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SETON
"Merry Christmas, Mommy!”
My sister-in-law Andi’s little cherubs — five-year-old Abigail and three-year-old Chloe — sang the words as they waved frantically at their mother’s face on the tablet screen.
Andi laughed and waved back. “Merry Christmas, my babies! Mommy is almost home!”
“How many more sleeps?” Abigail asked excitedly.
“Well…” Andi tapped her chin in an exaggerated pantomime of thinking. “In one more sleep, you’re coming with Auntie Seton and Uncle Grey to see Mommy and Daddy. We’re going to have a big party! Then you’re going to go with Daddy to see Mommy play with her band. Does that sound like fun?”
“Yes!” Abigail and Chloe chimed together. With Chloe’s tiny lisp, the word came out sounding from her more likeyeth. “But Mommy,” Chloe frowned. “Can’t you come tuck us in tonight? Auntie Seton said you and Daddy are in Denver, and Denver is in Colorado!”
“Yep, we are in Denver, baby. We just got here. Denver is the last stop on our tour! But we’re at a hotel all the way on the other side of the city. It’s too far from Lupine for us to drive there today. Plus, Mommy and Daddy have some work to do tonight. But we’re both so excited to see you tomorrow. We can hardly wait!”
“Us too!” the girls chorused.
Andi listened as the girls chattered excitedly about everything they had been doing at our house today — the games they had played, the hot cocoa I had made them earlier — and as they promised their mother they were being so good that Santa Claus would be proud of them.
“I’m so glad you’re being good for Auntie Seton and Uncle Grey,” Andi told them. “And I bet Santa is, too. Babies, can you put Auntie Seton on the phone for a minute? I need to talk to her about a few things.”
“I’m here, Andi.” I angled the tablet over my way so the camera angle would pull me into the screen. “Girls, why don’t you go play now? Say bye to your mommy.”
“Okay! Bye Mommy!” the girls echoed.
“Bye-bye, babies! I’ll see you tomorrow! Love you!”
“Love you!”
The girls ran out of the room like a tiny pink stampede. Sigh-laughing, I picked up the tablet and settled into my favorite living-room chair.
“So, how was the trip to Denver?” I asked Andi, who besides being my sister-in-law was also my best friend. “Are you guys all settled in at the hotel?”
“It was fine. I’m absolutely exhausted, though. The trip from Kansas City was long, and as usual, I didn’t manage to get any sleep on the bus. God, I will be so glad to be done spending my life on the road for a little while.”
Andi was the bass player and lead vocalist for her band Hard Candy — formerly The Nopes. Until two years ago, Hard Candy was moderately successful, but not exactly a household name. They were a solid presence on the local music scene here in Colorado, playing shows around the Denver area and in our home town of Lupine. And then, one of their songs went viral. Seemingly overnight, they were catapulted into the realm of superstardom. And, to Andi’s simultaneous excitement and dismay, into the realm of what she calledperpetual touring.
“I can’t believe your tour is finally over,” I replied. “I can only imagine what it’s like to be on the road for that long.”
“I can’t either. God, See, it feels like I’ve been gone forever. I never would have made it without these FaceTime calls to the girls. And without having someone I could really trust and count on to take care of them. I seriously owe you forever.”
My brother Cal had been holding down the fort at home with their daughters until he decided to meet up with the band for the last few weeks of their tour. “It’s been fun, honestly,” I replied. “Kendall and Wyatt have loved having so much time with their cousins. Kendall especially. Wyatt would probably deny it, though.” At eleven years old, my twins were just on the cusp between tween-hood and teen-hood. They both adored spending time with their little cousins, which seemed unusual given their age gap. Abigail and Chloe brought out the maternal side in my otherwise tomboyish Kendall. She loved babysitting the girls, inventing games for them to play and urging them to run and jump around outside. My son Wyatt, on the other hand, put on a big act pretending like being surrounded by females was a tremendous burden. But he didn’t really fool me, no matter what he said. It was easy to catch him tickling his little cousins and carrying them around on his back when he thought no one else was watching.
“Well, even so,” Andi continued, “you guys are life savers. And please thank Grey again for letting Cal come with me on the last leg of the tour.”
“You can thank him yourself tomorrow,” I reminded her. My husband, Greyson, was the president of the Stone Kings Motorcycle Club, and Cal was one of the members.
“That’s true. Lord, the party tomorrow is going to be the weirdest scene ever. Our band, partying with the Stone Kings Motorcycle Club, and a big passel of kids.” She chuckles. “Check out our rock and roll lifestyle, America!”
Hard Candy’s last stop on their cross-country tour had been scheduled for Denver on purpose. It was the homecoming victory lap, right before Christmas. Instead of an after-party, tomorrow’s pre-show party was just for the families and close friends of the band. The party was going to be family-friendly and Christmas-themed.
“How’s the hotel, by the way?” I asked, peering at the room behind her. “Looks nice, from what I can see.”
“Oh my God, Seton, it is sooooo over the top luxurious!” Andi’s eyes widened expressively. “We’ve stayed at some nice places and some okay places on the tour, but this place is by far the best.” She paused and picked up the tablet, giving me a virtual tour as she walked around the suite. “Do you know, they actually call this room the rock star suite? Apparently, Mick Jagger has stayed here. Check it out: it has a grand piano in the living room!”
“Wow,” I marveled, staring at the instrument and the floor-to-ceiling windows behind it, which showed off a view of the Denver skyline. “Just think how many songs we all know and love might have been composed on that very piano.”
