It was odd.

How was the sound of crunching tires over dirt and loose rocks so comforting? It was background noise, not something that one would notice. But it stood out against the whistling wind, the revving engine, and the drone of the buzzing cicadas. It was much different than the sound of a bus engine revving, the monotone hum which attributed many of Justin’s sleepless nights.

As he drove down the street he kept one arm extended out the window. It wasn’t an uncommon practice. In fact, there were moments when another person would drive by, their arm also extended, and a high five would come as a result.

It was enough to put a smile on anyone’s face.

Justin took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, his eyes scanning the road ahead of him behind dark tinted sunglasses. Everything looked the same. Everything sounded the same. But it wasn’t the same.

He sighed. Was the sky bluer? The trees greener? Was that annoying squeak coming from the air vent always that loud? He rolled his shoulders and straightened his arm, flexing his fingers on the steering wheel. Even the handling of the car on the road felt different, but he’s driven down this path before. Many times even. The pot holes are still in the same place. The phone line poles are still the same distance apart. The stores that he passed along the drive all looked the same.

But something was wrong.

Justin gave his head a shake and ran a hand through his slightly curled hair, releasing a breath that had just risen in his throat. Flipping his turning signal he smoothly changed lanes and then pulled into the parking lot of The General Store, his favorite place in all of Memphis to eat. They made the best burgers; he could never find a place that rivaled it, not even the acclaimed In-N-Out joint in California.

He got out of his car and closed the door. Striding towards the entrance of The General Store he pointed behind him and pressed the lock button on the little remote. The small clicking sound reached his ears right as he approached the stairs. A few older men were sitting on a bench outside, hat brims sat low upon their foreheads and beer bottles were clasped in their palms, little beads of condensation slipping down the neck.

“Howdy, howdy,” Justin greeted them, lightly touching the brim of his cap in greeting.

“Wonder when we’d see you back, boy,” one man greeted him, lifting his beer in Justin’s direction. “The real world spit you back out yet?”

Justin uttered a laugh. “Naw, not yet, sir. But I’m waiting for my kick out the door any day now. It’s only a matter of time until they realize they’ve made a mistake with me.” It was almost second nature now, wrapping his insecurities and ears in a blanket called humor.

He gave them a short wave and walked inside, heading straight toward the booth where his father, Randy, was sitting. He swallowed the lump that rose in his throat and lifted his hand in a wave as soon as Randy looked up and locked eyes with him.

“There’s my boy!” Randy said happily, moving to stand.

A small boy beat him to it. He crawled across Randy’s lap, dropped to the ground, and dashed over to Justin, all the while chanting, “Justin! Justin! Justin!”

Justin beamed at the show. “Hey buddy!” He knelt and held out his arms, scooping the little boy into his embrace once he flung his chubby arms around his neck. “Boy, Stephen, you’ve gotten so big! You’re a little man now!” He commented while shifting the boy so he was resting on Justin’s arm. “How old are you now? Five? Six?”

Stephen giggled. “I’m four!” he replied, holding his hand up in Justin’s face. “See? One, two, three, four,” he counted while pointing at his fingers.

“Four?” Justin gasped. “No, that can’t be. You were just a baby the last time I saw you!”

“I’m no baby! I’m big!” Stephen huffed, placing his small hands on his hips.

“That you are. And look!” Justin gently pushed down on his half-brother’s lower lip. “You’re missing teeth! Did the Tooth Fairy visit yet?”

Stephen nodded rapidly. “I gots fifty cents,” he relayed. “Am I rich?”

Randy and Lisa chuckled. Justin nodded. “You’re rolling in the dough, Little Man.” Justin set Stephen on the ground and looked to his nine-year-old half-brother, Jonathan, who stood by, his hands shoved in his pockets. “You’ve shot up,” Justin commented, reaching out and giving him a hug, patting his back a few times. He held Jonathan at arm’s length and looked him over. “You definitely have the Timberlake genes in you. You’ll be taller than me soon.”

Jonathan shrugged. “I guess,” he mumbled.

Chuckling Justin turned his attention to Lisa, his step-mother, pulling her into his arms and hugged her tight. “Look at you, you get more beautiful every time I see you,” he commented and then turned to his father, clasping his hand and patted him on the back in a greeting. “How’ve you been, Pops? Have they given you gray hair yet?” Justin teased, sliding onto the bench beside Lisa.

“I think my hair follicles will wait until they’re teenagers before changing,” Randy responded. “Enough about us. Tell us about you, Son. How is the tour and everything?”

Justin began to drum his fingers on the table. He shrugged. “Tour is tour,” he responded vaguely. “You’ve seen one city you’ve seen them all. We don’t get that many days off. All we see is each other, the stage, and our eyelids.”

“Not much longer now, is it?” Lisa asked. “Just a few more weeks and then the tour is over. What are you going to do with your time? You all are going on a break, aren’t you?”

