Rhythm in Blue Read online

  “Dad!” Shelby yelled again. “Where’s Dad?”

  “Upstairs in his studio,” Judy said, but Shelby was already up the stairs.

  “What brings you here, besides Shelby?” Judy laughed.

  “She wanted me to see your place and meet her dad,” Rick lied. He wanted to wait until they were together to approach them about the lessons.

  Shelby came back down the stairs with her father in tow. “Rick…this is my dad, Larry.”

  “Well, this is a pleasure,” said Larry, shaking Rick’s hand, “I heard you were on the island, and I was hoping I’d eventually get to meet you.”

  Larry offered him a seat at the table while Shelby disappeared. Rick told them he and the other three were on the island for Erin’s wedding, how Shelby had shown them where to snorkel, and that she helped them out with the misunderstanding over the bread – he left out the part about her teaching him to dance. Shelby returned with four glasses of lemonade and set them around the table. As she sat down, her father patted her arm and thanked her.

  “Anyway, Shelby and I were talking, and she was hoping I could give her a few guitar lessons while I’m here.” Her eyes grew wide, and she shot him a quick, questioning look, but her parents had both started:

  “Oh Shelby, how could you?” her mother began.

  “Shelby, why would you bother Rick?” scolded her father.

  “He offered!” She jumped from her seat, looking panicked.

  “I really don’t mind. I think it would be fun, and it would be good for Shelby,” Rick assured them, “broaden her education a bit, you know?” A guilty knot formed in his stomach.

  Larry shook his head at Shelby, “Rick, it’s a nice offer, but you’re on vacation, and if Shelby wants to learn to play, I can teach her.”

  “Honestly Larry?” Rick said, afraid he’d blown the deal, “I’m sick of the beach already, and I need something to keep me busy or I’ll start getting bored.”

  “Dad, you don’t have the time or patience to teach me.”

  “Well I think it’s a very kind offer, Ricky,” Judy said, and turning to Larry, she added, “and it’s best you don’t teach Shelby. Whenever you try to show her anything, the two of you end up fighting.” She turned back to Rick, “You guys could start tomorrow, when Shelby gets off work, would that be okay?”

  “Fine with me,” Rick said.

  Shelby nodded, but still eyed Rick with uncertainty, and he tried not to meet her gaze.

  He spent the rest of the afternoon with Judy and Larry, entertaining them with stories of the road and Smoke n’ Mirror’s exploits. Shelby disappeared to her room when it became clear that her parents did not welcome her participation in the conversation. As she left, she mumbled something about finding some dolls to play with.

  It was early evening by the time he left. Larry showed Rick his paintings and Judy read him her poems, and soon the lemonade changed to wine. They were easy to talk to, and the time passed quickly. He declined their invitation to dinner, thinking it was best to give Shelby some time to forget his duplicity. Rick followed the narrow streets, back the way Shelby led him, light-headed from the wine, and hashish Larry and Judy smoked with him. Tomorrow couldn’t come soon enough.

  Chapter Six

  “You’re doing what?” Devon didn’t hide his shock when Rick let it slip he’d been giving Shelby guitar lessons. The group sat at the Islander, having a drink before the place got going for the night. Kostas and Erin joined them since it was only about eight thirty. The waiters led Hasapiko lessons to tourists on the dance floor. Other than that, the place was empty.

  “I’ve been giving Shelby some lessons on the guitar,” Rick repeated.

  “Why?” asked Erin.

  “I don’t know, I guess because she’s been so helpful and nice, I just felt it would be a good way to repay her.”

  “So buy her a Coke!” Devon said.

  “Yeah, you’re not gonna be able to teach her much in four weeks anyway, actually, less than that,” Randy added.

  “How long have you guys been doing this?” Erin asked.

  “I don’t know…three or four days is all. Four I think,” Rick said, in an attempt to sound detached. He wasn’t sure why he felt so defensive. “It’s not that big a deal. And I’m not expecting her to be Bob Dylan or anything, just kinda get her started is all.”

