Trigun Fan Fiction ❯ Midvalley's Serenade ❯ High Hopes ( Chapter 18 )

High Hopes

The rest of the week passed in a blur. Nick was out on the weapon range every spare minute. He even had the cook make up special box lunches and had all his meals at the range. I was busy myself. I wired Lenny in Mei City. The Midvalley Four was engaged to play at the White Cat Saloon the weekend prior to graduation and then the Friday night just before. Lenny had written me that he planned to visit on Thursday. I asked him to bring me a new mouthpiece and a couple of boxes of saxophone reeds for Silvia from the Mei City music shop.

I did see Nick at least once a day for the last afternoon strategy and tactics class, but after that he went straight back to the range. The week before finals was devoted mostly to the topics of intelligence gathering and analysis.

I took Nick's advice about Grey Nine-Lives. It turned out that it was Grey #5 who had blushed when he saw Nick and me kissing, so I put Grey #5 in charge of answering all test and quiz questions. I began to see why Grey had seemed so unfocussed. Every question had been debated by nine different personalities, so he had never been able to decide on an answer. I re-tested Grey Nine-Lives with Grey #5 firmly in charge and to my delight, he passed . I began to feel secure about earning my bonus and started to search the Epril Town Crier, the weekly ad paper to see if there were any suitable houses for sale.

As far as Nick's bonus went, he was well on his way to earning over and above what he had thought possible. E. G. Mine, if not a model student, overcame his repugnance to the pistol, rifle, shotgun and machine gun which he had once considered inferior weapons unworthy of his notice, and qualified with all of them.

Ben Evans, wearing his new spectacles, finally managed to zero his rifle and began to rack up some solid scores, much to Nick's relief.

I took two classes from Rai-dei , but quit after the second when I got whacked hard by the practice sword on my knuckles. For a few minutes, my hand went numb and I thought I might have broken a couple of fingers. My biggest concern was that I might not be able to play Silvia, but eventually, feeling returned. Rai-dei was profuse in his apologies. He advised me to postpone any further classes until he obtained some special padded gloves.

I asked after Nick from Rai-dei and he told me that Nick had taken to shuriken and throwing knives as naturally as to firearms and was making decent progress with the katana. All in all remarkable progress, was how Rai-dei phrased it.

Every other spare minute, Nick spent teaching Bernie Welch. Welch stood second only to Zazie in the marksmanship ranks and he had improved dramatically after only a week of Nick's special classes. Nick even persuaded Caine to give Welch some in-depth sniper training which did wonders for his concentration and breath control. By the end of the week, Zazie and Welch were tied for the marksmanship honors.

I saw very little of Zazie outside of class. Even though Zazie was a thorn in Rai-dei's side, Rai-dei was taking his teaching assignment and the contest seriously.

On the two occasions I went to Rai-dei's class room for lessons, I saw Zazie seated on a cushion with his legs folded into a strange position. Rai-dei told me it was called the lotus pose. Zazie appeared to be meditating deeply. It was unusual but pleasant to see him with his mouth closed.

"What's Zazie doing?" I asked Rai-dei.

"He is contacting the hive mind and from there he hopes to be able to tap in and harness their powers. He has always had the ability but the meditation helps him to focus his powers."

"Interesting," I commented with my eyebrows raised. I was at a loss for words.

I saw Legato from time to time in passing and once when he asked me for a progress report on the strategy and tactics students. He was complimentary about the improvement he had noticed in Grey Nine-Lives' test scores.

I gave Nick the credit where it was due.

"It was something Chapel noticed about Grey that allowed us to improve his ability to concentrate, Master Legato," I told him.

I maintained a professional tone when I was with him and pleased that he was just as professional and made no allusions to the way he had toyed with me. I considered Legato as we discussed the students.

He seemed quieter than usual. I was always impressed with his intellectual grasp of whatever subject he bent his mind to. The brilliance of his mind was undeniably attractive, but Nick was certainly no slouch in the mental department. His intuition was uncanny.

