In the months that followed, the members of Hard Times moved from gig to gig on both sides of the border, slowly heading west again. The work was often hard, as they had to provide and carry almost everything they used themselves, but they kept going. Time and time again, creative differences threatened to split them apart, but somehow they managed to work through them, largely through the help of Rose, who had a talent for negotiation.
A few of the gigs fell through, and it was all the harder to deal with when they traveled to a new place, only to find that they had no work. Sometimes they tried Rose and Daffodil’s trick of street performing, but it wasn’t always successful, or even allowed. On one occasion, they were driven out of town by an angry mob accusing them of disturbing the peace and practicing immorality, something which Rose and Daffodil later laughed uproariously over, since the mob had been far less peaceful and far more immoral than the band.
Even when work was steady, they rarely made more money than was needed to survive, but none of them really cared, too caught up in the experience of the music to care about the money. There had been some conflict over how to split the income made from their gigs, but it was finally decided that since they contributed equally, they should each receive an equal amount of the profits, small though they were.
The band moved from town to town, staying in cheap motels and campgrounds, and sometimes the van if no other accommodations could be found. Rose and Daffodil taught the other band members about ways to save money on food and shelter, making it stretch farther.
It was during this time that Rose and Tim’s relationship began to change. Rose knew that it wasn’t a good idea to get involved with Tim—her memories of Jack were still too strong—but he was persistent, and she missed the feeling of being in a close relationship. Against her better judgment, Rose gave in to his flirting, allowing him to take her out to dinner one night after they were finished performing.
The evening was a success, more fun than Rose had expected, and she allowed him to take her out the next night, too, at a small town fair where they had been performing. After several such evenings, Rose took the initiative to ask Tim out, and from that moment on, they were considered a couple. Of the five band members, Daffodil was the only one unattached, but she didn’t seem to mind, flirting harmlessly and enjoying the company of whoever caught her fancy.
Rose was initially uncomfortable when Tim wanted to take their relationship to another level. She didn’t love him, though she enjoyed his company and his friendship. Sex was still a sensitive issue for her, though seven months had passed since Cal had raped her. She had felt comfortable enough sleeping with Jack—but she had loved him. She liked Tim, and cared for him, but it wasn’t the same.
She also worried about the possibility of conceiving an unwanted child. She was enjoying her freedom and her travels, and didn’t want a baby at this point. She had been fortunate enough not to conceive from her evening with Jack—she had had no access to her birth control pills after that night, and had never resumed taking them. There had indeed been a possibility that she would get pregnant, but she hadn’t, and much as she had loved Jack, she had been relieved. She hadn’t been in a position to take care of a baby—and still wasn’t, for that matter.
But in keeping with her desire to try new things, Rose pushed away her misgivings, bought several packages of condoms, and began sleeping with her new boyfriend. Occasionally, she still wondered at the wisdom of her actions, but for the most part she enjoyed the physical side of their relationship, and pushed away thoughts of the emotional entanglement she was getting ever deeper into.