Divided Road (The Road to Rocktoberfest 2024)

Chapter 13

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

“Rocktoberfest? Shit. Really?” Jared reached for Owen’s hand and squeezed it, needing the touch to reassure himself he wasn’t dreaming.

Frays had been the chance of a lifetime, but that performance paled against playing for Rocktoberfest in the States. Jared hadn’t left New Zealand before, although he had a passport. This was huge, bigger than the Nevada Desert, where the annual event was held.

“No, I’m just kidding.” Rachel rolled her eyes. “Of course, really. One of their talent scouts saw you perform and was very impressed. They loved your sound and songs.” She let off a long breath.

Gran pushed a cup of coffee towards her. “You look like you need this.”

“Thanks.” Rachel took a few sips before continuing. “So, I need a vote. We all need to be in, or this isn’t a go. All or nothing, right?”

“Right.” Clay raised his hand. “I’m in.”

Tyler and Phil raised theirs. “So are we,” Phil said. “Wow, Rocktoberfest. Going there has been on my bucket list since it started. I never dreamed I’d get to play there.” He pulled Tyler close and kissed him hard.

Kaci chuckled. “I’m definitely in. We’d be crazy to turn it down, right?”

“Right.” Jared raised his hand, shoving down the moment of guilt that he’d be the one going, not Lincoln. But, he was Flightless now.

Everyone turned to look at Owen, his silence loud in the excitement.

Jared squeezed Owen’s hand again. “Rip off the bandage, sweetheart. It will go easier.” He wasn’t pushing Owen into this. Given the situation, he had no choice but to tell them about his upcoming audition now instead of later.

“First off…” Owen cleared his throat. “I’m definitely in. We’d be crazy to turn this down. I’ll make it work. Somehow.”

“Make what work?” Kaci frowned. “Is this something to do with what’s been bothering you the last month or so?”

“I can never hide anything from you.” Owen’s tone was light, but the strain in his voice came through.

“We’ve been friends way too long,” Kaci agreed. “Now, spill. It can’t be that bad, right?”

“I have an audition with Oriolidae in July. One of their violinists is leaving.” Owen leaned back against Jared. “Fucking awful timing, I know, and I’m sorry. She’s not retiring until October, so I’m sure we can do this first, whatever way it goes.”

“And then what?” Rachel sounded concerned. “You’re a talented violinist. You need to be able to follow your dreams.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not sure what those dreams are.” Owen gripped his cross. “I love you guys and playing for Flightless. It’s too much a part of my life to give it up. But… I need to do this audition to see if I’m good enough and to….”

Gran narrowed her eyes but said nothing. Jared bit his lip, following her lead. Owen’s issues with his mum were private, although he doubted anyone who knew her had a fair idea what, or rather who had driven Owen’s need to audition.

“You’ll ace the audition.” Clay nodded sagely. “And if you decide you want a change, at least Flightless has gone out with one hell of a bang. Works for me.”

“You’re sure?” Owen asked. “I don’t want to break up the band. You could still continue without?—”

“Let’s focus on this first, hmm?” Rachel suggested. “So, whatever happens, we’re still going to Rocktoberfest. Whether it’s our swan song or the start of something bigger, we can throw it in the too-hard basket for later.” She fixed each one of them in turn with her serious look, one that everyone was clued up enough not to ignore. “However, if we do this, we need to go all in and perform our very best. No half-arsed performance or rehearsals.” She turned to Owen. “Will that be an issue? Can you manage to juggle both?”

“Yes. Definitely. I’ll tell the orchestra I’m taking a few months off. That will free up some time. I’ve already missed the first couple of rehearsals for the next concert anyway.” Owen straightened his shoulders and let go of his cross. “I’m fully on board. Promise.”

“Right then.” Rachel’s serious look morphed into a grin. “I’ll tell them Flightless will be performing at this year’s Rocktoberfest.”

“One more thing.” Tyler looked embarrassed but ploughed on when he had everyone’s attention. “How are we going to afford to get there? It’s expensive to get over there, let alone everything else that goes with that.”

Gran chuckled. “That’s an easy one, lad. We do what every group has done for generations when they’re aiming for an expensive goal. We fundraise.”

“I don’t think a few cake stalls are going to cut it.” Owen shook his head. “I have some savings, so I might be able to scrape together an airfare, but….”

