Page 62 of Bonding the Band

It was our second night in Massachusetts, so there wasn’t much preparation to do. I loved when we had multi-day stops and could just vibe between shows and take some time tobreathe. Besides a brief scare with the instruments, things had been remarkably smooth, and today we had most of the day to ourselves, other than an early-morning sound check.

That was easy enough, though. I sat on one of those uncomfortable wooden stools while I worked on my instrument, strumming until it soundedjustright.

“What should we do with our free time?” I asked as I idly tuned my bass.

“We owe Meadow a shopping trip,” Hendrix said from where he stood next to the mic. “She needs some more nesting supplies. There’s a big box store not far from here that we can use.”

Arlo nodded. “That sounds like a plan! We can even take her for a nice lunch. Wine and dine her…without the wine, because she’s growing our progeny.”

Gary turned to us, a frown plastered on his face. “Hendrix! You’re needed to sign some vinyls. You can’t be going out. What if someone sees you with the omega?”

Hendrix shrugged. “If someone sees us, we’ll just say she’s our assistant. We want her to be comfortable with us. We’re going. Vinyl signings can wait.”

Gary’s face turned red as he spluttered at the simple brush-off. Hendrix had been growing quite the spine with Gary, especially where Meadow was concerned.

“Cool beans. I’ll grab a snack and meet you at the bus?” Phin asked, putting his drumsticks down.

“Sure.’’ I shrugged, packing up my guitar and hightailing it out of the practice room before the others, making a beeline for the bus. I could hear Gary behind me, attempting to chew Hendrix out, but I got the distinct impression that Hendrix didn’t care anymore.

I found Meadow on the bus, sitting on the couch with her laptop in front of her, typing away.

Several of her nesting items had left the nest and made their way onto the couch. None of us complained, though. It was comfortable and smelled like her.

“Have you got much more to do?” I asked.

She shook her head, closing the laptop and placing it on the couch next to her. “I just had a few emails to send. Why?”

“How do you feel about having some outside time today? Hendrix did say we needed to take you to get the soft and comfy things.”

Meadow sat up a little straighter, her eyes lighting up. “Are you sure you have time?” she asked, chewing lightly on her lip.

“Of course. I wouldn’t offer it if I didn’t! Hendrix and Arlo are just finishing up at the venue sound check, and Phin is around here somewhere. Once they’re done, we can have a little pack outing and maybe even grab some lunch. What’s your current craving?”

“Thai food?” she asked.

“I think we can find a Thai place easily enough. Why don’t you get dressed, and we’ll go get the guys?”

Meadow’s nose crinkled with distaste. “Won’t your manager be at the sound check? He clearly hates me, and I don’t want to cause any problems.”

“The guys are on their way here, so you don’t have to see Gary at all.”

Meadow sighed. “Thank you. I’ve got enough going on without dealing with him.” She placed her hand on her belly. “This nugget is growing fast, and my body is aching.”

“When was your last checkup?” I asked.

“A few weeks ago now. I’m supposed to have another one next week, but that’s in Seattle, and we’ll be on the other side of the country.”

“We’ll have to find you a doctor so you can keep getting checkups.”

“I would appreciate that. I guess it would be wishful thinking to get someone who could travel with us on the road?”

“Not necessarily. I’ll let the guys and management know you’re interested in that, and it’ll get worked out sooner or later.”

“Really? That would be awesome. Thank you.” She got up and padded over to me, standing on her tiptoes to kiss my cheek and give me a blinding smile. “I better go get dressed!” she declared excitedly before scampering off in the general direction of her nest.

An omega in a nesting store was like a child at Christmas.

“Too many choices. I don’t know what to pick,” she whined, looking at the rows upon rows of blankets and pillows and all things squishy and comfortable.

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