Week Nine: The final morning aboard the AFGM bus was surprisingly mundane. One would imagine, especially given how downtrodden everyone had been lately, that they would all be inconsolable today, but that wasn’t the case. It actually seemed like any other day - save for the fact that Tyler (usually a very early riser) did not drag himself out of bed until close to noon. The funniest part of that whole thing is he probably would have slept a whole lot later if the cats hadn’t staged such an aggressive assault. They all seemed to pounce at one time, obviously seeking their midday meal - and since Angie was no where around, he had to get up to serve it. Last night…well, it was a long one, that was for sure. It wasn’t an intentional choice to stay up that late, he just couldn’t sleep. There didn’t seem to be a single comfortable position in that bunk - not that it really would’ve mattered if he’d found one. His mind was the culprit behind that all-nighter. It absolutely refused to shut off, instead rehashing the same guilt, regret and remorse he’d been experiencing all week…however, last night’s dose seemed to be the biggest one yet. It was so bad that he actually got up, at close to two a.m., and pulled out his Bible for some answers. He wasn’t sure exactly what he expected to accomplish with that gesture, but it didn’t work very well. Two hours of pouring over scriptures later, he was no more enlightened than when he sat down. If anything, he was only more confused. At around five, he finally stopped torturing himself long enough to climb into bed, and while he fully expected slumber to elude him this time too, it didn’t take very long for him to slip into a deep, rejuvenating sleep. He actually felt worlds better upon awaking - until he was confronted with the unwavering stares of his bandmates. It was no secret that he wasn’t exactly happy about this being the end. Tyler hadn’t been very subtle about it, so he could only imagine those stares were of compassion, maybe even of pity. They were well-intentioned, whatever they were, but that didn’t make them any less annoying. He tried his best to ignore the fact that was the center of attention, but the moment he sat down at the table, he got cornered. Looking up, Tyler suppressed a sigh of aggravation. If this was an ill-advised pep talk, he was in no mood for it. Jason meandered around the table uncomfortably for a moment before taking a seat across from Tyler. The look on his face was one Tyler had seen a hundred times before - it generally meant that he really wanted to say something, but he just didn’t know how. Internally, Tyler wished he wouldn’t bother. There was not a lot anybody could really say to him right now. Their best option would be to just leave him alone and let him figure this one out on his own…and besides that, he was actually feeling okay thus far today. Why bring it all back to the surface when Tyler was rather comfortable ignoring it for a while? Jason continued to sit there, with that ‘God, I wish I knew what to say’ look on his face, for at least five minutes. It was obvious he was not going away - and painfully obvious that he was never going to actually initiate this conversation, so Tyler sighed. He didn’t want to do this at all, but he certainly didn’t want it to drag out for three weeks. Best to just get it out of the way. He looked up, locking eyes with Jason, and asked (with just a touch of annoyance in his voice), “What?” Jason shrugged. “I didn’t say anything.” “I know you didn’t. That’s why I asked. What do you wanna say? Let’s get this over with, okay?” Jason took his sweet time formulating his response, much like Tyler thought he might. This whole encounter was growing more and more irritating by the second. Tyler honestly couldn’t figure out what had the guy so tongue-tied in the first place! He already knew what he was going to say. It was going to be something pious, perhaps, “It’s all for the best.” And then, he would follow it up with a half-hearted consolation like, “We had a good run.” Then? Well, then, if Tyler was lucky, Jason might just tack on the prized cliché, “Time heals all wounds.” After a long, excruciating silence, Jason found his voice. His response did not disappoint. Leaning across the table, he placed a hand on Tyler’s arm, in a quasi-reassuring fashion. “God’s got a plan, Ty.” Well, thank you for that news update, Peter Jennings. Tyler sort of knew that one already. The issue was never whether God had a plan or not, it was whether Tyler had inadvertently screwed up that plan or not! As much as he wanted to tell him that, however, the most he could do was nod. “Yeah. I know.” “Just don’t lose sight of that, okay?” Jason encouraged, in a nauseatingly upbeat tone. “Sure thing,” Tyler affirmed into his coffee. Everything would have been just fine if Jase just left it there. It wasn’t too bad an encounter - the day still could’ve been salvaged. Unfortunately, though…he just couldn’t contain himself. “We always knew this wouldn’t last forever,” he began, again reaching out to Tyler. This time, he jerked back, almost as though Jason’s touch was acidic. “I don’t wanna hear it, okay?” he declared, in the calmest voice he could muster at the moment. It was not very calm at all. Jason appeared to be taken aback and again shrugged. “I’m just trying to say - ” “Well, stop it,” Tyler interrupted before he could go any further. “Stop it, because I don’t wanna hear it. I don’t wanna hear it, okay?” With that, he rose from the table. He’d hoped to make a purposeful, powerful exit, but instead nearly tripped over Scooter - and spilled coffee everywhere. He closed his eyes. Great. Just freakin’ great. The absolute last thing he’d wanted to do was draw even more attention to himself, but guess what? When he glanced up from his little mess, he found the eyes of all three bandmates locked dead on him. He closed his eyes, shook his head slowly and let out more than a few expletives under his breath. This was going to be the day from hell - they were going to make sure of it… The awkward encounter with Karen was all Phoenix and Tony spoke of as they headed back to the bus to retrieve the necessary identification. While neither one could really believe Trent’s glaring sin of omission, Tony was more willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. “You really have to take into consideration how things are with his family most of the time,” he pointed out. “Ozzie and Harriet they ain’t.” And yeah, Phoenix knew that. He understood that. Things with T.J. and Rob (and T.J. and Gary, for that matter) weren’t exactly ideal, but that still didn’t explain why he’d intentionally leave his mother out of the loop. It just seemed so dirty to Phoenix. Mothers were sacred, at least where he came from, and for Trent to just blatantly disregard his like that…Phoenix just couldn’t get over it. His confusion (and outrage) over the incident was actually enough to distract him from his beef with Surly - until, of course, confronted with him again. Since he finally had what he wanted, Phoenix expected him to be a bit nicer, but he was anything but. He continued to stand there and scowl at them, then offer up a lame explanation for his earlier actions: There had been a rash of entertainer impersonators lately. Something about that one just didn’t sound right to Phoenix. For one, why on earth would anybody want to pretend to be him? Half the time, he didn’t even want to own up to his identity when confronted, so why the hell would anybody else? Secondly, even if that were true, couldn’t Surly have easily determined real from imposter by simply…oh, I dunno, having a look at him?! The guy obviously had no idea who he was dealing with, though he tried his best to act “informed.” When Phoenix handed over his license, Surly actually dared to snicker, then glanced up at him. “Yeah, I didn’t think your real name was Phoenix.” Let me tell you right now - there was absolutely nothing more irritating than when sour-faced idiots tried to atone for previously bad behavior by becoming overly-familiar…especially on a day like this one. Phoenix could not rip his license back fast enough. Thankfully, Surly did not attempt to make even more uninvited observations, only unlocking the door and allowing them access to the arena that, by rights, they should have had access to half an hour ago. It was cold in there. And dark. And there was absolutely nothing set up yet, thus, there was really nothing to rehearse. All in all, especially considering how much trouble they endured to get in here in the first place, it was hardly worth the effort. From the second they stepped inside, Tony started an internal countdown to the moment Phoenix started bitching. It didn’t take as long as he’d thought. Within the span of five minutes, he’d found four separate subjects to gripe about, and he was about to embark on another when Tony wisely suggested they blow off the whole idea of rehearsal and head to the restaurant a little early. That was done for two reasons, the first, of course, being that deflection was usually a good idea when Phoenix started in on his soapbox. The second was a bit more interesting. Tony knew that if he stood there two minutes longer and listened to Phoenix’s tirade, he wouldn’t be able to resist the temptation to follow suit. It was really kind of a bummer. He had really high hopes for this day. He thought it would be magical, while somehow nostalgic at the same time. He thought it would be something he’d want to relive over and over again. And thus far…well, it seemed to be more ‘Oh dear God, I never wanna speak of this again!’ material. Still, Tony knew not to take too many pages out of Phoenix’s book of pessimism. While his positive outlook might’ve taken a beating this morning, he couldn’t forget to count his blessings. So what if this was the day from hell? There was always tomorrow - which he would, incidentally, be spending in the modest comfort of Steinville. That in itself was enough to turn a frown upside down. The best reward for a job well done? A night in a bed that wasn’t mobile. He could not wait. Phoenix obviously couldn’t either, as the mention of home was the one and only thing to bring a smile to his face. The smile lasted approximately 8.2 seconds, but, Tony reasoned, it was good while it lasted. Just as they were approaching the door to the arena, it opened, to once again reveal the scowling face of Surly. Phoenix stopped dead in his tracks and delivered what Tony affectionately referred to as the “evil glare of death.” However, Surly didn’t seem that fazed, only stepping out of the way and allowing someone else to enter - their long lost comrade. For what seemed like forever, Phoenix and Tony merely stood there, gaping like idiots. In retrospect, they knew that wasn’t exactly the greatest reaction, but this was just such a huge shock! Neither one of them expected him to come back. He hadn’t said a word about it to anyone - hell, he hadn’t said a word to anyone, period! It was a really, really huge surprise. Another surprise? The phenomenon of how a single person could change so much in only three weeks time. Seriously, the guy looked like a totally different person. The remnants of that memorable dye job were gone; to be honest, almost all of his hair was gone, replaced with a severe buzz cut. He’d grown himself a full beard in his absence, and was even daring to venture out in public wearing his glasses! Do you understand how rare that was?! The earrings were gone, the usual ripped jeans and sandals were gone - it was such a startling transformation they almost didn’t recognize him at first! It was the smile (and that ever-present cigarette hanging out of his mouth) that gave him away. After what felt like a whole decade of silence, Tony was the first to make a move. “Oh, my God! Come here! Look at you!” he exclaimed, darting toward the prodigal and grabbing him in an impromptu embrace. “What the hell are you doing here?” “And it’s really nice to see you too, Steiney,” Trent joked. He smiled over Tony’s shoulder at Phoenix. “Hey!” “Oh, wow.” That was really all Phoenix could muster. Tony echoed the sentiment, pulling back to get a better look at Trent. “Wow, look at you. I know you’re gonna hate me for this, but holy crap. You look so grown up!” Before he could even bother to dispute that, Tony went on. “I mean…and again, you’re gonna hate me, but when you left, you just looked like some kid. And now, you look like…” He stopped right there, unsure how to finish that sentence without making it sound like a really backhanded compliment. “Some dad,” Phoenix provided, sufficiently over the shock of T.J.’s return. Luckily, it went over well. Trent smiled and nodded. “Yep. That was sort of the whole point.” “You have no idea how much we missed you! None!” Tony declared. “This has been the worst three weeks of my life!” “Are you serious? I’m sorry. What happened?” T.J. sympathized, searching for something to use as an ashtray. Tony offered up his empty Dr. Pepper can and laughed. “Everything that possibly could have! We got sick, the shows were awful - it’s just been a mess. But,” he smiled, “I did manage to get at least one bit of good news out of it.” “If you mean what I think you mean, Kris told me already. Congratulations, man.” “Yeah, it was a surprise, all right,” Tony admitted, “but damn, what a good one.” “That’s awesome. I’m happy for y’all.” “Thank you. But enough about me - how are you?” “I’m great!” Trent enthused. “We’ve been great.” Tony took a seat in the middle of the floor and motioned for Trent to do the same. “And Gunnar? Tell me all about Gunnar.” “Oh, man, y’all! You just would not believe! He’s doing great! We had no idea what to expect - and Sess was scared to death - but he’s doing better than we ever could’ve imagined. It’s just been amazing.” “And did you bring pictures?” Tony prompted. Trent opened the bag he had with him. “Only about half a million of them! Now, I will warn y’all. These aren’t the best pictures ever, since Sandra took them and she wasn’t that close to him. And - oh, my God, get this - she actually took pictures of the wrong kid at first. I got this whole roll of film of someone else’s kid! Can you believe that? She doesn’t even know her own grandson!” Phoenix, purposely pacing back in the opposite direction, had been content to just let the whole encounter with Karen go and welcome T.J. back until he heard that statement, which brought it all roaring back to the forefront of his mind. Before he could say anything, however, Trent went on. “And would you believe she’s still there? She calls himself taking care of Skyler now. It’s ridiculous.” “I have an idea here, but I wanted to ask to make sure. Which one is Gunnar?” Tony asked, holding up a photo. “That…” Trent studied it, then nodded. “Yeah. That’s the one I hate, because she was still focused on that other phantom baby. But you can still see Gonzo. He’s right there on the right side. The one with the little blue cap on.” After flipping through all the photos and sufficiently oohing and awing over little “Gonzo”, Tony extended them out. “Here, Phoenix.” Trent turned around to look at him. He was still pacing with his back to them. What was that about? “Um, you wanna see the pictures, man?” “Um…yeah,” he finally said. “Later. I’ll look at them later.” He didn’t even bother to turn around. T.J. glanced back at Tony, eyes basically asking, “What the hell is his problem?” Tony, knowing full well what it was, only shrugged, and opted to change the subject. “So you never answered me. What are you doing here? I never expected you in a million years!” “Well,” Trent began, eyes still lingering on moody Phoenix, “I just couldn’t let y’all close this thing out without me. I had to come finish what we started, especially since I am the ‘T’ in BLT.” “Uh, no,” Tony immediately corrected. “I believe that would be me. You, my friend, are the ‘B’ - for bald. What the hell happened to your hair?” After a tense few moments, Trent’s smile returned. “That’s actually a really funny story. I was bored one afternoon, had nothing better to do and just thought, ‘What the hell’ - so I joined the Army!” “Good for you!” Tony praised, reaching out to pat his friend on the back. “I always knew you’d make something out of yourself!” He looked up. “Hey, Phoenix, you owe me twenty bucks.” Phoenix didn’t say a word - not an intelligible one, at least. All he did was continue to pace with his back to them and grumble. Trent honestly expected a whole lot more out of him than that. As conceited as it probably sounded, he expected a hero’s welcome…yet, he’d barely said two words. What was that about? Vowing not to worry about it, he turned to Tony. “So besides the fact that y’all got sick and the shows sucked, did anything interesting happen while I was gone?” Tony thought for a moment. “No. Not really,” he finally disclosed, with a laugh. “It’s been pretty mundane. The most exciting thing that’s happened besides the thing with Kris is probably Phoenix finding that guy this morning.” “Scott Carroll,” Phoenix affirmed gruffly, over his shoulder. “You found Scott?” Trent asked. “Awesome, man!” “And tell her who he is,” Tony prodded, then looked to T.J. “You are never gonna believe this.” Phoenix still didn’t bother turning around. “Evie’s son.” “Evie? Your friend Evie? How cool! So glad you found him, man!” Trent stood, heading toward him. “That’s awesome.” Phoenix, hearing the footsteps behind him, only continued to pace. He really, really didn’t want to say anything, especially since he knew he should really be happy right now. The fact that T.J. was back at all was something to be celebrated, not marred by what would probably end up being a fierce confrontation. Still, that oversight was way too glaring to ignore. As long as he lived, Phoenix would never forget the look on Karen’s face when she found out about Gunnar. It was a tragic mix of both elation and despair…and it could’ve all been avoided if T.J. had just picked up the fucking phone. Just by his actions, Trent could tell that Phoenix was in the midst of a major funk - and he knew just the thing to bring him around. Reaching into his pocket, he smiled. “I think I have something that belongs to you.” Phoenix turned around for that, to be greeted by his rosary beads, which T.J. pulled out of his pocket. He stared at them for a moment before taking them back. “Thanks.” “No, thank you,” T.J. corrected. “They really did give me some peace. I think you might be onto something.” Rather than verbally respond to that, Phoenix only nodded