The show was over in a blur. I always feel like I perform better when Nikki is there.
“Good show guys,” Taylor said. “Ike, you seem to be getting back to normal. Zac, thanks for keeping us on beat. Keep it up and we might be able to keep this gypsy wagon together.”
“We’ve got about 70 on deck by the coach.” Bex came by and told us.
“Thanks,” we said at the same time. That was our secret code for her to tell us how many fans were waiting outside our bus for autographs and pictures. They always did, and we usually tried to at least come out and say hi. But, honestly, we did wait inside on purpose for some fans to give up and go home before we did.
“Who has bus duty tonight?” Nikki asked me.
“Zac and I will go,” Taylor offered. “You take a car back to the hotel and rest. We have an early interview tomorrow. And with the way Zac’s been lately, you’ll need to help me cover for him.”
“Got it. Are you ready, dear?”
“Whenever you are.”
I called our usual car service and they had a car at a discreet back entrance in a matter of minutes. It was only a short ride to the hotel, and I was so very glad to see a king size bed.
“Do you want to walk around for a bit and see if we can grab something to eat?” Nikki asked.
“Oh yes, of course. I thought you ate at the venue. What are you in the mood for?”
“I think at this point I’ll be in the mood for whatever’s open.”
“Alright. We’ll just see what we happen on.”
There was a little bit of a breeze and Nikki huddled close to me for warmth. I put my arm around her, not minding the strain it caused. She smelled so good, and looked so beautiful, I wondered how on earth I could stand to spend so much time away from her. The city lights reflected off her curls and shinned in her eyes as we walked and talked.
“Oh, there. 24-hour pizza by the slice,” She said.
“Sounds good.” I held the door for her to enter the little hole in the wall pizza joint. It was warm inside and smelled wonderful.
We sat down at a small, greasy table after we placed our order. I looked around for a bathroom, just in case my stomach decided it didn’t like the pizza.
It was only a few minutes before our food arrived. The thick slices of the veggie pizza reminded me of Chicago style.
“Only one? I remember when you could put three of those away without blinking,” Nikki commented
“Yeah, I can’t each much since I’ve been on that medication. I know I need to, but I just can’t. If I force myself, I get sick.”
“Speaking of, I’d like to hear more about this mixing liquor and pain pills business.”
I told her the truth. “It happeneded just one night. I felt so bad the next morning I didn’t do it anymore. I know it’s not safe, but I had a few drinks with the guys after the show before I remembered that I had medicine to take.”
“Clarke Isaac. Don’t.you.dare. Do that again.”
“I won’t. Like I said, I forgot.”
“I won’t let you forget again,” then she sighed, and reached across the table for my hand. “I’m sorry. Sometimes I wish you had a normal job so that when crap like this happened, you could go on short term leave or something. When you are in a band with your family, there really is no such thing. You even discuss band stuff at birthday parties and holidays.”
“I know. But if I had a normal job, we wouldn’t be able to afford the things we can.”
“I would gladly give up some things for more time with you, though.”
“We’ve actually talked about slowing down a little bit next year. We are all exhausted.”
Nikki rubbed the top of my hand with her thumb. “I would like that a lot. Maybe just play local shows or something. Your fans will travel to see you.”
“I know they will. We don’t know exactly what next year will look like, but I hope it involves a lot more staying home. And a lot less getting sick on the road.”
“And it sounds like you are getting a cold on top of everything else.”
“Yeah, I’m fighting it, but it looks like the crud is about to get me.”
“Ok. I’ll call your doctor in the morning and see what cold medicines you can take with the other medicine they have you on.”
“That’s a good idea. Thank you for taking such good care of me.”
“That’s what a marriage is. Sometimes I take care of you and sometimes you take care of me.”
“I know. I’m just so used to taking care of everyone else it’s hard to step back.”
“Well, you are going to or you will work yourself into such a state that you can’t. I know you have so much to do on tour besides just playing the shows, and that you like to spend time with fans, but I want you to take as much time as you can to rest. Taylor and Zac can take up some of the slack.”
“They have been doing that already, though. They have been playing softer so they won’t drown me out and taking the bulk of the interviews. They said I could skip fan meet and greets and the walks, but I try not to. I wouldn’t have a job if it wasn’t for our fans.”
“I understand that, but you have to get back to 100% so that you can be there for them.”
“Alright. I’ll try.” I looked down at my plate. I had only finished half of my pizza and I wasn’t sure that I would be able to keep that down.
“Are you ready to go back to the room?”
“Of course I am.” I left a tip on the table and we walked hand in hand back to the hotel room.