Officially TikTok famous, she said.Told you.
River opened TikTok and navigated to his inbox. Then he closed it again, because that was too many messages to deal with.
Great, he said.Now what?
Now I post the next song, dummy. Enjoy your tour. We can talk solo strategy when you’re back.
New Wheels for the Flat Tires?
Posted in r/music/flattires/
May 8
Okay, I need someone to tell me I’m crazy.
I’ve been reading all the coverage of the Flat Tires tour leading up to the concert I can finally make it to (the second show in Atlanta). I’ve watched so much video. And I’m so hyped, because Ward, Eric, and River are putting out performances like I’ve never seen before, night after night.
It’s not like I don’t know they’re all insanely talented, but it seems like there’s something more in every show. They did ‘Buzzards’ in Cleveland. They haven’t played that live in ten years. It seems like they’re pulling out one of the older less-played songs at the end of every show, and they’ve never done the same one twice.
I’ve been a Flat Tires fan for over a decade, and I can’t remember them ever doing something like this before. It’s great to see, but I can’t help but wonder why they’re doing it. It has to mean something, right? What do you think? Maybe they’re going to rerecord some of their older stuff for a new album? A guy can hope, right?
“And you’retotally sure you want to do this,” Tori asked for the fortieth time.
“Oh my God.” Jem pulled her into a tight hug. “I am going to be fine.”
“Who said I was worried about you?” she countered, voice muffled by his shoulder. “If Ivy goes into labor while you’re gone, I am going to panic.”
“Oh, so the truth comes out.” He pressed a kiss to her cheek. “She’s not due for more than a month, Tori. Deep breaths. You’re gonna be fine.”
Groaning, she finally pulled away. “Says the guy who doesn’t get sent on eleven PM creamsicle runs.”
“That’s literally what DoorDash is for.” He took a step back and adjusted his garment bag on his shoulder. “Enjoy your last few weeks of quiet while you can. I’ll be back Monday night.”
School had let out on Wednesday. Honestly, Jem wasalmostglad River was on tour, because he hadn’t had anything to keep him from report cards. Well, anything other than his stubborn will to live.
And now it was Friday morning and Tori and Jem were at the airport so Jem could fly to South Carolina for Andrew’s wedding.
Life came at you fast.
“Go on, get out of here,” he encouraged. “You know how much worse traffic’s going to be if you wait.”
“Ugh, I hate that you’re right. And also that I’m the friend who will drive your ass to the airport.”
As if Jem wasn’t the one returning the favor every time she and Ivy went on vacation. “I’ll get a cab home,” he promised. “Now go!”
It had been almost a decade since Jem had been on a plane, but the routine was familiar enough after years of “family” vacations with Andrew and his parents. Jem found his seat, settled in, and slipped his noise-canceling headphones over his ears. He was working his way through the Discworld catalog on audiobook, as a way to distract himself. With school done for theyear and River out of town and Tori and Ivy preparing for their new addition, he’d been at loose ends.
For the first time in a long time, he didn’t need to get another job to keep solvent through the summer. He wasn’t any more used to having time off than he was to having disposable income.
If this kept up, he’d have to start saving for retirement.
Reaper Mangot him all the way to Charleston and through baggage claim before his headphones died. He pulled them down around his neck, took out his phone to call a cab, and then—
“Jem!”
—his mom showed up.
Jem hadn’t seen his mother in person since his college graduation. Given how strained things between them became after the whole “you’ve actually known your father all your life” reveal, it probably wasn’t surprising. He still kept in touch with phone calls, texts, and emails, but not with frequency or regularity.
