“Bo,” Willow started, seemingly unable to meet my eyes. “I just want to tell you how sorry I am for the way I’ve behaved. Honestly, I’m embarrassed. Before all of this, Ember was my best childhood friend … I didn’t mean …”
“Hey,” I walked over to her and gave her a firm, but friendly, hug, “it’s okay. Everyone reacts differently to stress.” I had a lot more I wanted to say to her, but it seemed that only pure kindness was called for in that minute.
Willow pulled back and wiped under her eyes. “Anyway, I’m going to go back home and kind of chill out for a while. I’ll fly back up at the end of next week for the Napa show. Until then, I just want the dust to settle. And, since I’m not actually in the band, it makes the most sense for me to leave.”
Ember tugged gently on one of Willow’s mile-long braids. “You know you don’t have to go, though.”
Willow turned to her. “I know. But I also know it will be a lot harder for you to work things out with your dad with me hanging around.”
“I don’t know what I have to say to him.” Ember crossed her arms in front of her body.
“And it will be a lot harder to figure out if I’m looming in the background.”
“How are you not furious?” Ember asked, leaving me happy she was openly conversing with Willow in front of me.
Willow hooked her thumb in my direction. “I was furious, remember? I was mad that you got to keep your dad … that you got to have the true, perfect and real family. And the perfect boyfriend. I wanted to take something from you. Like I felt something had been taken from me.”
I winced at the honesty in her words, but Ember didn’t flinch.
“You have your dad, Willow.”
“Right,” Willow answered, rubbing Ember’s arms, “and you have yours.”
As Ember nodded, Willow pulled her into a hug. I looked passed them, to the girls’ parents, and saw them openly staring, and intermittently wiping under their eyes.
“Drive safe,” Ember said as she backed up, allowing Willow to open the driver’s door.
“I will. See you in ten days.” Willow smiled as she turned the key.
“See you.” Ember shut the door and Willow pulled away.
I put my arm around her and she rested her head on my shoulder. “Where’s our next gig?” she asked tiredly.
I looked up for a moment, scanning the schedule that I had stored in my brain. “Vallejo this weekend, then we go straight to Napa and spend a few days there before our show at the end of next week.”
“Okay,” she murmured.
“So … I hesitate to ask this, but … which RV are we going to ride in now? I’m only asking because we have reservations at a park in Vallejo tonight and the office there closes in an hour and a half.” It was only a forty-minute drive, but given the way this road trip had gone, we needed a broad margin of error.
“Same as before. I’ll just … need some space from my parents.”
“In an RV? Not a problem …” I turned her around so she was facing me, and I stroked my thumbs down the sides of her face.
She quirked her mouth into a sarcastic grin. “You know what I mean.”
I hugged her, resting my chin on the top of her head.“Yeah, beautiful, I know. You know what else I know?”
“What’s that?” she looked up at me through her feathery lashes.
“I know that your dad would do anything for you. He’s felt as helpless as I have, Ember. He wants to take this pain away but there is nothing he can do. And, it’s killing him.”
Ember’s eyes filled with huge tears, and in the span of a blink they were released down her face. “This is so screwed up.” She pressed her forehead into my chest and her shoulders shook.
“I know, love. I know.” I rubbed her back, setting my chin on her head once more.
I watched as Solstice and Michael got in their RV, and Regan walked toward us with his hands in his pockets. I knew it had been difficult for him to see Ember going through this and feeling like he didn’t have anything useful to say. As he approached us, Raven and Ashby slowly entered our RV, Ashby shooting a glance over his shoulder just before he climbed the stairs.
“Em …” Regan put a hand on her back and looked to me. I mouthed she’s okay, just as Ember straightened up and faced him.
“Hey you. Sorry for blowing you off yesterday.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and he squeezed her into a tight hug.
“No sorry’s, remember? I know you needed a minute.” Regan and Ember were constantly teasing each other for apologizing for how they were feeling.
Ember started for our things at the edge of the lot. “Is my dad driving tonight?” she called over her shoulder.
“Yeah. It’s a short drive though,” I assured her.
Ember picked up her guitar case and hooked her messenger bag on her shoulder. “Regan, I’ll fill you in once we get settled at the park and can get away for a while, okay?”