Das Letzte Lied - Chapter One
"Oh my God! There's Gustav!"
One girl was all it took. Before he knew it, the small crowd of girls just outside of the lobby pushed through the doors and made their way toward him. He would have been nervous but two security guards stepped into the line of fire and kept the girls at a safe distance. They calmed the girls down a bit before Gustav began to sign autographs and pose for pictures. He knew it would only last for a few minutes. That was all the time security would allow for impromptu signings and hotel crowds.
"How are you?" Gustav asked the young girl who was holding out a red teddy bear for him.
"Can you give that to Tom?"
"I can't keep it?" Gustav pretended to pout. He turned the bear over. "Can I write his name on the butt so I don't forget?"
"Sure!" The girl bounced out of the way as Gustav wrote Ho on the teddy bear's tag.
"Gustav! Look this way!" One girl shouted. Gustav looked in the direction of the order and made a face as the other girls laughed at his antics. They continued for a few more minutes before the guards started to look agitated.
"C'mon, guy. A few more minutes?" Gustav asked the guards. The girls had calmed down considerably and he had nowhere important to be.
"Fifteen minutes." Saki said as he tapped the face of his watch. He stood a few feet away with his arms crossed.
Astrid watched the scene from a few feet away as she balanced her son Bradyn in one arm and her backpack on the other. Her heart was beginning to slow down after the excitement of seeing Gustav walk in the door. She had watched the front of the lobby and expected the others to follow him in but no one else showed up. Her plan was about to be ruined and she couldn't let that happen. She had it all planned out and it had to work. She couldn't take it any more and this was the only way out.
"I tired." Bradyn whined as he rubbed his eyes.
Astrid sighed. She'd been listening to him whine for weeks now. Something about his second birthday had set him off and he became almost unbearable. "I know you're tired, Bradyn. I'm working on it." She snapped. The small boy fell quiet. She felt a flicker of sadness. She wasn't really mad at Bradyn but this would be so much easier if she was. She returned to her frown and bounced him to her other hip.
Bradyn looked unfazed as he turned to look behind him at the growing crowd of people in the center of the lobby. "Wassat?"
"Let's go see." Astrid said. Her courage suddenly outweighed any reservations she may have had.
She pushed her way to the center of the crowd and placed the tired two-year-old into Gustav's arms along with a large manila envelope. "Give that to Tom." She said quickly.
"Oh! Let me get a picture of you and the baby!" A young girl screeched as flashes went off left and right.
"Me too! How cute!" Another joined in as the crowd inched closer.
Astrid glanced back over her shoulder as the swarm of girls moved in. She shoved the heavy doors open and left the hotel lobby before her tears overflowed and ran recklessly down her face.
A few minutes later the security team began to clear out the lobby and sent the girls outside. "Who does he belong to?" Saki asked Gustav who was still holding the toddler.
"One of them." Gustav nodded to the girls who were heading for the exit.
"Hey!" Saki shouted after them. "Someone forgetting something?" He pointed to the little boy in Gustav's arms. They all shook their heads and turned around to exit the building.
"She was just here." Gustav looked around in the hope that he'd spot the mother.
"What did she look like?"
"Shit, I don't know." Gustav laughed. "Brown hair? I think. I just spent the last twenty minutes looking at a hundred different girls."
"Okay. Let's go over here and sit down. She'll show up in a panic in a minute or two." Saki led Gustav over to a bench by the elevators where they could keep an eye on the lobby.
Another twenty minutes passed and no one showed up. The little boy was now asleep on the bench between Gustav and Saki and the lobby was all but deserted. "Okay, time to call in the authorities." Saki pushed himself up into a standing position and cracked his knuckles.
"The cops?" Gustav cast a worried glance at the kid.
"You have a better idea? His mom left him here either on purpose or by accident but, either way, it's been almost an hour."
"Okay." Gustav sighed and stood up to stretch. Several of the envelopes he had on his lap fell to the floor at his feet. "Shit." He knelt over to pick them up and stopped as the large envelope with Tom scrawled across the front caught his eye.
"You're getting mail for everyone." Saki laughed as he saw the envelope in Gustav's hand.
"Yeah but I think-" Gustav stopped. "I think the kid's mom gave that to me. Open it up."
"I'm not opening Tom's mail." Saki shook his head.
"Fine, I will." Gustav rolled his eyes. Saki just looked at him so he sighed and pulled the envelope open with one hand and shook the single piece of paper into his hand.
Dear Tom,
I guess I have your attention now, don't I? This is Bradyn. He's two and he's your son. I know right now you're counting backward in your head so let me help you out there. April Fool's Day, 2007. I've been trying to reach you for more than two years now but I think your management and fan club have pretty much written me off as a lunatic stalker. I haven't gone public because, while I'm not exactly thrilled with you, I don't want to ruin your career.
Here's the deal. I can't do this. Bradyn is a good kid. He's really great and smart and everything but I can't raise him right now. My mom all but disowned me when I got pregnant so I've been going alone since then. I can't afford the babysitters it takes to watch him all day while I go to work and school and I'm coming to the end of my rapidly fraying rope here. I've moved around so much in the last year I hardly know which end is up. I need to get on my feet and, since you look like your feet are solidly on the ground, you can take him. You can give him the stability he needs and you can afford to buy everything he could ever want. You will be able to give him so much more than I could and he deserves that.
His birthday is January 4, 2008 and he's allergic to penicillin. He doesn't like cats but he loves dogs. The rest? Well, you'll learn as you go.
A.
"Whoa. Not good." Gustav said as he dropped the letter onto the bench.
"Yeah. It's definitely time to call the cops." Saki nodded at the other guard Tobi and then he went over to the concierge. The police arrived ten minutes later without the lights and sirens. They discreetly parked around back and appeared in the lobby out of nowhere. They went to the front desk to get the head of hotel security out to see if they may have a surveillance tape of the lobby before they began talking to Tobi.
Gustav sat back by the little boy and re-read the letter without touching it. "Do you think it's legitimate?" Saki asked. He had read the note over Gustav's shoulder.
"Doubt it." Gustav shrugged. "There's one way to find out though." He took his cell phone off his hip and dialed Tom's number. It rang through to voice mail and Gustav checked his watch. Tom would just be landing in Germany. "Tom, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but it's time to flip a U-turn and come back." Gustav said softly into his cell phone. Two police officers stood to the side taking statements from Tobi and the hotel clerk. "As soon as you get this message you need to call me at the hotel and then hop on the next flight back to LA. Everyone's okay. I mean, no one's hurt or anything but, seriously, I'm not kidding around here. Just, uh- Call me as soon as you get this."
"Come on, Gustav. We're going upstairs." Tobi nodded toward the elevators.
"To our rooms?"
"Yeah. The media's sniffing around out there and the last thing we need is a shot of you being interviewed by the cops." He looked over his shoulder as Saki and the police walked over. "I'm no PR person but even I know that would be bad."
"Yeah." Gustav nodded and stood up. He looked back at the little boy asleep on the bench. "What about him?"
"Grab him."
"Me?" Gustav cast a worried glance at the child. "I'll wake him up."
"Let's go." Saki said loudly as he held the elevator.
Gustav reluctantly bent over and scooped up the sleeping boy then rested him on his shoulder. Bradyn didn't budge or open his eyes at all as they stepped onto the elevator beside the two uniformed police officers and his own security.
They walked as a group to Gustav's room where he sat and waited for the police to finish questioning Tobi. "Hey." Saki said with a smile as three more people Gustav didn't recognize stepped into the room. "Don't let your girlfriend see you like that or, before you know it, you'll have one of your own."
"Ha! Dream on!" Gustav laughed but looked down at the little boy with compassion. This poor kid was in the middle of what could be a huge mess and, from the sound of the letter, he'd had a rough life.
"Are you Mr. Kaulitz?" One of the uniformed officers asked Gustav as she walked up with a small pad of paper.
"No, I'm Gustav. I'm Tom's friend." The officer looked at the names scrawled in her notebook and located his name on the list. Gustav stood up and laid the little boy at the head of the bed. He put a pillow by his side so he wouldn't roll off.
"Tom?"
"Mr. Kaulitz." Gustav crossed his arms over his chest and stepped to the side by the window.
"I'm Officer Hoff. So what happened exactly?" The female officer opened her note pad and looked up at him expectantly.
"Um, I'm not really sure. There was a pretty big crowd and this girl came up and put the kid in my arms. I figured it was to take a picture." He shrugged. "People ask me to hold their kids all the time for pictures so that was no big deal. But I guess she just left."
"Did she take a picture?" The officer looked up from her notepad hopefully.
"I don't know." Gustav shook his head. "There were a lot of people and cameras."
"Did you read the letter?"
"Yeah." Gustav shoved his hands in his pockets and nodded.
"Did you touch it with your bare hands?"
"Yeah."
"So you're prints will be on it?"
"Probably." Gustav sighed. "What's going to happen to him?"
"To the child?"
"Yeah."
"He'll be taken into protective custody until his mother can be found." She explained as though there were no other options.
"Foster care?" Gustav frowned.
"Yes. Well, no. Tonight he will be taken to the receiving home in Santa Monica. From there he will be placed with a family as soon as one becomes available."
"And he'll stay there until you find his mom?"
"Or another family member who will take responsibility." The officer nodded and clicked her pen open and closed. "How long will you be staying at this hotel?"
"Um, for another few days I think. We leave next Thursday."
"Is this number a good one to reach you at after then? 813-252-2858?"
"Yes, that's our management team. You can reach me through them any time." Gustav looked over his shoulder at the sleeping child. "What about the letter?"
"What do you mean?"
"It says Tom is his dad?"
"Yes, that will be something we'll look into when we track down Mr. Kaulitz."
"He'll be back tomorrow. I left a message for him to call in when he lands in Germany." Gustav scanned the room at the small crowd that had gathered.
"We can work on that then."
"Is there any way you could leave the kid here?" Gustav shuffled his feet nervously.
"Mr. Schäfer, that's not standard procedure."
"Yeah but do you think you can?"
"We have to look out for the best interest of the child."
"And you think dropping him in some group home, halfway house thing in the middle of the night is a good thing?"
"When there are no other options, yes." She set her jaw and closed her notebook.
"I'll volunteer to take care of him until Tom gets back."
"And then?"
"Then I guess we'll see if Tom is the dad." Gustav said though he knew there was no way that could be. He was met with a cold silence and he sighed softly. "If Tom's the father, I know he wouldn't want the kid in foster care even for an hour. If he's not then there's no harm."
"You're not a licensed home."
"It's after nine. The kid is sleeping over there. Let me keep him here with me and tomorrow afternoon, if Tom isn't back, you can come and get him." Gustav cast a worried glance at the little boy. "No offense to your system or procedures or anything but foster care sucks. That kid has had a hard day and the last thing he needs is a ride in the back of a cop car to a facility. He needs a warm bed."
"I'll be in touch tomorrow." She said reluctantly. The maternal instinct in her wanted the boy cared for, and she knew dropping him at the shelter in the middle of the night wouldn't be the best for him. Especially not when there was someone willing to take care of him.
"Okay." Gustav nodded. "Thanks."
"You're welcome. And thank you, Mr. Schäfer. If I have any more questions I'll have one of the officers get in touch with you. Is there anything else you'd like to add?"
"No." Gustav shook his head. He couldn't remember anything about the girl.
"Okay, I'd say we're done then."
"Thanks." Gustav nodded as the officer went over to the other officers by the door.
The phone rang between the bed and Gustav jumped to answer it before it woke up the little boy. "Hello?" He half expected it to be Tom.
"Hey, babe." Angela said softly. "You busy?"
"Yeah, kind of." Gustav nodded.
"Is that Tom?" Saki asked.
Gustav shook his head. "Hey, Angela, I have to go. We have a mess here."
"What? What's wrong?"
"Nothing. I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." He sighed. "I'll give you a call in the morning, okay? I love you."
"I love you too." Angela frowned, "Are you sure everything's okay?"
"It'll be fine. Bye." Gustav said quickly. Angela reluctantly said good-bye also and they hung up. "That was my girlfriend."
"Would she know anything about this?" An officer asked.
"No, she's in Germany."
"Is there anyone else who was there that's not here now?" The same officer asked.
"You mean other than the kid's mom?" Gustav asked sarcastically.
Tobi gave Gustav a stern look. "We were the only ones down there at the time."
"We're going to go talk to the front desk clerks. We'll be in touch tomorrow." The female officer said as she looked back at Bradyn asleep in the middle of the bed by the wall.
The officers filed out of the room while Saki hung out by the door. "They aren't taking him?"
"Saki, I can't let them take him to some receiving home." Gustav shook his head. "He's gonna hang out here until Tom gets back tomorrow."
"Tom will be back tomorrow? For sure?"
"I haven't talked to him yet but yes."
"He's not gonna be happy that his weekend was blown." Saki shook his head.
"I don't care. He has to get this all sorted out." Gustav looked at the little boy asleep in his jeans and T-shirt. "He'll be cool until Tom gets back."
"Okay. Well, holler if you need some help." Saki headed for the door.
"Okay." Gustav nodded. "I think I've got it."
"See ya in the morning. Let me know when Tom is coming in and we'll go get him."
"Okay." Gustav nodded and shut the door behind Saki. He turned back to the little boy. He sighed and reached for his suitcase to pull his laptop out. Watching TV was out of the question since he didn't want to wake up the kid and the internet was the only quiet thing he could think of.
Before Gustav could power up his computer, his cell phone rang in his coat pocket. Gustav crossed the room to grab it off the chair and answered it. "Hello?"
"Gustav?" Tom asked.
"Hey, Tom. What's up?" Gustav asked out of habit.
"Nothing. What's going on over there? What's so urgent?"
"Why didn't you call the hotel?"
"I did. It was busy. Then I had to find your cell number. I had it listed under Twinkie. We've gotta stop getting drunk and changing people's names in our cell phones." Tom laughed but it was interrupted by a yawn. "So what's up?"
"You have to come back, Tom. Like now."
"No way, Gustav! I'm home for the weekend. Whatever you have can wait until I get back Monday."
"No." Gustav shook his head. "You really need to come back now."
"I've been home for less than two hours." Tom frowned.
"We have some issues here that you definitely need to be a part of." Gustav pulled the blanket up to Bradyn's shoulders.
"It can't wait till Monday?" Tom sighed.
"It can't even wait for an hour."
"Shit" Tom leaned forward on the dining room table of his home in Magdeburg. "This had better be really important."
"It is." Gustav said as Bradyn began to stir in the bed beside him. "When you get here go in around back." Gustav said.
Tom scowled and sat back in his chair. "This is my first weekend off in two months."
"This is important, Tom. Saki will meet you in the back and bring you up to my room."
"Damn it. Okay. I'll be on the seven o'clock flight tomorrow." Tom clicked his phone off and rubbed his eyes. This had better be damn good.
----------------
It was after midnight when Gustav finally turned off the light and lay down on the other bed in the room. He closed his eyes and was asleep before his head even hit the pillow. He dreamed of a children's soccer team chasing him around a big field and woke up to the sound of a little kid crying.
At first Gustav didn't know what he was hearing but, as his mind became clearer, he recognized the cry. Gustav jumped up and reached for the light on the nightstand. He knocked over the alarm clock in the process. "It's okay. It's okay." He mumbled as the small amount of light filled the room.
Bradyn was sitting in the opposite bed with his hair sticking up at different angels and tears streaming down his face. "It's okay, buddy. C'mon." Gustav stood up and picked the little boy up then went to sit back on his bed. "Hey, it's-" He stopped mid-sentence when he figured out why Bradyn was crying. "Ugh!" He lifted the wet boy off of his lap and plopped him back down on his own already wet bed. Bradyn only cried more as he was sat back in the large wet area of the blanket.
"Okay, buddy, hang on. Damn, you're in a diaper. Okay. Okay. The front desk should have diapers or something." Gustav reached for the phone and called down to the hotel lobby to ask if someone could send him up a couple of diapers.
"What size do you need sir?"
"They come in sizes? I don't know." Gustav ran his hand through his hair as Bradyn climbed off the bed and padded over to Gustav to lay his head on Gustav's knee as he continued to cry.
"How old is your baby?"
"He's, uh- Two."
"Do you know how much he weighs?"
"I dunno. Like 20 or 30 pounds?" Gustav shrugged and pulled Bradyn onto his lap, soaking his sweatpants in the process. He crinkled his nose at the smell but held Bradyn to him anyway. "Can you send some wipe things too? And if you have some clothes or pajamas or something?"
"We have wipes as well as diapers but our shops don't open until nine, sir. I can have some clothing sent up then or you can choose something yourself."
"Okay, yeah thanks. Can you hurry?"
"Yes, sir. I'll have someone bring the supplies up right away."
"Thanks." Gustav hung up the phone then smoothed down Bradyn's hair. "Rough night, huh, buddy?" Bradyn's cries subsided to a sniffle as he rested his head on Gustav's chest. "Let's get you out of these yucky clothes." He lay the little boy on the dry side of his bed and pulled his jeans off and put them on the wet stain. His shirt was wet as well so Gustav took it off. Bradyn was left in nothing but his soaked through diaper.
The diapers and wipes arrived a few minutes later and Gustav took them happily. "Okay, I've seen people do this before. I can do this." Gustav nodded and opened the package of diapers. He took one out and unfolded it with the tapes in the back. "Looking good so far." He mumbled to himself.
