OUT OF THE RED ↝ dave grohl

eighty-nine.

NOVEMBER 18th, 1993, NEW YORK CITY, NY

    "THIS. IS. SO. cool!"

Reagan glanced back over her shoulder at Robbie, who was gaping wide-eyed at his surroundings with a plain look of astonishment. If he kept swiveling his head around so much, she was sure that it was going to come unhinged from his neck.

"It is, right?" she smiled, though the hustled mysticism of being backstage had lost its appeal to her years ago. There were usually way too many people crammed into the tight space, and it wasn't uncommon for at least one bickering match to break out. She'd learned quickly enough that there was nothing intriguing about being surrounded by a bunch of tired roadies.

"I told you it was fun," Kate said proudly. "It was even cooler at the VMAs."

Kate hadn't wasted a moment filling Robbie in on all the glamour of her night out at the awards show. Robbie had processed it all with a mixture of awe and jealousy, amazed that his older sister had actually dipped her toes into the world of celebrities. He was pissed that he hadn't been invited as Kate had, but Reagan carried a good feeling that she was making it up to him that night.

"Is there a restroom around here?" Kimberly asked impatiently, shifting Gracie from one arm to the other. She hadn't allowed anyone else to hold her since their flight had landed at JFK the day before.

"Yes, Mom," Reagan said with an annoyed eye roll. "Can you hold it? I'm trying to find Dave."

"It's not for me," Kimberly said, filling her voice with taken offense. "Gracie is potty training, remember? I want to encourage her to use the toilet."

"I've got the potty training under control, thanks."

"You say that now until she never gets the hang of it!" Kimberly tsk'd and smoothed her hand down Gracie's soft cheek. "I'll help you, sweetheart. We'll have you out of diapers in no time."

"Kim, let Reagan parent her child," Richard called out. He walked up behind his wife, each of his hands grasping one of the twins'. In his button down shirt and pressed slacks, he looked very debonair, and Reagan felt herself smiling.

"I'm trying to help!" Kimberly argued. "Plus, it will be good to put her down. My arms are killing me."

"She can walk, you know," Reagan said forcefully. In Kimberly's mind, Gracie was royalty enough to never have to use her own two feet to get anywhere.

"And what if she gets trampled by one of these men carrying equipment? Absolutely not!"

"Kill me now," Reagan muttered under her breath.

"There's Dave!" Robbie cried excitedly, thrashing his finger forward as he bounced on his toes. "I see him!"

"Come on," Reagan said. She took her brother's hand and started towards Dave, Kate slipping next to her and joining the walk.

Reagan wasn't sure if it was a good idea to leave Kimberly and Richard to fend for themselves in the back of Sony Music Studios, but if they wanted to, they could follow. By her estimations, they would. If they didn't, Kimberly was bound to start lecturing one of the sound tech guys on proper safety restrictions in the presence of a toddler.

"Hey," Reagan said. Her greeting brimmed with relief as she approached Dave, who was pacing in a tight circle. When he saw her, he didn't smile, but instead swallowed with difficulty. The muscle in his jaw jumped up and down.

"Hey," he replied. He looked at Kate and Robbie and forced a meek smile. "Hey, guys."

"Dave, this is so cool man!" Robbie enthused. "Thanks for inviting us! I can't wait to tell my friends about this, they're gonna' be so jealous."