This Masterpiece Will Fall Apart

“Josline, are you wearing Joshes pants?” Zack asked me when we were at the Commodore Ballroom. That was the first show on the tour. We were really excited about actually being on tour again. I looked down at myself.

“I was wondering why my jeans were so loose on me!” I laughed at myself. “You know, it really sucks when both you and your fiancé can wear the same clothes.” Zack shook his head at me.

“Why does what suck?” Josh asked me. Josh was a “surprise guest” on our tour (for Vancouver, Princeton and Kelowna at least). Josh recorded a verse on one of our songs, so we invited him along.

“That I can wear your jeans, and they fit,” I said. Josh looked at me a bit strangely.

“Hey! Those are my jeans!” Josh exclaimed.

“I just said that!” I threw my arms up over my head. Airin was near by, and he started laughing at the two of us. I smiled and turned back to what I was doing. I was on the stage rearranging chords so no one would step on any.

Our touring band was Surviving Nightlife. They were from Castlegar (in British Columbia). Their style was really different from anything that I had ever heard before. But, I was a little bit hesitant to have them on tour with us.

“Hey, Josline, can you help me with this?” I looked up and looked John Baker, who was dragging a crate backstage. Yes. John Baker. The guy who broke my heart on multiple occasions was in the band that was touring with us. He was their lead guitarist and he did some backing vocals. I stood up and smiled.

“Yeah, no problem,” I said. I walked over to him and grabbed the handle on the other side of the crate. “Oh, dear lord! What is in this thing?” I asked when I realized it was really heavy.

“There's nothing in here. It's just that heavy,” John said. We moved the crate backstage and set it down.

“Holy Jesus. Ever heard of packing light?” I snickered.

“Apparently Curtis hasn't heard of that,” John smiled.

I was trying really hard to stay professional and friendly with John. It was difficult, because of our history, but I was trying. I noticed John was being friendly to everyone. He and Zack even hit it off, but then again, Zack got along with almost every one. Zack and Adam seemed to get along the best though. They were closer in age (Adam was 22) so they seemed to have more in common. They were both just as crazy as the other. It was going to be an interesting tour.

“Well, Curtis should hear about that, because it's quite convenient,” I stated. John just nodded. We stood there awkwardly for a moment. We hadn't spoken much since we had gotten to the venue. It seemed that the both of us were trying to busy ourselves with things so we didn't have to speak to one another. “So, how have you been doing?” I asked, finally breaking the tension.

“Oh, I've been great. Finished college, “ John told me.

“That's great! Have your teaching degree now?” I asked. John nodded. “What about you and...Mellisa? Is that her name? How are you and her?”

“Megan, and we broke up,” John said.

“Oh. I'm sorry to hear,” I said sympathetically.

“Don't be. It really wasn't working out anyways. She was a bit too...over-protective,” John shrugged. I then heard a loud squeal, which was then followed by Finley running away from Damien, the bassist for Surviving Nightlife. Finley ran behind me and held onto my legs.

“Hey, no fair! You can't hide behind your mom!” Damien exclaimed. I put my hands on my hips and stared at Damien.

“What are you doing to my son?” I asked him. Damien stopped in his tracks.

“He stole my shoes and hid them on me!” he told me.

“You're 29 and you can't defend yourself from a 5 year old?” I asked him. Damien bowed his head in embarrassment. I pulled Finley out from behind me and kneeled in front of him. “Finley, go find Damien's shoes. And then go find your dad and tell him to take you back to uncle Matt's, okay?” I told my son. Finley nodded, and I gave him a hug. He walked up to Damien and took his hand. I stood up and shook my head at the pair walking away from us. I looked back over at John, who was smiling at me.

“He looks so much like you,” he said.

“Everyone says that. I personally think he looks more like Josh,” I replied.

“Well, I think he looks like Airin, and you and Airin are bang-on for twins,” John said. “He's a cute kid either way.”

“He's definitely a handful. He's at the age where he's becoming very bossy and likes to argue with Josh and I. You wouldn't believe how many times I hear the 'because I don't want to' argument per day,” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “But he's a happy kid. Rather shy though. Really seemed to warm up to you guys though.”

“He's not very social?” John asked.

“Oh, no, he's social, he's just nervous around people he doesn't know,” I said. Damien and Finley walked back, and Damien was now wearing shoes. “Got them back, I see.”

“Yeah. Guess where he hid them?” Damien asked me.

“Oh, I can only imagine,” I said looking down at Finley. He had a cheeky smile spread across his face.

“He tossed them in the womens washroom,” Damien said. Finley giggled at me.

“Oh, Finley Matthew!” I laughed. “What have I told you about that?” Finley looked up at me strangely, his head titled to one side. He looked very much like Josh when he did that. “If you're going to toss something into the bathroom, you have to at least hide it in a stall or something! Or in the garbage can! Have I taught you nothing?” I smiled. Finley could tell I was joking. He smiled at me. “Okay, give me another hug before you go,” Finley nodded. I picked him up and held him tightly.

Having to leave Finley was always the hardest part of the tour. I missed having the little monster wake me up at 5:30 some mornings because he wanted to tell me his dream before he forgot. Instead, I woke up to one of the boys snoring loudly and obnoxiously enough to pull the curtains off their rods. I put Finley down and took his hand. We walked out to the front of the stage, people were still busy doing things. I looked around and couldn't find Josh for the life of me. I walked up to a microphone that was turned on and took it out of the stand. “Josh Ramsay to the main stage. Josh Ramsay to the main stage please. You have a child you need to take home.” People started laughing and continued with their jobs. Josh appeared a few minutes later.

“You are so weird,” Josh said. He held out his arms for Finley. Josh picked Finley up and set him on the ground next to him. I sat down on the edge of the stage. “I'll see you in a few minutes.” Josh said giving me a quick peck before he left. He took Finley's hand in his and the two left. I smiled as I watched them leave the building. Marque walked up to the stage, setting a box of sweatpants on the stage next to me.

“You seem very...content,” Marque observered.

“I am. I really am.”