“Right over here, Mr. and Mrs. Cash! I hope you didn’t hear theyour momjoke I made. I was only fooling around, hah. Do you like rock music?”
“We only listen to country music,” the mom said. “And classical.”
“Oh.” Milo glanced over his shoulder at us. “That’s, uh, cool. Really cool. I like classical, too. Especially… Beethoven? He’s one of them, right? The dude, not the dog. Haha.”
Riot and Violet followed him into the dressing room. Violet was already apologizing for Milo’s lack of people skills.
“Sorry for going behind your back,” I said, but I was still smiling.
Cash narrowed his green eyes at me. “I’d be mad, except it actually worked. I don’t have any idea how you convinced them to come, but I’m really glad you did.”
“I kind of screamed at them through their front door. The whole neighborhood was watching. Until they appeared backstage, I thought I had failed.”
Cash wrapped me in a tight hug and didn’t let go. His chest rose and fell against mine, his breath stirring my hair and tickling the side of my neck.
“Thank you,” he whispered. “This means more to me than you can ever know.”
“Write a song about me, and we’re even,” I joked.
“I don’t write any of our songs. But for you?” He smiled. “I’ll try.”
We were originally supposed to leave Detroit the next morning, but Cash rearranged our plans so that we could stay an extra day and night. This meant delaying our next hotel stay in Chicago, but none of us minded.
Cash was like a different person the next day. He wore a permanent smile, which flared extra bright every time he looked at me. Even Milo commented on his change in demeanor.
“I just hope he doesn’t lose his bass-playing skill,” Riot said. “Sometimes the best art comes from the darkest places.”
“Plenty of art comes from places of joy, too,” I argued.
“True.”
That night, we all went to Cash’s house for dinner. It was strange to be invited inside after having the door slammed in my face the previous day, but I quickly put that aside and gave the Delaneys a second chance.
“It’s a shame you’re not in town longer,” Cash’s mom said while we sat around the dinner table eating dessert. “Your sister is visiting this weekend. I know she’d love to see you.”
“Jennifer and I still keep in touch,” Cash replied. “I saw her a few months ago when we played a show in Ann Arbor.”
“Oh.” Mrs. Delaney pursed her lips into a straight line. “I see.”
The implication hung heavily in the air: they had broken off contact with Cash, but his sister had not. It made their stubbornness stand out.
“Forget about it,” Cash said, gently rubbing his mom on the back. “Jennifer will be thrilled to know you guys have gotten over your hangups about my career.”
“I just didn’t understand what it is youdo,” his dad said. “I pictured you playing music in dive bars, with only a few people listening. I didn’t think you could make a living doing it, let alone fill entire arenas!”
Milo said, “That still surprises me too, sir.”
Violet gave a start. “I think that’s the first time you’ve ever called someonesir.”
“Nuh uh. I say it all the time.”
“No, you don’t.”
“I do too!”
“Children, be quiet in front of the grown ups,” Riot said.
“Yeah, be quiet,” Violet said.
