The Story of Rory and the Traveling Troublemakers
B is for Backseat Serenade
Seasons came and went before I would next be tugged back into Rory’s story. By the time I came around, Dylan had finally given up and moved out, Rory’s best friend had had a baby, and Rory had gotten herself a job at a small diner. I guess I should check in more often.
“Lawson, you have got to take a deep breath. Paisley is fine. She split her lip when she fell, that’s all.” Lawson took her advice, breathing in through her nose and out through her mouth as she held her baby, Paisley, closer to her chest. The toddler had tripped over her own clumsy feet and now had a small trickle of blood coming from where her teeth had bitten down on her lip during the fall. Paisley hadn’t even cried at first, it was her mother’s reaction that scared her.
“But she’s bleeding!” Rory struggled to hide a smile. “Not anymore. Look,” Paisley had started sucking on her thumb, tears dried and gone.
“Oh,” Lawson let out a little laugh. “I guess I do overact a little bit sometimes.” Rory raised an eyebrow. “Sometimes?”
Lawson rolled her eyes. “Shut up, you ass.”
“You ass!” A small voice repeated.
Lawson and Rory looked first at each other, then at Paisley, and then back to each other before they laughed so hard tears escaped their eyes.
“That’s a bad word, Paisley.” Paisley looked unaffected by her mother’s scolding and continued to repeat the swear.
“She’ll stop eventually, right?” Lawson squeezed out a worried laugh, followed by a, “I sure hope so.”
That was the last Rory heard about Paisley’s potty mouth for a while, so she had naturally assumed the phase had passed. She was wrong.
Rory’s phone vibrated under her pillow, waking her up. The clock on her bedside table read 9:37. She had the graveyard shift last night, so whoever was calling better have a damn good reason to do so.
“RoryIneedyourhelp!” Lawson’s voice greeted her, words tripping and falling over each other as she said them. Rory sat up in her bed, rubbing the last remnants of sleep from her eyes.
“Take a breath and repeat that. Slower this time.” Lawson did as she was told and tried again.
“I need your help, Roar. You know how I pick Paisley up at the daycare’s aftercare instead of at lunch when most of the other kids get picked up?” Rory made an affirmative noise so Lawson continued.
“Well I just got a call from Paisley’s teacher and I need you to go pick her up now. I don’t get off until four and her teacher insists I come pick her up. I would just leave, but my manager said I’d have to find someone to cover my shift and none of these bitches will pick up their goddamn phones and I know you just got off work a couple hours ago but I don’t have anybody else to call and I’m sorry and-”
“Law, it’s okay. I’m getting dressed right now. I’ll be there in ten.” And with that, she canceled the call and drug herself out of the bed, not even bothering to ask why Paisley needed to be picked up in the first place.
As Rory got out of her car and entered the daycare’s main office to sign Paisley out, it became painfully obvious that she didn’t belong there. While the rest of the parents waiting were most likely in their thirties, all decked out in bob haircuts and mommy jeans, she was rocking black skinny jeans and a loose Neck Deep tank her hair in what she chose to call "artfully messy". She wasn’t the only one who stuck out though.
“Come on, Jake. Please put on your jacket.” Rory turned around at the familiar voice, breaking into a wide smile when she saw the brightly colored hair of the one and only Josh Dun.
“Josh?” He stood up from where he had been crouched in front of the little boy he had been talking to. Jesus, he had to have grown half a foot since high school.
“Rory? Oh my God!” All the stuck up parents waiting for their children gave them disapproving looks as he swept her into a hug. “It’s been forever! I tried to call you a couple of times but it always went to voicemail.” She said, still marveling at having found one of her old best friends.
“My phone got stolen when me and Tyler were on the road and I had to get a new number.”
“Tyler? Is he in town too?” Josh’s smile grows wider. “Yeah, we’re on a little break from tour-”
“Tour?” She parrots excitedly, jumping on the balls of her feet. “What have you guys been doing while I was stuck in this town?” Josh opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by an older woman calling out Paisley’s name as well as some little boy named Jake.
