Chapter 14
As Ray steps onto the bus, he looks for a spot to sit.
Over the past few days, Carol had been sitting next to Gene, leaving himself to find another spot, usually by Santiago.
But as he walks down the middle aisle now, past the front table seats with Dennis and one of the roadies sitting at them, he finds Gene curiously sitting at a window seat by himself, the space next to him free.
Ray looks down the length of the bus. He sees the rest of the Brooms and their roadies spread out in the back.
Nothing strange about that. But there—he spots Carol, sitting next to Pat, of all people.
How come her and Gene aren’t together? Did something else happen last night?
Either way, Ray shrugs to himself, and decides to take the open seat next to Gene.
Even if he’s upset at what Gene and Carol had done last night, he doesn’t want to avoid him and make things awkward between them.
They still have a whole tour ahead of them.
And no matter what, they are best friends, after all.
He shouldn’t let a girl get between them like this.
“Hey, Gene,” he says, sitting down.
Gene pulls his gaze from the window to look at Ray. His cheeks instantly flush red, oddly. “Oh. Hey, Ray.”
“How’re you feeling? How is everything?”
Gene shrugs, scrunching his lips to one side. “Fine, I guess.”
That sounds like a lie. “Did you… have fun last night?”
“Um… yeah.” He looks down, pulling his cigarettes from his pocket and lighting one up. He takes a puff before he speaks again. “You know what happened, don’t you?”
“Yeah. I, uh… I came into the room when you and Carol were asleep. But I didn’t wanna bother you guys, so I ended up staying in Dennis’ room.”
“Ah, alright.” He takes another drag from his cigarette, blowing the smoke out the cracked window. “Me and—um, me and her aren’t dating or anything. It was… just a one-time-thing.”
A wave of relief splashes over Ray. His shoulders drop, tension loosening. But the tension’s not completely gone, lingering like a fly on the wall that he just can’t seem to swat away. “Okay. And… Carol’s all cool with that?”
Gene shrugs again. “I don’t really want to talk about it. But… Thanks for coming over here to sit with me. That makes me feel better.”
“Of course. I’ll always be here for you, y’know.”
Gene smiles at him. It’s such an endearing smile, sending butterflies frolicking in Ray’s chest. Maybe everything will be okay.
Things are a bit up in the air with Carol and what her feelings may be, especially since Ray doesn’t know the full story of what happened, but no matter what, he doesn’t want to lose his and Gene’s friendship.
Gene means too much to him for it all to just be ripped away over something ridiculous like this.
To show that he really means it, taking a chance, he reaches over and sets his hand on Gene’s thigh. No one should be able to really see them from this angle, unless they pass by them walking in the aisle. And even then, Ray doesn’t really care. Gene gasps, his face turning even redder.
And then, Gene sets his own hand on top of Ray’s, holding it in place.
Now it’s Ray’s turn to gasp. His cheeks feel like they’re on fire. He smiles back at Gene, unsure of what else to say. But perhaps he doesn’t need to say anything. The warmth of his hand is all he needs to calm himself, to feel that their connection is still there.
They don’t say much else for the rest of the long drive. A few times they get out of the bus to stretch their legs and fill up on gas, but even when they return to the road, Ray and Gene sit next to each other, as close as can be, hand in hand.
The Dusty Brooms play another wildly successful set.
Each show just gets better and better, with thousands of fans cheering and screaming their hearts out.
Who would’ve thought that up here in the wilderness of the U.P.
they’d have so many loud and crazy fans?
Well, maybe they’re simply excited the Brooms came to Yooperland at all, as many popular rock bands seem to forget the U.P.
even exists. Not the Brooms, though, and especially not Ray.
He and his family used to vacation up here every year before he started college, and he’d dearly missed the cleaner air and clearer skies of this wonderful land.
After their final bows, Gene’s hand in Ray’s, they head backstage and put away their instruments. Dennis and crew are waiting for them, and they congratulate the Brooms on another show well done.
Gene steps aside to put his guitar away.
Ray finds his own locker with his stuff, zipping his harmonica back in its case, and he looks around the room.
Everyone’s chatting to each other friendly-like, cigarettes in hand, some people even have cups of alcohol—he can see some lingering bottles scattered around—but notably he can smell one scent in particular.
Maybe those aren’t actually normal ‘cigarettes’ at all, then.
