I return her hug and pick her up off the ground, twirling her around like the many times I’ve seen in her movies.
“Thank you for coming. I know it’s hot out and you’d rather be inside with air conditioning,” I tell her as I put her down.
She slaps me playfully on the chest. “Do you really think I’d miss this because of some heat? You’re my grandson and you just had your first official gig. This is exactly where I want to be.”
Sam comes up to us as poised as ever with her clipboard in her hand. She clutches it to her chest and stands in front of me. “Not bad, Page.”
“Not bad?” grandma scoffs. “I know you better than that Sam Moreno. I saw you shaking your little tush.”
Sam tries not to smile, but I see it. She’s slowly cracking her tough as nails façade.
“Be honest, how was it?”
“You’re leaving on tour in three days!” she announces excitedly, jumping up and down. Harrison and Way are hooting and hollering and my grandma is clapping. I’m standing here, with my mouth wide open, catching flies.
“W-what?”
“Blaze an all-female group and one of the headliners here start their tour in three days and they’ve asked that you join them. You’ll have your own tour bus, you’ll earn money and you’ll be able to record while on the road. This is what you’re looking for.”
“Where do we sign?” I blurt out excitedly.
“Here,” she says as she drops her clipboard and hands me a pen. I pause and look at Harrison and Way, who are both nodding. I sign my name and hand the pen to Harrison who eagerly jots down his signature.
He looks at me and smiles. “Come on, it’s time for that tattoo.”
“Harrison,” a very large man greets Harrison when we walk into the parlor. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“Things are looking up Zeke. I’m going on tour with my buddy here and he’s an ink virgin, let’s change that.”
Zeke sizes me up and I feel about two feet tall. In fact, I feel like the incredible shrinking woman, only in male form.
“Come on back, we’ll get started.”
Harrison pushes me forward to get my feet moving. Suddenly, I’m a ball of nerves. I just performed in front of thousands of people and didn’t have an issue, but now that someone is going to going draw on me permanently, I’m freaking out.
“Have a seat,” Zeke says as he sits on his stool. “What do you want?”
“I…” I shake my head. “I don’t know. I want one, but not sure how to decide.”
Zeke snaps the plastic glove onto his hand, making me jump. He laughs. It’s clear that he’s enjoying my agitated and nervous state.
“What’s close to your heart?”
“My girl,” I admit without much thought. I glance at Harrison who looks at me questioningly. I’ll have to tell him about her now and he’ll probably wonder what other secrets I’ve been holding on to.
“What’s her name?” Zeke asks, without looking at me. I break eye contact with Harrison to look at Zeke who is hunched over a table with a pencil in his hand.
“Her name is Jojo.”
He nods and starts writing or scribbling. I can’t tell. I’m glued to the chair I’m in, afraid to move. I look around at all the artwork on the walls and wonder if Zeke drew these or if they’re tattoos that people came in for.
“Who’s Jojo?” Harrison asks, breaking my avoidance tactic.
“My girl back home. Or she was my girl. I left her to come out here.”
“Is she why you want to go home after a year?”
I nod and look away. I don’t think I’m going to cry, but when it comes to her, you never know.