Perfect Pet

Ch. 26: Let's be Honest

"Guess what I found?"

It was a Saturday afternoon and I'd decided to call River just to catch up. It had been a minute and his tour was about to wrap up in the next few months so he was starting to have more free time, the band planning on taking a short hiatus before beginning work on the new album. Sometimes it was nice to talk about the daily activities that happened at Rigryce without any big revelations and hear what life was like on the road for him and how his performances had gone.

"What?" River asked in mock excitement. "Don't tell me. The lost city of Atlantis?" I felt myself scowl at the sarcasm even though he couldn't see me. In the time apart, I'd forgotten that he could be a decent smartass when he felt like it.

"It's the interview you did for Lumi magazine last year," I said, flipping through the pages until I found the right one. An image of all four members topped the page, huddled together giving playful yet seductive smiles at the camera in classic boy band fashion.

It was a good photo even if a little bland.

"Ah, I forgot about that. The very first one we ever did."

"Yep and you can tell." I read through some of the questions the interviewer had asked and their responses, snickering to myself the whole time.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing. What's your inspiration when writing music? To connect the world in a way that's deeper than words." I alternated between a higher-pitched and deeper voice to distinguish who I was mimicking. "Really, River?"

A pained groan filtered down the line. "I was nervous, okay? And I think Dez answered that one." Dez was the band's guitarist and River's best friend since forever. They'd been cooking up the plan to be a band since Dez starting playing an instrument in elementary school and River found out he could sing.

Mom had never liked him, referring to him as the hooligan because of his shaggy hair and eyebrow piercing, which I think only egged River on. He'd always been a firmly don't judge a book by its cover type of guy and his group of friends back in high school had reflected that. She'd never been able to do much since, despite his looks, Dez did well in school and never got into any trouble. Dad had loved him and had taken every opportunity to sit down and talk with him since he always had such a unique view of things.

"Uh-huh, sure." I honestly believed it, Dez was known for his big mouth, but it was too much fun teasing him.

"You know how he is. His brain and mouth don't get along." River's annoyance was undermined by affection as he talked about his best friend. "Anyway, I can't believe you kept that all this time and even brought it with you to school."

"Of course I did. It was one of your first big milestones and I wanted something to mark it by." I trailed a hand down the page, in awe of how much had changed in just a year. From performing in local clubs and doing interviews for a struggling magazine to being invited to some of the biggest stages in the world and going on the most-watched talk shows. "And it's small enough that I figured why not when I was packing." I held off telling him the part where I forgot I even had it, only finding it again because I was searching for a pair of shoes in the closet and decided to look through the suitcase on the top shelf while I was at it.

"I don't know why I'm so surprised. You were always a bit of a collector." He was referring to how I had always like to hold onto things I considered important, from pretty rocks I found to photos to things like the magazine. It wasn't big by any means, the urge that told me to do it selective, but it still meant a lot. Years of hard work and memories represented by what others would consider junk. School had kept me busy enough that I had managed not to think about all the things I couldn't bring along. Things that Mom had probably thrown away by now out of spite. My eyes stung as I tried to hold in tears, knowing that it was long gone. River must have realized his mistake because his next words were rushed in an effort to comfort me. "It's okay, Ed. Now you have the room to start an even bigger collection with nothing but good memories."