Jordan walked into the bedroom and to the far corner, where she stood quietly. "I didn't see anything that looked like a musical instrument earlier. There isn't much in here."
"You are right, but you forgot here," I said. I picked the LED lantern up from the side table and turned it on, carrying it over to the far side of the room and kneeling next to the dresser before unlocking Francois footlocker. He always used the same combination, 1-1-3-0, a personal gesture. Opening it up, I lifted out the upper tray that contained a shirt, underwear, and two pairs of pants, looking for what I hope Francois normally packed. "Ah, here it is."
I pulled out Francois’ guitar, holding it up. "It’s not full sized, in order to fit inside the locker, but do you think you could play this?"
Jordan's brown eyes sparkled, and she nodded. "That's a 2/4 size guitar, right?"
"I couldn’t tell you,” I admitted. "Francois bought it years ago, for the footlocker only. At home, or when we can, he plays a full sized one."
Jordan came over and held out her hands. I handed it over, impressed as she handled the instrument with care and respect. She looked it over, her eyes widening as she looked at it. "It's not wood."
"No," I agreed. “It’s carbon fiber. He sometimes plays it when he and I are stuck like this, or when we’re before a job in order to relax."
Jordan finished her inspection, then strummed the strings. She made a few adjustments and strummed again, smiling. "It has a decent sound. It's been a while since I played an acoustic guitar. Your brother is good?"
I laughed and shook my head. "No, but father insisted that we study music. Francois went first with the lute, a common Roma instrument before taking up the guitar. Father wasn’t pleased with it, he called it a peasant's instrument, but he permitted it. I, on the other hand, wasn’t given as much an option."
"Oh?" Jordan said, getting her fingers familiar with the instrument. "What did you learn?"
"I had to learn a classical instrument, as he termed it, so I studied the violin," I said, closing Francois’ footlocker and standing up. I noticed the grimace on Jordan's face, the downward twist of her features. "What is it? Something wrong with the guitar?”
"No, it’s fine,” she said quietly, holding the guitar in her hands and sitting down on the bed. "It's just that . . . I had a bad experience with the violin. I don't play it anymore.”
"I see. Well then, I’d love if you’d play a little, I’ll see if I can keep rhythm on the table top or something," I said lightly, wondering what could be so traumatic as to cause her happy mood to evaporate so quickly.
We went back out into the main area, where the fire did make a noticeable difference. Even with the beginning of the day's warmth trickling in, and the door being open for close to an hour to gather warmth from the rest of the cabin, it was still very chilly.
“It's been a long time since I played any acoustic guitar, so forgive me if I make mistakes," she said, taking a seat on one of the hard chairs that were supposed to be part of the dining table. "Any requests?"
I shook my head. I went over to the kitchen area and took out a wooden spoon, reversing the grip so that the narrow handle could act like a drumstick. "I can try and keep time with anything you like. Start with something easy, though. What sort of music do you play?"
"I'm normally into rock, but that's on an electric," Jordan replied. She thought for a minute, then nodded to herself. "It's been a while, but this is one of the first real songs I performed on an acoustic guitar."
Jordan started strumming, and with the way she was stroking all the strings at once, I thought she would do a traditional folk song or something like that. Instead, she shifted to a finger pick style quickly, grinning as she heard the sound. I nodded in appreciation.
"Hello darkness, my old friend . . .” I started, Jordan's head jerking up as she heard me sing along. She stumbled over a chord before she smiled and found where she was, the two of us harmonizing for the rest of the song.
When the last note floated away into the quiet air of the cabin, she set the guitar aside and clapped softly. "You said you knew the violin. I didn't know you were such a good singer too."
I felt heat creep up my neck and I shook my head. "I'm not that good. I just know some of the folk-rock songs from the sixties and seventies. My father, he was into that sort of music, so I grew up listening to it often. What about you, do you sing?"
"Not unless I've got three beers in me, which I never do," Jordan said with a laugh. "There's a reason I'm a guitar player and not a singer."
"I think you have a lovely speaking voice," I said, making her turn to blush. It raised an appealing pink to her skin, and in my mind, I could see my lips tracing that blush to see how far it went. She was distracting, that was for sure.