My Winding Wheel

“Now Esmy,” Jay took her hand, leading her over to the side of the stage to watch as the first band had a quick pre-show ritual before running onto the stage. The screams that followed were near deafening, and Esmeralda’s eyes widened instantly as she turned to look at Jay. He laughed at her, shaking his head with a smile as he did, “What I was going to say is stay right here when we go on so I can make sure you don’t get hurt, okay?”

Esmeralda nodded, looking back at the crowd and the three-piece band on stage. They played a short set, of about four to five songs, and by the end Esmeralda was nodding her head along to the music and smiling. She wasn’t a fan of this genre her cousin played in, really. She preferred more acoustic artist like Ryan Adams or Bright Eyes. But she was glad to be able to support Jay in what he loved. As the band thanked the crowd once more and left stage, Esmeralda politely smiled at them all and let them by. Jay led her back towards the doors, watching with interest as Esmeralda stared down all the crew that was working.

Without warning, a thickly accented voice spoke and made her nearly jump out of her skin, “I thought you had family in town, hmmm?”

Esmeralda whipped around, seeing the boy from the airport standing next to her with a sly smirk. Laughing as she pushed her fallen hair behind her ears, Esmeralda shook her head, “Sorry! I didn’t know you were on this bill with him. This is my cousin, Jay. Jay, this guy ran into me at the airport and nearly stole my phone!”

“Oi, I believe you ran into me lass! And the name’s Max!”

“My apologies,” Esmeralda laughed again, offering a hand to Max, “I’m Esmeralda, Esmy for short usually. I really am sorry! You’re in a band then, I take it?”

“Hey I have to set up,” Jay squeezed her arm, smiling at her, “Watch us play. Max, pleasure, and take care of her. It’s her first show!”

“Oh, show virgin ey? Well, this gent has you covered!” Max looped his arm into hers, leading her over near the side stage where she could see, but not be in the way, “And yeah, I’m in a band. We come on next, so ya better stay and watch us since you owe me one! Right and proper thank you. Sounds fair, hmm?”

“Fine, if I must!” Esmeralda rolled her eyes, laughing once more and flashing Max a smile as she looked out at the excited kids in the crowd, “Ever seen my cousin’s band?”

“Naw, we’ve heard of ‘em though. We were here on Warped Tour last summer.”

“What’s a Warped Tour?” Esmeralda looked over at Max, confused again. Max’s eyes bugged out, his arm dropping from hers, “You don’t know Warped Tour? Bloody hell, I thought all Americans knew about that!”

“Now you’re making me feel awful!” Esmeralda laughed, covering her face with her hands, “Sorry! This isn’t my scene? I think that’s what Jay called it.”

“Too proper for us, ey?”

“No! No not that! I just like slow and folky music and classics. I’m in what Jay calls the ‘hipster’ scene, but I couldn’t tell you what that means. I’m me and that’s all that ever mattered to me?” Esmeralda nodded her head firmly, watching as Jay approached her and Max again, “Hey, we got a minute and I have a pre-show ritual to attend to. Stay where I can see you and try not to run off please?”

“Yes mom,” Esmeralda rolled her eyes, pointing over at Max, “I have a new body guard, I promise I’ll be okay. Not like I plan to leave your set anyways!”

“Okay okay, I’m just nervous. I’ll see you after!” Jay took off to the other side of the stage, smiling like a lunatic as he jumped onto Maika’s back. The rest of Jay’s band laughed as they all got ready for their set. Having a quick pep-talk in a circle, the band took out on stage sans for Maika. He waved over at Esmeralda from the wing, to which she gave a small wave back as her cousin started in on the bass. Leaning into the mic, Jay smiled widely at the screaming crowd below them, “How you doing New York? We’re There for Tomorrow. You ready?”

And with a loud scream they were off.



Jay came running into Esmeralda’s waiting arms, laughing at her as she squealed and squirmed to get away, “Jay you’re all sweaty! Gross!”

“But you love me!” Jay set her down, still practically vibrating with his excitement, “So? What did you think?”

“It was amazing! You guys are seriously talented and I’m so proud of my cousin!” Esmeralda laughed, slinging an arm around Jay’s shoulders. Jay led her out of the side wings and into the backstage, taking her to the green room on the way. She chatted casually with him, listening to him tell her about what they’ve been working on. Jay led her out to their van, changing his shirt quickly as they continued to chat. He led her back inside almost instantly, taking her up to the side wings again. She spotted Max across the stage in the other wing and waved to him with a soft smile. He returned it briefly before laughing at something one of the guys he was with said and turning to them.

