Journey

The room was warm, the heater slowly rumbling through the large building that he was now familiar with. The 25 year old sat in the silent booth, the only sounds that filled his ears being the ones he was emitting from his smooth, rhythmic strumming. He sat on a stool, the sole of his worn converse shoe tapping silently against the floor. The glass windows surrounding him in the small booth were clear and he was able to see every piece of furniture with his chocolaty brown eyes, but he chose to keep them closed instead, focusing on nothing but the song in him. For a moment Nick swore that he was in his own world, that nothing but he and his music ceased to exist, and it almost pulled him under. He could feel the music coursing through his whole body, all the stress of life being washed away with each strum and pluck of the shiny guitar strings. The smooth sound was then accompanied by his soft humming, his eyes opening slowly to focus on the closed door straight ahead, thinking of nothing but the words he would randomly spit out in that moment.

Nick often sat in the studio after the endless meeting he was forced to attend. It wasn’t the meeting in general that made him stressed or bored, but the information that he was always given never made him happy like his music. He had rules and steps to follow, being a young and rising musician, and Nick liked to make his own rules. He didn’t have much say, however, and that was something he wasn’t used to. He was the “boss” at home with Monroe -

Nick found himself smiling as his fingertips brushed over the strings softly, his moving lips twitching with a smile while a few words drifted off his tongue. Monroe. Monroe was Nick’s true music, and she didn't come with any rules or steps. Monroe was simple, beautiful and elegant, much like his voice, and she -- along with Nathan and Sophie and, of course, his music -- were everything to him. No strings attached.

Nick continued to smile as he sat on the stool, his guitar in his lap, his voice bouncing off the glass windows of the small box. He sat up straighter and rolled his shoulders and neck, his smile only becoming wider as he thought of her, and he found himself strumming the chorus of Fly With Me. He would get up soon, and he would put his guitar away and head to his big truck, and then he would speed home without a care in the world because he knew Monroe would be there, and Nathan and Sophie would be waiting to watch a movie with him. Everything was always planned with Nick, something he had always liked, and things like that always seemed to have a space in his new busy schedule.

Nick’s eyes shut again, this time holding an image of Monroe, and he hummed with a soft breath. The room was hot but he was too caught up in relaxing to pull off his Yankee sweatshirt, the one that he got at the game that he attended with Monroe and a 7 year old Nathan a few years back. It was a bonding moment and although baby Sophie had stayed with Grandma Cheryl, Nathan was more than happy to explain (brag) about it. It was no surprise that he would receive tickets for some holiday soon, this time including a fourth ticket. And who knew? Maybe it would become a tradition; maybe he would get another ticket added on each time because their family seemed to be expanding so quickly.

Nick shook his head, his thoughts almost embarrassing him though he was alone, and he plucked out the few last chords before reopening his eyes. His thin eyebrows raised in slight surprise when his vision was now clouded with a new image, a body -- Colin. Colin was Nick’s manager; Nick liked Colin, to a point, but he sometimes reminded him of Jimmy. And then Nick didn’t like him all too much anymore. He stopped his strumming altogether and cleared his throat, rubbing his palms on his thighs. He watched as Colin moved forward, his long finger pressing the button lazily; Nick almost rolled his eyes.

“Busy?” Colin’s voice rang. Nick licked his lips and shifted again. He pulled the strap over his head and grabbed the neck of the guitar, slowly sliding it off his lap until it touched the floor easily. Nick didn’t like how business-like Colin was. He wasn’t a manager because he liked the music, more so because he liked what music could produce: money. Nick was known to be somewhat stoic at times, but Colin was downright emotionless and just plain boring. Even Monroe agreed.

“Is there something you need?” Nick asked with his voice in its usual polite tone. Nick, with the help of Monroe, had trained himself to deal with Colin and people alike. He waited.

“Just thought we could discuss some business,” Colin said effortlessly after pushing the button again and then taking a step back. He smoothed his tie down and stood straight, his eyes unusually bright. Nick looked at him skeptically.