“That’s a brilliant idea.” Rachel sounded delighted. “We could do some benefit concerts. And raffle tickets. Everyone loves those. And perhaps even a few cake stalls. Get your thinking hats on. Hell, I’ll take out a loan if I have to.”

“No loans.” Clay shook his head. “We don’t expect that. We’ll find a way.”

“We have a huge courtyard out the back of the Scone,” Jared offered. “We’ve used it for fundraising concerts for local schools. The space works a treat, with a firmly secured gazebo in case it rains.”

“Your sister won’t mind?” Kaci asked.

“I’m sure she won’t.” Jared’s mind raced with ideas. “When the school did their concert, we didn’t charge them a hire charge, but still made enough in food and drink to make it worth our while.” The Scone was freehold, so they had a bit more freedom to do that kind of thing.

“I could contact some of our regular venues and see if they’re interested in hosting us.” Rachel started making notes. “Leave it with me.” She grinned. “Go Flightless!”

“Go Flightless!”

Owen flopped down on the sofa once Rachel and Kaci had left. He’d enjoyed lunch, yet it now felt heavy on his stomach. He needed to move, to think. He’d offered to help Jared with the dishes, but Gran had told him to take some time out.

He suspected she wanted to talk to Jared in private, which was fair enough considering he’d had her ear earlier that morning.

“I’m off to my knitting group.” Gran popped her head around the corner. “I’ll be a couple of hours. The spare key is hanging in the usual spot, so don’t feel like you have to spend the afternoon here.” She smiled. “If you and Jared want to extend your visit a bit before heading back into reality, the offer’s there too. Let me know when you’ve decided.”

“Thanks, Gran. Enjoy your group.” Owen loved that, although Gran was retired, she’d kept active with her interests and continued to be a part of her community.

He leaned back, tucking his legs up under him. A moment later, Kijé jumped up on him and demanded attention. He patted the cat absently, his thoughts wandering, not for the first time, about how different his mum and gran were. While Gran bloomed with what she’d done in life, Mum had never found pleasure in the little things or the stuff that truly mattered.

Or if she did, she kept it to herself. While she got excited about her projects, Owen had never seen a line between her work and everything else.

“You okay staying here a few more days?” Jared placed a steaming cup of coffee in front of Owen and then settled down with tea in one of Gran’s many music-themed mugs.

“Yeah, if you are.” Owen snuggled into Jared. They’d taken a longer rental on the van to avoid having to rush in getting it back, and to keep their options open. Or at least that’s what Rachel had said. Owen suspected she’d probably guessed that he and Jared would want to stay at Gran’s for a few days. If she and Gran hadn’t already planned it ahead of time.

Kijé dug his claws in, showing his displeasure at Owen’s movement, and then settled again, draping himself across both of them.

Jared scratched behind the cat’s ears and was rewarded by a loud purr. “I had a long chat with Gran. I really like her.” He took a sip of tea. “She’s practical too and has some good ideas about all this fundraising stuff.”

“I figured she would. Years of experience at that kind of thing and all that.” Owen suspected Jared was leading into something and decided to get there first. “What did you talk about? If you don’t mind me asking?”

“She’s worried about you.” Jared put down his tea and brushed his lips against Owen’s. “So am I.”

“I’m…” Owen sighed, not bothering to pretend. Jared was getting way too good at reading him like a book. “First off, there’s no way I’m missing Rocktoberfest. Wow, just wow, but… God, I can’t decide what I want with what happens next. Ditching the audition would make life easier all around, but I’d always have that niggle that perhaps I might have made the cut.”

“You need to go through with the audition.” Jared sounded thoughtful. “I’m thinking an extra couple of days here would be good. You need some time for yourself to sort things through. Or at least I would, in your situation,” he added quickly. “Shit, I’m not trying to tell you what to do.”

“I wasn’t thinking you were.” Owen rested his head on Jared’s shoulder, a position that had quickly become a favourite for both of them. “I love that you’re concerned and trying to figure out a solution. Taking a few days to talk about everything would be great.” If he went into the audition with his attention divided, he’d totally screw it up.

“If you want to think rather than talk, I’m happy to give you some space too,” Jared offered.

“No, I want you here.” Owen smiled. “You’re the first partner I’ve had who I feel has my back no matter what. I love you for that.” He kissed the side of Jared’s neck. “And a lot more than that, too.”

