Chapter 17: Travelin' Riverside Blues
It was too cold to be walking along the river, but people still did it anyway. Slowly she walked down the old River Walk and watched the people jogging and walking, they were all bundled up from the cold. It reminded her of her year in Detroit, and those years in Maryland, it did sometimes get that cold in College Park. That was years ago, and after a good chunk of her adult life in the Los Angeles Basin, she wasn't used to the cold anymore.
The cold was sobering though. It allowed for the mind to unclutter itself and thinking to become clear, Haley reflected. She wandered down the Cape Fear heading south, off in the distance the looming superstructure of the Battleship North Carolina loomed. Far away in Wilmington, but close enough to be part of the skyline. But even it's ever-vigilant watch, Haley didn't notice. Her mind was on her best friend and brother-in-law.
Lucas every year would promise to break his habit of getting up before the sun and rushing off to that same spot along the river. Always on New Year's Day, it was like he was trying to catch something, change something, or even greet something, Haley reflected. She loved Lucas, in that way lifelong friends could, but sometimes he would frustrate more than her kids, and now grandkids.
She stopped and leaned on a post of the River Walk fence. She warmed her hands on her refilled travel cup of coffee. Haley nodded and looked out along the Salt Marshes across the river. Life wasn't fair, she reflected. She knew it, Lucas knew it, and Haley knew Lucas knew it, but he insisted to keep doing this thing, rain or shine, cold or hot.
Hopefully, it didn't affect Sawyer. Lucas' youngest daughter was at that age, not quite sixteen. Haley nodded, and a slight smile broke on her stoic lips. Sixteen, that was the year that changed everything for her, for Nathan, for Lucas, for everyone. For Tree Hill, it was an epoch, but that was thirty-four years ago, and to this day, she wasn't sure if it was a good thing.
She shrugged and brought the travel mug up to her lips. After saying a silent thanks for the coffee and its warmth she took a long sip. The liquid warmed as it went down her throat and into her stomach. It was nice to feel the warmth inside her body after the weeks of the Polar Vortex. This was stupid, this weather, what was going on, having to raise three of her grandkids, dealing with LK and her needs, Haley reflected and shook her head. It didn't help Keith was away, and Lucas was having his deep brooding moments. Haley wondered if they were beyond brooding and was on to full-on depression. Damn! That fucking year, Haley thought, that stupid annus horribils. Maybe that's what is happening, the fallout from that.
That was when the faint strings of musical notes hit her ears. Her brown eyes narrowed and focused on the song. It was an acoustical guitar, and the person knew how to play the instrument. After a minute or two she knew it was the blues that the person was playing. Yet the notes and chords were familiar to her, she knew the song, but she couldn't put a finger on it.
Haley turned around and started looking around. She was wondering where the music was coming from. Something had possessed her to know who was playing the Delta Blues and playing them extremely well. No something that she heard that often around here.
Haley focused on where the sound was coming from and she found the direction it was coming from. She slowly walked towards where she suspected the music was coming from. Slowly she kept walking down the River Walk, looking for the source of music.
Finally, she saw a young man busking a bit further south from where she had been standing. Closer now she could hear he was singing the song and she knew right away the lyrics of the song, maybe she knew them too well. Yes, this was that very song, that last hit single she remembered. The opening verse washed over her.
And the days keeps on worryin' me
There's a hellhound on my trail, hellhound on my trail
Hellhound on my trail
Why was someone out busking in this weather, Haley wondered. The back of her mind the thought popped up, even though its cold people have to make money. She looked at the young man and listened to him play the old Delta Blues standard. She nodded and liked what she heard.
Standing there she wondered if it was a fluke. The Busker adjusted his guitar and started playing another song. Again, another Delta Blues classic, by Robert Johnson. It made Haley smile about a story Nathan told her about her album tapes that Nathan got Chris to release that was her first album. It was how Chris told Nathan the story of Robert Johnson, and the Crossroads, and Nathan asked if Chris was the devil, and Chris shook his head, no he was Robert Johnson. It was one of the oldest stories in American Music or is it a Folk Legend. It wasn't the only time that legend had leaked into her family's life, it came to a head three years ago, during the annus horribils.
