Standing By

Par-tay!

(Tim)

My mouth fell open in shock as the girl bent over at the waist, throwing her arms onto the makeshift table and sobbing loudly.  Everybody—fans, security, the rest of Home Free—turned to us.

    "What did you do to her?" Rob demanded.

    I threw my hands in the air.  "Damned if I know!"

    Greene, looking harried, ran over to us.  "Tim!  Miss!  Is there a problem?"

    "Clearly!" I snapped as the girl continued to weep into her arms.  "Part of the problem is, I don't know what the problem is!"

    She lifted her head about an inch to look at me with watery brown eyes.  "Tim.  How could you?"

    "How could I what?" I asked, trying to pick her head up out of her arms.  "What're you talking about?"

    She pointed a slender finger at me, tapping my hand with a long pink fingernail.  I picked it up and looked at it.  Seemed perfectly fine to me.  I wiggled my fingers a little for good measure.  Yep, a perfectly good, well-functioning hand.

    "You're...," she sniffled, wiping at her eyes.  "You're not wearing it."

    "What?"  I wasn't wearing something?  I glanced down at myself.  Shirt, check.  Pants, check (that'd be embarrassing).  I moved a foot out from under my chair.  Socks, check.  Shoes, check.  I couldn't see my underwear, but I was pretty sure I was wearing it.  Besides, even on the off chance I wasn't wearing it, how would she know?  Looking at her watching me, I shrugged, moving my hands out in an 'I don't know' gesture.  "Uh, miss?  What aren't I wearing?"

    Still actually crying over some oversight of mine, she took my left hand and tapped my ring finger lightly.

    I froze.  My ring.  I'd taken it off during O Come All Ye Faithful.  I wondered if Jenika had seen it.  If she'd seen that, there would definitely be wrath to endure.  OK, one thing at a time, chill, Foust.  Was this girl seriously this distressed over my lack of a wedding ring?  That's crazy.  Most girls are not shy to tell me they're disappointed that I am married.  As if I might actually take time off my busy schedule to date as many girls as possible.  I never have been that way.  My biggest problem in relationships was being friend-zoned and getting girls to actually take the leap into dating.  I'd really only had a few serious relationships in my life.  Jenika and I had been friends for a year before I managed to convince her to go on a date with me.  Now look where that's gotten me—married and unhappy.  No way was I telling this girl all that though.      "Oh, that?  Really?

    Wordlessly, she nodded, so I scooted forward in my seat and pulled it out of my jeans pocket.  "It was loose so I took it off earlier.  Gonna have to get it resized.  Don't want to lose it now!" I said with false brightness, slipping it back on my finger.  I could always take it off later.  I moved my thumb to it and wiggled it at her.  "See?  Loose."

    "Oh."  The girl finally smiled through her tears.  "OK.  I was afraid you and Jenika were fighting."

    "No, no, nothing like that," I said lightly, a little surprised at how easily I was lying.

    Austin caught my eye and rolled his skyward, shaking his head in disbelief.

    "Seriously?" the unknown security guard muttered.  "All that over whether or not Tim is wearing his wedding ring?"

    "I was concerned!" the girl snapped at him as I finished signing her CD.

    "It's all good," I assured her, passing the CD down to Austin.