Jared chuckled. “I hope so.” He was quiet for a moment. “Would you mind if Gran joins in some of the conversation too?”

“She’ll be there with bells on.” Owen snorted at the thought of keeping her out, although she would give them privacy if they asked. It didn’t seem right not to include her. He’d always talked to her and Grandpa about any of his major life decisions, so it was second nature by now.

“Perhaps we could work on some music while we’re here too,” Jared suggested. “Something new for Rocktoberfest, perhaps?”

“I’d love that.” Owen mentally went through the list of everything he needed to do between now and October. “Shit, there’s so much to do. If we don’t get started soon, we’ll run out of time.”

“That was one reason I suggested it, the other being that composing might be a good distraction and a way to unwind.” Jared flushed and gave in to Kijé’s request for more patting. “Writing music with you feels like magic. I love creating something new and seeing a whisper of an idea grow into a fully formed song.”

“That’s what I think too, although I don’t have those words.” Owen picked a spot of dust off Kijé’s coat. “I was going to say it’s awesome.”

“Well, it is that too,” Jared said with a straight face. He glanced out of the window. “How do you feel about going for a walk? After being cramped up in the van a lot of yesterday, I could do with stretching my legs for a bit and getting some fresh air.”

“Before we settle down and get lost in music?” Owen nodded. The weather was supposed to go to shit over the next few days too. “Yeah, I’d like that too.” He finished his coffee and shifted the cat, who meowed his displeasure.

Once they’d retrieved their jackets, Owen handed Jared one of the scarves hanging by the front door. “Gran keeps a swag of these for whoever wants one. If you want a different one, help yourself. She’ll expect you to keep it.”

“Cool.” Jared wrapped it around his neck. “I’ve never had a hand-knitted scarf before. Brigit’s one attempt at knitting was a disaster.”

“Take one for her too, if you like. Gran would love that. She’s probably dying to meet your sister.” Owen scribbled Gran a note, although they’d probably be back first, and then waited for Jared to exit the house before locking it behind them.

“I’ll bring Brigit over one day.” Jared pulled a face. “I suspect they’d get on a little too well. Perhaps I should just drop her off and run.”

“Good luck with that.” Owen laughed. He kicked up some of the leaves on the driveway and watched them catch in the wind. “Anywhere in particular you’d like to go?”

“I figure just head to the end of the street and see where that leads us?” Jared suggested. “I love looking at houses and imagining the people who live there, especially the older style houses in this kind of neighbourhood.”

Owen sang a few lines of a popular song about little houses and boxes. “When we were small, Al and I often stayed with Gran and Grandpa when Mum and Dad were busy with work. They’d take us for walks and find fun things for us to do along the way. One time, we counted all the cats we could see. The one with the most won.” He looked smug. “I always spotted them first.”

“That sounds like a challenge.” Jared pointed to Kijé, who was in the window watching them. “One.”

“You’re on.” Owen led them down the street. Two cats ran out in front of him, skidding to a halt when they reached the edge of the berm. “Two.” He slipped his hand into Jared’s. “We should scrounge some gloves from Gran, too. She’s always got some on the go. I think she has a pair to match your scarf.”

“I’d love that.” Jared squeezed Owen’s hand. “Two and three.” He pointed with his free hand to a couple of cats on a fence across the street. “This is fun.”

Another few minutes, and no more cats later, Owen broke the comfortable silence between them. “I’m going to hand in my notice to the shop after we get back from the US.”

“You said you were thinking about it.” Jared adjusted his scarf. The wind was coming up and taking the late afternoon warmth with it. “Are you going to look for something else straight away?”

“They owe me a fair bit of leave, even counting what I’ll need in October, and I have enough savings to pay the mortgage for a while.” A blur of white and grey raced across the road. “Three.”

“Do you want to wait and see what happens with your audition first?”

“I need to leave, whatever the outcome of that.” Owen had finally made the decision and he wanted to move on. “I thought about doing it sooner, but having that income for a few more months would help with getting to Rocktoberfest.” A ginger cat strolled over and rubbed up against his ankles. “Four.” He bent to pat the cat, grinning when he read the name on its collar. “Watch out for this one. He steals shoes, but only one, never a pair. His family has a notice outside their house about it.”

Jared laughed. “You’re serious? Wow, but he seems so friendly.”

“That’s to lull you into a false sense of security while he cases the joint or rather your feet.” Owen let the cat sniff his shoes. “No, you’re not getting these.”

