“Hey, Johnny. How’s the album coming?” My sister Jocelyn asks. “I haven’t much of anything about it from you. Or Travis.”
Finley glances at Jocelyn when she mentions Travis. I wonder where he is tonight, anyway.
“It’s going fairly well. We’re postponing the release a bit, since Denise is pregnant. And we’re working out whether she’ll be on the next tour with us. Or whether Ryder will be, for that matter.” I take a minute to explain that Denise and Ryder got married and they’ll be having a baby before the next tour starts. “Denise is looking to hire an assistant soon, so they have time to get the hang of things before the band gets too busy again.”
“What about you, Becca? Will you be going on tour with Johnny when he leaves?”
The question takes Becca by surprise, and she chokes on a bite of bread. She gets her coughing under control and looks at me, wide-eyed, before answering my sister.
“Oh, well. I don’t think so. I still have my business to run. And Johnny and I are just friends, so it might be a little weird to have me on tour.”
Jocelyn looks between me and Becca, eyebrows raised. “Just friends. Okay, sure.” She chuckles a little. “If I looked at my friends the way my brother looks at you, I’m sure my husband would have something to say about it.”
“Alright, Jocelyn. Stop teasing your brother,” Dad says. “Now, Becca and Johnny, tell me what you thought about that cream ale. Good, right?”
I look at Becca, checking to see if she’s okay. She nods and pats my leg under the table to reassure. We can talk more later, hopefully when she lets me come home with her.
“It was great, thanks Dad.”
“Yes, thank you,” Becca adds. “It’s been great having people to talk to about beer. None of my other friends like beer. Well, good beer anyway. My best friend Alex sometimes picks a winner, but that’s because she picks based on whether she likes the packaging, not because she spends any time looking for a good beer.”
Dad smiles. “Well, as I said before, you are welcome here anytime.”
Conversation starts up again around the table, so I turn to Becca. “Are you okay?” I whisper. “I’ve told them all we’re just friends. It appears that Jocelyn didn’t get the memo.”
“Yeah. It’s fine.”
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yes, Johnny. I’m fine. Drop it.”
Something tells me she’s not as fine as she says she is, though. I have a feeling that things are about to change.