Legato on the other hand was able to lay out the genesis and construction of the blueprint of his thought with a precise elegance that never failed to impress me. And his beautiful voice…

I raised my eyes and saw Legato looking at me with the slightest upward curve to his lips. He was influencing my thoughts again. I took my leave of him, made Nick a mental apology and went back to my quarters to work on my songs.

Lenny arrived as scheduled on the afternoon sand steamer from Mei City and showed up at my apartment at 6.

"Where's the rest of the band hanging out?" I asked him.

"We've taken rooms at the Hotel Central. I heard you playing while I was outside and I stayed out there for a while, just listening. I like that tune you were playing. That's new, isn't it? You have any sheet music for it, or will we need to wing it?

I hesitated, "It's not really ready for performance yet."

"Oh, come on," coaxed Lenny. "Play me what you got. You are going to take your tune out for a spin aren't you. I brought my drumsticks along."

"I'm glad you thought it sounded good," I said.

Lenny reached into his pocket and brought out the two boxes of reeds and the new mouthpiece. You owe me, Hornfreak. Silvia still sounds pretty, but when you have the new reed broken in, she'll sound gorgeous."

"How much do I owe you?"

"More than you know, but give me fifty double-dollars and we'll call us even."

I took my wallet out of my jacket pocket, pulled out some bills and handed Lenny the cash.

He reached inside his jacket, brought out his drumsticks and from another pocket he pulled out a small jar.

"Horn polish," he smirked as he handed it to me. "Give it to Chapel. He'll know what to do with it," he said with a leer.

I laughed and shook my head.

"Where is Chapel anyway? Doesn't he know I'm in town. I'm surprised he's not riding shotgun on you."

"Where's Dave, I'm surprised he's not riding shotgun on you what with you buying me horn polish and all."

"Actually it's for Silvia, so she'll look as beautiful as she sounds."

"I figured."

"As far as jealousy goes, Dave and I have come to an understanding."

"So have Chapel and I. We've reached a certain level of trust. He's out at the weapon range, teaching."

"Isn't that a late day for him? He must be pretty dedicated."

"Dedicated to making as much money as he can from his teaching contract."

"Can't blame the guy. I've never seen anyone run out of cash faster than Chapel. But are you gonna stand there all day, or are you going to play me that song?"

I played the song.

"That's really beautiful, man," Lenny said. "Are there any others you're close to finishing?"

"A few," I admitted.

"Are they as good as that one?"

"About the same. Hard to believe, but a few of them even have lyrics. I know we usually play straight instrumentals, but I was wondering if you know any singers, Lenny."

"Male or female?"

"Female."

"Alto or soprano?"

"I think an alto voice would match well against Silvia."

"You're in luck, Midvalley. Among Dixie's other talents, she's a hellacious vocalist. She played piano in lots of saloons and whorehouses in her day."

"I didn't know that about her."

"I'm sure she'd love to sing it for you, Midvalley. Not a day goes by that she's not saying, `This song would sound better if Midvalley were filling in with rhythm,' or `Right here, this is where Midvalley's solo ought to go.' She's not the only one missing you. I don't say it out loud but I think the same thing."

"How's she holding up after husband's death?"

"I suppose I shouldn't spoil the surprise. She's lost another 20 pounds, dyed her hair brown and she's been wearing a lot of green lately. She looks good. If Dave and I weren't…well, you know…You know how tempting some women are."

"I'd forgotten, but a few come to mind."

`Intelligent, talented, sexy, spunky…yeah."

"So why hasn't someone snapped her up already?"

"Well, somebody has. A guitar player."

"Sunny?"

"His wife would kill him."

"No, it's some guy who was playing with the Skip Walker band."

"Randy!"

"Yeah, that's him. He said you'd invited him to play at the graduation dance. He's sharing a room with Dixie. By the way, I heard about what happened to Skip Walker. You can be a pretty spooky guy, Midvalley. You didn't `disappear' him, did you?"