  Erin chuckled and shook her head. “How did this even start?”

  Rick explained how she confided to him that she wanted to be a songwriter, but couldn’t play anything. Shelby was right about not being a singer. He gently persuaded her to sing him one of her songs, and she did sound as though she should be singing in a church choir – too much vibrato in her voice. “You have to relax and not try so hard,” he told her. “If you work at it, you can change your delivery.” He taught her to experiment with the shape of her mouth, and to sing lazy, both of which would change her sound. Her song was good, though. It was a lot like her – naïve and unpolished on the surface, but deep and soulful at the core.

  “Well, I think you’re nuts,” Devon said, shaking his head.

  “I think it’s sweet.” Erin reached over and scratched her fingers lightly over Rick’s back, but Devon continued to shake his head.

  Kostas didn’t say anything up to this point, but finally nodded his head, stood up, looked at Rick and said, “It is good, yes? It is good you do this to her.” As Kostas headed toward the bar, the others snickered at his broken English, but Rick didn’t laugh. Erin and Devon followed Kostas, and Randy left the table, announcing he needed to take a piss.

  When they were all gone, Keith came over and put his hand on Rick’s shoulder. “I gotta say, I’m with Kostas on this one. You need to watch yourself.” As Keith followed the others to the bar, Rick could feel his irritation growing. After all, Shelby wasn’t some powerful temptress, she was just a kid, and he was perfectly capable of controlling himself. In fact, it made him angry to think that anyone might get the wrong idea about his relationship with her. They know me better than that, they know I’m not a fucking pervert. As visions of the last young lady he bedded flashed through his mind, he tried to dismiss them, reminding himself that she claimed to be older, and had he been sober, he never would have slept with her. The knot in his stomach remained.

  ~

  When the dance lessons ended, people began to wander into the club. On his way back from the bathroom, Randy struck up a conversation with a German woman who had been learning the Hasapiko. She and her three her friends invited Randy to bring his friends over to their table for a drink.

  He rushed to the bar – “Come on guys, I’ve got four hot ones on the line.”

  Rick wasn’t in the mood to party with them, but Keith teased him, “Man, you haven’t gotten laid since you got here. Has the well run dry for ya?” Shame made him agree to the drink, so he followed the others.

  As they approached, Randy whispered, “The blond in the red top thinks you’re cute, she called dibs on you.”

  Randy made introductions, helped by the girls as he went along – Eva (in the red top), Anna, Gretchen, and Christine. The girls all worked at the same hospital in Munich. They were on Paros for two days, then off to the other islands. They all shook hands and pulled stools from neighboring tables, squeezing together to fit around one table.

  As soon as Rick sat down, Eva’s hand was on his leg, making her intentions clear. Her long, blond hair draped over her ample bosom, and accentuated her curvaceous body as she moved. Gorgeous, and just the type he would normally go for, he couldn’t work up any enthusiasm to be with her.

  Anna was just as forward with Randy, but the other two girls were more reserved, so Randy tried to explain to the girls that they were famous back in the States. Rick shook his head and had to laugh. Fame, Randy assumed, was an aphrodisiac for everyone, and Rick knew Randy figured if the girls knew who they were, or at least knew they were famous, Devon and Keith would have an easier time getting Gretchen and Christine into bed,
so he crooned the first few lines of Bring It to Me until the women began to nod their recognition.

  “Have you been to Greece before?” Eva asked him in an attempt at a more personal conversation.

  “No, first time.”

  “How do you like it?”

  “It’s great,” he said, without elaborating.

  She nodded, trying not to show her frustration at not being able to draw him into a discussion. “Have you been to other countries in Europe?”

  “England, a few years back,” he said, looking around to make sure Shelby hadn’t slipped in. He didn’t want her to see him with Eva, and maybe get the wrong idea.

  As they finished their drinks, the disco music was in full swing, so Eva asked Rick if he would dance with her.

  “Oh, thanks, but I’m really not a dancer.”

