We Are The Tide

By the time the 3 girls had made it back over to the main house the next morning, John’s truck was parked in the driveway.

“Man I’ve missed you.” Sam said to the truck.

“You are so weird.” Lucy said with a laugh. “But wait, if John’s truck is here... you know what that means?” The two girls looked at each other and ran up the porch stairs into the house.

“SAMMMM!” Jared yelled as he jumped over the couch and trapped her in a bear hug. She stumbled back for a moment after impact, hugging him tightly in return. Jared let go and stepped back, bringing Tessa into view.

“When did you guys get here?” She asked.

“We didn’t get here too long ago. Maybe 20 minutes?” Jared answered. Tessa nodded her head, agreeing. Sam pulled Tessa into a welcoming hug, happy to see her and Jared after so long. Lucy greeted Jared and Tessa with a hug as well before crossing the room to give John a good morning kiss.

“So, what are we doing today?” Pat asked no one in particular.

“Pat, it’s barely noon.” Sam laughed.

“Well, this is the first time we’ve been together in a while.” He responded. Everyone looked around at each other in realization. It had been almost three years since they were all together, and Pat was right. “I don’t want to waste any more time. I really missed you guys. I miss us all being together. Let’s go do something before we run out of time.”

“I know I want to go to Powell’s at least once while we’re here. There’s nothing like a real book and there’s nothing like that in Arizona.” Jared spoke up, ready to get going on the day.

“I’ve never been here, so let’s do Portland things.” Tessa suggested.

“Rex, Tim, Max and Halvo will be here tonight, but their plane doesn’t get in until around six. How about this,” Sam said, “we can go around town doing ‘Portland-y things’ for a couple hours until the guys fly in. Then we’ll regroup and go from there.” The group seemed to like that idea.

“Hey, you guys, you know what I want to do?” Kenny spoke up, a look of nostalgia across his face. “I wanna go to that barbecue place for lunch. Y’know, that one across from Wonder that we would eat at every time we came to town? They had the best ribs, and it’s been far too long since we’ve been. I mean, we’re all together again. Let’s go, for old time’s sake.”

All of the guys nodded their head in agreement, remembering back to the restaurant.

“Hell yeah, let’s go!” The excitement in Garrett’s voice meant he was on board. “Oh, wait, I think we should wait for Tim and Max. They loved that place too.”

“Then let’s go for dinner. That way, they can come too after we pick them up from the airport. Alright, let’s get going. We only have a few hours to get a week’s worth of sight-seeing done.” Lucy hopped up from the couch, pulling John with her.

“That sounds good. Then tonight, we can have a party. We can invite some people we know around here.” Sam said.

It was only a few moments before everyone had their shoes on and was ready to go on a little adventure. Pat ran for the van, and Sam kept walking toward the sidewalk. “We should walk. This is a walking city, and the MAX is free downtown to ride if we get tired of walking. Besides, you see more parts of the city on foot than if we drove, and parking is a bitch. Besides, in case you didn’t know, this is perfect weather today.” Everyone agreed, it was beautiful outside. The group set off on foot, walking through the changing neighborhoods block by block toward the heart of downtown.

“I’m hungry.” Garrett exclaimed after only a few short blocks.

“Already?” Sam rolled her eyes.

“Well -”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. You’re always hungry.” Sam said with a laugh. “How about we stop at Whole Foods and pick something up for you really quick? I wanted lemonade there anyway.”

Garrett agreed and everyone followed Sam as she led the way. She quickly crossed the crowded street, rounding a corner and leading the group in a different direction for a block or two before the store came into view. They went their separate ways once inside, agreeing to meet back in 15 minutes at the entrance.

“2 dollars for lemonade?! Are you serious right now Sami?” Garrett cried. The two had wandered off toward the deli section of the store, away from the rest of the group. Sam reached down to grab a glass bottle off the refrigerated shelf in front of them, handing it to Gary before selecting one for herself. Garrett took one look at the price tag and shook his head in protest.

“It’s the best lemonade you will ever have, ever.” Sam argued. She gave him a look that he knew all too well, knowing she was right and they weren’t going to leave the store without it. Garrett sighed and gently shook the lemonade. He grabbed a bag of chips he was eyeing off the shelf behind them before heading toward the register.

They had all met back up and were on their way down the street to Everyday Music, one of many local music stores.

“I haven’t bought vinyl in forever.” Jared said. He thumbed through the Recent Arrivals section, in awe of the selection before him.

“Look! They have Wilco!” Garrett said, excited. He held up two different albums to show the group.

