Page 17 of The Only Thing That's Real
“Happy birthday, Mom. I missed you.”
“Thanks for coming, sweetheart. I missed you too.”
Stepping back, I look her over, gauging how she’s doing. “You good?” I ask quietly, knowing Dad is right behind me.
“Of course, dear.” Linking her arm with mine, she walks me toward the group of people here to celebrate her. “Come on. Everyone’s excited to see you and hear all about your time on tour with the boys.”
“Yes, time for you to brag about how much better you are than the rest of us small town hicks,” Dad says as he walks past us, leaving a dark cloud hovering over Mom on her special day.
Chapter Nine
Ryan
Growing up, I dreamt of what it would be like to be on the road with my favorite bands. I pictured late nights, drunken debauchery, and outright naughtiness. Experiences my mom wouldn’t want me anywhere near. Yet, the “Hollow Knocks Goodbye Tour” is anything but. Sure, show nights are late with some drinking, but there is no debauchery to speak of.
I took a six am flight this morning and landed a couple hours ago. It’s the band’s last night in Washington D.C. and we’re all gathered for soundcheck. All seven kids are taking advantage of the open arena floor. Some wear sound-blocking helmets, others have on ear protection that looks like headphones. Connor and Nick are racing scooters, Anna and Ben are riding bikes while Hannah and Megan zoom in betweenthem on their roller skates, which I had no clue were in style again. Even Dominic, who’s playing catch with Jennifer, has wheels in his sneakers. There isn’t a wheel free kid in the bunch.
The guys have made their way to the stage where they’re having a meeting. They haven’t touched their instruments, too deep in conversation.
What do bands talk about before they start what has to be their millionth soundcheck? The set list? Was someone off at the last show? Issues between the bandmates? Or are they simply shooting the shit like the old friends they are? I might have to find my way into one of these meetings before it’s all said and done to discover the answer for myself. What can I say? I’m nosey.
After tightening the strap on her youngest’s helmet, Kristen, Matt’s wife, joins me in the middle of the arena where bean bag chairs and kids’ backpacks are scattered about. The family atmosphere in this group is something to be admired. I’ve been around a lot of bands and this is not the norm. The wives and kids go nearly everywhere the guys do. Trevor and Knox may not have any kids of their own, but it’s obvious they’ve both perfected the uncle role.
There is the family you’re born into and then there’s the family you choose. Anyone who gets to be part of this family should count themselves lucky.
“Welcome to another day in concrete paradise,” Kristen says, opening her arms wide to the building that will host over twenty thousand Hollow Knocks fans later this evening.
“Hey, Kristen. Happy show day.”
Marie holds her hands up to Kristen, who braces herself and pulls her out of the pink bean bag chair she’s sitting in. “Damn, that was harder than it should have been. Don’t let me near one of those things again. They suck you in and don’t let go. Or, I’m just getting old and everything is harder than it used to be.”
“I think it’s the last one,” Jennifer chimes in from a few feet away before throwing the ball to Dom. Then she joins us bringing along an oversized gift bag with her.
Marie sticks her tongue out at her friend, then she taps Kristen’s water bottle with her own before each taking a sip. “Wine,” Marie admits, letting me in on their little secret. “You’ve been to one soundcheck, you’ve been to them all.”
“I’ll have to keep that in mind, thanks.”
“So, we got you a little something,” Jennifer chirps, holding up her bag.
“What? Something for me?”
The three women are beaming in my direction and it’s infectious. My face feels like it’s about to split in two, but I have no idea what in the world they could have gotten me.
“So, we know you have your spot at the soundboard with Roger every night during the show,” Kristen explains, and for a moment I worry the sweet sound engineer has a problem with me invading his space. “But we agreed that now that you’ve seen the show from that vantage point, you might learn more about the band if you were sitting backstage.”
“Okay…”
Marie jumps in. “So, we got you a little something to make your nights more comfortable!” She’s bouncing with excitement.
“Turn around,” Jennifer asks, the smile in her voice as bright as the one on her face.
I do as instructed, listening to the quiet commotion behind me, but clueless as to what they’re up to.
“Okay, you can look now!” Marie sings.
My chest tightens and my belly fills with a warm and fuzzy feeling when I see a director’s chair, with “She’s a big deal!” on the back of it.
It’s thoughtful. It’s sweet and silly. It’s perfect.
