Sweet Forty-Two(3)

My sister was several years older than me, and I didn’t spend a lot of time with her growing up. While Ember and I never directly talked about it, it was like we’d adopted each other as brother and sister. I knew she was worried about me because I didn’t talk much about Rae, but there wasn’t much I felt I needed to say. I just needed to get settled in my own apartment, get playing with the band, and the rest would take care of itself. I needed to push through this.

Just a little longer and I’d be okay.

“How long is CJ planning on staying, anyway?” Ember’s nose scrunched a little as she formed her question.

“Ha, don’t worry, Em, I won’t let him touch your things.”

“Mmm.” Ember arched her eyebrow as she took a sip of her coffee. “Thank you. Okay, love, I’m out to run some errands, then I’ll be at the studio the rest of the day.”

“You have fun, and I’ll try to make sure CJ is in bed with a dose of penicillin by the time you guys get home.”

Ember choked on her coffee as she laughed. “This. This is why I love you. Later.”

“Later.”





A couple of hours later I was waiting in San Diego International Airport. CJ had, in true CJ fashion, invited himself out for a visit. I’d only been in San Diego for about a week, and was still looking for my own place to live, but he said it was too cold in the Cape to wait for me to get my act together.

“Hey, *!”

And, there he was.

CJ’s movements didn’t match his looks as he brightly bounced toward me. He was clearly hung over, his usually-gelled hair sticking straight out on all sides, making him look like Animal from The Muppets.

Okay, maybe his movements perfectly matched his personality.

“What up, cuz?” I high-fived him, pulling him into a half-hug.

Even though he was a couple of years younger than me, my mother had always demanded that I play with him, given he was an only child and my sister was out of the house most of the time. I looked after him for as long as I needed to, but once high school came, and we went to different schools, he no longer needed me. While I was always taller, he doubled in size across his shoulders and in every muscle of his body. CJ could take plenty good care of himself and was able to find many girls who could take care of what he couldn’t.

“Let’s get this party started, bro. It’s cold as balls back home, man. God, it’s gorgeous here! You lucky f*ckin’ bastard. What’s up first?” With his ADHD in full effect, CJ bounced beside me as we walked to my car.

“How’s the band been going?” I asked a few minutes into our drive.

“Slow right now, our next big show will be St. Patrick’s Day.” CJ’s hands rapped lightly against the dashboard as he looked out the window. “So, where are we going?”

“We’re going to head down to South Park, I think. I’ve heard great things about the neighborhood, and it seems affordable.”

“Oh no shit! E’s Tavern is in South Park. We have to go there.” His drumming got louder as he smiled.

I looked at him out of the corner of my eye. “What’s so special about E’s?”

“Well, for one, they’ve got live music. Stage, open mic nights, everything. You could play there when you’re not recording. But, most importantly,” he stopped his drumming and arched an eyebrow, “Georgia’s there.”

Of course.

I couldn’t help but laugh when he flicked his tongue ring against his teeth as he wiggled his eyebrows. “Do I even want to know?”

Probably not.

“Oh,” he returned his attention to the road, and his fingers to the beat, “you’ll know.”

“What’d you run out of women on the East Coast who bought your shit, so you had to outsource?” I’d always wondered how he avoided sleeping with the same girl twice.

CJ’s face crinkled a bit. “Fuck no, dude. I’ve never slept with her. It’s ... Georgia.”

“Surprisingly, CJ, I don’t follow your logic. Georgia is female, yes?” I watched him grin as I sipped from my water bottle.

“Yeah, but it’s not like that. We went to high school together until senior year when her dad pulled her out of school and moved her here. He used to own that bar in Provincetown we played at in high school. Dunes, remember?”

I nodded. Dunes was kind of a dive bar, but it was the only one that let us play on weekends when we were teenagers. I had no recollection of Georgia, though I did have a clear memory of the owner of the place, and it wasn’t a pretty one. He was kind of straggly with your standard town-drunk demeanor. The fact that he had children at all was concerning on a number of levels.

“Anyway,” CJ continued, “we stayed friends after she moved, and...”

I cut him off as I spit out my water. “I’m sorry,” I coughed, “what the hell did you just say? Friends? And a girl? In the same sentence?”

“Fuck off,” he mumbled, sitting back and crossing his arms.

“Okay, okay, no need to get your panties in a bunch. We’ll go to E’s to meet your friend.” My air-quotes around the last word was a little too much and earned me a punch in the arm.

E’s Tavern was on Ash Street, and from the outside looked as much like a grocery store as a bar. The bright-blue painted wood exterior had me fearing I’d end up in the middle of a happy hour for senior citizens. Reminding myself that I was in the middle of South Park quelled my fears. I’d heard from a lot of friends around the country that this hip area of San Diego was where I’d want to make a home for myself. Checking out the wildly painted bungalows all around me, and hearing the saxophonist playing on the corner, I’d say they were right.