“You live in a warehouse?”
“Yeah.” Dillon opens one of the large side-by-side entry doors.”
“It’s empty.” Camilla peers deep into the dark space. “There’s nothing in here.”
“It was a print shop. It used to make posters, placards, billboards, books, books for schools…”
“Where do you sleep?”
Dillon points alongside the wall to the right. “My place is up those stairs.”
“You don’t mind if I make a call right quick, do you?”
“A safety call?”
She lightly places a hand to his arm. “No, I just want to give Laura an update.”
Camilla talks into the microphone. “Hey, I… I found something, but not with David’s plug. He never showed.” She looks to Dillon. “I met a really cool guy, though.” Camilla holds up her camera and snaps.
“Safety call.”
“I’m just showing Laura how cute you are… She said you’re hot and that she can’t wait to meet you.”
Dillon leans, elevating his voice. “I’m looking forward to meeting you, too.”
“Okay, Laura, we’re about to go up. I’ll let you know how it goes.”
Camilla’s eyes are quickly drawn to the framed poster on the wall of the entryway. “Wait, that’s Spider Venom. I’ve heard them on WTUL. They sing that song I like, ‘Come For Our Love’.”
“That’s my band.”
“Right? Have you seen them play?”
“I’ve seen every show.”
“Wow, aren’t you a big fan?”
“I’m their biggest fan because it’s my band.”
“Wait… What?”
“It’s the band I play in.”
“Fuck out of here. Are you serious?” Camilla steps closer. “Is that you, Dillon? It is you!” She presses her finger to Dillon’s image. “That’s you right there! You’re on the mic! You sing…”
“And play guitar.”
“Is that you on the song?”
“Yeah.”
“Wow! I’m with a rock star? I can’t wait to tell Laura. She’s going to want to suck your cock!”
“Wow…”
“And that drummer… She’s so intense.”
“That’s Gwen.”
“She’s beautiful. I love her big hair.”
“Don’t touch Gwen’s fro.”
“I bet.” She turns to Dillon. “Are you fucking her?”
“Gwen? No, she likes what the guys like. If she sees you…”
“I’m not into the chicks, Dillon.” Camilla mutters, singing ‘Come For Our Love’ as she tours the flat. “All this music stuff everywhere. This is so cool.”
“It’s my sanctuary. It’s where it all begins. I wrote every song right here in this room.”
“May I?” Camilla is approaching the sofa near the window.
“Oh, yeah. I’m sorry.” Dillon hurried towards the kitchen. “Would you like something to drink? Juice, water, Vodka…?”
“Water is fine. I’m so thirsty.”
“Coming up.”
Dillon returned with two napkin-wrapped bottles of Kentwood and placed them on the coffee table. “Ice cold water.”
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
“So, tell me about your guitars. They’re so pretty. I like how you have them all displayed on those… What are those?”
“Stands… Guitar stands. I use them for our shows. This is my actual stage arrangement. I rehearse here, and I like to keep it familiar.”
“You use more than one guitar for a concert?”
“Different songs have different moods and require guitars with different tones.”
“That sounds so complicated.”
“It makes sense once you hear the differences.”
“What’s that first one? I’ve seen that kind a lot.”
“It’s a Strat…”
“A Strat? Like the violin?”
“That’s a Stradivarius. This is a Stratocaster.”
“It’s so elegant. I like how it’s dark on the outer edges and gets lighter, like orange and yellow towards the middle.”
“It’s called sunburst.”
“Ahh. I can see that.”
Dillon points to the neck plate. “It’s a fiftieth anniversary… American-made.”
“Is that better?”
“Oh yeah. There are cheaper versions made in Mexico, and they are good. You can gig professionally with them, but they’re not as good as the American-made ones.”
“You got the best one.”
“Yeah…”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“Dillon. I don’t need to check the time to know that I only met you less than three hours ago. But in that little time, I can already read you. What’s wrong?”
He forces a grin. “It’s nothing… Really.”
“Can you share that nothing?” She takes his hand. “If you don’t want to, I’ll understand.”
He raises his eyes. He’s met with warmth. “It was a gift from my father… It was my nineteenth birthday. He and my mom had surprised me, and I was so excited, you know? They wanted to take me to dinner, but I wanted to stay and play it… If I’d only gone with them…everything would have been different.”
“Oh, no, Dillon.”
“A drunk driver… They never had a chance, Camilla. They were at a red light. A witness said that mom had reached over and was giving dad a kiss on his cheek.”
Creole Gaudet
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