Different Circles

“No, it would fuckin’ destroy it,” Jake said. “And I know that. I’ve felt like I’m poking around with an unexploded bomb every time I make a minor suggestion, but I’m careful to phrase everything in that manner: as a suggestion, not an order.”

“And he responds well to this methodology?” asked Sharon from the back seat of the truck.

“Better than I had any right to expect,” Jake replied. “I think it just goes to show how desperate Matt really is.”

“Or perhaps he has just matured?” asked Sharon.

Jake shook his head. “No, it’s not that at all. It’s desperation.”

“Interesting,” said Nerdly.

“Why do you have all of these clothes back here?” asked Sharon. There was a pile of jeans, shirts, a maternity top, and men’s and women’s underwear piled up next to her.

“Oh ... Laura and I are going to stay the night at Celia’s place,” Jake said casually.

“You’re not flying home tonight?” asked Nerdly.

“No, I’m taking Matt and the boys out for a few beers after rehearsal. That’s when I’m going to start hitting them with some of the stronger suggestions on the tunes. I figured that would be the best setting to accomplish that particular mission.”

“A wise choice,” Nerdly said. “You’re staying with Celia because you’ll be drinking beer tonight?”

“Eight hours from bottle to throttle,” Jake said. “I’ve never broken that rule yet and do not intend to start tonight.”

“Celia’s house is so far away though,” Nerdly said. “Why don’t you stay with us instead? Our house is much closer than Celia’s. We have the guest room all made up and Kelvin would love to see you.”

“Uh ... well ... uh ... thanks for the offer, Bill,” Jake said, “but we’ve already made the plan. Laura is going to ride home with C tonight and I’ll just meet her there after my business dinner with Matt.”

“Laura could just as easily ride home with us,” Sharon suggested, a little smile on her face.

“That’s right,” Nerdly said. “It would be no big deal for us to swing by and pick her up.”

“Uh ... well ... I don’t want to put you out,” Jake said.

“It would be no imposition whatsoever,” Nerdly said. “And you would be much closer to Whiteman Airport for your trip home in the morning.”

Jake, who did not realize he was being baited, became uncharacteristically flustered. “Uh ... yeah,” he stammered. “The fact of the matter is ... uh ... you know ... that we already promised Celia we would be there tonight ... and she’s made ... you know ... accommodations and things ... and ... uh ... you know?”

“We know,” Nerdly said. “And we understand. Keep us in mind next time though.”

“Will do,” Jake said, obviously relieved.

He did not see the sly little looks that were passed between the Nerdlys.

Jake may have been judicious in directing Matt and his band on what they should do and how they should do it, but the Nerdlys had no such compunction. They entered the rehearsal warehouse like Macarthur returning ashore in the Philippines and took immediate charge of the sound check and the sound board. Matt and the group did not express any resentment toward them, however. On the contrary, they actually appreciated having the experts dial in their sound for them—even if it was just for a standard rehearsal. As Jake had surmised at the beginning of the week, the sound check portion of the day took a little more than an hour to accomplish.

“All right, guys,” Jake said once he and Matt managed to get the Nerdlys to declare a halt to the endless adjustments, “how about you show them what you got?”

“Fuckin’ A,” Matt agreed. He turned to his band. “Let’s do it, motherfuckers.”

They did it. They ran through all twelve songs one by one. Jake and the Nerdlys sat behind the sound board and listened. Jake shared his notes with them, pointing out things he had jotted down about each song. They each had copies of the scores before them and made a multitude of notes of their own.

“Well?” asked Matt once the performance was at an end.

“I think we can work with this raw material,” Nerdly said after a moment’s thought.

“It will most definitely need some major engineering though,” added Mrs. Nerdly.

Again, Jake would have never said anything so blunt to Matt because it likely would have sparked an angry confrontation, but when the Nerdlys said it, the entire band, Matt included, simply nodded, silently acquiescing to their wisdom.

“Do the entire set again,” Nerdly directed. “I want to make some notes regarding my second impression of your work.”

“Right,” Matt said. He turned to his band. “You heard Nerdly. Let’s do the motherfucker again!”