Homeward Bound / Home
The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step, but if every step brings you closer to home…
"Hey again" Cedes smiled looking at her family sat on the other end of the face time call "I miss you guys"
"I wish we could say we missed you too, but it's been less than an hour babe" Sam laughed "We're fine" he showed her Dylan's happy face "Honest"
"I hate when you say honest" she giggled "But I hope you two have fun"
She'd been doing a gig that had started in Wisconsin it was supposed to have lasted two weeks, but she was already at the beginning of week three with no sign of the dates and venue stacking ending before Tuesday. Dylan was five now and Sam had managed to talk her into getting back out there, she loved pleasing the crowd, but since Dylan she found she loved home life better, so he'd had a three year battle on his hands to get her this far.
After sending out a couple of songs that were well received Bert; her agent, suggested she get back out there to promote herself again and prepare the world for her third album. She'd started the work on her album but getting out there and being away from her family was proving hard, Sam had finally got a well-deserved break in his schedule; he was in the marketing end of the modelling business, and he'd decided that she should get some of her life back, so that was what she was doing.
Before she left she made sure that everyone was on call just in case, friends, and family, she'd left no stone unturned; she was available for chats before bedtime every night, along with her regular three random checks each day, just to keep the babysitter on her toes. Today had been a bit different Sam had downed tools on his song writing as well, for a long weekend, decided that the babysitter could have the time off because he wanted to spend some quality time with his son. She wouldn't have called the mode she went into new panic, but with it being the first day, she had called every hour almost on the hour for nearly six hours, so she was now sitting in her dressing room having the seventh call.
"Are you having fun little man?" she cooed at his cute little face beaming back at her
"Daddy took me to the park, and I went really high on the swing, I forgot, I wasn't to tell you that" he covered his mouth and looked at his dad
"How high did you go sweetheart?" Cedes produced her excited voice, but her eyes were telling Sam his plight depended on the answer to that question
"As high as I could go without getting daddy into trouble" Dylan giggled, Cedes looked at Sam smiling he'd got every angle covered
"You are so lucky" she giggled looking at her son feeling proud of himself, but talking to Sam
"My middle name" Sam laughed "Seven tonight yeah?"
"They pushed me back to eight, so I should be finished for ten, I'll call as soon as I can" she smiled "So, sweetheart" she grabbed their son's attention "You be good for daddy, and if you're really good he'll sing you a song, how about that?"
"Yeh" Dylan cheered punching the air in good old fashioned Evans style, they sat talking for a while, watching Dylan playing, before they closed the call, after confirming that she was coming home on Friday night as planned, in time to finish planning their son's sixth birthday festivities. Cedes satisfied that everything at home was on track enough for her to take the two hours out
"Thought you might want to know" Penny; her assistant's head popped round the door "I just heard Bert lock in the last four dates, which means you should be home by Sunday"
"Great" she started to smile, then frowned "But that means I'm going to miss Dylan's birthday"
"I'm sorry" Penny smiled apologetically "I'll help you recreate it perfectly for Dylan when we get back, if that's any consolation"
"Our family's coming, it's all planned" she looked at Penny through her mirror "Sorry Bert's going to have to push some of those dates, I didn't agree them anyway"
"I'll let him know" Penny took a deep breath knowing this was going to be a face off
"And Pen" she turned to look at the woman "Will you book me a flight for Thursday midnight please?" she grinned "I'm homeward bound"
"Sure" she smiled walking away wondering how, when this was the busiest time of the year for travellers
Two hours later Cedes was ready for her performance, listening to the supporting artists getting more applause every night was heart-warming
"Twenty minutes" Penny's head popped round the door again
"Pen" she called after her "What did Bert say? I thought he'd be straight in to argue the point"
"He didn't answer" Penny laughed
"That bad" Cedes giggled "He better sort something out"
"I hope he does too, are you coming to do your usual warm up?"