and offered up a stiff embrace. “Good to see you again, man. We missed you,” he half-hearted offered. “I missed y’all too. I really did.” As he pulled back and slipped his beads on, Phoenix could hold his tongue no longer. As much as he really, really didn’t want to say something, he felt he at least owed it to Karen to give her prodigal son a little reality check. “So guess who was just here?” “Who’s that, man?” “Your mom,” Phoenix informed simply. Immediately, Tony stood, to hopefully alleviate some of the tension. He was not quick enough, however, to stop Phoenix from blurting, “You just missed your mom, Teej - and guess who had to be the one to tell her she’s got a three-week old grandson?” He arched a curious brow at him, anxiously awaiting the moment when he realized his mistake. It came a lot sooner than expected. Literally, all the color drained from Trent’s face. He took a step back, staring at Phoenix in both horror and disbelief. His mouth hung agape for what seemed like forever before he raised a hand to his face and slowly exclaimed, “Oh…fuck!” “Yeah,” Phoenix nodded. “That’s what we said too.” “Y’all, I am so - oh, my God.” His mind was racing. Okay, he made about a zillion phone calls that night and he could have sworn that one of them was to her! He was almost certain of it! There was just no way he’d intentionally leave her out of something like that! “Are you - are you sure she didn’t know?” Phoenix exploded. “You don’t even remember if you called her or not?! How much lower can you get? I mean, I understand that your family pretty much sucks, but that’s your mom, man! Of all the - ” Tony refused to let him say anything else, holding up a hand. “Okay, you made your point.” It was Trent’s turn to start pacing. “I don’t believe this. Oh, my God,” he whispered, before turning back to Phoenix. “Look, I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. I really thought I’d told her. I know I meant to tell her, but I guess I didn’t. I’m sorry.” “If it’s, uh,” Tony began quietly, “if it’s any consolation at all, she wasn’t really…too upset about it.” If such a thing were even possible, that testimony only made T.J. feel even worse. She wasn’t upset about it. That basically said she expected as much out of him. She expected to be shut out of his life. Words could never describe how badly that stung. “I…I’m sorry, y’all,” he apologized again. He just couldn’t think of much else to say. Phoenix did nothing but stare at him. More than anything else, he just wanted to shake him. He was nothing but a petty, self-indulgent little punk - and he had no idea just how much of a treasure he actually had. Yeah, so maybe Karen wasn’t exactly Donna Reed, but she was still the one person in that whole god-forsaken family that cared enough to show up every single time he came to town. She was the only one who bothered calling. The only one who made any sort of effort to be involved in his life - and the message he sent her, intentional or not, was ‘don’t bother, because I don’t want anything to do with you.’ It was absolutely inexcusable. “Do you have…” Phoenix intentionally bit his lip, as if doing so could somehow keep him calmer. He could tell by looking at T.J. that he felt bad about it and he probably shouldn’t make him feel even worse, but this just had to be said. He just couldn’t stop himself. “Do you have any idea how lucky you are to even have a mother? Do you know what I’d give to have my mother back? And then, you treat yours like shit. That was low, man. That was really, really low.” “Phoenix, that’s enough,” Tony announced. As if he were anticipating a major blowout, he strategically wedged himself between them. “That’s enough.” For a moment, T.J. didn’t say anything, only continuing to pace. Finally, though, he sighed as he came to a stop in front of Tony. “It’s all right, man. Let him say it. I deserve it,” he conceded quietly, then cleared his throat. “You’re right, Phoenix. It was low and I’m sorry.” Phoenix leaned around Tony to get a look at him. “Don’t tell me, tell her.” Trent nodded. “I intend to.” “We, um, were actually supposed to meet her for lunch across the street, but it might mean more if you went,” Tony suggested quietly. Trent had no idea what to say to her - what could he possibly say after such a horrible oversight? - but he still needed to at least make the effort. His heart was so heavy, full of guilt, that he could barely think of anything else. “Yeah,” he agreed. “Absolutely. What time were y’all supposed to be there?” Phoenix consulted his watch. “Five minutes ago.” “I see,” Trent nodded, then expelled a heavy sigh. “Yeah. I think I should probably go over there. Um…Phoenix, thanks for telling her, man. I really never meant to…not. I’m, um…I think I’m gonna go.” “Okay,” Phoenix agreed quietly. He was silent for a moment, watching Trent shove his photos back in his bag, before informing, “She really loves you, man. She really, really loves you.” Again, T.J. sighed. “I know she does.”… ***** Despite the momentary excitement of T.J.’s return, it was a rather mundane day aboard the main BLT bus. Left alone with Serena for much of the morning, Kristen finished up her packing, did a little meditation on the experience as a whole, then collapsed in an exhausted heap shortly after putting the boys down for their naps. That, as much as she hated to say it, was a huge part of why she wasn’t really keen on the idea of getting pregnant again - at least, not right now. She remembered all too well how tiring the first pregnancy was. All she had to do was go get the mail and she’d need at least a three-hour nap to recover. And now…well, that sort of abandon just wasn’t possible, especially since the twins were going through that lovely phase of resisting naps with every ounce of strength in their sturdy little bodies. As it were, she had to practically wrestle them into the pillows today and pat their little backs for at least an hour before she was free to pass out herself. The distinct “I’m up so come get me” wail of “Maaaaaaa!” awakened her after what seemed like only five minutes later. She didn’t know how long she slept, but it was obvious that Tony had joined her sometime during her nap, as his arm was haphazardly stretched across her midsection, There also appeared to be a party of sorts, as loud laughter and conversation were resounding throughout the bus. Part of her didn’t even want to know what was going on - especially since she could’ve sworn that Joel was one of the voices she heard. It was obvious that whatever was going on, Tony didn’t want much part of it either, so who else could it be but Joel? And what the hell was he even doing there? Did she even want to know? Her suspicions were confirmed the second she got out of bed. Joel Gibson, and some redhead Kristen had never seen before, both appeared out of absolutely nowhere. “Kristen!” Joel greeted, forcing an unexpected embrace on her. “So good to see you!” Immediately, Kristen broke free, fighting off the urge to cringe right in front of him. “Nice to see you too,” she replied, completely ignoring his companion and continuing toward the boys, where Cullen was getting more and more impatient. “If you’ll excuse me…” Joel acted like he didn’t hear her. “I’d like you to meet a friend of mine. This is Shelly Wolfe. Shelly, this is Kristen. Tony’s wife.” Interesting. Kristen had thought it would take Joel just a wee bit longer to replace his beloved Nina, especially since he was so upset about her leaving in the first place. Still, for whatever it was worth, this Shelly girl did look quite a bit like her. “So nice to meet you!” Shelly gushed, following her all the way to the babies. “Oh, aren’t they cute? Are they twins?” she cooed. Though being asked that was one of Kristen’s biggest pet peeves in the world, she still nodded. “Yep.” “Oh that one doesn’t look very happy,” Shelly observed, then took to talking to the toddler. “What’s the matter, little one? What’s wrong? Huh?” She then looked up at Kristen, justifying, “I love babies.” Joel, meanwhile, took it upon himself to do further introductions at that point. “The one she’s holding is Micah - ” Another pet peeve. “Cullen,” Kristen immediately corrected. “Oh. Cullen. So sorry,” Joel apologized. “They just look so much alike.” “Hi Cullen,” Shelly cooed, reaching out to him. “Can I hold him?” “Uh, no,” Kristen replied, making the hastiest getaway she could to the bathroom. The second she opened the door, she found Donnie sitting on the rim of the tub. He looked up at her as she entered. “I can tell by that look that you’ve met Shelly.” “Who the hell is that?” Kristen asked, making sure the door was locked and heading over to the makeshift changing table she’d known better than to dismantle just yet. “I have no idea,” Phoenix confessed. “I think it’s Joel’s new girlfriend.” “Didn’t take him too long, did it?” Kristen observed, then turned toward him. “Sorry about this.” Though she could tell by his face that he didn’t care very much for the smell of this particularly nasty diaper change, he still insisted, “No problem. I’d rather smell shit than deal with Joel’s new bimbo.” “She seems so…overzealous.” “Yeah,” Phoenix agreed, “that’s one word for it.” “So I take it T.J. caught up with you two?” she asked, doing her best to hurry, so not to subject Donnie to any more torture than necessary. “Yeah. He did.” “That’s good.” “He, um, went to see his mom. For lunch.” “Oh? That’s nice.” “Yeah. I guess it is.” Phoenix paused for a moment. