Chapter 7
Guitar God in Training
I am borrowing the characters and imaginings of the great Callie Khoury. I do not own these characters.
Your comments and feedback are welcome and appreciated. Hope you enjoy!
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"Girl, you are good! You're going to be better than me someday. You really picked that progression up fast. You're a natural."
"Thanks, Dad. I'm so glad that I got your guitar genes and not mom's."
"Hey, I resent that! I'm not half bad with a guitar."
"Ya, ain't half good either, babe." Deacon laughed heartily before Rayna playfully swatted his behind with the dish towel she was wielding like a weapon of mass destruction.
"Mom, come on. You know Dad is totally right on this one."
"Madelyn Virginia Claybourne you may not remember, but I'm the one that put a guitar in your hand and taught you your first chord."
"Well, that may be, but Dad taught me everything else."
"I'd like to know how that first lesson went," Deacon looked at Rayna, expectantly.
"I see where this is going. Give me a minute to finish up these dishes and I'll get my journal and we can relive how Maddie's guitar mastery blossomed."
March 11, 2005
Maddie has been a little standoffish and out of sorts lately with all the attention Daphne is getting. She also seems to be very interested in music - how can she not be with me and Deacon as her parents (at least with our genes). I'm going to get her a ukulele so she can express herself and try her hand at music. At five she's a little young and Teddy will not be thrilled with encouraging her music, but I think it is a natural outlet for her. But, maybe I'm just projecting.
March 13, 2005
Well I was right! Teddy was not happy about the ukulele and Maddie was over the moon. She was walking around shaking her hips and strumming that thing all day today. Poor Daphne finally had enough and started wailing after being "entertained" for an hour straight.
March 14, 2005
To preserve everyone's sanity, I sat down with Maddie today and helped her to learn a few simple chords on the ukulele. Her face was all screwed up and she was biting her tongue she was so focused on learning. By the end of the day and a few hundred miscues, she mastered Mary Had a Little Lamb. She was ecstatic. She came running into the kitchen exclaiming that she could play the guitar 'just like Uncle Deacon'. Thank goodness Teddy was outside. It would have just added salt to the wound and I wouldn't have heard the end of it.
April 2, 2005
Maddie came to rehearsals with me today. Daphne was sick and I wanted to keep Maddie away from her to prevent all of us from getting sick. I leave for the first leg of my tour in three weeks. I can't afford to be laid up.
Maddie insisted on bringing her ukulele today to play for Deacon. The second he walked through the door she cornered him and demanded his undivided attention. He indulges her to no end.
Watching him, watching her nearly broke me. He was genuinely proud of her. He even took a few minutes before rehearsal started to show Maddie a few tricks and another couple of chords. Then, after rehearsal, he 'rewarded' Maddie for sitting so patiently during rehearsals by teaching her another song.
Maddie was in awe of Deacon. When we got home all she could talk about was how Deacon said she was a natural and that she would be better than him someday and he would be glad to give her lessons if she was serious.
Needless to say, this didn't sit well with Teddy and I got an earful. We agreed that Maddie could continue to play the ukulele and take lessons at school. Under no circumstances was she to take lessons with Deacon.
This broke my heart, but I don't blame Teddy. He doesn't want to lose Maddie and music is what will forever bind her and me to Deacon and that's something Teddy will never be able to share.
"No wonder Teddy was not in favor of me taking lessons with Dad even after I found out that he was my biological father. I can see where he was coming from."
"Me, too. There was no love lost between Teddy and me at that time, but I can see how he would have felt threatened. I'm just glad we were able to make it work and I was able to work with you and harness that talent your mother would have surely destroyed."
"You're asking for it, mister. Hand over that guitar girl, I'm going to show you both."
Maddie laughed and looked sideways at Deacon as she handed the guitar to her mom. Just then, Daphne walked in.
"What's this? Mom's going to play guitar! This I have to see."
Rayna tuned the guitar, drew in a breath, closed her eyes and started strumming a simple, beautiful melody, one they all knew very well. Her voice joined in.
Sittin' here tonight
By the fire light
It reminds me I already have
More than I should
Deacon and the girls couldn't help but add their sweet voices to the family anthem. And, when Rayna finished, Deacon kissed her on the temple and the girls piled on embracing them both.
"Not too shabby, huh?"
"You're no Deacon Claybourne mom, but you don't totally, suck!"
"Thank you Daphne. You were always my favorite."
"Mom!"
"Okay, okay. Deacon's job is safe. But just for the record, I don't suck."
After the girls had gone upstairs, Rayna leaned back on Deacon and closed her eyes while he gently rubbed her arm up and down.
"Mmmm. This is nice."
"Yay, it is. So, Ray, spill. Did you encourage Maddie to pursue guitar to share something with me?"
"You know, Deacon, maybe. I can't say for sure. I saw something there in her and I guess deep down, I wanted her to have a relationship with you even if she didn't know you were her biological father. She certainly had your genes and your talent. I didn't think it was right to squash that."
"And, I always had it in my heart and in my mind, that someday you two would know each other as father and daughter and I wanted you to have special memories and share your passion."
"Hold on. I think I have something you'll love to see. One sec." With that Rayna went racing up the steps. Deacon heard her rummaging around in her closet. She returned a few minutes later, stood in front of him and presented him with an old, faded Polaroid picture.
Deacon stared at it and misted up. He gently rubbed his thumb over the image of him and Maddie on the bus laughing, holding their guitars and watching each other. If they didn't look like reflections of each other, Rayna didn't know what did. This was one of those photos she took to share some day to help Deacon know his daughter and remember the special moments they shared. Today was someday.
"Thank you for that, Ray. She is a very talented musician and it would have been a disservice to hold her back. I'm glad I was able to help both the girls grow and thrive as musicians. I really think they are special, Ray, and they are probably going to be bigger than us some day."
"I'm glad that we are able to support their pursuit of music. My mama was my champion and to lose her at such a young age was a blow to me, especially because daddy fought me and my love of 'hillbilly music' every step of the way. It was also a way for me to honor and keep my mama alive for me and for them."
"Music was the only way I was able to escape my abusive daddy and make something of myself and of course, it led me to you."
"Music has indeed been good to us and we do make beautiful music together."
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Songwriters: Ashley Monroe / Sarah Siskind
A Life That's Good lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, ME Gusta Music