Two Bassists > C.T.H.

Chapter 21:

October 2022

A few days after Calum came back from touring, I went back to see my family, and also do a few meet and greets and interviews.

I asked Calum to come with me, and after begging and pleading, he obliged. We took the nine-ish hour drive together back home to my small hometown in the Central Valley. Making the drive more pleasurable, Calum and I sang together, sometimes with the music blasting through the car speakers (since I controlled the AUX cord), and sometimes without music and one person humming and the other singing. Green Day, Panic! At the Disco, and a majority of Calum's own songs dominated the radio.

After heartfully singing along to 'Time of Your Life' by Green Day, Calum asked, "How much longer?"

"About thirty minutes," I say, already feeling a difference in the dusty Central Valley air. The skies were overcast, and the temperature outside was no more than 65°F.

Ah, the Central Valley's bipolar weather. Where the summers get to be 110 degrees and the winter nights sometimes drop a little below freezing.

"It's summertime in Australia right now," Calum comments as he turns up the heater, "A nice, warm Christmas holiday on the beach sounds great right now."

"I never could comprehend how the Southern hemisphere had warm Christmases," I shook my head, "It would feel so weird to be sitting on the beach in the middle of December to me."

"I need to take you on an Australian holiday then," Calum smiles at me, "Rent a house on the beach, just chill for a few days."

"Vacation sounds great," I say, but lose my smile, "But I'm going to be leaving soon."

"For what?" He questions.

"My label is talking about me going on a world tour," I glance at him, then look back to the road, "You know, hitting at least two shows in each state, Mexico, Canada, Britain, Ireland, France, Spain, Australia. I'm actually suppose to mention it in my meet and greets and interviews in the next few days."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner," Calum's voice sounded slightly hurt, "I thought there wasn't going to anything else seperating us after my last few shows in Australia."

I sigh, thinking before I speak. "Calum, your career started when you were like sixteen. It ended ten years later. My professional career barely started last year. This is the first tour I've ever done in my life, hell, this is my first studio album that's ever been released!" I bite my tongue after saying that, because after that, I was going to say: "You should be happy for me."

Quietly, Calum says: "You're right."

The drive is silent after that.