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to bother Kristen with this mess, but he really did need to get some clarity on the issue. “Did, um, did Steiney tell you what happened?” he began. She turned toward him. “Did he tell me what happened about what?” “T.J.’s mom.” “No, I haven’t talked to him since you left.” Finally (and mercifully) finished with diaper duty, Kristen opened the door. “Just a minute. I’m gonna put him back to bed, because whether he knows it or not, he is going to sleep this afternoon.” “Watch out for Shelly,” Phoenix joked. “She may want to feel his arms, like she did me.” Kristen stopped dead in her tracks. “Feel your arms? Are you kidding me?” He laughed. “God, I wish I were.” “What a freak.” “That’s another excellent word for her.” Kristen turned back around. “Okay, I’ll be right back, then you can give me the scoop, okay?” Phoenix nodded. “Cool.” Maybe this momentary distraction was a good thing. It gave him the opportunity to rethink this whole situation one more time, while, of course, obsessively spraying Lysol into the air. There was no question in his mind that he should’ve said something. It was just one of those situations where something had to be said. He just wasn’t sure if he said it the right way. Looking back on it, he sounded way more angry and accusatory than he probably should’ve, though he could easily justify that by the nature of T.J.’s crime. In Phoenix’s book, there was absolutely nothing more sacred than a mom. While his was still here, there was absolutely nothing he wouldn’t do for her. The very second something happened, she knew all about it. There was just no way that he would conveniently “forget” to let her know about her having a grandson. No way in hell. Then, too, he could understand T.J.’s position on the whole thing. Karen, to put it mildly, was not Phoenix’s mother. I mean, she seemed like a nice enough lady, and it was obvious that despite all her faults, she really did love her kids, but Phoenix had no clue what it was really like growing up with her. To hear T.J. tell it, she wasn’t exactly Mother of the Year. And since things with Rob and Gary were so perpetually tense, maybe there was an underlying reason behind his oversight? Still…it just wasn’t right. He could sit there and try to justify it, and try to understand it all day long, but it couldn’t be done. The bottom line was that was his mother. You just didn’t do things like that to your mother. No question, something needed to be said…but again, Phoenix didn’t know whether or not it should’ve been said so angrily. “I swear to God, if she wakes my kids up, after all the hell to get them to sleep in the first place, I am gonna kick her ass all the way back to Los Angeles,” Kristen vowed, reentering the bathroom and again locking the door behind her. Then, as her husband often did, she took a seat atop the lining of the sink and looked over at him. “Sorry that took so long.” “No problem,” Phoenix assured, as he continued to pace the bathroom. “So what’s up? You’re pacing and that’s never good. What happened with T.J.’s mom?” “I need you to tell me if I did the right thing or not. I really don’t know if I did.” “Okay,” she nodded slowly. “What happened, sweetie?” “Well, she showed up, and she wanted to know where he was - ” “Where T.J. was? She didn’t know?” Kristen seemed shocked. Phoenix shook his head. “I know. I thought it was pretty bad too. She had no idea. So we told her and get this. She didn’t know about Gunnar being born either.” “Wow.” That was all Kristen could think to say. “I know.” “So you told her?” “Yeah. And Kris, that was one of the hardest things in the world. You just didn’t see her face. She was so hurt. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that. And then, when he showed up, he had no fucking clue she’d even been there - no clue what he’d done to her and…” “You told him,” she surmised. Phoenix came to a stop right in front of her. “Yeah. Loudly.” She nodded. “I see.” “And I don’t know if I should’ve done that, ya know? I mean, it needed to be said. I know it needed to be said. But I just don’t know if I should’ve said it like that, because I don’t know why he didn’t tell her. Maybe there was a reason, ya know? Maybe something happened that I didn’t know about and - ” “What exactly did you say?” Kristen interrupted. “I don’t even remember,” Phoenix admitted, sinking back down on the rim of the tub. “But I know it wasn’t very nice.” Again, she nodded. “I see.” “I just don’t know if he did it on purpose. I don’t want to think that he did, but then, you know how things are with his family and how fucked up the whole thing is. It’s just…I don’t know, Kris. It’s frustrating.” “I know it is, babe.” “So was I right? The more I think about it, the more I think I wasn’t.” “Donnie,” she sighed, “I really don’t know. I mean, to me, it’s just inconceivable to not tell your mom something like that - ” “It is to me too,” he affirmed. “I know it is. But then, we had some really good moms.” “God rest them.” “I can’t really - I don’t really…” Kristen was obviously struggling with what to say, much as Phoenix thought she might. He really never should’ve bothered her with it, because he knew her a little too well. She’d try her absolute hardest to make sense of it, if only to make him feel better, when she had more than enough to worry about in her own life. “Don’t worry about it,” he dismissed. “I’ll figure it out.” “I don’t really know what’s going on there,” she finally said. “I know things aren’t really great with his family and they never have been, so maybe it’s like you said. Maybe there’s a reason.” “Listen, don’t worry about it,” he insisted. “It’s okay.” “Donnie, you never would have brought it up if it was okay,” she reminded with a laugh. “And I want to help you here, I’m just not sure what to say.” “Neither am I,” he sighed. “All right,” she resolved. “I can tell you this much. If it had been me, yes. I would’ve said something. And you know me. I probably would’ve said something even worse than whatever it was that you said!” That, much as she expected, got a knowing laugh. “This is true.” “So can I tell you you were wrong when I would have done the same thing? No. Does that mean that you were right?” She shrugged. “I really don’t know, sweetie. To be honest, our way of doing things isn’t really the rest of the world’s way of doing things. Maybe we’re both wrong. But I would have done the very same thing.” “I guess it just…it just sort of pissed me off, because it seems like he takes having a mom for granted. Does this make any sense?” “Yeah,” she affirmed quietly. “It sure does.” “I would give anything to have a mom again, and then he treats his like he hates her. That shit gets to me.” “And I completely understand that, babe. It would get to me too. But it’s like you said - there is probably a reason for it.” For a moment, Phoenix didn’t do anything but sit there, before beginning to pace once more. “It’s a mess, that’s all I know.” “I wouldn’t feel bad about it if I were you, Donnie. I mean,” Kristen paused. She wasn’t sure if she should say this, but it was the absolute truth - and it was something Donnie definitely needed to hear right now. “I love T.J. I really, really do. You know I do. But there are some times that - ” He finished her sentence. “You wanna strangle him.” She laughed. “Well, that too, but what I was going to say is there are some times that he needs a little reality check. He’s a bit…oh, I don’t know…” “Spoiled,” he provided. “Yes. That’s it.” “I know he is, Kris,” Phoenix agreed. “Sometimes he needs to be reminded, ‘hey, that’s not cool.’” “He thinks he can do whatever he wants. I agree with that.” “So did you do the right thing in telling him? Yes. No question.” “I just wish it felt like it.”