London Harmony: Feel the Beat (4 page)

I slumped and said, “Oh... I busk tomorrow.”

She straightened with a look of concern on her face. Then she smiled and said, “Tell you what. I have nothing going on tonight. Why don't I just see what I can come up with and you can pick it up in the morning.”

I blinked at her.
She'd work on it at night for me?
I smiled at her and she gave me an odd smile I didn't know how to interpret as she looked me up and down, in an appraising manner. I blushed. Then she turned from me to my case, her eyes the last thing to turn away. My pulse quickened. She said, “Let me replace these capacitors really quick and you can take the pedal assembly home with you and use it as a backup.”

I didn't trust my voice so I nodded at her back like she could hear me. Was I attracted to this woman? Her tough, rocker looks weren't what I normally went for, but the gentleness in her voice that belied her looks was still thrumming inside of me. I didn't get the vibe that she played on my side of the street, and I'm sure she has blokes fawning all over her.

I started walking back to Scooter's desk but stopped mid-step when she called out, “Hey Abigail. How serious are you about doing it right? What's your budget?”

I looked over my shoulder and shrugged. “Whatever it takes, I do quite well with my street performing. I just want it to be reliable.”

She got a twinkle in her eyes and she nodded once then went back to work. Bloody hell, I just gave her a blank cheque hadn't I? I sat with great drama beside Scott as he worked. He looked over and grinned then turned back to the mixing board he had torn apart all over his work space.

I grinned when Percy finally made his way over to Tink. She was gruff with him when he kept leaning against her leg, demanding attention. She kept pushing him away with her leg, but she finally took a deep breath, put her soldering iron down and crouched by him. “Listen here you. I've work to do so go on now, shoo.”

His answer was to lick her face. I stood and was about to call him over until her stern look turned into a smile as she rolled her eyes. “Cheeky bastard. Not many get to first base with me.” She scratched his ears and ruffled his fur then sat back down and spoke to him like he was a person, like I always did. “I'll expect flowers next time I see you. I'm not a cheap date mind you. So just lay down and let me finish this up for your lady friend.” Percy laid down beside her, next to my equipment case.

I was getting fidgety, wanting to be moving, I started picking up the beat from the workshop. I absently grabbed a pencil off of Scooter's desk and absently tapped it on a water glass that held all of his pencils and pens. It made a ting ting tappity ting ting sound as I felt the thrum of the heating system.

I added some purplish red with my other hand tapping on the phone book in a satisfying bass thump, thump. Scooter's eyes widened and he said, “Oh bloody hell Abi! Not here.” I grinned as I heard an answering ratchet sound from Tommy in time with my beat. I gave Scott an apologetic look as I sang, “Ba da bop bop doo wow.”

We repeated and the others started joining in. Picking up instruments they were working on or ad-libbing sounds with whatever they had on hand and humming. This was something I loved about these people at Broken Note. This wasn't just their job to them, repairing instruments, but they lived and breathed music just like me. We all double stomped on the four beat to add force to what we were creating.

Tink had stopped working and was just looking around, her eyes settled on me as she smiled. The room had the beat, it was buzzing and thumping inside me. Tink started swaying and grinning as she went back to work. She surprised me by adding in a deep resonating, “Ba da baaa,” that you wouldn't think a tiny person like her would have in her.

It hit me like a lightning bolt, vibrating straight through me in a deep dark blue wave that tasted tangy. Scott finally caved in and grabbed the old worn acoustic guitar beside his desk and started strumming to the makeshift music we were making.

Now we were cooking with gas! I stared at Tink as I thought a moment, and created what I instantly called in my head, An Ode to Tinkers, and started singing. I loved improv, most of my music is unplanned like this, it just sort of happens.

When I sang the first line of the heroes who kept music alive, keeping instruments from going to the boneyard, Isabelle froze. She looked up with no emotion on her face and her brow furrowed. She cocked her head and smiled slowly and added backup “laa tee dooo” and the like. Her smile blossomed to a full-fledged one and she looked back down to keep working as we went along.

Tommy was alternating between slamming a wrench down on his workbench and clapping twice bobbing to the beat. Red spikes flared in my vision. On the third iteration of the bridge, they all had it and sang along. It was a swirling riot of color that formed a structured pattern that rivaled any field of flowers I had ever seen.
This is why I love music.

I stopped with the beat, signaling for everyone to drop off one at a time until it was just me singing the fade out on the refrain. We all laughed and clapped to each other when we finished. Then Scott put his guitar down with a reprimanding smile at me. “You are such a bad influence on these tossers.”

I gave him a crinkle nosed smile. “I try.”

He chuckled, then looked around the room and blurted, “Stop lollygagging and get back to work, break time is over!” They all grinned and went back to work. I caught Tink looking my way and she quickly looked back down at her work. It looked like she was humming to herself.