Gustav opened the wipes and reached for the tape on Bradyn's dirty diaper. He tore them off and placed the heavy diaper to the side. "Damn." Gustav turned his head to the side as the urine scent filled his nostrils. He wiped Bradyn as well as he could before he set the boy on the clean diaper. "This isn't so hard. No problem." Gustav secured the tapes on the front of the diaper and pulled Bradyn to a standing position.
Bradyn's eyes drooped as he yawned and stumbled backwards on the soft bed. Gustav took another wipe and ran it over the little boy's bare stomach, back, arms and legs to make sure he got all the pee off. "Okay. Let's go back to sleep." Gustav mumbled as he dropped Bradyn on his bed, leaving the wet bed empty.
"Me too?" Bradyn asked as he lay his head down.
"Sure." Gustav nodded and looked down at his sweatpants with a large pee stain on the leg from where he'd held Bradyn. "In just a second." He sighed and headed to the bathroom to clean himself up and put on a new pair of sweatpants. When he went back into the room Bradyn was sound asleep in the center of the bed. "Lovely." Gustav mumbled.
He opened the window to try to get rid of the smell before he turned off the light and climbed into the bed beside Bradyn. The blanket covered them both completely as Gustav shut his eyes and fell back to sleep almost immediately. He barely noticed the tiny body curled up beside him.
Much sooner than he expected, Gustav felt the bed shift next to him. He cracked open his eye to see Bradyn lying with his head on his hand and a huge smile on his face. "Hi now."
"Hi, Bradyn." Gustav mumbled as he yawned. "Why don't you go back to sleep now. It's too early." He pulled his arm out from under the pillow and checked the time. "Eight thirty. Wow." He sat up and rubbed his eyes then scratched at his stubble. "You hungry?"
"Yeah." Bradyn sat up and imitated Gustav rubbing his eyes.
"Okay." He stood up and stretched his back then pulled the drapes open. "Shit that's bright."
Bradyn rolled onto his stomach and scooted off the bed. He went to stand by the window to press his face against the glass. He looked up at Gustav and his tiny laugh turned into a yawn as he lost his balance and used the window for support.
"Not quite awake, huh?" Gustav had to laugh at the little boy. "Me neither. I think we should watch some cartoons and breakfast. You like cartoons?" He was met with a blank stare. "Scooby Doo? Ducktales? Shit, what do kids watch now?" He asked himself. "Wow Wow Wubbzy?"
"Wuzzy!" Bradyn perked up immediately.
"Wubbzy?"
"Yeah! Wuzzy an' Wallen."
"Whatever you say." Gustav reached for the remote and clicked through the channels. He finally stopped on the only children's program he saw. A dorky looking guy in a orange-red suit and crazy hair spent ten minutes talking to a group of different colored monsters. Gustav's eyes glazed over but Bradyn was thoroughly entertained.
Gustav ordered room service for himself and Bradyn and tried not to doze off as they waited. It was still too early for the others on the floor to be awake so he and Bradyn ate alone at the little table in the corner. Gustav uncovered the breakfast of scrambled eggs, pancakes, milk and a Coke for himself.
"What do you like, huh? Pancakes?" He pointed to the pancakes and the child stared blankly. "Maybe a little syrup on there?" Gustav poured the warmed syrup over the pancake then cut off a bite and held it out to Bradyn.
Bradyn shook his head and frowned. "Mook."
"Mook? You mean milk?" Gustav frowned and looked at the glass of milk. It was full almost to the rim and he wasn't sure if the little boy could manage a cup on his own. "Okay, hang on." Gustav lifted the glass to his lips and drank half of it in two big gulps. "Ugh, nasty." He handed the glass to Bradyn and watched as he took a sip and smiled.
"We go ou-side?" Bradyn asked as he looked toward the window.
"You want to go outside?"
"Yeah." Bradyn nodded and pushed the glass away from him on the table.
"We can go outside a little later." Gustav mumbled as he took the lid off the eggs and put a bite on the fork. He tested the temperature with his finger and found it too warm to try to give the kid.
"Ou-side later?"
"Yeah." Gustav nodded and blew on the eggs. "How about some eggs?"
"Yeah."
"Wicked."
"Wicked." Bradyn nodded as the phone rang.
"Just a second." He blew on the eggs again and reached for the phone. "Hello?"
"Mr. Schäfer?" A female voice asked.
"Yes?" Gustav took the saucer from the tray and put it in front of Bradyn. He put the bite of cooled eggs on it. Bradyn picked it up and ate it. He reached for the piece of pancake Gustav left on the bigger plate.
"This is Officer Hoff. We spoke yesterday? How are you?"
"Tired." Gustav yawned and scratched at his chin. "Any luck?"
"No. We don't have much to go on for the mom. Have you reached Mr. Kaulitz yet?"
"Yeah, he'll be here at 11." Gustav blew on another bite of scrambled eggs and set it on the table for Bradyn. "What's he gonna have to do?"
"Well, it's up to him. A voluntary paternity test would be the easiest way to go and probably the quickest."
"Don't those things take weeks?"
"There's a clinic in Long Beach that can have results in 3 days if need be."
"Okay, where's that?" Gustav searched for a pen in the desk behind him and scribbled down the information she gave him on the clinic. "And then what?"
"I'm ready to come get the child this morning if you'd like."
"To take him to foster care?"
"To the receiving home. I talked to one of the social workers and she said it would take about 24 hours to place him."
"Shit." Gustav sighed. "Okay, so let's say Tom goes and does this test today. We'll know in a few days if this kid is his. Then what?"
"Then we'll know and it'll be up to Mr. Kaulitz."
"If Bradyn isn't Tom's what'll happen to him?" Gustav made a face at Bradyn who smiled back and took a sip of his milk. He was still only in his diaper. Gustav needed to call about getting him some clothes.
"He'll be put into foster care." Officer Hoff sighed.
"And if his mom isn't found?"
"If we fail to locate his mother or another family member he will go through the process and will be made a ward of the state to be put up for adoption."
"If Tom's the dad?"
"Mr. Kaulitz will be given the opportunity to assume custody of the child for the duration of our search for his mother. If we locate the mother, it will be between her and Mr. Kaulitz. If we can't, it will be up to Mr. Kaulitz where the child goes."
"How about for the three days we're waiting for results?"
"Like I said, Mr. Schäfer, I'm willing to come and pick up the child whenever you're ready."
"Can he stay here with us though? Until we know for sure?"
"You're leaving on Thursday." She consulted her notes. "If he gets tested today the earliest we'd get results would be Wednesday."
"So he can stay?" Gustav asked.
"I don't see any reason why he couldn't stay there. But if it's found that the child is not Mr. Kaulitz's he will be taken into protective custody."
"Okay." Gustav nodded. He'd hate to see that happen to such a good kid. He took another bite of the eggs and blew on them to cool them off before putting them on Bradyn's little saucer.
"I need you to have Mr. Kaulitz contact me when he gets in so we can find out what, if anything, he knows about the mom."
"Okay."
"Maybe it would be best if we met him at the hotel at 11:30?" Officer Hoff asked.
"I think seeing cops sitting around when he gets here would freak him out." Gustav shook his head. "I'll have him call you as soon as he knows what's up."
"I'd like to see him."
Gustav sighed. "Fine. When he gets here I'll have him call and you can set up a time to come over."
"We're just trying to help, Mr. Schäfer."
"I know but bombarding him as he walks in the door isn't going to help anyone." Gustav shook his head and made a funny face at Bradyn.
"We can go ou-side?" Bradyn asked softly.
"Yeah, we'll go outside in just a little bit." Gustav swiped his napkin across Bradyn's mouth and helped him off the chair. The toddler's diaper sagged and Gustav dreaded changing him again. "It's too early to be dealing with this right now. Tom's flight comes in at eleven. He'll be at the hotel by eleven thirty. You should hear from him around twelve."
"You have my number?"
"Yes, I have your number."
"Thank you, Mr. Schäfer."
"You're welcome." He sighed and rubbed his eyes as he hung up the phone. "Hey, Bradyn, you're not wearing any clothes."
"No shuss." Bradyn laughed and sat on the floor to hold his foot in the air.
"No. No shoes either." Gustav put his hands on his hips and stared down at the little boy. His light brown hair was cut unevenly and stuck up in little tufts all over his head. He had a tiny little dimple in his cheek when he smiled. "We have to work on getting you some clothes."
Gustav thought about the scene that would be caused if he carried an almost naked child down to the lobby to get clothes and shuddered. There had to be a better way. Almost everyone else on the tour had left for their free weekend. Gustav had only stayed behind because he wanted to enjoy the peace and quiet when they were gone.
Gustav yawned again and bent over his suitcase. "Speaking of clothes." He pulled out clean clothes for himself and headed to the bathroom. The door was halfway shut when he realized that he couldn't just leave Bradyn out there by himself. "Hey, Bradyn? Come over here."
"We go ou-side?"
"Not yet. Come play over here for a minute." Gustav nodded at the floor by the door. Bradyn didn't move so Gustav crossed the room and scooped him up. He dropped him on the floor just outside the bathroom door and handed him the spare tooth brush that came with the hotel room. "Play with that for just a second."
Gustav left the door ajar as he changed into his pants and T-shirt. He ran a brush through his hair and just pulled a cap on over it.
"Okay. Let's try to figure out who's still here that we can call to get you some clothes."
"Like you?"
"Yeah, clothes like me."
"Okay." Bradyn nodded in agreement.
"In fact, that's a great idea. Let's see if Tayla stayed around this weekend. She buys my clothes I bet she'd buy yours too." Gustav reached for the phone and called down to the front desk to be re-directed to Tayla's room.
"Hello?" She answered after two rings.
"Hi, Tayla! It's Gustav. I know you're busy but I didn't know who else to call. I mean, you do wardrobe stuff so I'm guessing you like clothes, right?" Gustav rambled.
"I guess." She said slowly. She wasn't sure where Gustav was going.
"I need some help."
"I didn't see anything on the calendar that would need my expertise. What's up?" She cradled the phone between her shoulder and ear as she applied her mascara.
"I don't know if you heard or not but I have a two year old up here and he's only wearing a diaper."
"You have a two year old?"
"Yeah but no. I don't have a two year old but I have one up here with me."
"You don't have one but there's one with you?" Tayla asked. She was completely lost.
"Yeah."
"So right now there is a two year old in a diaper near you?"
"On my lap. Yes." Gustav nodded. "What I meant was that he's not mine."
"Oh!" Tayla laughed. "Okay, well who does he belong to?"
"I don't know." Gustav sighed. "It's a long story but the little guy needs some clothes and I don't know what to do."
"Oh."
"I can't just run to the mall and pick up kid's clothes so I was hoping you could. Can you?"
"I'm off this weekend. Just like you guys."
"I know." Gustav said hastily. "But I'm stuck here."
"I'm completely lost here, Gustav. Where are the clothes he came in?"
"Sopping wet on the bed. We had an accident last night."
"He was here last night?"
"Yeah." Gustav sighed again. "If you can just go pick up a few pairs of pants and shirts or whatever I'll explain it all later."
"I'll tell you what, they have to have something in one of the shops downstairs. I'll go pick some clothes and bring them up right now, okay?"
"Yeah but don't go shopping crazy or anything."
"Baby or not, any clothes I buy will be stylish." Tayla smiled. "What room are you guys in?"
"1521." Gustav said as Bradyn reached up to touch Gustav's glasses. "No no." Gustav grabbed the little boy's fingers and removed them from the arm of his glasses. "I'll see you in twenty minutes?" He asked Tayla.
"Yeah." Tayla hung up and grabbed her purse off the dresser. She tied a pink bandanna over her hair and headed downstairs to pick up some kid clothes.
----------------
As soon as she walked into the little boutique Tayla started to picture the guys from Tokio Hotel in the clothes on display. She loved being their wardrobe lead. It was her job to buy all the clothes for their photo shoots and appearances. She bought a bunch of the things she thought each of the guys would like and put them on the racks for them to choose what they were in the mood for that day. Dressing them up was only half the fun. She got to shop for a living. Who could ask for a better job?
"Hi! Can I help you find something?" The sales lady asked.
"I'm looking for children's clothes actually. Do you have anything like that?"
"We do have a small selection. You may want to try the mall. There will be a bigger selection there."
"I just need a few little outfits." Tayla smiled and followed the sales lady through the store to where the children's clothes were set out. She took her time looking through the tiny pairs of pants and shirts to match the adult clothes in the front of the store. After a few minutes deliberation, she decided on a pair of khaki shorts and a pair of denim overalls with shirts to go with them. She stopped and picked up two pairs of matching socks before she headed for the register. She paid for her purchase and carried the bag up to Gustav's room.
Gustav answered the door with a yawn. "Hi! I am so glad you're here."
"Hi." Tayla smiled and handed him the bag. She expected to just go back to her room.
"Wait." Gustav said as he saw her turn to leave. "Can you help me out?"
If he hadn't sounded so desperate, she may have left. "Sure." She shoved her hands in her pockets and followed Gustav into the room. She noticed the little boy in a saggy diaper sitting on the floor with the TV remote in his hand. "He's adorable." She smiled at Gustav as she knelt beside Bradyn. "What's your name, sweetie?"
Bradyn just looked at her. "Hi!"
"Hi yourself." She laughed and looked up at Gustav. "What's his name?"
"Bradyn."
"Hi, Bradyn. What do you have there?"
"TV." He smiled and pointed the remote towards the TV.
"Doesn't he have any real toys?"
"He doesn't have anything." Gustav shook his head.
"Okay. Explain. Did he come with the room?" Tayla asked as she stood up straight.
"No, he-" Gustav wasn't sure how much he should share before he had a chance to talk to Tom. "One of the girls handed him to me last night when I was in the lobby and she just left so now he's here with me."
"Gustav! You need to call the police or something. You can't just call dibs on a kid."
"I'm not calling dibs." Gustav shook his head. "And the cops have been here. Problem is, he came with a note saying he's Tom's kid so until Tom gets back, the kid's staying with me."
"He's Tom's?!"
"No." Gustav shook his head. "I don't know. Tom's on his way back right now but I didn't want the kid thrown into foster care."
"Wow." She looked back at Bradyn looking for any resemblance to Tom. She didn't see any but she didn't spend a lot of time looking at Tom. "So what do you need help with?"
"I don't know anything about kids."
Tayla laughed and shook her head. "I'm not a babysitter."
"I know." Gustav said. "I just meant that I don't know anything about dressing them or anything."
"You dress yourself every day. What's the problem?"
"He's just so small."
"He's a kid."
"Yeah. Can you help me? Please?"
Tayla sighed and reached into the bag. She pulled out the overalls and T-shirt. "Bradyn, sweetie, come here. Let's get you dressed." She held out the clothes to show Bradyn as he hopped up off the floor and walked over to where Tayla was sitting. "Wow, you need a diaper change. Where are your diapers?"
"Dere." Bradyn pointed to the stack beside the bed.
"Can you go get them and the wipes too? We'll change your diaper and get you dressed."
"Kay." Bradyn ran across the room and picked up a diaper and the small container of wipes before he ran back to Tayla.
Gustav watched in amazement. "How'd you do that?"
"What?" Tayla looked up with a confused look.
"He did it."
"I asked him to." She laughed as Bradyn lay on the floor in front of her. "You're gonna owe me for this." She said as she removed Bradyn's dirty diaper. She cleaned him up and put a fresh one on before she pulled him to his feet. "Okay, Bradyn. Arms up." Bradyn raised his arms and she pulled the new T-shirt over his head. She then held the pants down at his knee level and helped him step into them.
Tayla snapped the straps of the overalls and looked at Gustav. "Do you have a hairbrush?"
"Yeah." He jumped up and got one from the bathroom. "Here." He handed it to her and watched as she brushed Bradyn's thin hair and parted it on the side.
"There you go, sweetie. You're all done." Tayla patted Bradyn's bottom as he took off to go grab his remote.
"Damn, you're good." Gustav shook his head and laughed.
"He's just a human, you know?" Tayla sighed. "He's a smart little boy."
"Yeah, I guess so. I was thinking he was more of a baby."
"No, he's two. He may not have all of the speaking skills yet but he knows the language." She laughed and pulled the tags off the other outfit in the bag. "Is that all?"
"Yeah. Thanks."
"No problem." She set the hairbrush on the table and stood up. "Bye, Bradyn."
"Bye-bye?" He stopped and stood up to follow her.
"No, honey, I'm going to go bye-bye. You're gonna stay here with Gustav." She smiled and patted Gustav's arm.
"We go ou-side?" Bradyn asked Gustav.
"Yeah, in just a little bit." Gustav nodded.
"You can't take him out front." Tayla said softly. "There's a crowd."
"I know. We're gonna go out on the balcony in a few minutes." Tayla looked past him trying to see the balcony. "It's safe. Don't worry. It's all stucco and there's nothing for him to climb on."
"Okay." She nodded and tried to look again. "Okay, I'll see you guys later."
"Bye-bye." Bradyn waved and sat back on the floor with the remote. He clicked the button and turned the TV off then back on while he laughed.
"Good luck." She smiled at Gustav before she left them alone in the room.
