Aiden laughed. “I’m dead serious. We need another violin. It’s an outdoor wedding. We get to stay for the reception. Free food. Want to do it?”
“Fuck yeah, I do!” Ray calculated. Two hundred dollars was like twenty-five hours of minimum wage at the construction site or bagging groceries. Two and a half weeks of work.
“Good,” Aiden said. “I’ll get you the music after class.”
Wait till his mother heard! She called his music “noise,” but once she heard how much money he could make, she’d change her tune. No need to bag groceries. If he could get a regular gig playing music, he’d be golden.
At the end of class, when Aiden handed him the music, Ray said as casually as he could, “You have any more gigs lined up you might need me for?”
“Yeah, we do a few a month. Don’t you have a job, though?”
“It’s ending in November,” Ray said. “I would love to play with you guys. Who was the other violinist?”
“It’s Chad Horner, you know him? Graduated last year. He’s a flake. This is the third gig he’s bailed on. I should have asked you earlier, it’s just you’re always working.”
Ray didn’t want to sound desperate. “I’m usually free most weekends.”
“Awesome,” Aiden said. “Let’s see how this weekend goes. If it’s good, you’re in.”
When Ray got home that evening, he immediately hunted down his mother, who was in her bedroom, lying back against the pillows, flipping through Essence magazine, phone tucked almost invisibly beneath her jaw. “Hold on,” she said into the phone. “What is it?” she said to Ray.
“I’m making two hundred dollars this weekend.” He had never made that kind of money. Even if his mom took most of it, what would he buy? If he had two gigs he could buy his own violin—no more school instruments. He could get a shoulder rest instead of a sponge. He’d seen one for twenty-five dollars at the music store on Providence Road.
“Where?”
“I’m playing at a wedding! It pays two hundred dollars.” He rolled the numbers around his tongue, savoring them.
“Oh good.” Then into the phone, “What I want to know is, does she really think he don’t notice? Because he sure as hell noticed.”
“That’s like two and a half weeks of work bagging groceries,” Ray said. Maybe she didn’t understand.
“That’s just like her,” his mom said. “I told you she was gonna do something like that.”
“If I do a good job,” Ray said, “they said they can use me every week. That’s two hundred dollars a weekend. That’s more than Ricky makes at the hospital in one week.”
“Hold on, girl,” she said to the phone. She stared up at the ceiling. “He makes about three hundred dollars a week.”
“Yeah, but that’s working five days a week. This is one afternoon. If I can get a couple gigs a week—and my friend thinks I can—I can start bringing in serious money.”
“When you get paid?”
“After each gig,” he said. “One thing, though. I’m going to need a ride.”
She looked at him blankly. “Well, you’re gonna have to find one. I’m not your taxi. Ride your bike.” She gestured for him to be quiet, waved him out.
He turned, muttering, “You are unbelievable,” and hit the doorframe with his shoulder.
“Hold on, girl. What did you say?” she shouted behind him.
“Nothing. I didn’t say anything.” He went down the hall, flopped down on his bed. For a few moments the old familiar resentment seethed through him.
He needed to save up for a car, that was clear. Then he could book even more gigs. Then she’d see how much money he could make with his playing. And he could stay in school, try out for regionals. He’d get paid for making music—this was incredible.
He texted Aiden, asked him for a ride to the wedding, then rummaged through his book bag to retrieve the wedding music. Canon in D. No problem. “Arrival of the Queen of Sheba.” No problem. Water Music Suite. They sure were playing a lot of Handel.
He was reaching for his violin when his mom opened the door without knocking. “Let me tell you something,” she told him. “When I’m on the phone, don’t come in asking me anything crazy. Do you understand?”
Ray held his breath for a moment. “Okay,” he said at last.
“And don’t even start playing that thing. Making all that noise.”