The tie that binds…
Within seconds of the drive home, even before reaching the end of the covered parking lot, Nick was sound asleep. I shook my head; of course he falls asleep just in time to pay for the parking. Why on earth did airports make you pay to park there anyway? It made no sense to me at all, I mean it’s not like we weren’t already going to be dishing out a ton of money for the trip to begin with right? Or that these people who got conned into picking their friends or family up weren’t already inconvenienced enough. No, to make it worse you have to come get me at an airport and then pay to leave the airport.
Of course once I paid I became madder because it cost me $5.00! I parked in the lot for all of ten minutes. What a rip-off!
I grabbed for my cell to give Rok a call to let him know that finally we were on the way to the hotel. Nick had taken my jacket and wrapped it around himself as he slept so I had to carefully go in the pocket while it was wrapped around him, to find my phone.
“Quit that!” He giggled when I finally found it under his stomach, I couldn’t get to it of course, no because that would have been too easy. I really didn’t want to wake him up, he was grouchy and whiny and for some reason I didn’t want his grand entrance to look like this. I was hoping he’d look vibrant and refreshed and not the way I had pictured him so many times when I found myself randomly worrying about him.
And I did worry about him, a lot.
“Nick I need my phone.”
“Uh huh” He swatted at my hand not really listening to me at all.
“Move, I need my phone.”
“Can’t you get it later?”
“No I can’t get it later, just move off of it for a second.” He finally shifted his weight as he opened his eyes and sighed.
I grabbed the jacket from him and picked the phone out of the pocket. Handing the jacket back to him, “Sorry, sleep… go ahead.”
“Nah, if I fall asleep now you’d have to carry me up to the room.”
“Okay then stay awake because that’s not happening.” He shifted in his seat and pulled his fingers through his hair.
“Thanks for coming to pick me up AJ.” He said right before yawning.
“Not a problem, really if you feel like you need to sleep go ahead, my guess is we have about another good half an hour before we get there.”
“Are they mad I didn’t call?”
“Not mad, they were just worried that’s all. I was going to call Brian now; you can instead if you want.”
“Nah that’s okay I’ll let you call.” He placed his head on the window once again.
“What time did you get to bed last night?”
“6 in the morning,” He said as he shifted his body to get more comfortable.
“Jesus Nick…”
“I was out with Tommy Lee; I knew it would probably be one of the last times we’d get to hang before we did this thing.”
“But still…”
“It’s not like you haven’t ever done anything like that before.”
He had a point and he knew that I couldn’t argue with it. Even though I wanted to, so I kept my mouth shut as once again he dosed off. When I heard the snores, I finally dialed Brian and groaned when I saw the stand still traffic ahead.
“Hello?”
“Hey!”
“I thought you’d be here by now.”
“Sorry, I made a stop to pick up a blonde.”
“Uh…”
“Relax man, I’m talking about Nick.”
“You picked him up? Where?”
“Airport.”
“We found the missing Nick…” I heard Rok say to the room, I was hoping he wasn’t talking to himself but smiled when I heard Howie say hallelujah.
“So where are you guys then?”
“Stuck in traffic.”
He laughed and I groaned.
“We are never ever going to get there.”
“How is he?” Brian asked, he was always so worried about Nick but yet never picked up the phone to call him. I never understood that. If you are so concerned, how about letting him know that because he probably needed to know, just like I did.
I talked to Brian a lot during the hiatus, he actually become my second sponsor in a lot of ways. I just kind of naturally found myself relating most to him nowadays, as opposed to the earlier ones when his lack of partying and going out made next to no sense to me. We really became close. I would sometimes call and at last minute’s notice, find myself heading out to Georgia to hang out with them all. I loved his little family almost as much as he did.
Whenever talk would come up of Nick, which frequently did, I always made the suggestion that he give the kid a call. He would shrug it off and say, “He doesn’t want me to nag him.” And that would be that.
I knew differently, see? I think during the time off I became the tie that binds everyone else together. I spoke to everyone during our time off and more than once or twice a month. Now that I was sober I found myself really caring and thinking about these people and I wanted them to know it as well.
The thing is, when I would call they would always ask me, “So how is Kevin?”
“What’s Howie up to?”
“How’s Brian?”
“Have you talked to Nicky?”
And it always baffled me because I know if they were thinking about me, I would love to know that. It really did make no sense.
“Earth to Bone?” That’s when I realized I never answered his question.
“He’s tired, he went to bed really late last night and truthfully he looks like crap.” There was silence on the other end, just like I knew there would be.