"Yeah, give me a minute" she sat prepping her hair, checking her nails, and finally making sure her teeth didn't have lipstick on them before she got up to make her way to the back of the stage to warm up "Okay" she shook her head after doing her breathing and mouth exercises "I'm ready" she shook her nerves out and stood waiting
"You've got this Cedes" Bert finally crawled out the woodwork seconds before they announced her, she smiled at the crowd's reaction, looking at Bert to let him know she'd deal with him later, before she climbed the steps and walked onto the stage her backing singers setting the mood before she appeared
Something about your hands on my body, feels better than any man I ever met
Something about the way you just get me, I try and I, don't cause I can't forget
You got a feel and a soul, that I need in my life, oh
And though we may grow, I don't know why we don't grow apart
Maybe I need you, I breathe you, turning my heart blue, maybe I need you, when I leave you, ICU oh
She'd wrote this song when she was pregnant with Dylan, it wasn't an easy pregnancy, and things got tough for both of them at some point, but they fought through it, and this was the evidence that any of it had ever happened. It was the first song she'd let off when she started planning her return to public life through song, plus she always liked to think of home at the beginning and end of every concert "Hello Madison, how you feeling?" she called out smiling at their continued cheers
The second verse was born out of the alternative lives they were giving themselves at the time, unspoken ones they dare not let out, they only revealed this to each other once everything was back to normal, he was the one who'd encouraged her to write the second verse, so in essence it was their song
First we agree that we're better as friends, I delete every message that we sent
Try to move on with somebody less like you, I don't know how we end up in the red
Find myself reading your comments again, and then end up in each other's heads, it all makes sense because
You've got a feel and a soul, that I need in my life, babe
Oh, oh, and though we may grow I don't know why we don't grow apart, babe, baby
Maybe I need you, I breathe you, turning my heart blue, maybe I need you, when I leave you, ICU…
She looked side stage for a second and something was definitely going on, she was trying to concentrate on the performance, but her mind wasn't there
Maybe I just feel lost without you, maybe I'm just pissed off without you
Baby, my life's just off without you, maybe your worth it all to me, baby, maybe, maybe, Just maybe 'ICU' by Coco Jones
"What's wrong?" she looked to the side to ask Penny
"Nothing" she mouthed cutting her eye at Bert before half smiling at Cedes, Cedes continued with her set, she had another seven songs to get through with conversations with her audience in between, before she could call this a night, and get to grips with what was going on backstage
"What was going on between Bert and you?" she finally asked Penny as she grabbed the waiting towel away from her and carried on walking
"Disagreement" Penny smiled
"About?" Cedes turned to look at her "I'm having the holiday come hell or high water" she huffed with determination
"Sam called"
"What for?"
"Dylan has a temperature, he was worried"
"So, why didn't you tell me?"
"Bert…"
"That bastard" she rushed off
"He's gone Cedes" Penny called after her "He left before your last song"
"Get Sam on the phone"
"He's probably on his way to the hospital by now"
"What?" Cedes gasped in shock "Get me a cab hurry" she shooed her off "And book me a flight"
"There are no flights, I'm having trouble getting one for Tuesday"
"Anything I need to get home tonight" the two women stood staring at each other "Now Pen" her tone demanding before she turned and ran to her dressing room to grab her phone, she needed to contact Sam to find out what was happening with Dylan. Sam was never the one to call on in any type of emergency, his brain went to mush, he'd spin around reciting nonsensical verses trying to get some order going on in his head. Only god knows how long that could take, so the fact that he'd got Dylan to the hospital meant he'd been stressed for a while, and if she knew her husband, right now they weren't getting the best version of him.
"Shit" she looked at herself in the mirror, sweaty makeup wasn't a good look either, she grabbed the tissues and started the clean-up, changing out of her stage clothes at the same time, her only thought was that she needed to make the journey to the airport to get home fast
"Cedes" Penny stood in the doorway "I've tried flights they're out because of the storm"
"What storm?" she looked up realising she didn't have any windows "Is it raining?"
