Different Circles

They lifted off and Jake climbed to his assigned altitude of 34,000 feet. It only took two hours and ten minutes from wheels up to touchdown—more than one hour faster than he could have done it in the Chancellor. Marcie Scanlon, who could be spared from recording duties today because they were still working on the rhythm tracks, picked them up in the van that KVA had purchased for transportation in Oregon.

“Oh my God!” she gushed when she saw who was with Jake and Laura. “Greg Oldfellow!”

“That’s right,” Greg said with a sigh.

“It’s really you! Oh my God! I knew that Jake knows you, but I never thought I would get to meet you!”

“I’m very pleased to make your acquaintance,” Greg said, though he sounded anything but pleased. “Jake has told me a lot about you. And, of course, I really enjoy your music.”

“Thank you!” she said. “Wow. So ... that’s where you’ve been all this time they’ve been wondering what happened to you? Hanging out with Jake and Teach?”

“That’s where he has been,” Jake said. “And we would really like to keep that to ourselves for the time being.”

“Oh ... of course,” she said.

“I don’t really expect that you won’t tell Jim about this,” Jake said. “But we would prefer you don’t mention it to anyone else. And when you do tell Jim, please make sure he understands the need for discretion.”

“I will,” she promised.

Jake instructed Marcie how to get to Obie’s house. They dropped Greg off in front and he went in. The servants had been told to expect him.

“He seems nice,” Marcie commented as they drove away, heading back to the studio.

“He’s just an ordinary guy,” Jake said. He considered these words for a moment and then shook his head. “Scratch that. He’s actually a pompous ass completely out of touch with the common people. But, for all that, he is a nice guy. And he’s in a bad place these days.”

“I know,” she said. “Imagine, not being able to be a part of your own child’s life.”

“Yeah ... I suppose,” Jake allowed.

Once at the studio, Jake turned all business. He immediately pulled Nerdly off of the soundboard and into a private office (very much over Nerdly’s protests. He did not want a single note put down on the hard drive without his personal approval of it). He then asked for a report on their progress so far.

“We are proceeding a little more slowly than expected and over budget,” was the summary.

“What’s the issue?” Jake asked.

“The issue is you,” Nerdly informed him.

“What do you mean?”

“None of us quite realized the depth of your contributions to the Brainwash recordings,” he said. “It is you who comes up with and suggests most of the fine-tuning of the melodies and the blends between melodies and bridges, intros and outros. You are the one who comes up with those subtle nuances that elevate the tunes from good to great. Jim, Marcie and Steph are trying to adapt your techniques, and they are getting better at it, but they simply do not have the experience and the instinct that you do when it comes to fine-tuning a recording.”

Jake was flattered by this news, but also worried. “Are you saying you’re not going to be able to put out a quality recording without me?” he asked.

“Not at all,” Nerdly said. “I’m sure that even without your input, we will produce an aesthetically pleasing master in the end and it will sell well. It’s just that it will not be as good as it could be without your regular contributions.”

“Hmm,” Jake said thoughtfully. “Well ... I can’t do too much about this. I’m committed to the TSF and I do not want to shortchange my efforts to put on a good show in September. Especially not since I’ve already lost two weeks so I could pick up my new plane. And especially not since Matt will be the headliner, playing right after me. I’ll be goddamned if I let that asshole show me up.”

“Oh yes,” Nerdly said. “I heard that Matt is now committed once again. Do you have any information about why he changed his mind?”

Jake shrugged. “None whatsoever,” he said. And this was true. Pauline had not mentioned anything to him about Matt’s compelling reason. He did not even suspect that Pauline might know what it was.

“Maybe he wants to show you up?” Nerdly suggested.

“Maybe,” Jake said. “I don’t know. I don’t really care. I’m just going to put on the best fuckin’ show I can throw together with what I have to work with.”

“That’s what you always do,” Nerdly said. “What we always do.”

“And we’ll do it here too,” Jake said. “I’ll make a point to come up here as much as I can and be involved in the process. Hell, with my new plane it only takes about two hours to fly up here. I can come up on the weekends and review what you’ve been doing, make suggestions.”

“I think that would behoove all of us,” Nerdly said.

Jake nodded. “I aim to behoove,” he said.