"I almost wish I had, but that was done by Master Legato."

"Legato! I remember him from the old days."

"Well, he remembers you , too. That little affair we had? Try not to piss him off."

"Don't tell me…the Legendary Sax God has made yet another conquest. How's Chapel taking it? He must be freaking out."

"Don't be flippant about it, Lenny. I'm warning you."

"If you're trying to scare me, Midvalley, you're succeeding."

"Good, because you're my favorite drummer of all time and I don't want to have to break another one in when I go on tour."

"Oh, man!" Lenny jumped and did a spontaneous dance from sheer delight. "You're going on tour with us? This is the best news, ever. So you did manage to get your work load reduced. What about Chapel?"

"He's working double to pay off a debt."

"It's nice he wants to pay his debts, but people who are bad at gambling shouldn't get into it so heavily. You've got to learn to cut your losses at some point."

"Well, that's what I used to think. Now, I'm not so sure that it's a gambling debt."

"Is he coming to hear us play this weekend?"

"I don't know if he can make it."

"You sure you two didn't have a lover's quarrel?"

"We trust each other more than ever."

"Well, I still hope he shows. Dixie noticed, and I did too, when she pointed it out to me, well you always play great, but you play like you're inspired while he's around. I'd like to give you all the credit for the music you've been turning out, but since you've been with Chapel, your music has taken on…oh, I hate to sound so cheesy, but emotional qualities."

"You think so?"

"Yeah. Hey, we are going to do some rehearsal, aren't we. Do you have any plans for tonight?'

"It's pretty short notice. Nick's still out at the weapon range."

"And maybe he'll be there half the night. Leave him a note, Midvalley and let's go. I told the band we'd be at the White Cat by seven."

"Hey, you sound pretty confident you'd get me to come along."

A slow smile slid across Lenny's features, "Well, I must admit, I know my Hornfreak," he said and laughed.

When we got to the White Cat Saloon, Lenny asked me, "Are the patrons as rough as they used to be?"

"There was a brawl in here a few days ago."

"Well, at least Miss Adelaide's big, fancy window didn't get broken."

"Actually, it did. Chapel chucked a guy through it."

"You must have been involved too, from the looks of those bruises on your knuckles."

"I was involved, but it's not how I got the bruises."

Just then, Sunny pushed through the batwing doors carrying a guitar in one hand and a dobro in the other. Dave followed close behind with Lenny's bass drum in his arms. Toby brought up the rear, with his bass and amp in hand.

"Randy and Dixie'll be here in a few minutes. Dixie is trying to get a piano tuner to come in and replace a couple of dead strings on the instrument here."

Sure enough, Dixie breezed through the doors minutes later, talking fast to a tall quiet man carrying a black satchel-the piano tuner I presumed. When she caught sight of me, she quit mid-sentence, sashayed over to me and said, "Bend down and give me a hug, Midvalley. You're just too tall for me. We really missed you. It sure would be nice if you could go on tour with us."

"Just for you, Dixie, I'll do it," I said and gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

That put a smile on her face.

"Lenny said it might happen but I couldn't believe it. This is fantastic."

Sonny and Toby crowded in for handshakes and backslaps. They all seemed really glad to see me again. A couple of minutes later, Randy showed up with his amp and guitar. Dixie left me to inform the piano tuner of her expectations. In a couple more minutes, he was busy replacing the dead strings.

At seven PM, the White Cat was deader than dead with two drunks passed out at one of the tables

We started rehearsing around 7:30. The piano sounded good without any dead keys or tinny notes. By eight PM, the saloon was beginning to get crowded, unusually so for a Thursday. Miss Adelaide had undoubtedly spread the word that the Midvalley Five were rehearsing, in a bid to boost her liquor sales.

At some point I noticed that another bartender had joined Miss Adelaide and was mixing drinks. The band was fairly well warmed up. Lenny seemed happy with our progress and we had gotten a lot of audience applause on our last number. Randy fit in well and was trading off on lead with Sunny.

