Travellin' Prayer

For the thousandth time that night, his eyes opened. Nothing would let him fall asleep. Being in Europe on tour brought back memories of past years when he and his fellow band mates first got their calling of something special. As much as the group loved it there, it was just as hard to be away from the people they knew and loved.

Letting his eyes adjust to the dark, Joey stretched and rolled out of the small bunk of the bus. He looked across to find the other bunk empty. Shrugging, he figured his friend had gotten up as well.

The door to the living room area had been closed slightly, leaving only a crack of light visible. His ears perked as he heard soft humming. He smiled, knowing his emerald eyed companion was thinking of someone special to him as he recognized the tune. 

Hey Lord, take a look all around
And a-find where my baby's gonna be.
Hey Lord, would ya look out for her tonight
'Cause she is far across the sea.
Hey Lord, would ya look out for her tonight
And make sure that she's gonna be alright
And things are gonna be alright with me.

Joey wondered how many times this had happened before. He could only imagine. It was going onto their third week away from the states. Peaking through the door, he saw papers sprawled out all over the table. He rolled his eyes and shook his head with a smile. At least work was getting done. Probably something that didn’t have to be finished until weeks from now.

He noticed Lance sit back down into the chair, a freshly brewed cup of coffee in his hand. The humming continued, along with quiet taps of the pencil onto the paper.

Hey Lord, would ya look out for her tonight
And make sure that all her dreams are sweet.
Said now, would ya guide her on the roads
And make them softer for her feet.
Hey Lord, would ya look out for her tonight
And make sure that she's gonna be alright

Joey studied his face. An evident frown was there. As a matter of fact, for the past couple of days it had been masked with a tired smile.

A light-bulb moment soon went off into Joey’s mind. In a couple of days, it would be Lance and Maggie’s three-year anniversary together. Those two seemed perfect in every way, shape, or form. They had battled obstacles through their journey, but in the end, they became stronger.

The bus gently rocked as it continued its path down the dimly lit highway. Joey turned back around and went to his phone. Opening it up, the time read 3:18 am. He thought for a moment. It would either be 7:18 or 8:18pm at the place he was thinking of. After all these years, he still couldn’t get the time difference right.

Still hearing his friend from behind him, he scrolled down through the many numbers saved in his phone and found what he was looking for. He put it into text mode and decided to give someone in mind a message.

Hey gorgeous. Lover boy over here looks to be missing you.

Joey didn’t want to take a chance of bothering her if she was busy. However, he did hope she would respond soon. This was a Kodak moment that he couldn’t resist telling her and maybe even letting her hear. While he waited for Maggie’s response, Joey softly hummed along from what he could hear up front.

Hey, Lord would ya look out for her tonight
If she is sleepin' under the sky.
Said now, make sure the ground she's sleepin' on
Is always warm and dry.
Ummm, don'tcha give her too much rain

He felt a vibration in his hand. He looked down and read the reply with a smile.

Hey stud. He better be missing me. Cuz I sure miss him. Like hell! Oh and tell everyone I say hi…wait isn’t it kinda late where u guys r?

He figured it was as perfect time he could get. Joey dialed the number and waited for Maggie to pick up

“Hey Joey.”

“I have no idea what I’m doing but I thought you’d be interested.”

“Why are you whispering?”

“One. It’s like three thirty in the morning. Two. I don’t want Lance to hear me.”

“Can I ask why?”

At that moment, as if something had told him to do so, the humming on the other side of the door turned into a soft, gentle voice. The perfect opportunity for Maggie to hear Lance was now.

“The answer is what you’ll be hearing my dear. Enjoy the show.”

Joey walked as close to the door as possible as he heard Maggie’s confused reply.

“Huh? I don’t understand. What’s going on over there?”

“Listen and you’ll find out.”

Try to keep her away from pain
Because my baby hates to cry.

Joey couldn’t help but feel pleased at what he was doing. Standing there, he hoped that this would make Maggie feel a little better. He didn’t know if Lance sung to her privately or not, but it sure beat out an email with a heart singing an “I love you/Miss you” tune.

He peaked through the door again and saw Lance, still occupied at the table, the melody still softly coming from his voice.

Hey Lord, would ya look out for her tonight
'Cause it gets rough along the way.
Ummm, won'tcha give her peace of mind,
And if you ever find the time
Won'tcha tell her I miss her everyday.

“Why don’t you tell her yourself?”

Lance looked up and saw Joey smiling at him while holding a phone. If it truly was who he was thinking of, then he would be forever grateful of his friend catching him like this. He raised his eyebrows in question, a look of hope waiting to be answered.

Joey nodded and walked over to the table, handing the phone to Lance. He saw for the first time in a while, a genuine smile come on his friend’s face.

Lance got up and put the phone to his ear.

“Hey sweetheart.” He started walking towards the door to the sleeping area. He turned around and looked at Joey, nodding with a silent thank you.

Joey sat down at the table and nodded once again with an understanding. He watched his friend disappear into his bunk.

Still not feeling any kind of drowsiness, Joey decided to grab a soda out of their mini fridge. Hearing the soft melody of Lance’s voice start back up, he walked to the door where the bunks were kept and closed it, giving his friend some privacy. 

Hey Lord, take a look all around
And I'd a-find where my baby's gonna be.
Hey Lord, would ya look out for her tonight
'Cause she is far across the sea.
Hey Lord, would ya look out for her tonight
And make sure that she's gonna be alright

Once again, Joey sat back at the table and looked at what Lance was working on. What he saw made his mouth drop. All the papers and even the folder that laid there were all labeled with the same joyful title. No wonder Lance wasn’t dealing with tour life like the way he usually did. Along with wanting to make up their anniversary when he got back to the US, there was something else in mind.

“Wedding Proposal Ideas.”

The End

Song: Travellin’ Prayer

By: Billy Joel