“How'd ya get all this then?” Luke rubbed Emmett's massive bicep playfully. “Was it college football?”

“Wrestling, actually. I mean I played some football, but I got to college on a wrestling scholarship.”

“You ever try to go pro?”

“Yeah, I tried, but I'm not that good.” Emmett shrugged. “It got me through school, and I went to a bunch of tournaments out of state so I got to travel and see things…”

“And you built this all up,” Luke said, gesturing appreciatively at him.

Emmett grinned. “I spent a lot of time in the gym.”

They spoke in low voices, trying not to disturb the shadowy stillness around them. Below them the bus wheels rumbled faintly, and outside nothing was visible in the darkness beside the highway.

“I guess your youth was a lot healthier 'n mine,” Luke drawled.

“You didn't play sports?”

“Not really. Just music.”

“When did you start playing guitar?”

“Guess I was about…13. I was already writing songs by then, on the piano I mean. Then I figured if I wanted to be in a band I better learn guitar.”

“So when was your first band?”

“Oh, I was 15, it was with some neighbourhood kids. I was the baby, the others were all around 18 or 19.”

“Was that with Eddie?”

“Naw, Eddie's my age, we met a little later, maybe the next year.”

“You went to school with him?”

“No.” Luke had settled into his usual spot, leaning against Emmett’s side, but he glanced up with a nostalgic smile. “He grew up in a different town, a few miles over from me. But he was in a band too, we kept seein' each other around in Philly when we were hangin' around the bars, trying to get in.”

“So you figured it was better to work together instead of competing.”

Luke laughed. “Not exactly. I mean, we were in a coupla bands together for a while. None of 'em worked out for long. Wish Eddie was with us now, he's way better than me on guitar and there's some stuff I can't do without him…But even so, this is the best band I ever had.”

“This is a great band, I love playing with y'all.” Emmett put his arm around Luke’s shoulder and gave a quick squeeze. “But you know, Luke, it's your songs that really make it.”

“Are you tryin' to suck up to me?”

“No, man.” Emmett smiled. “I love your songs, I have since the beginning. Not just the music but the stories you tell.”

“That's true, I like to tell stories.”

“Sometimes when I hear you sing, I feel like I missed the best party ever and you're telling me all about it.”

“The funny thing is…” Luke yawned and sank further back against Emmett. “I don't even really join in the parties when I'm there. I feel like I spend more time watching other people so I can write about it later.”

Emmett was quiet. “That's a bit sad.”

“But now…now I want my actual life to be the best party ever. I want people to look back years from now and wish they’d been here with me. And you. And all of us…” Luke's voice trailed away sleepily; he let his head fall back onto Emmett's chest and they both drifted off.

***

They had reached Kansas City, the western apex of their tour, and started on a meandering, generally southeasterly route back toward the east coast. As they headed further south, Emmett felt a vague sense of familiarity and foreboding. He hoped they wouldn't run into any trouble; somehow, he didn't think Jerry or Luke were prepared for it.

After a show in Memphis the band had its only three-day break, and Emmett took an overnight bus to Philadelphia to see Clarissa and the boys. It was a short, tense visit full of painful thoughts unspoken by him and Clarissa, and others bluntly spoken by his mother. He wished he could find some way to make them understand the sense of vitality and urgency he got from working with Luke, but he knew that was impossible. Watching Clarissa interact with the kids, he suspected she felt something similar about her life at home. Both boys had developed noticeably in his absence, Robbie's reading now much advanced, and Walt using new words and full sentences.

Just before leaving, Emmett told Clarissa that the tour was likely to be extended for another month or two, and she barely spoke after that. Then it was another 13-hour overnight bus ride back to Nashville.

“How's the family?” Luke asked him, when they met the next afternoon at the local diner.

“Everyone's good.”

Pete looked up from his plate. “Long way to go for such a short visit.”

“Worth it.” Emmett said shortly, and again felt the impossibility of explaining his feelings in words. “Luke, did you go back to see Wanda?”

Luke shook his head without further explanation. Emmett wondered if he'd been through enough tension-filled home visits in his young life to avoid them now.

After the break the band had shows lined up for several nights in Nashville and nearby, so Jerry had booked them into a motel just outside the city for almost a week. The rest of the guys had already settled in, and Emmett joined Gordon in their shared room on his return.

Jerry liked to travel at night because there was less traffic on the roads and less pressure to reach their destination by a specific time. Heading out of town immediately after each show helped the band members deal with the immediate post-show low, as most of them simply crashed on the bus, falling asleep quickly in their seats. Even Emmett felt the drop, and he knew Luke did too, as he rested against Emmett's shoulder and languidly rehashed the night's highlights with him. But leaving at night also meant less time to spend with locals. A few fans inevitably found their way backstage, and there were always invitations to parties, but with Jerry rounding everyone up to get on the road again as soon as the bus was loaded, most opportunities had to be missed.