“And this is the small record store. Maybe we can hit up Music Millennium before we go home.” Sam said.

The guys all nodded in agreement from whatever section they were browsing in the room. “How about we hit up Music Millennium last, because it’s out of the way of everything else. John and I can go home and pick up the van a little before we want to head over there, and that way we can go straight to the airport from there.”

“That’s actually a good idea, because the MAX doesn’t run close to there, and we’d have to take a bus and that would take a while to get there and back.” Sam pulled her phone out to check the time, agreeing with Lucy’s idea.

It took them over an hour, but everyone left with something. Land Of Talk, Jimmy Eat World and Ryan Adams were just a few selections that the group had picked. After leaving the store, they walked two blocks to Powell’s.

“Holy crap.” Tessa said as the group walked in. She and Emily stood wide-eyed in the first room, this being their first experience.

“Yep. 4 stories of books. Isn’t it perfect?” Sam asked.

“Wow.” Emily and Tessa were overwhelmed. Lucy handed them each a map from the information kiosk set up in front of them before they dispersed. The same as before, they agreed to meet back up in the front lobby in an hour.

Everyone set out looking for their selected title. Sam had gone to find the newest Kerrang in the green room. Lucy was looking for a new moleskin. Garrett had found the new Awkward Family Pet Photos and was laughing hysterically on a bench by the stairs, with people looking at him funny as they walked by.

Sam made her way to the cashier and bought her magazine.

“I don’t understand why you pay 10 bucks for a magazine shipped from another country.” Garrett commented, having followed her after finishing his book.

“Well, it has posters. AP doesn’t do that. And it’s not like I buy every issue. I just get the ones that have bands I like on the cover or whatever.” Sam explained.

They went to find the others. They bumped into John, who was in the pearl room. He had Hello Sunshine in his hands, already open and reading as he stood in the aisle he found it in.

“I love that book.” Garrett commented.

“I read Infinity Blues, but never got around to reading this. And it’s only $7.50.” John said.

“I think that means you need to buy it.” Sam said with a laugh.

“Well duh. That’s a no-brainer.” John smiled, shaking the book as though his intentions were obvious.

The three went to find the others, gradually gaining members as they walked around the bookstore. 20 minutes later, a few people were in line and the others waited outside by the bike racks. After everyone had a Powell’s bag in hand, they decided that they would cross the river and continue their adventure over there. The nearest MAX stop was only a few short blocks away, and they arrived as the train was rounding the corner a block away from them. Those who had never ridden the train before were unsure of what to do, but followed quickly as Lucy and Sam walked right on as soon as the doors opened, finding a group of empty seats together in the back.

“Remember when I had to ride the train from the airport to Warped that one year?” Kennedy reminisced. “I literally had no idea where I was going and had to ask which stop to get off at. Luckily, there were a bunch of kids on there that knew what they were doing.”

They rode the train through downtown, John and Lucy getting off right at the last stop before crossing the bridge. Lucy and Sam’s apartment was only a couple blocks away from that stop, and Lucy noted it was easier to get off here and they could just get the van now since it was already after four o’clock. The rest of the group continued on the train, getting off at the last stop in the free-rail zone, Lloyd Center Mall. Voodoo Too! was only a few short blocks from that stop anyway, so they decided to make a pit stop for doughnuts. Tessa and Jared had missed out when they had gone the day before and Jared had insisted that they go again. The Bacon Maple bar seemed to be popular today.

As the group sat outside the pink building, enjoying their doughnuts, Sam pointed out that the bus stop in front of them runs right in front of Music Millennium. “It’ll take us probably five minutes or so to get there if we hop on this bus.” Everyone made sure they had enough spare change or cash for bus fare, and rode the bus up Burnside toward the record store.

“I wish transportation was as good in Arizona as it is here.” Pat commented.

“Tempe has the most confusing service I have ever experienced in my life. I literally ride the bus every day and I had no idea what I was doing when I was there last time.” Sam said.

“I don’t even try riding it there because I get lost.” Everyone laughed at Pat’s confession.

They went inside and instantly, everyone was overwhelmed by how much they had to look at. There were rows and rows of CDs in front of them that spilled over into the next three rooms, movies, posters, and vinyl for sale covered every visible inch of the store. There was artwork in the windows and painted on the walls, and everyone stood in awe for a few moments before breaking off in their own directions.

“Why did we never come here when we were on tour?” Garrett questioned as he walked up the two steps leading to another level of the CD section.

“Well, you were never that close to it, not walking distance, that is.” Lucy commented. “The Wonder is in a completely different neighborhood, and you only played the Hawthorne once.”