Gustav and Bradyn watched cartoons for a little while longer. They took the little pad of paper and a pencil outside to the balcony to draw on the floor. Bradyn couldn't quite get a hang of using the pencil but he could tear the paper into tiny shreds and throw them in the air like a pro. Gustav sat with his butt inside and his feet and legs outside on the balcony.
"All done." Bradyn threw the last piece of paper in the air with a satisfied smile and stepped over Gustav's legs to go back into the room.
"Okay then." Gustav laughed and stood up to brush his butt off as someone knocked on the door.
Gustav shut the sliding glass door and latched it just to be safe. He crossed the room as he checked his watch. It was almost noon. It had to be Tom.
"What's the big emergency?" Tom asked as he walked into the room followed by their tour manager David. "And what is that smell?"
"The smell is piss and that's the big emergency." Gustav nodded at Bradyn who was sitting on the floor in his new overalls and T-shirt.
"What's this?"
"This is Bradyn." Gustav said. "A girl handed him to me with a letter saying he's yours." Tom's mouth dropped open as he tried to laugh. "The police were here but I let them leave the kid with me until you got back today to straighten things out."
Tom laughed nervously. "He's not mine."
"A paternity test will prove that." Gustav nodded.
"You can't be serious." Tom shook his head with a smug smile.
"I'm serious." Gustav nodded. "You need to call Officer Hoff and answer some questions." He crossed the room and grabbed the paper with her number on it.
"Gustav, he's not mine."
"I'm not saying he is, Tom. I'm saying that the letter says you are and the best thing to do would be to take a paternity test." Gustav sighed and rubbed his tired eyes.
"You think I'd be careless enough to knock up some girl I don't even know?" Tom frowned and tried to keep his voice low as Bradyn played on the floor a few feet away.
"I'm not saying that." Gustav was getting moody. It had been a long night and he was exhausted. "Go take the test so you can prove that you're not and then you'll be off the hook."
Tom sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "Where do I have to go?"
"To the hospital."
"Yeah, like that won't be an attention getter. Tom Kaulitz walks into Cedar Sinai and no one says anything?"
"The officer chick said there's a paternity clinic in Long Beach that can give you the results in 3 days." Gustav nodded toward the pad of paper where he had scribbled his notes from the call earlier.
"Three days?" Tom asked as he heaved a huge sigh. "What do I have to do?"
"You give blood and they run DNA. Shit, I don't know. Don't you watch Maury Povich or whatever when they do those tests?"
"Blood?" Tom suddenly felt faint. "Forget it. I'm not his father. Just call your little officer friend and have her come get him."
"Tom, if you deny he's yours and he's put into foster care and somehow someone finds out he is yours." David shrugged. "That mess will be a hundred times bigger than if you find out he's yours now."
"He's not." Tom shook his head. "This is just crazy."
"It comes with the territory." David shrugged as Gustav leaned back in his chair to stretch his back. "If we diffuse this bomb now, before it gets out of hand, you can save face either way. Rumors like this have a way of exploding. Does the word Viagra mean anything to you?"
"I know that, David, but I'm not gonna give blood to prove that I'm right. Forget it." His hands began to shake at the thought of having to face a needle.
"There are other ways to get your DNA." David checked his watch. "If we leave now maybe this can all be settled before we leave here on Thursday."
That gave them four days.
----------------
"Wait! Before you guys leave Tom has to call Officer Hoff." Gustav nodded at the paper in Tom's hand.
"I'll call her when I get back."
"No, call her first." Gustav was tired of arguing. "Go on. Go call her from your room. Answer her dozen or so questions then go."
Tom sighed with annoyance from having to talk to the police officer. "Okay, give me fifteen minutes." Tom said to David. "Have Tobi meet me by the elevators and I'll go take the test."
"You got it." David and Tom headed for the door.
"Hey, guys?" Gustav called after them. He cast a quick glance at Bradyn.
"Yeah?" Tom turned back around.
"You'll need Bradyn for the tests too." Gustav shook his head. He hoped for a few free hours to take a nap and a shower.
"Can you keep him until I'm done with the call?" Tom asked. Without waiting for an answer, he continued down the hall to his room.
"Sure." Gustav said to himself. "Okay. You and me again."
"Yay!" Bradyn did a little dance. "And we go ou-side?"
"Yeah, we can go back outside." Gustav sighed and nodded toward the sliding glass door. Bradyn was already pulling the drapes back and reaching for the handle. He ran onto the balcony as soon as the door was open and Gustav sat inside watching him. Gustav yawned and leaned back on his arms as the afternoon sun found it's way into the shady balcony.
Bradyn squinted and looked up into the sky. "Ao-pane in sky?"
Gustav followed Bradyn's tiny finger as he pointed up. "No airplanes. But that's where they go. You're pretty smart."
"Yeah." Bradyn sighed and said. "Ao-pane go bye bye."
"Yeah. You go bye-bye in the airplane." Gustav yawned and tried to keep his eyes open. Kids could be so tiring.
Tom nervously dialed the number on the torn piece of paper and waited as his call was directed to Officer Hoff's desk. "This is Hoff." She answered with an unexpected harshness.
"Hi. My name is Tom Kaulitz."
"Ahhh, Mr. Kaulitz." He could hear the smile in her voice as he said his name. "I've been waiting to hear from you."
"Yeah, I was in Germany."
"Yes, I understand that. Do you have a few minutes?"
"Sure." Tom sat on the edge of the bed and twirled the ballpoint pen in his hand.
"Great. My partner and I will be over in ten minutes. What's your room number?"
"You're coming over?" He sat up straighter.
"Yes, of course. I'd like you to take a look at the letter that was left with the child and we'll have some questions for you."
"We can't do it over the phone?"
"It'd really be better if we came there."
"Okay." Tom sighed. This was the icing on the cake of his weekend. "Can you come in the back or something? I mean, there's a huge crowd outside and everything."
"We'll be in an unmarked car in plain clothes." She smiled. "You'll be okay."
"Okay." Tom nodded. "I'm in room 1523."
"Okay, we'll be there in ten minutes." Officer Hoff said before she hung up.
Tom ran his hands over his braids and noticed they were fraying. He made a mental note to have them redone.
Overall Tom wasn't too concerned with this whole thing. He had stopped sleeping around and he didn't have one night stands anymore. He had been faithful to Carrie for the entire time they'd been dating. Almost three years and he hadn't so much as kissed another woman. And he was careful all the time and every time. He knew the consequences of not being careful and a prime example of that was down the hall playing in Gustav's room.
"He's a good looking kid though." Tom smirked to his reflection in the mirror of the bathroom. That was true. The kid was cute. Definitely a future heart-breaker. Tom sighed and shook his head. His mind had been running double-time since those words left Gustav's mouth but he couldn't think of a single way that child in there could be his. That added to the stress of being in the beginning weeks of a huge US tour was almost more than Tom could fathom.
"Stop worrying." He mumbled to his image before he splashed water on his face and tried to wash the long flight from Germany out of his pores.
Fifteen minutes later there was a knock on his door. With a pounding heart and unsteady hands, Tom pulled the door open. He was surprised at Officer Hoff's appearance. She wasn't what he had expected at all. She was young, short and cute. The wedding ring on her left hand was tiny but her hand looked strong. He knew for a fact that he wouldn't want to mess with her.
"Hi. Tom is it?" She smiled and shook his hand. "I'm Officer Hoff. This is Officer Fresa." The young man to her side smiled. "Why don't we go sit down and we can try to work this out." She carried herself tall as she crossed the room to the table by the window. "Do you mind?" Officer Hoff looked over her shoulder as she reached for the drapes.
"Go ahead." Tom nodded. She pulled the curtains open to brighten up the room a little as Officer Fresa set his notebook on the table and pulled up a seat.
"Okay." Officer Hoff sighed with a smile and sat across from Tom. "How was your flight?"
"Fine."
"Good." She nodded and reached into the notebook. "First of all, you're not here for questioning. You're not in any kind of trouble or anything like that. If at any time you want to stop the process just say so and we'll leave."
"It's okay." Tom shook his head.
"We're just here to help." Officer Hoff smiled again and set the letter from Bradyn's mom in front of Tom. "This is a copy of the letter handed to Mr. Schäfer with the child."
Tom picked it up and read it over. He blushed instinctively as he did so. "Okay."
"Basically what we need to do is find out if you can help us out here."
"Yeah, I'm going to take the paternity test this afternoon." Tom dropped the letter on the table.
"Okay, I'll call ahead to the clinic so they will be expecting you." Officer Hoff scribbled in her notebook. "What do you think of all of this?" She asked softly.
"I think it's ridiculous and sad." Tom scratched the side of his nose as his eyes darted between the two officers. "I don't sleep around anymore. Contrary to popular belief, not all that talk about me sleeping around was true." He laughed quickly.
"She signed the letter A. Does that ring a bell?"
"I don't remember ever dating anyone with an A name."
"Who was your last girlfriend?"
"I'm dating Carrie right now. We've been together almost two years. Before her was Chantelle but that was pretty short. Before that I don't know. I dated a lot of girls, you know? Like when I was a teenager."
"At the time she's speaking about, April 2007." Officer Hoff referred back to her copy of the letter. "Were you dating anyone then?"
"I was kind of seeing Carrie. We were just friends but we started going out in April. Around Easter." Tom nodded.
"So you weren't seeing anyone else?"
"No." He shook his head. "Did she say where?" Tom looked at the paper.
"No."
"Well that's not giving us much to go off of, is it?"
"Can you think back to where you were on April Fool's Day of 2007?"
"No, but I'm pretty sure we were in Germany. We were getting ready for our first US tour. But I doubt that makes a difference."
"Did anyone try to contact you while you were in the US?"
"People try to contact me all the time." Tom frowned.
"Can we contact your management to try to see if they have a record of a girl claiming to be the mother of your child trying to contact you?"
"I don't know. I guess. I'd have to talk with David Jost, our manager. I mean, if it would help sure." Tom shrugged.
"We're on your side here." Officer Hoff said. Tom began to wonder if Officer Fresa was simply there for decoration while Office Hoff seemed to be doing all of the talking. "We're just trying to find the child's mother."
"I know." Tom nodded.
"Thank you for volunteering to take the paternity test. Once we get those results, we'll have a better idea of what to do." She smiled. "I know you're busy and I'd hate to waste your time talking about your past relationships if you're not even the father."
"Right."
"But, at the same time, the sooner we can start looking the sooner we may locate her."
"I understand that. I'm willing to help if I can but I don't know. It may just be better to wait and see what happens, you know?"
"I agree." Officer Hoff nodded. "If you can think of anything else please give us a call."
"I will." Tom stood up to see them out.
"You're going today for the test?"
"Yeah, as soon as we're done here."
"Okay, the results should only take a few days and I understand you're here until Thursday?"
"Yeah." Tom nodded. "We leave Thursday morning for Phoenix."
"Okay. You'll call us with the results?"
"Sure." Tom nodded and followed them out to the hall. He expected them to walk toward Gustav's room but instead they went straight to the elevator. "What about- What about the kid?"
"I'm sorry?"
"He's in Gustav's room."
"Mr. Schäfer said he was keeping the child until the paternity test came back."
"He did?"
"Yes." Officer Hoff set her jaw. "He was against putting the child in protective custody and assured us that you would feel the same."
"No, I- Yeah- No, I do."
"If you'd prefer I can send a car around to pick him up from the clinic after the testing."
"No, that's okay." Tom shook his head. He released the breath he'd been holding as the two officers stepped onto the elevator. This was a lot to handle so suddenly and he had a feeling this was just the beginning.
"Hey, Tom. You ready?" David asked from his doorway ten feet away.
"Yeah." Tom yawned. "Let's go get this over with."
----------------
David got Bradyn from Gustav's room and carried him downstairs to get him buckled in his borrowed car seat. They pulled the car around to the side so that Tom and Tobi could avoid the small gathering of fans out front. They drove the 45 minutes to the tiny clinic and parked in the near empty lot.Tom rushed into the building with Tobi as David carried Bradyn up the front walk. "Hi. I'm, uh- Is there someone in charge here?"
"I'm Mary-Beth. I'm the director here. Is there something I can help you with?" A young looking lady asked as Tom leaned against the counter.
"Yeah, I, um- I need to take a paternity test. Officer Hoff was supposed to have called ahead?" Tom explained as he looked over his shoulder to make sure no one else heard. They were alone in the waiting room and Tom relaxed a bit. "This place looks closed." He looked around at the dim offices behind the main desk.
"Yes, Officer Hoff called." Mary-Beth nodded. "And, yes, we are technically closed. We're not open on the weekend but under special circumstances I don't mind coming in." She reached into a drawer and pulled a clipboard out. "Go ahead and fill these out. When you're done we'll take you and the child back to retrieve the samples." She glanced around the small waiting area. "The mother is unavailable for testing, right?"
"Right." Tom shook his head. "It's a long story."
"That's fine." Mary-Beth nodded.
"I really hate needles." Tom's voice practically shook and he grabbed onto the ledge of the counter.
"That's okay. I don't like them much either." Mary-Beth smiled as Tom sat on the little couch to fill out the form as best as he could. He placed the clipboard on his lap and chewed on his thumbnail as he scribbled his information on the form.
When he was done he handed it to Mary-Beth. "Looks good. Let's head back and get this out of the way. Would you and-" She consulted the form. "Bradyn, please come on back?"
"Sure." Tom put his hands in his pockets and walked through the swinging doors as David stood by the couch holding Bradyn.
"Sir? The child?" Mary-Beth nodded toward the waiting room.
"Oh, yeah." Tom turned around and clumsily reached for the toddler.
"He's a cutie." Mary-Beth smiled and ruffled Bradyn's hair.
Tom simply nodded as she led the way down the sterile white halls to an examining room on the right. "How- Um, how do you do this?"
"We take a sample from the inside of your cheek and a sample from Bradyn's cheek and compare them with our DNA process."
"You're gonna take a sample from my cheek?" The blood rushed from Tom's face.
"Yes, it's a painless procedure." Mary-Beth snapped rubber gloves onto her hands then prepared two swab sticks. She caught Tom eying them with fear in his eyes and smiled. "Would you like Bradyn to go first?"
"No, I can." He mustered up as much courage as he could as he balanced Bradyn on his knee.
"Okay, swallow and then open wide."
Tom swallowed three times before he opened his mouth and shut his eyes. He prepared for the worst. Mary-Beth gently swabbed the side of his cheek up and down and removed the narrow wooden swab.
"Good job." She laughed lightly and sealed the sample in the sterile container. "Okay, Bradyn, are you ready honey?"
"That's it?" Tom asked.
"That's it." Mary-Beth smiled and looked at Bradyn. "Can you open your mouth really wide for me? Go like this." She demonstrated by opening her mouth and sticking out her tongue. Bradyn laughed and opened wide. "Very good." She took his sample and sealed it the same way she did Tom's. "You're all done. See? That wasn't so bad, was it?"
"No, that was easy." Tom laughed nervously as he placed Bradyn on the floor and stood up. Bradyn instinctively grabbed Tom's fingers as they walked back down the hall to where the two older men were waiting.
David paid the lab fees and Tom muttered. "Thanks for, uh- For coming in on the weekend for this."
"It's no problem." Mary-Beth smiled. "I'll call you as soon as the results are in."
"Okay." Tom nodded as David picked Bradyn up and headed for the door. "Thanks."
"You're welcome. Bye, guys." She waved and Tom ducked out of the empty clinic.
Bradyn waved his pudgy hand at the doctor as he and David walked out the door. Mary-Beth laughed and waved at the little boy. She silently hoped for the best for those two.
----------------
"So what's the deal?" Gustav asked when Tom knocked on his door an hour later.
"We have to wait for the results." Tom sighed and gently nudged Bradyn into the room. Recognizing Gustav from the night before, Bradyn walked over and tugged on the knee of his pants.
"Hey, Bradyn! What's up?" Gustav laughed and knelt to be at eye level with him. Bradyn gave Gustav a worried look and grabbed at his diaper. "Oh! You do some big business in there?"
"Yeah." Bradyn continued to look worried as he glanced from Gustav to Tom. "A di-puh."
"Yeah, you need your diaper changed." Gustav stood up and looked at Tom. "No better time to learn."
"Wrong answer." Tom shook his head and turned for the door. "I have to go call Carrie."
"Here." Gustav leaned over the bed and grabbed the stack of diapers and box of wipes. "You'll need these."
"Come on, Gustav. Help me out here. Can you keep an eye on him for like an hour? I've gotta go explain to Carrie that I took a paternity test today."
"Why don't you wait for th-"
"Because somehow, someway she'll find out I went to test and her head will explode. Just give me an hour." He rubbed his eyes and yawned.
Gustav sighed and looked at the little boy standing by the bed with his hand on his bulging diaper. "Yeah, okay fine."
"Thanks." Tom ducked out of the room before Gustav could nod and the door swung shut behind him.
"It's just you and me now." Gustav shook his head and hoisted the little boy onto the bed to change his diaper. "Tom is going to owe me big time for this." He mumbled under his breath.
"Toooom?" Bradyn asked.
"Yeah, Tom. That's the guy you were just hanging out with. He's a loser." Gustav made a face and turned his head as he blindly wiped Bradyn's behind. "Good God! What did I feed you?" He wiped as fast as he could and shut the diaper before he taped the new one into place. "Good as new." Gustav reached for Bradyn's hands and pulled him to a standing position.