Now, with the extended stay outside Nashville, the guys were excited about being able to socialize with people outside their own circle, party with the locals, and of course meet women. Emmett enjoyed spending more time backstage after the shows, talking with fans and folks in the local music scene, and he often continued the conversations at a nearby bar. But he always went home alone.

Arriving back at the motel, he'd check outside their room for the pair of shoes Gordon left against the wall as a signal that he had company. Emmett had introduced the system, remembering how one of his ‘boys’ in college had used a similar signal to ensure their privacy in his dorm room. Gordon, the youngest in the band, lived at home with his parents in Philadelphia and had spent most of his waking life studying music. He didn't have much experience with girls, and Emmett didn't begrudge him this opportunity to sow a few wild oats.

Seeing the shoes neatly set out beside their motel room door, Emmett walked over to a table and chairs near the parking lot. He was just as happy to be outside tonight, with at least a hint of breeze. It was almost the end of May by now, and temperatures had climbed as they moved further south. The small motel fans were no match for the accumulation of day-time heat that filled their rooms overnight. He hung his suit jacket over a chair back, pulled out a paperback novel from his backpack, and settled down to wait for the all-clear.

Footsteps crunched in the gravel of the motel parking lot. Emmett looked up to see Luke walking in from the road, where a car had just dropped him off.

“Hey Em,” Luke said, catching sight of him and changing direction.

“Hey El.”

Luke carried the fringed suede vest he'd worn onstage over his shoulder, wearing just a sleeveless shirt and jeans. By this time his long hair was gone, replaced with a jumble of brown curls that fell over his eyes periodically. “Whatcha doin' out here?”

Emmett gestured toward the shoes. “Gordie's got company.”

“Oh.” Luke paused and nodded at his own motel room. “Mark's still out, wanna use mine?”

“It's okay. Too hot to sleep anyway. I'd rather be out here.”

Luke hesitated briefly, then came over and pulled up a chair beside Emmett. “Yeah, you're right.”

“You have a good night?” Emmett didn't like to ask direct questions about what Luke did after shows; it seemed like prying.

“Some industry party; Jerry told me I had to go with him.”

“How was it?”

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Luke shrugged. “They're all the same. Jerry and Mark are still there. I got bored.”

“I thought you liked parties,” Emmett said playfully.

“Real parties I like. Not this snoozefest with all the suits tryin' to show how hip they are.”

Emmett laughed. “How hip are they?”

Luke pressed his hands to his head, miming pain. “Worst thing I ever seen. If I knew you were free I'da made you come with me.”

“Yeah, sounds like I missed a swell time.”

“You'll see.” Luke gave Emmett's arm a friendly punch, then looked at him curiously. “So what do you do when you bring back company and Gordie's already got the room?”

“I don't. I'm a married man.”

“Oh, right.” Luke smiled, then shot him another glance. “How's that goin' anyway?”

“It's all right. How's it going with Wanda?” Emmett asked, pointedly changing the subject.

Luke chuckled and looked down as though slightly chastened. “Ain't easy though, is it?” he said quietly. “Your first time being away from each other?”

“Yeah. And…the boys, especially.”

“I bet. I wanna have kids some day but I'm sure glad I don't have 'em now. It's hard enough just with chicks. You know when you leave town one of you is likely gonna fuck it up. Or just stop waiting.” Luke broke off abruptly. “But I mean, that's just me.”

Emmett shrugged noncommittally. It had already started to occur to him that there might be something fundamentally incompatible between his old life and this one.

“Did you tell Clarissa the tour's bein' extended?”

“I said it might be…”

“It's for sure now. Jerry says we'll be home around the end of July.” They sat in silence for a moment, then Luke put a hand on Emmett's forearm. “I'm sorry, man.”

“Don't be sorry. It's great the tour's doing so well.”

“I'll try to get another break in when we're closer to home.”

“It's okay.”

In the distance, Emmett saw his motel room door open, and two figures stood pressed together in front of it for a moment, before a young woman’s shape detached from the tableau. As she headed across the parking lot to her car, Gord looked around for Emmett and gave him a wave.

Emmett returned the wave, then glanced back to Luke. “Looks like I'm allowed to go into that sauna now.”

“Maybe wait a bit.” Luke’s hand still rested on Emmett’s arm. “Hey, Em, you know, I didn’t want to say it, but … me and Wanda, we split up.”

“Oh – ” Emmett felt his eyes grow wider as he took in the news. “I’m sorry, man.”

“Naw, it’s okay. Even when I’m not touring, I never seem to make it past nine months with anyone.” Luke gave Emmett a sheepish, reassuring glance. “It’s just me, man. Not everyone breaks up on tour.”

