Das Letzte Lied - Chapter Fourteen
Twenty minutes later, the door opened and a male nurse stuck his head out into the waiting room. "Bradyn Kaa-leetz?" He called Bradyn's name, pronouncing Kaulitz wrong.
"Ja." Tom stood up with Bradyn in his arms. "Kaulitz." He pronounced it correctly out of habit. "This is Bradyn."
Tayla stood and followed them to the exam area near the back of the emergency room where it was a little quieter. "The doctor will be in soon. Have a seat on the bed." He nodded for Tom to sit, then pulled the little curtain closed.
"I hate hospitals." Tom muttered under his breath as he hopped up on the bed. He was careful not to jostle Bradyn's hand any more than necessary. "You okay, buddy?"
"Is owie, Daddy."
"I know. I'm sorry." Tom kissed the top of Bradyn's head again as Tayla crossed her arms over her chest and leaned her hip against the bed beside them. She could see Tom's pulse in his neck and could tell he was ten times more anxious than he was letting on.
Tayla reached out and placed her hand on Tom's back. "How are you?"
"I'm fine." He said quickly.
"He's going to be okay, Tom."
"I know."
She saw him nod slightly but his shoulders remained tense. She sighed and rubbed his back, trying to be as supportive as she could while he panicked inside. They sat in the little room for a few minutes before the doctor pulled the curtain aside and stepped up to the bed.
"Hallo. I'm Dr. Malloy. What happened here?" An older gentleman walked into the room with a tiny monkey velcroed to his stethoscope.
"I shut his hand in the car door." Tom winced as he spoke.
"Ouch! I bet that hurts." He ran his hand over Bradyn's head. "Can I see it?"
"Bray, can you show the doctor your hand?" Tom whispered.
"No, owwie." Bradyn sniffled and rubbed his damp face into Tom's chest.
"Dad, can you turn a bit so I can see? These injuries look much worse than they actually are." He smiled up at Tom.
"Sure." Tom pivoted himself on the corner of the bed so that Bradyn's hurt hand was facing the doctor.
"No, Daddy."
"The doctor's just going to look, buddy. He's not gonna hurt you." Tom said softly. "You're not gonna hurt him, right?" He looked up at the doctor.
Dr. Malloy smiled. "No, I just want to see the hand." He gently touched the side of Bradyn's hand and moved the middle finger back. "He has a tiny incision. He may need it stitched."
"Oh God." Tom closed his eyes and exhaled.
"His hand has a few bruises. I'd like to x-ray it to make sure nothing's broken. Kids have soft bones. They're almost elastic.")
"Do you think it's broken?"
"No, I don't think so." Dr. Malloy shook his head. "But I want to make sure." He scribbled something on the chart and handed it to a nurse who had appeared out of nowhere. "He needs an x-ray of his hand." He said to the nurse, then turned to Tom. "Follow this hall down to radiology. When you're done, bring the x-rays back here."
"Here in this room?"
"Yes, the nurse will take the images. I'll be back in here to stitch his hand."
"Okay." Tom said as the blood rushed to his feet.
"You're doing good, Bradyn." Dr. Malloy smiled down at the little boy and pat his head affectionately. He'd seen plenty of first time parents in a panic over stitches. He was always amazed at how calm the kids were and how wired the parents were. He left the room quietly. Tom stood up and reached for the lab slip.
"Here, I'll get that." Tayla took the paper from him and led the way down the hall to radiology.
Tom went into the x-ray room with Bradyn and donned a heavy apron while they took the pictures of Bradyn's hand. The technician had tried to get Tom out of the room but Bradyn came unglued when Tom began to leave so to keep him calm and still, he let Tom stay.
It took ten minutes to get all of the images they needed and Tayla waited patiently in the hall. When they were done, the three of them waited another few minutes for the films to be ready. They carried them back upstairs to the exam room where a nurse took the x-rays.
Bradyn curled up on Tom's lap and actually managed to doze off for a little bit before the doctor came back in with the x-rays in an envelope in his hand. "The x-rays show that nothing is broken. His hand will be sore for a few days though." Dr. Malloy reached out to ruffle Bradyn's hair. "I need to stitch the finger since the cut is so deep."
"Shit." Tom sighed. "Okay."
"Do you think you can handle this or would you prefer I call a nurse to come in?"
"No, I can do this." Tom nodded. "You're gonna do it now?"
"Yes, the nurse will come in and numb his hand, then I'll stitch it." Dr. Malloy smiled at Tom and pat Bradyn's hand. "You'll be able to go home soon."
"You hear that, Bradyn? The doctor's gonna fix your hand and we'll get to go home soon." Tom said as his voice shook slightly.
"I go now?" Bradyn asked as he looked up at the doctor with pleading eyes.
"In a few minutes you can go home." Dr. Malloy smiled, then stepped out of the curtained area.
"I'm, uh- I'm gonna wait out here. It's gonna get crowded in here." Tayla said softly as she tugged on the curtain.
"Okay." Tom nodded and licked his lips quickly.
"Are you going to be okay?"
"Yeah." Tom nodded and tried to give her a confident smile but it fell at the corners and gave away how scared he really was.
"I'll be right out here if you need anything." She nodded toward the three plastic chairs pushed up against the wall.
"Okay." Tom nodded. He adjusted Bradyn on his lap.
"I'll see you in a minute." She dropped a kiss onto Bradyn's forehead before she ducked through the curtain and sat on the hard chair. A deep sigh escaped her lips as the days events raced through her mind. Suddenly Astrid's flaking out on Bradyn didn't seem like such a huge deal.
She spent a few minutes reading and re-reading the health posters that lined the walls before there was a rustle behind the curtain and a nurse poked her head out. "Mom?" The nurse asked as she saw Tayla sitting against the wall with her arms crossed over her chest. Tayla didn't respond to the unfamiliar title, so the nurse repeated herself. "Bradyn Kaulitz's mom?"
"Oh." Tayla looked up and stood quickly. "I'm-" She started to explain but the nurse nodded her inside quickly.
"We need you to hold onto Bradyn for the doctor. I don't think dad is feeling very well." She smiled over at Tom whose face had gone from slightly pale to ashy gray. He held a cardboard book on fire engines in one hand but it hadn't been opened.
"Tom?"
"I'm okay."
"Sweetie, why don't you go sit over there. I'll hold Bradyn."
"No, I can do this." Tom closed his eyes and swallowed hard as he broke out in a cold sweat. "It's my fault he's here. The least I can do is hold him while the doctor sews him up." He pressed his lips closed and inhaled deeply through his nose.
"You're not going to do him any good if you pass out. You go sit right there and I'll hold Bradyn. You'll still be right here in the room and you can even hold his other hand- You just- Tom, you have to let me do this." Tayla explained softly.
"Okay." He cautiously stood up and used the bed for balance.
"Daddy, no!"
"He's not going anywhere, sweetie." Tayla slid into the seat Tom vacated and wrapped her arm around Bradyn's back. "He's gonna go sit right there, okay?"
"You say." Bradyn watched Tom sit heavily in the chair and take a few deep breaths with his head between his knees.
"I'm staying right here, buddy." Tom mumbled as he laced his fingers behind his neck while sitting in the same position. The nurse kept an eye on Tom while she assisted the doctor by getting the sutures ready.
"You're doing so good, Bradyn. You're such a big boy." The doctor cooed softly as he carefully began to put the tiny stitches into Bradyn's finger. The little boy didn't even flinch. He just kept his eyes on the children's book Tayla was flipping through.
Within a few minutes, Bradyn's finger was closed with six small stitches and his whole hand was wrapped in a white gauze bandage. "There you go! You did so good!" The doctor smiled and stood up. "You were so brave. You must be a super hero. Are you a super hero?"
"Like supaman." Bradyn nodded and placed his bandaged hand in his lap. "Is owies inere?"
"Yeah, you have an owie in there." Tayla nodded.
"I see?" Bradyn frowned and tried to pick it off.
"No, you can't take that off. You have to keep that on there so it doesn't get hurt more." Tayla shook her head as Tom stood up, looking pinker than before. "Are you okay?" She asked him.
"Yeah, thanks." He gave her a wobbly smile and reached for Bradyn. "You were so good, Bradyn. See? I couldn't even sit there and you did it like a big boy. That's cool."
"Yeah." Bradyn shrugged, practically forgetting the accident that brought him there.
"For being such a great super hero, look what you get." The doctor stuck a big Superman logo sticker on the back of his bandaged hand. "Now everyone will know that you're a big hero!"
"Cool." Bradyn smiled and wiped at his almost dry eyes.
"What do you say, buddy?"
"Danke."
"You're welcome, Bradyn." The doctor rumpled Bradyn's hair and smiled at Tom. "Do you want a sticker?"
"No, thank you." Tom blushed and laughed lightly.
"Mom, would you like a sticker?"
"No, thank you. Bradyn's the big super hero today." Tayla answered and glanced at Tom with a small smile.
"Perfect! Stop by the desk to collect your paperwork before you leave." He rolled his chair over to the side of the bed where Tayla and Tom were sitting while the nurse cleaned up the suture tray. "His finger will be numb for a while. Give him Tylenol to reduce any pain or swelling. The bandage needs to stay on his hand for a few days. Make sure you keep the stitches clean and dry, okay?"
"Okay. Thank you so much." Tom smiled up at the doctor and genuinely meant it.
"You're welcome. Take him to see his pediatrician in a week to have the stitches remvoed." The doctor explained as he stood up and placed his hands on his hips. "Be careful saving the world, okay, Bradyn? Oops, I mean Superman."
"Kay." Bradyn mumbled as he stared at his sticker. "Daddy, I supaman."
"I see that!." Tom stood up and bounced Bradyn on his hip.
"Tschüß." The doctor smiled as he ducked through the curtain to move on to other patients.
"Okay, are you ready to go now?" Tom looked down at Bradyn and tried not to stare at his bandaged hand.
"Yeah." Bradyn sighed and rested his head on Tom's shoulder. "I doe like owies."
"I don't like owies either." Tom kissed Bradyn's forehead and smiled at Tayla. "Where'd you park?"
"In the parking structure. Second level. Do you want me to go get the car?"
"No, we'll be fine. Let's go check out and everything." Tom used his free hand and reached for Tayla's. "Thanks." He said softly with a quick smile.
"No problem." Tayla shook her head and paused to kiss him quickly. "I'm just glad he's okay. And you came out okay too."
"Barely." He gave a shaky laugh as he set the papers on the nurse's station to check out. It had been almost two hours since they arrived and they were all exhausted.
"You did well." Tayla put her hand on his back and scratched lightly. "You guys are both super heroes."
"You're the super hero." Tom smiled over his shoulder as he signed the papers that needed signatures. With the papers in his hand and the instructions on how to care for the stitches in his pocket, they headed out to the parking lot.
Tayla's hand was firm and strong in Tom's and for the first time in a while, Tom truly knew what it meant to have Tayla there with them. She was there when Tom needed her and more importantly, she was there when Bradyn needed her. Astrid would always be Bradyn's mother but Tayla was right, she was more of a mommy to him than Astrid. As hard as it might be for him, Tom decided then and there to begin treating them as such. He gave Tayla's hand a squeeze and kissed her quickly before they started up the stairs to the second level of the parking structure.
There was no one else he'd want to act as Bradyn's mommy. Not even Astrid.
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By the time they got home from the hospital, Bradyn was already asleep in his car seat. It had been an eventful afternoon and he was exhausted. Tom parked in the garage and carefully took Bradyn out of his seat and carried him upstairs. Tayla followed with the extra bandages and the beach stuff that was loaded but never used. Tom laid Bradyn on his bed for a late nap and went to the bathroom to get the Children's Tylenol. He knew that when Bradyn woke up, his hand would probably hurt so he put the childproof container on the top of Bradyn's dresser, then shut the door softly."I'll let him sleep for a bit." Tom whispered as he stepped down the stairs and took the beach bag from Tayla. "Thanks."
"No problem." Her stomach growled as they made their way to the kitchen. "I'll, uh- I'll make something for dinner. I'm sure you're just as hungry as I am."
"Yeah." Tom put his hand over his stomach. He dropped the beach bag in the laundry room and followed her.
"You're not going to want to let him sleep too long though. We can get him up for dinner and give him his medicine."
"That'll knock him out, won't it?"
"Yeah." Tayla nodded. "Probably but at least then he'll have eaten and he can just go to bed early. I don't think he'll have a problem sleeping all night once you get some food and his medicine into him."
"True." Tom nodded and yawned as he stretched his arms over his head. "Hmm, what do we have?" He pulled the pantry door open and peered inside while Tayla took food out of the refrigerator.
"Chicken. I think you have some tortillas in the fridge. I'll make chicken tacos and rice. Do you have re-fried beans in there?"
"Umm." Tom took a step inside. "Yeah. One small can."
She nodded and got the needed pots and pans out of the cupboard. They stood side by side in the kitchen and put together a simple but good dinner. While the chicken was simmering in the salsa and lime sauce Tayla made, they stepped out onto the back patio to get some fresh air. The heat from the kitchen accentuated the fact that it was cold outside and Tayla pulled her arms tight around her to help keep the chill away.
"It's a beautiful night." Tom said softly as he stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Look how clear it is." He turned his face to the sky and stared at the stars.
"It's amazing how many stars you can see out here, even with all the lights and everything." Tayla smiled and settled into the warmth of his arms.
"I know. I love it out here." He kissed her cheek, then sighed into her hair. "Just think, if you lived here we could watch the stars every night." Tom smiled, though he was only half kidding. He didn't want to pressure her but he wanted to be sure that she knew the invitation was still open and that he still very much wanted her there.
"Hmm." Tayla replied a short while later. "Imagine that."
"Hmm." Tom imitated her and laughed softly again. "How long does the chicken need to cook?"
"Another few minutes." Tayla said slowly as she looked up at the stars, trying to memorize them for when she had to go home the next day. As much as she didn't want to go, she knew she had things to get done there. She dreaded reminding Tom that she had to leave after the day they'd had.
"I should call Astrid." Tom bit his lower lip and looked down at the ground. His chin rested carefully on Tayla's shoulder.
Tayla hadn't given Astrid a second thought all afternoon and was almost embarrassed to admit it. "Why?" She asked as she bristled noticeably in Tom's embrace.
Tom frowned at her. "Because Bradyn hurt himself. He got six stitches and I know if she had him, I would want to know."
"Do you honestly think she'll care?" Tayla shook her head and stepped away from Tom to turn and look him in the eye.
"Tayla-" Tom sighed and tried not to roll his eyes.
"I'm serious. If she was interested in him at all, she would have shown up today or at least called. She didn't do either. If I were you, I'd wait until she called and tell her then. It's her own fault if she doesn't call you."
"That's nice."
"In fact, Tom, if you really want to place blame here, it's her fault this even happened. If she had shown up like she said she would, you wouldn't have been upset and we wouldn't have been leaving. Bradyn would have been with her and none of this would have happened."
"Tayla, that's not fair."
"Fair isn't what I'm going for here." She crossed her arms over her chest and stopped herself from saying more. She was quiet for a second as she heard what she said and realized that it undoubtedly came out harsher than she meant. "I'm sorry, Tom. I'm just upset." Tayla sighed with defeat.
"I know you are. And I am too but still-"
"Do what you think is right." She shrugged before she turned and walked back into the house to finish making dinner.
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Tom waited outside for a few more minutes. His mind was racing as he weighed his options and tried to find the right answer in the mess that was his life. When he walked back inside with Lucy on his heels, Tayla looked up from the stove quickly. "Can you go get Bradyn?""Sure. Yeah." Tom nodded quickly, glad for the short distraction. "Come on, Lucy." He tapped his thigh and the dog followed him down the hall and up the stairs to Bradyn's room. Together they roused Bradyn from his much-needed nap and Tom carried him down to the kitchen.
"No, Daddy. I wanna seep."
"I know you want to sleep but you need some dinner." Tom said as he sat at the table with Bradyn in his lap. "You had a busy day today and we forgot to get you some food. Eat this, then you can take more medicine and go back to sleep."
"Kay." Bradyn yawned and rested his head on Tom's chest. "Tayla, I have owie."