"Uh oh!" Bradyn laughed as Gustav cell phone rang on the table across the room. "Phone!"
"Yeah, hop on down. Let's go get it." He held Bradyn's hand as he jumped to the floor and Gustav lunged for his phone. "Hello? Hi?"
"Gustav?" Angela asked.
"Hey, Ang."
"What's going on? Are you okay?"
"Who's it?" Bradyn asked.
"Who's there?" Angela asked.
"His name is Bradyn. He's two." Gustav explained.
"Who does he belong to?" Angela asked. Gustav thought for a second to try to think of how to explain this without having to explain it. "Gustav?"
"Yeah?" He snapped back to attention.
"Who does he belong to?"
"I don't know." He said honestly.
"You don't know? Gustav what's going on?"
"Okay this chick last night? She handed him to me and said-"
"He's yours?!" Angela practically shouted.
"No! No, Ang. She said for me to hold him so I did and then she left."
"Some girl just left her kid with a complete stranger?"
"She knew who I was apparently."
"What are you trying to say, Gustav? Spit it out."
"She knew who I was meaning she knew I was Gustav Schäfer from Tokio Hotel. Am. I am Gustav Schäfer from Tokio Hotel." He paused for a second but she didn't say a word. Gustav kicked his shoes off and sighed. "You can't say a word to anyone. I mean it, Ang. Not anyone."
"What?"
"She left a note that said he's Tom's." He said softly.
"Holy shit. Does Carrie know?" Angela asked with her hand covering her mouth.
"He's talking to her right now."
"So Tom has a kid?"
"We don't know." Gustav shook his head again. "He went to take a paternity test this morning but I swear, Angela, you can't say anything to anyone."
"I'm not."
"Because chances are he's not Tom's and this whole thing will blow over."
"Yeah but what if-"
"We can't even think about that right now." Gustav smiled as Bradyn stuck his small feet in Gustav's huge shoes and plodded toward the bathroom.
"So if he might be Tom's how come he's in your room?"
"Because right now I'm acting as Tom's best friend." Gustav laughed. "I knew I should have gone to see you for the weekend."
"You're sweet to take care of him."
"My only other option would be to let him roam the halls." Gustav watched as Bradyn lost his balance and caught himself on the corner of the bed. "You okay, Bradyn?"
"Yeah." Bradyn laughed and picked his leg up as high as it would go to move the heavy shoe forward.
"Is he the cutest thing ever?" Angela laughed lightly.
"He's wearing my shoes and trying to walk. Yeah, it's pretty cute."
"Aww."
"Yeah but you know what's not the cutest thing ever?"
"Hmm?"
"Him pissing in the bed in the middle of the night then waking up like three hours later wanting eggs. Not to mention the diapers."
"He's not potty trained?"
"He came in a diaper and I've been changing them. I guess not."
"Well maybe he only wears them at night. Ask him if he has to go."
"Angela."
"Ask him, you might be surprised."
"Hey, Bradyn? Do you have to go to the bathroom?" Gustav asked.
"Ask him if he has to go potty. You have to use kid words."
"I'm not saying that." Gustav pretended to frown. He knew that Angela was mentally picturing kids of their own.
"C'mon."
"Do you have to go potty?" Gustav winced as he said it.
"No." Bradyn was too busy concentrating on lifting Gustav' shoes to pay attention to Gustav.
"He doesn't have to go."
"Well just ask him at different points during the day."
"This is my weekend off. I'll tell Tom to ask him."
"It's Tom's weekend off too."
"Too damn bad." Gustav laughed. Angela laughed with him and they talked for another few minutes about plans for after the tour and her school. "Hang on. He's being quiet in there."
"In where?"
"The bathroom." Gustav mumbled as he stood up.
"Gustav! There are all kinds of things he can hurt himself on in there."
"It's not like there's cleaning stuff. Unless he eats the half a roll of toilet paper in there or a hand towel, he can't get hurt." Gustav flipped the light on to see Bradyn sitting by the bathtub with a shoe on each hand. "You okay?" Gustav asked.
"Is big shoe."
"Yeah, those are big shoes. Come out here, buddy." Gustav held the door open for Bradyn as the toddler picked up Gustav's shoes and stumbled out into the room. He turned his attention back to Angela. "Ang, I have to get going. I can't concentrate on talking and watching him at the same time."
"Okay, let me know what happens with this."
"I will."
"Is it safe to call Carrie?"
"Wait until she calls you. I don't know if I was supposed to say anything." Gustav said softly.
"Okay." Angela sighed. "I'll talk to you later."
Gustav said good-bye and turned to Bradyn. "So- Oh! Hey, check it out. I have some toys for you. I had one of the guys bring these in from the bus. Cool, huh?" Gustav reached for the stuffed animals on the bed. There were three or four bears as well as a huge stuffed frog and a dog.
"Dog!" Bradyn's eyes lit up as he wrapped his arms around the floppy yellow dog.
"That's right. What's his name?"
"Bradyn."
"Your dog's name is Bradyn?" Gustav smiled.
"Mine?"
"Yeah, you can keep him."
"Kay." Bradyn laughed.
"So his name is Bradyn?"
"No, Lello."
"Lello? I get it. Yellow! I like that name." Gustav laughed and reached for one of the bears. He held it in front of his face and made his voice sound scratchy. "Hi, Bradyn! My name is Fritz the bear. I like your dog."
Bradyn erupted with giggles and bounced the dog up and down on the floor. He made him jump onto the bed and bark. Gustav continued with the bear voice for a while and they pretended they were hiking around the room looking for alligators.
"There's one!" Gustav shouted as he ducked and crawled between the bed. Bradyn followed and laughed with Lello clasped tightly in his hand.
Gustav yawned as he saw the alarm clock that was at eye level. "Shit, it's been two hours. Where's Tom?" He asked the child as if he might answer.
"Dunno." Bradyn shrugged and laughed.
"Me neither." Gustav stood up and cracked his back. "Okay. Let's go find Tom so I can get ready to go out. I'm gonna par-tay." Gustav did a little dance and Bradyn's eyes twinkled as he laughed. "Let's go." He reached his hand out and Bradyn dropped Lello to the floor then took his hand without thinking twice. They left the room and walked three doors down to Tom's shut door.
"Tom!" Gustav held tight to the tiny hand in his as he knocked on Tom's door. "Tom! C'mon, I have plans." He knocked again as Bradyn tried to wiggle his hand free. "Hold my hand."
"No." Bradyn tried harder to pry his hand away.
"Bradyn, hold my hand." Bradyn began to whine and pull harder as Gustav knocked again. "What's your problem?" Gustav knelt down in front of Bradyn who now had tears in his eyes. As soon as the first tear spilled onto Bradyn's little cheek Gustav felt terrible. "I'm sorry, buddy. What's wrong?"
"Mama." He cried as he rubbed his eyes.
"Shit." Gustav said under his breath. "It's okay. C'mere." He pulled Bradyn into his arms and rested his little head against his shoulder. Gustav gently rubbed the back of his head as Bradyn continued to cry for his mother. "I know this sucks. Your mama will be back soon." Gustav seriously hoped she would as he used his foot and kicked Tom's door again.
"Go bye-bye." Bradyn cried.
"You want to go bye-bye?" Gustav asked softly. He had no idea what to do but it seemed like Bradyn calmed down a bit as Gustav rubbed his back and cooed the same sentence over again.
"Mama bye-bye."
"Yeah, mama went bye-bye." Gustav shook his head and sighed. This poor kid had no idea what was going on and Gustav couldn't do anything to help. "You're okay. You're gonna hang out with me for a few days. We have fun, right?" Gustav stood up and lifted Bradyn onto his hip. "We're buddies, right? We have a good time."
Bradyn's cries subsided to sniffles as he rested his head on Gustav' shoulder. "Yeah." He said between sniffs.
"Cool." He kissed Bradyn's forehead then turned his attention back to the door. "Come on, Tom." He pounded again and rolled his eyes.
"He left." Tobi said from the end of the hall.
"He better not have." Gustav threatened.
"He and Seppel left to get some dinner."
"Are you shitting me?" Gustav laughed though he didn't find it funny at all.
"Watch you mouth in front of the kid." Tobi warned.
"He seriously left?"
"Yeah about ten minutes ago."
"Where did they go?"
"Beats me." Tobi smiled and waved at Bradyn who hid his tear stained face in Gustav's shoulder. "What's up?"
"I have plans tonight and I can't-" He stopped and looked at Bradyn in his arms. "Tobi! You know I've always thought of you as more of a good friend than just a member of security."
"No." Tobi held up his hands. "I'm not a babysitter."
"Oh c'mon! I'm supposed to meet up with my LA friends in an hour and I have to change my now snot-covered shirt." Gustav looked down at his damp shoulder.
"Not my problem." He shook his head.
A door opened down the hall and Gustav heard footsteps getting closer, "Tobi! Will you do me the biggest favor ever?" Tayla asked as she approached. "Hi, sweetie." She ran her hand over Bradyn's head and smiled at Gustav. "Hi, Gustav."
"Wha'cha need?" Tobi asked.
"I ordered room service and they said someone needs to sign for it at the elevators since it's after hours and they aren't even supposed to be delivering full menu at this hour and they're not even technically supposed to be on the floor."
"And?"
"And I'm not exactly dressed to meet the public." She laughed and looked down at her cut off sweatpants and tank top.
"Are you staying in tonight?"
"Yeah." Tayla put her hands on her hips and gave Gustav a look. "Why?"
"I'm supposed to meet some friends of mine for drinks."
"Okay?" Tayla furrowed her brow and waited for more. Gustav didn't say another word he just looked at Bradyn. "Oh, I see." She scoffed.
"Seriously, Tayla, it would be a huge favor."
"Where's Mr. Possible Daddy?" She asked sarcastically.
"He apparently stepped out and I fully intend on beating him senseless when he gets back. But for now, could you?"
"This is my weekend off too, you know?"
"I know." Gustav nodded and checked his watch.
"What do I get in exchange?"
"What do you want?" Gustav asked.
"Your black leather jacket."
"Ha! Right. Next?"
"A week off."
"C'mon, Tayla. Something I can do."
"A Tokio Hotel thong." She smiled slowly.
"Seriously?" He made a face. She just laughed as she reached for Bradyn and propped him on her hip then bounced him lightly.
"Did he eat yet?"
"Eat what?" Gustav asked.
"Dinner?"
"Oh. No. I don't think so."
"You didn't feed him?"
"No. He didn't say he was hungry."
"He barely talks, Gustav." Tayla shook her head. "Okay, sweetie. You can have some of my chicken. Do you like chicken?"
"Yum!" Bradyn smiled and raised his arms over his head.
"Do you have diapers?"
"Yeah, in my room." Gustav nodded.
"Let's go get them." Tayla thanked Tobi and followed Gustav back to his room. He helped her carry the stuffed dog, diapers and wipes down to her room.
"Thanks a lot, Tayla. When Tom gets back he'll take him."
"Okay." Tayla nodded. "Let's not make this a habit though."
"He may only be here another day or so." Gustav said softly.
"I know." She nodded and rested her head on Bradyn's. "Have fun tonight."
"Thanks, you too."
"Oh yeah. A laugh a minute."
"Have him and Lello help you find alligators in your room. They're good at that."
"Lello?"
"That yellow fuzzy thing in your hand." He smiled.
"Ohh. He finds alligators, huh?" She asked Bradyn.
"Bigator." Bradyn held his hands as far apart as they would go.
"Wow!" She laughed and waved good-bye to Gustav as he headed for the door.
Gustav wrote Tom a note telling him to get Bradyn from Tayla as soon as he got back and added a crude drawing of a hand flipping the bird before scribbling, "Thanks for leaving, asshole." He taped it to Tom's door before heading out to meet his friends for the night.
Bradyn and Tayla shared her teriyaki chicken and rice. She dressed him in one of her T-shirts and laid him on the bed. The poor kid looked exhausted. "Did you get a nap today?" Tayla asked as she lay down beside him to stroke his uneven hair. "I bet you didn't. It's barely seven and you're pooped." Bradyn's eyes slowly drooped closed but he fought to keep them open. "It's okay, sweetie. Go to sleep." Tayla whispered softly as she clicked the little lamp off.
The light by the table kept the room out of darkness as Tayla lay beside Bradyn until he fell asleep. When she was sure he was completely out she stood up and took her book to the table to read with her iPod playing softly in the background.
That had been her only plans for the night so she wasn't too put out by having Bradyn crashed on her bed. She read for almost two hours before there was a sharp knock on her door.
The sudden sound startled her and she jumped out of her chair clutching her chest. She laughed nervously at her own reaction and set her murder mystery book on the table before opening the door. "Hi." She said softly as Tom rubbed his chin.
"Hey." He nodded. "You have Bradyn?"
"Yeah, he's asleep. Let me get him for you." She turned back into the room and left him holding the door open. She got his things together on the bed then ducked into the bathroom. She came out a minute later with a dark red backpack and put his diapers, wipes and a few toys into it.
"What's that?" Tom looked at the backpack as she held it out to him.
"It's his bag."
"He has a bag?" He took it so she could pick Bradyn up from the bed with both hands.
"He needed it." She explained. "His diapers are in there along with his wipes, a change of clothes and a few little toys."
"Okay." Tom nodded and looked down at Bradyn half asleep on Tayla's shoulder.
"Here." She lifted him off her shoulder and held him out to Tom
Tom didn't move to take him for a second. He sighed quickly and grabbed Bradyn under his arms and dropped him on his shoulder. "So he's asleep?"
"He was, yeah. If you go back to your room and lay him down he'll go right back to sleep." Tayla nodded. "There's a book in there too if you want to read to him." She turned to leave but Tom stopped her with a desperate hand.
"Wait. What- What do I do?"
"You lay him on the bed and cover him with a blanket." She gave him a weird look.
"But-"
"You'll be fine." She yawned herself and reached for the door.
"Nigh-nigh?" Bradyn mumbled as Tom stepped into the hall.
"Yeah." Tom said softly.
"G'night." Tayla smiled then shut the door. She had a book to finish.
"Okay, Bradyn. Let's go to bed." Tom said softly as they walked down the hall. He never thought he'd hear himself tell another guy that and he laughed at the thought.
He let himself into his room and looked at the giant king sized bed in the middle. He was going to have to share the bed and, according to Gustav, the kid had a weak bladder. "Okay, I just have to figure this out. Hang on." He put the backpack by the foot of the bed as his arm began to go numb.
Tom carefully set Bradyn on the bed and he collapsed like a wet noodle. Tom turned Bradyn sideways and scooted him closer to the headboard. He put the pillows along Bradyn's side to keep him secure in his little area.
Having never slept in the same room with a kid before, Tom wasn't sure what he could and could not do as far as noise was concerned. He read his magazine and tried to keep his mind off things. He sat on the floor at the foot of the bed and turned the TV on.
The characters on TV talked to each other but with the volume turned all the way down Tom could only guess what they were saying. He listened to Bradyn snoring lightly on the bed behind him and sighed. Yesterday he hadn't even know that the child existed and here he was, listening to him sleep six feet away, wondering if he had a son.
----------------
"Hey! Gustav!" Bill shouted down the hall. He carried his duffel bag over his shoulder and a broad smile across his face. "I heard we missed out on all the action. Where's the kid?" It was Monday morning and the two missing members of Tokio Hotel were on their way back to the hotel for their nine o'clock interview.
"Hey, Bill. Bradyn's in Tom's room. They're getting dressed, I think." Gustav laughed.
"So what's the deal? He's Tom's?"
"We don't know. Tom took the paternity test yesterday so we won't know for another few days."
"What do you think?"
"I try not to." Gustav laughed. "You'll like the kid though. He's a pretty cool little kid."
"Cool." Bill laughed again.
"So what's the deal? We have a show tonight and tomorrow?" Gustav asked as he ran his hand through his hair.
"No, we have the Tonight Show Wednesday. We leave Thursday for Phoenix."
"Okay." Gustav nodded and reached into his pocket for his key. "I'll catch you in a few at that thing. The interview downstairs."
"Okay." Bill waved and continued to his room.
Gustav almost made it back to his room before Georg stepped off the elevator.
"Say it ain't true." Georg laughed and ran down the hall. "Tom finally got the call for a paternity test?"
"Yep." Gustav laughed lightly and unlocked his door.
Georg laughed hysterically for a minute then collected himself. "No fuckin' way. That's insane. Is he losing his mind?"
"I think so." Gustav smiled.
"Good, it's about time. Maybe now he'll quit being such a bite in the ass sometimes, ya know?" Georg laughed again. "How's the kid doing?" Georg asked.
Gustav could always count on Georg to be the sensible and caring one. As much as he liked to party, he was just as compassionate.
"He's doing okay, I think. We've been hanging out. You'd like him. He has fucked up hair though." Gustav made a swipe at Georg's hair.
"What's wrong with his hair?" Georg asked.
"Nothing. It's just wild. You'll see. He's a cool kid."
"Sweet. I have to go get settled." Georg said. "I was told the interviewer is scared we're not gonna understand her English. We scare her. Isn't that crazy?"
