Lahat ng Kabanata ng No Return: Kabanata 61 - Kabanata 70

The guys in Silvia’s group joined the girls by the fence as the band played Weight of the World, their hard-rock hearts leaning to approving nods, even though No Return was much softer than anything they liked. And from the stage, Jim smiled when the girls danced, watching Silvia dance and sing as she’d done at the North Dakota inn, just for fun and just for him.“Okay, now let’s take it one by one,” Sam said from the tower.Jim handed the guitar to his assistant and jumped down from the stage with his microphone, just in case. Somebody gave him a bottle of water as he sneaked past the fence to join Silvia’s group. He shook hands and kissed cheeks as she introduced them, with that professional charming smile he usually wore for the meet & greet occasions. But he turned to her as soon as the introductions were over, forgetting about the others not a step away.“I think your friends know my songs better than y

A shaken silence followed the end of the song. Everybody kept staring blankly at the stage, not registering that Jim jumped down from it and hurried to the fence to help Silvia down, take her by the hand and lead her away.All of them quivered, like jolting awake from a gripping but muddled dream. They seemed to remember to empty their lungs or fill them again. Their eyes met as they glanced around, questioning, still puzzled, wondering what had just really happened, why they were all so moved, when had Jim made that song.They all looked relieved to see the others were just as shaken. They tried a few steps to remember what was supposed to come next. And the two people that had shaken them like that came to the rescue, as Silvia’s voice echoed all over the stadium.“Son of a bitch! If you ever do this to me again—!”Jim’s laughter replaced her on every speaker. “Everybody heard that, y’know?”“

Keeping in mind they were playing again the next day, Deborah didn’t let the after party go on for more than two hours, and she was relieved when everybody voted to go back to the hotel.On the bus, Jim noticed Silvia was oddly silent. She’d spent the after party with Jo and Claudia, away from the people buzzing around the musicians and the rivers of alcohol that usually flowed after a concert. Now she rested against his side, quiet and still. He felt her draw in a deep, shaky breath and kissed her hair. She was exhausted.She actually regretted declining all the drinks she’d been offered. She wished she’d had some beers, or a couple of tequila shots. Or all of that together, so now fear wouldn’t be clutching at her belly with those sharp icy claws. Still shaken by so many emotions since she’d opened her eyes to Jim’s smile, her survival instinct had finally rioted, demanding that she did something about it. And it was

Silvia had just finished getting dressed, and Jim was still in the shower, when the room phone rang. She hesitated, but the thing kept ringing as to wake the dead, so she picked up.“You fucking asshole! You took my green tennis last night? Again? I ain’t giving them up! If you like them, go buy yourself a pair!”Silvia blinked. Okay, that was some way to say good morning. She wasn’t sure which musician was screaming on the phone, so she asked softly, “Good morning, sir, how can I help you?”“Err… Sorry… Isn’t it Jim Robinson’s room?”She swallowed a chuckle. It was Tom. “Yes, it is. Did you say green tennis?” She looked around. “Give me a minute, please.”Jim’s duffel bag was where he’d dropped it the night before, just before she’d pretty much assaulted him. She opened it and saw a pair of green sneakers.“I’ll br

Jim got on the bus and went to his usual seat, two rows behind the driver, by the window. He dropped his duffel bag on the seat by his and waited. Silvia got on with Jo, almost the last ones, and they stayed at the first seat. Jo held her small camera, and they looked completely absorbed in their conversation. Like they’d been since they’d gotten back from the park, talking about the best places to visit in the city.He tilted his head with a mild frown, studying her. How much longer would it take her to get over the night before? He knew it was as absurd as logical, but she was still trying to stomach that he hadn’t rejected her. So she’d retreated to some inner corner, trying to find a little balance to keep going.And in the meantime, she was being evasive to a cold extent. She’d gotten in the shower when he was still trying to get up, and had pretty much jumped out of it when he’d joined her. To leave the room without even lettin