They both took a step towards the office. They gave each other questioning looks, but the impatient lady called out the two kid’s names again. The woman moved to sit behind her desk as Josh and Rory took seats in the chairs in front of her steely gaze.
“I don’t know how the rules work at your homes, but here we do not allow this kind of behavior from children.” They both blinked blankly. “Sorry?” Rory piped up and the woman, Ms.Sherry her nameplate read, let out an exasperated sigh.
“I take it you two don’t know why the children are in trouble?” They both shook their heads no.
“Jake apparently took the crayons Paisley wanted and wouldn’t share. Jake called her a, “hooker,” and Paisley responded by saying,” Ms. Sherry took a deep breath, giving Rory an unimpressed look, “You ass.”
Josh and Rory looked at each other, trying their hardest to swallow the laughs that threatened to bubble past their lips. Ms. Sherry, however, did not seem to find the situation funny.
“This kind of behavior will not be tolerated. If this happens again, the children will be asked to not come back.” After the two didn’t make a move to leave, she uttered a sharp, “Out, please!”
The two didn’t make it two steps outside the office without busting out in laughter loud enough to rival a pack of hyenas. “God, that was so great.” Josh made a noise of agreement, still trying to recover his breath from laughing so hard.
The two grabbed the kids’ belongings and then exited the building together, toddlers in tow.
“Hey, I’ll text you about maybe getting coffee sometime.” He offered, eyes still alit.
“Sounds like a date.” She stood there with a goofy smile on her face before she realized what she had said. “I mean it sounds like fun. Not like an actual date. I mean, not that I wouldn’t go on a date with you, I just-” Josh laughs loudly before ducking into his car.
“I know what you meant.” She blushes deep red. “Bye, Josh.”
He smiles gently. “Later, R.”
As Rory climbed into her car, she danced in her seat. She didn’t know that Josh had yet to pull out and was still watching her. Neither did she know that Paisley was watching as well, and would be sure to let her momma know everything that had just happened. The kid’s a spy, I’m telling you.
“Lawson, you have got to take a deep breath. Paisley is fine. She split her lip when she fell, that’s all.” Lawson took her advice, breathing in through her nose and out through her mouth as she held her baby, Paisley, closer to her chest. The toddler had tripped over her own clumsy feet and now had a small trickle of blood coming from where her teeth had bitten down on her lip during the fall. Paisley hadn’t even cried at first, it was her mother’s reaction that scared her.
“But she’s bleeding!” Rory struggled to hide a smile. “Not anymore. Look,” Paisley had started sucking on her thumb, tears dried and gone.
“Oh,” Lawson let out a little laugh. “I guess I do overact a little bit sometimes.” Rory raised an eyebrow. “Sometimes?”
Lawson rolled her eyes. “Shut up, you ass.”
“You ass!” A small voice repeated.
Lawson and Rory looked first at each other, then at Paisley, and then back to each other before they laughed so hard tears escaped their eyes.
“That’s a bad word, Paisley.” Paisley looked unaffected by her mother’s scolding and continued to repeat the swear.
“She’ll stop eventually, right?” Lawson squeezed out a worried laugh, followed by a, “I sure hope so.”
That was the last Rory heard about Paisley’s potty mouth for a while, so she had naturally assumed the phase had passed. She was wrong.
Rory’s phone vibrated under her pillow, waking her up. The clock on her bedside table read 9:37. She had the graveyard shift last night, so whoever was calling better have a damn good reason to do so.
“RoryIneedyourhelp!” Lawson’s voice greeted her, words tripping and falling over each other as she said them. Rory sat up in her bed, rubbing the last remnants of sleep from her eyes.
“Take a breath and repeat that. Slower this time.” Lawson did as she was told and tried again.
“I need your help, Roar. You know how I pick Paisley up at the daycare’s aftercare instead of at lunch when most of the other kids get picked up?” Rory made an affirmative noise so Lawson continued.