"There's a storm outside, we might have to stay here"
"That's not happening" she sprung up "What about a red eye or something?"
"Nothing is moving, not tonight" Penny tried to get that message across
"I'm moving, my child is in hospital, do you understand me" she flopped in the chair "The first time I leave him alone and…"
"Children get sick Cedes; this isn't your fault"
"Which means you think it's my fault, doesn't it?"
"No" Penny stepped closer "I'm a mother too remember?"
"Yeah, sorry" she huffed "I just need to be home" she looked up at Penny stood over her "A car, can you hire me a car?"
"Long shot" Penny warned "And dangerous"
"It's our son Pen" she looked at her phone still trying to contact Sam with no luck "See if you can get me a car, I don't even need a driver" she looked into the woman's eyes "Please"
"Bert will kill me for this" she took her keys out her pocket "You can have my car, if you drop me off"
"You have a car?"
"My family, just keep to the highway, don't detour" she smiled handing her the keys "You do know it's a day and a half drive, without stops?"
"I just need to get home" she smiled "I'll call you when I get wherever, and I've got my passport, so if I get a flight, I'll let you know"
"Try and call me every hour, there's a charger in the car, tanks full" she turned to leave "Have you got cash?" she watched Cedes fumbling in her purse
"Yes" she smiled producing it "Sam never lets me go anywhere without it, you never know"
"Give me ten minutes" Penny smiled walking off
Within twenty minutes Penny came back with raincoat, boots and an umbrella, there was a carrier bag with a few drinks and snacks some rope, a torch, and a spade, Cedes didn't ask questions she smiled and grabbed hold of them ready for the journey. She was shocked at how hard it was raining when she got outside, but that wasn't going to deter her, she was inside a car and the focus was getting home to her family. She took Penny back to the hotel, asking her to keep trying Sam and find out which hospital they'd gone to so she could contact the hospital direct, set up Google maps, plugged in her playlist and she was ready. Penny smiled hugged her and asked her to be careful before watching the car get smaller as it gained distance.
She'd been driving for about two hours when suddenly the rain was torrential, there was no visibility, people were literally parking up at the side of the highway "I got to stop" she screamed when for a second the wipers stopped working fast enough and she was literally blind driving. She gently pulled to the side and sat looking for some sort of signal to make a call, while waiting for some ease in the storm, hoping for Penny to call her to let her know where here family was
A truck passed by shortly afterwards, with a brightly lit cab and Cedes took the opportunity to follow it for as long as she could, another five hours in and day was breaking, the storm was behind her, and she was seeing signs for Lincoln, Nebraska, the city lights looked inviting along with the hope of getting some sort of signal to call home. Eventually she found a hotel that looked like somewhere she could sleep; she parked the car and went in to hopefully get a room
"Coming out of the storm?" the elderly gentleman behind the reception desk asked
"Yes" Cedes smiled "I need a working phone if you have one please"
"You can used that one" he looked at her credit card "Mrs Evans" he pointed at a phone at the far side of the reception desk
"Thank you" she walked towards it, grabbing hold of the phone to dial Sam's number "Babe" she took a breath and burst out crying "What happened?"
"He's alright, I insisted they kept him in until his temperature went down, I guess he had too many sweets"
"Seriously?"
"Seriously, he's fine" he laughed "Sorry for worrying you"
"Worried" she laughed "I'm driving home, there was a storm and…"
"You're driving in a storm?" his voice full of concern "Who's with you?"
"No one, Penny lent me her car and…"
"Where's Bert?" Sam butted in before she could continue
"In hiding" she giggled "I'll deal with him when I find him, not telling me straight away"
"He better hide, where are you now?"
"I'm in Lincoln, Nebraska"
"You drove all that way?"