She turned her attention back to Jay, only to find another had joined in the conversation. The long-haired boy looked over at her, his eyes lighting up at the sight of her, “Hi! You must be Jay’s cousin he was telling me about! It’s a pleasure to meet you, I’m Derek!”

“The new father right?” Esmeralda smiled, shaking the hand Derek extended to her, “Pleasure is all mine. I’m Esmy.”

“Esmy? Short for…”

“Esmeralda,” She giggled slightly, letting his hand drop, “But that’s so formal!”

“Esmy it is! So, Esmy, what brings you here? You live in New York?”

“Just moved here a yesterday actually!” Esmy laughed at herself, shaking her head as she did, “Crazy little idea. I’m from San Francisco originally…”

“We love it there!” Derek shouted, making a few of the techs look over curiously. Esmy blushed, nodding at him, “It’s a great city, indeed.”

“Excuse me,” Esmeralda stepped back, allowing the person who spoke to pass. As she look in the disheveled boy in front of her, she narrowed her eyes momentarily. The boy watched as his band started into the first few notes of their set, the screams even louder than before when Jay’s band played. Ignoring the conversation Jay and Derek were starting to have, Esmy took a step closer to the stage. The boy looked over, smiling and nodding at Esmy. She smiled back, recognizing him from when he came to return her phone. James? Jack? No…Josh!

Before she could say anything, Josh took off onto stage, picking up the single mic set in the center. His heavily accented voice rang out through out the venue, and Esmy could see the swooning the girls did instantly in the front row, “’Ello New York. Been a while, ey? We’re You Me At Six! You ready?”

With a countdown they were off. Esmeralda watched in awe as the group dove into their set. Josh was jumping around, yelling into the microphone as loud as he could at some points. Max was smiling crazily, bouncing around the stage with his guitar in hand. Esmeralda, only having seen the slightly mellower band her cousin was in, was in awe of the sheer amount of energy the band exhausted on stage. She watched them jump around for the majority of their set, smiling the whole time. Jay finally interrupted her, asking her to come grab a drink with him to which she agreed.

They headed down to the bar portion of the venue, an area that eighty percent of the attendees couldn’t access. She let Jay buy her beer and leaned against the bar to finish watching the You Me At Six set from the back of the crowd. Sipping at her Blue Moon, Esmy let Jay chat with one of the guys sitting by them as she finished up the set. Once You Me At Six was done, she downed her beer and turned to face Jay, “I’m heading into the back. I’ll be fine, don’t worry alright? Come find me later and go meet some of your fans that keep eyeballing us.”

Jay whipped his head around to see a few younger girls watching the exchange between him and Esmy. Smiling at them, he made his way over, stating rather loudly, “So my cousin Esmy over there said you guys seemed awesome!”

The girls nervously chatted with Jay, distracting him as Esmy headed into the back of house to meet up with Max again and congratulate him. As she flashed her wristband and headed in back, she collided with a larger body, sending her small frame crashing to the floor. Groaning in pain and laughing simultaneously, she looked up to find a quite amused looking Josh, “Ello. You’re the bird from yesterday yeah?”

“Esmy, yeah,” She took the hand Josh extended to her, allowing him to help her stand up. Brushing herself off, she winced as she saw the small run in the leg of her tights. “Sorry about that…”

“Got a knack for running into blokes don’t ya?” Josh laughed shortly, shaking his head at her, “Watch it next time, yeah? Not all gents are as kind as me and me mate Max are.”

“Oh gosh I feel so bad. Two of you, what are the chances right? Can I at least buy you a drink or a shot to make up for it? I feel down right terrible dude.”

“Dude?” Josh questioned, raising one eyebrow at her, “Alright, one drink shouldn’t hurt. Let me get out of this shirt and into something less smelly, yeah?”

“Of course, you smell awful,” Esmy laughed, blushing as she finished her sentence, “I mean…nevermind that was rude sorry!”

“No, s’alright. I kind of like the sassy attitude sometimes don’t worry! Be right back though!” Josh took off down the hall so Esmy took that moment to pull her phone out and check her messages. Ignoring the two from Peter about where she went and if she wanted her job in San Francisco back, Esmy opened the text from Margret she received during Jay’s set. Quickly shooting back a short reply, she moved on to check her email. At the clearing of a throat, she jumped a little, quickly shoving the phone back into her short’s pockets, “Sorry. Job hunting, you know how it goes.”

“Tell me about it,” Josh rolled his eyes, smiling at her, “So about that drink? I could use one pretty awfully right now indeed.”

Esmy let him lead her up to the free beers upstairs, offering her one with a sly grin, “Wasn’t going to let you pay for what us blokes know how to ask for on our rider.”

“Rider?”

“It’s like a demands list, if you will.”

