Nelson On Tour: A Growing Up Nelson Short

Move That Bus!

By 2pm daddy and his crew were already on board the bus getting ready for the next city. We usually don't leave this late to get to another stop but daddy and uncle Morris thought that it was a good idea to treat crew to breakfast and a late lunch before getting on the road.

"Good afternoon ladies and gents! Let me just say that I've never been more pleased and elated to be with such a.......magnificent group of well dressed and dapper people in all my life. I want to thank you for this opportunity to take this trip on this royal purple bus to the promise land!" Morris said as he took a big bow before putting on those ridiculous big slatted glasses.

"Morris! Sit yo old ass down somewhere! Nobody wants to listen to you jaw jacking the whole ride!" Uncle Andre yelled from the back of the bus as he burst into a fit of laughter.

The rest of the group joined in laughing as Uncle Morris scrunched up his face in anger and found an empty seat to flop himself down in. My dad passed the swear can that my he somehow managed to pack in his bag of beauty products back to Uncle Andre.

"You know what you need to do. $25. Drop it in there." Dad said with a stern face.

"P don't be actin like you don't let a few profanities slip every now and then my guy!" Uncle Andre joked as he pulled out his wallet and pulled out a clean crisp twenty dollar bill and five singles.

He took the money and stuffed it in the can and tossed the can up to Tony who was just two seats behind me and Joey.

"Nice catch Tony!" Joey said excited as he watch him stuff the can back in my dads bag.

"Thanks kid! Back when I was your age I was a third baseman in on my little league team back home." He said.

"I thought this was your home!" Joey exclaimed.

"Well it is now but before I was hired to work with you dad years ago I used to coach the team in Miami where I'm from."

I was kinda surprised to find out that Tony was a Floridian. I was more interested in hearing his story.

"Sooooo......will you be going back to see your girls?" I asked him as I turned and put my knees in my seat to face him and give him my full attention.

I can tell Tony was missing his kids because he paused for a second with a smile and then shook his head. His eyes found mine and his smile got bigger.

"I always miss my girls when I'm not at home. I see a lot of them in you. Well.....when you don't drive me crazy." He joked.

"Hey! Not cool!" I laughed as I tried to swing and hit him gently.

Of course he dodged me as he laughed and sat back in his seat.

  "I know! Kinda like how you act isn't cool but then I don't get all wound up about it because your spunk reminds me so much of my oldest girl and your laugh reminds me of my baby girl that I don't seem to mind I so much. I just learn to.....go with the flow. You know?"

I guess I can see now why Tony puts up with all of my antics. It's because he misses his girls from working so much. But then it made me even more curious.

  "So wait! Why would you take a job all the way in the Midwest if your life is on the east coast? I mean I get you work for my dad but even I wouldn't wanna be away from my family for all this time. What makes you not wanna.....you know.....quit and go home?"

Tony looked up at me and the smile on his face was more confusing than his actual reasoning for working here.

  "Well! Back when I got hired I wasn't even married. Kids were even in my future! I was young and just graduating college with a law degree and was about to ride my little five speed bike to the financial aid office on the campus when a man came up out of nowhere and started shouting at me to SLOW DOWN! For a second I thought..... who is this clown and who told him he was the boss of my life?!?! So I slammed on the breaks and turned to find this.....weirdly well dressed man in a champagne suite with matching heels coming up to me with a smile on his face and a brimmed hat on. He was carrying a cane but he could walk just fine. In my mind I thought he was a pimp trying to get me to join him in his snack a hoe tribe. But surprisingly I was wrong. He took off his hat and flashed me a smile and asked me where was I off to in such a rush. I was a stuttering mess when I found out it was P. I was able to tell him that I was about to apply for financial aid so I can start working on my undergrad when he scoffed and rolled his eyes and shook his head. He pulled me off my bike and dragged me to his limo shouting not today you're not! Your gonna be my bodyguard starting right now! I was like whoa buddy what are you talking about you don't even know me! He said yes I do! I saw you take down that guy trying to rob the store across the way over there. And he pointed over to the coffee spot that I was at just days prior when some....goofball tried to hold up the register. He pulled a knife out on the girl from my physics class and I just got up from the table and took him down from behind. I had no idea that Prince was even in town! From that day on I was Prince's muscle."

  "You mean to tell me.....that you just took the job and didn't even question it?!?!? Like didn't ask how much it paid or none of that!?!?!?" I asked stunned.

  "He just told me that he was gonna pay my way through school and then I would start on a paid salary afterwards once I graduated. I finished and got my degree like he instructed and then the follow year I started getting paid the big bucks and then when we toured Miami I met this pretty little philly with a heart of gold  at an after party. The rest was history!"

  "Dude......wow!" Was all I could say because this was definitely one of those stories that even if I told it nobody would believe me.

  "Yep! I miss my family but I get to take vacations and go home for a few weeks at a time or fly them out here to see me.  Scheduling is difficult but....we make it work."

I just couldn't believe it. Tony spends more time with me and Joey that he does with his own girls! Daddy......I'm shocked and appalled! And he says he's all about family by Tony barely sees his?!?!? I could feel myself getting very angry and hurt for Tony.

  "Carly? You cool?" I heard Tony ask.

  "Yeah. Yeah I'm cool." I said as my eyes slowly drifted off to look at my dad in the back of the bus who was reading a book in his own little world.

The more I looked the more I could feel old Carlyn trying to escape. I couldn't stand it anymore. Turning myself back around I dropped in my seat and crossed my arms agains my chest. Joey tapped me on my shoulder worried.

  "Are you ok Carly? I know that look and that look means you wanna punch something." He asked.

  "Not something. SomeONE. And his name is Prince." I huffed.

Joeys confusion showed in his eyes and he was about to say something but I just threw my headphones on and turned my music up loud enough to drown out the background noise and keep my anger from boiling over. This trip began to suck again.