"Yeah." Gustav rolled his eyes and slid his card key into his door lock.
"The Germans are coming! The Germans are coming!" Georg shouted as he ran down the hall to his own room.
"We're already here and, if you keep that up, you'll probably just scare her even worse." Gustav shook his head and stepped into his room. "I'll see you downstairs." He waved to Georg then let the door swing shut.
----------------
"Ugh, can you just put these on for me? Please, okay?" Tom tore the tags off the only other clothes he saw for the boy and handed him the shirt.Bradyn took it and looked at it for a second. He pressed it against his bare chest. "Put on?"
"Yeah, put it on." Tom took his own shirt and pulled it over his head. Bradyn just stood there turning the shirt over in his hands. Tom sighed. "C'mon! Let's go." He took the shirt back from Bradyn and fumbled with it so that the neck hole was on top. He pulled it over Bradyn's head and the little boy worked his arms up through the holes.
Tom stepped into his jeans and pulled them up. He zipped his pants and reached for his shoes. Once they were tied he stood up and reached for his jacket. "Shit! I'm like ten minutes late here." He cast a glance down at Bradyn who was still standing where Tom left him. "Yo, where're your pants?"
Bradyn answered with a blank stare then reached down to pull at his diapers. "No no no! Leave that on. C'mon, kid. I'm late." Tom pulled Bradyn's pants off the bed and held them out for Bradyn to step into. After a few minutes of tugging and swearing, he got them up over Bradyn's diaper and swooped him up. "Let's go."
"Lello." Bradyn leaned as far over in Tom's arms as he could trying to get the dog off the bed. "Lello!" He screeched.
"Not now, Bradyn." Tom hastily grabbed the backpack off the table without checking into see if it was zipped shut. Naturally it wasn't and the contents flew across the floor. "Damn it!" He dropped Bradyn to the floor and stooped to pick up the box of crackers, diapers, wipes and a little stuffed duck.
Bradyn took his opportunity and ran back to the bed for his dog. He met Tom by the door. "You wanna walk?" Tom asked.
"Yeah." Bradyn nodded and waited patiently for Tom to open the door. When he did he took off for the elevators. "Go ou-side?"
"No, we're not going outside. I have to go do an interview and you have-" Tom stopped abruptly as a flash of red and blue came from the side and landed beside Bradyn.
Bradyn jumped in surprise and his little face puckered up as tears threatened to fall. "Great going, Georg. Scare the shit out of the poor kid." Tom scolded Georg as he adjusted Bradyn's bag on his shoulder and his phone in his hand.
"Hey! I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." Georg's tone immediately softened as he reached out to stroke Bradyn's hair. "Did I scare you?" Bradyn's face remained dry as he nodded and held Lello tighter. "I'm sorry. But at least I didn't go like this." Georg made a face and said, "Raaarararrr!" as he tickled Bradyn's sides.
"Again!" Bradyn laughed. His fear left as quickly as it came.
"Rararaaaarrr!" Georg repeated as Bradyn laughed hysterically. "He's cute." Georg smiled up at Tom. "Hey, kid, I like your hair." Georg laughed and messed Bradyn's already sloppy looking locks.
"Yeah. He's wonderful. What am I supposed to do with him during the interview?"
"I dunno." Georg shrugged. "Who's been watching him."
"Me and Gustav." Tom sighed. "And Tayla sometimes."
"So have Tayla watch him."
"She's not here."
"Where is she?"
"I don't come equipped with the latest satellite technology to know where Tayla is at any given point in the day, Georg." Tom frowned and yawned.
"You guys are heading down to Ballroom C right?" David asked as he walked up to them with a stack of 8x10 photographs in one arm.
"Yeah." The older boys said in unison.
"Yeah." Bradyn added from below.
"What about him?" Tom asked. "Tayla's not here."
"She should be." He frowned.
"I tried calling her a while ago and she didn't answer."
"I'll figure something out." David reached for the backpack with his free hand then dropped it on his shoulder. "You guys go on down. Hey, Bradyn! Come with me." David held his hand out to Bradyn who took it without question. Tom and Georg got on the elevator in the midst of their conversation and didn't look back as the doors closed.
David took Bradyn to Tayla's room and knocked tentatively. After a few seconds she pulled the door open and smiled. "Hey, David."
"Hi, Tayla. The guys have an interview downstairs-"
She sighed and placed her hands on her hips. "So I'm the built-in babysitter?"
"He knows you." David tried the rational approach.
"Like that would matter. This poor kid loves anyone that looks at him."
"Please? Two hours tops."
"Fine." Tayla sighed and reached her hand out to Bradyn. "I'm going to take him out though. He's been cooped up in the hotel for two days now."
"That's fine." David nodded. "The caravan leaves at three for the venue."
"I know. We won't be that long. I promise." Tayla smiled as Bradyn walked into the room and headed straight for the array of fabrics laid out on Tayla's bed.
"Thanks, Tayla."
"You're welcome." She sighed as David turned to head back to the elevators. He was expected in the ballroom as well.
"Okay, Bradyn, how would you like to go shopping?" She exaggerated her enthusiasm and clapped her hands.
"Yeah!" Bradyn shouted. "Go bye?"
"Yeah, we're going to go bye-bye." She opened his backpack to make sure he had supplies before she put her wallet and room key in the big front pocket. "Let me get that stuff cleaned up and we can go." Tayla took a few minutes and folded the yards of fabric and placed them back in the bag they came in. "Okay. Are you ready?"
Bradyn nodded and reached out his hand for hers. "Go sop."
"Shopping is fun. You'll like it." She laughed and pulled the backpack on. She held his hand and they headed out for the afternoon.
Tayla checked out with the security team then she and Bradyn went out to the front of the hotel to get a cab to the mall a few miles away. The crowd of fans seemed to be dwindling but Tayla tried not to map too much attention to them. "Wassat?" Bradyn asked as they walked by.
"That's a bunch of girls."
"Oh." Bradyn seemed satisfied with the answer and swung her arm back and forth as they waited for a cab. When one arrived, Tayla held him on her lap for the short ride to the mall where they were dropped off at the far end of the huge outdoor mall. She paid the driver then squinted into the bright sunshine as she took Bradyn's hand and began their shopping.
Tayla walked at a toddler's pace past the first section of stores and delighted in chasing him into stores and watching him ogle at the colorful window displays. They rounded the corner by the arcade and she saw a Kidz Kutz hair salon. "Hey, Bradyn, how about if we get your hair trimmed up. What do you say?"
"Say yo."
"Yo?" Tayla laughed. "I'll take that as a yes. Come here, sweetie." She picked him up and walked into the bright red and blue kid salon.
"Hello there! Are you here for a cut, big guy?" The overly cheerful teenager behind the counter asked. Bradyn hid his face in Tayla's neck as the receptionist offered him a sucker.
"Yeah, can we? Do you take walk-ins?" Tayla looked around at the almost empty store.
"Oh sure! No problem. Grant is in the back. I'll just go get him for you." She smiled and trotted across the black and white checkerboard floor.
"Down." Bradyn wiggled as he spotted the huge toy chest.
"Okay, just for a second." Tayla set him down and followed him over to the toys where he picked up a Tickle-Me-Elmo and looked at it funny. "Can I see it?" Tayla knelt in front of him and took the fuzzy red creature. "Watch this." She squeezed his middle and Elmo giggled in her hands.
Bradyn gasped and looked up at Tayla with a huge smile. "Again!"
"You like this, huh?" Tayla laughed and squeezed Elmo again causing him to shake all over the place. Bradyn's little mouth fell open and he tentatively reached out to touch the doll. "Give Elmo a hug."
Bradyn took the doll and squeezed him tight. He laughed along with Elmo as the doll spoke. Bradyn squealed and hugged Elmo again.
"That's pretty cool, huh?"
"Coo." Bradyn plopped himself down on the floor with Elmo in his lap and just kept on squeezing the stuffed doll's tummy.
"Grant is ready whenever you guys are." The receptionist said with a smile from behind them.
"Thanks." Tayla tossed her hair over her shoulder and smiled. "Okay, Bradyn, grab Elmo and let's go get your hair cut." She scooped him up off the floor with Elmo in a death grip. They walked to the opposite side of the narrow salon to where the man she assumed was Grant was waiting by a chair shaped like an airplane.
"Hi there!" He too was overly excited to be there.
"Hi, this in Bradyn."
"Hi, Bradyn! Who do you have there?"
"Emo." Bradyn smiled and hugged the doll to make it giggle.
"Elmo, huh? Are we gonna cut his hair too?"
"No!" Bradyn laughed and reached for the steering wheel.
"How about your mommy? Are we going to cut her hair too?" Grant innocently asked.
Tayla blushed as Bradyn gave her a confused look. "I'm not his mother. I'm his, uh- Nanny." She explained. That was the closest she could get to the truth without going into way too many details.
"I see." Grant smiled. "Well should we cut her hair too?"
"No!" Bradyn giggled in his chair and put Elmo between his feet.
"What's the plan?" Grant looked up at Tayla expectantly.
"I'm not sure. It's cut pretty uneven on the top there. It's real short in the back. I don't know what look they were going for but they missed." Tayla sighed as she gently ran her fingers through the hair at Bradyn's neck.
"It's might just be easiest to shave it and start over." Grant smiled and pulled Bradyn's hair straight up with two fingers. Sections of uneven hair fell sideways and he laughed.
"Oh, no. I don't want to shave his head!"
"Not all the way. Just kind of like a buzz cut, only not that short all around." Grant grabbed hi scissors to show her. "Like this. I'll shave it to about a half inch around here. The top we'll leave a little longer. About as long as this section here." He straightened Bradyn's hair again and pointed out the shortest section.
"Just not a Marine cut."
"No, nothing that short." Grant laughed and shook his head. "He has gorgeous hair. We couldn't shave him bald!"
"Okay." Tayla said hesitantly. "Just keep him cute."
"Not a problem." Grant ruffled Bradyn's hair and started his process like a pro. By the time he brought the little clippers out Bradyn was smiling and sitting perfectly still. He didn't flinch or move as Grant sheered off his baby fine hair and trimmed up the sides.
"You're gorgeous!" Tayla mused when Grant was done. "Oh, look at you! What a doll."
"He was one of the best kids I've ever cut." Grant laughed and used a little brush to get rid of the tiny hairs left on Bradyn's shirt.
"I just hope no one freaks out." Tayla said softly as she ran her hands over his new haircut. "Oh well." She smiled and lifted Bradyn out of the airplane and headed to the front. "Thank you so much, Grant. It looks great."
"Anytime." He smiled and waved as he bent to sweep the hair off the floor. Tayla paid the receptionist with her own money and left a generous tip.
"Okay. Let's put Elmo back and finish shopping." She looked up at the big Snoopy clock on the wall and saw that it was already after ten.
"No! Emo!" Bradyn grabbed the stuffed doll to his chest sending Elmo into a fit of giggles.
"Yeah, we need to put Elmo back."
"Emo!"
"Bradyn, c'mon." Tayla reached for the doll but Bradyn moved just out of reach. "Say bye-bye to Elmo. We'll come back and see him later, okay?"
"No bye."
"Yeah, say bye-bye." Tayla nodded and placed her hand on her hip. She knew she looked like a mother doing that and the thought almost made her laugh.
"Bye, Emo." Bradyn pouted and placed the doll back on the chair in the waiting area. "Bye-bye."
"That's right. We'll come and see him again later, okay?"
"Bye." Bradyn repeated with a sad look back at the doll.
Tayla took his hand in hers and they left the salon on their way through the mall. They walked together past several more stores before Tayla stopped to buy some candles and scented lotions. As soon as they left the store Bradyn tried to pull his hand from hers as he bounced up and down. "Dere! Dere!" He squealed.
"What?" Tayla looked to where he was pointing and laughed. Toys R Us had a Tickle-Me-Elmo doll on their clearance table just outside the store and Bradyn had spotted it.
"Emo!" Bradyn laughed and again tried to run away from Tayla.
"Hang on, buddy." She scooped him up and together they walked across the courtyard. Bradyn picked up the box with the doll and immediately tried to open it with his little fingers. "Ten bucks? It's yours." Tayla laughed and carried Bradyn into the store with the box in his hands.
"I take it he likes Elmo." The kid behind the counter laughed.
"Yeah, you could say that." Tayla reached for the cash in her pocket and handed the kid a twenty. He laughed and gave her the change. "It has batteries, right?"
"You bet." The kid waved as Tayla walked out the door and found the nearest bench. She managed to pry the box from Bradyn to get the doll out and, once he had it in his hands, he wasn't going to let it go.
"Well, I think I've just spent the best ten bucks ever." She picked Bradyn up and they headed for the food court to get some lunch before they went back to the hotel.
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Tayla had kept Bradyn for more than two hours and she knew Tokio Hotel's interview was most definitely over. She didn't have anything to do until they got to the venue so she didn't mind keeping Bradyn with her for a while. They sat at McDonald's and ate happy meals. She added the two small toys to Bradyn's backpack to play with later.
The cab ride back to the hotel rocked Bradyn to sleep so Tayla was left carrying his limp body back upstairs to her room. She lay him on her bed and stepped out into the hall to try to find Tom. Instead she ran into one of their security team. "Hey, Seppel, where are the guys?"
"They were invited to the Sony lot to visit the set of Will Smith's new movie." Seppel rolled his eyes. "Apparently his kids are on set and big fans of Tokio Hotel."
"When are they coming back?" Tayla sighed.
"I dunno. David said something about meeting back here before two so they'd all ride together at three thirty to the venue."
"Great." She had an hour and a half till they got back. "Are you the hall monitor?"
"Yeah." Seppel nodded and stretched his arms over his head. It was his job to make sure only people involved with the tour were on the floor.
"Okay. When they get back can you send either Gustav, Tom or David to my room?"
"Sure thing. Will they know what it's about?"
"Oh yeah." She nodded then went back to her room.
Bradyn slept for another hour before he slowly woke up and rolled around on the bed. He was well rested and ready to play. "Emo?"
"Hello, there. Did you decide to wake up?"
"Yeah." He rubbed his eyes and padded over to where Tayla was sitting on the couch. "I'll bet you need your diaper changed." She picked him up and lay him back on the bed to change his diaper. "Wow! Yeah, you do."
"My cut." Bradyn reached up and touched his hair then laughed.
"That's right. You got your hair cut today. Do you like it?"
"Yeah."
"Do you want to see what it looks like?" She pulled him to his feet and straightened his collar.
"Yeah." Bradyn reached his arms up so she could pick him up and carry him into the bathroom.
Tayla flipped the light on and looked at Bradyn in the mirror. She gave him a surprised look. "Look at you! How handsome! What a big boy."
"Wicked."
"Yeah, you look wicked." She laughed as someone knocked on her door. "Uh oh! Let's go see who that is."
When she pulled the door open she was actually surprised to see Tom. She had expected David. "Hey, Tayla." He said almost shyly with his hands in his pockets. "You, uh- You wanted me to come by?"
"Well, yeah. I, uh- I have Bradyn."
"Oh, okay." He didn't make a move to come into her room or take Bradyn.
"So, here you go. I just changed him and he had lunch a few hours ago. He might be hungry. He didn't eat all of his chicken nuggets."
"I have a sandwich in the room."
"For him?"
Tom nodded and finally looked up. "What did you do to him?" Tom asked with a confused look.
"I took him to get a hair cut." Tayla explained.
"You shaved his head." Tom reached for Bradyn as the little boy laughed.
"It's a buzz cut."
"It's- It's shaved." Tom ran his hands over Bradyn's head and the short hair stood on end.
"Tom, it was all uneven. It looked like he'd had a run-in with a weed wacker." She frowned at Tom then tickled Bradyn's neck sending the child into a fit of giggles. "Here's his bag and his Elmo." She grabbed the backpack off the table and Tom draped it over his arm. Bradyn happily took Elmo from her and squeezed him to make him shake and giggle.
"Great. Thanks." Tom said sarcastically as he turned to leave. He carried Bradyn down the hall to his room and sat him at the little table. "Time to eat. We have a show in five hours which means we have to leave in an hour and a half. We have to book-it."
"Nigh-nigh book?"
"No. Not night-night book. We have to get out of here. So eat your dinner." He nodded at the sandwich on the plate in front of Bradyn. "You gonna be okay out here? I have to take a shower."
"Kay." Bradyn nodded and eyed the enormous sandwich in front of him. Tom watched for a second then grabbed his change of clothes and went into the bathroom.
Bradyn took off the top piece of bread and put it on the table beside the plate before he meticulously took the inside of the sandwich apart. He placed the tomato beside the bun, the lettuce by his glass of milk, the partially melted cheese on the table to the left of his plate and the pickles on top of the cheese. Bradyn ran his mustard-coated hand over his new haircut and laughed.
He then picked up the bottom piece of bread and took a tiny bite out of the middle, smearing ketchup on his nose and hands in the process. Once the bottom bun was finished he took a bite of the cheese then reached for his glass of milk which toppled over and drowned the rest of the food on the table.
"Uh oh." Bradyn stood up from the table but the milk had already dripped across his lap. "Uh oh, Tooooom." He stood there and watched the milk drip for a second before his bottom lip began to tremble.
