bought my favorite kind. You might want to be careful or I’m going to start to expect you to bring me food every day.” I walk to the counter to get myself some coffee and grab a cup for Camden too. Karen can fend for herself if she is going to continue to try to embarrass me.
We all sit and have a bagel and Camden goes over all the places that we are going to visit. I’ve never really been anywhere, so I’m actually kind of excited to see all of these new places. However, I have to remember why I’m doing this. This isn’t for fun; it is for Jackson and Karen.
“What is it like to work with Line 9?” Jackson asks. He’s a huge fan.
“Well, it is a lot of work, but it can be fun going around the country and seeing new things,” Camden tells him. “Do you listen to their music?”
“Yeah, all the time. I really like their new album. Ryder’s so cool.”
“Tell you what, we have some shows coming up near here, I can get you and your mom tickets. I mean if that is okay with her.”
“Really? That would be awesome! Can we go mom?” he looks up at his mom.
“We will see when it gets closer, but I don’t see why not,” Karen replies. I love that Camden would do this for Jackson.
“Okay, let’s get packing so you‘ll have enough time to get everything done before the concert tonight,” I say standing up, stretching.
We walk back to my room and on the way, I can see him looking at everything and taking it in. Karen takes pride in her home, nothing is out of place and every few months she buys some new decoration to make the place homier, though it is still somewhat bare. Our apartment has two bedrooms, one tiny bathroom, a living room and an outdated kitchen. Karen sleeps on the pullout couch in the living room; at least, she will have a bedroom now that I’m leaving.
I’m kind of self-conscious of his inspection. I know that his place in L.A has to be a lot nicer than this, but Karen and I have worked hard for what we have.
“I like your room,” he says, as he takes in all the books and the posters from my favorite Broadway shows.
“What can I say? I’m really into books and plays. That is the one good thing about moving to Chicago, I get to see the shows.” That is when I can save up enough tip money to justify going. It has been a long time since I’ve been to one.
“You know, we will be in New York for a concert on this tour and Ryder has to be seen with you, that would be a good opportunity,” he says. We both laugh at the idea of seeing Ryder Kinick at a Broadway show.
“I think I might just take you up on that offer,” I say with a smile.
“I’ll work on it, nothing he can say if I buy the tickets before we tell him.” This might be kind of fun.
“Okay, now what to pack?” I ask him.
“Show me what you have,” he says after sitting down on my bed. “Anything else you need, I’ll get a personal shopper to pick up today and get it on the bus before the show tonight.”
“I really can’t afford much right now. I’m sure I’ll have enough here,” I tell him on my way to the closet to pull out my clothing options. Not that I have much.
“Ryder is paying for it and before you argue, you’ll need clothes for the times you are photographed. Believe me, after spending a few days on a bus with some dirty, rowdy guys, you will wish that you would have asked for more money.” I look down at him. He stretches and his shirt pulls up a little and I can see his