Romance of a Rock Band

Tony

Monique and I listened to Annie play for the longest time from our bedroom. She was really good. Better than I thought she was.

“It’s a miracle that she wasn’t already in a band when she got here,” said Monique. “She’s amazing.”

“Yeah,” I said. I started thinking of reasons she wouldn’t be in a band. I thought about it for a few minutes before I realized something. It was silent in the house. She had stopped playing.

“Do you want to go check on her?” Monique asked.

“Yeah,” I said.

I got up from my spot on the bed and walked out the door. When I got to Annie’s room, the door was partially shut, but not all the way. I pushed it open. She was sitting propped up against the headboard with the guitar in her hands and her clothes from the day still on. I was surprised that she was asleep as it was only 10:30; but, then again, she had had a busy day. I took the guitar from her, though she was reluctant to let me handle it even in her sleep, and put it in the stand that was a few feet from the bed. I then moved her down the bed so that she was lying down. I propped her head up with a pillow and grabbed a spare blanket from the cabinet under the window seat to cover her with. When I was finished I started out the door.

“Goodnight, Tony,” she said to me. I jumped. She laughed, but she sounded like she wasn’t quite awake yet.

“Goodnight, Annie,” I said. I walked back to my room.

“She’s asleep,” I said to Monique

“That was fast,” she said. “One minute she was playing, the next she stopped.”

“She still had it in her hands when I was in there,” I told her. She laughed.

“She’s so quiet,” she said.

“Yeah, I know,” I said. “Too quiet. I wonder if something happened to make her this way.”

“I don’t know,” she said. “I hope her and Felix get along.”

“Me too,” I said. “Felix is a good guy.”

“And you never know,” she said. “Maybe something will click.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Maybe something will happen between them,” she said. “A spark.”

“Oh,” I said stupidly. “Yeah, maybe.”

“I think her and Felix are a lot alike,” she said. “I think I’m going to sleep.” It was now about 11:00 and she was already changed into a nightgown. She got up and got into bed.

“I think I am too,” I said grabbing some clothes to change into. When I was done changing I crawled into bed.

I tried to sleep, but there were too many thoughts in my head tonight. Mostly about Annie. What made her fall asleep so early? She was usually awake long after Monique and I had gone to bed. Was she sick or something? I would have to ask her in the morning. Would she tell me the truth? Probably. She didn’t seem like a big liar. In fact, she seemed to make a big effort to tell the truth. If she was sick, what kind of disease would a dragon pick up anyway? Not the flu, right? I didn’t catch the flu, but then again I wasn’t a dragon. She wasn’t even all dragon. Maybe she’s more prone to disease than she would be if she were all dragon. I hope she’s not sick.

And how alike were Annie and Felix really? Why would Monique say something like that? Did she know something about Annie that I didn’t? Maybe Annie had told her something when they went to the mall yesterday. Something important and I have no idea what that was. But then Monique would have told me, right? I think so… But then, what if she didn’t? I turned over to ask her, but she was already asleep.

Then I thought about Annie and Felix being together. Would that be a good thing? Probably not. I thought about them being like Monique and I. That just didn’t seem right. Annie was too much like a daughter to me already and I sometimes treated Felix like my son. I can’t picture them doing… What Monique and I had done together. No. There was no way. Was there?

I wish Monique hadn’t gone to sleep.

I thought about this band that Annie was in now. I had never met any of them. Come to think of it, I didn’t even know their names. I should ask Annie about that tomorrow.

That was my final thought until the clock woke me up at nine the next morning. Monique wasn’t there.