Bradyn rubbed his eyes to wash the tears away and looked toward the steam filled bathroom. Tom shut the water off and Bradyn ran to the bed to bury his face in the covers. "Bradyn? Hey, Bradyn? You okay out there, buddy? Did you eat your dinner?" Tom shouted as he wrapped a towel around his waist. "Bradyn?" Tom stepped into the room and sighed. "Hey, where'd you go?" He looked around the room quickly and spotted the little boy with his head lying on the bed.
"Uh oh."
"Uh oh? What's uh oh? You okay?" Tom stood by the foot of the bed looking down at the little boy. He wasn't completely sure what to do but the kid looked upset.
"Spill mook."
"You what?" Tom sat on the bed and noticed the mustard in Bradyn's hair.
"Da mook." Bradyn lifted his head revealing the ketchup on his face and pointed to the table.
"Oh shit!" Tom jumped up and ran to the table. "Christ! There's milk everywhere!" He must have shouted because Bradyn broke into a fresh bout of sobbing. "Shit!" Tom retrieved his cell phone from the soaked tabletop and shook milk off his magazine and itinerary. It was only after grabbing another towel from the bathroom to mop up the mess that Tom realized Bradyn was still crying. "Shit." Tom tossed the dripping towel onto the table and scooped Bradyn up in his arms. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't yell at you. It's okay, Bradyn. I'm not- I'm not mad." He forced the words and tried not to think about the damage that had been done to his cell phone.
Bradyn rested his ketchup covered face on Tom's clean shoulder and cried some more. "Lovely." Tom caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. His shoulder was now a mix of mustard, tears and snot while Bradyn's cheese and ketchup coated hands grasped his arm. "We have to get cleaned up."
The phone on the nightstand rang in the middle of everything and Tom dove to answer it. He fell onto the bed with Bradyn still on his shoulder and answered the phone. "What?"
"Tom?" David asked.
"Yeah, what? We're kinda in the middle of a crisis here."
"What's the problem?"
"I just took a shower and now the kid's crying. He made a mess of my table. He ruined my cell. He has ketchup and mustard and cheese all over me and snot. It's a fucking mess."
"Calm down."
"Get Gustav here now. I can't do this."
"You're gonna have to. Gustav left for the venue already."
"Georg?"
"Went with Gustav."
"Isn't there anyone who can take this kid so I can get ready? Jesus."
"That kid has a name." David said sharply. "Have some consideration, Tom. He's been through hell and he just may be yours."
"He's-" Tom started.
"Enough. I called to talk to you about the plans for to-"
"David, unless it's crucial can you just tell me later? I have to go shower again and get this shit cleaned up so I can be in the van in an hour." Tom snapped.
David was silent for a second. This was attitude he never expected from Tom and it shocked him. "When you get to the arena you come see me. Immediately."
"Okay." Tom sighed. He knew he'd just crossed that invisible line with David.
"I mean it, Tom. Immediately. You don't go to the catering table, you don't go to your dressing room, you don't so much as take a piss. You come directly to me."
"Okay." Tom nodded. He knew he'd be getting a well deserved ass chewing. David hung up in his ear and Tom did the same. "Okay, kid. Bath time." Tom picked him up and carried him into the bathroom as his crying continued. "How am I gonna do this?" Tom looked down at Bradyn who, by then, had drool flowing down his chin which mixed with the steady stream of tears.
Tom turned the water on and set the stopper. He waited for the bath to fill up as he stripped Bradyn naked. "You're okay. We're just gonna take a bath. No big deal." When the bath was full he turned the water off then set Bradyn in the middle. It caused the water to rise to his armpits.
"Whoa, that's a little full." He reached for the plug to let some of the water out and Bradyn's little bottom slid on the bathtub floor. He fell back and conked his head on the side of the tub only making his screams more intense. "Oh my God! I'm sorry. Are you okay?" Tom got Bradyn back into a sitting position and kept a firm grasp on his shoulder.
"Owie!"
"I know that hurt. I just-" He glanced at his watch and cringed. "We have to get you cleaned up so I can go."
"Owwwww!" Bradyn continued to cry.
"I know. I know that hurt. You hit your head pretty hard. Here. Let me kiss it." He felt stupid saying it but that always worked when his mom did it. Tom leaned into the bathtub and placed a kiss on the back of Bradyn's head. "See? All better. Where's the soap?"
Tom kept one hand on Bradyn as he reached for the soap and shampoo. He lathered the slippery toddler with one hand and tried to get all of the sandwich mess off him. Tom applied a small handful of shampoo to Bradyn's head and tried to wash it with one hand.
Washing a child's hair with one hand was harder than it looked but Tom was not going to let go of him again in case he slipped. When it came time to rinse his hair, Tom was stumped. His mom had always used a big cup and dunked it over his head but he had no big cup. He didn't even have a little cup.
"Shit. How do I do this?" Tom asked himself as Bradyn sat in the tub sniffling. "Okay. You're a big kid. Let's stand you up and turn the shower on. That'll work. You can do it like a big kid." Tom turned the water on again then stood Bradyn up making sure to keep a hold of him.
As soon as Tom pulled the lever to make the water come from the shower head, he realized his mistake. Water went everywhere. It soaked Tom and hit Bradyn in the face making the shampoo run into his eyes.
A piercing scream shot out of Bradyn and ripped into Tom's eardrums as Bradyn began to hop up and down on the slick bathtub floor. Tom held tighter to keep Bradyn upright and used both hands to grab Bradyn under his arms and sit him back down again. Since Bradyn was back to screaming, Tom took that opportunity and scooted Bradyn back under the shower and rinsed the shampoo out of his hair. Bradyn sputtered as the shampoo hit his mouth and wailed even louder as the mixture of soap and water hit his eyes again.
"Fuck this." Tom grumbled as he slammed the water off and picked Bradyn up. He held the wiggling and wet little boy against his chest as he reached for a dry towel and went into the other room. He stood Bradyn on the bed and quickly wrapped him in the big towel before he hugged Bradyn to him again. "I'm so late right now." Tom sighed and tried not to look at the bright digital clock by his bed. "I really can't do this right now, Bradyn. I need to get you dressed then clean myself up. Let's go."
Bradyn crying lessened as Tom put a diaper on him followed by his pants and a shirt. Tom brushed the towel over Bradyn's head to dry his hair then took a deep breath. "You okay?"
"Y- Yeah." Bradyn sniffled as a stray drop of water ran down his nose.
"Okay. Cool. Don't move." Tom shook his finger at the little boy then ran back to the bathroom to clean himself up. He used a little hand towel and wiped his chest and shoulder. He pulled on the clean clothes he had originally brought in with him.
"Tom!" Dirk shouted through the door followed by a series of knocks.
"Hey, Dirk." Tom pulled the door open with his shoes in his hand.
"You're late. We're ready to head out and the only one missing is you."
"I know." Tom sighed and sat in the chair to tie his shoes on over his bare feet. "We had issues." He looked across the room to where Bradyn was still sitting on the bed.
"What happened?"
"Nothing." Tom sighed and placed his hands on his thighs to stand up. "Can you just get the bag and the kid?"
"He's coming with us?"
"You have a better idea?" Tom felt worn out and dreaded the upcoming show.
"Guess not." Dirk shrugged and hoisted Bradyn onto his hip. Tom took the backpack and they headed out.
"This is fucked up." Tom mumbled under his breath as the got to the elevators. "We can't have a kid on the tour."
"Speak up, Tom. I can't hear you."
"I said we can't have a kid on the tour."
"Sure we can." Dirk laughed. "He's cool. He's got style. He's good to go."
"Yeah." Tom rolled his eyes and they rode the rest of the way down to the lobby, out to the van and to the venue in silence.
When they arrived they were met with the usual crowd of girls that had been waiting all day for the guys to show up. Tom kept David's warning in mind as he stepped out of the van. "Hey, I have to go see David. Can you keep him?" He didn't direct his question to anyone in particular. He just assumed someone would take over as he waved to the girls and ran toward the side door.
"Hey, Tom! Where's Bradyn?" Gustav asked as Tom ran by the cafeteria.
Tom didn't answer he just jerked his thumb over his shoulder and continued to David's makeshift office near the back of the arena. He knocked once before he pushed the door open. David was expecting him.
"Sit down, Tom." David said with his arms crossed. Tom looked back at the couch and moved a small stack of papers before he sat. He casually checked his watch and noted the time. "I know you're on a tight schedule tonight but you need to hear me out." David stepped in front of Tom and leaned on the table. "You need to grow the hell up. A lot. I know having Bradyn around isn't anything you need right now but none of us do. The police who came on Saturday night wanted to take him to a county home or whatever and Gustav said no. He'd rather put himself out just to keep the kid from being tossed around the system. He did that because, if it turns out Bradyn is yours, he wanted to save your ass." David paused and let that sink in. "Have you even stopped to think about that? I know it's only been a day and a half here, Tom, but have you thought about that? What if Gustav let him go to foster care and we found out he was yours? You'd want your son in foster care? You'd want that to leak to the press? And you know it would, Tom." David stared at Tom and shook his head. "Even if he's not yours, he's a great kid. You should be happy that you have the chance to make his life a little more comfortable for a few days before he gets tossed to the county."
"I'm-"
"Don't talk, Tom. Just grow up and treat him like he's your own for the few days he's here. It won't kill you. Take lessons from Gustav if you have to. You have two days left with Bradyn, at least. Have fun with it and relax. You're being a dick." David stood up and turned around to shuffle papers on his desk. Their conversation was finished.
Tom stood up without a word and left the room. He was more pissed off than anything. He wanted some time alone so he scoped out an abandoned locker room and bounced a tennis ball against the wall for a few minutes. He thought about what David had said and let it sink in. Bradyn was the one stuck in the middle here. He didn't have any kind of say as far as what happened to him and he was just trying to make-do with what was offered to him. He was only being a two year old when he made a mess. Tom sighed and contended that he only had a few more days of putting up with him. Then he'd be gone.
In the meantime, Tom wanted to do what he could to try to prove to himself that he wasn't the father. If he could only remember where he was that April, his mind could be set at ease. Tom tossed the ball the length of the locker room and listened to the hollow bangs as it smacked against the concrete floor. If anyone would know where they were at any given time it was Bill so Tom left the locker room and walked with his head bowed to the dressing room.
"Hey, Bill. You remember everything." Tom scanned the room as he walked in. He spotted Bill at the mirror and took a step towards him. "Where were we two years ago on April first?"
"Are you serious?" Bill laughed and leaned closer to the mirror to examine his eyebrows. "I don't know. What for?"
"The note that came with the- With Bradyn said it, uh- It happened April first." Tom explained.
"Speaking of Bradyn, where is he?" Gustav asked.
"With Dirk." Tom sighed. At least that's who had him last. Gustav sighed and rolled his eyes. Tom's ambivalence was beginning to get to him.
"Wouldn't that be three years ago?" Bill asked.
"What?" Gustav asked.
"When she conceived." Bill cleared his throat.
"He's two." Tom grumbled.
"Well yeah but then you've got that whole nine months of being pregnant, you know?"
"So?" Tom frowned.
"Yeah so that'd be three years ago. April 2007." Gustav shook his head and slapped Bill's butt with his magazine. "Come on, calendar boy. What was Tom doing three years ago this April?"
"You were doing Adrian." Bill laughed and sat back in his chair.
"You're not helping." Tom sighed and ran his hands over his face. "You guys aren't helping at all." Tom said louder than necessary as he headed for the door.
"Helping with all the notches you have on your belt?" Georg asked with a laugh as he stepped out from the wardrobe area.
"Forget it." Tom threw the door open and stormed out. He left the three guys in the dressing room to laugh themselves crazy.
After several minutes of giggling and stray jokes about Tom's extra curricular activities, Gustav bent to tie his shoes. "Seriously though. Three years ago. Didn't we do that thing?"
"That thing?" Bill snickered and tossed his magazine on the couch beside Gustav.
"No, we did that last week. Three years ago we did that other thing." Georg chided in.
Gustav ignored them and caught Bill's eye as he stood at the mirror again. "No, come on. I've been thinking about this since I got that letter. Remember? You and me and Tom went down to that place to see the show that your friend was in?"
"Who? Roxi?"
"I don't remember her name. The girl with the hair. The really long hair. We flew in to see her in that murder mystery thing?"
"Sheer Madness?" Bill gave Gustav an inquisitive look.
"Bill, you're lucky I remember as much as I do." Gustav shook his head. "I remember it was April Fool's day the next day though because we were gonna call David and tell him we lost our tickets and we couldn't make it back in time for the show that night, remember?"
"Yeah, I remember that! Yeah! Roxi! That's right. Shit, she's his mom?" Bill practically choked.
"No no no. But Tom left with her friend that night."
"Oh yeah! You're right." Bill blushed quickly. "He barely made it for out flight." He said softly.
"Yeah, neither did you." Gustav scoffed knowing full well that Bill and Roxi had been a little more than friends.
"I don't remember when that was though. That might have only been last year." Bill frowned.
"It'd be easy enough to find out though. Call Benjamin and ask him where we were." Georg added from the couch.
"Right." Bill reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He hit the speed dial number for Benjamin's office and without looking at his watch he knew he'd be there.
"You have him on speed dial?" Georg laughed.
Bill raised his finger to shush the talkers and turned away from the others. "Hey, Benjamin. It's Bill." They listened to Bill's side of the conversation hoping to pick up on the missing part. "Yeah, yeah things are kinda weird here. No, he's okay it's just- Yeah. We're trying to help out though. Have you looked back to see where we were then? Uh huh. Both nights, huh? Okay. No, we were just thinking." Bill tugged at his bottom lip like he did when he was deep in thought. "Okay. I'll have Tom call you. Okay. Yeah. Okay have fun." He smiled slightly and shook his head as he hung up. "April first and second. 2007."
Silence filled the room like smoke and no one said a word. "Should we tell him?" Georg asked.
"No." Gustav shook his head.
"No?" Bill jerked his head up and gave Gustav a look. "What do you mean no?"
"I mean we shouldn't say anything. If we tell him that now he's gonna stress over that until he gets the results."
"So? Maybe he should stress." Bill rolled his eyes.
"His stress level is peaked right now. We need him in prime condition tonight and dropping a bomb like this ain't gonna shine his concentration." Gustav argued. "If it turns out he's not the father then none of this will matter right?"
"But what if he is?" Bill asked.
"Then we tell him what Benjamin just told us so he can tell the cops and let them handle it." Gustav looked from one guy to the next as they all sat in silence.
"Do you think the kid is Tom's?" Georg asked a minute later.
No one responded at first, they each just shrugged and got real interested in their shoes. "Not necessarily." Gustav said softly. "I mean, this chick could just be crazy. His mom, I mean. That could be some weird coincidence. We have to wait for the DNA results."
"Yeah." Bill nodded but they were all thinking the same thing.
If it walks like a duck, talks like a duck and looks like a duck... It's a duck.
----------------
The show on Monday went as planned. Everything worked properly and they sounded great. Bradyn was kept entertained by several of the security guards before his battery ran out. They placed him in David's office with a towel covering him since they couldn't find a blanket in the area. David stuck around the office to keep an eye on the sleeping boy for the duration of the show.
Tom spent the next day trying to find other people to watch Bradyn as he went about his day making appearances with the other guys. Tayla helped out during the day and she took Bradyn to a little park nearby just to get him outside. They went back to the mall to get him another two outfits since the original two needed to be washed. She wore him out so that when they arrived at the venue that night for the show, he was exhausted. David agreed to keep an eye on him while he slept again. "I have tons of paperwork to go over so, as long as he's asleep, it's cool." He explained.
"He should be asleep the whole time. He didn't get a nap today at all." Tayla covered him with a fleece blanket she found on her bus and kissed his forehead.
"Okay." David said without looking up from his stack of papers.
"Okay." Tayla sighed softly and left the room to run over to the dressing room. There was always a wardrobe emergency that she had to deal with before every show.
Tayla busied herself during the show by double checking their wardrobe for the night and fixing any seams or tears that needed it. The boys rushed in after one song to prepare for another.
"Bill! Come here for a minute." Tayla flagged him down as he ran by.
"Yeah?" Bill stopped and wiped his brow with a small white towel.
"When you're done tonight I need you to toss your pants. I have new ones for tomorrow night and I don't want those to get mixed in."
"Trash 'em?" He asked as he tried to catch his breath.
"Yeah."
"I can't save 'em?"
"You can if you want I guess. Just don't put them in with the rest of the clothes. The seams have been sewn over too many times. If you wear them again your peen will burst out." She laughed and raised her eyebrow at the mental image.
Bill chuckled and shook his head. "Got it." He waved over his shoulder then trotted to the back area to catch up. He changed and followed Gustav back out to take their places behind the stage.
"How does it feel knowing this might be the last song you sing as a single man?" Georg asked as he snapped Tom's leg with his towel.
"Huh?" Tom bent to fix the cuff of his pants.
"You get your test scores back tomorrow, right?"
"Results, yeah."
"So this is it. Das letzte Lied. The last song." Georg shrugged. "Before, you know, right?" He ran his fingers through his sweaty hair then wiped them on his pants.
"Yeah. Yeah I guess so." Tom nodded. He had managed to put that little fact out of his mind for the duration of the show. His doubts and worries flooded his mind as he followed Georg and Bill out to the stage again to sing what could very well be his last song as a single guy.