"I know you do, sweetie. How does it feel? Does it hurt?"
"Yeah."
"Is the Tylenol upstairs?" She asked Tom.
"On his dresser." Tom nodded and stroked Bradyn's hair as he tried to look at the bandaged finger.
"Okay." She placed their dinner plates in front of them before she went upstairs to get the medicine.
"Bradyn, you have to eat a little bit. Look what we made. Doesn't this look good?"
"Yeah."
"Here, have a little bite." Tom took a piece of chicken out of the tortilla with his fork and blew on it. "Mmm, this smells good."
"Yeah." Bradyn opened his mouth for the bite but still looked tired.
"Lecker! Eat it up." Tom smiled as Bradyn chewed slowly. They took turns with bites until Tayla came down a few minutes later with her hair up in a ponytail and the Children's Tylenol in her hand.
"How do you like that?" Tayla smiled at Bradyn as he held the folded up tortilla in his hand.
"I like kickin an wice."
"You like the chicken and rice, huh? Me too." She got her plate and sat with them. "How does his hand look?"
"I can't really see too much but it doesn't feel warm or anything. That's good, right?"
"Yeah."
"Good." Tom lowered his voice and kissed Bradyn's temple as he held his son on his lap. They ate their dinners in silence as Tom tried to coax Bradyn into eating more of the chicken and beans.
"No, Daddy. I done." Bradyn sighed and tried to wiggle out of Tom's lap.
"Come on, Bradyn, just eat another few bites."
"One?"
"Two more." Tom nodded and held the fork out to him with a bite of beans on it. "It's good." Tom nodded and Bradyn opened his mouth to take the bite.
"Is all done." Bradyn said once he swallowed.
"Can you have another bite of chicken?"
"No."
"Yeah, I think so." Tom nodded and got the bite ready on the fork. "One more bite, then you can have your medicine.
"One more an I lissen Toke Hoh-tell?"
"And you what?" Tom asked as he waved the bite in front of Bradyn's closed lips.
Bradyn turned away from the fork. "I hava bite an I lissen Toke Hoh-tell?"
"You want to listen to Tokio Hotel?"
"Yeah."
"In your room?"
"Yeah."
"Sure. Yeah, of course you can listen to Tokio Hotel." Tom nodded as Bradyn took a bite. He met Tayla's eye across the table and smiled. "I don't think he's ever asked to listen to us before. That's weird."
"It's cool." Tayla wiped her mouth on her napkin, then opened the Children's Tylenol to get Bradyn's medicine ready.
Bradyn chewed his bite, then sighed and slid off Tom's lap. "I go nigh-nigh now and lissen Toke Hoh-tell." He said as he reached for Tom's hand.
"Yeah, you can go night-night now." Tom looked at his watch and pursed his lips. It was early still but they'd had a long day.
"Here, Bray, you need to take your medicine so your hand doesn't hurt." Tayla stood up with the eyedropper full of purple liquid.
"My owie?"
"Yeah, it'll make it so your owie doesn't hurt." She nodded as Tom picked Bradyn up and held him for her.
"Open up, sweetie." Tayla dropped the medicine into Bradyn's mouth, then filled it halfway again to give him the correct dose. "Is that good?"
"Yeah, is gape."
"Grape, huh? That's pretty yummy."
"Yeah." Bradyn nodded slowly and licked his lips as he brought his bandaged hand up to rub his eyes.
"I'm going to go put him down."
"Okay." Tayla nodded and stood to give Bradyn a quick kiss good night. "You were a brave little boy today, Bradyn. You did so good."
"I supaman."
"You sure are Superman." She smiled and ran her hand over his warm hair. "Good night, sweetie."
"Nigh-nigh." Bradyn yawned and settled into Tom's arms.
"I'll be right back." Tom said softly as he turned to carry his son up the stairs.
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When Tom came back down a short while later, Tayla had already made herself comfortable on the couch with the TV on softly in the background. They turned a movie on and relaxed for the evening without a single interruption. The phone stayed silent on the charger and Bradyn slept soundly upstairs."I need a shower." Tom yawned as he stood up after the second movie. "I feel grubby or something."
"You don't look it." Tayla smiled.
"I think it's the hospital."
"The hospital makes you feel dirty?"
"Well, I don't know. I don't like hospitals so I guess it's like I can still smell it on me or something." Tom shrugged and made a face. "Anyway-"
"Go shower."
"I will." He seemed hesitant as he stood against the wall staring at her.
She stared back and laughed softly. "What?"
"Nothing." He answered just above a whisper and a little too quickly.
"Nothing?"
"Nothing." His grin grew and his eyes crinkled as he turned to walk down the hall. "I was just thinking that if you wanted to come with me upstairs, that might be cool."
Tayla laughed and shook her head as she stood up from the couch and stretched her back. "Sounds tempting. I'm going to clean up down here a little bit first but then I'll come up."
"Do you want me to save you some hot water?" Tom raised his eyebrow with his hand on the banister of the stairs.
"I'll take one in the morning." Tayla shook her head. "Before I- Before I go. That way I'll be all refreshed for the plane ride but thanks."
"Anytime." Tom hopped up a few steps and laughed to himself as Tayla went to the kitchen to clean up after dinner. He was happier than he had been all day just because she was there and smiling back at him. His heart skipped a beat as he realized for the thousandth time that she made him so incredibly happy. He just hoped she felt the same way, really felt the same way.
Tayla straightened up the kitchen and family room while Tom showered above her. She heard the shower turn off a short while later as she made her way up the stairs with her hands full of Bradyn's toys. After quietly putting them in Bradyn's room on his toy chest, she shut the door and went to the master bedroom. Tom was standing in the shower behind the foggy window towel drying himself. "Hey, Tom? What are our plans for tomorrow?"
"I don't know." Tom's voice echoed off the glass doors of the shower. "We don't really have anything planned. Why? What did you have in mind?"
"Nothing. I was just checking to see if you had to work or anything. My flight leaves at two so we'll have to leave here by what? Noon?"
"Yeah." Tom wrapped the towel around his waist and stepped out of the steamy shower. "I'm actually planning on sleeping until around noon." He smiled and dropped a quick kiss across her lips.
"You're pretty optimistic. You have a toddler you know."
"I'm kind of hoping the Tylenol keeps him out."
"Dream on, honey." Tayla smiled and shook her head. "He went to bed so early tonight. I'd be surprised if he slept past five."
"Ugh, don't say that." Tom's face withered into a cringe.
"Sorry." She smiled sweetly. She went back into the bedroom to change out of her clothes.
Tom took his toothbrush from the cup beside the sink and held it under the water before applying the toothpaste. He brushed while Tayla changed in silence in the other room. "I didn't call her." Tom said a minute later as he rinsed his toothbrush in the sink.
"Astrid?"
"Yeah."
"Okay." Tayla's mood took a turn for the worse at the mention of the other woman's name.
"I just thought you'd want to know."
"It's none of my business." Tayla said softly, not believing her own words.
"Yeah, it is." Tom set his toothbrush back in the holder and wiped his mouth. "Believe it or not, Tayla, you have a lot more say in this than you think. You're the rational mind when I can't be."
"You're calling me rational?"
"Well, you make me see things from a different perspective." He smiled slowly but his eyes still looked worried. "I'm not looking forward to dealing with her when she finds out though." Tom pulled the sheets back and sat on the edge of the bed with the alarm clock in his hands. He didn't change any of the settings he just looked at it for a minute.
Tayla stared at his broad, bare back and frowned with concern. "Tom, you know that I'm not here to cause trouble with you and Astrid, right?"
"I know." Tom said softly.
"I just- I love you guys so much. And I know that Astrid is Bradyn's mom and that's so important. I've never said it wasn't. Ever since she showed up, I've always said that having her in Bradyn's life is important for him. But-" Tayla sighed as she rolled all the way over onto her side to face Tom. "But she's making it clear that she doesn't want that or isn't willing to try. And in the process, you're both getting hurt, you and Bradyn."
"I'm not getting hurt by Astrid." Tom shook his head in the darkness.
"Yes, you are. Every time you see that Bradyn has been let down, you're hurt. Every time you have to lie to him or you get his hopes up for nothing, you're crushed. You can deny that all you want but it's true. I can see that because I'm not in the situation with you." She reached out and took his hand. "You've given her so many chances. How many will be enough?"
"I need to give Bradyn the chance to see her. She's his mom no matter what I do and no matter what I want."
"I know." Tayla's frown deepened, more from concern than anything else. "But she's had the chance to see him and she's not stepping up to it. I just don't see how you can let her keep doing that."
"I don't know what else to do." Tom pursed his lips tightly and ran his thumb over the back of her hand.
"You could play her game right back. Flake out on a couple meetings, not be here when she calls."
"That's mature." He smiled slightly.
"Or you could just tell her she can't see him any more." Tayla said, her words barely audible.
"And what about when he's twelve and asks if his mom ever wanted to see him? Can I tell him that she wanted to see him and I wouldn't let her?" He carefully tossed her example back to her.
"I don't have all the answers, Tom. I'm just tired of seeing her walk all over you guys like this. I don't know what you should do but if you don't do something, it's just going to get worse and that's going to be so much harder for Bradyn."
"I know."
"And I love him. I don't want anything to happen to him."
"I know." Tom whispered as he dropped his chin to his chest. "I don't either." He shook his head slowly, then turned to look at her. With a soft sigh he said, "I don't either and I'm done playing games. I really am."
"Good."
"But I don't know what I'm going to do exactly. I mean, I don't know." He slid under the covers and switched the light off. Tayla followed his lead and sank into his warm and open arms. "A lot of things became clear today but finding those answers only made other things harder, you know?"
Tayla shrugged in the darkness. "No, I don't know but I can guess."
"I'm so glad to have you here, Tayla. I'm glad you're willing to be this-" He paused and debated using the word that had been going through his mind all afternoon. "This Mommy, kind of, to Bradyn. He needs that. Just as much as he needs his mother."
"Yeah." She whispered, though her voice caught in her throat. She blinked away tears and nodded. "He does."
Tom leaned forward and kissed her neck as his arms tightened around her and they settled into the bed. It had been a long and emotional day for everyone and together they hoped that in the morning, things would be somewhat normal.
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When Bradyn awoke the next morning, Tayla was the first to hear him padding down the hall. She'd only been half-asleep so she got out of bed and went to the hall to let Tom sleep in a little. "Hey, sweetie." She said softly as she bent to scoop Bradyn up in her arms. "Wow, you slept for a long time.""Yeah." Bradyn croaked in his early morning voice that eerily reminded her of Tom.
"Do you want some breakfast?" Tayla asked as she carried him down the stairs. He shook his head no and rested his head on her shoulder. "Do you want to watch some cartoons?" He nodded and yawned against Tayla's shirt as they walked into the family room beside the kitchen.
"See Emo?"
"I don't know if Elmo is on but we can look, okay?" She sat on the couch and cradled Bradyn in her arms as she turned the TV on. They flipped to the cartoon channels and settled on Blue's Clues.
Tayla and Bradyn sat and watched TV until Tom padded downstairs more than two hours later. "G'morning." He smiled with squinted eyes.
"Hi, Daddy." Bradyn grinned from his spot warm on Tayla's lap.
"Hey, buddy."
"Did you sleep well?" Tayla asked.
"Yeah, thanks for letting me get a little extra." He walked up behind them and placed a kiss on the top of Tayla's head. "How long have you guys been up?"
"Not long. We've seen a few episodes of Blue's Clues."
"Blue's Clues is cool." Tom smiled and messed Bradyn's hair. "How's your finger?"
"Good."
"Do you want some breakfast?"
"Yeah."
"What do you want?"
"Mouse cakes." Bradyn said without taking his eyes off the TV.
"Mouse cakes?" Tayla gave Tom a questioning look, not sure if she really wanted to know.
"Mickey Mouse pancakes? Coming right up." Tom laughed. "Tayla?"
"Sounds good to me." She smiled and tickled Bradyn's side. "You like Mickey Mouse pancakes, huh?"
"Yeah."
"Awesome." Tayla stood up and reached down for Bradyn. "Do you want me to change his bandages before we eat?"
"Would you mind?" Tom asked with a look of concern. He wasn't looking forward to changing them and seeing the black stitches across Bradyn's finger. If Tayla was willing to do it, he was okay with that.
"Not at all." She shook her head. "Where did you put the gauze and wash stuff?"
"It's still in the bag by the phone." He nodded to the little alcove at the end of the kitchen as he went about getting the ingredients he needed out of the cupboards.
"Okay, we have to get your finger cleaned up a little bit." Tayla picked up the bag and set Bradyn on the island behind Tom. "Do you want to watch so you'll know what to do?"
"No." Tom shook his head and kept his attention on the box of pancake mix.
"Tom, you're going to have to do this."
"I know."
"So watch." She smiled and turned to the sink to wash her hands. With clean hands, she took off Bradyn's old bandage and set it aside. She opened the new package as Bradyn looked on in silence. "All you have to do is take off the old one and make sure it's not red or swollen. It looks good right now actually."
"It's kind of swollen there." Tom said as he looked away quickly.
"It's just bruised. The doctor said that was to be expected but it doesn't look bad and it's not warm to the touch."
"Warm would be bad, right?"
"Right." Tayla nodded as she carefully wrapped the new bandage around Bradyn's finger and secured it with a thin strip of surgical tape.
"Wassat?" Bradyn asked with a frown.
"That's to keep your bandage on. Like a big band aid."
"Oh." Bradyn turned his hand over. "My supaman?"
"You want your sticker?"
"Yeah."
"Oh, okay." She peeled it off the old bandage and used the tape to stick it on the back of his new bandage. "There you go."
"That looks easy." Tom nodded, though he hadn't really paid attention.
"It is."
"I don't have to wash it?"
"No, you don't have to. You can wash it gently with soap and water but it looks good right now." Tayla shook her head and placed Bradyn on the floor. "But, all in all, you want to keep it dry and clean."
"Okay." Tom nodded and poured milk into the mixing bowl on the counter. He made a half dozen Mickey Mouse pancakes and served them with chocolate chip smiles and marshmallow eyes.
"This is like dessert." Tayla laughed and the silly face smiling up at her from her plate.
"It's good." Tom laughed and sprinkled powdered sugar across the top of his pancakes.
"Not sweet enough for you?" Tayla raised her eyebrow at him as Bradyn picked the chocolate chips off one by one.
"Not quite." Tom smirked and added an extra sprinkle just because.
"It's no wonder you guys are always wired." She shook her head and took a bite of an ear. "These are good plain."
"Booooring." Tom made a face and smiled at Bradyn as the little boy laughed.
"You silly." Bradyn shook his head with smears of melted chocolate chips on his fingers and lips.
"I'm silly? You look pretty silly with chocolate all over you." Tom laughed and leaned over to cut Bradyn's pancakes into bite sized pieces before drizzling syrup over them. "Eat up."
They smiled through breakfast and Tayla tried not to think about having to leave that afternoon. When they were done, Tom took Bradyn upstairs to get dressed while Tayla went to the master bedroom to take a shower and get her things packed up to go. The morning passed faster than she would have liked for it to and, by the time she zipped her suitcase closed, she realized that it was already after eleven thirty.
Tayla sighed and placed her hands on her hips. Her hair was slowly drying in the ponytail she put it in, so she took it out and brushed it again before going downstairs. Bradyn met her at the bottom of the stairs with a wide grin. "Tayla, see?"
"Hey, sweetie. You want to show me something?"
"Yeah."
"What do you have?" Tayla took his un-bandaged hand and let him pull her into the kitchen.
"Have a cookie." Bradyn pointed to the open Oreo bag in the pantry.
"You want a cookie?"
"Yeah." Bradyn giggled and bounced up on his toes.
"How about some lunch? You should probably have lunch before you have a cookie."
"Umm." Bradyn thought about that for a minute. "No wan lunch."
"You don't want lunch?"
"No."
"Okay. Well, how about if we get you something for a snack and you can take it with us in the car?" Tayla pulled a Ziplock bag out of the drawer and handed it to Bradyn.
"Kay."
"Where's Daddy?"
"Ou-side." Bradyn sighed and looked in the empty bag. "No isa snack."
