The Boy from the Band

Homeward Bound

"Homeward bound, I wish I was, Homeward bound.

Home, where my thought's escaping, home, where my music's playing,

Home, where my love lies waiting silently for me."

 (Simon and Garfunkel)

"Fuck off, she doesn't want to talk to you." Bob's raised his voice and that's not a good sign—he's an even-tempered guy so he must be angry.

I hear Rick answer, but I don't catch the words. As much as I would like to avoid him, I don't want things to get worse so I throw on Bob's robe and walk down the hall to the landing. I tighten the belt of the robe around me, it goes around my waist twice.

I look at them standing there and ask Rick, "What do you want? What are you doing here?"

Rick looks up, "I've come to take you home, Dacy. Pack up your stuff and let's go." He holds out his hand, like he expects my immediate compliance but too bad, I'm not feeling compliant.

I walk down a few steps, then sit down. I close the robe which is gaping at the top, giving them an inadvertent glimpse of my breasts. I look from one to the other before I speak.

"What the fuck are you doing here, Rick?" I repeat, "How did you find out where I was?"

"I called the hospital, you hadn't been there in over a week, so I called your neighbor and she told me how to reach you in San Francisco."

I'm going to kill Kat, but I didn't think to tell her to not let Rick know where I was. I had no idea he'd try to find me. I hadn't expected to hear from him and now he's looking at me like he'd like to rip Bob's robe off. I don't want him to look at me like that.

"Dacy, you've got a job and a house you've got to get back to," I think he's trying to show me how sensible he's being. "The hospital didn't know what was going on since you hadn't checked in." He looks at Bob and gives him a dirty look that says, "this is all your fault."

"Are you here to apologize for how you treated me? I'm still waiting to hear you say you're sorry."

Bob is giving me an "atta girl" look. I don't feel inclined to go with Rick, but he's right about one thing—I need to get home and take care of my life. I've got to straighten things out at work and tell them I'm leaving. I'm going to find a real estate agent and put my house on the market. And I have to pack and ship things to the Bay Area.

"I have to talk to Bob—alone," I tell him. Bob comes up the stairs and helps me to my feet. We disappear into the bedroom and I sit on the bed and pat the covers. I need him to sit next to me.

"I don't know what he's doing, he was angry at me and accusing me of trying to come between him and Elizabeth. Now he's acting like nothing happened," I sigh, I want to start crying but no way. "I've got to return to New York." Bob starts to say something but I put my fingers on his lips. "I need to take care of business, then I'm coming back. Can you find a storage unit for me?"

He nods, "I'll give you my spare key, we've got some shows and I might not be here when you return." He puts his arm around my shoulders to reassure me, "Don't let him bully you, make him say he's sorry. Men aren't good at that sort of thing, but you deserve an apology, so make sure you get it." He hugs me, "Are you sure you're all right?"

I nod, "The only thing I can really do is leave with him, I have to tell him I'm moving back to California—and he's not going to like it."

Rick looks at me as I walk into the living room. "I have to take a shower and pack, can you please come back in an hour?" He gives me a dirty look and I'm tempted to reciprocate but I don't. "You show up here unannounced and expect me to go back with you when I thought we were through? This isn't easy for me, I'm angry with you, you hurt me. Come back in an hour."