Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
The street lamp made such a beautiful orange glow when it filtered through Reno’s fingers, reflecting off the curl of smoke from the tip of his cigarette and the jewels glued to his fingernails.
He sat, curled into himself on the folding chair outside the motel room with his faux fur coat tucked tight under his chin and thick socks pulled up over his knees.
Taking a long drag, he watched the smoke curl out and away from him in the thankfully still night, enjoying the silence after the show.
He’d wondered all these years what brand of cigarette he had shared with Luka outside of that venue. He couldn’t remember the taste anymore. It had been the first cigarette he’d ever smoked, and he’d wrongfully assumed he’d never forget.
“What’s on your mind?”
Reno looked up at Christoph, who had broken the peace, and watched as he took the empty chair next to Reno. Reno hummed, took another drag, and appreciated that Christoph didn’t pressure him to respond quickly.
Christoph cracked open a can of beer and leaned back, looking first at Reno then out into the nearly empty parking lot.
“Got one of those for me?” Reno uncurled, stretching his legs out then tugged a sock that had slipped down back over his knee.
“Yup.” Christoph held out a cold beer for Reno with an all-too-knowing expression.
He had his wavy, brown hair tied back and a gray hoodie half zipped to show off the low cut of his tank top underneath.
When he handed the can over, the rings on his fingers caught the streetlights and made the tattoos under them look pitch black.
“Domo1.” Reno popped the tab and took a drink then offered a cigarette, which Christoph waved off, uninterested. “Nothing’s on my mind, really.”
“I know that’s not true,” Christoph said, fiddling with the drawstring on his hoodie. “You always have something going on up there.”
Reno figured he wasn’t wrong, but didn’t feel like sharing all the time. “Can’t a man just admire the view?”
“Of the parking lot and highway beyond?” Christoph chuckled. “Not exactly pretty.”
“It’s a nice night.”
“How’s the new song going?” Christoph changed the topic, leaning back and opting to look at Reno instead of at the admittedly crummy view. “Angel’s already in bed.”
“We got a lot done. You’ll like it. They are very inventive.
” Reno’s fingers felt properly worn after the night.
He and Angel had left the venue together after the show, and they’d worked for several hours at the motel, mapping out a new song for Hearts n Hell, only stopping when Angel started to doze off.
“It’s always fun collaborating with them.
I hope after tour we can keep working together. ”
Christoph made a pleased noise. “I think we would all like that. You can come stay with us in Gothenburg, get away from London for a while.”
“Maybe. I’m not home enough as is, though. I’ll see what the label allows.” He flicked ash off the end of his cigarette. “Angel said we can do some video calls sometime to play.”
“Sterling keeps you too busy,” Christoph complained.
Reno shrugged. “The label invested a lot in me. If I don’t keep working and improving then what was it for?”
“You already made it. Why don’t you relax a little?”
Reno pursed his lips, feeling dangerously close to getting annoyed. He pulled his phone out instead of answering right away, flipping WhatsApp open to see if his mother had messaged yet.
Luka
how'd it go?
Really good, at the motel with Christoph now. Got to start a new song with Angel earlier which felt good
Sage
Okay I'm not letting u off the hook just cause I had to work earlier.
Reno decided to speak his mind. “Just because I’ve made it or whatever doesn’t mean I get to stop working.”
“Is that what you were doing the other night? Working?” Christoph was smirking now and Reno stubbed out his cigarette on the ground.
“Sure.” Reno smirked back. “It was a lot of work and no play.”
Christoph raised an eyebrow. “Vad kul2, you can relax sometimes.”
“Wouldn’t you like to know.” Reno stood from the chair, pulling his coat around him tighter, and cradled his drink against his chest. “Thanks for the drink. Ja ne3.”
“Where are you going?” Christoph called after Reno.
“Walk.” Reno waved over his shoulder and didn’t bother turning around. He went down the outdoor stairs and across the parking lot until he hit the sidewalk and took it aimlessly away from the motel.
Christoph was nice enough, Reno figured.
He was a bit overbearing and rubbed Reno the wrong way sometimes, but he seemed to mean well.
Sometimes however, Christoph fell into the trap of being so naturally talented at what he did that he forgot to keep working on improving.
Reno did the same thing when he was younger, so now when he saw it in someone older than himself, it annoyed him.
He preferred hanging out with Angel; they took the whole tour a little more seriously. And, they didn’t pry into Reno’s personal business.