"Here." Tayla reached into the pantry and opened up the box of crackers at Bradyn's eye level. "Put some crackers in the bag."
"An we go bye?"
"Yeah, I'm going to go get your Daddy then we have to go."
"Kay." Bradyn stood on his tiptoes and reached into the cracker box. "I have free cackers?"
"You can have three, sure. Have as many as you want." Tayla nodded as she stepped to the back door. "Tom?" She leaned out the door and shielded her eyes from the sun. "We have to get going."
"Is it noon already?"
"Yeah." She nodded and crinkled her nose. She didn't want to leave.
"Okay." He nodded and tossed the tennis ball for Lucy one more time. "Go get it, girl."
Lucy barked softly and took off after the bright green ball. Tom walked up to the patio and dropped a kiss on her lips as he passed. "Is Bradyn ready?"
"He's getting a snack."
"A snack?"
"He wasn't hungry for lunch and I told him you'd swing by McDonald's and get him a Happy Meal on the way home."
"I see. You're making promises for me to keep, huh?" He laughed and put his hand on her hip.
"I figured you wouldn't complain too much. Now that I'm leaving, it's safe for you do go back to your Happy Meal routine." She raised her eyebrow and laughed lightly.
"It's not a routine." Tom grinned and shook his head.
"Okay." She said, though the tone said she would be a fool to believe him.
"He likes to go and it's still good food. He loves the chicken."
"I didn't say anything." She laughed.
"And he doesn't really eat the fries. He just likes the toy."
"You don't have to convince me, Tom." Tayla smiled and stepped past him into the house where Bradyn was putting crackers into his snack bag one at a time. "Is your snack ready to go?"
"Um, I need cookie."
"You need a cookie?"
"Yeah."
"One?"
"Um, lot."
"How about we put two in there?" Tayla reached over his head and pulled two Oreo's out of the open bag. "There you go. One for you and one for your Daddy." She dropped them into his bag then slid the plastic seal closed. "Perfect. Let's go."
"Did you put a cookie in there for me?" Tom asked as he walked up behind Bradyn and scooped him up.
"Yeah." Bradyn laughed as Tom growled into his neck.
"Good, I love cookies." Tom laughed and bounced Bradyn on his hip. "Where's your luggage? I'll go get it loaded up if you can take Bradyn and get him in the car."
"I put it in the car already. We're ready to go."
"Tayla, those are heavy."
"I managed." She laughed and grabbed the keys off the little table with the phone. "Come on, I don't want to be late."
"We won't be late." Tom rolled his eyes and smiled at Bradyn. "Your Tayla worries too much."
"Yeah." Bradyn sighed and nodded as if he understood completely. "She worry for me an Daddy and Tayla and a pane."
"Yeah, she worries about everything."
"I don't worry about everything. I just don't want to be late. I have to check my luggage and, if the guy isn't at the curb, I have to go inside and wait in-"
"Okay, okay!" Tom held up his hand. "I get it. You don't want to be late. Well, come on! Let's go." He smiled as he rushed past her with Bradyn in his arms. He paused for a moment to kiss her quickly before he went to load Bradyn into his car seat. "You know, you wouldn't have to leave if-" Tom smiled at her over the back of the seat as she climbed in and shut the door.
"I know." Tayla smiled. She knew all right. She knew and she kept thinking about that, giving it a lot more thought than she meant to.
"Okay." Tom smiled back. He shut the back door and hopped in the driver's seat.
They drove to the airport with Bradyn babbling in the backseat about airplanes and stages and how they were both big. He seemed to forget about his bandaged hand as he talked animatedly about flying in the air. Tayla and Tom popped in every now and then with "Mmm hmm" and "That's right, they are really big" every now and then but for the most part it was Bradyn's little voice filling the car.
When they pulled up in front of the terminal, Bradyn stopped talking and frowned at the window. "We go ona pane?"
"No, not this time." Tom said as he parallel parked against the curb.
"I'm going on a plane to go home." Tayla nodded.
"I can go too?" Bradyn asked as he reached for the buckle on his seat.
"No. I have to go by myself this time." Tayla shook her head and looked into the back seat.
"I can go lato?" Bradyn frowned and held his bandaged hand on his lap.
"Yeah, maybe later you can come with me." She opened the passenger side door and got out to lean into the back seat. "I love you, sweetie." She kissed his cheek quick and gave him an awkward hug in the car seat.
"Love you too." Bradyn giggled as Tayla's hair tickled his ear. "See you morrow?"
"Hmm, not tomorrow." Tayla shook her head slowly. "But I'll call you tomorrow, how's that?"
"Kay." Bradyn nodded.
"Okay, sweetie." She sighed and smiled again. "Bye bye." With another kiss to his warm cheek, she slid out of the car and went to the back where Tom was already getting her luggage out.
Tom sat her heavy bag on the sidewalk then put his hands on his hips. "So."
"So." Tayla laughed lightly and wrapped her arms around his waist.
"So do you think you'll be able to come out and see us?"
"Yeah. I think so."
"In New York?"
"Probably." She nodded. "I have to go home for a bit and check my finances and all that. I'll call you this weekend and let you know when I'll be out and all that."
"I'll pick up your ticket."
"You don't-"
"Shush." Tom laughed and put his finger to her lips as cars zipped past the drop off lane.
"Tom." Tayla smiled around his finger.
"Stop it. Just let me know when you can come and I'll get you your ticket. It's not a big deal. I'd pay three times as much to have you come out." He let his hands fall to her hips as he kissed her softly. "Thank you so much for being here this week. It really meant a lot, Tayla. With Bradyn and his hand and just, everything."
"It's no problem."
"I don't know what I would have done without you."
"You'd have managed it okay." Tayla smiled and held him close. She hated saying good-bye and could hardly wait for the day when she wouldn't have to. "I'll see you next week, okay?"
"Okay."
"And I'll call when I get home."
"Okay." Tom nodded and kissed her again. "Tell the pilot to fly safe."
"I will." Tayla laughed and stepped up onto the sidewalk where her bags were waiting. "Bye, Bradyn."
"Tschüss!" Bradyn giggled from his car seat.
"I love you." Tom said almost shyly as he pulled his car keys from his pocket.
"I love you too." Tayla smiled and blushed as she shaded the sun from her eyes.
"Bye." He swung the keys on his finger and leaned against the back of his car as other cars pulled out into the moving lanes. He was taking too long in the loading zone.
"Bye." Tayla waved once before she grabbed her bags and headed into the airport wondering if she could really buckle down and decide to move there just to avoid the scenes at the airport.
Tom waited until she was in the wide automatic doors before he climbed back into his car and headed home. They stopped at McDonald's on the way, as promised, and ate their meal at the kitchen table in silence. Tom gave Bradyn his medicine after they ate then took him upstairs for a late nap. The doctor said to cut down the medicine on Thursday if he was doing okay so taking a late nap once wouldn't hurt his schedule too badly.
----------------
With Bradyn in his bed upstairs, Tom hopped down the stairs and went to his little desk near the kitchen to look at the phone calls he had to return. As he flipped through the short stack of scribbled notes he'd left himself, the phone rang by his hand. The caller ID number flashed on the screen but Tom didn't recognize it. It was a local number so it could have been anyone. "Hello?" He answered softly."Tom? This is Astrid. Listen, about yesterday-"
"Yeah, what happened?" His heart skipped a beat as he heard the tone he used.
"Our rental car broke down and I didn't have my phone book thing with me. I tried to dial from memory but I got a wrong number." She explained quickly.
"Uh huh."
"I didn't get to your house until almost one but you guys had left or whatever so I- Anyway, I'm sorry."
"So am I." His jaw became tense and he tried not to grit his teeth.
"Is Bradyn there?"
"He's asleep."
"He's asleep? It's three in the afternoon. Isn't that late for a nap?"
"Well, yeah, but his medication knocks him out and he needs his rest." Tom took a deep breath and closed his eyes tightly.
"Medication? Is he sick again? He seemed fine this weekend."
"No, he's not sick. He got six stitches in his finger yesterday so-"
"What?!" Her voice raised a notch and Tom seriously thought about hanging up the phone.
"He has six stitches in his finger so I've been giving him Children's Tylenol and it sometimes knocks him out but he didn't get a nap this afternoon either so he was probably-"
"What happened? How'd he get hurt? Is he okay?"
"He's fine." Tom ran his hand over his face then pinched his chin with a sigh.
"What happened?" She asked again.
"He got his hand shut in the car door but nothing's broken."
"I don't care if your car's broken." She said sharply.
"I meant his hand. His fingers. Nothing there is broken. He just has a little cut on his finger and some bruising."
"A little cut? Six stitches are a lot for a little boy. Is he okay?"
"He's fine." Tom sighed.
"How did that happen?"
Tom winced. That was the part of the story he was hoping to skip over. "When you didn't show up, we decided to go out to the beach so Bradyn and I were loading up the car and I didn't see him standing there. When I shut the door his hand was there."
"You did it?"
"It was an accident." Tom said quickly.
She took a deep breath and exhaled into the phone. Tom counted up to ten before she spoke again. "He's okay though?"
"He's fine."
"Where is the cut?"
"It's on his middle finger. Kind of on the tip of his middle finger. On the pad by his joint."
"And he got stitches?"
"Six stitches, yeah. They're small."
"I can't believe this." She said under her breath and probably to herself.
Tom kept silent on his end of the phone. He knew how he'd feel if Astrid was watching Bradyn and he somehow got hurt.
"Can I call tonight and talk to him? Or, well, maybe tomorrow since I'm getting in late tonight."
"Sure. Yeah, of course you can." Tom nodded.
"I mean, since it's not our scheduled time."
"You can pretty much call any time you want, Astrid." Tom tried to keep his tone light.
She paused for a second and he heard a voice over the loud speaker on her end. "Okay. I have to get going. They're going to start boarding my flight here any minute."
"Okay." Tom pinched his lower lip. "I'll talk to you later then."
"Okay, bye."
"Bye." Tom clicked the phone off and sighed. After a second he realized that he was still upset at her for not showing up. Part of him wanted to somehow call her back and let her now exactly what was on his mind but another part knew he had to keep the waters calm and not rock the boat too much. She messed up and she lost out. He and Bradyn were doing fine on their own, in the big scheme of things.
Looking at his watch he knew there was no way Tayla would be home yet so he took the phone out to the backyard to play with Lucy while he called his Mom and Step-dad. They were sympathetic when Tom told them about Bradyn's hand but assured him that all parents went through the same thing at one time or another. In fact, his Step-dad told him to be prepared to do it again because Bradyn was only two and that left a good ten more years of little fingers to watch out for.
In a way, that made Tom feel a little better, as talking to his parents almost always did. They chatted until Bradyn woke up from his nap. Tom excused himself and got a snack ready for his son. Tom and Bradyn spent the afternoon relaxing around the house and playing outside with Lucy, though Tom wouldn't let Bradyn play on the play set for fear of him getting his finger dirty or damaging the bandages taped to his hand.
Tayla called to check in when she reached Newark for her layover and was just in time to say good-night to Bradyn. "He's going to bed already?" Tayla asked.
"Yeah. I gave him the Tylenol again because he was saying it hurt."
"Okay." She said but she didn't sound too sure.
"It's not too early though. Considering he was up really early this morning, remember?"
"Oh yeah, how could I forget?" Tayla laughed softly. "Okay, well go ahead and put him to bed. I just wanted to call and let you know I made it safely to Newark and everything."
"Okay, thanks." Tom nodded.
"I'll call you tomorrow or later this week and let you know about New York."
"You're coming though, right?"
"Yeah. I'm just not sure what day."
"Okay. We're meeting with David tomorrow so I wanted to know so I can tell him."
"I'm calling David next so he'll know."
"Great." Tom smiled and he couldn't wait to see her again. "We're going to have a great time."
"Yeah, I like the city."
"Me too." Tom sighed softly. "Okay, I'm going to go put this tired little boy to bed."
"Okay, good-night."
"Good-night. I love you."
"I love you too. And Bradyn. Give him a hug and a kiss for me."
"What about me?"
Tayla laughed. "Okay, give yourself a hug and a kiss for me too."
"You're a nut."
"You're a nut." Tayla laughed. "I'll talk to you later."
"Okay, bye." Tom chuckled and bounced Bradyn on his hip as he hung up the phone. He placed a kiss on Bradyn's forehead. "That was from your Tayla. She's going to come see us in New York, isn't that cool?"
"Yeah." Bradyn yawned and rested his head on Tom's shoulder.
"You're tired. Let's get you upstairs." Tom kissed his son's temple again and carried up to his bedroom. He loved seeing Bradyn's little figure curled up on the bed that was almost too big for him. It made him feel like the protector, which was something he rarely got to feel when it was just him. Tom stood at the doorway and watched Bradyn get comfortable under the covers for a minute. He slinked off to his own room to settle down for the night with his notebook that he'd been neglecting for a week. He had a lot on his mind that needed to find it way out and the sooner the better.
----------------
In the morning, Tom and Bradyn shared a breakfast of toast and scrambled eggs in silence. Neither of them were really morning people and they'd gotten used to basically avoiding each other until they'd been up for a half hour at least. When they were done, Tom shuttled Bradyn back upstairs and they both got dressed and ready for the day."Ugh." Tom said under his breath. "Shit. Bradyn? Come here for a minute. We have to change your bandage thing." Tom raised his voice as he walked down the hall to Bradyn's room. "Bradyn?"
"Yeah?" Bradyn appeared at his bedroom door.
"Come in here with me. We have to change your thing."
"My dipo?" Bradyn's hand went to his crotch. "No."
"Not your diaper. Your bandage. On your hand." Tom wiggled his fingers as turned on the water and washed his hands. He dried them on the bright blue towel and sat on the closed toilet seat. "Okay, let me see your hand."
"No. Is owie, Daddy." Bradyn's face squished up as he hid his hand behind his back.
"I know it's an owie but we have to change the bandages and make sure it's not infected."
"No is fetted." Bradyn shook his head.
"I don't think it is either but I have to change the bandages. Remember Tayla did it yesterday? That didn't hurt, did it?"
"No."
"Okay, so that's all we're going to do today."
"My Tayla can?" Bradyn asked, leaving his hand behind his back.
"No, I'm going to do it today."
"No, Tayla."
"Tayla's not here."
"Yeah."
"No, she's not here."
"Yeah, my Tayla can do."
"I need to do it today." Tom shook his head and pulled Bradyn onto his lap. They sat together on the toilet and Tom held Bradyn's arm tight. "Just let me take it off and make sure it's clean." Bradyn only struggled a little bit until Tom got the bandage off and tossed it in the trashcan at his side.
"Hey." Bradyn said with a confused look on his face. "Whas issat?"
"That?" Tom looked at Bradyn's finger and pushed back a wave of nausea. He averted his eyes to smile at Bradyn. "Those are your stitches."
"Why?"
"Because when you got your owie, the doctors had to put those in to keep it closed so it doesn't get worse." Tom explained as he tried not to look at the tiny row of dark stitches on his son's hand.
"You have one?"
"No, I don't have any." Tom shook his head and reached for the sealed package of new bandages. Bradyn took the index finger of his opposite hand and reached to touch the stitches. "Oh, hey, no." Tom grabbed his wrist before he could touch. "No, don't touch them. You have germs on your hand and you don't want them to get in your owie."
"Germs?"
"Yeah, you have germs."
"An you?"
"Yeah, I have germs too, I guess, but I washed my hands so I could change your bandages."
"I wass too?"
"We can wash your hand when we're done here, yeah."
"Kay." Bradyn sighed and leaned back against Tom's chest.
Tom replaced the bandages on Bradyn's hand and tried not to look at the gash on Bradyn's finger. There was bruising down the length of his finger and his hand had a reddish purple look to it. The wound itself wasn't swollen or infected looking as far as Tom could see so he wrapped it in the sterile gauze and taped it into place. He took an extra length of tape and stuck the superman sticker back into place then set Bradyn on the floor. "Okay, we're done."
"Kay."
"Does it feel okay?"
"Yeah."
"Cool. Let's go get you dressed and we'll leave."
"No, Daddy. I say here."