I fidgeted in my seat, my body still thrumming from the feel of the music we had just made. Scott thumped my leg to keep it from bouncing. I slapped his shoulder in return. He grinned at that as he reassembled the mixing panel he was working on.

I felt her approach and picked up on her honey taste and scent before I turned when Tink started talking beside me, “It looks like this setup is for sampling and looping?” She was holding my stomp pedal assembly. I nodded and she grinned. Oh dear lord in heaven, she had a single dimple on her left cheek that complimented her crooked smile. She continued while I was distracted, “Thought so. Okay, I replaced the capacitors with some more forgiving ones on overpower. So you sacrifice the higher frequencies on those two pedals but well within the range of human voice. They will take the pounding of the dirty power you are feeding them better this way and last longer.”

I blinked, she had stopped talking. I looked away, what had she said? Oh, high frequencies, pounding, last longer... got it. I formulated an eloquent response but nodded instead because I was blushing at the distraction of her smile.
Come on Abigail, you are a grown woman, act like it!

I realized that while I was chastising myself she had been holding the assembly out to me. Percy was leaning against my leg.
Oh.
I took it and said, “Thank you so much...” I couldn't bring myself to say Tink so I said, “Isabelle.” I had to get my blush under control.

I felt so self-conscious as she seemed to be staring at my glasses with a slight squint to one eye. I took them off quickly with one hand and put them in my pocket and ran my fingers through my hair quickly.

Her hand was on my arm. “Are you ok Abigail?”

I blurted quickly, “Fine fine.”

She stood there a moment and then said, “Okay. I'll get to work updating your setup. I'll see you in the morning?” It sounded almost hopeful. I nodded in her direction, trying to keep the smile off my face.

Her shadow moved away and I turned away. I was a bloody muppet. Scott chuckled and said quietly, “That's the same love-struck look all the tinkers had on their face when I hired her. They think I hired her for eye candy, but she is the best tech I have ever had and knows her stuff, maybe better than me.”

I sputtered under my breath, “I'm not bloody love-struck you wanker.”

He chuckled again and said, “Far as I can tell, she's not interested in a relationship with anyone and generally keeps to herself. This is the most talkative she has been since I hired her last month.”

He took the pedal assembly from me and then his hand was on mine and he guided it to the crook of his arm and lead Percy and I back out front through the curtain. I changed topics. “What do I owe you?”

He thought for a moment. “This one is gratis since it sounds like the inverter we recommended is what is burning out the capacitors.”

I nodded and put my glasses back on with both hands. He regarded me a moment and offered some unsolicited advice. “You don't need to be so self-conscious about your glasses Abi. You're a stunning girl with or without.”

I tried to defend, “I'm not self...”

He interrupted, “Then why do you keep taking them off around Tink?”

I exhaled. “I hate you Welshman. Too clever for your own good.” Then I stepped up and gave him a quick hug.

He grinned and winked at me then I said, “I best be off before mum sends out a search party. Overprotective that one is.” I took the pedal assembly from him as he clipped Percy's bib and harness back on, then I headed out and to the Tube, sending mum a text.

I rode to the station near home, taking in the unique sounds and colors of the electric train and the people I shared it with, humming a tune. My mind kept drifting, at one point I was thinking of Rainbow Dash for no particular reason.

When we arrived home after a short walk from the station, Percy went out the dog door in the kitchen to go do his thing while I greeted mum. She had dinner waiting.

I awoke from a pleasant dream to Percy pawing me in bed. I sat up and I placed a hand on him, calming him. Like so many times when I wake up too fast, I almost panicked when I couldn't see anything before remembering my condition. I chided myself, you'd think I'd get used to it after over a decade.

I glanced around. No, it really was dark, still night. I saw the eerie blurry glow of my nightlight by my bathroom door in the pitch black of my vision. What time was it? Then I heard the purple spikes of light knocking coming from downstairs, and Percy whined gently.

I dug my fingers into his soft fur and gave him a scratch. “Yeah, I hear it mate.” I rubbed my eyes and reached for my glasses and pushed them on with both hands. I squinted at my night light and around the room, allowing myself a second to focus.

I ran my fingers through my hair, allowing myself to fully wake up as much as to flatten the tangled bedhead hair down, slipped out of bed, and started toward the hall. Percy leaning against my leg the whole way.

I passed the big grandfather clock at the top of the stairs and blinked. It was just past midnight, who was at the door at this time of night? Then I echoed the thought in a nervous whisper to myself cautiously as I made my way downstairs. “Yeah, who is at the door this time of night?” I grabbed an umbrella hanging on the coat hooks beside the door and held it like a cricket bat then peeked out the peephole.

