“I’m going to hold you to that,” Sarah said. “Tell me about what’s been going on with you. The concert isn’t for another hour, so we have time to catch up.”

Fuck. Annie had forgotten she was doing a virtual concert for the kids today. She scrambled out of bed and pulled clothes out of her suitcase. She had fallen face-first on the mattress last night. Her smudged makeup was going to take forever to scrub off. At least her guitar was in the room, so she didn’t have to scramble to get that off the tour bus. “So much has happened, I don’t even know where to begin.” Annie couldn’t have spoken the truth more. “Four Twelve Entertainment wants to sign me. They rep Three Times Wrong.”

“Oh, I love them. That’s amazing.”

“It gets better. Top Shelf wants to sign me too, but everyone I trust is telling me to get a manager.”

“Oh, my God! That’s even better news. It’s your dream come true.”

“Yes, but touring is grueling, and they are known for throwing their artists out on the road after each album.”

“But isn’t that the business?” Sarah asked.

“Yeah, maybe when we were kids. Music is different because of social media and all the available platforms artists have. Concerts are one thing, but there’s so much more available.” Annie thought about her words and found them to be true. The industry had changed so much. She remembered her parents telling them stories of standing in line at the venue for concert tickets when they were teenagers.

As if reading her thoughts, Sarah said, “You know I’m super proud of you. I always knew you could hit it big. Mom and Dad would be at every one of your performances if they could.”

“I was just thinking about them. Remember how Dad used to tell us about the lines they had to physically stand in to buy concert tickets? I can’t even imagine,” Annie said.

“I can’t imagine a world without the internet. How was life even possible? What was social media back then? Friday night at the roller-skating rink?” Sarah laughed. “Remember the mix tapes they made? I think I still have Mom’s from when she was in college.”

“I have some of her letters she wrote to her friends. On paper.” Annie laughed with Sarah. As much as they teased their parents, they both missed them terribly.

“Listen, lunch is almost over, and I have some paperwork before the concert, so I’ll let you go. Give me thirty minutes.”