"Here?"
"Yeah."
"We can't stay here. I have to go to work."
"An me?"
Tom paused and thought for a moment. "Yeah. Yeah, you can come to work with me today. I don't think you're ready to go back to school just yet."
"I go a wok?"
"Yeah. You can come to work with me. We'll pack you some little toys or something and a snack. I think we're just going over our itinerary anyway so that won't be a problem." Tom said to himself.
"Kay." Bradyn nodded and headed for his room. "I hava packpack?"
"Yeah, we'll put everything in your backpack." Tom followed him into his room and went about getting Bradyn's clothes out for the day. He got Bradyn dressed and sent him on a mission to find a few toys that would fit in his backpack to take with them while Tom went to get dressed himself.
They left the house ten minutes after Tom had wanted to leave. They drove across town to the compound where everyone was meeting. "Okay, now remember, I'm going to be working today."
"Yeah."
"And the guys are going to be there but we're working, okay? We can't play."
"Yeah, a little."
"No, we can't play at all. We have to work."
"I wok a little?"
Tom sighed and bit his lip. "Yeah, you can work a little too." Tom said as he got Bradyn out of his car seat. "And you need to be quiet in there."
"Kay."
"How does your hand feel?" He set Bradyn on the gravel driveway and reached into the car for the backpack.
"Is a owie." Bradyn frowned and looked at the bandage.
"Does it hurt?"
"Yeah."
"Do you want more medicine?"
"No. Is ucky."
"No it's not and it'll make you feel better." Tom looked at his watch. "Actually, you shouldn't need any for another hour or so." He said softly. "We'll give you some later, okay?"
"Kay." Bradyn shrugged and pulled at the hem of his shirt. "Go inside?"
"Yeah." Tom put his hand on Bradyn's head to make sure he was out of the way when he shut the car door. He scooped the little boy up and headed into the studio. Tom's stomach did a cartwheel as he heard the voices inside. He wasn't sure how the guys would react to seeing Bradyn there at all, never mind with a bandaged hand. His questions were answered when they walked in the door and waved to Gustav, the first guy they saw.
"Daddy, dow." Bradyn wiggled until Tom set him on the floor.
"Hey, Bray, what's happening?" Gustav asked as he jumped off the bar stool and trotted over to the door.
"Hava owie." Bradyn's bottom lip stuck out as he held up his hand.
"What happened?" Gustav looked up at Tom quickly.
"Mommy say she-" Bradyn started.
"Did she hurt him? What happened?" Gustav interrupted Bradyn as his ears flashed red with instant anger.
"No, she didn't hurt him. I-"
"Daddy put my owie ina door." Bradyn sighed and held his hand up again.
"You put his hand in the door?" Gustav looked more shocked by the second.
"No! I didn't put it there! It was an accident." Tom shook his head. "He was getting into the car and I didn't see him."
"You shut his hand in the car door?" Gustav asked as he knelt beside Bradyn. "Are you okay, buddy?"
"It was an accident." Tom repeated.
"I kay. I hava sicker." Bradyn showed off the old superman sticker that Tom had been taping to the new bandages.
"That's cool." Gustav nodded then stood up. "Is it broken?"
"No. It's not broken. He just has stitches in his finger." Tom's stomach tumbled at the thought. "We had it x-rayed and everything."
"Was she there?"
"She?"
"His Mom."
"Oh, no. She was supposed to come by and see him but she wasn't there on time so we decided to leave and that's when it happened. Tayla was there though. She drove to the hospital and sat with him while they, uh- While they stitched him up."
"Well, that's good she was there. You would have passed out."
"I almost did." Tom nodded with a small smile.
"So she just didn't show up again, huh?"
"Apparently, she showed up after we left but still we didn't leave until she was already more than an hour late."
"Damn." Gustav shook his head. "Why'd she even bother coming here?"
"Day trips to the beach and amusement parks." Tom shrugged.
"What a bitc-" Gustav stopped himself as Bradyn let go of Tom's hand and walked toward the door leading to the studio. "Seriously."
"Yeah, well." Tom sighed.
"But Bradyn's okay?"
"He's a drama queen." Tom laughed lightly. "But yeah, he's okay."
"Bradyn? A drama queen? How'd that happen?" Gustav rolled his eyes and followed Bradyn into the studio.
"What happened?" Bill asked as he jumped up off the floor. He reached for Bradyn and picked him up to plant a quick kiss on his forehead. "What happened to your hand?"
"Daddy, hava owie on me." Bradyn explained with his bottom lip in the well practiced pout.
"What?" Bill looked to Bradyn as Georg walked over to see what the fuss was about.
"What'd you do?" Georg asked.
"It was an accident. Bradyn was getting in the car and I didn't see him-" Tom took a deep breath.
"Put my owie ina door." Bradyn sighed.
"You shut his hand in the car door?" Bill asked as Georg winced noticeably with his hands over his stomach.
"Motherfu-" Georg started to swear before the words melted away into a cough. "Ouch."
"Yeah, isa owie." Bradyn nodded and held his hand out to Bill. "I supaman now."
"That's a cool sticker." Bill nodded and looked at Tom. "Is he okay?"
"He's fine. He got a few stitches and he has to take Tylenol every few hours but, yeah, he's cool."
"Nothing's broken?"
"No." Tom shook his head. "We got it x-rayed at the emergency room and they said nothing was broken. He's moving his hand around just fine. It's just that finger."
"His middle one, huh?" Georg smirked. "He'll have fun showing off the scar."
"Scar?" Tom said softly. He hadn't thought of that. "You think it'll scar?"
"Yeah." Gustav said as he reached up and pointed. "You see that little triangle thing there by my ear? I got that when I was a year old. My sister knocked me into the corner of our screen door and I bashed my head open."
"That explains a lot about you, Gustav." Bill laughed and set Bradyn on the ground again.
"Shut it." Gustav smacked Bill across the back of his head.
"It won't scar that bad." Georg said as he pat Tom's back. He'd been the only one who caught the look of guilt in Tom's eyes at the word scar.
"I hope not."
"Scars are cool." Georg laughed. "You feeling okay, Bray? Does your dad have you looped up on drugs now?"
"He's on Children's Tylenol." Tom said again. "He's not looped."
"You should give him a shot of whiskey. Just like, four drops and the kid wouldn't be feeling any pain." Georg joked as he sat in the recliner chair.
"Yeah, I'll just ruin his pint sized liver." Tom rolled his eyes and set Bradyn's bag on the couch at the back of the studio. "So anyway, he's gonna hang out here with us today. Is that okay?"
"That's cool with me." Gustav nodded as he went to his own backpack and took his DS out. "Here you go, Bradyn. You can play with this if you want."
"Cool."
"Yeah, it's cool." Gustav turned it on and set it on the couch as Bradyn climbed up.
"Where's David?" Tom asked looking around. He was ready to get down to work and there were several people missing from the mental roll call he was doing in his head.
"He was taking a call with Benjamin in the office." Bill shrugged.
"I'm here." David called as he trotted into the studio in his warm up outfit. "I'm here. What'd I miss?"
"Tom shut Bradyn's hand in the door." Georg said without looking up from the binder on the desk. They were each given a binder to write down ideas and take notes, though usually they just had scribbles and doodles in them.
"What? Is he okay?" David stopped smiling and scanned the studio. "When?" He asked when he spotted Tom by the couch.
"The day before yesterday." Tom sighed and licked his lips.
"Shit! Why didn't you call?" David sat on the couch by Bradyn. "Hey, can I see your hand?"
"Isa owie." Bradyn said as he put his hand on David's knee.
"I see that. You have it bandaged up pretty good there."
"Yeah."
"He's got six stitches."
"You took him to the hospital?" David asked.
"Well, he didn't stitch him himself." Gustav laughed and spun around in the office chair.
"No, I mean-" David looked up at Tom. "He's okay?"
"Yeah. Tayla took us to the emergency room and he got x-rayed and stitched up. Nothing's broken."
"That's good." David's brow remained knitted as he looked down at Bradyn. He reached to mess his hair. "You have to be careful around cars, huh?"
"Yeah." Bradyn nodded the picked up the DS and played it single-handed.
"He's lucky nothing broke. My dad slammed my hand in the car door when I was nine and I broke my finger."
"He's one lucky little guy." Tom nodded, then fell into his seat beside Georg's. "We need to get to work though. We have a lot of catching up to do."
"And whose fault is that?" Bill raised his eyebrow at Tom. "I think someone here might have requested a few days off to play house."
"And I think someone else might have taken those same days and gone to the beach to fuck around on jet skis." Gustav raised his eyebrow at Bill. "Don't try to play it off like you were all ready to work and Tom wanted a day off."
"Two days."
"Fine. Whatever. It's my fault." Tom sighed. "So now we have to get down to work. If you guys wanna just play around today, that's fine but I'm getting this stuff done."
"We're on a deadline. There will be no playing around." Benjamin said seriously.
"Ben, Ben, Bo-Ben. Banana Fanna Fo-Fen. Fee Fie Fo Fen. Ben!" Gustav sang as he spun around in the chair again.
"Well, look who we have here. Bradyn, how's it hanging?"
"I hava owie." Bradyn stuck his bottom lip out and offered his hand to Benjamin.
"Whoa, what happened?" Benjamin looked to Tom for the answer.
Tom took a deep breath and began. "It was-"
"It was an accident. Tom shut his hand in the car door but nothing's broken and he has stitches but he's fine." Bill cut him off as he waved his hands through the air. "I'm gonna buy you a shirt that says that."
"Don't be a brat." Gustav stopped spinning long enough to smack Bill's butt and laugh.
"Oooh, baby. Hit me again." Bill put an innocent look on his face and stuck his butt in Gustav's direction again. "You know you wanna."
"Get out of here, you perv." Gustav slapped Bill again and they both burst out laughing.
"Okay, okay. Gather around. We have work to do. Georg? Can I have a minute of your time?" He waved Georg over from the couch and tapped his papers on his thigh.
When they were all sitting or standing around Benjamin and David and giving them their undivided attention, David got down to business. They worked through the morning and went over their busy schedule for when they would be recording on the road. Since they'd be using different producers for almost every new song, they had to coordinate schedules with them as well so things were getting a little nerve wracking.
When they got to scheduling New York, they were all interested and upbeat about it. "Do we get any kind of free time there?" Bill asked with a wide grin. "American Idiot is playing and Nadiehn really wants to see it."
"We don't have any free days but-"
"Oh, come on! We can't get one free day in the city?" Bill rolled his eyes and didn't listen to the rest of what David was saying.
"But you'll have most of your nights free. You can hit an evening show if you'd like."
"Yeah but matinee's are better. More casual and stuff. Less crowds." Bill bit his lip and frowned into his lap.
"Come on, Bill." Tom sighed. "So you go to an evening show, who cares? I'm sure Nadiehn won't mind dressing up and going out after."
"Oooh, watch out, Bill. You don't want to piss Tom off. He might accidentally shut your hand in the door." Georg joked and bumped shoulders with Gustav.
"Hey." Gustav and Bill said in unison as Tom inhaled sharply.
"Knock it off." Gustav frowned and smacked at the back of Georg's head.
"That's not funny." Bill shook his head.
"It was an accident." Georg sighed and ran his hands through his hair.
"It's okay." Tom said softly as he took a deep breath.
"Focus, guys. We're almost done." David tapped his pencil against his binder to bring their attention back to their schedule.
"Come here, buddy." Tom held his hand out for Bradyn who was looking bored on the couch. "We're almost done."
"Daddy, we go." Bradyn whined.
"In a minute."
"Now." Bradyn whined loudly as Tom pulled him onto his lap.
"We can't go now. We have a little more work to do." Tom whispered as David went back to their schedule for New York.
"No wok. We go bye."
"In a minute." Tom whispered. "Shhh, we'll go in a minute."
Bradyn's frown was set deep as he glared up at Tom. "I go now."
"Not now, Bradyn. We'll be done in a minute."
"I doe like you." Bradyn said with tears in his eyes as he slid off Tom's lap. Everyone in the room heard Bradyn's little words and sat soundlessly as Bradyn sniffed dramatically and walked over to where Bill was sitting. "I see Pie appo."
"Hey, Bray." Bill picked Bradyn up and held him on his lap with a quick look at the others. Tom's eyes shifted quickly as he licked his lips and blushed all the way to his ears. For the rest of their meeting, Bradyn rested his head on Bill's shoulder and no one but David spoke. Tom watched with an almost jealous stare and a knot in his stomach. Bradyn had always loved his uncles and Tom was grateful to have them be such a great part of his life but seeing Bradyn choose his twin brother over him hurt in a way that Tom never expected.
----------------
"I'm sorry, Tom." Bill said quickly as the meeting ended and they all stood up to leave."No, it's okay." Tom shook his head and tried to force a smile as he reached for Bradyn. "Come on, buddy. Let's go home."
"No." Bradyn's frown hadn't changed at all.
"You don't want to go home?"
"I see Chase an Jayda." Bradyn said into Bill's chest.
"We can't go see them right now."
"Yeah."
"No, let's go see Lucy. We can give her a treat." Tom put his hands under Bradyn's arms.
"No!" Bradyn shouted and swatted at Tom with his good hand.
Tom stopped suddenly and looked at Bill with an even deeper blush.
"Do you want me to put him in the car?" Bill asked quietly.
"Uh, yeah. Sure." Tom turned and disarmed his car to unlock the doors. "There. He's in the back behind my seat.
"No. I go wiss Pie appo!" Bradyn protested when Bill opened the car door.
"You have to go home with your Daddy." Bill shook his head as he tried to put Bradyn in his seat. Bradyn's fingers held tight to Bill's shirt as the tears started.
"I doe like!"
"You don't have to like it but you have to go." Bill pried Bradyn's hands loose and set him in his seat. Bradyn's feet lashed out and kicked wildly at the driver's seat in front of him as he continued to throw a fit.
"I'll strap him in." Tom stepped in as Bill looked helpless. "Thanks." He smiled quickly at Bill to let him know he wasn't upset. "Bradyn. Settle down."
"No!"
"Yes." Tom remained calm as he held Bradyn down and strapped him into his seat.
"I doe like you!" Bradyn shouted with a deep-set frown.
Tom sighed and ran his hand over his face as he shook his head. With the little boy still kicking and crying, Tom shut the car door to block out the sounds.
"Whoa. What was that?" Georg asked from the door of the studio.
"He's having a little fit." Tom shrugged and tried to look like it didn't bother him while inside his mind was reeling.
"He doesn't like you?" Georg tried not to smile.
"Apparently not." Tom cleared his throat and pursed his lips. "But, you know, he's had a rough few days."
"He doesn't mean it." Bill said softly as Georg walked over to where they were standing. "I mean, all kids say that."
"I know."
"But, hey, who wouldn't like Bill better?" Georg laughed and slapped Bill on the back.
"Shut up, Georg." Bill said softly but smiled nonetheless.
"I'd better go. I have to finish dealing with this." Tom nodded toward the car.
"Viel glück." Georg smiled and shook his head. "You know what that is right there?" He asked Bill.
"Hmm?"
"Birth control."
"Hey." Tom frowned as he reached for the driver's side door handle.
"Don't get me wrong. I love the kid more than anything but he reminds me that I'm definitely not ready for anything like that." Georg shook his head and laughed.
Tom smiled back and sighed. "I hear ya."
"Viel glück." Bill waved as Tom braved the wild unknown and opened the car door. Bradyn's howling was amplified once the door opened and both Bill and Georg winced.
Tom shut the car door then turned around and said something to Bradyn before starting the car. "That's gonna be a long ride home." Bill sighed.
"Yeah, it is." Georg laughed and slapped Bill on the back. "Oh, well. See you tomorrow, right?"
"Yeah, one more day until the weekend."
"You have plans?"
"Nadiehn does, yeah. I think we're doing wedding stuff. She said it's a surprise but she's been talking to caterers all week."
"Did you set a date yet?"
"No." Bill shook his head. "But apparently you don't need a date if you're just looking."
"I'm glad it's you and not me." Georg laughed and squeezed Bill's shoulder. "Seriously. Nadiehn's great and all but-"
"I know." Bill smiled and blushed. "I'm glad it's me too."