“All right,” Nick said after clearing his throat. He slid off the stool and yanked his guitar up. His hand pushed the door open slowly, and then closed again once he stepped out. Colin waited by the door, his arms crossed comfortably over his blue button-up; Nick continued to take his time. He reached for his case that he had set on the couch and placed his guitar in, locking it back up. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Colin glance at his watch discreetly, and he smirked to himself. “What exactly do we need to discuss?” Nick asked as well as wondered. He did just get back from a meeting that seemed to last all day. Nick hadn’t really been listening, but this was because of many reasons. He was too tired to be up at nine, too hungry to stay there at noon, and then too bored to sit through anything else after one. He was lucky to be out of there at two and even luckier that he had a whole two hours to himself.

“Martin has a schedule,” Colin said, his voice interrupting Nick’s thoughts. He blinked himself back into focusing on his manager and raised his eyebrow again.

“Schedule for what?”

Nick shoved one hand into his tight jean pocket, his fingers curling around his keys, while the other held the handle of the guitar case. Colin held the door open and allowed Nick to exit first, a smile appearing faintly over his lips.

“We spoke of this in the meeting today… weren’t you listening?” he said.

Nick smiled sheepishly and shrugged his shoulders. “Yeah, but I have too many schedules as it is. Meeting schedules, studio schedules, appearance schedules. I even have dress schedules,” Nick spoke quickly, turning down the long hallway. He could faintly see Kara’s desk in the distance, though Jess was the one occupying it. “I have schedules at home, too. I have Minnie Mouse to look after-”

“Who?” Colin interrupted, blinking in confusion. Nick smiled again, shaking off his question.

“And Nate and Sophie started school -- it’s Sophie’s first year,” he paused, finding himself practically boasting about his 5, almost 6, year old daughter starting kindergarten. But he didn’t finish ranting about all of his schedules, he was too tired and he didn’t want to make anything difficult.

“This schedule might be the most important,” Colin said as they reached the lobby. Jess looked up, her gum popping as she smiled, and then she spun around, continuing to talk on her Bluetooth. Colin rolled his eyes. “Anyway,” he cleared his throat, “Martin thinks that the promotion for this album is finally paying off.” Nick eyed him as he spoke, his feet continuing to take him towards the door. “With the album hitting stores this weekend, and all the positive reception we’ve received from viewers so far, we think a tour would be just right.”

Nick stopped at the door, his eyes widening at the news. A tour? He couldn’t believe it. This was what he had been waiting for! To play music for hundreds -- maybe even thousands! -- of people that he could call fans. Fans of his music. He blinked several times, a lone curl falling onto his forehead, and he found himself wanting to smile his boyish grin.

“We’d get everything set by the end of this month,” Colin continued, “And you should be on the road by early October.” October? That wasn’t too far away, Nick thought, but it only fueled his excitement. “See Nick, with everything the way it is, and if the album sales do well, like we think, then this tour could be four months long or so. This is just what you need to explode everywhere!” Nick looked at Colin almost in shock, not because of the good news he had just received, but because he had never seen Colin so enthusiastic. He found his heart beating a little faster and his lips twitching, shouting at him to break out into song or something of the sort, but as soon as the good feeling began, it ended.

“So… October? Next month?” Nick asked quickly. He brought his hand up to his face, rubbing slowly while Colin nodded.

“We’ll be throwing out advertisements and tour dates, and we’ll even have a few songs hit the radio, see where they land up within the week. You’ll get time off during the song airings, of course, and then we’ll do the ads and discuss dates and all the important details…” Colin spoke so quickly that Nick could hardly understand him, and just as he opened his mouth to say something, anything, the beep of Colin’s oh-so-important cell phone sounded, and Nick knew that conversation was over. “I’ll call you!” Colin shouted as he rushed out the door, allowing the fall air to tickle Nick’s face.

He stared after his manager in shock, his deep eyes almost blank. He wanted to be happy about the news, to run home to his Minnie Mouse and tell her all about how amazing this would be and how he would (hopefully) be set in his career after so much work. But, at the same time, he wanted to fall over and just lay there. He couldn’t go on tour next month! Nathan and Sophie just started school three weeks ago. Nate was in soccer and Sophie was in dance, and they had friends and were happy. They liked the house (Cheryl threatened to move in because she loved it - and maybe Nick - a little too much), and everything was settled. Nick was making good money with all the press and meetings and shows, and now his album release would set everything into motion, and Monroe was finally starting to work again. And to top it all off, she was a little over 5 months pregnant.

Tour couldn’t come at a worse time.

As Nick trudged to the car, the relaxed mood that he had finally obtained a few minutes ago now gone, he focused on how exactly he would tell Monroe.