I grabbed my phone and dialed his number. He answered on the second ring with a worried voice. I never called my dad, rarely texted him. Plus, he knew I was at work right now. As soon as I explained the situation, I could hear his laughter on the other end of the phone. He might be a pain in the ass, but the man and I shared the same sense ofhumor.
“Okay, Princess,” he said, when he’d finished laughing. “Go ahead and send Rainier home. I’ll call a locksmith and will be rightthere.”
“Thanks,dad.”
I hung up and told Rainier to go home, that my dad would betheresoon.
“Areyousure?”
“You’re the one who said you were tired. Besides, I’m surrounded by employees in other stores and mall cops. I’llbefine.”
He looked like he might argue, but reluctantly agreed. I watched him go, pulled out the book I’d been reading earlier, and waited for my dad toshowup.
ChapterTwelve
Rainier
At my last show,my parents asked Jenny if she would want to go out and celebrate my playing in The Band with a round of ice cream. It originally was supposed to happen earlier in the week, but working around so many different schedules proved more difficult than we imagined. We had to find something that worked for my parents, my sister and me, andJenny.
When we finally settled on a time, we all met at the small place in town. My parents treated us to a round of soft-serve. It was all verymetal.
I knew I shouldn’t complain. My parents loved me and wanted to celebrate my accomplishments. After watching the way Michelle behaved when she talked about her mom, I knew I haditeasy.
Even so, there was a level of embarrassment from being out with my folks, especially with Jenny tagging along. They dressed like they were straight out of Woodstock. My mom, in her long gypsy skirt, had been involved in a lengthy discussion with the younger guy working behind the counter, offering up her opinions about everything from sourcing organic milk for their ice cream to offering veganoptions.
This was River Valley, not California. Sometimes I wondered if my parents knew how different they were from most of our small town's otherinhabitants.
My dad eventually ordered vanilla cones for us and pulled her away from a very confused employee. We all sat at an outdoor tabletogether.
“So,” Jenny said around a bite of ice cream. “I heard that Owen has been trying to line up gigs inBoise.”
“Who’d you hear that from,” I asked. I was a member of the band, no matter how temporary. How was it that Jenny knew more about what was going on thatIdid?
“Owen mentioned it to Carter, who said something to Avery, who told Mitch, who told Gwen at The Farmhouse when I was eating there with mycousin.”
My eyes snapped to my Sarah. “Did youhearthat?”
My sister shrugged her shoulder. “Gwen might have said something to me when we were workingtogether.”
“I had no clue. Shouldn’t I know beforeyouguys?”
“Did you and Owen become best friends overnight?” Sarah started. “Last time I heard, he was a tool who treated youlikesh–”
“Sarah!” my mom gasped. “We have not raised you to talk about other people like that. We need to make every attempt to live in harmony with thosearoundus.”
“He made fun ofRainier.”
My mom’s response was a look of concern, while Jenny leaned forward in her seat. “What did he say?” She looked much less bothered. If I didn’t know how much she loved hearing about everyone else's drama, I might be offended. As it was, I was only somewhatirked.
“Owen just said some rude things to me after a show. It’s not a big deal.” I intentionally left out that it was this particular ice cream date that gave him the fuel. My parents were embarrassing, and I talked crap about them to my sister. That didn’t mean it was okay for anyone else to do the same. It also didn’t mean I was going to make them feel embarrassed over anyofit.
Jenny hummed to herself before speaking up again. “I guess I was just wondering if anything worked out with the Boise shows because I wanted to ask if the band was looking to add anymembers.”
“Apparently I’m the wrong person to ask,” I said, under my breath. Sarah laughed while my dad made some comment about not sulking. He went on to say it was impossible to include everyone in every decision, and I should be happy to be part of a group creating art for others to enjoy. I fought hard to keep from rolling my eyes. “Who were you thinking,Jenny?”
“Well, I’ve watched you guys play, and it made me realize I miss playing my violin. I’ve practiced a bit at home, and I think I can play along with most of thesongs.”
“A violin in arockband?”