Justin nodded and clasped his hands together. He looked down at his fingers, biting down on his lip, and then sighed. “Well, I was actually thinking of doing a, um…doing a solo record.” He sighed again, feeling weight drop off of his shoulders but then his heart started racing. He lifted his eyes to gauge the reaction of the others.

Randy lifted his eyebrows, Lisa let out a sort of excited laugh, and Jonathan and Stephen didn’t seem to be bothered by the information. They were playing some sort of game, battling with their forks and knives. Justin wasn’t even sure they had heard him. The sight made him smile.

“That’s great, Justin!” Lisa gushed. But then, a second later, her smile faded. “Are the others okay with this? Have you spoken to them?”

Justin nodded. He lifted his hat to scratch at his forehead and replaced it on his head. “Yeah, we’ve talked about it,” he responded, his fingers resuming their tapping. His eyes shifted around the store, taking in the orange and white UT signs, the road maps that adorned the wall, and photos of different scenes of Memphis. He cleared his throat and continued. “They’re happy for me. Excited for what I can come out with. It’s not all set in stone yet, I haven’t finalized contracts or anything. It’s all still up in the air.”

“Do you really think that it’s not going to go through?” Randy asked. He patted Justin’s arm. “You have a gift, Son. This is the Lord’s way of letting you share it with the world.”

Justin sighed. “I’m just thinking of my other options. You know…if things don’t turn out the way I want. I could always come back here…get some jobs around town. Work with Trace until I figure something out.”

Lisa gave a little laugh. “Now we all know that that’s not going to happen.” She gave Justin’s shoulder a squeeze. “You’re destined for greatness.” She leaned over and kissed his cheek. He smiled a little and she squeezed his shoulder one more. “We should order something, shouldn’t we?” She asked Randy. He nodded and got out of his seat.

“No, please, let me,” Justin said when Lisa started to stand. He got out of his seat and followed his father over to the counter, resting his elbows on the wooden bar. He looked over his shoulder and watched as Stephen rolled a tiny toy car across the table. His lips were pursed; Justin guessed that he was making engine revving noises to go along with his imagination. Jonathan sat in the corner, flicking a sugar packet. “They’re grown up so fast,” he commented, his heart squeezing painfully at his own words. He cleared his throat and fiddled with the brim of his cap.

“Yeah,” Randy said, nodding. “It’s like a blinked and they weren’t babies anymore. Stephen’s in daycare now and Jonathan is on a recreational soccer team and take Tae Kwon Do classes as well.”

“Damn,” Justin uttered. “Remind me not to get him angry.” He chuckled and scratched at his brow. He swallowed thickly and let his eyes wander once more.”How’s he doing in school? Does he still like History?”

Randy rubbed at the side of his face. “He’s doing well. Getting Bs. Yeah, History is still one of his favorite subjects but he’s really getting into art lately.”

Justin blinked. “Oh? That’s…that’s cool. Painting? Photography?”

“Drawing,” Randy said. “He spends two hours a day locked in his room just drawing anything that comes to his mind. You should see it. He even won third place in a contest. It was hung in a children’s gallery for a week. He was so proud.”

“That sounds great. I’ll have to see it some time.”

“I’m sure he’d love that.”

Justin and his father ordered food for the table and chatted about getting a hunting trip in before he got too busy while waiting for it to cook. Once it was brought out they carried it back to the table and dispensed it amongst them. As Justin held a basket out to Jonathan he noticed that his brother had began a pen drawing on a scrap piece of paper. He squinted, trying to see it upside down. What was he drawing, a tree? A house?

Whatever it was it was pushed aside for his food. The family generally ate in silence. A conversation would be brought up here and there but they would soon die out and the family would go back to eating.

Finally a check was taken care of and the group moved outside. Justin fiddled with his keys as he spoke to Randy and Lisa about his solo plans some more. The conversation didn’t last too long because Stephen was tugging on the end of his shirt. “Justin, look! Look, Justin!” Justin shifted his attention over to Stephen who was standing on tiptoes. His arm was extended, waving the small car in front of his face. “Look at this cool car!” His eyes shone.

Justin grinned and ruffled his hair. “Want to see a cool car?” He asked. Stephen’s eyes widened and he nodded. “C’mere.” He too Stephen’s small hand and walked him over to his cherry red ’98 Mercedes-Benz. His pride and joy. He looked down at Stephen who’s eyes now resembled saucers as they approached the car.

“Cooool!” Stephen uttered.

“Want to get in?” Justin asked. Stephen began jumping up and down in excitement.

“Now, Justin, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Lisa started.

“It’ll be okay, we won’t go anywhere,” Justin said as he opened the door and sat down on the seat. “C’mere buddy.” He reached out and scooped Stephen into his arms, settling the little boy down on his lap. Stephen’s eyes moved around the entire interior of the car before he focused on the steering wheel. Justin chuckled as he made more engine noises with his mouth, turning his hands this way and that on the steering wheel. He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the top of Stephen’s head.

As he leaned back he noticed Jonathan standing on the sidewalk, looking through the windshield at them, a deep frown set upon his face.

Justin frowned as well.