Georg leaned back and gave Bill a look that said he must be crazy. "You're hooked." He said finally.
"Yeah."
"I hope it's not contagious." Georg quickly removed his hands and laughed all the way to his car. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"See ya." Bill chuckled and opened his car door as he looked down the long driveway wondering just how far Tom and Bradyn had gone and if Tom was still holding it all together.
----------------
From the time they pulled out of the driveway until they were halfway home, Bradyn screamed in the backseat. First he wanted to go see Bill, then he changed his mind and he wanted to go play with Gustav. When Tom explained that he couldn't do either because they were going home, Bradyn kicked it up a notch and started in with the blood curdling shrieks. For a few minutes, Tom drove in stunned silence. "How is it possible that a child so small can make such noise?"Tom could feel his blood start to boil when Bradyn began to kick the back of his seat and shout that he wanted out of his seat. Having remained relatively calm for the first part of the drive, Tom came to the end of his rope. "What is wrong with you?!" Tom shouted to be heard over his son. He cranked the car stereo up as loud as he could stand it but somehow Bradyn was louder than that. "You are making me insane!" Bradyn gave one final kick to the back of Tom's chair as he flailed his fists in the air and stared Tom down in the rear view mirror before slowly sticking his tongue between his lips. The defiant look he gave his Father was enough to spring Tom into action.
Tom jerked the steering wheel to the side and pulled over on the shoulder of the highway. He turned on his hazard blinkers, set his emergency brake and took the keys out of the ignition before he stepped out of the car. Bradyn's screaming followed him outside so Tom leaned back into the car and shouted, "If you keep this up I'm going to send you to live with your Mom! Do you want that?! Do you?! I've had it, Bradyn! One more minute of this and I swear to God, you're on the next plane to California. ALONE!" He slammed the car door and walked quickly to the back of the car where it was safer. The sound of traffic drowned out the sound of Bradyn in the car and somehow calmed Tom down enough so that he didn't literally pull his hair out.
He ran his fingers between his braids and puffed out his cheeks as he blew out his breath. His words echoed through his mind like some horrible soap opera and he couldn't believe they'd come from his own lips. He hadn't meant a word of it but anger took control and offered up the cruel threats without his consent. A dozen deep breaths later, Tom's pulse slowed to an almost normal pace and he was able to think about what he should do next. There was a voice in Tom's head that told him he needed to call someone, anyone, to have them come and get him but his phone was in the car and he wasn't at the point where he thought he could go back inside and remain level headed.
"I am losing my mind. I am seriously losing my mind." Tom grumbled to himself as he looked around at the cars zipping by and the clouds overhead. "I'm going crazy and I've probably just scarred my kid for life. Great. Good going, Tom." He paced behind the car as he talked to himself.
After a solid ten minutes of watching cars rush by and staring at the sky to clear his head, Tom finally took one last breath and went back to the driver's side of the car. Before he opened the door he could hear Bradyn crying inside. Tom opened the door and climbed in quickly. "We're going home now and when we get there, you're taking a nap."
"NO!" Bradyn shouted from the back seat as his breaths came in short, hysterical bursts.
"Yes." Tom carefully merged into the traffic and headed home. Somehow he blocked out Bradyn's screaming and focused only on the road ahead of him. Two exits before their house, Tom noticed that the car was quiet. Only the sound of the tires on the pavement could be heard above the engine. Tom frowned and looked in the rear view mirror to make sure Bradyn was okay.
The little boy was slumped over in his seat with damp cheeks and sweat soaked hair. His breaths came in short, wet hiccups and Tom's heart skipped a beat seeing how innocent and sweet Bradyn looked when he was asleep. "Great." Tom ran his hand through his braids again and drove the rest of the way home in silence.
He left Bradyn in his car seat in the car with the windows and the door to the house open so that he would hear if the little boy woke up. Tom licked his lips as he walked into the kitchen, he needed to hear a grown up voice and he needed to know that he had done the right thing. He called the one person he knew who would tell him what he needed to hear and waited anxiously as the phone rang thousands of miles away in Tayla's Connecticut home.
"Hello?" Tayla asked with a hint of annoyance. She'd taken a half dozen hang up calls while she tried to rest on her couch.
"Hey, you." Tom smiled. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah." She smiled quickly, glad to hear his voice. "We've had like a hundred hang up calls today and I was getting tired of them."
"I bet." He nodded and sighed. "So what are you up to?"
"Not much. I'm lying on the couch watching Friends reruns."
"I've never seen that show." Tom smiled as he felt himself relax into the small talk that she was so good at.
"Seriously? You've never seen Friends? It's quite possibly the funniest TV show of all time." Tayla smiled and put the remote on the table in front of her.
"Really? I'll have to check it out."
"But anyway, I'm sure you didn't call to get the Friends synopsis for today." Tayla tucked her feet under her and pulled the blanket over her legs. The TV was already muted so she watched the action with no sound.
" I was just calling to say hi."
"How was work?"
"Work was good. I took Bradyn with me because I just don't think he's ready for school yet. With his finger, I mean, but he had a complete meltdown after."
"Uh oh. A meltdown over what?" Tayla asked carefully.
"He wanted to leave but we weren't done yet so I told him we had to wait a minute."
"Uh huh?"
"Well, apparently he doesn't like me." Tom chuckled under his breath softly.
"Oh, wow."
"Yeah. So he told me he doesn't like me and he went and sat with Bill for the rest of the meeting."
"Ouch."
"Yeah."
"Was he okay after?"
"Not exactly. He wouldn't let me carry him to the car so Bill had to put him in his seat. Then he kept kicking and screaming and everything." He slowly worked up to the real reason for his call as his hands began to sweat.
"The terrible twos are coming late for him, huh?"
"I guess so." Tom sighed. "He's had fits before but this time it was just like- I don't know. The stress from the last week or whatever with Astrid has just- It made me crazy."
"You?"
"Yeah."
"Are you okay?" Tayla asked slowly.
Tom paused before he said yeah. "I'm, uh- Well, when we- On the way home he was screaming so loud my ears were ringing so I pulled over on the freeway and told him if he didn't stop screaming I was going to send him to live with his Mom." Once he started, it came out in a rushed river of words.
"Tom." Tayla whispered as she closed her eyes and rested her head in her hands.
"I know."
"You shouldn't threaten him like that."
"I know." Tom shook his head as he rested it in his hands.
"I mean-"
"No, I know." Tom sighed. "I can't believe I said it. Trust me. I mean, the last person he should be afraid of going to live with is his Mom. Even if I don't like her, you know?"
"I know what you mean." Tayla bit her lip and continued to frown.
"I was just mad, I guess. I've never wanted to spank him before but I was so close to my wits end I felt like I could have." Tayla kept silent on her end of the phone. "I didn't spank him or anything but I let him freak out in the car while I stood outside and took about a hundred deep breaths."
"On the side of the freeway?"
"Yeah."
"Well, that's-"
"I did the right thing though, right?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, I gave myself a time out or whatever. That was the right thing to do, right?" Tom asked softly. "I know I shouldn't have left him alone in the car while he was freaking out but I didn't go far. I was right there."
"No, Tom, that's fine."
"If I stayed in the car I was going to drive us off the road."
"Tom, you did the right thing." Tayla lowered her voice and tried to sound reassuring.
"But have I ruined him for life? I can't believe I told him I'd make him go live with his Mom if he didn't stop screaming. And I really can't believe I almost completely lost my cool with him. Damn, Tayla, I've probably traumatized him."
Tayla tried not to smile, "He's a great kid, Tom, but even great kids have their moments. You did the right thing by pulling over to cool off and I doubt he'll even remember your threat to send him to LA."
"I hope not." Tom rested his head in his hands. "I still- I just can't shake this feeling. My stomach is all in knots."
"Is he okay now?"
"Yeah. He was still crying when I got back in the car but he fell asleep five minutes later. He's in his car seat sleeping it off."
"Well, wait and see how he is when he wakes up."
"What if he freaks again? What- What do I do?"
"I don't know." Tayla answered honestly.
"If he cries for Bill, do I call him and have him come over?"
"You can."
"But what if he just freaks out and just keeps screaming again?"
"Tom, I don't know, honey. I haven't dealt with that before." She wished she could be there to help but she wasn't sure what she could do that Tom couldn't do on his own. "You can always call your Mom. I'm sure she'd know."
"Are you implying that I was a screamer?"
"I'm sure you and Bill had your moments." She smiled. "Bradyn will be fine, Tom. Kids are resilient. I'm willing to bet he'll wake up in a much quieter mood."
Tom sighed with relief. "Thank you. Really. I was freaking out. I seriously can't believe I lost it like that though. I'll have to apologize."
Tayla smiled and pinched her bottom lip. "Yeah. You could do that."
"But if this is how he's going to be next week while we're traveling, I might just have to send him to my Mom's or something."
"Just wait and see. He'll probably be fine."
"I hope so."
"And don't worry so much. I'm positive you didn't ruin him for life."
"Thanks." Tom laughed softly. "That's good to know."
"You know, not to scare you to death or anything, but this is basically nothing. He's two. Just wait until he's fifteen."
"I'm not even going there."
"And he asks to borrow your car-" Tayla laughed.
"Never."
"To take a girl out on a date-"
"Stop." Tom laughed and felt himself relax a bit. "I get the picture."
"You have plenty of time to stress over Bradyn. This is the first major freak out session but definitely not the last."
Tom sighed and licked his lips. "I don't know how parents do it. How can you be a good parent when your kid is screaming bloody murder in the backseat for no good reason?"
"You know what good parents do?"
"What?"
"They pull over and put themselves on a time out."
Tom's stomach flip-flopped in a good way and he smiled. "I love you."
Tayla laughed softly. "I love you too."
"Damn, I wish you were here."
"I just left."
"I know."
"And I'm going to see you next week in New York."
"I know but that's not right here, right now."
"It's only a few more days."
"Blah, blah, blah. I still wish you were here."
"I will be soon." She laughed and turned the volume up just a bit. "In fact, I should probably go pack."
"You probably should." Tom agreed. "You leave Monday?"
"No, you guys leave Monday but I won't be there until Tuesday afternoon. I have stuff to do around here. And stuff."
"And stuff?"
"Yeah."
"Okay." Tom sighed softly. "But then you're staying with us until when?"
"I'm going to San Francisco with you."
"Really?"
"Yeah. We leave the same day but my flight leaves after yours."
"And you're flying home to?"
"Here. Connecticut."
"Okay."
Tayla smiled. They'd already been over her plans twice but she knew he'd call again and ask about them one more time before she was slated to leave. "You'll get undivided Tayla attention for almost two weeks."
"Wow."
"You're so lucky."
"I am." He said softly. "Very, very lucky."
Tayla blushed and took a deep breath. "So you're doing okay now?"
"I'm fine." Tom licked his lips and realized he actually was a lot better with Tayla on the phone.
"Okay, then I'm going to let you go."
"You're gonna go finish watching Friends?"
"This is a good one. It's the leather pants episode. It's my favorite." Tayla laughed. "You don't know what you're missing."
"I'll take your word for it." He laughed with her again and sighed. "Okay, Süße. I'll see you in a few days then."
"Yeah, I'll see you Tuesday."
"I'll call you before then though."
"Okay."
"Love you."
"Love you too." Tayla smiled slowly and waited until she heard him hang up before she clicked her phone off and set it aside. She turned the volume up on the TV and settled in for the rest of the show while her mind wandered back to Tom as always.
----------------
Tayla watched the rest of the Friends marathon and didn't start packing until the next afternoon while Kaelah was at work. She stood in her closet and sighed. It'd been four hours and she'd already done a load of laundry and organized her closet twice. Packing was her least favorite thing to do so she stalled as long as she could."Okay, fine. Moving on then." She pulled a box down from the top of her closet and put it beside the still empty suitcase. Within minutes, she'd torn her closet apart again and began packing things she rarely used. "It'll eventually have to be packed anyway, right? Whether or not you move in with him." She grumbled to herself as she shoved her swim suits into the box beside her sundresses that she hadn't worn in more than a year.
"Tayla?" She heard her roommate call from the front room as the door slammed.
"In here!" Tayla shouted back.
"What are-" Kaelah stopped in the doorway and frowned at the clothes strewn everywhere. "You're packing?"
"Yeah. I'm going to New York with Tom." Tayla nodded.
"And you need your swim suit? And your roller blades?" She watched as Tayla put the roller blades on top of the box.
Tayla sighed and sat back on her heels. She didn't know how to say it. She wished Kaelah could just know.
"Oh my God. You're moving in with him?!" Kaelah's face practically burst with a smile. "Are you serious?! When?!"
"No, I-" Tayla stopped and stood up slowly. "I've- He asked me to move in with him but I haven't told him yes or no yet."
"What?! Tayla, you're insane."
"There's more to- To the whole thing. It's not just moving in with a boyfriend." Tayla shook her head.
"No, it's moving in with your incredibly gorgeous and rich boyfriend who just happens to one of the most famous people in the world." Kaelah rolled her eyes.
"No, but he has Bradyn and issues with his Mom."
"Tom's Mom? She always seemed so nice." Kaelah frowned then bit her lip in concentration.
"Bradyn's Mom." Tayla corrected her. "Listen, you can't say anything. I haven't really decided yet but if I do move out, it'll probably be after the New Year."
"The New Year?"
"Well, yeah. I mean- I'd want to spend Christmas here with my family and everything." Tayla shrugged and put some of her other shoes in the box next to her roller blades. "And I still have to think about it."
"But you're packing." Kaelah smiled at the boxes.
"Yeah."
"So you're seriously thinking about it."
"Yeah." Tayla smiled though she tried not to. "Yeah. I want to. I know I do but I just-" She sighed. "I just don't know for sure yet. If it was the right time there'd be no question."
"Okay. Fair enough." Kaelah smiled. "Just give me fair warning though because if you move out I'm gonna have to find another roommate. Shit, the chances of me finding one who pays half the rent and is gone for months at a time are slim to none." She laughed and leaned into the room.
"I'll give you plenty of warning." Tayla nodded and felt her stomach tighten into a knot. "As soon as I know what I want to do, I'll tell you."
"Okay."
"But in the meantime, I do have to pack for New York." Tayla sighed and looked down at her empty suitcase. "I have way too much junk."
"Just focus on the stuff you need for New York and ignore the rest."
"I don't know what I want to take though."
"Well, what are you doing there?"
"I don't know."
"Are you there for fun or for work?"
"Um, both kind of. The guys are there for work. They're recording, I think. So I'll be kind of working with them but then in their free time Tom was talking like it'd be a mini-vacation or something."
"Hmm."
"So, jeans?"
"That'll work." Kaelah nodded. "But bring something nice too, just in case."
"Okay."
"And warm clothes."
"Of course." Tayla nodded and turned back to her closet. "Ugh, I don't want to pack. I'm tired of looking at clothes."
"Do you want me to pack for you?" Kaelah smiled devilishly and eyed Tayla's closet.
"No, thanks. I'll do it."
"When are you leaving?"
"Tuesday morning."
"You'd better get a move on it then."
"I know." Tayla laughed and sat on her bed. "I need a vacation. A real vacation. I need to go to the Bahamas or something and just be by myself. I swear, I feel like I've been around people non-stop for the last year."
"You have."
"I know. I need three days to just be alone."
"Well, you're not gonna get that here. I'll be here all week."
"That's okay." Tayla smiled. "We never get to hang out anymore. We should go get a movie or something."
"Yeah. But first you need to pack and stuff." Kaelah pointed to the suitcase. "But only New York stuff."
"Got it." Tayla put her hands on her hips and sighed.
Kaelah paused for a second then shook her head. "I can't believe you're moving in with him. So, so, so many girls are going to hate you."
"So many already do."
"Yeah but seriously. If you move in, it's going to be nuts. You're going to officially be his live-in girlfriend. And I can say I know you!" She bounced in the doorway and tried not to giggle too much.
"You can say you know me now."
"Well, yeah. And don't think I don't tell people I know you now." Kaelah grinned and shook her head. "Of course most people I know don't care really."
"And most people probably won't care after I move in either."
