“Mom, can you give us a moment first, please?” I reach for her shoulder.
“Come on, Carla, let’s give the kid some space. And anyway, we need to go find Paul and sort out replacing our tickets.” My dad motions her away as she releases Christopher.
“Why do you need to replace your tickets?” I ask, letting out a sigh. I already know about my mom’s penchant for helping fans out. They beg and plead with her to help get tickets or pass on fan mail to me. She’s always been a sucker for a sob story.
“Your mom gave them away to some actress at the box office outside.” My dad shakes his head in disbelief.
“Yeah, poor woman, was meant to be on the guest list, but it seems Paul left her off.”
My heart leaps into my throat.
“Please tell me you only gave her your tickets and not your backstage passes too?” My gaze quickly darts to both my parents’ chests to ensure they have their triple-A passes on them. My ass cheeks clench together.
“No. Why?” My mom’s quizzical expression does nothing to abate the rising fear inside me.
I take a deep breath and motion Rob over with my hand.
“We’ve got an issue,” I say, looking at my mom. “They’ve given Rita their tickets.” Rob bends down to hear my lowered voice, noticing my hand playing with my watch.
“Shouldn’t we have? She seemed so genuine.” My mom’s voice trembles.
Rob bites his lip. I hear an exhale coming from his nose.
“Okay. Leave it with me.” He nods and escorts my parents away to ask them questions.
And this is why I tell her not to be so helpful.
“Sorry about that,” I say, shaking away the irritation and thetension in my shoulders. I file the issue of Rita away in the back of my mind. Rob’s got a grip on that now.
Christopher starts to speak, but Kelly gets in before him.
“Does everyone in here work for you?” she asks, her gaze taking in the various huddles of people in the room.
“Pretty much,” I say, grabbing another handful of candy.
Thankfully, I’m locked away in my dressing room most of the time. It can be lonely there, but it provides some peace. It’s a space where people aren’t bothering me.
“Is it always like this backstage?” She reaches for the bowl of candy, but stops when she notices the plaque. “Wow, this is so cool. Can I?” She puts her hands on either side of it to lift it up.
“Sure,” I say, smiling as she lifts it up to study it.
“She’s an art teacher, a sucker for design work.” Christopher says.
“You can have it if you want?”
I’m so keen to make a good first impression that I feel myself overcompensating to win her approval. As if giving her this plaque will buy me some brownie points.
“I couldn’t possibly, it’s yours.” She puts the plaque back down on the bar.
“I’ve got hundreds of these back home. Honestly, you’ll be doing me a favor.”
If my mom won’t take it, at least it can go to good use elsewhere.
“Told you I should have brought a bigger bag!” Kelly elbows Christopher as she smiles and thanks me.
“Shall we head somewhere a little quieter?” I offer, starting to feel claustrophobic. It’ll be quieter back at my dressing room, and that way I can get to know Kelly and spend time with both of them without prying eyes watching my every move.
“Sure,” Christopher says, nodding.
