CHAPTER TWO #2
“That was mostly Anne.” Lena smiled. “She’s got the mad decorating and organizing skills.”
“It was fun.” Anne smiled back at her. “Any luck with the baby names?”
“Nothing seems to quite fit him.” I frowned. “We were thinking about Cash and Angus and Reed. But we can’t decide on one. We even tried calling him Malcolm. He yawned at us, then he spit up some milk.”
“Harsh, but fair,” said Lena.
“If it’s not right…” Anne just shrugged. “Something will come to you. There’s no rush.”
I snorted. “With the way we’re going, he’ll be applying to college as Baby Ferris.”
Lena laughed. The baby flinched but stayed asleep. Thank God.
“All of these things people spend their pregnancy thinking about,” said Anne. “You didn’t get any of that time. Extend yourself some grace, Ev.”
“I still feel bad for not knowing,” I confessed. “I’ll probably always feel bad about that.”
“You’re not the only person it’s happened to. I did some research. One woman I read about had no bump, was still on contraceptives, and fit into all of her clothes the whole way through.”
“And you didn’t even look pregnant,” said Lena. “I saw you every few days or so the month before you had him. There was no big belly or anything to give it away. Your breasts were bodacious, but hey, they always are.”
“You notice my breasts?” I asked.
She gave me a wink. “You know it, girl. You rock my world.”
I laughed quietly. But the doubt and anxiety still remained, dammit.
Anne grabbed my hand. “I repeat, extend yourself some grace, Evelyn.”
“None of us are perfect,” said Lena. “And being a mom is damn hard.”
“That’s a really good point.” Anne rubbed her thumb over my knuckles.
“Think about it, Ev. Being hard on yourself, especially right now, is unfair. There’s no way you’d tolerate that kind of behavior from anyone else.
Dealing with a newborn is incredibly difficult.
And on top of that, you just gave birth. ”
“They did tell me it usually takes up to a year to physically and emotionally recover from that,” I said.
Anne gave me a gentle smile. “There you go. If you’re not going to listen to us, then listen to the people with medical degrees.”
I nodded, giving her fingers a squeeze. “Thank you for putting up with my whining.”
Lena grinned. “Anytime.”
Anne was giving the baby a bath when I woke up hours later.
Marvelous hours full of much-needed sleep.
Thank fuck for friends and found family.
The city lights shone bright outside, and my head was clearer, my body lighter and energized.
“Hey there. I haven’t felt this good in ages. Thank you again for staying.”
“You needed the sleep. You’re looking a lot better.” She lifted the baby out of the little bath set up on the dining room table and wrapped him in a waiting towel. “And I’m happy to help. Tommy doesn’t slow down long enough for lots of cuddles these days. He’s all go all the time like his father.”
“I bet.”
“Hello, Cash,” she said. “Is that your name? Do you like that one?”
My son’s little pink tongue made an appearance.
Anne frowned. “I’m not sure what that means. It could be yummy or it might be a rejection.”
“He’s going to have his name for the rest of his life,” I said. “I don’t want to get it wrong.”
“It’s a big decision.” She put the diaper on him before buttoning his onesie. “Nothing smells like a newborn. So soft and tiny. Aren’t you, precious one?”
“You miss having a baby?”
“It’s a big decision.” She sighed. “It feels like we’ve only just gotten things under control with Tommy. Like we’ve finally gotten a handle on the situation. Adding a child will be like throwing a hand grenade into the mix. They’re such hard work. But I do want another.”
I nodded.
“Though it does get easier, Ev.”
“I believe you.”
Lena left earlier to go to work, leaving Anne here to help.
Lena had a photo shoot at a new bar in town.
Which just went to show that life didn’t have to be all about being a mother.
You could also have a career. Achieve things for yourself.
Being a mom wouldn’t always be quite this demanding, which was good news.
As much as I loved my son, I still wanted to be me and have my own interests and have time for my husband.
Heck, there was a lot to think about. My brain had been scrambling to keep up since the baby appeared.
Guess it was partly a result of nil preparation.
He stared up at Anne with his big blue eyes.
Hopefully they’d stay blue like his father’s.
I think our son was a pretty even mix of David and me, but it was hard to say who he really took after.
Time would tell. His mouth worked like he had a lot to say but couldn’t quite get it out, so he’d settle for blowing bubbles.
And my heart felt about two times too big for my chest.
“I can’t wait to see him smile,” I said with a grin.
“Oh, yeah,” gushed Anne. “And to hear his first word.”
“Yeah. Talking of people needing to bathe, which we weren’t really,” I said, “do you mind if I have a quick shower?”
“No. Go for it. We’re good here.” Anne smiled at the baby. “Aren’t we, Reed? Is your name Reed? What do you think of that one?”
My son just blinked and sucked on his little fist.
“I’m not sure he’s down with it.” I smoothed his little tuft of soft dark hair back. “We’ll figure out a name for you eventually, mystery boy.”
“Lizzy said Tommy and Gibson are passed out in front of the TV. So if there’s anything you want to get done, I can easily stay for another hour or two.”
“Thank you.” I smiled. “But David should be home soon. We have plans for trying to catch up with the laundry and maybe cook something for dinner. Though I daresay we’ll wind up getting pizza delivered again.
Then maybe watch a movie, which we will probably both fall asleep in front of.
I tell you, the glamorous rock ’n’ roll lifestyle never ends. ”
Anne laughed.
And suddenly the front door opened and loud yelling filled the condo.
Or maybe it was yodeling. It was meant to be some type of singing, I think.