“Oh, right,” Esmy nodded, not really understanding still. She sat down on one of the couches, watching as Josh sat next to her and took a big swig of the beer, “So you said you needed a drink pretty bad right? Mind if I inquire as to why?”

Josh let his head fall back, staring over at Esmy for a moment. He took quite a bit of time formulating an answer, sighing softly through his nose before he spoke, “I reckon telling a strange lass is better than bottling in, yeah? And not as though I’ll see ya again. Alright. Well the bird I was seein’ back home for the last year or so, Rhiannon. I called to speak with her, since it’s only proper of her boyfriend to do right? So some bloke answers the phone and informs me that not only am I ‘do not answer’ in her telly, but he’s been her gent for the last six months.”

Esmy gasped, taking a sip of her beer before shaking her head, “That’s just downright cruel! I hate when girls or guys are like that. Cheaters never prosper.”

“S’what I always said,” Josh stared up at the ceiling, laughing at himself. He cut it short, shaking his head as he gritted his teeth, “It just frustrates me that this bloke is the one that tells me, not her. Then she had the gall to act innocent. Proper slag, that bird.”

“Slag?” Esmy stared at him, confused, “Is that like bitch or something where you’re from?”

“No, slag is like callin’ a lass a whore only a bit worse. Means complete rubbish or trash in some languages and cultures.” Josh paused, glancing over at Esmy, “Slag doesn’t begin to cover this woman. She’s done this before, but I was nutters for the lass. I had to take her back. Obviously worst idea I’ve had in a while.”

“You didn’t know. You like someone enough and you’ll follow them to the ends of the earth sometimes.”

“Yeah well, you birds confuse the hell outta me,” Josh finished his beer, grabbing for another, “So damn unpredictable.”

“Life is unpredictable. It’s like this; you think you know someone inside and out, right? You spend every moment you can with them. You know their favorite color, their pet peeves, their favorite music, favorite foods, and what makes them tick. But you really don’t know them that well. Because you can’t see what is floating through their head,” Esmy paused, watching as Josh slowly sat up to stare at her in awe, “You can know someone inside and out and never really know them. But my auntie always told me growing up Un clou chasse l'autre.”

“What’s that mean?”

“Literally? One nail chases the other. But it’s meant to mean that life goes on,” Esmy smiled as she reached over, giving Josh’s hand a small squeeze, “You’ll be fine soon, I promise. Don’t let some slag get you down.”

Josh began to laugh at Esmy’s use of slag, shaking his head as he tried to catch his breath, “Don’t ever try to do a proper accent again, oh god. That was bloody awful.”

“So I’ve been told!” Esmy laughed, stopping only when she felt her phone vibrate a moment later. She pulled it out, seeing a text from Jay. With a sigh she looked up to Josh, “Sorry, but I have a worried cousin looking for me.”

“That Mexican bloke from There for Tomorrow, yeah?”

“Yes unfortunately Jay is my cousin!”

“Good gent, takes good care of ya I hope.”

“Well, seeing as this was my first little club show I think he does a good job! Max lectured me on not knowing what a Warped Tour is, which I still don’t but whatever. I’m new to this world, so sue me!”

“And you like our band, yeah?” Esmy could see the waver in the cocky persona Josh had, a hint of insecurity taking over. Smiling soft at him, she nodded enthusiastically, “Oh yeah. Definitely. Couldn’t take my eyes off you guys. Plus there’s this awesome guy that sings for them, seems like a respectable and sweet man. You should totally pass him my number so we can chat more when he’s back in New York.”

At Esmy’s wink, Josh fumbled to get his phone out and they quickly exchanged numbers. With a wave and a short goodbye, Esmy left the room upstairs to head down to the bar and reunite with her cousin. She couldn’t stop smiling the rest of the night and barely paid attention to Jay, but she had no qualms with that. She was just excited about where her life was going.

After the show, the cab she called during Derek’s set was waiting outside for her as she made her way out with Jay. Saying goodbye was never her forte, so she shifted around awkwardly until Jay pulled her into a tight hug, “Not four years this time, okay?”

Laughing airily, Esmy nodded against his shoulder and gave him a tight squeeze in their hug, “Don’t be a stranger. And tell Derek good luck with the baby and that his set was amazing! I’ll see you in a few months cousin.”

“Safe travels!” Esmy stepped away, getting into the cab silently. As the cab pulled off, she glanced back catching the eye of her cousin one last time. With a little wave, she turned around and rattled off her address to the driver. Settling in, Esmy checked her phone once more. The :) Guess who mate! text she got caused a huge grin to break out as she texted a quick Josh?! back. Tucking the phone back into her pocket, Esmy watched Long Island pass her by as she headed home, content with her first night out in New York and dreading job hunting the next day.