"I've got to get home Sam" she felt like she was being scolded
"Cedes not in a damn car in the middle of a freaking storm, what the hell are you trying to do to me"
"To you?" her tone ready to get into this
"Listen" he stopped her "I thought my life had ended last night, I was on the floor, and if I'd have had to hear anything had happened to you last night, I'm not even lying, that would have finished me off, you can't do stuff like that babe"
"I needed to get home for Dylan"
"Totally understand that, but you need to be here for me too"
"I'm sorry babe but it was Dylan"
"So" Sam took a deep breath this wasn't what they needed to be talking about right now "Will you do me a favour?"
"What?"
"Ditch the car and get on a plane, I'll book your ticket and send you the details" he told her "I'll call Penny and get someone to drop her car off, where are you now?"
"The Lincoln" she looked at the old gentleman watching her "I need some sleep and food, I never thought I'd ever say this" she laughed "But I'm fed up with snacks"
"Definitely no more driving for you lady" Sam laughed "It's good to hear your voice, makes everything alright"
"Yours too, listen call me when our boy wakes up, I could do with hearing his voice too, gave me a scare"
"I will" he promised "Now will my other baby go get some food and sleep, in that order too please?"
"I'm gone" she giggled
"Go eat" he smiled "I love you"
"I love you back" she smiled "Give little man a kiss from me"
"Always" his voice full of excitement for her coming home early
"And one for my big baby" she pursed her lips and sent him a kiss
"I'll take that when you get here" he laughed "Bye"
"Bye babe" she quickly cut the call before the tears came again
She went to her room, smiling at its invitingly pressed white silk sheets and pillows, begging her to lay on them, the view of the city coming alive below her, could have been coined out of one of those elevating feel good movies, had she not just gone through one of the worst journeys of her life so far. She plugged her phone and charger in and sat on the couch opposite the bed trying to resist the urge to throw herself on it, it was time for breakfast and for what she'd been through she felt she deserved to spoil herself this morning. She had a quick shower and pulled on some blue jeans and a t-shirt before venturing downstairs to found her way to the dining room, asking for a table for one, grabbing the menu as she sat down. Her room was at the front of the building, but the dining room was at the back, so now the well serviced gardens, soothing waterfall, and statues were greeting Mercy, giving a regal feel to the place.
She ordered coffee, the big breakfast, French toast, and orange juice, the fuller she got the more she was reminded that she hadn't slept yet, she got upstairs and flopped into bed, Dylan, and Sam heavy on her mind. She opened her eyes what felt like seconds later hearing her phone alerting her to a message "Pen" she looked at her message and smiled "So he should be" she grinned smugly satisfied that the egg was on Bert's face this morning after finding out she'd gone, sitting up when her phone rang.
"Babe" she answered the call "Is everything alright?" she smiled at Sam's face grinning at her
"Yeah" he laughed "Someone wants to talk to mommy" Dylan's face appeared on screen
"Sweetheart" she gasped "You gave me a scare, are you alright?"
"I'm fine" he giggled "I couldn't sleep though I need my own bed"
"That sounds like something daddy would say" Cedes looked at him suspect
"He did, and I want to be just like daddy"
"You" she laughed "And I know for a fact you slept because daddy told me earlier"
"You're breaking the code" Dylan looked up at his dad frowning
"Your mom asked me where you were, I wasn't going to lie and break another code" Sam laughed telling his son "Anyway, your flights in about three hours, given travel time you need to be getting up now, there's a car booked"
"Love you for looking after me" she smiled
"My job" he smiled "And this little one" he brushed Dylan's hair off his face "It'll be a sad day when we have to cut this"
"I know, what time are you taking him home?"
"We'll be home by the time you get there"
"I guess I better get ready then"
"Wished I could help you do that, but…" he laughed looking at Dylan "See you soon"
"Soon, bye baby" she blew a kiss to Dylan "And my other baby" she pursed her lips and sent him a kiss
"Piling up" he smiled before cutting the call
She looked through the hotel catalogue, ordered some clothes and was ready to leave within the hour, her hair tied up, ready for the trip. Her bags were in the back of the car, her shoes off and she was sitting in the back on the cab sipping her favourite wine, courtesy of Sam. Check in was easy, she got food from the VIP lounge and got priority boarding as usual to her seat in first class
"Drink Mrs Evans?" the host asked as she unbuckled her seatbelt
"Could I get a coffee please?"
