residence.
âYou ate already?â
I shook my head. âIâll eat with you. We can talk over breakfast.â
In the kitchen I poured myself a cup of green tea and grabbed a muffin. Ginnyâs struggling to become a vegan cook, which isnât easy on an island where two small supermarkets stock limited options. Nevertheless she has learned to make delicious muffins because she knows how much I love them. The muffin today is pumpkin apple spice.
Donny poured a new cup of coffee from the pot Ginny had brewed just for himâI donât drink the stuff. We filled bowls with cut fruit and berries, and took breakfast outside to the table on the porch where we had greeted the sun.
My house, gated and private, is flanked by porches overlooking the beach, and a stone and tile courtyard in the front. The guesthouse, where Donny stayed last night, is on the beach side, with its own shady patio off the pool and a well-stocked kitchen tucked on one end. Choosing a place to eat at Casa del Corazón is a joy.
We settled in and chatted about his plans for the rest of the week, and then about negotiations he was conducting with Cyclonic Entertainment for my next album. I love the music of Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith, and I want to do my own adaptations of songs like âSee See Rider,â and âDown Hearted Blues.â Lately Iâve been branching out from my standard sound, characterized by more than one reviewer as gospel rock. Iâm carving personal niches in bluegrass and jazz, but the blues of the 1930s fit perfectly with the songs that made me famous, songs about strong women who donât take shit from anybody and donât need a man to be happy. If the right man arrives? Just something to think about.
Donny cradled a coffee mug in both hands against his chest, as if he needed protection. âIf Cyclonic agrees to let you do a blues album, theyâre talking about another tour to promote it.â
Donny and I work on the fly, so we find moments to confer whenever and wherever we can. But this quiet time with only waves and seagulls as accompaniment put a fresh spin on the conversation. I wasnât in the mood to make lists or demands.
âI donât need another tour. I need more of this.â I waved my hand in the direction of the gulf to make my point. âMore sun and sand. More breathing.â
âThen youâll need to think about what you can offer as a compromise. Limited cities. Smaller venues if that feels more comfortable.â
âHow does limited and smaller equate with what I just said? Iâll repeat. I donât need another tour.â
âAny tour at all? Or just the exhausting variety, like the last one?â
âRight now I need to get through the next few months. This documentaryâs not going to be a piece of cake. I donât know how Iâll feel when itâs over. I might need a straitjacket by the time Iâve spilled my guts and revisited all my nightmares.â
âYou can pull back.â He reached over and rested his hand on mine, an unusual gesture from a guy whoâs 90 percent business. âMick told you that. Heâs not expecting you to reveal anything you donât want to. The minute things start to get tough you can stop. Mick can turn a conversation about your favorite shampoo into a masterpiece.â
I decided to keep things light. âShampoo? Perfect, because Iâm still a foster kid at heart. Most of the time I use whateverâs on sale or dip into my storehouse of hotel amenities. Try Rose 31, courtesy of the Fairmont. I think thereâs some in the guesthouse.â
He lifted his hand to grip his mug again. âThatâs the kind of thing Mick will relish. I guess Iâm just saying that if you donât want to reveal the worst moments, you donât have to.â
âAnd to think you got your start as a promoter.â
âIâll tell Cyclonic the tour is off
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