Tattoos Together | An Original

42

Dominic

My parents close their restaurant down every year on our birthdays, so we can spend it together. It's a family tradition of ours, and it's still one of my favorite things we do as a family.

Although they close the restaurant, a tradition is for us to eat dinner together there every year. Instead of going out to eat at a fancy restaurant, we close our own restaurant for the day and have dinner there as a family. My mother curates a special menu for the evening, with appetizers, a main entree and side dishes, and dessert, of course.

Since we can stay at the restaurant as late as we please, my mom makes a batch of drinks that go along with our meal. We'll be here long enough to be safe to drive home later, and my parents are lenient about Sage drinking. She's 19 now, and in college anyway.

"This is delicious, Mom," I say, as if I have never tasted my mom's glorious cooking. The restaurant has a full team of chefs who make my mother's recipes, but nothing can compare to the way my mom makes them. She adds a magic touch.

"Thank you, sweetie," Mom says. "Happy birthday, Dominic."

"Yes, happy birthday," Dad says. "We're so proud of the young man you've become. With your music, and your friendships, and now a great relationship. You're doing great, kid. I truly think you're right where you're meant to be."

"Thanks, Dad. I wouldn't be where I am without your constant support."

"That's what we're here for," Dad says.

"And Reese," Mom says, "we're so glad that Dominic found someone who loves him as much as you. You really are a ray of sunshine in our lives, and while Dominic is a very lucky guy, we're a lucky family to have you join us."

"Wow," Reese says. "Thank you, Amy. You guys all mean the world to me."

One of my favorite things about being home is eating a home cooked meal with my family. Quality time is the best, and my family always makes it worthwhile. We have so much fun together, and we do just that this evening.

Between dinner, dessert, drinks, and old stories told, the night is everything I wanted for my birthday. To spend time with the people I love. The gifts mean something to me due to my family's thoughtfulness, but the time spent together means much more than anything money can buy. Especially since Reese took her spring break to fly out here just to be with me on my birthday.

The rest of the week is a lot of fun, but goes by all too quickly. Before I know it I'm back on tour and Reese is back in Chicago to finish out the rest of her freshman year of college.

We've been facetiming every night, specifically after each show. Most of the shows are Thursday through Saturdays, so the time in between is for rehearsing, resting and traveling. You have to have days off, or else you can do a lot of damage to your vocal cords and throat. A lot of singers in the past have overdone their vocal limits on tour, and that's how they end up with vocal polyps and other types of damage that ends their careers.

Luckily, I grew up learning from a voice coach who taught me how to take care of my voice. He taught me remedies on how to soothe my voice, how to get better more effectively after being sick, how to rest after big performances, and all of the other things I'd need to know if I wanted to be a touring artist.

There are some days in between shows that I put myself on vocal rest to be safe, so those are the days Reese and I just text each other. She understands. Sometimes we'll FaceTime anyway, but I'll just blow kisses and wave at her through the screen. Or I'll smile and listen to how her day was. Then I just text her back with how mine went. It's a process, but it still makes us feel closer when we're apart.

I've been touring on and off for almost a year now, but I still have a summer full of tour dates. There's some weeks I have off in July and August, which is nice. Reese and I will be in Chicago during those times, and Europe for a week in between.

It's mid May when Reese joins me on tour. It's now been over a year since we met, and a year since I realized I wasn't going to be able to run from my feelings anymore. The way I felt about her from the start was so strong, that even I couldn't stop it from happening. It's all been so, so, so worth it.

I wouldn't trade Reese for the world. She's the sun to my moon, the sugar to my spice, the daylight to my night sky. She complements me in ways no one else can, while she understands me in the same way. We have a kind of connection that you can't find anywhere else. There's nothing I could ever ask for that would be better than what Reese and I have built together.

Reese once told me that our relationship is the most beautiful thing she's ever gotten to be a part of, and I feel the exact same way. Sometimes she puts my thoughts into words. When I don't know what to say, she knows how to bring my thoughts justice. It's one of my favorite things about her. How she just always knows what to say.

We're in Denver when she joins the tour, and we spend the whole month of June traveling around the Western United States. July is when things start to slow down a bit. Lollapalooza isn't until the end of the month, and we still have Reese's birthday and our Europe trip coming up.

Those are all kind of right in a row, and we'll be spending all of that time in Chicago. I can't wait to see what the rest of the summer will be like. It's already been a blast, since Reese and I have been able to spend every second of it together.