… ***** Dare Andy even say it, today was actually a pretty normal day around JLN. The phone wasn’t going nuts. He didn’t have any idiot calling him to inquire about X’s latest single. He even managed to get Tim out of his hair, putting him on the task of interviewing applicants for Vyro’s major positions. All in all, a quiet day - and believe it or not, it was driving Andy crazy. You would think after all the frenzy around here, especially the buzz surrounding Joel’s second departure, that he would be grateful for a lull, but nope. He was literally desperate for something to do. That would probably explain why he pulled every file out of his cabinet and then put them all back in. Pointless? Oh yeah. But time consuming? Hell yeah. After getting his standard reminder call from Ming to both go to lunch and take his medicine (that was unnecessary today, because he was bored enough to remember it himself), he headed down to the commissary, then to the Ratnest to check on Micah’s progress. They seemed to be having a pretty lazy day today too, as well as a war of words. As much as Andy might’ve wanted a distraction today, he really wasn’t in the mood to hear Micah and Joe spar, and quickly headed back up to his office. He’d no sooner sat down when Tim came flying in, immediately declaring, “I need help, dude. Like, now.” Despite the fact that earlier this morning Andy had vowed that he would not, under any circumstances, help Tim with anything today, he still nodded. “What’s the problem?” “I’m interviewing, okay? And I’ve got a guy coming in that I can’t interview.” Tim seemed extremely perplexed - a rare sight indeed. Andy stared at him skeptically. “You can’t interview him? Why not?” “Call it an, um…conflict of interest.” Now this Andy had to hear. “How exactly is that?” “This guy…well, he’s sort of dating my sister-in-law. So…you know.” Andy nodded. “I see.” “And it wouldn’t be fair for me to interview him. So could you maybe help me out a little?” “So you’re saying you want me to interview him? Is that what you’re asking?” Tim stood. “Would you? He comes in in ten minutes. I’ll go ahead and take my lunch and leave you to it. Thanks. You’re a lifesaver, dude. I mean it.” Andy stood too. “Whoa. Whoa. Where do you think you’re going. I haven’t said yes to anything yet.” “Look, I’d do this. I really would. But it’s not fair to anybody else. He’s got an advantage with me. He doesn’t have one with you, so it could work.” The more Tim said, the more it sounded like fairness was not the true issue here. Andy had a strong suspicion that Tim simply didn’t want to interview this guy - and that bit he threw in about taking his lunch seemed to be the icing on the “do nothing” cake. “I’ll tell you what - why don’t you go down to the second floor and see if you can get Steven to help you?” Andy suggested. He may have been bored, but he was not so damn bored that he would do Tim’s job for him. “I don’t know who Steven is,” Tim replied. That sounded like a “no” to Andy. “Just ask around. There’s just one Steven on that floor, if you’ll believe that, so he’ll be easy to find. He’d be happy to do it. He’s the one that interviewed a few of the people we just hired. And he can help you out until you get some personnel people.” “Well, the thing is, I’m sure Steven’s great, but,” Tim consulted his watch, “Mason’s coming in in less than ten minutes and that’s not enough time for me to hunt him down. I don’t wanna make Mason wait, because that’s just not cool.” Yet another excuse that Andy was more than happy to debunk. “I can call him for you and have him come up.” Tim sighed. “Okay, look, I know you’re busy, but I really need your help just this once. Like I said, I’m sure Steven’s great, but I really…okay, let’s say it like this. I don’t trust Steven with my vision of this company, because I don’t know Steven. I do know you and I know you don’t just hire anybody. So would you help me just this once? Please?” ?I do know you and I know you don’t just hire anybody. Wow, what a world it would be if that were actually true. The fact that Andy did hire “just anybody” was what got everybody in this mess in the first place. “Come on, please,” Tim pleaded. “Just this one time, and I promise I’ll never bug you about it again.” Andy closed his eyes. God, this was impossible. “Okay,” he heard himself concede. “But just this one time, do you hear me? I’m not going to make a habit of doing your job for you!” Tim seemed overjoyed. “Great! Thank you so much! I’ll be back in an hour. Tell me how it goes.” Once again, Andy stopped him before he could get too close to the door. “Wait. No, no. You’re not going anywhere. You wanted help, you’re getting help. But that doesn’t mean I’m doing the whole damn thing for you.” Tim didn’t look very pleased about that, but he knew he didn’t have any other option. Thus, he nodded. “Okay. Fair enough.” Andy nodded too. “Okay. Now, who is this guy that we’re interviewing?” “His name is Mason Craig. He’s dating Stephanie, Vic’s sister. They’ve been together about a year or two, and they’ve been at our house a million times. He used to work at Brainstorm and I told him about this job, so he - ” “Okay,” Andy held up a hand. “That’s nice about him dating your sister - ” “In law,” Tim corrected. “Whatever. That’s nice about him dating her, but that’s not what I asked. Who is he? What position is he here for? What are his credentials? You said he worked at Brainstorm? What’s Brainstorm and what did he do? If you want me to interview this guy, I kind of need to know these things.” “Oh, Brainstorm’s a little independent label. This guy named Dave runs the place. We met when we were both indie label guys. And Mason used to work there. He was supposed to do the marketing, but I think he did a whole lot of other stuff too.” “So he’s here for the marketing job?” Tim shrugged. “I guess.” No matter how hard he tried, Andy couldn’t suppress a groan. If this didn’t stress how true that proverb about being careful what you wish for was, then nothing would. He wanted something to do? Well, he got it, all right. Oh, boy, did he get it… It didn’t take too long for Joel to realize that he and Shelly were not exactly welcomed guests aboard the BLT bus. In fact, the only one that even attempted to make nice with them was Serena, though she did it with a somewhat pained expression on her face. Catching the hint, Joel took Shelly to spread some sunshine on the AFGM one. Reaction there was not a whole lot better. Things were remarkably frenzied, and everyone was busy doing their own thing. Thus, Joel and Shelly did not get the grand reception that he’d hoped for. Still, the guys were much nicer than their big-name counterparts, and that was the most that Joel could hope for. Shelly found a friend in Jason, as they shared stories about growing up in Canada, while Joel cornered Frankie about his upcoming solo album. He wanted all the details, and couldn’t help but show his disappointment when told that Frankie hadn’t really gotten that far yet. To hear him tell it, he didn’t even have his final ten songs penned. But, he promised that he was working on it. Jory was friendly, if distracted by a phone call from his fiancée. He told Joel that the wedding was set for May, and Joel promised that he would be there. He also shared the latest photos of Sterling, that Nina was kind enough to share. Those seemed to go over well. Tyler, meanwhile, kept to himself. He no doubt knew that Joel and his companion were there - but it didn’t look like he cared. He spent much of the afternoon rabidly packing and flinging suitcases around - a sight that both mystified and amused his bandmates. They’d all resolved long before Joel got there to leave him alone today and were happy to see Joel following suit. Maggie, Jason and Amanda’s little girl, was happily charming her new audience of Joel and Shelly when, abruptly, Tyler staggered their way. Joel smiled up at him, but the smile quickly faded when he got a good look at Tyler’s expression. It was an odd mix of anger and…well, Joel couldn’t think of a word. The best way to describe it was he looked like someone had just stabbed him in the stomach. Nonetheless, he extended a hand. “Hey Joel. Good to see you too. Oh, I’m doing fine, thanks,” he deadpanned. For a moment, Joel only stared at him. The guy looked like he’d just plagiarized a whole chapter of Andy’s book of madness. You know, he’d always wondered about that boy…Still, he managed a smile. “Hello Tyler. Sorry I didn’t speak to you earlier. I saw you back there by yourself and figured you wanted to stay that way. Sorry.” Tyler nodded begrudgingly at that, before turning his attention to Shelly. “Who are you?” Joel really looked surprised by that, as did both Shelly and Amanda. “This is, uh, my friend, Shelly Wolfe. Shelly, this is Tyler Whitney.” Shelly, despite being thrown by both Tyler’s apparent rudeness and scruffy appearance, still offered a handshake, smile wide. “Nice to meet you, Tyler.” Briefly, he shook her hand. “Yeah. Likewise. So Joel, how’s retirement treating you?” “Oh, it’s been okay. It has its ups and downs, but things are pretty good in my world right now. How are you?” “Getting ready for retirement myself, ironically enough.” “Ah yes. You’re heading toward the end, aren’t you? I bet you’re excited about that.” Joel could honestly tell that Tyler was about anything but excited right now, but he still figured it was fairly safe conversation to make. Tyler’s honest answer was another surprise. “Nope. Not really.” At that moment, Amanda excused herself to occupy Maggie elsewhere, while Shelly uncomfortably shifted around on the couch. Joel nodded, unsure what else to do. “I don’t have anything interesting lined up like the rest of these guys,” Tyler continued, “but I’m sure I’ll figure something out.” “I am too,” Joel agreed. “Do you still have your songwriting contract?” “Yeah, actually, I do.” “Well, great. That’s something you can fall back on.” “Yep,” Tyler tersely affirmed, then took a seat in the middle of the aisle. “So Shelly, what do you do?” “Right now?” she asked, then chuckled nervously. “Right now, nothing.” “Oh yeah?” Tyler asked. “Just like the rest of us, huh?” She looked to Joel, obviously uncomfortable, before replying, “I guess so.” “Interesting,” Tyler observed. Then, he stood again. “Well, if you would excuse me, I have to finish packing.” Joel stood too, offering yet another handshake. “Good luck to you - both tonight and after that.” “Yeah.” That was all Tyler said, blowing off Joel’s offer and mumbling all the way back to his bunk. Joel watched him go, the whole time shaking his head. Okay, so maybe coming over here wasn’t the wisest idea ever. He probably should’ve known - given the guy’s volatile history - that Tyler would not be having a good day today. “What’s his problem?” Shelly asked, appearing both confused and peeved. “I’ve been trying to figure that out for years myself,” Joel shrugged. “Probably something to do with the tour ending. I don’t know.”