  Randy piped up, “That’s not what I heard. I heard the other night you were a regular Dancing Queen.”

  Rick shook his head, “I was drunk, and made a fool out of myself, onetime thing.” He turned to Eva, “I’m sorry, but I’m sure there are lots of other guys here who will dance with you.”

  “It’s okay, we don’t have to dance, but I see you are watching the doors. Are you waiting for someone?”

  “No,” he slowly shook his head, “No, I was just thinking maybe we should go someplace else, someplace better.”

  Randy clapped his hands, “Now you’re talking, let’s blow this joint and go paint the town!”

  “This means what?” Anna asked him.

  “Let’s go have some fun,” he translated.

  ~

  They headed up the waterfront to an area thick with discothèques from which to choose. The crowded waterfront road, or Paralia, teamed with people out for an evening stroll and those jumping from one club to another. The walking of the Paralia was an activity in itself, and many people spent the entire evening just walking back and forth, stopping to visit with a friend or acquaintance now and then. The Greek women wore their best outfits, and the men walked casually, flipping their prayer beads as they went. Children darted in and out, and around the strolling people in an endless game of chase. The Paralia was the only road running the entire length of the village that could accommodate vehicles, in the evenings, it closed to any traffic other than foot.

  Entering the Disco Sirocco, Rick opened the door for Eva, and she reached out and gently ran her hand down his cheek. She seemed genuinely sweet, but Rick still couldn’t warm up to her. He decided to act the part, even if he didn’t feel up to it.

  They found a table and sat. “How about some shots to get things started?” Rick suggested. Anything to lessen the tension. Only Eva agreed, so he ordered them each a shot of Tequila. It didn’t help, so he ordered them another.

  Eva didn’t want hers, and whispered, “You don’t have to get me drunk.” He smiled and tossed back her shot, and then excused himself to use the restroom. On the way back, he hit the bar for a few more shots, not at all comfortable with the situation. If they’d been back home, it might have seemed a little more routine, in fact, he probably would have already had the woman by now, in some dark corner, hidden away, or in the bathroom. But things were different now. One of the best things about the island was being able to get away from that kind of thing, not just continue on, business as usual. He wished he had never agreed to the drink, that he’d just stayed at the Islander.

  Eva kissed his ear and neck while the others danced. She still had her hand attached to his thigh and Rick was beginning to get irritated, but didn’t rebuff her advances. Instead, he tried to appear coy. When the others returned from the dance floor, he jumped up, away from her, and suggested that they move on to the next club. Everyone agreed, so back out to the Paralia they went.

  Rick was glad to be up and moving, but more relieved to have her hands off him. A little dizzy from the tequila, and the three rum and cokes he’d already had, the night air felt good, but it was short lived. The next club was only a quick walk down the road. Once they took their seats, Rick repeated the routine, ordering them each a drink and a shot. Before Eva could decide if she was ready for another, Rick picked up her glass and downed it.

  Randy looked at him and asked, “What the fuck are you doing?”

  “I’m having fun, baby.”

  This time, Eva went with the others to dance, leaving Rick alone. He sat, smoking one cigarette after another, and downing several more drinks. As his head swam, he wondered if he’d stayed at the Islander, maybe Shelby would have come and he could have danced with her again, a slow dance even. He craved the healing effect she had on him. Years on the road took their toll. Burned out, exhausted, and feeling so much older than his age, somehow, she was reversing the damage he sustained playing the role of a rock star.

  He ordered two more shots.

  The loud music made his head hurt, and the flashing strobe lights pushed him away from the here-and-now. Eva came back to check on him, and it took him a minute to remember who she was. As he watched, her figure appeared to split into multiples, all rapidly changing places.

  “Are you okay, Ricky?” she asked.

  He stared for a minute, the blinking lights making it hard to focus, but finally smiled at her. “I’m good, you can dance,” he heard himself slur as he motioned her away. She left, but returned moments later with Devon.

  “Is it time to move on?” Rick tried to sit up. The room began to spin.

