“Sorry, Jess.”
She let out a small laugh. Maybe life on the road wasn’t as glamorous as she remembered. She slid into the dining booth in the next section and waited for the bus to head out. She had about an hour to adjust to seven people occupying the same small space before they reached the hotel and could check in for the night.
The bus started with a jolt, signaling the official beginning of the North American tour. Damien howled and clapped his hands. Jimmy shouted and beat his drumstick on the leather couch. Tommy and Angel high-fived and let out a “Woo hoo!”
A smile widened across Jessi’s face as she watched them. Beer bottles passed between them. They had a contest to see who could toss their bottle cap the furthest and hurled them toward the front of the bus. One of them flew into the driver’s cab and Jimmy took credit.
“I win!” he shouted with both hands raised. “You guys owe me twenty bucks each!”
“No fuckin’ way, dude. That was my beer cap,” Damien challenged him.
“In your dreams, Diamond. My cap sailed through the air like one of my drumsticks into the crowd.” He threw an imaginary drumstick toward the front of the bus with a smooth motion of his arm.
“Bullshit.” Damien socked him in the shoulder.
Jimmy pretended it hurt more than it really did. He recoiled and clutched his arm. “Ow! Man, what the fuck?” He grabbed Damien in a headlock, but Damien’s mohawk poked Jimmy in the eye and temporary blinded him. The two tussled together on the couch, still holding onto their beer bottles in their free hands, which spilled and splashed all over the previously-unblemished couch and floor of the bus.
Jessi laughed at their antics.
“Would you guys knock it off?” Alyssa called from the booth across from Jessi. “We’ve been on the road for ten minutes, and you guys are already trashing the place.”
Damien picked up one of the couch pillows and tossed it at Alyssa, but it landed on the floor halfway between them.
She rolled her eyes with a playful smile. “And just think, we have three more months of this. They don’t ever grow up.”
The tour was going to be grueling, 46 shows in 36 cities, but they timed it so Jessi would be back home before her pregnancy would leave her too uncomfortable to travel. At least that was the plan. She would hate to leave the tour, but if she needed to, her sisters would stay with her until Tommy and Angel returned.
“Where’s Mason?” she asked Audra. She knew he was accompanying them for at least part of the tour. Jimmy wasn’t going to be separated from his son for three months.
“Mary is going to meet us next week in Oklahoma City with Mason, and then we’re going to drive along with them in an RV. I’m not sure how long the two of them are going to last, though. Mason is over-the-top excited at joining the tour, even though he really has no idea what it’s all about. All he knows is that his daddy is going to be playing the drums in a bunch of different cities, and he gets to watch. His aunt is less enthusiastic about the idea. I told her there’s no pressure. If they need to fly home for a week or two or more, we’ll accommodate them. We’re just going to play it by ear.”
The tour would serve as a test run for Mason. Although he had accompanied the band to Australia, this tour was three times longer and didn’t offer the gorgeous South Pacific Ocean to keep him entertained. It would also serve as an indicator to Jessi of what to expect for the next tour, when they would have another tot along with them. They would probably all ride together in the RV next time. She smiled at the thought of exchanging the tour bus for a child-friendly recreation vehicle.
“Any word from the kid’s mother?” Alyssa asked Audra.
The question took Jessi by surprise, because no one ever mentioned Kendall. She wasn’t sure if it was because everyone was afraid Mason would overhear and be reminded that his mother had abandoned him, or because no one wanted to poison their tongue with her filthy name. The thought of Kendall made Jessi’s blood boil, but she kept her anger on simmer.
Audra was quiet for a long time and stared down at the table. She exhaled a saddened sigh and dabbed at the corner of her eye. “Mason called me Mommy last week. It was after I read him a story and kissed him goodnight. It was just a slip of the tongue. I saw the realization pass across his face as soon as he said it. His happy, energetic smile disappeared in a fraction of a second.” She placed her elbow on the table and rested her chin in her hand. She seemed deflated. It was so different from her normal bubbly personality. “I didn’t even know how to respond to that, so I just tickled him until he laughed so hard that tears streamed down his cheeks. He seemed to forget about it and never mentioned her again. Jimmy tried to call Kendall that night, but the only number he had for her was disconnected. Mary didn’t have any other number, either. The poor woman cried. I don’t know if it was because she had no way to get in touch with her niece, or because Mason had no way to contact his mother.”