“Oh,” He finally said.
“We’re going to be stuck here for a bit, seems like there has been an accident or something.”
“Sorry about that, I bet you’re tired of driving huh?”
“Hell yes.”
“At least you probably got a kick ass car right?” I hesitated, knowing now that Nick saw this thing; any hopes of hiding it were futile.
“Yeah real kick ass.”
“We just ordered some food; do you want us to save you some?”
“We are going to find a drive thru I think, I’m so hungry I could eat a cow.”
“Happy cow hunting.” I laughed at his corny joke.
“Thanks, tell everyone we say howdy.”
“Will do and see ya soon.”
I hung up and sighed, we definitely were not going anywhere anytime soon. People were getting out of their cars and sitting on their hoods which I took as anything but a good sign.
So I shut the car off and got out myself, grabbing my cigarettes and sitting on my hood as I smoked and watched the police cars make their way through the traffic.
“Looks like something is going on out there.” I glanced over at Brian who was now standing near the window staring out as he held the curtain at bay.
“Like what?” That was enough to peek my interest, so I made my way closer.
“Maybe that’s the accident that’s holding them up?”
“Maybe...” I replied, “I think that might be the highway they’re on.”
“If that’s the case they’ll be there for a long time.”
I shrugged, “well then seems like this reunion is going just as we all expected it would.” Both Kevin and Brian laughed as I placed my legs up on the coffee table.
We all looked tired and ready for bed, but it was still so early, funny what traveling could do to a person, especially when you weren’t all that used to it. I admit I haven’t really done all that much traveling since we stopped touring. I mean a vacation here or there and an occasional trek across coasts but they were few and far between.
I tended to stay around my family, hanging in Florida and spending all the time in the world with the people I most cared about.
“So what’s the plan for tomorrow? Or do we not have one yet?” They both looked over at me.
“I guess tomorrow we brain storm, talk about album direction and just catch each other up.” Kevin said popping a pretzel into his mouth.
“When do we get the studio?”
“Day after tomorrow.” Brian replied, biting on his nails, a habit that he will never outgrow.
“Cool, I’m looking forward to getting back in the studio.” And I was. While away from the guys, I got into the habit of jotting down as many lyrics as possible, whether they were on the backs of napkins or in a notebook. Once I even wrote a few lines down on a roll of toilet paper. Hey, sometimes inspiration comes when you least expect it.
I’ll keep that one to myself though.
My goal was to grow as a writer because let’s face it; playing an instrument never much suited me. Yeah I fool around with the guitar on occasion but for some reason I just can’t sing and play at the same time. Lyrics, I have a gift for, and I’m really hoping the guys will agree. I’d love it if some of my songs made it onto the album. That would mean the world to me.
“I did quite a bit of writing…” I decided to blurt out, nodding my head.
“So did I.” Kevin responded. “I’m not all that happy with some of my stuff though, I think a lot of it needs work.”
“I didn’t have all that much time to write really, well not stuff for us anyway.” Brian was working on a Christian record when the final decision was made to go ahead with this album. I almost felt bad for him, since he was the one that initiated use getting together in the first place. I don’t think he realized at the time he’d have to make a choice. I wonder if that would have made him rethink this reunion?
“I’m sure AJ and Nicky have ideas too, it’ll be interesting to see what happens you know?”
They both nodded at me and just for a second I became uncomfortable. My sister Polly sat me down a few days before I boarded the plane to come here, and told me not to let them push me in the back this time around. Pollyanna loves the guys with all her heart but sometimes she feels like they don’t consider me as much of a group member as they do each other, that I am the one that can be pushed aside if the need arose.
I can’t totally argue with that one, because there were many times I found myself annoyed by that very fact. Never getting solos, never getting to answer some of the questions on interviews, one of them always was stepping on my lines in commercials and stuff like that. Yeah, I know I sound jealous but it used to get to me.
Now I plan on standing my ground, if they don’t think my voice would fit a certain song that’s fine but I expect an explanation. No more ‘it’s for the best D.’
“Where is our food?” Brian asked looking at his watch.
“Good question, maybe I’ll call down to the lobby and…” Then there was the knock at the door.
I stood up, “I’ll get it.”
They both looked very excited and I admit I was kind of happy too.
“Room service!” The kid behind the door said and we all cheered like idiots.