… Filling yet another suitcase and flinging it across the aisle, Tyler glanced back at Joel and his new lady friend and sighed. Okay, so he probably should have been a lot more social, but he honestly couldn’t believe the guy’s nerve. He showed up like he had a right, brought some girl nobody knew with him, and expected them to all stop and adequately worship? Nope. Sorry. Not gonna happen, least of all today. From day one, ever since Joel kicked him out of JLN and fired Frank right in front of him, Tyler hadn’t really thought much of him. And if such a thing were possible, he thought even less of him now than he did then. Sure he was doing well in his own retirement. He’d amassed a rather large fortune during his years of tyranny at JLN, thus, he had quite a bit to fall back on. What exactly would Tyler have left when all this was over? A songwriting contract and a handful of memories. It wasn’t hard to figure out who got the better end of the deal here. And yeah, Tyler knew that the whole “retirement” decision was his own, and no one else’s, but he still held Joel somewhat responsible, especially since he was the one to give into Tyler’s stupid whims in the first place. As he often did, he was looking at the bottom line, saw what a goldmine he had in Frank, and gladly gave in. More than anything, Tyler now wished Joel had fought a little harder to keep them. For him to be as rabid about them as he said he was in the beginning, he certainly didn’t care whether or not they disbanded. It was obvious now that the only thing Joel cared about was putting more money in his own bank account. Screw everybody else. And the funniest damn thing of all? Joel actually called himself “helping” Tyler out. He considered this a favor! Even funnier than that, Tyler did too at first. God, he’d been such an idiot. He jumped head-long into something he was definitely not ready for, because he thought he could do better. Better? What a joke. Tyler sank down on his bunk and ran both hands over his face. It was happening again. He was letting everything get the better of him again - and this time, he was actually deflecting his anger over his own decision to Joel, for daring to endorse it. God, he was losing it. The combination of so little sleep, so much frenzy and all the worrying he’d been doing was slowly driving him over the edge. The bottom line was, like it or not, mistake or not, it was a done deal. Even if he truly wanted to, Tyler couldn’t go to Andy and say, “I made a terrible, terrible mistake. I don’t want to end this whole thing. Not now, not ever”, he couldn’t. The only one even remotely interested was him. Everyone else had nice little backup careers lined up, plans made, lives to live that did not involve doing some dinky little songs on some dinky little stage - they’d essentially moved on. And now he had to. Or else he was going to lose his mind… ***** Though the walk across the street to the small restaurant Trent had honestly never been to before couldn’t have taken more than five minutes, it seemed like an eternity to him. The whole way there, he mentally replayed the night Gunnar was born. He knew this much about it: he made so many phone calls and repeated the same information so many times he sort of had it memorized. He’d get off the phone and call someone else. There were just so many to tell. His friends, her friends, her family, his…well, obviously, he somehow didn’t tell his family, because that’s what started this whole thing in the first place. He just couldn’t believe himself. As much as Phoenix might’ve thought otherwise, it truly wasn’t an intentional oversight. He’d never purposely keep something like that from them - or her, he should say, as he most definitely would keep it from those other two. God, how fucked up was that? That was not the way it was supposed to be in a so-called family. Wasn’t family supposed to support one another through everything? Cry with you on the bad days and rejoice with you on the good ones? Be the only unit you can truly count on, no matter what? Obviously, Rob and Gary did not get that memo…and it didn’t look like T.J. did either, judging by his actions that night. The last thing he wanted his mom to believe was that he would ever purposely exclude her from what was going on in his world, though he had a sinking suspicion that she already did. When Steiney told him that she wasn’t very upset about the whole thing, it only hammered that point home to him even more. She was used to being kept out of things. She was used to the “don’t call me, I’ll call you…eventually” game he always played. She was used to him being a really, really shitty son. You just have no idea how bad that made him feel. Though he hated being late (and keeping her waiting), Trent still loitered around outside the restaurant for a good five minutes, smoking a cigarette and trying to gather his thoughts. He knew the only right thing to do was to explain that it was truly a mistake, and that he was terribly sorry. Of course, she’d forgive him - or at least, say she did - but would she actually believe him? If she didn’t, he wouldn’t blame her. He hadn’t given her a whole lot of reason to trust him…or to even be here in the first place. The ironic thing here was that his mother was not one that inflicted guilt trips on him, whenever he didn’t do whatever she expected him to. He was the one that did it to himself. There was a very good reason he didn’t react more strongly to all of Phoenix’s earlier accusations - he had a good point. Trent knew he was an awful son. He knew that he took his mom for granted. He knew that he treated her a lot worse than she deserved. He knew that she was one hell of a woman for even trying to be there, when it was obvious that Rob was beneath the mere effort. He knew all of these things, yet he always conveniently forgot about them until something extreme - like this - happened to remind him all over again. Yeah, okay, so she wasn’t perfect. And yeah, okay, so she made some mistakes. To her credit, she always did her best to rectify them. She was the one that instilled in him how important it was to make things right. That was why he was so determined to say just the right thing. The last thing he wanted to do was sound rehearsed, but he still pieced together a mental apology while still smoking outside. There was so much he wanted to say - so many things he wanted to make sure she knew and understood. Not because she didn’t know them already, but because he needed a little refresher course in them himself. After developing a base to go on and convincing everyone else standing around that he was absolutely insane with all the mumbling to himself that he did, T.J. took a deep breath and went in. This place was far from fancy, but it wasn’t a hole in the wall either. Almost immediately, he spotted his mother, seated at a table near the front. He also noted that she was not alone. Slowly, he backed up. Oh, my God, she brought Gary. Every word of that rehearsed apology flew out of his head at that moment. He almost couldn’t think at all. The fact that Gary was here…it was a surprise, to say the very least. As he leaned back against the doorway of the restaurant (thus blocking the way for other diners, much to their annoyance), Trent wondered if it was too late to back the hell away right now. Yeah, he really, really wanted to talk to Mom and explain all those things to her…but on the other side of the coin, he really, really did not want to talk to Gary. He didn’t know if he even wanted to look at him. Why was he here in the first place? Because he didn’t think he would be here? Because he was hoping that he would? Because he had nothing better to do? T.J. had no idea. Okay. Okay, okay, okay. He couldn’t stand here all day. He had two choices. He could either forget this whole thing and make his escape before anyone even noticed he was there - and make his apologies to Mom later - or he could go in there, face his mother, face his brother, and face what he’d done. The former was much more appealing, but he knew the latter was his only true option. Oh, Lord. Here went nothing. As he approached the table, he took a deep breath. He couldn’t believe he was doing this. All of it was just so insane. Still, it had to be done. There was no way around it. Karen looked up at him, then right past him, almost as if she didn’t recognize him at first. It was Gary who stared dead at him, eyes wide. He then stood. “What the fuck are you doing here?!” he asked, loud enough for the people in Knoxville to hear. Trent didn’t know if that was a joyful or hostile greeting, but it did alert Karen’s attention to his presence. She did a double take, then leapt up herself, grabbing him in a hug so tight that it actually hurt. This, while a standard greeting, still made him a little uncomfortable. He didn’t know, however, whether that was his conscience