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The music here wasn’t too bad, lot of love songs and just nice pop tunes. She liked pop songs, but anything about love made her think of Felix. As his boss I can’t think about Felix.
But she couldn’t help it. He reminded her of the lost music waiting for her on the Hope. She wondered if she could even find anyone who might have music back from Earth. The bar in Edgewater promised live music when there was someone available, and they caught wind of a man playing saxophone. Jazz wasn’t really her thing but she did miss live music.
Edgewater wasn’t so bad once Adelaide took over, plenty of greenery now than ever before. She sat at a table with Felix, she would’ve thought it was on purpose if he didn’t make a face about Ellie stealing his seat at the bar.
They barely gotten to know each other since she hired him. There was a couple things she did notice, he liked sports and he liked comics. What sports and what comics, she couldn’t say. He seemed eager to tell her anything about it, even if it went over her head.
“So you like this kind of stuff?”
He seemed lost in thought, “Hm? Nah, this stuffs too boring. I need my music fast and loud.”
Flashbacks to her teen years, “No shit? They even allow that kind of thing here?”
He grinned, “Nope.”
She couldn’t help but smile at him, more than she probably should. He didn’t smile as much as he did around her, at least she hoped so. Waving the thoughts away like smoke, she leaned back in her chair.
”Still, can’t be less than amazed this kind of music lasted hundreds and hundreds of years.”
He shrugged, “yeah I guess so. Still boring as hell.”
She sighed, either he didn’t want to connect with her or he really didn’t think much about music.
Felix seemed to notice she was upset, he placed a hand on her shoulder. “Does this make you miss home?”
Mara shrugged, “I used to play music back when I was younger. Not much of a singer but I used to listen to all the oldies. My grandma used to have so much of her aunt’s old stuff. Stuff even back to like 1980, if you even can believe that.”
He couldn’t, but he went along with her story.
”Anyway, I packed a whole bunch of music cartridges. I been trying to hum what I remember to record. But not like I have a guitar or nothing.”
Felix tapped his fingers lost in thought, “I bet we can trick some Byzantine to give us a guitar. They’re the only ones allowed, but failing that I guess we can ask Gladys.”
Her cheeks burned from telling him, she knew why she was so nervous to open up. Still she blushed, and the dark bar hid the fact that he did too.
It was a week since that conversation, when they landed again on Groundbreaker. Parvati was finally ready to ask Junlei on a date. She watched Parvati walk away from her cabin window when she heard a knock on the door.
”Hey, man.”
He smoothed his hair back, just the way she liked it. “You gonna ask Gladys for a guitar?”
She laughed, “So you remembered huh? Figured you get knocked around too much to remember anything.”
He scoffed, “As if, boss.”
He couldn’t hide his smile from her.
Parvati wanted the date to be on the ship, she wondered if she could even be the evening’s entertainment.
”I’m so excited actually, I hope she has one.”
“You really are a sucker for romance huh?”
Mara shrugged, “I never had anyone serenade me or nothing, I always love seeing it happen to others.”
Felix stuffed his hands in his pockets, “Not even chocolates and the like?”
She thought back to Myles, “No. maybe flowers on birthdays. But nah, nothing. You ever do that for someone?”
He pursed his lip, “maybe once or twice. Gotta be real special for me to spend the bits like that.”
Her heart raced at the idea of him hiding a box of chocolates behind his back. He ain’t doing that for me.
To her delight, Gladys delivered. It was acoustic, and needed new strings, but Mara was amazed. She just about hugged the woman, gladly taking as much sugar cookies as possible. Mara and Felix rushed back to the ship to find Parvati.
”Uh, wow cap. That’s real generous of you. You think she’d like it?”
Mara shrugged, “I can play all the hits from your grandma’s day.”
She could at least make them up.
Felix couldn’t believe how happy it made Mara, she was like a completely different person. She smiled brighter than anyone he ever seen in this hellhole. He couldn’t help but smile with her.
The crew either left the ship or stayed in their rooms to give the women their privacy. Mara had to practice, and Felix decided to stay with her.
”What the oldest song you know?”
She thought about it, “You are my sunshine? That’s like centuries old. My favorite was some song I heard as a kid. You might like it.”
“Boss, you gotta play both now.”
She laughed, not trying to find meaning in the look he was giving her. After a few flukes, her finger remembered how chords were supposed to go. He was mesmerized, Felix never actually heard live music.
Unfortunately, what she played wasn’t a real love song. Felix didn’t even seem to notice, and she let herself feel her feelings.
Abruptly, she stood up. Felix slow to realize what she was doing.
”Uh, wait here. Or leave. Do what you want, gotta win some hearts.”
She didn’t want Felix to see her, she was too afraid to play anything even closely related to how she felt. So instead she poured her heart out to Junlei and Parvati. She could see the sparks fly, and decided to be less selfish.
Mara didn’t know Felix sat on the steps to that floor, listening with his head in his hands. He thought about what she said, and he wanted to get her sweets. He had hoarded as much Dark Matter chocolate as he could, he decided Mara should have all of it.
He didn’t notice that she finished playing, and was making her way back to her cabin.
“Hello Felix.”
”Hey, Mara.”
He never called her that.
“Uh, what did you think?”
He smiled, “I loved it. Wait here, I got something for you.”
She sat down on the stairs, she didn’t even know why she did. She was close to her room after all.
“Close your eyes.”
”Oh geez.”
”Oh relax, it’s nothing bad.”
A smooth rectangle in her hand, oh.
”Best paid gig ever. Thanks Felix.”
He helped her up, “Now I gotta show you some songs I know. Contraband music, even some iconoclast stuff.”
”Rad. I’ll meet you up, I gotta use the rest room.”
As soon as the door closed she cried. She held the candy bar in her palm, telling herself he didn’t actually like her back. Mara thought about her ex, still frozen in space. He used to do things like that for her. It didn’t mean anything anyway. Myles even surprised her with candy as kids.
After she composed herself, she let Felix play tunes on her terminal. They laid on the bed next to each other, talking about nothing in particular.
“Hey, you think I could get some lessons in this?”
She smiled, “Sure, man. I’ll teach you. Easy as pie.”
Mara played a song for him, and he didn’t know it was an original. Something just for him. His eyes were burning a hole in her head, it made her dizzy.
He thought about telling her, but for now he didn’t. He pulled every favor out of his ass, but he made sure Gladys had that guitar waiting for her.