“Well I just got a call from Paisley’s teacher and I need you to go pick her up now. I don’t get off until four and her teacher insists I come pick her up. I would just leave, but my manager said I’d have to find someone to cover my shift and none of these bitches will pick up their goddamn phones and I know you just got off work a couple hours ago but I don’t have anybody else to call and I’m sorry and-”
“Law, it’s okay. I’m getting dressed right now. I’ll be there in ten.” And with that, she canceled the call and drug herself out of the bed, not even bothering to ask why Paisley needed to be picked up in the first place.
As Rory got out of her car and entered the daycare’s main office to sign Paisley out, it became painfully obvious that she didn’t belong there. While the rest of the parents waiting were most likely in their thirties, all decked out in bob haircuts and mommy jeans, she was rocking black skinny jeans and a loose Neck Deep tank her hair in what she chose to call "artfully messy". She wasn’t the only one who stuck out though.
“Come on, Jake. Please put on your jacket.” Rory turned around at the familiar voice, breaking into a wide smile when she saw the brightly colored hair of the one and only Josh Dun.
“Josh?” He stood up from where he had been crouched in front of the little boy he had been talking to. Jesus, he had to have grown half a foot since high school.
“Rory? Oh my God!” All the stuck up parents waiting for their children gave them disapproving looks as he swept her into a hug. “It’s been forever! I tried to call you a couple of times but it always went to voicemail.” She said, still marveling at having found one of her old best friends.
“My phone got stolen when me and Tyler were on the road and I had to get a new number.”
“Tyler? Is he in town too?” Josh’s smile grows wider. “Yeah, we’re on a little break from tour-”
“Tour?” She parrots excitedly, jumping on the balls of her feet. “What have you guys been doing while I was stuck in this town?” Josh opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by an older woman calling out Paisley’s name as well as some little boy named Jake.
They both took a step towards the office. They gave each other questioning looks, but the impatient lady called out the two kid’s names again. The woman moved to sit behind her desk as Josh and Rory took seats in the chairs in front of her steely gaze.
“I don’t know how the rules work at your homes, but here we do not allow this kind of behavior from children.” They both blinked blankly. “Sorry?” Rory piped up and the woman, Ms.Sherry her nameplate read, let out an exasperated sigh.
“I take it you two don’t know why the children are in trouble?” They both shook their heads no.
“Jake apparently took the crayons Paisley wanted and wouldn’t share. Jake called her a, “hooker,” and Paisley responded by saying,” Ms. Sherry took a deep breath, giving Rory an unimpressed look, “You ass.”
Josh and Rory looked at each other, trying their hardest to swallow the laughs that threatened to bubble past their lips. Ms. Sherry, however, did not seem to find the situation funny.
“This kind of behavior will not be tolerated. If this happens again, the children will be asked to not come back.” After the two didn’t make a move to leave, she uttered a sharp, “Out, please!”
The two didn’t make it two steps outside the office without busting out in laughter loud enough to rival a pack of hyenas. “God, that was so great.” Josh made a noise of agreement, still trying to recover his breath from laughing so hard.
The two grabbed the kids’ belongings and then exited the building together, toddlers in tow.
“Hey, I’ll text you about maybe getting coffee sometime.” He offered, eyes still alit.
“Sounds like a date.” She stood there with a goofy smile on her face before she realized what she had said. “I mean it sounds like fun. Not like an actual date. I mean, not that I wouldn’t go on a date with you, I just-” Josh laughs loudly before ducking into his car.
“I know what you meant.” She blushes deep red. “Bye, Josh.”
He smiles gently. “Later, R.”
As Rory climbed into her car, she danced in her seat. She didn’t know that Josh had yet to pull out and was still watching her. Neither did she know that Paisley was watching as well, and would be sure to let her momma know everything that had just happened. The kid’s a spy, I’m telling you.
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thanks for reading - you're all babes.