"Hmm. Well, I'm going to have to go make some teenie friends then." She laughed then stepped out of the room. "Anyway, I'll leave you to pack."
"Thanks."
"Do you want me to make some popcorn or something? Are you hungry?"
"No, thanks. I'm good."
"Diet Dr. Pepper?"
"Ooo, actually that'd be great."
"Okay." Kaelah smiled and went to retrieve the drink for Tayla. When she returned Tayla drank half of it in one shot then set it down on her dresser to pack up her clothes for New York.
She sighed heavily and stared at her clothes. With the weather varying from New York to Toronto to San Francisco, Tayla had a packing dilemma. She stared at her clothes for a few more minutes before she started pulling them out and laying them on her bed in a haphazard way with pants in the middle and tops in different categories around them.
After more than an hour, she still hadn't put anything more than her under clothes and pajamas into her suitcase and she wasn't looking forward to tackling the rest. With the clothes covering her bed, she'd have to finish up before it got too late or she'd end up sleeping on the couch. Her cell phone rang on the nightstand and she dove for it. Any excuse to stop packing for a moment was good enough for her. Seeing Tom's number on the caller ID panel only made her smile broader. "Hey, baby." Tayla laughed and fell back on her bed, wrinkling all the clothes she'd just set out. "Perfect timing."
"Uh oh. What are you supposed to be doing?"
"I'm packing and I hate it so you're saving me." Tayla laughed.
"I see."
"Are you packed?"
"Yeah. I did that this morning."
"You're amazing."
"I keep telling people that." Tom laughed.
"So how'd work go?"
"Good." He shrugged. "We just went over the plans for the next few weeks, stuff like that. Last minute changes."
"Changes?"
"Nothing major. We just flip flopped some meetings and appearances."
"Okay." Tayla sighed and pulled her folded jeans from under her ribs. "How's Bradyn?"
"He's fine."
"No more screaming?"
"No." Tom laughed and ran his hand through his hair. "No, I'm hoping yesterday was an isolated event."
"You're optimistic."
"Yeah, well."
"Did he choose Bill again?"
"No. He hung out with Seppel all day and practically ignored everyone else."
"That's good then. He'll be hanging out with Seppel a lot over the next few weeks, won't he?"
"Yeah. Seppel and you and me. Just like old times."
"Fun."
"It will be, yeah." Tom sighed. "So I was just calling to say hi and see how your day went."
"Well, hi." Tayla smiled. "And my day went well. I just-" She looked around the room at the three boxes of packed things that most certainly were not going to New York with her. "I packed a little."
"It's taken you all day and you're not packed yet?" Tom laughed and shook his head as he relaxed into the corner of the couch."
"Hey. You have your methods, I have mine." She blushed and tried to change the subject. "What are you doing this weekend?"
"Um, Georg's having a barbecue thing at his house again. So I think we'll all be over there tomorrow. Then Sunday? I don't know. We'll probably just kick back at home and get things ready to be gone for two weeks."
"Is Kitsune coming to watch the house?"
"Yeah."
"That's cool."
"Yeah, well now that we have Lucy I need someone to play with her and feed her and everything."
"True."
"I have to tell you, she's the best thing I've done in a while."
"What?" Tayla laughed.
"I mean-" Tom laughed and blushed though she couldn't see him. "I mean buying her. That was the best thing ever. You knew what I meant."
"Well, I wasn't sure."
"You've been spending too much time with Gustav and his dirty mind."
"No, I haven't." She laughed with him.
"You need to go pack."
"I know."
"And I need to go do dishes."
"Okay."
"So I'll let you go."
"You don't want to talk to me anymore?" Tayla pretended to pout.
"No. You're too weird for me."
"Oh, stop."
"You are."
"You love me anyway."
"Well, yeah, of course I do." Tom smiled slowly. "I'll see you Tuesday afternoon."
"I'll call you when I'm on my way."
"Call before that."
"Okay."
"Call tomorrow."
"Yes, sir."
"Now that's what I like to hear." Tom laughed and ran his fingers over his bottom lip. "Good night, baby. I'll talk to you soon."
"Good night."
"I love you."
"I love you too. Give Bradyn a kiss for me."
"I will." Tom blew a kiss over the phone line and sighed as he waited for her to hang up. Tuesday couldn't come fast enough for him.
----------------
"Hey, baby." Tayla giggled into the phone when Tom answered his cell phone Tuesday afternoon."Hey! Where are you? Are you here yet?"
"No, I'm at the airport." Tayla smiled as she leaned into the payphone area and dropped her voice. "Are you ready?"
"Absolutely." Tom laughed. "I can't come to the airport to get you but David will meet you at the gate."
"David is there?"
"Yeah. He's only staying with us while we're in New York. But anyway, he'll be there to get you and bring you back here to the hotel."
"Sounds good."
"Do you have a lot of luggage?"
"Not really, just the one suitcase. Why?"
"Just asking."
"I'm planning on doing laundry while we're running around."
"Cool. See? That's why you get paid the big bucks. You think to wash the clothes where I just throw them away when I'm done with them."
"You're strange, sweetie." She laughed as her flight was called. "They're starting to board the flight so I'm gonna go. See you in a few hours."
"Two?"
"Something like that." Tayla smiled. "The flight is one hour and ten minutes, I think. Once we take off and land and get my luggage then drive to the hotel, yeah, about two hours."
"Okay. Fly safe."
"I will."
"Tell the pilot to."
"Okay. I'll pass that along."
"Good." Tom smiled. "Love you. See you in a few."
"I love you too. Bye." She hung up and tried not to bounce around like a teenager in love as she headed for the gate.
----------------
The flight into New York was quick and uneventful but Tayla's stomach was still in knots as she stepped off the plane. She looked around for David's familiar face and started to worry when she didn't see him immediately. With her backpack in her hand and her carry on duffel bag over her shoulder she stood off to the side and tried to look comfortable as she scanned the crowd.Within minutes the waiting area cleared of all but a few people and Tayla was left standing there looking out the windows as she wracked her brain to try to remember what hotel they were staying at. "Tayla!" David yelled from fifty feet away.
Tayla looked in the direction of the person calling her name and smiled. "There you are!"
"I'm sorry I'm late. I forgot about how bad driving in the city and parking are here. It's crazy. Have you been waiting long?" He slowed to a fast walk as he got to her and took her bag from her.
"No, not long."
"Good. I'm sorry about that."
"It's okay."
"So is this all?" He looked at her two small bags.
"No, I have a suitcase. I pack light but come on." She laughed and put her backpack on over her shoulders. "Where are the guys?"
"They're actually back at the hotel until about seven or seven thirty when they have to run down the street to the studio."
"The studio is just down the street?"
"Yeah. The guys love it because they can walk outside but it's a security mess."
"I bet."
"And taking a car two blocks is just stupid. That's such a diva thing to do."
"Well, you know, David, they are four little divas."
"Honey, don't get me started." David laughed as he stepped on the escalator. They got her bag and trudged out to the rental car. He loaded all of her bags into the back seat and drove across town to the hotel. A pack of girls were crowding the sidewalk, which was normal, and the one sure way to identify which hotel the guys were staying in.
"Oh joy." Tayla bit her lip nervously as she looked out the window on their first drive by.
"Yeah, tell me about it." David sighed. "We'll valet the car and go in as quick as we can."
"Okay. There's no side entrance, huh?"
"No. But no one knows us. We'll be safe." He laughed and pulled up at the valet stand. They got her luggage on a hotel cart then walked in quickly. Tayla kept her eyes low and tried to ignore the comments from the fans close enough to hear. They might not have recognized David but several recognized her and commented on how that was Tom's girlfriend going into the hotel.
"Hang on." David said once they got inside. He flipped open his phone and dialed quickly. When the person on the other end answered, David smiled and said, "The eagle has landed. In the lobby. Okay, I'll distract her." He laughed and hung up. "Tom, wanted to know what you got here."
"The eagle, huh?" Tayla laughed and ran her fingers through her hair.
"Yeah, he's coming down."
"Fun." She looked over her shoulder at the girls standing by the wide glass doors.
"We can go wait out of sight." David nodded to the bellhop to take her luggage up, then lead her around the corner to where the elevators were. They stood for a few minutes before the elevator dinged and Tom stepped off. He grabbed Tayla from behind and kissed her neck.
"Hey, baby."
"Hey, you." She laughed and turned around to hug him properly.
"I missed you." He kissed her quickly then turned to David. "You too, sexy man."
Tayla laughed and shook her head. "Let's get out of here. You have half your fan club out in the street."
"I know."
"Where's Bradyn?"
"Hanging out with Seppel in our room. He's wasted. He didn't get a nap today."
"Oh no."
"Yeah." Tom sighed and laced his fingers through hers. "I'm so glad you're here."
"Me too."
"Okay. Come on, kids." David stepped onto the elevator and held the doors open. "Let's go."
They rode up to the floor and headed for their own rooms. "So what did you guys do today?" Tayla asked.
"Well, when you called we were on our way to the radio station to do this little promo thing there. Me and Georg did that. Then after that we went to this designer's studio thing to get fitted for some clothes or something."
"Anthony Caputo?"
"Yeah."
"Cool. I wasn't sure they were going to be able to fit you in this week. I'm glad Tripp got you in."
Tom nodded. "So that was fun."
"I can't wait to see." Tayla smiled and gave his hand a squeeze. She was happy to see him too.
"Tayla!" Bill shouted as he ran down the hall, surprising Tom and Tayla. He ran up behind Tayla and practically jumped on her back for a piggyback ride.
"Ugh, get off me, boy! You've got a good eight times taller than me." She grunted and patted his leg that was at her hip.
"Bill. Come on." Tom frowned and smacked at his head.
"I'm just so glad to see you! I need your advice on these pants I wanna get. Georg says they're too girly but you'd be the one I trust." Bill reached for her hand. "Come look."
"She's not here for work you, freak." Tom shook his head and sighed.
"You're not?"
"Not exactly." Tayla shook her head.
"Oh, don't tell me you came all the way here to see Tom." Bill made a face, then laughed.
"I came all the way here to see Bradyn actually." Tayla smiled back as Tom put his arm around her waist.
"I bet you did." Tom kissed her cheek.
"Yeah, I see how it is. We finally get a wardrobe girl that kicks ass and Tom goes and claims her all for himself." Bill shook his head.
"This isn't new, Bill." Tayla smiled and gave him a look.
Tom looked at her and shook his head slowly. "He and Gustav had cinnamon rolls for lunch then chased them with red bull and Pez candies, I think."
"Uh oh." Tayla looked worried but amused.
"Not Pez." Bill shook his head. "Those dot things. On the paper. Buttons? Whatever they are. Those sugar dot things."
"Those are just as bad." Tayla laughed.
"So they're a little high strung. We have the day off though so we don't have to put up with them."
"BONSAI!" They suddenly heard Gustav's voice from inside one of the rooms.
Tom sighed and pulled at Tayla's hand. "We'd better get out of the hall."
"Gustav!" Bill took off running down the hall as Tayla and Tom ducked into the room on the right.
"Hey, guys." Seppel looked up from his seat in the wide recliner chair. Bradyn was curled up on his lap with an open picture book on his lap.
"Hi, Seppel! How are you?" Tayla smiled and set her bags down.
"I'm good. How about you?"
"I'm doing great, thanks. Hey buddy!" Tayla reached out to mess Bradyn's hair. "I've missed you." She lifted him off the guard's lap and gave him a hug.
"Hi." Bradyn wrapped his arms around her neck and gave her a sloppy kiss on the cheek.
"He's tired." Tom explained softly. "Trust me, this morning he was bouncing off the walls when I told him you were coming."
"Are you tired, sweetie?"
"Yeah." Bradyn yawned.
"Why don't you go ahead and lay down in the bedroom for a little bit? Do you want me to take a nap with you?"
"Yeah." Bradyn nodded and left his arms around her neck.
"Okay, that sounds good." She smiled at Tom and whispered. "I'll stay until he's asleep."
"Okay." Tom whispered back.
Seppel stood up and placed the book back on the chair then patted Bradyn's back. "I'll see you later, buddy."
"Bye, Seppel." Bradyn smiled and waved as he rested his head on Tayla's shoulder.
She carried him into the bedroom and laid on the bed beside him, sharing his grown up sized pillow. "Are you having fun in New York?" Tayla whispered in the near darkness.
"Yeah." Bradyn whispered back. "I hava owie." He held up his still bandaged hand.
"I know you do. We'll have to take that off pretty soon."
"Yeah."
"Go to sleep for a little bit, okay?"
"Kay. Anen we see Pie appo?"
"Yeah, maybe we can see Bill after you take a little nap."
"Kay." Bradyn smiled and sighed, then let his eyes droop closed. Tayla waited until he started snoring, fighting off several yawns herself, before she went out into the main room.
Tom was standing in front of the TV flipping channels with a frown on his face. "There's nothing good on."
"It's the middle of the afternoon on a Tuesday, all you'll find is trash TV."
"I know." He flipped the TV off and turned to her with a smile. "He's sleeping?"
"Yeah."
"Good, he'll get a little nap in before we have to go back to the studio."
"That's right, David said it's just right up the street, right?"
"Yeah." Tom sighed and wrapped his arms around her waist. "We had to take a break this afternoon because of technical difficulties so we're going back for a little bit."
"Fun."
"This is the life. Let me tell you." He kissed her lips once quickly, then again not so quickly. "But until then I just want to sit down. I've been on my feet all day."
"Poor, baby." Tayla gave him a pouty lip and laughed. "The couch looks comfortable."
"I wouldn't know. I was waiting for you." He laughed then fell into the corner. "Ooooh, heaven." He patted his lap. "Wanna try it?"
"Do I ever." She fell into the opposite corner and placed her feet in his lap. "Oh, you're right." She stretched her arms over her head and smiled. "Heaven."
"Feet in my lap? Yeah, that's heaven." He reached over her legs and grabbed her elbow. With one firm and swift movement, he pulled her around so that she was nestled up next to him, right where he wanted. "Much better."
"So how has Bradyn been? Any more fits?" Tayla asked as she stifled another yawn.
"Not really. Nothing on the scale of the first one." Tom shook his head. "I talked to my Mom about it last night and she said that Bill used to scream and then hold his breath until he passed out so, all in all, I think I have the better end of the deal."
"He'd pass out?"
"Yeah. The doctor said to let him do it a few times and he'd stop."
"Wow."
"Yeah, so I'm just glad Bradyn doesn't do that."
"No kidding." Tayla laughed lightly and sighed. She was so much happier around Tom. It was comforting to have his hand on her hip. Something that small was enough to completely relax her. "So does Astrid have a calling schedule for while you're on the road?" Tayla asked, though she hated to bring up the subject.
"Yeah. She's calling at the same times as before but she's calling my cell phone instead."
"That's good. That way she'll always be able to reach you."
"Yeah, that's the plan."
Tayla nodded and smiled. "At least Bradyn will still have that part of his routine to be used to."
"Yeah, that's what I was thinking. She's gotten better about calling too." Tom shifted his weight on the couch and leaned closer to Tayla. "It's like she goes through phases where she'll do really good, then for two weeks it's just like she's forgotten that she has a kid, then the next week she's back on track."
"Hmm."
"It's annoying but-" Tom shrugged. "It's better than not calling at all, you know?"
"True."
"I'm gonna see if she wants me to call her once or twice a week too. Bradyn, I mean. Because twice a week just doesn't seem like that much."
"That's what she chose though, right?"
"Well, yeah, but that was before."
"Maybe you should leave that up to her."
"I will leave it up to her but I want to put it out there so she knows the option is available." Tom smiled and kissed her cheek. "Just like with you."
"With me?"
"With my offer? I'm leaving it up to you but you know it's out there."
"Oh." She blushed. "Yes, I do."
"So see?"
"I see."
"And I don't bug you about it."
"Anymore."
"Anymore." He laughed and nodded slightly. "So what do you want to see while you're here?"
"I've already seen everything, I think."
"Where do you want to go back to then?"
"Um-" Tayla thought for a minute. "Rockefeller Center."
"Okay."
"Can we go?"
"I think we can work that out." Tom smiled. "Do you want to go out to a nice dinner or anything?"
