Josh's Destiny

Chapter 16

Destiny was surprised at how fast four months could go, but here they were, gearing up for a very ambitious tour of North America. Josh had been right; everybody wanted to book Greta Van Fleet. They had two dates to play in most states and a festival thrown in here and there. And they were promoting a new album and had numerous interviews coming up. This was the kind of tour that proved the mettle of the man. Destiny just hoped Josh wasn't biting off more than he could chew.

The villa was beautiful with gardens, both sculpted and wild, and a pool and Jacuzzi. She was put in charge of decorating the place, except for the lower level (the place had three), because that was Josh's "man cave". The group spent much of their time downstairs practicing.

Destiny spent much of her time cooking, baking mostly. Since Sam, Jake, and Danny moved in with them, she was used to making big meals. Danny and Sam ate like horses and she couldn't see why they gained no weight, but they didn't. Josh and Jake tended to run a bit heavy and had to watch how much they consumed.

Destiny had decorated the villa with tons of greenery. Flowering plants, miniature trees, and vines with huge leaves. The house smelled earthy and Destiny had installed a rock garden in one corner of the great room. She meditated there every morning. And she learned her art there. Or rather, she re-learned it.

She was careful not to let Josh know what she was doing and she had charmed his medallion against harm to him before she gave it to him. She could feel the power growing within her, but still, she was very reluctant to use it. Destiny had a green thumb with plants, and she could sometimes heal sick animals. She knew, sometimes, when a woman was pregnant, or when a child was sick. But what good was it to intuit these things? She never acted upon them. But still, she studied every chance she got and her power grew.

But, even as the feeling grew in her, she knew she could never do a living soul harm, even to save herself. So, she would have to do what she could and learn as much as she could, because she knew a time would come when she would need all she had learned.

But now, here she was, standing in the boarding line for her flight to New York. Home. She felt the trepidation, but she was excited too. Josh pushed close to her. "Excited?" he asked and she nodded. It was a marvel to her that no one around them seemed to recognize the band. But, they weren't in "rock star" mode and looked and acted like everyone else. They were even flying business class. First class was just too expensive for now, and they refused to let the record company foot the bill. After all, they weren't "that other band" just yet.

"I arranged a room at the Plaza. I hope that's okay. Course, every fan will know where we are, it's like they have their own telegraph system or something."

"Do you like that?" Destiny asked as she stepped up to the airline employee checking boarding passes. The airline attendant waved her through and she waited for Josh. They walked down the ramp and into the plane being shown the way to their seats. Josh was seated and belted in before he answered.

"Well, yes and no" he said. She looked at him and he shrugged his shoulders. "To begin with, it's great but as the tour goes on, it gets to be a bit much, you know?"

Destiny shook her head. "No, I'm not a star, no one knows me from Adam. But, someone always clamoring for a picture or an autograph, well, that's one of the prices of fame."

He nodded. "Yeah. Darlin', I want some sleep, is that okay?" Josh folded his hand over Destiny's. "Of course. I'll just read." Destiny tried to pull her hand away to get her book, but Josh wouldn't relinquish his hold on her. And with a start, Destiny realized Josh was already mostly asleep.

Jake was sitting behind her. "Get use to that" he said leaning over the seat. "Josh has learned to sleep when and where he can."

"So fast?" Destiny questioned and Jake nodded. "Amazing" she breathed. The plane began its taxi to the runway, and then Destiny heard the powerful engines ramp up for take-off. When they were airborne, she finally got her book out one-handed.