Gypsy Road

The More Things Change

When I awake, the room is still frigid, which is quite odd for this time of year. But somehow, I don't feel chilled. I glance over and see Eric is still fast asleep. I look at the dim red numbers on the digital clock sitting by the TV in front of the bed. It's 8:42 AM. Hazy sunlight gazes in through the curtains and faint chirping from the birds outside is audible. But everything sounds kind of foggy. Must be the after-concert effect. I feel half deaf, but I have experienced this feeling many times before. Knowing myself, it will probably be gone within a day or two, or in the worst case, three. At least we don't have too far to go to get to the next stop. We're going to be making our way to New York today; I think we're leaving here at about 11:00 AM to make sure we have plenty of time before show-time. Groggily, I slip out from under Eric's arm and stretch. I should get up, even though I don't really want to. I make my way into the bathroom and take a quick shower, throwing on a plain black t-shirt and some jeans. I don't bother much with hair and makeup; I just brush my hair out enough so it isn't tangled and put a small amount of mascara on. I can worry about all that fancy stuff on the drive or even when we get there. When I feel I'm all good to go, I make my way over to the chair and throw some socks on, and of course my jacket: the gorgeous blue one Eric bought for me. Then, I slip on my boots and gently pull the curtains back. Bright sunlight immediately floods the room, and Eric groans. He finally wakes and rubs his eyes.

"Man, that's bright."

"Sorry, hon. It is past nine, so I thought I should probably wake you so you have some time before we have to leave."

"It's alright. I guess that's a good idea. I mean there's no harm in getting some sleep on the bus."

"Yeah. I was just about to head down to the lobby and get something to eat. If you get showered and dressed real quick, I'll wait for you. Or I can just grab you something and bring it back if you want."

"That's fine, just give me about 10 minutes and I'll go with you."

"Alright," I reply.

He gets up and kisses me, then makes his way to the shower. I wait out in the bedroom part of our small hotel room, sitting on the big cushioned chair in the corner. I stare out the window and down at the world below. I watch the people pass on the sidewalks; I watch them drive by in their cars. And I just think about the fact that I was just like one of them a couple months ago. And now it seems as if I never lived an ordinary life. Now, I'm living a much, much different life than I did. Even though we were on the path to a professional career, it was incredibly different than how it is now. And I do admit, at times I miss my boring ordinary life, but I love what it has become because of all this. I could not ask for anything more than a life like this. I guess we really were made for the wild life, because it honestly feels more familiar than anything else has in the past.

Eric comes out, and he takes notice of me absently staring into the distance. He rests a hand on my shoulder. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Just thinking is all."

"Oh okay good. Wanna go get something to eat?"

"Yeah, that'd be good." I stand and follow him out the door of our room.

He takes my hand and we stride to the elevator. I press the down button and we wait in silence. The dull tone sounds and the doors open, signaling us to enter. We step in and I punch the button for the first floor. The ground beneath us shifts as we begin to descend, the numbers counting down on the display as we pass each level. Finally the familiar dull tone sounds, the elevator lurches to a stop, and the doors slide open. We walk out and gaze over the rows of tables. I easily recognize the curly brown hair belonging to a person sitting towards the far end of the room. He turns to face us as he hears the elevator, and smiles. We walk over to him and sit down.