kicking his ass again or if it was because his mother always overdid the physical affection, especially in public. After she got in the standard gushes over how “handsome” her little “baby” was, and finished squeezing him half to death, it was Gary’s turn. Strangely, he was smiling. He extended a hand, then changed his mind mid-stream and grabbed T.J. in an even tighter hug than Karen had. “My God, would you look at this?” he marveled (loudly). “Look at you! I haven’t seen you in - what? - years! Years!” “Yeah. It’s been a while,” Trent managed, thoroughly confused at his older brother’s behavior. It had in fact been year since they’d seen, or even spoken - though the details of their last conversation were never very far from Trent’s mind. To look at Gary right now, one would almost assume that infamous incident had never happened. He seemed downright thrilled to see his little brother again, insisting that he’d gained some weight, that he looked good and that the new album was “awesome.” Mmmmmkay. As soon as they were done making their spectacle, it got pretty serious. Before Trent could even being to apologize, Karen asked about Gunnar. She wanted to know everything. How was he? What did he look like? How was Cecily? Did Skyler like him? Was he doing okay in the hospital? Was he a “good baby” or a “bad baby”? Everything. And when shown the pictures - even the awful ones Sandra took of that other kid - she actually cried, saying how “utterly adorable” her tiny new grandson was. Gary seemed enthralled as well, and he asked a million questions about Skyler. He even proclaimed, “She’s almost three years old and I’ve never seen her! I wanna see her!” for the entire restaurant to hear. His behavior, to put it mildly, was really bizarre. For one, there was a reason he’d never gotten to see Skyler - and they both knew what that was. Secondly, since when did he even care about her or Gunnar? Since when did he care about anyone but himself? As silly as it sounded, T.J. was actually quite worried about him. If he could’ve gotten the chance to speak to Mom privately, he definitely would’ve asked her if Gary was dying or something, because that was so uncharacteristic. Gary and Karen did most of the talking for about the first hour. Karen went on and on about how things were at home - and about her new “special friend”, some guy named Brett. Interesting. Gary, meanwhile, related that Megan was “fine” and that they were looking into buying a new house soon, to go along with the new cars they got last month. So nice to see that Gary was still the same materialistic, irresponsible loudmouth that he’d always been. It wasn’t until the meal was gone that they finally shut up long enough for Trent to finally tell his mom how sorry he was about not telling her sooner - though he didn’t get to say nearly half of what he’d hoped. Karen quickly shrugged it off, insisted it was okay, and that she was just happy to know that he was here and doing well. It was just the reaction that he’d expected from her, and exactly why he’d hoped to be one-on-one with her, so he could make damn sure she understood everything he was saying. It was sort of hard to have a heartfelt talk with anyone about anything with Gary sitting across the table, doing everything possible (even chain-smoking) noisily. He was so much like Rob it was a little scary. When Karen excused herself to use the restroom, Trent almost expected him to morph back into the demon he’d always been. He was almost counting down until the horns popped up, but interestingly, all Gary did was lean across the table to him, grab his arm and insist, “It really is so good to see you again. I missed you a lot.” The strangeness didn’t end there. After two hours of basically catching up, Karen abruptly announced that she had some errands to run, but would most definitely be at the show tonight. Her exact words were, “We wouldn’t miss it for the world.” We? We?! We as in, “Gary and I”? “My special friend - cough, boyfriend - Brett and I”? “Your father and I”? Quickly, Trent wrote that last one off. While this might’ve been a day of unexpected family bonding, the very idea of Rob coming to one of his shows was ludicrous. There was just no way…at least, he hoped to God there was, because he would shit his own pants if Rob was as strangely welcoming as Gary had been. God, you leave for three years and everything changes. This must’ve been how Phoenix felt when he went back to Bozeman that time. Freaky… After resigning himself to his latest acquired duty and settling into Tim’s office for what was sure to be a long afternoon, Andy called Ming to tell her that Mason Craig was free to come up at any time. He arrived in under two minutes and at the precise second he stepped inside the office, something magical happened. Don’t bother asking me to explain, because there was just no explanation for this. It wasn’t something that Andy necessarily planned, nor something he really expected, but when Mason came in, something just clicked. He knew just by looking at him that he was the one. Tim didn’t seem to share Andy’s enthusiasm at all. In fact, he sat there and glared daggers at the guy the whole time he was there. Andy could not for the life of him figure that one out. He couldn’t interview the guy because he was seeing his sister-in-law. He called it a “conflict of interest.” That implied some sort of relationship between the two, right? Well…if that were truly the case, wouldn’t Tim…oh, I dunno, be happy to see him? Yet another sign that maybe this wasn’t so much a matter of fairness than a matter of laziness, but Andy wasn’t about to let that distract him from getting to know Mason Craig a little better. He was a rather robust man, but full of energy. He talked so fast it was hard to keep up, but Andy didn’t mind. That showed drive. Initiative, which was something Vyro desperately needed. He spoke confidently of his credentials, even handing out copies of his varying degrees. And when Andy asked what he had in mind to help put Vyro on the map, he unveiled a plan so genius it honestly blew him away. It was obvious Mason had given this a tremendous amount of thought. He wasn’t just a guy that came in with nothing to say. He’d even gone to the trouble of writing out his plans for Vyro and presenting them to both Andy and a still glaring Tim. “We can propel this company into greatness,” he insisted. “And it’s all in one word, sirs. Just five letters. B-L-I-T-Z.” Honestly, everything Mason said after that was just a bonus, because Andy didn’t need to hear anything more. He was already sold. Where had this guy been all his life? In the capable hands of Mason Craig, Vyro and its artists were destined for - how had he put it? Oh, yeah. Greatness. And I can absolutely assure you that was not favoritism. This guy wasn’t sniffing around his sister-in-law. In fact, Andy didn’t even have one. Nope, it wasn’t a matter of nepotism, favoritism or anything else. It was a matter of presentation - and this guy got an A+ on his. Mind you, Andy didn’t see any of the other candidates, and they could’ve been just as awesome as this Mason guy, but still…he just couldn’t imagine anyone any better doing this crucial job than the man sitting before him. That was just the bottom line. As the hour-long interview wrapped, Tim stood and smiled for the first time. “Mason, thank you for your time. We’ll be in touch.” Andy stood too, interrupting before Mason could even reply, “You better believe we will! When can you start?” Mason Craig seemed stunned. So did Tim. In fact, Tim actually looked like somebody had shot him. He stood in silence for a moment, before clearing his throat and leaning toward Andy. “Did you just hire him?” he whispered. Andy gave his response out loud - and directly to Mason. “Yes, I just hired him. That is, if he wants the job.” It took a moment for Mason to fully grasp what was happening, but once the spark of recognition hit his face, he was beaming. “Of course I want the job! I can start as soon as you need me to! I’d be glad to!” “Is Monday okay for you?” Andy asked. He could see Tim out of the corner of his eye and it was obvious that he was about to go straight through the floor. Obviously, Mason Craig was probably the last person that he wanted working here. Well, too bad, because if he wanted to quietly shuttle him to the back of the line, he probably shouldn’t have asked Andy for his help. Mason opened his mouth, almost as if he were about to exclaim, “wow!” but quickly regained his professionalism. “That would be fine, thank you. Thank you very much. You won’t regret this.” Andy extended a hand, casting a smug grin over at Tim. “Oh, I know I won’t.”