“You were such a delinquent back then, but I thank you for sticking up for me.” She bumps her shoulder into mine. “What are you going to do if Evelyn takes after you?”
“Lock her up,” I say with a shrug. “Tell her that whatever she’s thinking of doing, I’ve already done it so she can’t outsmart me.”
“She’s definitely smart.”
“Like her father.”
My mom looks at me. “She asks about him a lot.”
I nod. “I know. I don’t know what to tell her about
him. She shouldn’t have to know that he chose his family over her.”
“All you can tell her is that you didn’t know what he was really like.”
I scoff. “No matter what I say to her, I look like the asshole who had an affair with a married man.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself, Jameson. A one-night stand hardly constitutes an affair on your part… he on the other hand, needs his balls cut off.”
“He was just another mistake I made.”
“But the result was worth it in my opinion. Evelyn is the light of our lives, and you gave her to us. You brought that beautiful little girl into this world; her father be damned. She’s ours and we get to keep her to ourselves.”
Mom shrugs. “Maybe it’s time to make up a fairytale about him. I’m sure between the two of us we can create a Prince Charming who lives with a wicked witch in a cold, dark dungeon and only a fire breathing dragon and unicorn can save him.”
I look at my mom with bewilderment. “She’s going to see right through your story.”
Mom shrugs. “It’s the beer talking,” she says, taking another sip.
17
Ajay
When I walk onto the stage, everyone stops tuning their instruments. Dana rushes over and hugs me, while Hendrix mumbles something about being the only man alive who’s allowed to touch his woman, earning him a sly flip off from Dana. Quinn, Keane, and I shake hands, and when Hendrix finally gets over his little attitude, he comes over and gives me a half hug.
“What’s the big house like? Did you shank anyone?”
I push Hendrix’s shoulder and frown at him. “It was county lock-up, dude.”
“So, no hard time?”
“No, man. Just a local judge being unreasonable, nothing the lawyers can’t handle.”
“Well, I, for one, am happy you’re back,” Quinn says. “Playing with my pops is fun and all until he starts critiquing.”
“I heard that,” Harrison yells from somewhere backstage. I may have only been gone a week, but what a difference it makes. Being surrounded by people that I love, who love me back, offers a whole different outlook on life.
“Sorry, man. I’ll do my best to stay out of trouble.”
“What’d you do anyway?” Keane asks.
“Stupid teenage stuff. It always comes back to bite you in the ass.”
“Remind me to never go home then,” Hendrix says.
“You’re from Los Angeles, you moron,” Dana yells out, causing us all to laugh. Hendrix is our jokester, the one who can and will turn any situation into a comedy routine. He’s also the guy that will break your heart with his sob story about Dana and their failed relationship. His love for her, however, doesn’t stop him from hooking up with women that he meets at 80’s night karaoke. They all swoon when he sings the ballads.
I climb the ramp to my drum set and sit down on my stool. The caddy in front of me holds four pair of sticks. I pick them up and rub my fingers along the wood, thinking back to my conversation with Whiskey about how I couldn’t afford to buy new sticks at one time and yet now, here they are, always waiting for me. Being with a band that’s signed to a label is something I’ll never take for granted.