At 8:30 we took a break. Right about then, I saw Jake Berkis walk through the door.

"What are you doing here, Berkis," I asked him.

"Moonlighting," he responded.

"I would have thought that bouncing was more in line with Ben Evans talents."

"He's still out on the weapon range. Chapel's working Ben so hard, he got a blister on his trigger finger. Chapel lanced it, bandaged it, and told him to keep shooting. Chapel's not worried about my scores, so since I was free, Miss Adelaide put me on shotgun duty."

The band resumed rehearsal some 15 minutes later. Our playing had reached a pretty decent level and we were working our way through the song list, when Lenny nudged me.

"Come on, Midvalley. Let's play some of those songs you told me about this afternoon.

"No way, Lenny. I told you they are not performance ready yet."

"It's a rehearsal, Midvalley."

"Not with this many people listening. And Nick's not here. I want him to be the first to hear them when they are ready, but they're not ready yet."

"I can see you're a little touchy on the subject. I won't push again. I can wait. Sorry if I seemed obnoxious. The little bit I overheard just sounded so good…well, everyone loves new music, especially if it's good."

"Thanks, Lenny, but there's no need to suck up. You're not budging me on this."

"It's Miss Adelaide's fault," said Lenny just as she was passing with a tray full of beer steins.

"What's my fault?" she turned to ask him.

"You seem to have called everyone you know just to hear us rehearse."

"Oh, well, now I'm a little embarrassed," said Miss Adelaide. "I didn't know I was acting out of turn. It's just that your band's rehearsals are better than most bands gigs. And a gal has got to try to make a profit when she can."

"Miss Adelaide's a fan of ours, Midvalley. You'll just have to forgive her. She needed the money."

We ended the rehearsal at ten. The audience groaned when they saw we were quitting. Lenny addressed them.

"Be sure you all come back tomorrow to hear us again."

I went over to Dixie who was flipping through sheet music.

"You wanted to talk to me, Midvalley? Lenny was telling me you might need a vocalist for some songs you wrote."

"That's right, Dixie. It'll mean more rehearsal for you. Are you sure you're okay with it?"

"Midvalley, let me just say flat out that I would be delighted. Just tell me the time and place and we'll go for it from there."

"I've got a terrible schedule," I said.

"I'm flexible. To tell the truth, I'm flattered that I will be the first to hear and sing these songs. If they're anywhere near as beautiful as "Silvia's Tune", I'll consider myself privileged."

We finally came up with a time that worked for both of us.

I got back to my apartment around 11. A few minutes later I heard Nick's step on the stairs. I stepped out on the landing. He was whistling and taking the steps two at a time. He looked happy and wired. He grabbed me when he got to the top of the stairs, pulled me into a bear hug, lifted me and kissed me and set me down.

"What are you so happy about?" I asked him.

"Bernie Welch passed Zazie in the marksmanship standings today and Ben Evans finally qualified with all weapons. He actually came in ahead of E.G. Mine in the scoring and Mine also passed all required weapons. Friday is just a formality, but I really did a psych job on Zazie and Mine. I said to them, you're not going to let a couple of `no-talents' pass you in the standings like this, are you? When I left the range fifteen minutes ago, the lights were still on and those two were still practicing. The higher the scores go, the bigger the bonus I rack up."

"I swear, Midvalley, I'll never complain about a teaching assignment again. Except for being called a chickenshit, this is easy money. How has the academic end of it been going for you, Midvalley?"

"Well, I'm so confident now, that I started looking at real estate ads in the paper. Saw a couple of houses that might fit the bill. Finals ought to be a snap."

Nick hugged me warmly, "That's great, Midvalley. Can I stay the night. I'm pretty wound up, but I think I'll be able to get some sleep if we…well, you know…"

I shook my head with a grin, "I was hoping not to have to deal with Legato, but…God, you're dirty!"