Sam walked up behind Garrett, grabbing his hand and pulling him away from the Ryan Adams CD section and up the stairs in the back corner.

“Where are you taking me?” Garrett asked, stumbling up the narrow stairs, almost tripping on the top one.

“All the vinyl is upstairs. I figure if we’re having the record player in the living room, we need more records.” Sam said with a smile. As they rounded the corner at the top step, Garrett was faced with an eclectic vinyl selection. A handmade “Rock Starts Here” sign caught his eye, and he immediately started sifting through the A section. The two browsed through the alphabet, pulling out various vinyl and comparing them to what they already had in their collection at home.

As Sam pulled out The Kooks album Konk, Garrett was sifting through the stack of singles. Sam could see John and Lucy looking through the dollar vinyl downstairs. John kept stealing kisses and they were flirting with each other. Sam couldn’t help but smile at the couple. They really were perfect for each other.

A stack of singles were dropped into her hands, bringing her attention back to the vinyl in front of her. Garrett smiled a sheepish smile as he held a few more singles in his hands, looking over his choices.

“I didn’t think we were going to get this many!” Sam said, shocked. Garrett shrugged, debating between two singles before looking at the prices and putting both of them back on the shelf.

“I’m thinking I should try to get a job here.” Garrett said.

“I think you’d spend your paycheck before you ever received it.” Sam laughed. He nodded in agreement, walking over to the opposite end of the vinyl section and looking at the bargain section on the bottom shelves in the corner.

“Well, I can’t just sit at home all day. I’m pretty much broke as hell from moving up here.”

“Let’s get through this wedding and this weekend, and then I’ll help you with the job hunt next week okay?” Sam sifted through the vinyl she held, admiring Garrett’s taste in music. “Okay, Mr. Broke-As-A-Joke, let’s go downstairs before we can’t afford food.”

They headed back down the narrow stairs, heading toward the used cd wall in the next room.

“Oh, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to!” Sam said as she bumped into someone.

“Uh - Oh, Sam?! How are you? I haven’t seen you in forever!” Sam paused at the sound of her name, and realized who she bumped into.

“Mel! I’m doing well! Life’s been crazy lately. Lucy’s wedding is in two days, so every last minute thing is piling on. Since her fiance is from Arizona, everyone on his side is flying in or driving up. I’m here with a group of people, actually. Oh, and this is Garrett,” She said as she pulled Garrett closer. Mel stuck her hand out for Garrett to shake, and he stared at her for a moment before he noticed. A slight blush crept across his cheeks for a moment before he cleared his throat and took her hand.

“Uhh, hi.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Garrett. I’m Mel.” She balanced a stack of CDs in one hand as she shook his hand with the other. She pulled away after a moment and shifted her weight from one leg to the other, smiling at them. Sam pulled out her phone to check the time and realized it was time to head out.

“Before I forget, we’re having a party tonight at John and Lucy’s new place. Are you busy tonight? It’s been so long since we’ve hung out, you should come! Come on by anytime after nine. I’ll text you the address right now if you want.”

“I don’t get off until ten, but that sounds like a lot of fun. I have to get back to work now,” Mel held up the CDs in her hand as she turned to walk back toward the register. “It was nice meeting you Garrett, good to see you Sam, see you guys tonight.”

“H - how do you know her?” Garrett stuttered after a few seconds. He stood motionless in the aisle, watching her help a customer.

“Are you blushing? Does Gary have a crush? Aw, cute.” Sam teased. She pushed him playfully in the arm to get his attention after realizing he was still staring at her.

“Stop it. I don’t have a crush. I just asked how you knew her.” Garrett said defensively. He stomped off as Lucy walked into the room with John in tow. It was time to head to the airport and everyone was gathering together toward the front.

“Why is he pouting?” Lucy asked laughing. “What happened now?”

“He has a wittle cwush on Mel.” Sam said with a smirk.

“Mel was here? Did you invite her to the party tonight? I miss her.”

“Well of course. I forgot she worked here, and Gary and I ran into her just a little bit ago. Gary couldn’t put two words together, and almost couldn’t even shake her hand. It was disgusting.” Sam laughed at her best friend, getting the free bird in return as he stalked off to the register with the records they had picked out. “I gave her the address and told her what time. She doesn’t get off until ten, but she said she was coming.” Sam said.

“Oh good, I’m glad. It’s been far too long since we’ve spent time together. She’s so great. Oh, and I guess we’ll see what happens with those two.” Lucy said with a smirk, watching as Garrett subtly slumped his shoulders when another employee rang him up.