I yawn as I sip my coffee early this morning while Jai drives us to one of the local radio stations in my hometown. We're arriving before the morning show to get set up. I'm being interviewed by the DJ. I'm not sure what to expect but I've been asked to spend the four hour block of the morning program here.
He's surprisingly awake as he drives us in. I told him I could go by myself but he insisted that he wanted to join me. My mom is making breakfast for everyone now and she's going to work on putting away a few of our gifts—unless, of course, the ladies want to do something before the trip this afternoon. My dad already took out Chris, Damo, and Bran to go fishing in Michigan.
Jai parks in the lot and we get out together. We step into the front door and are greeted by a receptionist in the lobby. She takes us back and I'm introduced to Rosaline. She's very nice and bubbly—quite suited to work in entertainment for the public. The moment she sees Jai, she blinks as if she's seeing things.
"This is Jai, my fiancé. We're getting married on Saturday," I explain introducing him.
She laughs in surprise and congratulates us shaking his hand. She offers to let him join us. He chuckles lightly and agrees. She walks us back to the studio and we each get a chair and a microphone. She talks to us a bit while the receptionist brings in an array of refreshments and another worker runs a few checks on Jai's mic. She explains that we'll mostly just talk. She'll introduce me and play some songs. We'll discuss about the National Day of Prayer event along with my signing with Capitol Records. She'll ask me some miscellaneous questions... we'll mostly just spend the morning together playing music and getting to know one another. I smile and glance at Jai. He seems content, too. This is more laid back and casual than the experience with him on the radio. It was like rapid fire and confrontational somewhat while this has a sensation of becoming acquainted and informative. His was a mainstream station, though. This one is Christian.
We test my mic and at exactly six a.m., Rosaline greets the listeners and explains that I'm in the studio as well as Jai. She says that I will be leading worship at the National Day of Prayer on Thursday and continues that we'll talk on air in just a few songs. She plays a newer popular series of two songs and mutes her mic. She goes over a few questions with me and admits she ad libs frequently. I smile at that and tell her it's fine.
I'm a little nervous as the last song ends but I feel Jai grasp my hand in comfort. I grin at him in thanks. He knows I'm not accustomed to the public speaking and appearances like he is and I appreciate the support. I take a deep breath and release it slowly. Then I pray quickly that God gives me strength and the words to say that'll please him. Rosaline greets the audience once more and introduces me. I smile and greet the crowd. She thanks me for joining her and it's just like a casual conversation with a new person at church. I feel at ease and content discussing the upcoming event. I explain that there will be worship members from churches all over the area. We discuss a bit more about the event and she pauses for a brief commercial break for those who support the radio ministry. She plays a few more songs after that and then we come back and discuss how I've been signed with Capitol. I explain how we ran into the Smallbones, were requested to join in at a couple concerts, and then just received the offer.
"It sounds like God has really had His hand on your life lately," she smiles.
"I feel so, too," I grin in reply.
She introduces the next song and I'm surprised she's playing one of mine—one I haven't heard on the radio yet. We return after the song and talk about it, then details about the album, my music video that's coming out soon, and how my tour is set.
"Will you be coming to town?" she asks curiously.
"I will be playing at the baseball stadium again. There will be a charge for tickets, though," I admit.
"Of course," she smiles. "I think most people don't know that tours are how musicians make their money. Most don't make much from signing contracts and records. It's the concerts that pay the bills."
"That's true," I nod in agreement but Jai looks confused. He hadn't seriously asked about my pay and in all honesty, it wasn't much—nothing like what I'd previously expected.
We break for music again and return and talk with Jai. We discuss how we met on the mission trip and how we've grown close since. We talk about our upcoming wedding—that it'll be a destination ceremony with our closest friends and family.
"That sounds exciting," Rosaline adds.
"It is," I agree holding Jai's hand.
We spend quite a bit of the morning discussing other details—tours, my influences from God, our faith, our relationship... it's truly an incredible experience and I'd love to come back in the future. When the shift is up, we trade places with the next DJ—Brianna—shaking her hand. She takes over and we both agree to recording a few advertisements for the station and pictures of us with the staff. I thank them for having us, them mirroring the sentiment before we leave.
Jai escorts me out of the building and through the parking lot. We climb into his muscle car and I buckle up.
"That was different," he mentions.
"Yeah," I agree. It was so dissimilar from his interviews that I've been to. We even prayed in there together a few times. I sigh contently as he drives us out.
*****
We have an early lunch at the historical village restaurant nearby—the very same one Jai and I spent Valentine's Day together with my parents. We meet up there with my mom, Karen, Em, Ollie, Johnno, and Dar. The rest of the guys went out fishing with my dad this morning—except for my brothers and friends who have work or school today. I order the soup and salad bar buffet as well as many of the ladies while guys get the full buffet. I explained that if they wanted, there's a regular menu but when my mom said most everything from the menu is included in the buffet, they decided to pick and choose. She's kindly treating us all to lunch and a day at the park. All of the ladies enjoy the homemade soup, bread, and salad dressings, while they guys enjoy the various options of Amish-style meats and carbs.
Afterward, she handles admission for us and oddly gets Jai and me a membership. I thank her for that while she handles the rest. I speak with a manager of the park here while she does so—mentioning that I'm an artist and may have some photographs I'll print in my gallery exhibitions for sale. She insists it shouldn't be a problem, that they generally have guests taking pictures and they can do whatever they want with them. I mention general contracts for models, yet I usually don't use faces and she insists it's definitely not a problem. I bite my lip in thought.