Emmett wondered about that. “Well, I guess at least you’re…” he began awkwardly.

“Free? Yeah, don’t do me much good when Jerry’s riding us like a drill sergeant. Anyways, I really ain’t up for anything right now.” Luke seemed to hesitate. “Listen, I know Gord’s been getting a lot of action these days – and so’s Mark. If those two are gonna keep us out of our rooms at night, maybe they oughta share and…and you and me could bunk together.”

It went against Emmett’s nature to resist such a friendly overture, but he’d learned over time that things were not always as they seemed. Luke was a hard one to figure out. Emmett studied his face for a long moment, trying to read the slight self-consciousness in it. He even considered the proposal for a moment before concluding it was a bad idea, though he couldn’t say why. “Thanks, man. But it’s okay, Gordie’s no trouble.”

“Sure,” Luke said quickly.

“Uh…” Emmett moved his arm gently. “Guess I’ll go in then.”

They walked back toward their rooms together, and Luke reached up to give Emmett's arm a squeeze. “Hope I didn't bring you down.”

“No sweat, Luke. Good night.”

“Night, Em.”

They went into their separate rooms, Emmett absently reaching over to rub his arm where Luke had held it.

***

The next morning, as soon as he finished breakfast, Emmett called Clarissa from a payphone outside the motel office to tell her about the extension. Long distance calls were expensive so the conversation was mercifully short. Afterward he sat outside in the gathering Tennessee heat and wondered if he was doing the right thing. He knew that joining Luke's band and going on tour had in some way violated his unstated contract with Clarissa; their mutual commitment to stable, respectable, middle-class life. But he was still providing for his family, and if he wasn't yet making more money from the band than he would have from his salary, he had more faith in Luke's future than he did in his social work job. Emmett knew in his bones that Luke would make it sooner or later; pretty white boys like Luke who also happened to be musical geniuses always did.

Of course the separation was difficult for his family, and might only get worse if the band got bigger. Years ago, when he had just finished college and couldn't find work right away, Emmett had considered joining the service. He and Clarissa had talked then about what it would mean for him to be away on tours of duty while she might be home alone raising children. Back then, she'd been supportive and willing to accept this as the price of a better future. But she didn't seem to see his current occupation in the same light. It's true that he had a lot more fun playing with Luke's band than he ever would have had in the army. Did that make it a worse choice? Were he and Clarissa just looking at the world differently now?

The travel hiatus was over all too soon. From Nashville they detoured north to Louisville and Lexington, then back down to Knoxville and east again towards Virginia. Increasingly, the small towns, the terrain and highways, reminded Emmett of his youth. He didn't especially miss the south, but he wondered if it might be possible to manage a side trip to Floyd to see his father and grandma.

In Winston-Salem, the band played three full sets at a downtown bar with a single open window for ventilation, finishing up drenched in sweat and unsteady from the heat. Luke, in particular, was faint by the end of the show but the whole band had to recover in the greenroom while the crew and Jerry did most of the load out.

For once Luke had no energy for questions on the bus, falling against Emmett almost immediately and shutting his eyes as Emmett looped an arm over his shoulders to support him. When they arrived in Greensboro a couple of hours later, Emmett didn't even try to wake Luke, just scooped him up like a baby in his arms and carried him off the bus.

Luke blinked awake in the fresh air and laughed sleepily, putting a hand on Emmett's forearm. “Thanks, Em,” he said. “I'm okay now.”

Emmett put him down and they walked into the motel with Emmett's hand on Luke’s back just to be safe, waiting with the others while Jerry spoke to the clerk at the front desk about their reservations. Everything proceeded routinely until, at some point, the clerk looked around at the group standing in the lobby and abruptly switched from friendly and welcoming to a cool, formal tone that Emmett recognized immediately.

“Oh, excuse me, sir,” the clerk said. “I'm afraid there's been some mistake. It looks like we don't have those reservations after all.”

Jerry stopped moving and stared. “What are you talking about? You just said everything was set.”

“It looks like there was an, uh, error on our end. I apologize. Those rooms aren't actually available.”

“But we booked them months ago.” Jerry stabbed a finger at the reservation book on the counter between them. “You have it right there!”

“What's wrong?” Luke, still a bit groggy, walked over to join Jerry, who seemed entirely flummoxed. Behind him, Emmett and Gordon exchanged looks, rolling their eyes.

“He says they don't have…”

“Now let me see what I can do here,” the desk clerk said smoothly, flipping through his appointment book. “Why, I think I can find you four rooms, we just don't have that fifth room free.” He looked Jerry full in the face. “Perhaps two of your party might be able to find accommodations somewhere else for tonight.”