Ray figures if other people have drinks, he might as well help himself.
God knows he needs it, with tension still swimming around his head from the happenings of last night.
He shuts his locker and finds an empty plastic cup, pours a shot of rum, then finds a bottle of Coke from an ice cooler on the floor.
He mixes the two, setting the bottle down on the table and then taking a swig from his cup.
When he pulls the drink away from his face, he spots Carol, sitting next to Pat again on a bench against the wall.
That’s strange. He can’t hear what they’re saying over the commotion surrounding him, but he notices Carol’s facial expression.
She’s looking at her hands, eyes sad, mouth pulled down in a frown.
She’s fidgeting with the edge of her dress, and Pat has her hand on her back, as in an effort to comfort her.
Truth be told, he’s never seen Carol this upset.
Something must’ve happened last night between her and Gene, aside from the obvious, that put her in this mood.
And Ray’s simply too damn curious to not go over and ask her about it.
He sneaks around the crowd, staying closer to the wall, until he stops in front of the two women. “Hey, what’s going on? Carol, are you alright?”
Carol looks up, her face softening when she notices Ray. “Oh, um… I don’t know. I could be better, that’s for sure.”
“You mind if I say something?” Pat asks Carol gently.
“No, go ahead.” Carol shakes her head.
“It’s Gene’s fault,” Pat says to Ray. “He was rather rude to her last night. Or, maybe I should say this morning.”
“Really?” Ray asks, his eyes widening. Gene?
Rude? Well, it wouldn’t be the first time.
He remembers how Gene was rather rude to Ray himself after the show where he first met Harriet.
But that was the only time he can really think of where he had any problems with Gene, and that was a bit over a year ago.
That’s not to say we both haven’t been acting a little weird about Carol, though, I admit.
“He knew how I felt,” Carol says, voice shaky. “But he took advantage of my feelings. I was just a quick fuck to him, that was all.”
There’s a hint of a sob at the end of her words.
Ray remembers how Gene said earlier it was ‘a one-time-thing’—which makes sense; Gene so far has never had a steady girlfriend—and he didn’t want to talk about Carol’s feelings.
At the time Ray simply wanted to comfort his best friend, but now, as he sees Carol’s face scrunch up, a tear rolling down her cheek, heart breaking in two, he can’t help but bear sympathy for her.
“Carol, that’s horrible. Absolutely horrible of him,” Ray says.
He drops down to his knees, meeting her at eye level, setting his cup down on the linoleum floor, and he reaches for one of her hands.
She lets him take it, not pushing him away.
“I can’t believe Gene would treat you that way.
Even as his best friend, it angers me so much that he would treat a lady as wonderful as you so poorly. ”
His words must’ve done something, as Carol’s shaking lessens. She looks at him fondly, grasping his hand in hers. “Thank you, Ray. You’ve always been so kind to me.”
“I promise, I would never treat you with that same disregard. I would treat you with all the love and care that you deserve, Carrie. You’ve given up so much to be here with us on this tour, and I don’t want you to regret your choice. If there’s anything I can do to help, all you need to do is ask.”
She smiles at him sweetly. A dark tear falls from her eye, blackened from her eyeliner. “Alright. I’ll stick with you.”
Ray blinks. Did I hear that correctly? “You—you’ll what?”
“I’ll stick with you,” she repeats with a shy giggle. “Maybe I’ve just been thinking about this all wrong. I’ve been focusing so much on someone that doesn’t care, that I’ve been blind to the good thing right in front of me. And you telling me all that just proves it.”
That gets Ray to smile. His heartbeat ramps up. “Of course, love. I understand Gene’s a handsome guy, but he’s no good at relationships. Not romantic ones, anyway.”
“And you’re any better?” Pat chimes in.
“Ah, well—” Ray clears his throat. “I’m trying to be better. I really want to prove I can do better going forward. Gene? He’s not trying at all. But Carrie, I do care about you a lot. And I just want you to see that.”
Carol rolls her eyes, still with a smile on her face. “I see it. Oh, I definitely see it.”
“Well, if you don’t mind me,” Pat says, standing up. “I’ll leave you two lovebirds be.”
“Wait, Pat!” Ray says, also standing up, letting go of Carol’s hand. “Could I ask you a favor?”
Pat raises an eyebrow. “Depends on what said favor is.”