Peepholes had always freaked me out a bit since I saw a movie where an assassin shot through the peephole when his target had looked out to see who was at the door, so I peeked out quickly and pulled back. I blinked and smiled and lowered my improvised weapon and unlocked and opened the door.

Standing there, looking just as tired as me, with a sheepish grin on her face was Belle. I glanced back up the stairs for some reason then back at the woman on my doorstep. I was nervously smoothing down my hair as I asked quietly so I didn't wake mum, “Isabelle, what are you doing here?” Then I looked back and stepped aside. “Come in, its a bit chilly out there.”

She stepped in and I closed the door behind her and hung the umbrella back up as she leaned down to rub Percy's ears. She cocked an eyebrow at me with a little smile and asked in a hushed tone, “Expecting rain?”

I grinned at her but then my eyes flew wide. Bloody hell, I don't want her seeing me looking like an unmade bed!
Shite, shite, shite.
My hand went to my glasses self-consciously but then let my hand drop down in defeat. I tried not to let my resignation show in my voice as I whispered, “It's London, I always expect rain.” I grinned then explained, “It was to knock any bloke senseless who came in the middle of the night to steal my virtue.”

She looked at the umbrella then back at me then her face broke into a huge single dimple smile. “And a brolly is your choice of weapon?”

I tried for cute, but I sounded like a git when I defended myself with, “A ubiquitous show of force would keep them off balance. And besides, it's yellow.”

She started at me for a long moment trying to make sense of the gibberish I had just spouted and then we both broke into restrained laughter. I slapped a hand over my mouth and glanced back upstairs then looked at her trying to compose herself. I snagged her hand and dragged her into the living room and sat on the couch. Sir Percival laid his head on her lap.

Then I calmed and repeated my question, wanting to take my glasses off since she seemed to be staring at them. “What are you doing here, and how did you know where I lived?”

Her eyes shifted to my right eye where she left her focus, she tilted her head slightly and smiled and said, “I really think your eye is stunning. You have a ring of gold around the hazel that makes it pop.”

I stopped breathing, she was using singular pronouns. She knew somehow. I was feeling more self-conscious in that moment than I had felt about my eyes in a very, very, long time. I went to take my glasses off again but aborted with my hands half way up. I was blushing.

She whispered quickly with concern etching her face, “I'm sorry. Now I've gone and stuck my foot in it. I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable. My mouth just sometimes says things without checking in with my brain first.”

The way her voice vibrated through me, and the soothing tone, made me want to just sit and listen. The swirling pinks, blues, and purples reminded me of her hair. I looked away from her and said hoarsely, in a more normal tone, “How did you know?” I seriously wanted to know.

She shrugged. “We don't need to discuss a topic that clearly stresses you.” Then she pulled her white leather jacket open and pulled out a thick, overstuffed envelope and handed it to me, I caught a glimpse of her Rainbow Dash tee. “I found that in your case when I was working on it. I thought it best not to leave over six hundred quid in the shop overnight. It isn't the best of neighborhoods.” She shrugged. “So I looked up your address from prior service orders and thought I'd drop it by on my way to my flat. It was on my way.”

I blinked and looked at the envelope then her and cocked my head, my discomfort forgotten. “You're just now leaving the shop?”
She had been working on my gear all night? Since I left?
She just shrugged. Not knowing what to say I just played it off. I smiled and said, “I just forgot it was there. I have to do a bank run soon to make a deposit. Thank you for this, it was completely unnecessary.”

I met her eyes, both of which were trained to my right. I was at a loss for words and the silence approached the awkward stage, but I was entranced by the lines of her face, the cute little tilt to her head, and the adorable nose ring. She suddenly looked around and exhaled and stood. “Well, I best be off. I need to be up early to finish up on your equipment. Just need a little sleep.”

I stood with her and again noticed how her punk look just seemed to accentuate and focus her femininity.
Good Lord, settle yourself down Abigail!
I nodded, not knowing what else to say. I opened the door and she looked indecisive then leaned in to give me a quick hug. Then she seemed to get shy as she looked at the floor as she stepped outside.

I was about to shut the door and she laid a hand on the door to preempt it. Then she blurted in hushed tones, “Its the warmth and joy I see swirling in it, and the way it dilates when we are talking. The other doesn't do it.” Then she was gone leaving me standing there with Percy watching her almost skip off down the walk.

I smiled and pressed my forehead against the edge of the door then closed it. I grinned down at Percy, hugged myself, and spun around and headed back to bed with a silly grin on my face. I may not have got a vibe from her before, but I was changing my mind now. Now I put her in the ambiguous category.

She smelled like honey or was it just the taste of her voice? I drifted off into a pleasant sleep with a smile on my face, thinking about how she had stayed late at night to work on my gear.