The Long Road

I was woken by the air stewardess walking past with the food trolley, its wheels squeaking as it passed down the aisle. My vision was blurry and I felt exhausted beyond reason. It had been twenty four hours since we had left Sydney, and the time had whizzed by as we headed towards our destination. But still, it was impossible for me to sleep and I had finally dozed off at two in the morning. Giving a yawn and stretching my cramped legs, I reached towards the window and opened the shutter.

We were still travelling over ocean, but I could see in the distance a blur of land which was the state of California. I swallowed hard and looked away from the window. My father was somewhere, living perhaps in San Francisco. I wondered if he still thought of me. Maybe he forgot me long ago and started a new family. Was he still a drummer, or were those days behind him? All sorts of questions raced through my head as everyone else woke up, well rested and wide awake. Lucky bastards.

After an hour or two, the plane was prepared to land. Feeling a sick jolt in my stomach, I unbuckled myself from the seat and rushed towards the bathroom. I locked the door behind me and leaned my arms on the sink. I looked at my reflection in the mirror. I ran my hands through my dark blonde hair and rubbed my tired light blue eyes till they were sore. I had to stop freaking out; otherwise I really would be sick! Just the thought of being in the same city as my father sent shivers up my spine. When I was sure that the contents of my stomach were going to stay put, I calmly went back to my seat and started to count the stitches in the seat fabric to pass the time.

Finally, the plane landed at the San Francisco International Airport. We stood in the long que of people itching to get off the plane until we stared moving and we found ourselves in the cool terminal. We dragged ourselves towards the baggage pick up, and making sure we had everything, we walked out of the terminal. Harry had planed to hire a car, and so we walked over to the car-park and managed to get a family sized 4WD to fit all of our instruments. I started to worry that we would run out of money, but Harry assured me that selling the CD’s at our shows would get us through the whole tour. Still I felt nervous though.

After we piled all our stuff in the hire car we pulled out onto the Bayshore Freeway.

‘Wow, this place is so different from Sydney!’ Justin sighed as he leaned his head against the window.

‘Well no shit Justin! We’re in a completely different country’ Harry said from the wheel. Luckily, he could drive on the left side of the car.

‘I know that!’ Justin complained. ‘It’s just that the shock hits you when you’re travelling for the first time y’know!’

It wasn’t my first time travelling, but still, I knew how he felt.

After a long drive, we parked the car outside the Holiday Inn on 8th Street. Heaving out our luggage again, we walked into the lobby and struggled up to the front desk.

‘Ah yes, you booked the party room on the fifth floor?’ the man at the desk said kindly.

Harry nodded and handed over a wad of money to pay for the room. The man leaned over and eyed all of our instruments.

‘You guys a band?’ he asked, looking mildly interested.
‘Yeah we are! We’re Black Beauty Boulevard. Our first gig is tomorrow at the Hemlock Tavern on Polk Street.’ Katie piped up excitedly, jumping on the soles of her feet.

‘So you guys are in the punk rock scene! That’s awesome!’ the man said, smiling once again. After giving him details for the show, we waved goodbye and made our way up to the fifth floor. Harry unlocked the door with slow, tired fingers and we all pushed beside him to see the room.

It was easy to see why it was called a party room. There was a wide space, sometimes filled in with lounges and chairs. There was a TV and DVD player at the far end of the room, and on the right there was a kitchen, and on the left there was a hallway leading to the bathroom and bedrooms. Katie and I called a room, which had two unbelievably comfy queen sized beds, while Hamish and Justin got the room across from us and Harry got a room to himself so he wouldn’t be kept up half the night by a loud roommate.

‘This place is amazing!’ Hamish said, jumping onto a couch and grabbing the TV remote.

‘And I’m sure the beds are just as amazing.’ Harry yawned, mooching off towards his bedroom. Meanwhile, I pulled out my guitar and started playing some random songs. I had to play guitar, no matter how tired I was. As we were driving over, my fingers had been itching to run up and down the fret board, to hear the notes fly in to the air and wrap themselves around my head. Justin pulled out his drumsticks and bashed a fast sound against the back of the lounge, his head flying around crazily. Katie, unable to resist a jam, set up her keyboard and played a sizzling solo. And finally Hamish pulled out his own guitar and played a fast riff.

After a while, we burst into fits of giggles. As I was wiping away a tear form my eye, I glanced out the window and gazed at the buildings of San Francisco, and watched the people scurry around down below. What if one of them was my dad? He was out there, within the seething mass of the San Francisco population. Why was it so hard to believe?
Katie came over and gave me a “Try and not try to think about too much and try and concentrate on the show” look. I sighed and tried to socialize with everyone else.

That night, feeling completely exhausted and yet could not fall asleep, I lay awake in the dark bedroom, with Katie sleeping soundly next to me in the opposite bed. I wanted to talk to her, but I didn’t want her to get sour at me. But I felt so alone that I needed her awake.

‘Katie?’ I whispered loudly, hoping she would wake. Katie groaned in reply. I lay on my back and stared at the roof.

‘I can’t stop thinking about my dad. How can I possibly play if I want to find my dad more?’

There was a short pause where I thought Katie was still asleep. But she managed to flip over and stare at me with a tired look.

‘Look, just think about the music tomorrow night. And before the show we can try and look around. I have no idea how, but I’m sure there’s some way we can find your dad.’

And just when I was about to retort, Katie fell asleep again, obviously exhausted. For most of the night, I tossed and turned in a frenzy of nerves and worry, but somehow I managed to fall asleep.