Different Circles

“You don’t actually believe that, do you, sweetie?” Laura asked. “That some supreme being who controls everyone’s fate just wrote my musical talent into me for the express purpose of having me meet you some twenty-six years later?”

“No, not really,” he said. “It was an interesting point of view though.”

“Budweiser from the can will do that for you,” Laura said with a giggle.

“I suppose,” Jake said with a sigh. He took a drink of his green tea and then popped another French fry into his mouth.

“So ... speaking of getting laid,” Celia suddenly blurted, though with her volume somewhat muted to keep others from overhearing.

Jake and Laura both looked at her. “Were we speaking about that?” Jake asked.

“Well ... no,” Celia said, “but we should be.”

“Should we?” Laura asked, a little shine in her green eyes. Though she was now well into the third trimester of her pregnancy, the second trimester hormones had still not given up their prominent position.

“We should,” Celia whispered. “I was hoping that maybe the two of you could come over for a little visit after rehearsal today. It is Friday, after all.”

“Yes it is,” Jake said, smiling a little, already starting to feel warm inside. “No need to get up early tomorrow.”

“No real reason not to have a visit, right?” asked Laura.

They looked at each other and exchanged sly smiles. No, there was no real reason not to, those smiles said.

“Perhaps we could pop by for a bit on our way to the airport,” Laura offered, although Malibu was nearly an hour away from Santa Clarita (assuming reasonable traffic, which most certainly could not be assumed on the LA freeways) and the airport in question was only ten minutes away in the opposite direction. “What do you say, sweetie?”

“Yeah,” he said casually. “I think we can make a little side trip for a friendly visit.”

“All right then,” Celia said happily. “It’s a date.”

“I’d better go call Elsa,” Jake said. “Remember what happened the last time we decided to visit without giving her advance notice.”

Laura remembered. Elsa had made a pot roast dinner that had gone uneaten because the people she had prepared it for had decided to eat something else in Malibu. It had not been a pleasant scene when they finally arrived home. You have never really been dressed down until you’ve been dressed down by an angry Nigerian housekeeper who had put food on the table for someone who hadn’t bothered to show up or even call to say they weren’t going to show up.

“Good idea,” Laura said solemnly.

Jake trotted back to the phone and made the call. Elsa listened to him and politely thanked him for letting her know they were not going to be home at the usual time.

“Will you be home at some point this evening?” she asked.

“Oh yes,” Jake said. “We’re still flying back tonight. Celia just invited us over for dinner at her place. We should be back between nine and ten.”

“Very good, Jake,” she said. “There are two dozen of those farm fresh eggs you like and a pound of that Italian sausage in the refrigerator if you want to make breakfast in the morning.”

“Sounds good, Elsa,” Jake said. “Have a good evening and enjoy your weekend off.”

They finished their lunch and then went back to work. Having become a bit burned on working up Journey, they spent the second half of the workday getting familiar with another tune. This one was called When You’re Lonely. It had been introduced to the band only two days before and, while the average listener would likely not be able to pick up on the meaning of the lyrics beyond the fact that it was a testament to moving on from a failed primary relationship to a rebound relationship that had no real hope of lasting, every one of the band members—who knew Celia and her secrets quite well—understood on the first presentation that she was singing about her affair with Suzy the pilot. It was a melancholy piece that evoked strong emotion, especially now, considering the fact that Suzy and Celia had not seen each other in several months. Suzy did not know who Celia had found to replace her, but she knew she had been replaced. Heartbroken, she had accepted a pilot-in-command position in Houston, flying Gulfstreams out of Ellington Field, and had made no attempts at communication with Celia since. The references to the rebound lover in the lyrics were deliberately gender-neutral, which would lead most to conclude she was singing about some nameless guy, but composed with clear affection and love with an unmistakable undertone of sadness.