Song of the South

Chapter 42: Long Talks

“Baby, what does it say?” Eric quietly asked 

She thrust the letter at him without a word. She was so confused, worried, and unsure of what was happening. Eric read through the letter twice. This was planned! It may not have been planned when they came out but sometime this weekend people got together and planned this! He handed it back to Kinsey who just stared at the paper in her hands.

 “You guys planned this.” Eric dryly stated

 “Eric…” Brent started out

 “You knew the arrangement she and I made. She only wanted to come out for the European leg.” Eric said, cutting the vocalist off

 “I know we went against what you and her wanted.” Barry started out, “You were miserable with her at home. You keep telling us all you want is to make her happy, to show her places and things she’d never seen before, to give her experiences she can take back to those kids. Right?”

 “Well… yes. But she didn’t want to come out right now!” Eric exclaimed angrily

 “Eric, man, we just wanted to make you both happy. We’ve heard you crying in your bunk because you missed her. She never got to have a childhood because of her mother, isn’t that what you told us? We just want her to have these experiences too.” Zach retorted

 Eric sighed as he ran his hand through his hair, “The point is she didn’t want to leave the kids for this long. She wanted to only come out for Europe. That’s what she and I agreed upon.”

 “You… you really cry because of me?” Kinsey suddenly asked, looking over at him

 “He does, yes.” Brent replied

 “Daisy told me, Kellie, Barry, and Zach that she would very much like it if Eric married you because he makes you happy, makes you cry happy tears…” Jake started

 “And because when you have a nightmare, she asks if you want her to call Eric. Hearing his name, according to her, calms you down enough to settle back into sleep. All we want for the both of you to be happy. Our intentions weren’t to upset you. Either of you.” Barry added in

 “What about the kids? I can’t just up and leave to go do whatever I want! They need stability.” Kinsey retorted

 “Kellie loves those kids too, OK? She will take good care of them while you’re gone. She will keep them in whatever routine you have for them.” Barry said

 Kinsey tried fighting the tears. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to cry because she was finally getting to do something for her or if she was upset about being forced to be away from the kids. She’d been a mother since she was 16 even though she didn’t want to be. She fell into the role and took on the parental figure like she thought she should.

 “You talked to Jesse and Daisy about this?” Eric asked

 “Yes we did. We explained why we wanted to do this and asked what they thought about it. We asked their permission. Both of them were excited for Kinsey to get to come along.” Brent stated

 Kinsey couldn’t take it and bolted to the very back of the bus. Everyone felt bad but they honestly thought they were doing something good for her. Eric just looked around and saw the sadness in his friends. They really meant well.

 “Look, I understand why you did this.” Eric started, trying to find the right words, “It’s….it’s a big transition. Remember she’s been a mother since she was 16. She’s raised all those kids pretty much since they were born.”

 “We really thought we were doing something good. It wasn’t our intentions to upset either of you.” Zach replied

 “You’re miserable without her by your side. She’s miserable without you. It seemed like a good idea. If she wants to go back home I’ll arrange it.” Jake added