totally got on so well with each other. The privilege and opportunity they both enjoyed were unparalleled to most people. But wealth came with its own issues. No one wanted to hear the poor, little, rich daughter’s spiel. So spot on. Jody understood that.
Karlee got it too and they went crazy, whining and venting about their shared perspectives without judgment. That was pretty awesome. As was the fun they always had. So many years. Dinners out. Going to neighborhood bars or shopping downtown or dance clubs or wandering the freaking streets on a Sunday afternoon. Staying up late, eating crap food and talking. Jody drinking, Karlee rarely. Karlee was quiet, reserved, and far less wild. Jody liked drinking, eating, dancing, singing… whatever was lively and happening out wherever they went. They went out a lot. Every weekend, and sometimes during the week. Friends were many and they quite often hung around their condo for days at a time.
Now, Karlee was moving onto a new life. A new phase for her. Jody was happy for the couple, and Xavier’s four-year-old son. They found an apartment on the outskirts of Seattle. But nothing would ever be the same. Jody knew that. No midnight eating/drinking/gossip sessions. Crazy-long conversations until the break of dawn. No more listening to totally unique people jamming away on their instruments while Karlee and Jody just hung together. No more going out. Not like they did now. There would be plenty of visits. They intended to continue working together. But it would propel their friendship and cousin status to the next phase. More sedate, grown-up, mature. Perhaps meeting for lunches or… what? Dinners with Xavier and Karlee at their family apartment, condo or house? Sigh. Yes, all of her life was changing rapidly.
Jody would have to consider getting a new roommate. That reality made her shudder. Karlee was the perfect roommate. Ideal. Quiet, but fun. Reserved, but also gabby and gossipy. Serious, but laughing all the time. Private, but loving to do things together.
Despite Jody’s energy and love for people and parties, she also liked to retreat into her room for total quiet. Introspection. Refueling. She was an introvert who loved people. Or an extrovert who loved her own space. She really wasn’t sure, but there was definitely a yin and yang to her personality.
“So, this Ross?”
“I’m not sure. He didn’t read anything about the program and said he only wanted to get a chance to meet Rob and live an easy lifestyle for awhile. He didn’t even know for how long. It was so odd. Like he couldn’t even be bothered to read the home page of our website. I mean, come on, that takes what? Maybe three minutes at most? Seemed like a super strange reaction to this. I mean… he was talented, right? I feel fuzzy now.”
“Yeah. Insanely. Rob really connected with his sound. Rob articulates it in ways that are impossible for me to describe.”
“I guess Rob’s going to want him then? Like, we have to put up with him?”
“That bad, huh? Want me to take him off your hands?” Karlee offered, stretching her arms back and snapping the gum in her mouth nonchalantly. Not much ruffled Karlee’s demeanor.
“No,” Jody answered far too fast. Something jolted inside her. Why was she so adamant about not wanting Karlee to take over for her? “I can deal with his insolence. Unlike the grateful, excited, passionate, and totally strange musicians and attitudes we’re more used to.”
“New challenge. Just don’t fall for him.” Karlee gave her a wink and smirk. Obviously, kidding. Obviously.
“Never. I prefer common decency. Besides, you know what would happen if I brought home a musician to my Dad.” They shared a smile and Jody winked, all in kidding. But in truth, no, her dad would not be happy if she brought home a musician. Literally, the only rule he ever insisted on with her since she graduated high school was don’t date a musician.
In Nick’s defense, he lived through the time when Rob was in the clutches of Zenith’s (then) failure and drug addiction. It was a bad place that culminated in Rob selling drugs, which led to someone breaking in and assaulting her mom. “I think I could handle anyone you might bring home, except for a freaking musician,” her dad always told her.
Jody had to giggle to herself when he said that. The thought of bringing anyone home, which was her parents’ euphemism for dating a man for any length of time, was