Until There Was You

All day, I kept checking my phone to see if Britt texted me the songs so that I could talk to the other guys and get back to her more quickly. It felt like junior high all over again.

“Why do you keep checking your phone?”, Paul asks as he pulls out his own phone again.

“Why don’t you ask yourself that?”, I shoot back.

He shrugs. “I have a girlfriend.”

Laughing, I say, “Oh. Right. I have a friend who has raved about this awesome band that should tour with us. Also from Massachusetts. Just waiting for the text.”

As we are talking, my phone vibrates. “Is that it?”, Paul asks. Nodding, I ask if he wants to listen to it now, or with everyone else later. At that moment, his phone vibrates too. “Later.”, he says. “Dani finally called.” Picking up his phone, he wanders away.

A moment later, I get another text from her, saying, “They have so many more songs, but we figured we’d stick with a few so that they don’t scare you off first. Each of the guys chose a song, and I did too. And then I threw in an extra acoustic because it’s my favorite. Both versions are on that playlist.”

“Any reason?”, I text back.

“Not that you need to worry about. It’s kind of personal.”, she tells me.

“One day I hope you’ll tell me then.”, I say.

“Maybe.”, she agrees.

“Well, I’ll listen to these, show them to the guys, and tell you what we decide.”, I decide.

After listening to the songs through, I felt fairly sure that the other guys would love to have these guys on tour with us. I’d looked up some of their live performances too, and they were great with their crowds. The message of the music was great, and the instrumentals were solid. And the fact that they’re also from Massachusetts is a bonus. They’ll miss the hometown show if they’re coming on the second leg, but no doubt they’ll bring in some other fans, since they toured Warped twice.

Texting all the guys, I tell them that I found an awesome opening act for us. After listening to them, the rest of the guys agreed with me on that they had a really fitting vibe and would be an awesome opener. “So I can tell my friend that Phone Calls From Home will be joining us on the second leg of this tour?”

“Yea man. They’re going to be an awesome addition.”, Martin says while leaving. “I need to take a run now. See you guys back here in a few hours before we go to the station.”

As soon as the rest of the guys left, I texted Britt back. “We loved them! And would be happy to have them on the second leg of our tour.”

A few moments later, she replies. “That’s great! The boys will be so psyched. This tour will help them a lot I bet. Thank you so much!”

“Don’t thank me. They have a great vibe and an awesome message. And…A Reason To Love? I’m going to assume it has something to do with your family?”, I broach our prior topic again.

“They do don’t they? I’m insanely proud of them. And…well, since you know about this already from my letter, there’s not much more to say. Dave wrote the song for me. My mom’s third husband is best friends with the owner of Red Blue Records. Actually, even though I call him “husband number three”, we were pretty good friends. His name was Phil, and he was the only one who acted like a fatherly figure at all. When they got married, I was a few months from sixteen. As soon as I turned sixteen, he got me a job at Red Blue Records, since he knew how much I wanted to go into the music industry. This was during my sophomore year in high school. Decent pay with totally flexible hours, and their main band, Phone Calls From Home, became a huge part of my life. It was like a 16 year old’s dream. I told Dave things I couldn’t even tell Susan and Michelle, and then junior year was just completely crazy with my mom and Phil getting into fights and stuff. Phil and I still talked though. I felt bad for him because she always did that to all of the guys she was with. Then senior year came, and with college apps and my mom and I getting into fights to where I should apply. Everything was just…falling apart. Know the feeling?”, comes a super long text a few minutes later.

“Wow. That’s crazy. My family has always been close, even when we were fighting. I’m sorry for all of that though. But what does that have to do with the song?”

“Oh. Right. I was talking about the song. So anyways, Dave wrote it for me. I had called him hysterically crying one night. My mom and I were fighting, and my boyfriend since freshman year broke up with me. And I was pretty sure he’d been cheating on me for a while. But everything just kind of…fell apart that night. But Dave came and picked me up. We went to this small, nearly abandoned park a few minutes away from me, and he practically came up with the song on spot. At the time, he was like…my knight in shining armor. I was just a seventeen year old girl, you know? And this awesome guy wrote a beautiful song for me. Even if he’s two and a half years older than me. But he really is my best friend, and I don’t know what I’d do without him anymore. And I also told him to record it. Hence, the song.”, she continues.

“So are you and Dave together now?”, I ask her.

“Hahaa. Even if the barely seventeen year old girl in me fell partly in love with him, I’m older now. He doesn’t see me that way, and I would never want to kill our friendship. And besides for that one night, I never really felt more for him.”, she tells me. “I think.”

Oddly enough, what she said reassured me greatly. Even if this Dave guy wrote her the song, she said that she didn’t think of him like that. If I could find a way to meet her and show her that I’m a great person, not just the bassist of her favorite band, I’d have a chance with her. “Well, thanks for sharing this with me. I feel honored. Unfortunately, we have a radio show to get to, so I need to get ready. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Good luck! You guys will be awesome! I should go tell the guys now anyways. Have fun.”, I see before I put my phone away.