Beth
The cellphone rang on the Marshall amp. But no one could hear it over the sound of the music being played. Peter, the drummer was banging away while Jimmy, the bass player was plucking and singing the song.
“Oh, oh, ‘cause anytime is kissin’ time, USA. So treat me right, don’t make me fight. And we’ll rock and roll tonight,” Jimmy wailed. The phone fell off the amp and then the keyboardist called out to get them to stop. The last whining sound from Gus’ guitar echoed into the garage.
“Dude, your phone,” said their keyboardist Chuck. He pointed to the phone on the ground, vibrating and moving around.
“It is probably Beth,” Jimmy said. He grabbed the phone and then entered his password, there were several calls from Beth. Jimmy let out a sigh and then he took the liberty to listen as the phone dialed her number. She picked up on the second ring.
“What the hell Jimmy what are you doing to late?” Beth asked. She was walking through an echoing space, her voice louder than usual.
“I’m with the guys and we are working the song for our auditions,” Jimmy said into his phone.
“Don’t tell me you are playing KISS for the audition?” Jimmy didn’t answer. The guys just looked at him. Ned, their guitar player made the sound that was used in cartoons when something was going wrong. Chuck began to play the tune from Jaws. Jimmy waved them off until Peter stepped in and ordered the guys to put down their instruments and head inside for dinner. Peter’s mother offered to make the boys homemade lasagna.
“You are seriously doing that song from KISS?” Beth asked on the phone.
“Well yeah, we needed something catchy and that was the only one we could agree on.” Beth gave a scoff over the phone and then the sound of a car door being opened and closed caught his attention a little more.
“Beth what are you doing?” Jimmy asked.
“I’m coming over to get your ass home,” she hissed in the home.
“We are almost done, lasagna was offered.” Jimmy turned around and saw that Chuck was waving him inside for a piece of lasagna.
“At this late hour? You are at Peter’s are you?” The car turned over and then a small empty blank response, the car was connecting to the Bluetooth in the car.
“Beth I don’t need you to come to pick me up,” Jimmy shouted into the phone. He put his phone down. He couldn’t hear her on the other side as he took off his bass guitar. He placed it gently on the amp and then he took the phone in his hand, she didn’t even stop talking.
“You are going to need to repeat yourself because I just put down my phone to put up my bass for some food that I am pretty sure is no longer there,” Jimmy whined. Beth screamed into the phone and continued from the spot she was on. There was no point in arguing with her. They were dating for only a few months when she asked him to move in with her. Jimmy usually lived out of his car, he was a roadie and often traveled to play with different bands. This was the one band that he could see himself in and perform.
The phone beeped and Jimmy saw that Beth ended the call. He headed into the house and sat down at the table. Peter’s mother looked at him with interest. She was a plump woman who also had a few years on her. She was one of the nicest mothers you ever met.
“Was that Beth on the phone?” the woman chimed. She pointed with her fork to the cellphone near Jimmy. All he could do was nod.
“It must be nice to have someone who takes care of you so well.” The boys looked from Peter’s mom to Jimmy as he twirled his fork and sat in silence.
“Yeah it is,” he commented. He took one bite of lasagna and then began to wolf it down.
“Slow down, there’s no rush,” Peter said. He looked over at his mom and she waved it off like it was nothing.
“I bet that young Becky cooks for you. She sure sounds like a keeper if you talk on the phone with her a lot,” Peter’s mom said.
“Mom!” Peter hissed. The woman hushed him off with a wave of her hand and got up from the table. Jimmy ate his fill and a second helping before they got back to playing at the musical instruments. It was nearly night.
“It is nice that Peter just has a mom. If he had a dad it would be a bitch playing at this time,” Chuck said. Peter shot him a look and then headed towards the drum set. Chuck went back to his keyboards and Jimmy headed for his guitar. As they were about to start performing a loud bang could be heard from the other side of the garage door.
“Jimmy I know you are in there,” Beth shouted from the other side of the metal door. The guys looked at each other and then turned all their attention on Jimmy. He shrugged his shoulders and then put his guitar down before it was over his shoulder and headed out the screened garage door towards the front of the house.
