Brothers Bandmate

55

-Michael's POV-

3 Days Until Gig

"How much longer until he's home?" I asked Brianna as we rushed around the kitchen, finishing up the nicest dinner we could make; spaghetti.

Brianna looked over at the clock as she mixed the noodles and the sauce together. "Uh...five minutes!" she replied.

Today was the day I was going to invite my dad to come to the gig. This is what basically set our whole plan up, and if he says no then there's no plan. "How much longer for preparation?" I asked a follow up question, grabbing plates down.

"Only one, two max," she answered.

I nodded, setting the table. We rarely ate with our dad but we asked him for today just to ask him to come to the gig. Although he thinks it's because we miss him, which isn't exactly a lie.

The sound of the garage opening filled mine and Brianna's ears, making us freeze. We both looked at each other with wide eyes. "You said five minutes!" I exclaimed, quickly putting the last plate down and running to the silverware.

"He must be early! And if I do recall..." she trailed off, carrying the saucepan of pasta towards the table. "I also said I only needed a minute more for the pasta," she finished, scooping the spaghetti onto the plates. We both rushed even quicker now, hearing the sound of the garage closing.

Brianna ran to put the saucepan in the sink as I put the last fork down. "Okay, best behavior! Be polite, be kind, and..." she was cut off by the entrance of our dad. and I stood straight. "Hi, daddy!"

"Hey, dad, nice to see you," I gave a nod and acted as if I wasn't running around a second ago or my heart wasn't beating from nerves. I could make or break this whole plan.

Our dad gave us a strange look, his eyes moving between the two of us with a small grin. "Hello? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't it be?" Brianna asked, her words coming out a bit too quick. She always did that when she was nervous. It was a habit both of us inherited from our mother, except I know how to control it.

"Well, for one you're dressed back in your normal attire. A Conservative, floral, girly, dress. And Michael is dressed in a nice, ," Our dad started, making both me and Brianna look down at our outfits. We have to put him in a good mood, so we thought it would be best to dress how he wants us. Brianna even tried making me die my hair a natural color, but I wasn't going that far. It's a dark red anyway. "Second, you both are smiling at me and be kind. Finally, there's the fact you called for me to have dinner with you tonight and even made the dinner. Something going on?" he raised his eyebrows.

"I've been thinking about my behavior lately and realized how rude and childish I've been. You want the best for me and...you are right..." Brianna had trouble saying the last part, her teeth gritted.

"And I haven't been the best son the past few years. So we wanted to do something nice for you, and since we never sit down and eat together we thought this would be a good start," I added.

Our dad slowly nodded, walking to set his stuff down and taking his shoes off. "Okay...let's eat then..." he said, not fully convinced.

We made our way to the table, everyone sitting down. We said our prayers, made small talk about school, ate a little, and tried to have a normal dinner. Of course I was worried about asking my father, who hated my idea of a career, to come to one of our gigs. He's never seen the band perform, and I'm not even sure he's heard us play since he's always gone working.

"So...this weekend my band has another gig..." I cautiously started.

My dad gave a nod. "I see. Another bar?" he guessed, obviously not impressed.

"Um...not exactly. It's a place specifically for live performers, and they invited us to play this Saturday," I explained.

"Well, it's nice you get to play somewhere other than our basement."

I glanced over at Brianna, who tilted her head towards our dad to tell me to continue. I took a deep breath. "I was thinking, and I know you don't really like the whole band idea but...I want you to come and see us perform."

My dad stopped eating and looked at me, his eyebrows furrowed. "You want me to watch you?" he questioned, confused and a bit surprised.

I nodded. "I want you to see how good we are, to see all of our hard work. It might make you realize it's not such a bad idea to pursue..." I trailed off.

"Michael, this silly band thing has already gone too far. After high school, you can't rely on these...gigs of yours for a living. You need to go to school, study for a real career..." he went on with his usual speech.

"Dad, this is why I want you to see us perform! To see it's not just some silly band thing!" I cut in, my voice rising a bit.

"I don't think that's such a good idea. Plus, I have work that day and..."

"Please, just this once! Kids always do things like school sports, quiz bowls, and other things that their parents go to. This is my thing! Can't you watch me at least once?" I wouldn't give up, knowing the whole plan depended on his answer.

"Michael, my work..."

"If you go you can determine whether or not I continue with the band!" I blurted out, Brianna gasping as I did. I sat there, realizing what I just did. My dad has always disapproved of my plan with the band, how would one night change his mind? Maybe it would about Brianna and Luke, but about the band? Would it work?

My dad realized this too, a shocked look on his face. "You want me to go that bad? You'll let me decide if you continue the band or not after that night?" he rephrased.

I gulped, glancing at Brianna because I didn't want to agree, but it could be the only way to get him to go. She gave me a concerned look, unsure as well. So I faced my dad again. "Yeah," I confirmed.

My dad shrugged, twirling his spaghetti. "Okay, then I'll call in for the day off to go to your little gig," he finally agreed.

I gave a nervous grin. "Great..." I said sarcastically, wondering what the hell I just did.