"Carlyn? Carlyn? Wake up my love we're here." I heard my dad's baritone voice say as he gave me a gentle shake.

Letting out a yawn and stretching my arms I looked out the window and could see the tarmac and the airport beside me.

  "Oh good! Ground!" I said as grabbed my carry on from the empty seat next to me.

  "Well hey there sleeping beauty! Enjoy the flight?" Uncle Andre asked as he was carrying a still sleeping Joey in his arms with his spider man bag on his back.

  "Guess he was tired too huh?" I asked him with a smile.

  "Oh this little guy just went to sleep! He was awake the entire flight. Me and your old man hand to keep him busy just so he wouldn't get out of his seat! Skip I don't know how you do it at home man. He's a ball of energy!" Uncle Dre said passing my dad in the aisle.

  "He keeps me on my toes. You should see me trying to keep up with him outside the house when I need a break from working." Daddy replied as he ran his hands through Joey's hair.

He planted a kiss on his forehead then grabbed the carry on which I never knew what he had inside. I was dying to ask but wasn't sure if it was even my place. Daddy always said that I shouldn't go sticking my nose where it doesn't belong. Following close behind him and Uncle Dre we walked off the plane and into the airport. I thought there would be a sea of fans crowding around us but to my surprise there wasn't! Uncle Dez met us at the gate and told us that Tony was outside waiting for us in a limo.

  "Hey pumpkin! How's my favorite girl?" Uncle Dez asked as he greeted me with a hug.

  "I guess I'm doing ok. What are you doing here?" I asked him.

The moment he saw my face he could tell that something was up even though I was trying not show how I was really feeling about this trip.

  "What's with the face little one?" he asked as he put his arm around me and pulled me close to him.

  "Uncle Dez.....I just don't wanna be on this trip. It's stupid." I grumble.

  "Oh boy. Teenage anxt alert. We'll talk more at the room huh? How bout it? Grab a little something to eat and chat before the show tonight. Sound good?"

  "Yeah. Sure." I said giving him a big smile as he hugged me again.

  "Chin up my sweet. We'll talk soon." Uncle Dez said.

He went to catch up with my dad and Uncle Dre to get to the car and I dragged myself behind them until the smell of grilled deliciousness hit my nose and made my sense perk up with happiness. Over to the left of me was a bar and grill spot and the cook searing what looked to be some burgers.

  "Ahhhhh meat! Where have you been recently?" I asked myself as I found myself drifting over to the mini airport restaurant.

The chef was busy cutting onions and peppers when I had arrived and took a seat that the bar watching in amazement. When he turned back to the skillet he looked at me with a smile and continued working his culinary magic. He soon went and quickly cut up some carrots and dropped them in another skillet along with some scallions and what looked like freshly cooked rice noodles. I could feel my mouth salivation wildly as I watch. My stomach felt like it was doing backflips and eating away at myself because everything smelled like heaven. The man looked up at me again and gave me another smile while pulling out a white plate and placing the meal on it and sliding it my way. I went from a happy spectator to a vary confuse and refusing teenager. I nervously pushed the plate away from me and shook my head.

  "Oh no sir. I'm not ordering. Thanks though." I said to him.

The man simply smiled at me and pushed it back to me along with a can of Pepsi.

  "Anything for the daughter of Prince." He said with a smile and went back to cooking other meals.

Wow! So this what being a celebrity feels like! Free food! I was about to take a huge bite out of this tender and juicy slab of love when a strange feeling took over me. It made me feel uncomfortable. I hated it. Sliding the plate away again I let out I sigh and sat at the bar running my index finger along the unopened can of Pepsi. The cook turned to me thinking that I was busy scarfing down my five star meal when he came over to me and leaned against the bar with a concerned look on his face.

  "Say now? What's with the sad pout little lady?" The man asked.

I looked up from the soda can and into his eyes and just came out with it.

  "I don't mean to be rude sir but.....I cant accept any gifts from anyone. It's part of the family religion." I said sadly.

  "Well.....call it a taste test then huh?" The man said with a smile.

He took the plate and grabbed a take out container from under the counter and sat it beside him. Then he cut the steak up into bite sized pieces and placed the sided inside next to the cut meat then closed the lid and handed it to me.

  "Thanks but....." I tried to explain but he just smiled and extended his hand to me.

  "You tell your old man that I said thank you for all he's done for the children of Chi-town for me. Name's Darnell."

I shook his hand as we smiled.

  "I will! And thanks again Darnell."

Realizing that I was gone longer than I should have been I raced through the halls of the airport and saw my dad and the rest of the crew leaving out the automatic doors of the airport and getting into the car.

  "HEY! WAIT UP!" I shouted as I made my way towards the car.

  "Hey kid! Where'd ya go? We thought somebody might have taken you away again." Tony giggled as he helped me in the car.

  "Sorry I'm late! I got some goodies for us to try. Now daddy I know you're against the whole meat eating and stuff but at least let me and JoeBoy try a cube....or two....or twelve." I said putting my seatbelt on.

  "That smells good! Whatcha got there pumpkin?" Uncle Dez asked me.

I sat the container on my lap and opened it up as the steam filled the car with the scent of food.

  "Heaven in a bowl!" I replied as I caught the smell of steak in my nose.

Daddy sighed and smiled at us taking in the aroma of sautéed carrots and creamy mashed potatoes.

  "You guys cant be that hungry can you?" Daddy joked.

  "We've been on that plane for hours and those stale nuts and flat soda was certainly not filling." Uncle Dre said to him with a grin.

Letting out a laugh my dad shook his head and agreed with his best friend.

  "There will be food at the suite I promise. First though we have to get to the venue for a project that we cannot be late for."

My curious mind got the best of me once again as he looked at me and gave me a wink and a smile. What's up my dear old dad's sleeve this time? This better be something just as good as this food I'm holding. I'm hungry and we're making another stop.

  "Where is this venue anyway daddy?" I asked him.

He pulled out a flyer and held it up in the air for me to see.

  "I'm doing a show at Cubs stadium tonight but there's something I have to take car of first."

Not knowing that we had pulled away from the airport and took a ten minute ride we stopped at the curb of the stadium. I looked out the window and was shocked at what I saw. A large food truck with volunteers in blue t-shirts that read Love 4 One Another on them were standing outside collecting canned goods and other items from passers by and loading them onto the truck for a delivery after the show. Daddy got out and I followed him.

  "What's all this dad?" I asked.

  "This is giving back Carlyn. Wanna jump in there and lend a hand? You wont be here long. We're just about done with collection."

I looked up at my father with a confused look on my face. I would look pretty foolish if I told him that I didn't really want to do it but being the daughter of a rockstar I guess its only fair that I don't make him look bad and participate.

  "Yeah sure I'll help." I said to him and he handed me a shirt.

  "I'll be right inside if you need me. Just fifteen minutes then we'll go." He said to me before making his way inside.

I stood over at a single table while the other volunteers were working. Letting out a frustrated huff of air knowing how boring this fifteen minutes was going to be I looked over to my right to find a kid around my age sitting on the bench. His clothes were dirty and he looked like he was hungry. My heart sank instantly because I knew that feeling all too well. I looked over that the workers and thankfully they didn't notice that I left the table. I went over to the boy who had his head down to notice me coming his way until my shadow blocked the warm sun from hitting him. He looked up at me with sad eyes and I gave him a welcoming smile.

  "Hey." I said to him to ease his fears.

  "Hey." He said back.

I sat down next to him to keep him company and maybe even get to know him. I wonder what his story is?