Limbo

DAWN:

January, 2015:

"Hey there! How was the show tonight?" I ask, as I sit cross-legged on my bed with my laptop, seeing Ash smiling back at me from the screen.

"Pretty damn great, actually," he announces. "The crowd was absolutely nuts, they were so loud a few times that we could barely hear ourselves. But it would be a lot better if you were here with me. I miss you, darlin'."

"I miss you, too. How long 'til you'll be back again?"

The band went out on their tour a couple of weeks after we got together, and except for the few days they were back for Christmas, I've only been able to see him on Skype. But we text, and talk on the phone at least once a day, so it's not as bad as it could be.

"We won't be back in LA until the middle of next month, and then it'll only be for about ten days before we go off to do the European shows," he replies.

"So you won't be here for your birthday next week? I thought that you had a few days off then."

He smiles again, and says, "That's one of the things that I wanted to discuss with you. Yeah, we have the twenty-sixth through the twenty-ninth off, but I'd already promised Nan and Pop that I'd come home and spend my birthday with them before I knew you were even in town."

"Well, I guess I can understand that," I tell him. "I'll get to see more of you when you do get back, so I can't begrudge them having you to themselves for a few days."

"Wait a sec, babe, I wasn't finished. I talked to them a couple of days ago, and they were kind of wondering when they were going to get to meet you. So I promised that I'd see if you might be interested in coming out. You can see the show in Kansas City, and then we can head to Berger the next morning, and spend a few days. So whaddya say? You can even bring your folks along, if you want. That way, everyone knows that I'm not just trying to get you alone in my hotel room."

"Ash, I've told you, I'm not worried about what anybody else thinks, I trust you. But I do have a job, remember?"

"Well, then, we'll just consider it a business trip, and you can bring me those new sketches we talked about personally, instead of just leaving them on my desk until I get back," he pronounces. "I'd really like to see you, and introduce you to my family. I kind of get the idea that they may think I've made you up."

"Oh, we can't have that, can we?" I giggle. "Of course I'll come, if you really want me to. I'd love to be able to give you your birthday gift in person, instead of having to mail it."

"Terrific!" he enthuses. "Why don't you go find out if your family wants to come with, then call me, and I'll get started on the arrangements."

We close out the Skype session, and I go down to tell everyone about his idea. Jed and Aunt Wendy tell me that they won't be able to get out of work for that long, but rather surprisingly, after a fair amount of begging on her part, they agree to let Evie miss a few days of school and go with me. I call to tell him what we've decided, and he gets on his laptop while we're still on the phone to book our flight, and asks their tour manager to arrange for an extra hotel room in Kansas City.

Then Evie comes to my room and wants to know what she should pack, and he explains that his family home is in sort of a rural area, kind of like ours was, so we'll want stuff like jeans, T-shirts, and walking-type shoes instead of heels, plus whatever we want to wear to the concert. She's very excited when he mentions that they have horses, and runs back downstairs to tell the folks while I say goodbye to Ash, and wonder how I'm going to endure the next two days before we leave.

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As we walk into the airport, following the arrows that direct us to the baggage claim, Evie's head is turning like it's on ball bearings. "Where's Ashley? I don't see him anywhere. Isn't he gonna meet us?"

"No, he's having one of their crew people pick us up, because they had an interview that was already scheduled," I explain. "Plus, if he showed up here, he'd probably get mobbed, and I don't think that's how any of us wanna start this trip."

We get to the carousel, and see a very tall guy standing next to it, holding a card with my name on it, so we approach him. "Are you the one that Ashley sent?" I query, and he turns to look us over.
"Yep, that's me," he responds, giving us a slightly mischievous grin. "I'm Jesse, and if you hadn't come from behind me, I woulda spotted you from the other side of the building, since Ash is constantly flashing your pictures to all of us."

He grabs our bags when they come around, and leads us out to a taxi by the front doors. After putting the bags in the trunk, he climbs in, putting me in the middle between him and Evie, and tells the driver where to go. Evie is trying to see everything, which the driver notices, and as he drives, he points out different landmarks to her until we get to the concert venue. Jesse pays him, and grabs our bags, saying that he'll stash them on the bus for us until after the show, then he texts someone and tells us to go inside and wait.

We go into a long hallway, and stand for a couple of minutes before I see Juliet coming toward us. "Hi there!" she calls out. "The guys were just getting ready to start soundcheck when Jesse texted Ash, so I told him I'd come get you and bring you back to the stage."

I introduce her to Evie, and we follow her through the building, until we get to a set of stairs, and she says, "These will take us backstage, and you can watch the rest of the soundcheck with me and Ella."

As we walk up, we start to hear music, which gets louder as we get closer to the top. When we get there, we can see all of the guys moving around the stage with their instruments, and a couple of other people making adjustments to some of the amps and stuff. Ash crouches down for a second to fiddle with some sort of little boxlike thing near the front of the stage, and when he looks up, a big smile spreads across his face. He lays his bass down and practically sprints across the stage, flinging his arms around me and actually lifting me off the floor as he kisses me.

"I am so glad to see you," he murmurs into my ear when I finally have to pull away for breath. "I've missed you so much it makes me want to scream sometimes."

"Trust me, I know the feeling," I tell him. "I've been so wired the last few days waiting to actually see you that I'm surprised I actually slept at all."

"Yeah, for sure! I think she was more excited to get here than I was when Mum bought tickets to Disneyland when I was ten." Evie observes, and he reaches out to ruffle her hair.

