Caroline locked the door just as Tim had told her "honestly, he worries too much" she said aloud as her phone rang.

Looking at the caller's name she smiles "hello...he just left...all weekend..I know, I've missed you too...ok sounds wonderful..see you then..I love you too" she said with excitement.

Caroline then sat down with her laptop, catching up on emails she noticed one from her professor. He stated that he received notice that a collector from New York would be coming to view her paintings that were being exhibited at the end of the month. He stated this person became aware of her work through a colleague that had seen her work while visiting his daughter at the college recently. The professor emphasized she should submit her best from her last exhibit and anything fresh she may be working on. "This has the potential of being your big break, Caroline" he wrote.

She stared at the email, pondering until the text message alert brought her back to reality. "Hello my love. I know it hasn't been that long but I miss you so much. Just wanted to say I love you before I lose cell service and I can't wait to be back in your loving arms". She replied "I love you too Timothy," then closed the laptop, tossing it aside as she went to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of wine.

.....

Tim felt like it had been an eternity before he received the text back from Caroline. He hated being away from her, she was his heart and soul. But, he appreciated her encouragement to follow his dream and he would do the best that he could do to make her proud.

They finally arrived at the hotel, checked into their rooms and decided where they would have dinner before Tim called Caroline to let her know they made it safely.  The phone rang several times before she finally picked up, "hello" she said hurriedly. 

"Hey baby, just me letting you know we arrived. You ok? " Tim asked her. 

"Yeah, I was in the backroom and left my phone on the sofa." she replied. 

"Oh, hard at work, huh" he remarked. 

"Yeah trying to get organized for the exhibit and come up with something fresh" she told him with just a hint of sarcasm. Tim picked up on the tone of her answer. He knew she was frustrated, she always used sarcasm when she felt she didn't measure up to the expectations of her professors. 

"Darlin, just breathe. Step away from it for awhile. What you're looking for will come to you. You will find exactly what you're looking for" he assured her.

"I guess you're right. Maybe I should fix something for dinner" she sighed as she took another sip of her wine.

Just then Jonathon knocked on Tim's door asking if he was ready for dinner. "Sweetie, the guys are ready for dinner here too. Sorry, guess I should go with them. I'll call you before I turn in for the night. Remember, don't worry. Caroline you're the most talented artist I've ever seen, you will find what you need for this exhibit. I love you with all my heart Darlin'" he told her.

"I love you too Timothy. Enjoy dinner, talk with you later" she said as they hung the phone.

Caroline was about to pour another glass of wine when something told her it probably wasn't a good idea. "Damn intuition" she said aloud as she recorked the wine and poured herself a glass of ice water instead while searching the fridge for something easy to make for one. She made a quick salad and then headed for the sofa to watch some mindless tv. She needed to get her mind off the exhibit and the email. Hopping from channel to channel she soon drifted off to sleep.

.....

Tim, Jeff and Jonathon headed to a local steak house recommended by the desk receptionist at the hotel. Once there and having placed their order they began going over the set list for the next nights performance. "Tim, this one here we want you to start out with the lead. It's geared towards a bass voice and neither of us can get our voices nearly as low as yours" Jeff told him.

"Man, I don't know" Tim replied nervously.

"It's a great song, the crowd always loves it. Come on, I know you can do it" Jonathon said with encouragement.

Tim never thought he'd be a soloist when he offered to help. He was ok in the local bar with small crowds but this performance was expected to have at least a thousand people or more. He thought he'd be doing a bit of back up and carrying the bass tones only. Nothing like this.

"Well, do you have a copy of it so I can rehearse a bit and not go in totally blind?" he asked as the waitress brought their orders. 

"Just bring it up on YouTube" Jeff said as he stuffed a roll in his mouth.

After dinner and a few beers the guys all headed back to the hotel. It was about 11pm. Tim changed his clothes and jumped into bed before calling Caroline. Again, the phone rang several times before she answered. "That's weird, she normally doesn't let it go past 2 rings" he said aloud just as she answered "Hello..." while yawning at the same time.

"Darlin, did I wake you? I'm so sorry if I did" Tim said softly into the phone.

Caroline looked at the clock, 11pm already? She realized she had been asleep for about 4 hours. "I guess I dozed off while watching tv" she answered him as she sat up on the sofa.

They made small talk for about a half an hour before Tim started to yawn. "I miss you. Wish I was there to snuggle with you" he told her. "I miss you too Sweetie. I have to admit, it's going to be a bit odd sleeping by myself this weekend" she told him. Tim felt guilty for leaving her alone, especially at night. "Please be sure to lock both doors before you head to bed" he reminded her. She assured him that she had already done that and that all the windows were locked as well.

"Ok, then I will talk with you sometime tomorrow. We have to do a quick run through of the songs and I have no idea what else these guys have planned, but I will definitely call you before we head into the performance, ok" Tim told her as he yawned yet again. 

"I understand, get some sleep my love. I'll talk to you when we can. I Love you, Timothy" she told him before saying goodnight.

Tim placed the phone on the nightstand with the ringer loud in the event she called him during the night. Caroline stood to head towards the bedroom when she felt a bit light headed, immediately sitting back down. "Great not this again' she thought to herself as she waited before getting up and trying again. This time she had no problem heading down the hall. She changed into her tee shirt and shorts and crawled into bed. She too placed her phone next to the nightstand with the ringer loud, just in case Tim called her in the middle of the night.