… ****** Tony woke up approximately five seconds before Joel returned to the bus with Shelly, thus the single most annoying woman in the world was one of the first things to greet him as he opened his eyes. He couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was about her that struck him wrong, but something certainly did. Maybe it was the way she popped gum like a teenager. Perhaps it was the way she got entirely too excited about simple things such as having a cigarette with him. And, though the possibility was remote, it might have just been the way she squealed like someone had poked her with a hat pin when, after she complained for five minutes about looking “awful”, Tony told her she looked fine. Honest to God, he only did that to shut her up. Little did he know, it would just make her even louder. Given her insistence on calling Joel “baby” at every opportunity, it was not hard to figure out that she was the new lady in his life. It seemed that everybody had an opinion on that one - Kris, Phoenix, even Rena said it was in pretty poor taste - but Tony couldn’t really pass much judgment. What happened with Nina pretty much stuck it in and broke it off, so if Joel could find someone that made him happy - however annoying she might have been - then good for him. Everybody needed to be happy, and Tony knew this much: when Joel was happy, he was a lot easier to deal with. Since nobody else seemed willing to indulge Joel and his guest, Tony was basically stuck with them for two whole hours, leading up to the sound check. It was mainly a bullshit conversation, the details of which he’d be hard pressed to remember, but he didn’t think he’d ever forget the look on Joel’s face when he said, “I’m okay.” He really meant it. That was a huge relief, especially since Tony hadn’t spoken to him since he called that one day, heartbroken over the Nina split. Again, this Shelly girl might’ve made everyone else in the world want to shove her out of a moving vehicle, but if she made Joel happy, then that was all that mattered. Still, Tony couldn’t help but hope that he would never, ever as long as he lived have to spend more than five minutes with the woman. You could probably imagine his disappointment when she and Joel cornered him yet again after the sound check. There was maybe an hour before the show, and he really needed to be getting ready - especially since T.J. was back and that meant the whole structure of the show had to be modified yet again. Still, he was way too nice to tell Joel to go the hell away and take his freaky little friend too. Something told him Joel knew that, and that was why he was sticking so close. At least Shelly found a new buddy in hapless Trent, who returned to the bus 45 minutes before showtime. He hardly looked in the mood to indulge her strange, strange ways, but he spoke to her nonetheless - with a “why the hell am I even doing this?” expression on his face the entire time. It was the funniest thing in the whole world. After noting that Shelly was sufficiently occupied elsewhere, Tony leaned toward Joel. He already knew the answer to this question, but he just had to ask, for clarity’s sake. “So, um,” he began, “you and her…what’s the deal?” Joel smiled broadly. “She’s a friend of mine.” “Yes, that’s what you said. But how good of a friend is she?” Joel kept smiling. “A pretty good one.” “That’s what I thought. That’s great, man. Good luck with it.” “Thanks. This whole moving on thing - it’s not easy. But we’re trying.” “Hey, that’s all that matters.” “It’s kind of funny how life works,” Joel noted, leaning back into the couch and sighing. “A month ago, it seemed like the end of the world for me and look at me now. I don’t think I’ve been this happy in a while.” “Mmm-hmm.” Tony was purposely non-committal. Don’t get me wrong - it was a really great thing that Joel was happy at all, but wow. He just had no idea how someone like that could make anyone happy. But hey - it wasn’t for him to worry about, right? For a while, Joel didn’t say anything. Tony didn’t either, only attempting to throw together a rough set list. He didn’t really like doing this without the input of the others, but Phoenix was still hiding in the bathroom and it looked like it would take an act of God to get Shelly away from T.J. Hopefully, they’d be happy with this. “I think it was probably for the best,” Joel abruptly announced. Tony looked up at him. “What was?” “This whole thing. We were kidding ourselves for a long time. Neither one of us were happy. It was one of those ‘we tried and failed’ things.” “Oh. Yeah. Been there, done that.” “I know you have,” Joel affirmed. “That’s why you’re one of the first people I called. And I don’t know if I ever thanked you or not, but it meant a lot to me that you talked to me that day. I was going crazy and, just like you always do, you managed to talk some sense into me.” “Just like I always did?” “Yeah. Every time there was a problem - especially a problem with Andy - you were the only one who could tell me, ‘it’s gonna be okay’ and get me to believe it.” Joel shifted his body in that moment, so he was facing Tony. “I want you to know,” he began, “that even though the whole JLN association is over, you will always, always be one of my best friends in the world.” That made Tony completely forget about the set list and look up. The fact Joel would say such a thing at all was nothing short of a surprise and even further proof that this Shelly girl was obviously doing him some good. He was sounding more and more like the old Joel, the happy Joel. Only problem? Tony had no idea what to say to that. Thankfully, Joel didn’t give him much chance. “I mean it. If you ever need anything - anything at all - let me know. I owe you one for being there that day and I don’t forget to honor my debts.” Okay, now things were just getting weird. It was nice to see Joel’s kinder, gentler side emerge, but…damn. After dealing with demanding, mean, slave driver Joel for so long, it was difficult to believe. “You don’t owe me one,” Tony managed to insist. “If you wanna pay your debt, pay it by being happy, because that’s the best thing I could ever hope for you.” “Oh, I will,” Joel vowed, with a wide smile. “I will.”… Okay, whoever the hell this Shelly person was, she was seriously not all there. Not only did she leap out at Trent like a Halloween goblin, she struck up an immediate conversation with him like she’d known him all her life - and he had no idea who she was! Yeah, okay, so he enjoyed meeting people, but generally, the people he met were…sane. This woman definitely was not. It took five minutes just to ditch her, and then another two to get someone to open the bathroom door, but once he was inside, he quickly slid down along the door. Phoenix, seated on the rim of the tub, laughed. “Shelly strikes again?” “Jesus Christ, what’s wrong with that woman?” Trent shook his head and retrieved his cigarettes from his pocket. After the day he’d just had, he needed a whole damn carton, but, since they were short on time, one would probably have to do for now. “Your guess is as good as mine,” Phoenix mused. “But you’re wise to get away while you can. Why do you think I’m here?” “How long have they been here?” “Um, let’s see…” Phoenix thought for a moment, then laughed. “Okay, let’s put it this way. Barring the sound check, I’ve been in here five hours. So you do the math.” “Oh, Lord,” Trent groaned. “All I wanna know is…did she ask to feel your arms?” The second Phoenix asked that, he burst out laughing. “Did she what?” “She asked to feel my arms.” “Why?” “I have no idea!” “Oh, my God,” T.J. laughed. “That’s insane.” “Joel sure knows how to pick ’em, doesn’t he?” “Hey, at least Nina had some sense!” “Enough sense to divorce him, right?” Phoenix joked. “Exactly.” Quiet prevailed for a few minutes. Trent attempted to gather his thoughts, put all of today’s bizarre occurrences out of his mind and focus on the show ahead. Phoenix, meanwhile, debated how exactly he could apologize, when he really wasn’t very sorry. Both began to say something at once, but Phoenix was the only one to repeat what he’d said. “So how did it go?” “Lunch with Mom?” T.J. asked. “It went. That’s about all I can say.” “Was she happy to see you?” “Yeah. And oddly enough, so was Gary.” Phoenix’s eyes widened. “Gary was there? Are you kidding me?” “Nope. He was really there and it was the craziest thing. He kept saying how glad he was to see me and how much he missed me.” “When it was his fault that you guys aren’t talking anymore, right?” “Right,” Trent affirmed, with a sigh. “And then, I get the great pleasure of coming in and dealing with psycho girlfriend from hell. Oh, and Joel’s here. So yeah. This has been one hell of a day for me.” Phoenix hesitated, then laughed nervously. “Not the mention the fact that I yelled at you when you got here, right?” Trent nodded. “Yeah. That too.” “About that…” Phoenix began, but before he could say anything more, T.J. held up a hand. “Don’t worry about it. You were right.” “Well, I know I was right…but I still shouldn’t have said it like I did. So I’m sorry.” “Don’t worry about it,” T.J. insisted again. “It’s fine.” Unsure what else to say, Phoenix simply nodded. “Okay.” After that, it was pretty quiet again. Phoenix, glad to have at least gotten that off his chest, stood to begin his preening ritual, while T.J. continued to sit on the floor and nurse that cigarette. Finally, though, he looked up. “You know that I never meant to do it, right? ’Cause it didn’t sound like you did.” Phoenix turned around. Rather than admit the truth, he took a gentler route. “It doesn’t really matter what I thought, does it?” “I’m serious,” T.J. insisted, standing. “I wouldn’t have done that on purpose for the world.” Turning back around, Phoenix nodded at his own reflection. “I know.”… So what did you think of this week? Drop by the BCD forums and let us know! |