Page 97 of Tumbling Hearts

Would Gene even want to anymore, if Toshiko is nearby?

He can’t answer that, and is afraid to ask. He has no idea.

And that fucking scares him.

But at least he can feel some sort of reassurance as Gene still rests his hand on his shoulder. The warmth, though small, ignites a tiny flicker of hope.

As the day goes on, the Dusty Brooms finish recording another track that’ll be going on their third album. Progress is slow going, having been stuttered by Carol’s exit and the trouble with Nicky. But Dennis reassures Ray that he’ll schedule them all some more time next month, either here at Sunset Sound again or at a studio closer to home.

Ray can’t keep his mind off the magazine he’d read with them all earlier. Now that he’s a celebrity, so much of his personal life is made public. Eventually the rags are going to report on him and Carol breaking up. What are they going to say? How are they going to spin it? Ray knows he’s going to be bombarded with countless questions in interviews. How will he answer them? No way in hell can he tell the media the truth. He’ll figure something out.

It’s laughable what that one rag had said of him and Carol during the summer: ‘meant for each other.’ What a load of shit.

It also will only be a matter of time until they report on Nicky’s drug charges. The rags already know about it, having taken their pictures as they exited the courthouse. But maybe this particular news won’t be all that bad. They’re hardly the first rock band to get in trouble for drugs. It’ll be just like how the article framed Gene punching Jack—it’ll work out, painting them as ‘rock-’n’-roll bad boys.’ Ray doesn’t mind the sound of that. Maybe I should start wearing a leather jacket more often.

Presently, they’re gearing up to start recording a new song. Ray and Gene haven’t played this one for the rest of the Brooms yet, but Ray hopes they’ll like the idea. It’s the one they wrote on the bus early on in the tour: ‘Someone Like You’. The band congregates in the main room of the studio by the sound engineer station—cables, wires, wood-paneled speakers and all. Ray sits next to Gene on a plush flower-print couch, Gene with an acoustic guitar in his lap, while the rest of their group either stands or sits in folding chairs around them.

Gene strums the opening chords. Intending for it to be a duet between him and Gene, Ray sings the first verse to them all, then the chorus by himself, reading the lyrics from his little notebook in his hands. Once he’s done, Gene takes over singing the second verse solo. Ray joins him again in the second chorus, singing the melody while Gene sings the harmony.

“But that’s just how it is… I know it to be true… I love you,” they both sing, and Ray makes eye contact with Gene on the last line. Gene’s hazel eyes glisten, tender and sweet. Ray wants more, and is ready to sing the bridge⁠—

“This is beautiful, boys, beautiful!” Dennis says cheerfully, standing beside them, giving them a few claps. It makes Gene stop strumming his guitar. “But something about this song strikes me as odd. This is… a love song, right? I mean, you both did just sing the words ‘I love you’.”

“Yeah, it’s a love song,” Ray says, looking up at his manager. “We’ve done love songs before.”

“Yes, but none of them were duets.” Dennis holds his pointer finger up. “This song here with Gene, is he only singing the second part as a place-holder? Because to me, it sounds odd to have two men singing a love song to each other.”

Ray can’t really think of a rebuttal, having worried about the same thing himself, but he doesn’t have to say anything when Gene replies, “The lyrics are vague enough to where instead of singing to each other, it could be two guys singing to their respective love interests, whoever they may be.”

“I guess so.” Dennis rubs his chin.

“I don’t see anything wrong with two guys singing to each other,” Maurice chimes in.

“Well, I understand why you wouldn’t mind.” Dennis doesn’t say because you’re gay out loud in respect to Maurice, in case the sound engineers are listening in. “But I’m thinking about our audience as a whole. They might find the idea strange. What if instead of Ray singing with Gene for this one, we brought in a guest female vocalist?”

“A female vocalist?” Ray says, his upper lip lifting in a sneer.

“Yes! It would solve the problem. There’d be no confusion that way—you could be either singing to different loved ones, or singing to each other, and it wouldn’t matter.”

“What if we got Pat to sing?” Stefan comments, surprising not just Ray but everyone else in the room—especially Pat herself.

“Hell no,” she says with an exaggerated frown, sitting in a folding chair next to Stefan. “You couldn’t pay me to sing. And even if for some odd miracle I did sing, I would never want to sing a love song with Ray.” She gestures toward him teasingly.

“Hey!” He pouts.

“Just sayin’,” Pat chuckles.

“Well, I wasn’t thinking of Pat,” Dennis says. “I was thinking of inviting someone outside the band. Collaboration is often a good idea. Could help not just our publicity but whoever we’re collaborating with as well.”

“Did you have anyone in mind?” Nicky pipes in from behind Dennis.

“Why, yes, because we have a guest female vocalist right here in this very room—the beautiful Miss Toshiko Tanaka, of course!”

Ray gasps, and so does Gene—so does everybody. Toshiko puts a hand over her mouth, sitting closest to Gene in a folding chair of her own.

“You would like me to sing with the band?” she asks.

“If you want to, I suppose. It’s just an idea,” Dennis says, putting his hands on his hips. “But I think it’s a rather good one. We wouldn’t need to ask around. And you’re already familiar with everyone.”