"Sure" the host smiled walking away
Cedes sat people watching, smiling at the woman across the way trying to get into the guy next to hers seat with him, their hand movement under the blanket was suspect, and he was smiling at first, then he caught Cedes looking and things suddenly went south "What are you doing?" he snapped at her nudging her so roughly she fell off the seat bringing more attention to them
"Fuck you" she screamed at him everyone turned with disgust on their faces, all Cedes could do was smiled to herself and avert her eyes
"Will you get back in your seat please" the host' tone told everyone she wasn't impressed, there weren't many people in seats up front to be honest, it's not what some pay for, but Cedes really didn't mind if there was a bit of excitement on the journey.
"Chill" the woman snapped back at her before sitting in her seat again "What you looking at?" she turned to look at Cedes asking
"I wasn't looking" she laughed "I was thinking well managed"
"Thanks" she smiled and turned to speak to the guy sitting next to her, leaving Cedes to smile at the fact that Sam would have welcomed her crawling into his pod for the flight
No sooner had that settled down she sat watching a couple wonder off to the bathroom, it was so blatant she shook her head, the woman actually looked into her eyes as she turned and closed the door behind her, she wasn't close enough to hear anything but the looks the couples ahead were sharing said it all. The guy came out first his shirt unravelled, his hair all over the place as he took his seat just in front of her, then the woman came out stroking her hair down and flattening her skirt
"Welcome to the club" Cedes peeped between their seats to whisper
"Thank you" the guy smiled as they settled into each other for cuddles
Then seconds later there was turbulence, it seemed everything that could ever happen on a plane was destined to happen this trip. The seatbelt light came on and she grabbed her belt and strapped up ready, this wasn't the first time she'd rode these waves as they moved through uncomfortable to scary and back again, this one was rough, people were screaming at one point.
The hisses of people speculating that engines had failed, explosions had been heard, and hijackers had taken over the plane all made for a good movie backdrop. People sat shaking like they were on top of a washing machine on the spin cycle, and then just as quick as it came, it was gone, and everyone was cheering as if the pilot were Moses and he'd literally parted the skies
Cedes needed the bathroom, but after the events of the journey earlier she decided to take a trip into the belly of the plane and try my luck there "Wow" she gasped for air as the bathroom door opened, covering her mouth with her hand, it smelt like someone had removed their guts and left them to rot in the bathroom for more hours than she'd care to suggest.
"Sorry" the host half smiled quickly shutting the door "That one's out of order"
"I guess it is" she tried to set my face straight, but the stench was disgusting it had already hit the back of her throat and started to leave a taste as well as a smell "Which one can I use?"
"There are two in first class" she pointed back at the entry she'd come through
"Thank you" she turned and went through to the left of the isle and used the other bathroom
Lunch was typical of the food in flight, there was a forty five minute wait for the connection, and then she was on her way again within five hours she was landing in her home city, eager to see her family. The car was as she'd expected from Sam, flowers to make her smile, a virgin cocktail on ice, and a little note just for her, to get her in the mood.
"Hey" she smiled forty five minutes later as she left the car, bursting into tears for Dylan running towards her "I was so scared for you sweetheart" she hugged him
"Are you alright mommy?" he pulled away ready to cry himself
"Mommy's fine, just happy to be home and hugging you" she smiled at Sam stood in the doorway watching them reunite "Hey" she mouthed, they both knew Dylan was going to get her attention for as long as he needed it
"Hey" he smiled "I ordered food in for later"
"Thanks" she stood up and picked Dylan up to get into the house, kissing Sam as she passed him "I missed you"
"Foods much later" he smiled
"Straight" she smiled back at him "Maybe you could sing me a song?"
"I was hoping to get you singing" he closed the door and watched his family walk up the stairs