  Devon shook his head. “Come on Ricky, let’s get you home.”

  Chapter Seven

  As Rick showered the next morning, the incessant pounding in his head painfully reminded him of the previous night’s antics. He tried to push it from his mind, ashamed of how he behaved toward Eva. She certainly didn’t deserve that kind of treatment. Even as he chased other thoughts, a nagging in the back of his mind wouldn’t go away – something about last night.

  At the café beside their hotel, he found Devon alone at a table, enjoying a cup of coffee. Rick pulled out a chair.

  “You don’t look too bad, considering the mess you were last night.”

  “Don’t remind me,” he said, but the nagging feeling continued to prod him as he sat down. “Where are they?” he asked, nodding toward the two empty chairs at the table.

  “I haven’t seen them, so I’m guessing they got lucky.”

  “I’m sorry. You know, you could have gone back,” Rick said, knowing he was the reason Devon sat here instead of lying in bed with Gretchen. The waiter came, and Rick asked for coffee.

  “Well, by the time I got you into bed, and walked Shelby home,” – Boom! That was it – “it was pretty late. I don’t think she was very impressed with you last night, by the way.”

  Rick’s memory of the previous night came slowly, as did the nausea. Only, he couldn’t remember all of it. They were walking along, or staggering in Rick’s case, and Devon heard something coming from an alley they passed. Some kind of ruckus – Shelby with a boy or something, and Devon chased him maybe? He racked his brain. What the hell happened?

  “On our way to the hotel last night, we found Shelby…” Devon prompted.

  “Yeah, yeah, and she was screwing around with a guy?”

  “Well, I wouldn’t call it that. This guy had her pinned up against a wall, kinda looked like he and his buddy were trying to force themselves on her,” Devon searched Rick’s face, looking for a sign that he remembered, “She was crying…you really don’t remember?”

  Rick nodded. He did remember, just not well. He remembered Devon running down the street, chasing the boys off. He remembered hugging Shelby to comfort her, nearly knocking her down in the process. She had to grab him and hold him up.

  “She helped me drag your sorry ass back to your room and put you in bed. You know, you’re really an idiot when you’re drunk.”

  Rick dropped his head into his hands and nodded. Painfully, he remembered asking Shelby to go to bed with him. Devon was in the bathroom getting him a glass of water. “I don’t w
ant to be alone,” Rick told her.

  When he came back into the room, Devon told him, “You wouldn’t be alone if you hadn’ta drank so much.”

  “Yeah, when I walked her home, I told her she had no business out gallivanting around at that hour. She said she’d never had a problem before, and didn’t know who those guys were. They’d just come out of nowhere.”

  But that Rick did remember, it wasn’t just some guy, it was Takis.

  ~

  Two-thirty and still no Shelby. Rick waited with an embarrassed Judy, as she tried to think of possible explanations for Shelby’s absence. He wasn’t surprised – she was probably angry with him, and had every right to be. It would be a wonder if she ever spoke to him again.

  Judy’s apologies followed him out the door as he left to go find Shelby. If she was angry with him, he wanted to talk to her about it and straighten the whole thing out. She wasn’t hard to find. As soon as he started down the steps to the chapel, he saw her – not swimming or sunbathing, but sitting quietly in the shade of the cliff and spindly pine trees.

  “You okay?” he asked, sitting beside her on the rock. He could barely choke it out, afraid of what her response might be.

  “Yeah, I’m sorry. I didn’t think I could face you today…after last night.” She wouldn’t meet his gaze.

  “Look,” he said, “I am really sorry. I was wasted, and I don’t blame you if you hate me.”

  “You’re sorry, for what? And why would I hate you?”

  “For asking you to sleep with me, it’s, uh, it’s unforgivable.”

  Shelby shook her head and laughed, “You didn’t try to get me to sleep with you!” She was still laughing, and finally looked up at him. A bruise marred her cheek. “Is that what you think? No, it wasn’t like that. You just wanted me to stay with you. You didn’t want to be alone. You weren’t after sex.”