He plastered a big fake smile on his face and tried not to yawn as he positioned himself on the walkway of the stage, just like he'd done every other night on the tour.
----------------
When the show was over Tom hauled himself to the van to ride back to the hotel. He forced himself to stay awake as they drove the short distance. "So where's the kid?" Georg asked."David has him." Gustav said as he pulled his sweater over his head. "Can you roll up the windows? It's freezing."
"I'm all sweaty." Bill glanced back from the front seat.
"I'm like a Gustav-sicle back here."
"We're almost there." Bill rolled his eyes but rolled the window up a few inches anyway.
"Hey, Tom, when are they calling tomorrow?" Gustav asked.
"I don't know." Tom shook his head. "They didn't say. I just hope it's not too early. We get to sleep in tomorrow."
"Not with the kid you won't." Gustav laughed. "He's up by seven every day."
"He's not staying with me tonight." Tom shook his head.
"Where's he staying?"
"I don't know. With Tayla, I think."
"You think?" Gustav raised his eyebrows and tucked his hands under his arms to keep them warm.
"David said he was taking care of it." Tom shrugged.
Gustav sighed and kept his mouth shut and he noticed the others doing the same thing. Rather than make a scene with an obviously tense Tom, they'd wait until the test results came back. If Tom wasn't the father then Bradyn would be out of the picture and things would get back to normal. But if he was, there would have to be a lot of changes made.
----------------
Tom woke up on his own the next morning shortly after eight. When given the opportunity, he always slept until at least noon but he just couldn't get back to sleep. He got up and showered as he wondered just when the call would come. "Relax, Kaulitz." He mumbled as he towel dried himself. "Keep your mind on work." He tried to psych himself out of stressing but the shrill ringing of the phone in the other room destroyed his concentration.Tom bolted to the bedroom and sat on the bed and stared at the phone. He seriously thought about just letting it ring and letting them leave a message so he could call them later when he was ready.
As it rang for the fourth time, Tom quickly reached out and grabbed the handset before he could change his mind. "Hello?" He managed.
"Mr. Tom Kaulitz?" The voice asked.
"Yes."
"This is Mary-Beth from the Primary Medical Clinic. I have your test results if you'd like them now. They are also being sent directly to you at the address you've listed."
"I didn't think you'd get them so soon." Tom was more nervous than he thought he would be. He held the phone tighter so that his fingers wouldn't get a mind of their own and begin shaking.
"We were told this was an urgent matter."
"Yeah. Yes, it is." Tom nodded and rested his head in his hands. He wished he could just know the results without having someone tell him without having to hear.
"Are you ready for the results, sir?"
"Yes." Tom said softly.
"Okay, it has been proven with a 99.4% accuracy that you are the father of this child. All federal and state courts require a minimum of 94% accuracy. Do you have any questions?"
Tom felt lightheaded as he grasped the phone tighter. "He what?"
"The child, Bradyn, is yours. With a 99.4% accuracy." The clinic director repeated.
"You're sure?" Tom asked though he knew he didn't really need to.
"Yes, we're sure. The paperwork is being sent over to your hotel right now but I wanted to let you know in person. You will need to show ID for the messenger so please have that ready."
"Okay." Tom nodded numbly.
"Do you have any questions regarding the results?"
"No, I guess not." Tom shook his head slowly.
"If you do come up with any questions, the clinic is open until six this evening and I'll be here till seven."
"Thanks." His hand seemed molded to the phone as he reached to hang it up. He had no idea where to go next. He took several deep breaths to clear his mind then picked up the phone to call David. He changed his mind and began to dial Bill's number. Tom changed his mind again and placed his finger on the hang up button. He wasn't sure who he needed to call first, but he knew he had to tell someone.
He dialed Bill's room again and waited as it rang five times. "Bill?" Tom asked when he answered as if he didn't recognize his twin's voice.
"Did they call?"
"Yeah." Tom let out the breath he'd been holding. "Is that- He's there?" He asked as he heard childish giggling on the other end of the line.
"Yeah, Tayla had a few meetings this morning and you didn't answer your door." Bill rubbed at his eyes. "So?"
Tom took a deep breath and mentally prepared himself to say the words out loud. "He's mine."
Bill was silent on the other end and all Tom heard was his son banging metal against metal. "He is?"
"Yeah." Tom nodded.
"They're sure?"
"It's not like they flipped a coin." Tom snapped.
"Wow."
"Tell me about it." Tom's heart raced. "What do I do now? Who do I have to tell?"
"Uh." Bill was completely taken aback by the news. He was almost certain that Bradyn wasn't Tom's and now he didn't know what to say. "You have to call Officer Hoff at the police department. You have her number. You may want to tell David and Benjamin just so they know. Call mom definitely."
"Yeah but what happens to the kid?"
"His name is Bradyn." Bill said sharply. "What do you mean what happens?"
"I mean what happens?" Tom sighed. "Does he come with us on the tour? Does he go to the county or whatever? Do they look for his mom? What if they don't find her? What do I do?"
"That's all up to you, Tom." Bill looked over at the toddler with a spoon in each hand. "But whatever you do, he's your responsibility. You don't just drop him off at the police station or whatever."
"How are we supposed to fit a two year old on the tour, Bill?"
"I love you and you're my brother but honestly that's not my problem." Bill shook his head.
"He'd be better off in foster care."
"Fuck you, Tom! He would not. You have another thing coming if you think you can just ignore this kid. The media would eat you alive. As if you having a kid isn't bad enough you're going to abandon him?"
"His mom did!"
"Which is exactly why you need to step up to this! Shit, I can't believe I have to talk you into being an adult."
"I am an adult."
"Great. Come get your kid. He has a shitty diaper." Bill said before he hung up. He ran his hands through his hair and smiled at Bradyn who was banging the spoons on the table then on the floor in a funky dance. "Bradyn, come here." Bill held his hands out to the little boy who ran over and laughed hysterically as Bill scooped up his nephew and tickled his sides. "Guess who's coming to get you?"
"Mama?"
"No." Bill shook his head slowly, "Your daddy!" He tried to sound enthusiastic as he made a surprised face. "Tom is coming to get you right now."
"Wicked." Bradyn said as he mimicked his word of the week.
"Yeah, that's wicked." Bill laughed. "Let's get your bag together." He looked around for the little red backpack but didn't see it anywhere. "Where's your bag, buddy?"
"Tayla how."
"Tom's house? I don't think so pal." Bill looked under the bed.
"No! Tayla how."
"I don't know what you're saying, Bradyn."
"Tayla how." He insisted.
"Tayla house?"
"Yeah."
"Tayla's room?" Bill tried to muddle through the baby talk.
"Yeah." Bradyn laughed.
"Okay." Bill reached for the phone and called Tayla's room. "Hey, is Bradyn's bag down there?"
"Yeah." Tayla said slightly out of breath. "Sorry, I just walked in the door when I heard the phone ringing. I have it right here but I'm late for my meeting. Do you want me to bring it down?"
"Yeah, if you don't mind."
"Nah, it's cool. See you in a few." Tayla hung up the phone and reached for the bag.
----------------
"Two da ma-sue." Bradyn seemed to be singing as he did his little spoon dance. Bill tilted his head to the side and watched the little boy intently for the first time. This little boy was no longer just some poor toddler whose mom had dunked him in Gustav's arms then left. He was Tom's son. His brother had a son. His nephew.
"Damn." Bill shook his head as Bradyn stopped dancing and looked up at Bill.
"Damem."
"Whoa! Hey, no. Don't say that." Bill said quickly as Tayla knocked on the door.
"Lello?" Bradyn jumped up and ran for the door.
Bill followed a step behind and opened the door, "Hey, Tayla. Thanks." He took Bradyn's backpack and lifted it over Bradyn's head as Tayla handed the boy his stuffed dog.
"No problem." She shrugged and shoved her hands in her pockets. "Did the verdict come in yet?"
"Yeah." Bill blushed.
"He's the father, isn't he?"
"I'm not saying a word." Bill held up his hands.
"You don't have to." Tayla smiled and shook her head. "So I guess there's going to be some big changes on the tour, huh?"
"Yep, probably." Bill nodded as Tom's door down the hall opened.
Tayla watched Tom as he got closer. She simply smiled. "I'll see you guys later. Bye, Bradyn."
"Bye bye." The little boy waved over his head as he tossed the stuffed dog in the air and watched it tumble to the floor.
Tom waited until Tayla was halfway down the hall before he spoke. "You have to help me out, Bill."
"Tom, I've been helping you out. We all have. For the last four days. It's your turn. I have things to do too."
"Bill, c'mon! I have things I have to do. I have to call Mom and tell her she has a two-year-old grandson." Tom somehow managed to choke out the words. "And Carrie."
"Not my problem." Bill held up his hands. "I don't mean to be an ass but you need to get used to making phone calls with a two year old hanging around."
"Please? Just an hour."
"Yeah, you tried that already. Remember? You left Bradyn with Gustav to go call Carrie and didn't come back for four hours. No thanks." Bill handed Tom Bradyn's bag and sighed. "Tell mom I said hi." He picked Bradyn up from the floor and reached for Lello. "See you later, Bradyn." Bill handed Bradyn to Tom then handed the dog to Bradyn. "Bye, Lello." Bill patted the dog's head making Bradyn giggle and bounce up and down on Tom's hip.
"Bill?"
"We leave for our TV appearance at eleven. See you downstairs." Bill brushed past Tom and shut his door tight. He continued down to the elevators where he met up with one of their security guards.
"Go bye?" Bradyn asked as he watched Bill walk away.
"Shit." Tom swore under his breath.
"Shit." Bradyn imitated him.
"Shit. Don't say that. That's a bad word." Tom frowned and sighed then turned back to his room. Once there he sat Bradyn on the floor and watched him walk toward the window with his dog in his arms.
Tom sat on the corner of his bed and picked up his cell phone. He held it in his hands as he watched Bradyn entertain himself for a few minutes. He walked the dog across the floor to the big sliding glass door then walked him up the window as far as his arm would reach. Bradyn set the dog on the floor then got down on his hands and knees to look under the bed. He must have seen something intriguing because he lay flat on his stomach to reach under the bed by Tom's feet.
Tom watched the back of Bradyn's head as he scooted up further so that he was almost under the bed. "My son." Tom whispered and shook his head. He wanted to stare at Bradyn for days to see if he noticed any resemblance to himself or possibly a hint of who his mother was.
That was a another mystery that Tom was no where near prepared to handle. He had no idea where to start but sitting there in his hotel room with his phone in his hand wasn't accomplishing anything. He ran his thumb over the numbers and pressed them slowly as he dialed his parents' number. It would be sometime in the afternoon for them and he half hoped they wouldn't be home.
His mother answered on the third ring and Tom's stomach leaped into his throat. He said hello and made small talk for a second then carefully dropped the bomb on her. He left it up to her to tell his step-father.
"Are you serious?" His mom asked after a moment's pause.
"Yeah, mom." Tom whispered.
"Who is it?"
Tom didn't know how to answer. There was no way he could tell his mom that he didn't know, that'd he had been that irresponsible. "Just some girl."
"Just some girl?! The mother of your child is not just some girl." She insisted.
"No, mom! It's not like that."
"Then how exactly is it?"
"When I went home last weekend, she left him with Gustav and left. We don't know where she is or even where to look." Tom said softly as Bradyn crawled out from under the bed with one of Tom's shoes in his hand. He put it on his own foot and scooted across the room to where Tom had dropped his backpack.
"She just left him with Gustav?"
"Yeah."
"And Gustav took him?"
"Kind of." Tom nodded. "Gustav was in the lobby signing stuff and posing for pics when she handed him to Gustav. He thought it was just for a picture but then everyone left and no one took Bradyn."
"What kind of mother would just do that?" His mother said with an obvious tone of distaste. Tom caught the underlying meaning there. What a kind of girl was her son fooling around with?
"I don't know, mom, but I'm stuck here."
"Yeah, I'd say that you are." She agreed.
"What do I do?"
"I don't know, honey. Did you call the police?"
"Yeah, they're already involved. I have to call them though when I hang up."
"You know for sure he's yours? You're not just taking this girls word?"
"No, mom. I went on Sunday and got a DNA test done. I just got the results this morning." Tom pinched his nose as he heard a chorus of giggles behind him. He turned around quickly to see Bradyn laughing it up with a bright red Elmo doll. He smiled to himself as Bradyn squeezed the dolls center and amused himself as it shook in his hands.
"Is that him?" His mom asked as she heard the commotion in the back.
"Yeah." Tom caught his breath. "I need some help here, mom. I can't do this now. We're just starting this tour. We have something like three and a half months left."
"I know you do." She nodded. "But this could be a good thing for you. You can take this time to get your priorities in check."
"Can you take him?" Tom asked so softly that he wasn't sure she'd heard.
"Will I take him? No, I won't. He is your son. You need to spend some time with him. If his mother just abandoned him that poor boy must be terrified."
"But, mom, I'm-"
"I know you're busy but that doesn't change anything."
"I know it doesn't."
"You have lots of help there on tour with you."
"It's not their problem." Tom sighed.
"It's not mine either." His mom replied. "I don't mean to sound uncaring, Tom. You know I love you but this is something you need to do."
Tom didn't say anything for a minute. He just watched as Bradyn jumped up and down from one bed to the other. "This sucks, mom." He said softly.
"Yeah, it does." She nodded. She knew Tom didn't mean it the way it came out and her heart broke for her son but he needed to grow up. "But you can do this."
"How? You know how tour life is. I don't have time to stop and feed myself never mind a kid."
"Maybe now you'll make the time. Tom, maybe this will show you that you're not paying enough attention to yourself and that you get so wrapped up in this whole business that you block out everything else."
"I have to. That's how we keep sane on the road."
"Well, now you'll have to find something else."
"This is just the worst time that this could happen."
"No, it's not. You're just unprepared. Let it sink in for a few days. Get into the groove of having a little boy around and you'll be fine." She tried to smile.
"How is this gonna be okay?"
"That's what you have to work toward." She replied. Tom sighed deeply in her ear as Bradyn climbed up on the bed with the Elmo doll in his arm then sat by the headboard and talked to the doll. "Does Carrie know?"
"No." Tom shook his head. If there were a way to make it so she never found out, he'd do it. "I need to call her."
"Yes, you do." His mother nodded. "I'll see what I can do about coming out to see you in the next week or so. I'd like to meet my grandson." She said the word with ease as though she'd been practicing it for years.
"Please come, mom."
"I'll see what I can do." She repeated. "Does he talk?"
"I don't know. A little, I guess."
"Can you put him on?"
"You want to talk to him?"
"If he wants to, yeah." She smiled.
"Hey, Bradyn? You wanna talk on the phone?" He held the little cell phone out to Bradyn as he crawled from the head of the bed to where Tom sat. "Here you go."
"Hi." Bradyn said into the phone.
"Hi, Bradyn. How are you?" He heard his mom ask in that singsong voice reserved for small animals and children.
"Hi." Bradyn laughed.
"Are you having fun?"
"Yeah, Emo."
"Yeah?" Simone laughed.
"Lello ou-side."
"You want to go outside?"
"Yeah."
"Okay, you can go outside in just a minute." She said softly. "How old are you?"
"Dis." Bradyn held up two chubby fingers and looked at them intently before he giggled. "Go bye now." He dropped the phone on the bed beside Tom and bounced back to the head of the bed where he left Elmo.
"Mom?" Tom picked up the phone and held it to his ear.
She didn't respond at first but he could hear her take a few deep breaths and let them out slowly. "Okay Tom. You have plenty of calls to make I'm sure." She tried to keep her voice from shaking but Tom could tell she was probably close to tears.
"Yeah." He whispered.
"Give me a call a little later, okay?"
"I will." He pressed his hands against his eyes.
"Tell Bill I love him. And I love you too."
"I love you too, mom." He sighed and clicked the phone off. He had to be downstairs and ready to go in an hour along with the kid. He'd known Bradyn was his for a little more than an hour and nothing had had time to sink in.
Tom reached over to the nightstand and grabbed the little package of crackers. He opened them slowly and handed the first one to Bradyn. "Just a few more calls, okay? You're being really good. Real quiet."
"Shhh." Bradyn held his finger to his lips.
"Yeah, shhhh." Tom nodded and reached for the worn piece of paper on the nightstand. He dialed the police station and asked for Officer Hoff.
"Hoff." She answered in the same gruff tone as before.
"Hi. This is Tom Kaulitz." He stuttered.
"Hello, Mr. Kaulitz. How are you?"
"I've been better." He answered honestly.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah, I got the results back this morning. I'm his father." His voice shook with nerves as he said the words for only the second time. "I know you probably have a billion questions to ask and stuff."
"Yes, this changes the investigation a bit." She nodded and clicked her pen open and closed. "Do you have a minute?"
"Are you coming over?"
"No, we can do this over the phone." She said slowly. "Okay, with you being the child's biological father, the investigation into his parentage is all but over."
"But what about his mother?" Tom sputtered.
"Our goal for the investigation was to find a biological parent or to place the child into protective custody until a parent of family member could be located."
"What if the parent of family member couldn't take the child?"
"Then they would relinquish custodial rights to the state and the child would be placed up for adoption. Assuming all avenues had been followed for finding any alternate family members."