Nick's face flamed red and I laughed, "Oh, don't worry, I like it. I like it a lot," as I took him by the wrist and pulled him into the room after me.

We both liked it. Afterwards, Nick was asleep within five minutes. It felt good to have him lying next to me, naked skin on skin. In a few minutes more I dozed off and slipped into dreamless sleep.

I heard him leave around 5 in the morning.

I was up at seven myself . I'd made plans to meet Dixie at the White Cat Saloon at 8 in the morning. Miss Adelaide was still in her bathrobe when she opened the door. She poured some coffee and gave me a muffin. Dixie showed up a couple of minutes later, a little bleary eyed but rosy-cheeked. It looked like she'd been up all night. I passed her the scores of my new songs and got her coffee and a muffin and as we munched and sipped, she read and hummed.

"These are really nice, Midvalley," she commented.

"The muffins or the songs?"

"God, you're silly in the morning, Midvalley."

"Chalk it up to lack of sleep."

"That's probably Chapel's fault."

"You're one to talk, Dixie."

"Behave yourself, Midvalley. Stop flirting and let me concentrate on the music."

She flipped to the last song and hummed a bit of it.

"Oh, this one is pretty special, but…oh," she said as she flipped to the last page of it, "you're not quite finished with it yet."

"You're right, I'm still working on the bridge and the chorus."

"Really beautiful melody,"

"Thanks, Dixie."

"Let's get to work," she said. We rehearsed for two solid hours. I played Silvia and Dixie played piano and sang. I was thoroughly impressed with Dixie's voice and told her so when we finished.

"That was wonderful, Dixie, thanks. Your voice and phrasing-well I couldn't ask for better."

"It's my pleasure. I take it you're saving these tunes for the dance. I'm guessing you want Chapel to be among the first to hear it played."

"That's right. But of course, the band gets first crack. I can hardly wait to see what Sonny, Randy, Toby and Lenny can add to it."

"Lenny will use cymbals, snare drum and brushes for a lot of it…"

"Oh, crap, Dixie," I said as I got a look at the saloon clock, "thanks for everything, but I gotta run, I've got class in twenty minutes. See you tonight," I said as I hurried through the door.

The students were restless as hell during all the classes. Nick and I finished our last class at five PM. When they were released from the classroom, the students were whooping and hollering with relief.

Nick stopped me after class and said, "I'd like to go with you to the saloon tonight, but I'm still working with Bernie Welch. I don't think I can make it."

"Don't worry about it. We're rehearsing some new songs tonight and I'd just as soon they were in better shape before you hear them."

"Well, thanks for understanding, Midvalley."

I showed up at the saloon at 7:30. I was surprised that none of the students showed up, except Jake Berkis, who was the bouncer for the evening at Miss Adelaide's bar again.

"Hey, where are the rest of your classmates, Jake?" I asked him. "I would have thought they'd want to blow off some steam tonight."

"There's a contest between the `talented' and `no-talent" students. Have no idea if there's money involved, but I think so. Whichever group comes out ahead on points on academics and weapon range wins. Everyone is studying or shooting. Rai-dei is also teaching Demon's Way meditation."

The saloon was packed. None of the instructors showed until late. It was after 10 when Dominique arrived with Rai-dei in tow. Dominique kept trying to start a conversation and he kept shushing her. She looked as disgruntled as hell and finally left in a huff. It was a little after midnight when Miss Adelaide shooed away the drunks and die-hards. Rai-dei didn't want to go. Miss Adelaide told him, "Come back tomorrow night, Mister Rai-dei, they'll be playing again."

Then she closed the doors behind him. With the customers gone, the band relaxed and we started to jam on the new songs. Miss Adelaide hummed along as she washed glasses and swept up the place.

I liked the songs before we started jamming, but by the time each member of the band had made a contribution I was pleased beyond my fondest hopes. We finally quit around 3 AM. After yawning my good-byes, I took a taxi back to my place and I crawled into bed at 4 AM a very happy man.