"Sure." Tayla nodded. "I'll never turn down a nice dinner."
"A date."
"A real date." She pretended to swoon. "We haven't had one of those in a while."
"I know. We should. I'll check with the powers that be tomorrow and see if we can do that."
"Cool."
"And we'll let Bradyn's uncles watch him for the night."
"It's the least they can do." She laughed and shook her head.
"I think so." Tom sighed and pulled her close. "So what about Toronto? What do you want to see there?"
They spent the next hour and a half talking about things to do in each of the cities they were going to. Tom pulled out his schedule to see where they could fit everything in. They would be busy most of the time but they knew that once they got to Thanksgiving, they'd be off completely until after Christmas. A whole month to do absolutely anything they wanted without having to worry about meetings, studio time or making appearances.
----------------
Bradyn woke up and stumbled out into the main room as Tom was putting his schedule binder away. "Hi, Daddy.""Hey." Tom slid the binder into his backpack and scooped Bradyn up. "Did you have a good nap?"
"Yeah." He used his bandaged hand to brush his bangs out of his eyes.
"When do his stitches come out?"
"We can take him in anytime. They had to stay in for six or seven days and today it's been a week."
"You're keeping them clean and dry?"
"Yeah." Tom nodded and looked at the bandage. "As clean as we can anyway." He set Bradyn on the floor and patted his behind. "He's a little rascal."
Tayla smiled and ran her hand over Bradyn's hair. "Can you just take him to any doctor to get them out?"
"Yeah. We'll have to do that, won't we? Hmm." He frowned and thought of the schedule he'd just put away.
"I can take him if you want." Tayla offered.
"Yeah, that might be a good idea."
"Find out where I can take him and let me know when."
"Perfect." Tom leaned over Bradyn and kissed Tayla quickly. "I need to get ready to go now though."
"Tayla can see my mamimals?"
"Your animals? I'd love to see them, sweetie." She smiled as Bradyn took her hand and pulled her into the bedroom. "I'm going to go see his animals. Let me know when you're ready to go." She said to Tom with a smile. Bradyn took her to the bed by the window where his menagerie of stuffed animals was laid out across the pillows. "Wow!"
"Yeah, is a jungle."
"It sure is." Tayla laughed and pulled Lello from the pile. "There are dogs in the jungle?"
"Yeah, Lello."
"He's a brave little doggie."
"Yeah." Bradyn sighed. He took Lello from her and set him back in his place between a teddy bear and a small grasshopper. "I pay wiss my mamimals."
"I'm sure they're a lot of fun to play with. Can I play with them too?"
"Yeah, here." Bradyn handed her his stuffed crocodile Dill and a pink flamingo. "You have one an two."
"That's right. I have two. Very good."
"Yeah." Bradyn grabbed Lello and the teddy bear and crawled up onto the bed to stand up and face Tayla eye to eye. "I a big boy an I count an I say one an two an free an four an five an seben an a hunred."
"Wow!" Tayla looked shocked as she high-fived Bradyn. "Did you learn that in school?"
"Yeah."
Tayla thought for a second. "Can you say the number in German?"
Bradyn nodded. "Eins an zye an dwye an fee-uh an sex an noon."
"You're pretty smart." Tayla nodded.
"Yeah. I free."
"You're not three yet. Soon though."
"Soon?"
"In January."
"Kay." Bradyn nodded and sighed. He flopped down on the bed and bounced Lello around the bedspread.
Tom came into the room and disappeared into the bathroom to change his clothes and get himself ready for the studio. Since it was just the guys, he didn't have to look presentable so sweatpants and a plain T-shirt was his uniform for the evening.
"Hey. Do you guys just want to hang out here?" Tom asked as he stood in front of the mirror and pulled at his shirt.
"As opposed to what?"
"Fighting the crowd to walk down the street." Tom caught her eye in the mirror and smiled. "I just think it'd be easier."
"Sure, we can stay here."
"It's just, you know, with the crowds and everything."
"No, it's fine. Bradyn and I will hang out here until you get back."
"Thank you." Tom turned and leaned over to kiss her quickly.
"When are you leaving?"
"Um, now." He glanced at his watch and licked his lips. "How do I look?"
"Fine."
"The pants?"
"Perfect." Tayla nodded then stood up to straighten his shirt. "It's the hat I'm worried about." She frowned at the cap in his hand.
"It's just for the walk down the street."
"You think the hat will make you unrecognizable?"
"No." He smiled. "But it can't hurt."
"If you say so." She kissed him then shoved him toward the door. "Get to work. Go bring home the bacon."
"I'm going." He reached into his back pocket and tossed his tiny silver cell phone at her. "Here, keep that for when Astrid calls."
"Wait. What?"
"Astrid's calling at eight thirty."
"I-"
"It'll be fine. She's gotten better and all you have to do is hand the phone to Bradyn." Tom smiled quickly then kissed the top of Bradyn's head as he sat on the couch with his Tonka truck. "See you later, buddy. I have to go to work."
"I say wiss my Tayla?"
"Yeah, you get to stay with your Tayla."
"Kay." Bradyn smiled up at his father. "Bye bye."
"Bye, buddy." Tom smiled and looked up at Tayla. "We'll be back before midnight. If you need to reach me, call Bill's phone."
"Okay." Tayla frowned. "But, Tom, I don't think- "
"It'll be fine." He insisted. "Trust me."
"I trust you. It's just that I don't know if I can be nice to her."
"Try."
Tayla sighed in response and shook her head as Tom left her and Bradyn alone in the room. "Bradyn, sweetie, your daddy makes me nuts."
"Yeah. He a nut." Bradyn sighed softly then slid off the couch. "An you a nut an me a nut an Goose-gog a nut."
"I guess you're right. We're all nuts, aren't we?"
"Yeah." Bradyn giggled and headed for his suitcase full of toys in the corner.
"That's not very comforting." Tayla sighed and smiled. She went to sit with Bradyn. They pulled out his collection of cars and trucks and made a little raceway on the carpet in front of the TV.
----------------
Tom's phone rang at eight thirty and startled Tayla. She held the cell phone in front of her to see the caller ID and blushed. It was undoubtedly Astrid. She sighed and licked her lips as it rang for the third time. She pressed talk and closed her eyes. "Hello?""Hi. I'm sorry. Do I have the right number?"
"Is this Astrid?"
"Yes. Who is this?"
"This is Tayla. Tom is in the studio so-"
"Oh. Okay. Is, uh- I'm actually calling to talk to Bradyn." Astrid said softly.
"Of course. He's right here. Let me get him."
"How's, uh- How's he doing? I mean, Tom always say's he's doing fine but- How is he?"
"Bradyn? Or Tom?"
"Bradyn."
"He's doing fine. Really." Tayla nodded as she stood up and crossed the room to where Bradyn was bouncing his stuffed crocodile around the chair. "Well, he's hitting the terrible twos, I think. He's had a few tantrums and his new thing is that he tells people he doesn't like them."
"Oh, wow." Tayla could hear the smile in Astrid's voice. "I'm sorry. That's not funny- It's just, well, I guess it is funny. Bradyn loves everyone."
"I know." Tayla smiled and wondered what supernatural being had taken over Astrid's body. They were having a decent conversation and, if it weren't so surreal, Tayla would have been concerned. "It's a phase, I'm sure but it has thrown everyone for a loop."
"I bet."
"Anyway, here's Bradyn." Tayla knelt in front of Bradyn and offered him the phone. "Hey, sweetie, your Mother is on the phone."
"Is my Mommy?"
"Yeah." Tayla held the phone out to him.
"No, I pay wiss Dill anen I say hi Mommy." Bradyn shook his head.
"You can play with Dill when you're done." Tayla shook her head. "Your Mom is on the phone right now so you need to say hi. She's calling from far away."
"I doe wan."
"You have to, sweetie. She misses you." Tayla pulled Bradyn onto her lap and held the phone to his ear.
Bradyn sighed and dropped his race car to the ground. "Hi, Mommy. I pay wiss Dill." He talked to Astrid for a few minutes while keeping his eyes on his toys. When he was done, he blew a kiss into the phone and slid off of Tayla's lap.
"Hello?" Tayla asked into the phone, unsure of what Tom usually did.
"We're done." Astrid said softly.
"Okay, well, uh- I guess we'll talk to you later."
"Yeah. I'll call again on Saturday."
"You, uh- Tom said that you could call more often if you'd like."
"Yeah, he told me."
"Okay."
"I just- I'm busy during the week so Saturday works better."
"I can see if Tom can call you if that'd be easier." Tayla offered. Out of nowhere she almost felt sorry for Astrid.
"That's okay. I'll call again on Saturday." Astrid said quickly. "Thanks. Bye."
Astrid hung up before Tayla could respond and she was left with an uneasy feeling in her stomach. Tayla tried not to dwell on the mixed feelings as she dropped the phone on the bed and slid to the floor to play with Bradyn and his stuffed animals. She'd tell Tom about the phone call when he got home. She put it out of her mind, though she was unable to ignore the cold lump sitting in the pit of her stomach.
----------------
By the time Tom returned from the studio that night, Bradyn was already asleep in the bedroom and Tayla was fading fast on the couch with the TV on. "Hey." He whispered softly as he pushed the door open. The light from the hall lit up the sitting area and roused Tayla from her half-sleep."Hey." She smiled and stretched her arms over her head.
"How'd it go?" They asked at the same time. Tayla smiled and nodded for Tom to answer.
"It was fine. I would have rather been here though."
"We have tomorrow."
"Part of the day, yeah." Tom nodded and crawled onto the couch beside her. "Your turn."
"We had fun. Bradyn is such a doll, I swear. I don't know what you're doing with him but he is such a character. He had those little stuffed animals all over the place talking to each other and playing together." She shook her head and smiled.
"He has a really wild imagination."
"That's for sure."
"Did Astrid call?"
"Yeah. Pretty much on time."
"Pretty much?"
"The clock on the phone said she was two minutes late."
"That's cool." Tom licked his lips and pulled her onto his lap. Just having her that close made him instantly comfortable. "How'd the call go?"
"Fine."
"Were you nice?"
"Yes." Tayla rested her head on his shoulder. "I'm always nice."
Tom responded with an amused snort and shook his head. "Seriously, were you?"
"Yes but more importantly, she was."
"She was what? Nice?"
"Yeah. We actually had a conversation. It was almost weird." Tayla frowned slowly. "Maybe she's changing though. I haven't talked to her in a while."
"No, I-" Tom stopped. "Yeah. I guess maybe she is changing."
"That's a good thing."
"If she can keep it up, yeah." Tom sighed and rested his head against the back of the couch. "Let's talk about something else though. What do you want to do tomorrow?"
"How much time do we have?"
"Um." Tom hummed for a second. "I don't know. I could get up and check but that would require getting up and I don't want to do that." He nuzzled his nose into her hair and kissed her neck quickly.
"Lazy."
"Mmm hmm." He agreed without moving his lips.
"Well, where do you want to go?"
Tom removed his face from her hair and smiled. "I don't care. I don't really know what's here. Where do you want to go?"
"I don't know what's here either." Tayla laughed and reached up to smooth his fraying braids.
"Okay. So?"
"Rockefeller Center. We can go ice skating."
"You want to go ice skating?"
"Yeah." She nodded. "Do you know how?"
"Of course I do."
"Okay then."
"Yeah, I guess we could rent skates and teach Bradyn, huh? Or is he too young?" Tom gave Tayla a quick look of concern.
"No, I'm sure he'll be fine." Tayla squealed softly. "Yay! An afternoon!"
"Yay." Tom mustered very little enthusiasm. "Then I'm back in the studio."
"Do you think we'll be able to catch a show? I can't be in New York and not catch a Broadway show."
"You can. I'm sure you can find a matinee tomorrow or something. We'll be in the studio most of the evening."
"Yeah but a theater is no place for a two year old." Tayla shook her head.
"Have Seppel watch him."
"No, that's okay. If we get some free time in the evening we can go. If not then I'll just see two next time I'm here." Tayla smiled and played with Tom's hair. She wanted to remind him, yet again, that he needed to have his braids redone.
"What's playing that you'd want to see?"
"Wicked." Tayla said with a sure nod. "Or American Idiot."
"Hmm. I'll have to see what we can do."
Tayla smiled and kissed him. "You are perfect." She said softly.
"I know." He laughed with his usual smugness. He stood up and pulled her to her feet. "But I'm also exhausted. Let's go get some sleep."
"You said the magic word." Tayla yawned and let him lead her to the bedroom where Bradyn lay snoring in the bed by the wall.
"I think he has the right idea." Tom yawned and shuffled around in the dark room.
Tayla climbed into the bed and burrowed under the blankets to get warm as Tom brushed his teeth in the connected bathroom. When he slid in beside her a few minutes later, he radiated body heat and held her close. "I love you." He mumbled as he shifted so that her head was on his shoulder. He reached a cold hand over and pulled her leg to cover his like a human blanket.
"I love you too." She sighed and smiled into his chest. The decision to move in with him got easier with each second she spent with him. It was only a matter of time before there were no questions at all and the time was right. "Maybe for Christmas." She thought to herself as she rested her hand flat on Tom's chest. She felt his heart beat and heard his breath go deep and let herself fall into the dream world, which could never compare to the world she was lucky enough to live in.
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The next afternoon they were given free time to do whatever they wanted, within reason. Georg immediately grabbed Gustav and they headed for Brooklyn. Bill stayed in the hotel and talked on the phone with Nadiehn, who wasn't able to fly out to hang out with them. They discussed wedding plans and, as he tried not to doze off, she detailed their meal and what kind of cake she'd finally decided on.As soon as they were given permission to leave, Tom and Tayla grabbed Seppel and Bradyn and headed for the hospital first to get Bradyn's stitches out, then on to Rockefeller Center. Tom had promised Tayla that they would go and he wouldn't go back on that. They rented skates with little fanfare and were able to make their way around the rink a dozen times before anyone recognized him.
They were bundled up in layers to keep warm as Tom skated all hunched over, holding onto Bradyn's hands. Bradyn's skates slid all over the ice but he laughed hysterically each time Tom pulled him back to a standing position.
"I think he's too young for skates." Tayla laughed as she skid to a stop beside them.
"He's doing great." Tom shook his head and adjusted the hat on Bradyn's head. "Are you having fun?" He asked the little boy.
"Yeah. Is code."
"Yeah, it's cold. We're on the ice."
"Ice ina juice?"
"Yeah, kinda like the ice we put in your juice." Tom laughed and caught Bradyn under his arms before he fell on his butt.
"Whoa! Daddy, whoa!"
"Whoa is right." Tom picked Bradyn up and leaned against the low wall surrounding the ice. "Are you ready to head in?" He asked Tayla.
"Whenever you are." She nodded and rubbed her bare hands together to warm them up.
"Your cheeks are bright pink."
Tayla tilted her head to the side and raised an eyebrow. "So are yours."
"Both of you look like Eskimos." Tom laughed and looked from Tayla to Bradyn. "Are you hungry, buddy? Do you want some pizza?"
"Yeah!" Bradyn giggled and sniffed as the cold air made his nose run. "Daddy, I take off." He reached down and touched his tiny skates.
"Are you hungry?" Tom looked to Tayla.
"I could eat." She nodded and pushed away from the wall.
"Uh oh, she's trying to get away."
"Get my Tayla!" Bradyn shrieked with laughter as Tom took off after her. They came to a stop side by side and laughed as they stepped into the waiting area together. "I get you!" Bradyn laughed and dove for Tayla.
She caught him and held him close as they waved at Seppel and stepped into the warm rental room. They returned their skates and changed back into their walking shoes before heading out. Several girls stopped Tom for autographs and pictures so Tayla held Bradyn and stayed just out of reach next to Seppel.
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They were able to spend the afternoon together before the guys were shuttled back into the studio to re-work some of the vocals they'd done the day before. Tom returned to the room late again, long after Bradyn had already gone to sleep and only moments before Tayla turned off the lights. He mumbled a hello, kissed her quickly, then leaned over Bradyn's sleeping form and kissed his forehead. "Late nights suck." Tom whispered softly as he kicked his shoes off and slowly peeled his cold clothes off. He dropped them on the floor, then climbed into the bed beside Tayla. Before she could ask him how it went, he was snoring softly near her ear."So this is how it is?" Tayla whispered to herself as she let a small smile slip out. That was how it was and she liked it just fine.