The cat eyed them both in patented feline disdain and then wandered off.

“I’ve been so busy talking about me.” Owen felt a pang of guilt. “What about your future? Any thoughts about Rocktoberfest or beyond?”

“I’m still pinching myself to make sure this is real,” Jared admitted. “Rocktoberfest. Wow.” He bit his lip. “I feel bad for Lincoln, though. He’s going to be disappointed that he was so close to doing this, but not.”

“Lincoln is where he is meant to be,” Owen said softly. “He’ll be disappointed, but I doubt he’ll voice it.” He hoped like hell that Lincoln and Duncan’s relationship worked out and Lincoln had finally found his forever person.

“Yeah, I guess.”

A black cat peered at them from behind a bush, but Jared seemed distracted.

“Five,” Owen said after a few moments debating whether he should take advantage of the partly hidden cat. “So… after Rocktoberfest? Although staying where you are is a totally valid answer too. If you’ve found where you want to be, why change it?” He shrugged to lighten his words. “Not everyone dithers about life like I do.”

Jared pulled Owen closer and kissed him soundly. His lips felt cold. They’d need to head home soon. “You’re not dithering. You’re choosing your path.” He started at the movement behind them, turning when a small tortoiseshell cat jumped over a nearby fence. “Four. And I think I’d like to focus more on the Scone and be around a bit more for Brigit, whether it’s on the counter or behind the scenes. The place has room to grow into more than just a café. People, especially teenagers and older folk, need places where they feel safe, and welcome. We have a side room we use for storage that we don’t really need. It could be easily turned into something cosy or opened up in summer. There’s a fireplace in the corner and French doors that open up into the back of the property.”

“The premises used to be an old house, yeah?”

“Yeah. When we bought the building, we expanded the existing kitchen and added another smaller one and a second bathroom upstairs so it could be used as a self-contained flat. We had ideas of renting it out to help pay for everything, but Brigit loved it so much she moved in. A few family friends helped out with labour and it didn’t cost as much as we thought.” Jared smiled, a wistful expression that reflected in his eyes. “Mum and Dad would have loved the idea of a community space too. I wish they were here to talk to about it.”

“You still have family,” Owen reminded him. “We’re all here for you, and I know your parents are looking down and feeling very proud. You’re a good man, Jared.” He hesitated. “You won’t want to use your savings to get to Rocktoberfest if you’ve earmarked them for this.”

“I’ll make it work.” Jared shoved his hands in his pocket. “Like you, I’m not giving up this opportunity. If it takes a bit longer for our plans for the Scone, so be it. Rocktoberfest is probably a one-off, and it’s in a few months, while the community space is only an idea at present. We hadn’t planned to start looking at it seriously until next year.”

“A fundraiser concert at the Scone would be a good trial run of the space. We can help you clear it out. Rachel loves that kind of thing. You saw what she did with her garage once she decided it would make a great rehearsal space.” Owen hoped Rachel didn’t mind that he was volunteering her, although she had enough self-preservation to say no if she couldn’t do it.

“The school concerts worked well, but….”

“They already had a guaranteed audience. This won’t.” Owen stopped walking, a thought hitting him, waves of excitement running through him. “What if we wrote a new song, especially for these fundraising concerts? We have a few regulars who show up to all our performances. I’m sure advertising these events as being the first to hear it would be a drawcard.”

“We need a new one for Rocktoberfest too,” Jared said slowly, “but we managed that and more for Frays, and that was a shorter time frame. What about your audition, though? That’s a lot closer now.”

“I’ll manage.” Owen hooked his arm through Jared’s and started walking again. “It’s getting cold. What say we head home and get started.”

A cat skidded to a halt across their path.

They looked at each other, neither claiming it.

“That one’s yours, and then we’re even,” Owen offered.

“Or yours if you want to win, sweetheart.”

Owen shook his head. “I’ve already won, in all the ways that matter.” He initiated the kiss between them this time. “Actually… Gran’s going to be out for a while longer. We’ll have the house to ourselves for at least another hour. My old bed is very comfortable, and….”

“Yes. Always yes.” Jared’s gaze heated in desire. “You’re the only prize I need, and I want to show you how much.”

“Love you.” Owen let go of Jared. “Race you. First one home gets to undress the other.”

Jared grinned. “You’re on.”