"So because I'm the biological father, you're not going to look for his mom anymore? I mean, isn't it against the law to abandon a kid?"
"She left him with his biological father." Officer Hoff explained. "If you'd like to try to press charges we will need a name and description or you can place a missing persons report. Both of which you can do here at the station."
"Then you'd look for her?"
"Yes, just like any other missing person."
"But you would need her name and description either way, right?" Tom sighed.
"Yes."
"So I'm stuck?"
Officer Hoff paused for a second. She used all her willpower to keep her professional demeanor. "You are his father."
"I know that." He rolled his eyes.
"Then, yes, you're stuck with him." She said with a little more snap than necessary.
"I didn't mean stuck with him. I meant stuck as far as finding his mom."
"Oh." She said quickly. "You can hire a private investigator of your own. Someone who would be able to devote more time searching for a faceless and nameless woman. They would have the time to search through birth records for a child born on your son's birthday."
Tom took a deep breath and rubbed his eyes. "So that's it then?"
"That's about it, yes. I'll help you where I can but, as far as my involvement in this case, this is really as far as it goes."
Bradyn swung the drapes back and forth at the door to the balcony as he bounced up and down with Elmo under his arm and a cracker in his hand dropping crumbs at every move. "Okay." Tom sighed and felt his world slipping out from under him. He was a father now with no way out and nowhere to turn. "Well, uh- Thanks then. Is there anything else you need?"
"Not right now." Officer Hoff spun a pencil in her hands. "If you can think of anything else, please feel free to call into the precinct."
"I will. And if you hear anything else, you'll call me?"
"Yes, I believe we have your management team's phone number on file." She nodded as she scanned the document in front of her. She rattled off the number for him to verify.
"Yeah, that's it." Tom nodded. "Thanks."
"Thank you, Mr. Kaulitz."
"Bye." Tom hung up the phone and stood up to open the sliding glass door. He was going to need lots of fresh air for the next call he had to make. This was something Carrie was not going to understand.
----------------
Tom stared at the phone in his hand for a few silent minutes before he took a deep breath and turned it on. It was another three minutes before he managed to go through his contacts and dial the digits of Carrie's phone number. He waited in anticipation as it rang and, for a moment, he hoped she wouldn't answer. She had been okay when he told her that he was going for the DNA tests but he could tell she was already counting backwards in her head and trying to figure out just when this might have taken place.
Just as he was reaching to turn the phone off she answered. "Hello?"
"H- Hey, Carrie." He stuttered.
"Tom?" She asked. "What's wrong? You sound weird."
"I'm on my cell." He explained as if cell phones could mysteriously make his voice crack and shake.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah- Yeah, I'm- Well, kinda." He stumbled over his words as his heart raced in his chest. "The lab called this morning with the test results." He said softly.
Carrie paused for a second. "Oh?"
"Yeah." Tom nodded and handed Bradyn the second cracker in the tiny pack. "Uh- Yeah." He said softly.
"And?"
"And I, uh- I am." Tom said slowly then waited for her response. "Say something." Tom whispered as he listened to the deafening silence coming from Carrie's end of the phone line. "Carrie?"
"What, Tom? What do you want me to say?"
"Something. Anything." He rested his head in his hands as Bradyn toddled toward the open door. "No, Bradyn. Stay inside, buddy."
"Bradyn? That's his name?" Carrie asked with a shaky voice.
"Yeah." Tom nodded. He waited for her to say more but she had nothing to say. "Carrie, c'mon. You have to say something."
"I don't think I'm the one that has to say anything. I think you're the one who has some explaining to do."
"Carrie, I don't know. There's nothing to explain."
"You have a two-year-old son. That's a damn lot to explain." She fumed.
"Yeah but, Carrie, it's not like I knew and didn't tell you." He tried to argue.
"He was conceived while we were dating. You know what, Tom? You're right. You have nothing to explain. Nothing you could say right now would make things okay."
"Carrie, it's not like that."
"It's not?" She asked sarcastically.
"No, Carrie. It was nothing. It was just one night. One night that I didn't even remember."
"You're not building your case here, Tom. That's not the way to smooth this over."
"Carrie, it meant nothing. Absolutely nothing. Less than that."
"That's a shitty thing to say about the night that created your son." She said softly.
Tom sighed. "You know what I mean."
"How many other one nights of nothing have there been?" She asked with a tone that Tom recognized. There was no right or wrong answer here. She'd made up her mind and there was no changing that.
"Carrie-" Tom rubbed his temples and reached out for Bradyn as he made another go at the door. "You have to stay inside, Bradyn."
"Ou-side." Bradyn frowned.
"In just two minutes we can go outside. Right now you need to be inside." Tom tugged his arm back gently and stood up to shut the door. He went back to Carrie. "Sorry."
"You have your hands full there. Why don't I just call you later?" The bite of sarcasm was sharp in her voice.
"No, Carrie, wait. I'm sorry. For all of this, I just- I need some help here."
Carrie's sudden laugh was not what Tom expected. "You want me to help you?"
Tom's heart sunk. There was no recovering from this one. "Please, Carrie, let's just talk."
"Not now, Tom." Carrie sighed. "We both have some thinking to do and I don't think I can deal with this right now. I'll call you later." She hung up before he could respond.
"Shit." Tom tossed his phone down on the bed and stood up angrily.
"Go ou-side?" Bradyn asked as he placed his hands on the glass door.
"Not now." Tom clenched his fists at his side and took a deep breath. His heart rate returned to normal as he closed his eyes and let his head fall back. Tom took a minute to collect his bearings before he turned back to Bradyn. "Did you eat breakfast?"
"No ou-side."
"We can't go outside." Tom sighed and pressed his eyes closed.
"One minute?"
"No, Bradyn, we're not going outside." He snapped.
Bradyn's bottom lip began to quiver as he reached for his stuffed dog. "Kay." He took the dog over to the bed and laid his head on the crumpled up blanket with his face turned away from Tom.
"Shit." Tom said under his breath, "I'm sorry. C'mon. Let's go get some food before we have to go." He held out his hand to Bradyn who didn't move. "Let's go."
"No." Bradyn said into Lello's back.
"Yes. I'm not playing around here."
"No." Bradyn insisted as he buried his face deeper into Lello's fuzzy fur.
"Bradyn." Tom took a deep breath and tried to remain calm. "Let's go get some breakfast." He was met with silence as Bradyn shifted his weight from foot to foot. He wouldn't raise his head from the blankets. Tom was completely lost. He had no idea what to do with a kid that didn't want to move. "I bet Lello's hungry." He heard himself say. He would have kicked himself if it hadn't worked.
"Lello eat?"
"Yeah. I'm sorry I yelled at you. I suck. Let's go get some food before we're late."
"Yeah." Bradyn stood up and walked slowly toward the door. "No ou-side." He said sadly.
"We'll go outside later, okay?"
"Later." Bradyn nodded and waited by the door for Tom. He remained quiet through breakfast and only cheered up when Gustav walked into the room as they were leaving.
"Hey! Bradyn! What's up?" Gustav laughed and flung Bradyn in the air.
"He just ate. Don't make him vomit." Tom glanced down the hall looking for David or Tayla.
"Oh, you won't vomit, will you? Vomiting is for dorks. Bradyn's too cool to vomit." Gustav laughed and tickled Bradyn's sides. "Is he coming with us today?"
"Not if I can help it." Tom mumbled.
"What'd you say?" Gustav looked up. He'd heard him but he wanted to give Tom the chance to say it a little louder.
"Yeah, he's coming with us." Tom nodded and reached for Bradyn. "We have to go."
"Hey, wait. How'd it go with your mom?"
"Mom's pissed, of course. But I don't know, I think she's secretly happy, you know? A grandson and everything." He said softly. "Carrie's pissed though."
"I bet." Gustav shook his head with sympathy. "How about the officer chick? Did you call her?"
"Yeah." Tom ran his hand through his hair. "She said that since I'm his father and everything, the investigation is pretty much off. They just needed to find a relative to take the child and that's me. I can't just hand him over to the county so I'm keeping him for now."
"What about the mom?" Gustav asked softly.
"I don't know. I mean, I could file a missing persons report but I don't know what the hell she looks like or what her name is."
"So what's next?"
"I don't know." He sighed and reached for Bradyn's hand. "I have to talk to David and the other guys. You know where he is?"
"David?"
"Yeah."
"No." Gustav shook his head. "Last I heard he was meeting up at the studio this afternoon for our interview with Letterman."
"Damn it." Tom shook his head. "Okay, I'll see you later then. If you see David have him find me okay?"
"Sure thing." Gustav waved as Tom and Bradyn stepped into the hall.
"Tom! How'd it go?" Bill asked as he trotted down the hall with a granola bar in his hand.
"What?"
"Telling Carrie and mom."
"How fast do rumors spread around here?"
"Rumor?" Bill raised an eyebrow at Tom then smiled down at Bradyn. "Try that line on someone else. The kid looks just like you."
"He does not." Tom scowled.
"Yes, he does. You both look like pouty brats." Bill laughed and reached down to rub Bradyn's hair. "He has better hair though. How's it going, little guy?"
"Hi." Bradyn gave Bill a half smile and hugged Lello to his chest tighter.
"Hi." Bill laughed. "So? How'd it go?"
"As well as expected I guess. Mom sends her love." Tom sighed. "I've gotta go find David. I'll catch you later, okay?"
"See ya." Bill took a bite of his breakfast and ducked into the cafeteria.
Tom sighed deeply and rubbed his eyes. "Okay, Bradyn, let's go find David. We have some talking to do." He tugged the toddler's hand as they walked down the hall in silence.
Tom didn't get a chance to talk to David until they were done with their first set of interviews and photo shoots that morning. Saki watched Bradyn for that two hours but gave him back to Tom as soon as they were done. When Tom finally got a chance to talk to David a little later, he already knew the test results. "News travels fast around here, Tom."
"I guess so." Tom sighed.
"I've already contacted Benjamin back in Germany. He said-"
"You called Benjamin?" Tom looked up quickly.
"Yeah." David nodded. "He was going to find out sooner or later."
"Yeah but-"
"But nothing. He's already on the lookout for a low profile but highly recommended private investigator to see what we can do about locating the kid's mom. If you don't wanna do that or whatever let me know now and we'll call it off."
"No! No, I want to do that. Definitely." Tom nodded. "But we don't have anything to go on."
"I know, we're working on that too."
"Okay."
"So what's up with you? You doing okay?"
"No." Tom shook his head. "I haven't had a decent night's sleep in days."
"You'll get used to it." David smiled. "Are you ready for Letterman?"
"Ready?"
"The vans leave here in less than an hour."
"Shit. Already?" Tom looked at his watch.
"Yeah, did you eat lunch yet?"
"No, I'm not hungry." Tom yawned.
"How about him?" David nodded at Bradyn. "Are you hungry, buddy?" Bradyn nodded in response and fidgeted at Tom's side. "I'd say he's hungry and he needs a diaper change."
"Beautiful." Tom rolled his eyes and headed for his room again. "See you in an hour."
----------------
David Letterman always made the guys feel like they were at home so taping the show was like a vacation. The guys each had their own dressing rooms supplied with each of their favorite drinks and snacks. Tom Hanks was the only other guest for the night so the guys tracked him down and got some pictures taken with him.Bradyn hung out with Tayla in the little day care room off to the side of the set and they played with all of the little noise making toys. They had a great time as usual and Bradyn was tired out by the time they left the studios three hours later.
They all went back to the hotel where Tom took Bradyn and went to their room immediately. He ordered up dinner and they ate together at the little table in the corner. Bradyn nodded off in the middle of his dinner with his hamburger bun still in his hand.
"I've never seen anyone so tired they couldn't eat before. Bradyn? Hey, buddy, wake up. Finish eating." Tom tapped on his little shoulder.
Bradyn jerked his head up and tried to focus his eyes. "Ti-uhd." He mumbled.
"Yeah, I can see that. Eat some more of your burger though. You need to eat."
"No. Ti-uhd." He crawled out of his chair and stumbled toward the bed by the window. After a few tries he made it onto the full size bed and collapsed just shy of the pillows at the top of the bed. He was snoring before Tom could reach across the table to pick up the discarded hamburger bun. "Well if you're not gonna eat it." Tom sighed and took a bite of the half-eaten bun.
Tom caught a movie on the pay-per-view before he too fell asleep on top of the covers, snoring in unison with his son.
----------------
By six o'clock the next morning they were all packed up and piled onto their buses to drive north to San Francisco. Tom headed straight for the bunks to finish off his ten hours of needed sleep while the others spread out around the bus to try and entertain themselves for the eight-hour drive.Bradyn stood by the couch in the front room basically looking lost as everyone got settled. He watched with caution as Gustav danced around the little kitchen making a pitcher of juice and ducked out of the way when Bill climbed up on the little couch to pull stuff out of the overhead cabinets.
After the third pass Georg stopped and looked down at Bradyn as if just remembering he was there. "Hey." He nodded at the kid. Bradyn looked up at him with wide eyes but didn't say a word. "You okay?" Bradyn nodded slightly and stuck his finger in his mouth. "Wanna come hang out with me back there?" He nodded toward the back of the bus and smiled. "There's all kinds of games and stuff back there. Lot's of cool things for little kids. And big kids." Bradyn nodded again and gave Georg a small smile. "There's nothing scary back there." Georg made his scary face and tickled Bradyn under his chin.
Bradyn laughed softly and took his finger from his mouth. "Lello?"
"Is that your dog? Sure, bring him along." Georg nodded and unzipped the red backpack that seemed to go wherever Bradyn went. He pulled out the floppy dog and handed him to Bradyn. "Okay, it's game time." He held out his hand for Bradyn to take and they walked on back to the game area, unnoticed by anyone else.
"You like video games?" Georg asked as he leaned back on the couch with a bright green controller in his hand
Bradyn just stared up at the TV screen with wide eyes as he nodded. "I see?" He looked at Georg quickly then went right back to the TV.
"You wanna play a game with me?" Georg asked and handed Bradyn one of the controllers. Bradyn held it in both hands as he dropped himself on the floor by Georg's feet. "Here, see? You just push these buttons and make it go." Georg tried to explain.
"I pay?"
"Sure you can play!" Georg laughed and hit the start button on the console.
"And you?"
"Yeah, I'll play too." Georg kicked back and leaned against the big pillows. Bradyn watched for a second before he grabbed a pillow off the couch and set it by Georg's. He sat just like the older man. "Okay, are you ready?"
"Yeah!"
Georg started the game then reached over to Bradyn's controller. "Here. Press this like this. Watch up there on the TV, see? Then you push this button and you can jump."
"Wicked." Bradyn laughed as Georg turned back to play the game.
The controller was too big for Bradyn to both hold and press the buttons so he sat it on the floor and pushed all of the buttons at random. His on screen character jumped, flipped, walked and ran sporadically around the screen.
Georg tried to play the game right but ended up laughing as Bradyn got more and more excited at seeing his character move and fly.
"What are they doing back there?" Bill gave Gustav a curious look.
"Playing video games." Gustav shrugged.
"He's letting the kid play Resident Evil?!" Bill jumped up. "That'll scar him for life."
"No! Georg got some new games. They're playing one of those."
"Shit." Bill headed for the back of the bus but stopped just before he pulled the drape back.
"You're kicking my butt, Bradyn. Next time I want to be Littlefoot and you can be Spike."
"No, I Lil-foot." Bradyn laughed.
"No, I am. You can be Sera."
"No, I Lil-foot."
"No way. You're Littlefoot this time. Next time I get to be Littlefoot."
"No me!" Bradyn laughed hysterically.
Georg sighed in resignation then laughed. "Okay, fine."
"Fine." Bradyn yawned and sat back against the pillows on the floor.
"What are you guys doing in there?" Bill knocked lightly as he pulled the dark curtain aside.
"We're playing." Georg didn't take his eyes off the TV.
"What is this?" Bill laughed and saw the animated dinosaurs on the screen running through the jungle.
"Land Before Time - Race to the Great Valley." Georg smiled.
"Georg?"
"It's fun and Bradyn likes it." Georg looked over his shoulder at Bill. "And he's kicking my butt."
"Where's Tom?"
"I dunno." Georg shrugged and made his character jump over a puddle while Bradyn's dinosaur kept ducking his head repeatedly at nothing. "Probably sleeping."
"Figures." Bill sighed and shook his head. "Oh well. Have fun guys."
"Okay, bye." Georg waved over his head and laughed.
"Bye." Bradyn imitated Georg by putting his hand over his head to wave also.
"You guys scare me." Bill laughed and shut the little curtain. He went back to where Gustav was making sandwiches. "They're playing some cartoon game."
"Lovely." Gustav laughed. "Want a sandwich?"
"Sure." Bill sat in the little breakfast nook and leaned back. "What've you got there?"
"PB&J." Gustav held up in sandwich and took a bite. "Yum."
"I'll take one of those." Bill nodded. "Got milk?"
Gustav talked with his mouth full. "Gah Mowk? Wha are you? Uh cuh-muh-shul?"
"Swallow what's in your mouth! That's gross." Bill laughed and sat across from Gustav at the table. He picked up the deck of cards and shuffled. "I hate cards." He mumbled under his breath but he dealt them anyway. They had a few more hours to kill and nothing better to do.
Chapter Two