It took Jerry and Luke a minute to process what the man meant. Meanwhile, Gordon and Emmett were silently conferring. On another night, Emmett wouldn't have stood for it. But they were all close to passing out and Luke, in particular, was in no shape for a confrontation. Emmett lifted an eyebrow questioningly.

After a moment Gordon shrugged back. “Guess we're really in the south now,” he said under his breath.

Emmett took it as agreement. “Hey guys,” he said, stepping forward to put a hand on Luke's shoulder. “Me and Gordie can go somewhere else. I'm sure this…gentleman can direct us to a more accommodating motel. We'll just take the bus and pick you up in the morning.”

Jerry had moved from incomprehension to outrage. “But that’s illegal,” he sputtered at the clerk.

Luke was wide awake now. He turned away from the front desk and faced the rest of the band and crew. “C'mon guys, let's go. We'll find a place that's got room for all of us.”

“It's okay, Luke, you don't –” Emmett began, but Luke was already at the door, not waiting for a response or looking to see who followed him.

Jerry leaned over the counter to hiss a few final words at the clerk before joining Luke. Emmett shrugged at Gordon and headed to the door, relieved to see the others were doing the same.

They all walked back to the bus in silence. Jerry pulled Luke aside to confer on where to go next, while the rest climbed on board and Emmett decided, just for tonight, to sit beside Gordon. When Luke came up the aisle a minute later, glanced at him with an unreadable expression, and then sat alone, Emmett almost regretted it.

***

The next morning Emmett walked to a nearby diner for breakfast, and then went to look for a phonebooth. He'd checked the schedule and realized Greensboro was as close as they'd get to Floyd, which was still a couple of hours away, so he didn't think he'd get that visit in; a slightly cheaper long distance phone call with his pop and grandma was the best he could do. Afterwards he found a YMCA and got a decent workout in.

When he got back to the motel in the early afternoon he found Gordon sitting in the shade outside their room looking amused.

“You missed a doozy,” he said, as Emmett came up. “Luke's been in there giving Jerry hell all morning.”

“Jerry? Why?”

“Somehow it's all his fault that neither one of them expected to run into this kind of shit in the south.”

Emmett pulled up another chair and smiled slightly. “I kinda thought they weren't ready for trouble.”

“Luke was all apologies to me this morning. Totally blamed himself. I swear I saw tears. Then he went in to Jerry's room and blamed him for everything.” Gordon seemed to find it all very entertaining today. “I've never heard him like that before, he went ballistic.”

Emmett glanced around, but no one else was in sight and the motel was quiet now. He leaned back against the wall and pulled his hat down over his eyes. With the shade of the awning and a slight northern breeze, it was bearable out here. They'd arrived late last night without incident, Jerry going into the motel first to ensure there would be rooms for everyone, and Luke uncharacteristically withdrawn. Emmett remembered the way Luke had looked when he got on the bus, the way the others had all been so quiet, and wondered how awkward things would be today.

Gordon nudged him suddenly. “Here he comes.”

When Emmett turned, he saw Luke loping purposefully towards them from the other end of the motel.

“I already had my share of that sweet liberal guilt,” Gord whispered, getting up. “Your turn now. See ya.” He gave Luke a friendly wave and sauntered off.

“Morning Em,” Luke said, approaching

“Afternoon El.”

Luke chuckled briefly. “Alright, afternoon. Mind if I sit down?”

“Sure.”

“So listen, I'm real sorry about last night.” Luke spoke bluntly, but his face held a trace of that expression Emmett had been unable to read last night; now he realized it was embarrassment.

“It's not your fault.”

“It was kinda my fault for not thinking about it. It never crossed my mind.” Luke shot Emmett a quick glance. “I bet it crossed yours.”

“I grew up in Virginia. I know how it is.”

“That don't make it any easier, I bet.”

“It doesn't. But there's not much you can do about it.”

“We could've checked in advance. Jerry's gonna do that every time from now on. Okay?”

Emmett half shrugged, wondering why he had to give his approval. “Shit happens, man. But listen to me. Last night I didn't say anything because we were all exhausted and overheated. Next time I might not be so tired, and then there's no telling what could happen. My mama raised me to stand up for myself.”

“Your mama raised you right,” Luke smiled.

Emmett remained serious. “I'm just warning you.”

“I ain't gonna hold it against you if that happens.”

They were both silent for a moment, looking at each other. Then Luke asked, “Hey, you still have family in Virginia? Are we gonna be nearby?”

“Yeah, my folks are in Floyd, about ninety miles from here. Mama's at my place helping with the kids while I'm away, but I just gave my dad and grandma a call.”

“You can't visit?”

“This is as close as we'll get, and we have a show to do in a few hours. I don't think it'll work out this time.”

Luke gave him an odd look. “Next time then, huh?”

“Sure. So, you think the bar tonight has A/C?”