’s going to be in Dublin in the next couple of months. We’re meeting up … all of us.’
‘What? Everyone?’
‘Yeah.’ Charlie looked down at his bowl, concentrating on crunching a handful of tortilla chips into his chilli, then adding a dollop of sour cream, a sprinkling of cheese and a spoonful of guacamole. ‘I thought he might have rung you,’ he said finally.
‘Uh … no. Why would Zack ringme?’
‘I just thought…’ He broke off and sighed, stirring his chilli thoughtfully. Leaning back in his chair, he put down his fork and eyeballed Roly. ‘The thing is, he’s talking about a reunion.’
‘A reunion? What kind of reunion?’ But Roly already knew he wasn’t talking about a get-together for a few drinks and a trip down memory lane.
‘You know – the group getting back together. Making an album, doing a tour – a comeback, basically.’ He picked up his fork and resumed eating.