"Good to see you too, kiddo," he says. "Whatcha been up to lately?"

"School, mostly. Oh, and I get to be in another cooking contest next month. If I win, I get two thousand dollars to go toward college."

We talk for another minute or so, then someone reminds him that they still need to finish the soundcheck, so he goes back to the stage. Ella and Juliet introduce the guy as Jon, who is the tour manager, and he gives Evie and me each a laminated pass on a red lanyard, and says to have it on at all times during the show tonight, so security will know that we're supposed to be there.

After another thirty minutes or so, they finally finish up, and we all go out to the bus so they can get some last-minute stuff done, and relax for a bit while we get changed. Evie changes into a pair of black leggings and a new BVB shirt that Ash had Jesse bring out for her, and I decide to wear an open-shouldered APFI shirt with Ash's picture on the front with a pair of ripped up jeans that I've decorated with chains and appliques, and my cowboy boots. He whistles when I come back to the front of the bus, and says, "Wow! I knew I'd look good on you, darlin'."

"Seriously, Ash, get your mind out of the gutter," Jon admonishes him. "We've got a kid here, remember?"

His cheeks get flushed, and he looks a bit embarrassed, but then bursts out laughing along with the rest of us when Evie glances up from her phone and says, "Don't worry about it, I've heard worse. I go to public school, y'know."

"Maybe so, but we don't need to encourage him," Jon responds. "So what do you guys want to eat?"

We all agree to order out for Chinese, and eat dinner on the bus before we go back into the venue, where the guys are going to get ready. Evie, Juliet, Ella, and I hang out at the side of the stage while they get ready, and finally meet their security guy, Yanni, as he brings over a few people who also have passes, either because they're with the other band, or because they paid extra or won a contest.

Finally, the opening band goes onstage, and they're pretty decent, but I'm talking with Inna and Juliet, only halfway paying attention to any of it, when Evie marches over to me and grabs my arm, looking quite indignant. Pointing back in the direction she came from, she says, "Sissy, see that girl over there? The one that looks like her shirt would fit Sparkle?"

"Kinda hard not to see her," I observe. "That's a wardrobe malfunction just waiting to happen."

"Who's Sparkle?" Ella inquires.

"My Yorkie," Evie says, before turning back to me. "I just heard her talking to some of those other people, and she was telling them that the last time the guys were here, she went on the bus with Ash!"

"Well, I guess that's possible. You're old enough to know that sort of thing happens, even if the folks would like to think otherwise. So why so surprised?"

"Oh, I'm not weirded out by that, but she seems to think that she's gonna get to go again this time. Doesn't she know that you guys are dating?"

"Y'know, I honestly doubt it," I admit. "We haven't gone out of our way for photo ops or whatever, so it's probably not common knowledge yet."

She just looks at me strangely, and turns to watch the show until we see the guys coming out to take their places at the side of the stage. Ash gives me a grin and crooks his finger for me to come over. I start walking toward him, but the girl Evie pointed out rushes over and gets to him first.

"Hey there, baby," she coos. "I knew you'd remember me. So, are we on for some more fun after the show tonight?"

"Sorry, but no," he replies, stepping away from her. "I was trying to get my girlfriend over here, not you."

"Girlfriend?" she squeaks, looking like she's about to cry. "I haven't heard anything about a girlfriend, you haven't posted anything!"

"No, I guess I haven't," he acknowledges. "But then again, there's a reason it's called a 'private life', because what I do that isn't band-related isn't necessarily anyone else's business. But if this is gonna be an issue, maybe I should rethink that."

He asks for my phone, since his is backstage, taps Jinxx on the shoulder, and asks him to take our picture. He takes one of Ash kissing me, and then one of him behind me with his arms wrapped around my waist, then hands it back. Ash spends a few seconds tapping away, then hands it back to me, while the other girl goes flouncing off to pout in the corner.

Finally, they go onstage, and we basically forget about the whole thing as we watch them work the stage. They're in top form, even better than the first time I saw them, and the crowd is totally manic, almost drowning out the band on a couple of occasions.

"This is great!" Evie shrieks in my ear. "Can we do it again!"

Juliet hears her and giggles. "Oh, I'm sure you'll have plenty of chances to see them play, if I'm reading Ash right," she says. "He was willing to post their relationship on social media, and for him, that's a big deal. I doubt that he'll be going anywhere in the foreseeable future."

Finally, after the encore, they come back out, and we all head to the dressing room to wait while they shower. But we're barely in the room before we realize that everyone's phone is going off, ticking off a firestorm of notifications. Not surprisingly, when we all check, most of them are from people sharing and commenting on the pics he put up, which I finally see that he'd captioned:

"Backstage in KCMO with my gorgeous girlfriend. Best show so far, just because you're here. #Darlin'Dawn #LoveofmyLife"

As I look at my phone, I see that I've suddenly gained almost two hundred new followers, along with some very negative comments, and the guys accounts are showing mixed reviews as well. "Okay then, that was quick. Apparently, I'm either the greatest thing since the invention of the wheel, or I'm the second coming of Mata Hari. The jury seems to be out still."

"Been there, still doing that," Juliet informs me. "Welcome to the fishbowl, hon. Are you sure you'll be able to handle it?"

"Absolutely," I reply, reaching out to slip my arms around Ashley's waist as he comes to stand next to me. "I managed to sidestep my lunatic father to get what I wanted before, so some social media snark isn't even a blip on the meter. So bring it on."

Notes