Limbo

Bring It On

DAWN:

January, 2015:

"Hey there! How was the show tonight?" I ask, as I sit cross-legged on my bed with my laptop, seeing Ash smiling back at me from the screen.

"Pretty damn great, actually," he announces. "The crowd was absolutely nuts, they were so loud a few times that we could barely hear ourselves. But it would be a lot better if you were here with me. I miss you, darlin'."

"I miss you, too. How long 'til you'll be back again?"

The band went out on their tour a couple of weeks after we got together, and except for the few days they were back for Christmas, I've only been able to see him on Skype. But we text, and talk on the phone at least once a day, so it's not as bad as it could be.

"We won't be back in LA until the middle of next month, and then it'll only be for about ten days before we go off to do the European shows," he replies.

"So you won't be here for your birthday next week? I thought that you had a few days off then."

He smiles again, and says, "That's one of the things that I wanted to discuss with you. Yeah, we have the twenty-sixth through the twenty-ninth off, but I'd already promised Nan and Pop that I'd come home and spend my birthday with them before I knew you were even in town."

"Well, I guess I can understand that," I tell him. "I'll get to see more of you when you do get back, so I can't begrudge them having you to themselves for a few days."

"Wait a sec, babe, I wasn't finished. I talked to them a couple of days ago, and they were kind of wondering when they were going to get to meet you. So I promised that I'd see if you might be interested in coming out. You can see the show in Kansas City, and then we can head to Berger the next morning, and spend a few days. So whaddya say? You can even bring your folks along, if you want. That way, everyone knows that I'm not just trying to get you alone in my hotel room."

"Ash, I've told you, I'm not worried about what anybody else thinks, I trust you. But I do have a job, remember?"

"Yes, I do, since I am your boss," he laughs. "So why don't we just consider it a business trip, and you can bring me those new sketches we talked about personally, instead of just leaving them on my desk until I get back. I'd really like to see you, and introduce you to my family. I kind of get the idea that they may think I've made you up."

"Oh, we can't have that, can we?" I giggle. "Of course I'll come, if you really want me to. I'd love to be able to give you your birthday gift in person, instead of mailing it, or having to wait 'til you get back."

"Terrific!" he enthuses. "Why don't you go find out if your family wants to come with, then call me, and I'll get started on the arrangements."

We close out the Skype session, and I go down to tell everyone about his idea. Jed and Aunt Wendy tell me that they won't be able to get out of work for that long, but rather surprisingly, after a fair amount of begging on her part, they agree to let Evie miss a few days of school and go with me. I call to tell him what we've decided, and he gets on his laptop while we're still on the phone to book our flight, and asks their tour manager to arrange for an extra hotel room in Kansas City.

Then Evie comes to my room and wants to know what she should pack, and he explains that his family home is in sort of a rural area, kind of like ours was, so we'll want stuff like jeans, T-shirts, and walking-type shoes instead of heels, plus whatever we want to wear to the concert. She's very excited when he mentions that they have horses, and runs back downstairs to tell the folks while I say goodbye to Ash, and wonder how I'm going to endure the next two days before we leave.