He let his feet carry him through the night, thankful there was no cold breeze since the rain had all passed by.
The sky was clear, a few stars shining brightly and the rest muffled by light pollution.
It reminded him of the sky growing up, where only in the coldest winter nights he would see more than a handful of stars.
He put his headphones in and flipped through his phone for something to play.
Settling on Camille Saint-Saēns, he let the violin wash over him as he walked, only pausing to crouch down occasionally to admire fresh blooming flowers in the planters lining the sidewalk.
He snapped a few photos, enjoying the way the streetlights filtered through the thin tulip petals.
He sent the photo to Sage and to his mother, and immediately his phone started ringing.
“Hi, Mom.” He answered in Japanese, finding comfort in how it felt. It was always like breathing fully again to talk to his family.
“How are you, healthy?”
“Yes, Mom. And you?” Reno spotted a bench and made his way to it, crossing the empty street.
“Oh, my wrists hurt, my eyes are going bad.”
“So nothing new then,” Reno laughed lightly. “I hope I don’t have your wrists.”
“You don’t,” she said, easily. “Your eyes might be mine though. Get checked often. Those silly contacts you wear can’t be helping.”
“They are medical grade." Reno dropped down onto the bench. “From an eye doctor, I promise. I wouldn’t hurt myself like that.”
His mom made a disapproving noise into the phone. “Like that tattoo.”
“Oh, come on.” Reno secretly loved how much grief his mother gave him; it meant she cared about him. “It healed fine and causes no problems. It’s so little, too. You know my classmates back home have more than I do.”
“That is their problem, not mine. You are my problem.”
“Aw, thanks.”
She laughed, the sound of it soft over the line. “What if you work for the symphony?”
“Many people in the London Symphony have tattoos, too.”
“That doesn’t mean you should!” she said, something she’d said regularly since Reno had gotten the tattoo five years ago. He’d never gotten another, mostly to make her happy. “Have you been holding up your end of the bargain?”
“You know I haven’t, I’ve been on tour.” Reno took a drink and leaned back against the bench.
“You could practice violin on tour.”
“I don’t think the residents of Ohio would like me playing at one a.m. in the motel.” He clicked the can against the bench arm, the ping of metal making a pleasant tone. “Or everyone on the bus. The bus is small. The violin is loud.”
His mother hummed and then said, “Okay, double when you’re home.”
“Alright, fine.” Reno tapped the beer can against the bench again, forming a slow, steady rhythm. “How’s Hana and Himari?”
“Brats. Hana has started turning her hair blonde. This is your fault.”
Reno laughed, “She’s in university, leave her alone.”
“At least one of my children is in school. Himari insists on something you Europeans do. A gap year? Can you believe that? What nonsense.”
“I am not European, Mom. It is not my fault she is lazy.”
“You have a London passport!” she argued. “And, if Hana didn’t look up to her brother so much, she would have kept her beautiful dark hair.”
“I do not have a U.K. passport, just permanent residency. And, it’s very trendy for young people to lighten their hair.” Reno defended his sister, even though he knew his mom was probably right. “When will they be home? Maybe they can video call so I can see this blonde Hana.”
“Ah, Himari will be home after work, she got a job at the fashion store nearby. I think she is off after dinner. Hana will be back after classes in a few hours.”
He would be dead asleep by then so he said, “I’m so happy they are living with you, still.”
His mother said a string of surprisingly vulgar curses, “I can’t get rid of them. They are leeches! They eat so much, all day! They use all my electricity! Spends my money on hair dye. Both as bad as you were in school!”
“I wasn’t coloring my hair in school.” Reno took another drink and set the can aside to rub his hands together to warm them up. “They wouldn’t have let me graduate.”
“Maybe I can tell Hana they won’t let her graduate if she keeps ruining her brain cells with bleach.”
“University doesn’t care, you know that.” Reno felt himself smiling and changed the topic. “I met someone.”
“Oh?” she gasped and Reno heard something clatter in the background. “Please, not a musician.”
“No, no worries. Not a musician. An artist, actually.”
“Hikaru, no!” His mother scolded him. “You do not need a starving artist. Tell me all about her.”
“He is not a starving artist. He works for a bank.”
His mother was silent for a while. When she spoke again, she sounded more reserved. “A sensible job, at least. Won’t use you for your money.”