Beth’s car was in the driveway and it was running. The hum of the engine was covered by the squeaky sound of the new belt. Jimmy would have to fix that later for her. She stood there, just a few inches taller than Peter or Chuck, in her black shoes and black outfit. She must have just left work and saw that Jimmy wasn’t home. Her hair was tied back in a loose brunette bun. The cap from work still on top of her head. She banged and banged again on the door until Jimmy opened up the car door, which of course was always unlocked when she came to get him and turned off the engine.
Beth turned around and saw Jimmy smiling. She ran over and began to hit him on the arms with her open hands.
“You could have been home. You could have just stayed home,” Beth shouted between slaps. Jimmy grabbed her hands and held them tight.
“It is just a few more hours Beth, we will be done by the time I have to go to work,” Jimmy said.
“That’s the problem, you should be at work now. I just got a call from your boss saying that if you are late again mister you won’t have a job. How are going to be able to pay our rent for this upcoming month?” Jimmy looked startled and then reached for his cellphone, which was still on the amp. He ran inside and then grabbed it quickly, it was six in the morning. They were playing nonstop for nearly five hours of work.
“Shit, I got to get to work guys,” Jimmy shouted. He left his amp and guitar at Peter’s garage and ran into the car that Beth was now sitting behind the wheel. She worked late last night and now has to drive Jimmy to work before she could go home and sleep. Her next shift wasn’t until five later tonight.
“Thank goodness you leave your clothes at work to change into. I can’t stand the smell of motor grease,” Beth commented. She pulled off towards the nearest light and they headed for the strip mall where Jimmy worked as a mechanic for the nearby garage. It was a mom and pop store and as many times Jimmy was late, he was often never fired.
“Just take me to work and make sure you go home and sleep,” Jimmy suggested. She pulled up to the open car mechanic garage and Jimmy dashed out. He waved a kiss before Beth motioned him back over.
“Just get home on time and take a break once in a while,” Beth advised. Jimmy let out a nod and then she yelled back, always reminding him that she loved him no matter what. They would come out on top, okay, alright, and she would always go to his band’s gigs no matter what the cost.
“Beth had to come to get you again?” the boss asked. His mechanic suit was covered in oil and grease. He had the newspaper in his hands.
“It’s Beth, what can you do?” Jimmy stated.
“Marry the poor girl and don’t string her along.”
“When I get to that bridge, I’ll keep that thought in mind.” Jimmy headed into the shop and began to walk towards the locker room, where he kept his jumpsuit and headed out into the garage for the day working on cars and other forms of machinery. As he worked on the machines, he hummed a song, a tune that not any of the band members thought about yet.
“Oh Beth, what can’t you do,” he whispered and continued his work until the shop closed around seven that night. He walked home and began to hum the tune more and more.
As he rounded the corner for his house, he walked past Chuck’s when he saw him leave his front door.
“Heading to Peter’s again?” Jimmy shouted from the sidewalk. Chuck looked up and let out a soft wave. He ran over and opened the metal gate to his front walkway. Jimmy and Chuck began to walk towards Peter’s house.
“Peter wants to go over the song again. But I was thinking of some great lyrics and cover songs we could do,” Chuck said.
“Neat! I have a song in my head too!” Jimmy stated. They were near the garage for Peter when their other band Gus was walking towards them with his guitar strapped to his back. They all met up at the bottom of the garage for Peter’s house and headed inside. Peter held out his hands and each of them hugged and high-fived their way into the garage.
“Peter, I was thinking that we should add a few more songs today after going over this one again,” Chuck said. He pointed to Jimmy and him for the other songs that they were thinking about. Peter took in the information and then stood there with his hands on his hips.
“What do you have in mind?” Peter asked once he thought through the options. He looked over at Jimmy who pointed to Chuck.
“I’m pretty sure Chuck can whip up the riff for this tune no problem,” Jimmy said. Chuck headed over to the keyboard, Jimmy followed suit. They pointed to a few keys and then Chuck began to connect them. Once they were fully connected, Jimmy began to sing. Peter and Gus looked at each other and watched as the other two band members began to play the song. In one line of the chorus, Chuck and Jimmy both sang together. Once they finished Peter and Gus nodded in approval.
“I like the song, do you think Beth will?” Peter asked.
“It’s Beth, what can you do?” Jimmy added. Peter and Gus then went to their instruments and began to add more sounds to the melody that Chuck and Jimmy introduced. As they played, the phone began to ring again. It had Beth’s name as the caller, but the boys just kept on playing.
