Leaving Sweden…

The next day we boarded a boat for Germany for a fairly decent amount of money, and I watched the shoreline disappear almost sadly. We had had a lot of fun there, and I had really liked the Swedish people with the exception of the man who had tried to maul me at the bar. I was standing at the rail, looking at the fading sand when Tommy came up to stand next to me.

"Penny for your thoughts?" He asked softly as one of his hands came up to rest on my shoulder. I looked at his fingers a moment before glancing back at his face with a 'I'm glad you're here' expression. He smiled and tightened his grip.

"It hasn't been so bad being stranded with the local folks of Europe." I said with a shrug before glancing back at the water. Tom chuckled.

"It can be fun if you know how to do it right. The first time I back packed Europe Chaz, the guys, and I were trying to get noticed on our own, and we thought the best way to do it would be to do our own little solo tour without any help. Let's just say that four penniless guys with no idea what they were doing equals a lot of pretty bad experiences, but we also met some unbelievable people along the way. So, after that, once we did make it big, I traveled back a few times to back pack on my own just for the hell of it. After a while, it became almost a ritual. Then, of course, I met Giselle, and I stayed in France for a good six months before returning to Canada." He said as he leaned over enough his breath brushed across my neck. I listened in silence; amazed he had revealed so much about his past to me. It was one of the few things that I had a hard time getting him to talk to me about. I glanced back at him warily feeling as if I was about to tread on hallow ground.

"What about your family, Tom? Where were they?" I asked softly as I looked straight out across the channel, afraid to turn and look at his face. He sighed from behind me.

"Jude…I have a sister, a father, and a mother. That's pretty much it. I dropped out of school when I was in the seventh grade because I was stupid—I only cared about fighting and music. The fighting almost got me killed and the singing was something my family couldn't support because they wanted me to have an education too. I should have listened to them, but I didn't. So, we disowned each other. It wasn't really their fault, it was mine, but I still can't face that part of my life yet. I've just accepted it. So, basically studios, engineers, producers, and managers have been my family for most of my life. And I leave it at that." He said in a tone that discouraged any more questions. It wasn't a whole lot, but I knew it had taken him a good deal of effort on his part to tell me about it. So I kept my mouth shut and I didn't push. Now, at least, I knew he had come from somewhere and that he had basically made up for his loneliness by being with as many women as possible in his life. That was just sad to me. I settled back against him with contentment as the wind ruffled through our hair, and I felt his arm wrap around my waist firmly as if he were afraid the moment would disappear. I couldn't blame him. I did too.

Shouting from behind us caused us both to spin around as we saw Jamie's pale face standing almost directly across from us. I almost laughed at his look of misery.

"Are you alright, Jamie?" I asked with a quirk of my brow as he looked at me with a deep frown furrowing his forehead. Spied looked up disgustedly from beside him.

"Damn it, he just threw up on my best shoes." He said with a groan as Jamie let Patsy lead him over to the rail.

"I think I'm sea sick." He said obviously as he passed by us, and I heard Patsy laugh softly.

"That's what I'd call it home boy." She said with a chuckle before helping him lean over the rail. Something told me Jamie was going to sleep good tonight. I grinned at him a moment in sympathy before I saw something poking out of his pocket, and I cringed.

"Please tell me you didn't give any money to Jamie, Tommy." I said with a quiver in my voice as Tommy looked over at me on alert.

"Half of it in case the group gets split up. Why?" He asked in a confused tone as I watched Jamie's wallet slide unceremoniously out of his pocket towards the deck. Oh, dear God! Jerking myself out of Tom's arms, I made a run for it.

"Someone grab that wallet!" I yelled to the guys as we all noticed the blunder and dove for the deck, but it was too late. Leaning over the railing, we watched in despair as half our money splashed into the water before sinking like the Titanic down to the ocean floor. Oh no!