"It's possible that I may make a tremendous sale from the images though," I try to explain. "How about this? I'll give several images to the park for future use in publicity, brochures, and your website. If I feel compelled from the price of any sales, I'll make a donation to the park."
She smiles and thanks me for my consideration and generosity.
We enter the park and go through the small town right outside—from exhibit to exhibit. I take several artistic shots from inside with film and digital depending on what I feel like they could be used for—my use or a donation. There's some picturesque green space ahead with an antique wooden covered bridge over their small creek and I set up for a landscape shot with film.
"It's beautiful here," Em mentions.
"It is," I agree.
"I almost wish Ollie and I would've done some engagement pics," she says thoughtfully.
"We still could," I offer. I notice we all wore dress casual clothing today with comfortable pseudo dressy walking shoes. "How about I take some for you two?" I offer. "I could do some for Johnno and Dar... for Jai and me, too, since we've never actually done that."
"It wouldn't be any trouble, would it?" she asks hesitantly.
"No, not at all," I shake my head. "I've brought all my gear and even extra film."
She agrees, so does everyone else. We all pose at various places around the park. It's a beautiful day—overcast at times and partly sunny at others making each shot incredible. I'm grateful I brought my tripod and I set up for some shots with Jai. He seems pleased.
We spend the day going through all of the attractions, starting with the 1800s town and shops—learning about old tools, cabinetry, pottery, spinning wheels and thread making, weaving of textiles and baskets, glass blowing, tin working, cooperage and bucket making, the printing presses... the list goes on. We visit old homes and farms, animals. We learn about old ways of life and daily duties—working in the kitchen, housekeeping, tending to animals and land. We visit the Native American section and the Aussies are all incredibly interested in this area learning about wigwams, trapping and trading, as well as the three sisters—which here is growing beans, squash, and corn together as companion planting. We move onto the train and take it to the 1920s area. We're dropped off and immediately Em wants to see the pharmacy which has a classic soda fountain. We go inside and everyone selects a variety of treats—I get a strawberry malt while Jai orders a chocolate phosphate, also known as a chocolate soda. My mom is a big fan of their traditional egg creams which is very similar to Jai's but different ingredients. I see Em and Ollie sharing a classic banana split while the others have a variety of ice cream scoops, sundaes, and shakes.
We sit down at the table and Jai places a container of popcorn down in front of me. I grin at him and hadn't realized he'd ordered that. I take a couple bites since he's offering.
"What do you think?" I ask him about his drink.
"It's good. I'd get it again," he smiles.
He motions to my malt and I surrender it to him to taste. He tries it and seems pleasantly surprised. "Always the strawberries," he comments.
"Sometimes," I shrug. "Or vanilla."
He grins and reaches for my hand.
My mom sits down across from us. "I asked the staff about the speakeasy," she whispers sliding me a small sheet of paper with the information on it and passing it back to her.
"Oh?" I question with a smile. "Are you going this year?"
"Maybe," she replies with a shrug and a smile.
"What are you talking about?" Jai inquires.
My mom slips him the paper since it's supposed to be a 'secret.' Just members can attend. It's only hosted a couple times per season—and you have to be of drinking age.
"What's this?" he questions confused.
"In the 1920s, there was prohibition in the US. They'd have to hide get togethers with alcohol since it was illegal at the time to sell or consume it," I explain.
He raises an eyebrow but grins. "I thought you two might enjoy it," my mom says.
Jai looks to me as if asking permission.
"Sure, we could go," I nod. "We'd have to buy the tickets in advance since slots are limited and they fill up quickly."
He grins and tells me he's definitely interested. I agree on the times we'll be in town. Everyone else sits around us as we enjoy our delicious, historic concoctions. Afterward, we tour this 20s area of town visiting the shops on the street. There's a barbershop and bathhouse next to the train station, a hardware store, jewelry store, bank, candy shop, clothing store, movie theatre, firehouse, and a gas station consisting of a Ford car's sales shop with a service station all in one. Jai seems exceptionally interested in the last stop with the antique vehicles.
"Do you like the cars?" I ask him motioning to the two different Model Ts on display.
"I do," he nods grinning. "One of your dad's mates has a whole garage of antiques. I was thinking of restoring some of them some day."
I grin at that. I figured he'd like to do something along those lines.
We visit a few more places as we cross the park. We stop at the mill next. It has a pond with a waterwheel they use for grinding grain. After the demonstration, I decide to take him to one more location here—the museum. It has information and displays about the history of this area... but it also has a few antique cars. He's grinning and checking them each out. Even Johnno and Ollie seem interested. After they get their fill, we all decide to ride the horse drawn carriage together since there's a long carriage with three rows of seating behind the driver. We're all able to fill in one and go for a picturesque tour around the park once more.
"Is this what you rode on Valentine's Day?" Karen inquires.
"Not exactly," Jai responds.
"On Valentine's Day, we bring out our individual buggies to pull couples separately," the driver explains. "It's much more romantic."
I grin at that and glance to Jai who already has his eyes on me.
He pulls me closer and kisses me gently. I sigh so happily and lean my head against his shoulder as we press on through the scenic park enjoying the trip once again with the love of my life and those he holds most dear.