The death throes of an extraordinarily hot rock star otherwise known as my husband.
He had one arm thrown over Mal’s shoulders and the other around Jimmy’s.
Because he was just that inebriated, apparently.
Holy shit. Dark hair hung around his face, and his eyes were tinged red. “Ev.”
“Hey,” I said, in a not so happy tone of voice.
Jimmy gave me a cautious smile. “They were wetting the baby’s head.”
“You did what to my child’s head?”
“It’s a British thing where you celebrate the new arrival with a couple of drinks.” Which explained why Jimmy was not under the influence, since he was a recovering alcoholic.
Mal, on the other hand, seemed less than sober. Though he was always sort of high on life, so it could be hard to tell. “It’s tradition. We had to!”
Anne closed her eyes tight for a moment. With the baby on her shoulder, she gently patted his back. “Did you happen to notice the part where none of us are in fact British?”
“Bollocks and blimey. What rubbish,” said Mal in a horrible attempt at a posh English accent. “Why, I’m as British as…something very British.”
“Is that so?”
“Bangers and mash,” yelled the blond idiot.
Which scared my son so badly he burst into tears. Give me strength.
“It’s okay,” I said as Anne passed him to me. “Here we go, sweetie. Everything’s fine. Ignore the drunken idiots.”
Mal winced. “Sorry, little dude.”
“So you had a party, huh?” I asked.
David tried to focus on me, but I’m not sure he was entirely successful given all the blinking involved. “Just a little one.”
“You can’t even stand on your own, babe.”
“Um…” And the scent of scotch was so strong. His breath was pure fumes, just waiting for a flame. What a mess.
Jimmy’s gaze was full of apology. As if it were his fault his brother was in this condition. Grownups made their own choices.
“Put him on the couch.” I stepped out of the way. “Thank you.”
A week ago, it would have been no big deal.
Of course, a week ago, it would have been unlikely to happen.
The band sometimes had a few drinks together.
There was a fair argument to be made that partying was part of the music industry.
Celebrating achievements with a bottle of champagne.
Shooting tequila before taking to the stage.
It happened, but no one got hammered. Not like this.
We were all mature responsible adults. Mostly.
Okay. So if he did make a big night of it, he’d do it when we had nothing else going on. When a hangover didn’t matter.
“I’ll take this one home.” Anne grabbed Mal’s hand and tugged him toward the door with no small amount of determination. “See you later, Ev.”
“Bye. And thanks again.”
She just nodded.
“But Davie needs me,” said Mal.
“Read the room, Malcolm,” grouched his wife. “The party is over.”
“Oh, yeah. This room does not feel happy. Maybe it needs some fucking Feng Shui or something. What do you–”
And the door shut behind them. Thank God. One disaster (or drunk rock star) at a time was more than enough.
Jimmy frowned. “Ben bought a couple of bottles of some fancy scotch to celebrate the birth. It was only supposed to be a couple of drinks, but it got a bit out of hand.”
“Oh,” I said.
“I don’t feel so good,” mumbled David on the couch. His face had indeed gone pale.
“Bucket?” asked Jimmy.
“Grab a plastic container or a big bowl from the kitchen pantry.” I pointed the way.
Jimmy ran.
The baby kept fussing because he could smell his food source close by and was hungry.
So I set up in my usual lounge chair on the other side of the room.
Thank goodness for wrap tops making breastfeeding more accessible.
While my son started suckling, I watched my husband turn an alarming shade of green.
Jimmy shoved the big metal bowl at David just in time for him to hurl. Oy vey.
I didn’t want to guess how much alcohol it would take to make him this sick. Or how fast he must have downed it. I’d only been asleep for a couple of hours. The band meeting at Ben’s house must not have been that long.
Jimmy disappeared again, returning with a wet face cloth, a glass of water, and some Advil. “Do you need anything, Ev?”
“I’m fine. Thanks.”
David groaned and sank back onto the couch. “Shit. What the hell was I thinking?”
“Not sure you really were,” said Jimmy. “You just kind of cut loose and went for it. Haven’t seen you go at it like that in years.”
I sighed. “The last week has been pretty hardcore for everyone.”
“Can I empty it?” asked Jimmy, pointing to the bowl of doom.
“Yeah, I think I’m okay now.” David sipped at the water. “This is good.”
Jimmy just nodded.
“Thanks, Jimmy,” I said.
“We had plans for tonight,” said David in a hoarse voice.
“Yeah.”
“I kind of forgot.”
I frowned.
“You’re mad.”
“I honestly don’t know what I am,” I said, caressing the baby’s little hand. “But I think if one of us wants to relax and have a few drinks, that’s the sort of thing we need to organize ahead of time now.”
He nodded, his forehead furrowed in concentration.
Probably to ensure he didn’t accidentally fall off the couch or something.
There was nothing like high blood alcohol level to enhance your general life skills.
And there wasn’t any point in saying more.
Not that I even knew what to say, my head was a mess.
Having a heart-to-heart with him now, when he likely wouldn’t remember what we said in the morning, was not appealing.
My energy levels just weren’t that good.
Neither was my patience, apparently. Thank God Jimmy was here.
“Let’s get you in the shower, stinker,” said Jimmy, giving his brother a hand.
David laughed drunkenly. “You’re making me sound like I’m some annoying little kid.”
“That makes sense since you’re behaving like a man child right now.”
“Ouch,” said David, swaying on his feet. “Harsh, dude.”
I focused on feeding the baby and said a whole lot of nothing.