“I would kill for some room service right about now.” AJ was talking to me again, even though my eyes were closed and I was pretending to be happily asleep, he still felt the need to blabber on and on endlessly. I wonder if he did the same thing at home. I can see him carrying on a full conversation with a potted plant or something.
“Good lord are we ever going to get off of this highway?” He was tapping his fingers against the steering wheel. How did I know this? I could here that skull ring of his hitting with every tap.
Tap tap tap. Tap tap tap.
“I want a Big Mac, yeah that’ll do it a nice juicy Big Mac with everything on it and some fries.”
“Will you shut the hell up already?” I didn’t mean to snap, but if I haven’t already mentioned it, I had a huge headache. I mean it was in danger of turning into a full blown migraine at any minute.
“Well Jesus Christ, I’m sorry…go back to sleep my prince.”
“Sorry AJ, I didn’t mean to snap, I feel like crap.” I said opening my eyes and forcing myself to wake up.
“Jesus have we moved at all?” I asked in disbelief. It appeared as if we were right where we were when I had fallen asleep in the first place.
“Not much, I was sitting out on the hood smoking for a good twenty minutes before we started to crawl forward.”
“Shit.”
“Yes, shit indeed.” That made me laugh.
AJ looked so great, the last time I saw him I almost couldn’t believe it. There is just this other layer to him that never existed before. Dare I say happiness? I wish I had that layer, maybe one day.
“I am so hungry, you don’t happen to have any munchies in your bag do you?” I shook my head at him.
“Sorry I had M&M’s but I ate them while waiting for you.”
“I see Golden arches over yonder, but at this point I would be able to walk to them faster.”
“Sounds like a plan, I’ll take a number two.”
He grunted, “You should walk, we are in this traffic because I picked your lost ass up at the airport.”
“AJ, we are on a busy highway, I’m not walking to the next exit for McDonald’s” I think he was only kidding but you never know with AJ so I had to put my foot down.
“Did you drink all night?” Whoa! Okay that came out of nowhere.
“You mean alcohol?”
“You really are a blonde aren’t you?”
“At least I have hair.”
“Touché…so?”
“I drank a little but not all night.”
“So what does one do when one goes out and parties with Tommy Lee until 6 in the morning?”
This other layer of AJ I was talking about also had its bad points. There was a very Kevin-like air about him sometimes. That tinge of I need to lecture you while we’re sitting here with nothing better to do.
I wasn’t about to tell him that Tommy had gone home by 2 at the latest. After he left, I called Bean and a few others and then we went out and clubbed until they closed. I was drunk as a skunk, I know this but again I also realized that it would be the last time I could go out carefree and party.
“We just hung out and listened to music.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“So you stayed up all night talking about music. Did you have a pajama party or something?”
“Yeah we played patty cake, did each other’s nails and then made some prank phone calls. It was the bomb!”
“Too bad I missed it. I can use a manicure.” I shook my head. It’s sad that he wasn’t even kidding about the manicure part. He now paints his nails, a new habit but again I guess anything is better than what he did before right?
“Next time I’ll make sure we invite you.”
“So he gave you keys to his house?” I couldn’t help but feel proud again. I know I’m a geek but this was a big deal to me. No one this cool had even bothered to acknowledge me before.
“Yup, he told me I could chill there until I found a place of my own. He’s coming down in about a week.”
“To check up on you?” I rolled my eyes out of habit.
“No! Not to check up on me, to hang and do some stuff with the Crue.”
“The Crue? As in Motley?”
“Yup that’s the Crue I’m talking about.”
“Do you hang with them too?” Was there a note of jealousy in his voice? I was really enjoying this.
“No, I’ve never met them but I will next week.”
“I don’t know how Kevin’s going to feel about you hanging out with Motley Crue.”
“Kevin’s going to want to come.” Because we all knew Kevin was a wannabe metal head.
“I think that would be a good idea.”
“When did you become a grandpa AJ?” He pffted at me.
“I am not a grandpa, I just worry that’s all. And you know you love it so stop acting like you don’t.”
I sighed but smiled, he knew me to well and was one of the few, if not only people who would call me out on that.
“Oh my God it’s a fucking miracle…we’re moving!” He said getting all excited. I have to admit I got all excited too.
“Now we get to eat…I’m so excited…lalalala” I looked at him with one eyebrow raised.
“That’s my, we get to eat song.”
“Very special.”
“I know,” He said finally getting on the ramp and getting us off the God forsaken highway.
Thanks as always for the feedback. You guys rock and i'm glad you're enjoying this one :O) I'll be back next Monday with a new chapter!