Haley listened to the song and smiled; it was a little more of a cheerful song. Yet it did get her to think about her family and how it tied in so well with the dad of four of her grandchildren, which included the three she was helping to raise with Nathan. She shook her head and listened to the lyrics as the Busker sang them.
I got women's in Vicksburg, clean on into Tennessee
I got women's in Vicksburg, clean on into Tennessee
But my Friar's Point rider, now, hops all over me
Yep, those lyrics perfectly fit with who she was thinking about. Shaking her head, she rarely thought about that person much anymore. Why? It was too painful, she thought, and that was how she would deal with the pain.
Returning to the Busker, she smiled and nodded. The young man had talent and something that could be worked with. Also, she reflected several of their acts were female-fronted and it would be nice to have some male talent singing, other than Chris.
She reached into her pocket and produced her wallet. She took out a five-dollar bill and a business card. She wrapped the five-dollar bill around the card and walked over to the Busker and smiled at him. He nodded as she dropped the fiver into the guitar case and walked away. She found a place where she could stand, watch, and listen.
The rest of the crowd started to feel the cold and started to move on. They were all southerners and their blood isn't thick enough for this weather. It was just sheer stubbornness and adherence to a routine that brought them out today. Haley smiled, as she watched the Busker collect the money out of the guitar case. He picked up the fiver and unfolded it finding the business card.
He looked at it for a minute, then his eyes grew wide. Finally, he looked around and found Haley standing there. He pocketed the money and slowly walked over to her.
He held up the card, "You seemed to have dropped this," he said.
Haley nodded, biting her lower lip from the cold, "I know," she said, "I did it on purpose."
He nodded, "What would you do if I said I wasn't interested?" he asked.
"I'd want to know why," Haley replied.
"Well, it's pretty cutthroat in the recording world, and well I don't like slavery," he said.
Haley nodded, "I know exactly what you're talking about," she said.
"How would you know?" he asked, "You're one of them."
Haley laughed, "I guess you don't recognize the name," she said.
"Am I supposed to?" he asked.
Haley shrugged, "Maybe," she said, "It would have warmed my heart if you did. Anyways, I was once an artist myself and was on the side of having my blood sucked. We're different, we ask very little and let you get your music out there."
"I can do that here, and online," he said.
"I know you can," Haley said, "But answer me this, do you like punk music?"
"Punk music?" he asked, "No."
"But you have that DIY attitude," Haley said.
"So? You got to, life is a hustle," he said.
"I understand that all too well," Haley said, "But tell me this, is it more punk to spend all your friends and your money, or to get someone else to pay for it and release the music you were planning to release anyway?"
He nodded, "I see," he said.
"I'm not looking for an answer," Haley said, "I just want to talk, and we can see if we can fit your needs."
He nodded, "I see, and will there be strings?" he asked.
Haley sighed, letting out a puff of white mist, "If someone tells you there are no strings, then they are lying. There are always strings, but…but we can see if the amount is acceptable for both of us," she said.
"I want to think about it," he said.
Haley nodded, "I don't need an answer right now," she said, "You have my name and number and you can call me at any time."
"Any time?" he asked.
"Within reason, I do have young kids at home," Haley said and chuckled.
He laughed and nodded, "I'll think about it," he said.
Haley smiled, "I suggest do your homework, look me and my company up, and you'll see," she said.
"Okay, I will," he said.
Haley smiled, "All I ask is for you to listen to my offer," she said.
He nodded, "As I said I'll think about it," he said.
"Just to make the formal introduction, I'm Haley James-Scott," she said and offered her hand.
He took her hand and gave it a firm shake, "Quim Martell, and thank you for the fiver," he said.
"A pleasure Quim," she said.
"All mine," Quim replied, and they dropped each other's hand. He gave her a smirk and walked back to his guitar case. Haley nodded and headed back to where her car was parked.