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Tom surprised Tayla with a real date on their last night in the city. Bill agreed to keep an eye on Bradyn so that Tom could take Tayla out to dinner and to a show. The whole night was one surprise after another as Tom took her to Tavern on the Green in Central Park, then to Broadway to see Wicked, a show that Tayla had mentioned that she was dying to see. They were ushered backstage after the show to meet the cast and spend time with them before Tom's security guard tapped his watch and motioned for the door.By the time they got back to the hotel, Tayla was high on adrenaline and excitement and she could barely keep herself from bouncing down the hall. "Tom, that was just amazing." She held his hand tight and swung it back and forth. "I can't believe you were able to do that. I can't believe I got to meet the cast and everything. Tonight was perfect."
"Good, I'm glad you had a nice time." Tom smiled and tried not to yawn. It was an exciting night but it was still almost one in the morning and he'd had a long day. "Perfect ending for New York?"
"Perfect." They stopped at their room and she slowly wrapped her arms around his neck to kiss him. "Absolutely perfect."
"I'm going to have to really start planning to out do this in Toronto, aren't I?"
Tayla laughed and shook her head. "You're going to be busy in Toronto. Don't worry about it."
"I'll think of something." Tom opened the door and they fell into the room.
"Hey." Bill greeted them from the floor without looking up from the TV where he was playing a new Xbox game.
"Hey." Tom frowned when he saw Georg and Gustav on the couch. Georg was sound asleep and Gustav was sitting cross-legged with his tongue between his lips and a controller in his hand. "Party night in my room?"
"Uh huh." Bill nodded. "We didn't touch the mini bar."
"Georg did." Gustav spoke up.
"Okay, Georg touched it but we didn't open it." Bill blinked away from the game and smiled. "Have fun?"
"Yeah." Tayla and Tom answered in unison.
"You guys almost done here?" Tom asked.
"Almost." Gustav nodded as Bill turned back to the game and gave it his complete attention.
"So how was Bradyn?"
"Fine." Gustav licked his lips and moved his controller all the way to the left, almost hitting Georg in the nose.
"When did he go to bed?"
"Who? Georg?"
"Bradyn."
"Like. An hour ago." Gustav cursed under his breath and hit Bill's head with the controller.
"An hour ago?" Tom took a step closer to the TV.
"Maybe." Gustav shrugged and glanced up at Tom. "Like. At nine."
"Gustav, it's one in the morning." Tom sighed.
"Oh." Gustav frantically hit the side button on his controller. "You're in my way."
"Sorry." Tom took a step back and waited as they finished their game and named Bill the winner. "So Bradyn was okay?" He asked again as Gustav unfolded himself from the couch.
"Uh huh. We had pizza for dinner, then he ate an entire orange." Bill stood up and cracked his back. "He didn't get a bath though."
"That's okay." Tom nodded. "Did he go to the bathroom before you put him down?"
"He said he didn't have to go." Bill shrugged.
Tom sighed and prayed that he wouldn't have a mess to deal with in the morning. "Okay."
"You want us to take Georg?"
"Um. Yeah." Tom gave Bill a look. "Did you really think I want Georg to sleep on my couch?"
"Damn. Okay." Bill sighed and cleaned up the video game system.
"I'm gonna-" Tayla nodded toward the bedroom and concealed a yawn behind her hand.
"G'night, Tayla." Gustav said as he dropped video games into his duffel bag.
"See ya tomorrow." Bill waved.
"Good night guys." She smiled and stepped into the dark room then shut the door behind her.
Bill and Gustav finished cleaning up, then woke Georg up so they could all go back to their own rooms. "Thanks, guys." Tom smiled as they headed for the door.
"Yeah. You owe us."
"Well, next time you guys need a babysitter, don't hesitate to call." Tom laughed and opened the door.
"Don't even say that." Gustav yawned.
"Next time I need my car washed, I'm gonna call you." Bill laughed.
"G'night." Georg mumbled as he passed Tom.
"See you guys tomorrow. Seven thirty."
"Ugh." Three voices rang out in disgruntled harmony as they headed down the hall.
Tom returned to his room and checked on Bradyn before brushing his teeth and joining Tayla in bed. They were asleep before the blankets settled, knowing they'd be up again in just a few short hours.
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They caught the early flight into Toronto and landed on time. The schedule for the day was completely packed so everything was being run on a very tight schedule. From the airport, they had exactly forty five minutes to get to the hotel, drop off their things, and get to the studio downtown.Three separate cars drove the group across town and dropped them off at the large front entrance to their hotel. In perfect synchronization, they pulled their luggage from the back while Tom balanced Bradyn in his left arm. They headed into the lobby where the people in charge had their room assignments, keys, and elevators waiting for them. As they walked quickly across the marble floor, Tom's phone rang from deep within his pocket. He paused for just a moment to set his bag down and answer it. "Hello?" Tom sighed into the phone as he tried to balance it on his shoulder while carrying Bradyn and their bags.
"Hi, Tom?" Astrid asked.
"Astrid?" Tom turned his wrist to check his watch. "What- You're early."
"I know. Listen, I'm not going to be near a phone at our regular call time so I was hoping I could do it now."
"I- Right now isn't really- I mean, we're in the middle of stuff."
"It'll just be for a minute." Astrid explained quickly.
"Daddy, I say hi? Is Pie appo?" Bradyn asked as they bounced down the steps to where the elevators were waiting.
"Bill's right in front of us, goof." Tom shook his head and tried to smile for Bradyn.
"Tom?" Tayla stopped walking and turned to face him as the others climbed onto the elevators.
"You guys go up." Tom said quickly, waving them off as he set his bags down.
Seppel stepped off the elevator and positioned himself at Tom's side with Tayla a step behind him. "Everything okay?" Seppel asked.
Tom nodded and sighed softly. "Astrid, we just got to the hotel and we have to get into the room so we can head to the studio. Right now really isn't a good time."
"It'll only take a minute, can you hand the phone to Bradyn."
"You've got one minute."
"Tom." She complained.
"I can't do any more than that. I'm on a time crunch here. If you called at the regular time, we would have been at the studio so Bradyn could have talked."
"Well, you're at the hotel. What difference does it make?"
Tom pinched the bridge of his nose and forced himself not to argue. "The difference is that I have ten minutes to go upstairs, dump my bags and get back downstairs to catch our ride to the studio. Plus a potty break for Bradyn and a minute for me to catch my breath. Every minute I'm down here arguing with you in the lobby is one less-"
"Then don't argue and just put him on." Astrid's annoyance rang through loud and clear.
For a moment, Tom pondered hanging up the phone but instead he held it to Bradyn's ear. "It's your mommy. Say hi."
"Hi, Mommy." Bradyn held the small phone with both hands as Tom shook his head and took a deep breath.
"Hey." Seppel whispered and tapped the face of his watch.
"I know." Tom whispered back.
"I in a hotel, Mommy. Yeah. Is big." Bradyn craned his neck and held tight to the phone. "Kay." He nodded in response to whatever Astrid said.
"It'll only be a minute." Tom said softly as his eyes apologized to Tayla. She just nodded and stepped forward to pick up one of Bradyn's bags. Seppel pressed the button for the elevator and they waited patiently for it to arrive.
When the bell dinged, Tom looked at Bradyn. "Okay, we have to go. Say bye to your mommy."
"Bye, Mommy." Bradyn blew a kiss into the phone and handed it back to Tom. "Daddy, where we?"
"Where are we?" Tom folded the phone and dropped it into the pocket of his sweatshirt. "We're in a hotel."
"Is where?"
"In Toronto, Canada." Tom said.
"Oh."
"That's far away from home."
"Yeah." Bradyn nodded as they stepped onto the elevator and rode up to the floor where everyone else was waiting.
"What happened to you?" Bill asked as soon as they stepped off.
"Astrid called."
"Yeah, and?"
"And Bradyn talked to her for a minute." Tom sighed and refrained from rolling his eyes.
"Yeah, well, now you have like, negative three minutes to ditch your gear. You're holding us up."
"Get over it." Tom grumbled as he and Tayla headed down the hall to the room. Once inside, Tom dropped Bradyn and all of the bags on the bed, then shuttled the little boy to the bathroom.
"Daddy, I don't hava go."
"Try, because we're not going to be able to stop on the way to the studio." Tayla heard Tom try to coerce Bradyn into using the bathroom.
She smiled and took that free minute to stretch and check her watch. Bill was right, they were running behind schedule. She had been around them enough to know that arriving anywhere ten minutes late meant that they'd have to stay thirty minutes late.
"Buddy, I'm not even kidding. If you get in the car and decide you have to go, you're going to have to hold it."
"Kay." Bradyn shrugged before he walked out of the bathroom and grabbed Lello from the top of his bags. "Tayla, we go?"
"I- I-" Tayla stuttered and looked up at Tom as he emerged from the bathroom. "Yeah, let's go."
"I wish we'd get just one free day. A whole day." Tom ran his weary hands over his face before he grabbed Bradyn's well-loved backpack and followed them out the door and down the hall. They were running late and if they wanted to make up time, they'd have to hustle.
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The whole afternoon was spent in the studio. The guys were also scheduled to do two appearances in town until almost eleven that night. Tayla took Bradyn back to the hotel and gave him dinner and a bath before bed. She watched a movie and waited for Tom to get back. He was mentally and physically drained by the time he landed on the bed beside Tayla. "I can't believe how much this sucks.""This is nothing."
"I know." Tom growled into the bedspread. "I've turned into a cranky old man."
"Isn't that Gustav's job?"
"Shut up." He laughed and flailed his hand blindly in a poor attempt to smack her. "Seriously though. Compared to the other albums we've put together, this schedule is nothing. We at least get a few free hours but how come I'm exhausted like this at the end of the day? Two years ago, I'd have been out partying with Bill and Gustav."
"They went out?"
"Yeah." Tom closed his eyes and sighed as he turned his head to the other side to look at her. "I'm old."
"You're not old." Tayla laughed and shook her head as she pat his back. "You just have more responsibilities now." She nodded toward the tiny sleeping figure on the other bed.
"Who I've been ignoring for a week now." Tom frowned.
"You're not ignoring him. You're working."
"Same thing."
"You've just spent the last few months with him every second of every day. You can't go getting upset because you have to work your ass off for a few weeks now."
"I know."
"And as soon as you're done here you're going to get two full weeks off."
"I know."
"So stop complaining." Tayla smiled and poked at his side. "You only have another week before you get to go home."
"I know." He grumbled and rolled onto his back. "And we get to go to Niagara the day after tomorrow. Georg put up enough of a fight to arrange for all of us to go."
"That'll be cool."
"Yeah." Tom yawned. "I just have to get through tomorrow."
"You'll make it."
"I hope so." He finished up his over-sized yawn and stood up. They followed what was becoming their nightly routine where Tom hit the bed and fell asleep immediately while Tayla stayed up another few minutes thinking about their future and becoming comfortable with how it was going to be. She fell asleep with a smile on her face and couldn't wait to see the Niagara Falls for the first time with him and Bradyn.
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After two more full days in the studio and recording spots for advertisements, they were finally given the day off to go to Niagara Falls. It was their last day in Toronto so they'd have to leave there by two to make it back to their hotel to check out and get to the airport for their flight to San Francisco.As a group, they wandered around the Falls area with photographers and fans everywhere they turned. The weather was cold and snow fell on them as they stood at the low walls looking out over the fog hidden falls. "Is big, Daddy."
"Yeah, it's big."
"Is code." Bradyn put his gloved hands up to his face.
"Yeah, it is pretty cold." Tom nodded and pulled his hood lower over his eyes. "But now we can say we saw it. Let's go inside and check out the gift shop." He picked Bradyn up and took Tayla's hand as they headed inside where Georg and Gustav were waiting with their security guards. Everyone was bundled up but only Bill was fool enough to stay outside. He wanted to see the Falls from every angle so while he was out in the freezing weather, the others stayed warm in the shops.
"Bradyn, check it out." Gustav held out a bite of fudge. "This is like, pure sugar."
"Don't give him that." Tom reached for Gustav's hand just before Gustav made it to Bradyn's open mouth.
"It's fudge."
"Do you want to deal with a sugar high?"
"No."
"Then don't give him that." Tom gave Gustav a look before he headed into the gift shop off to the left. They walked around with bright pink cheeks and picked up several cheesy souvenirs. Bradyn chose a key chain to add to his backpack and a big stuffed moose to add to his collection. Tom also picked up some maple syrup and a shot glass before they went to join everyone else in the warm walkway between the stores.
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When they returned to the hotel, they were told to put their luggage in the hall and to meet up in the lobby so they could all ride to the airport together. Tom and Tayla set their luggage beside everyone else's. They took their carry on bags and Bradyn's backpack and headed downstairs with Seppel. The sky was getting dark and they knew that once they landed in San Francisco, they'd just go straight to the hotel to sleep.As they entered the lobby, Tom handed Bradyn to Seppel so that he'd have one hand free to sign autographs for the anxious fans waiting for them. "Seppel's gonna carry you, buddy."
"Kay and Dill?" Bradyn waved his stuffed crocodile.
"Dill too. Just make sure Dill doesn't bite Seppel."
"Ooo, does he bite?" Seppel asked as he cast a sideways look at the alligator. Its white felt teeth flopped over on themselves making it look like he was smiling upside down.
"No." Bradyn laughed and touched the stuffed animal's teeth. "Isa nice agator."
"Oh, whew. That's good." Seppel sighed with relief as Tom looked on with an almost proud expression. "You'll need to hold tight to me, okay?"
"Kay." Bradyn nodded.
Tom's phone rang in his pocket so he took it out and flipped it open without looking at the time. He knew it was close to the time Astrid was supposed to call and he wasn't going to worry about five or ten minutes either way. "Hello."
"Hi, Tom."
"Hi. Hang on. Let me get Bradyn." Tom said as he waved Seppel over to him.
"How- How's he doing?"
"Bradyn? He's doing fine."
"Everyone around here is getting colds- Is he- He's okay?"
"Yeah, he's cool. No cold. No sniffles even." Tom shook his head. "Hang on, I'll put him on."
"Okay. Thanks." Astrid waited as Tom explained to Bradyn who was on the phone.
"Hi, Mommy." Bradyn licked his lips and settled into Seppel's thick arms.
"Hang on to Seppel tight, okay?" Tom pat Bradyn's back.
"Kay."
"And don't lose the phone." Tom smiled quickly.
"Kay." Bradyn smiled back and went back to talking to his Mother.
Tom nodded at Seppel who knew just what to do. "Go straight to the car." Tom said, though he didn't need to.
"You got it." Seppel nodded and adjusted Bradyn in his arms to have a more secure grip on the boy.
Tayla reached for Tom's hand and swung it carefully. "So."
"So." He smiled down at her and kissed her quickly. "Are you ready?"
"I don't think I'll ever be ready for that." She cast a worried glance at the street in front of the hotel. There weren't that many fans. Not enough to make security sweat but there were more than enough to set Tayla's stomach tumbling.
"We won't really have time to stop so it'll just be real quick."
"Okay." Tayla nodded quickly. "That's Astrid?"
"Yeah."
"Perfect timing."
"Well, it's her scheduled call time." Tom shrugged. "I'm just glad she called."
"True." Tayla smiled and took a deep breath as the other security guards pushed the door open and let the guys out one at a time. Seppel and Bradyn were the first ones out the door and they made it to the awaiting vans without pausing for a moment. Tom watched with knots in his stomach until he was sure Bradyn was securely fastened into his car seat before he and Tayla stepped out.
"I'll meet you in the car." She said softly as she let go of his hand and fell into step behind Tobi. He cleared a path to the car and helped her in beside Bradyn before he turned his attention back to the guys and the small crowd of fans. They shouted and snapped off pictures at an alarming rate, only succeeding in catching a few quick waves and smiles before they were herded into their cars and whisked away from the curb.
"Daddy, we go home?" Bradyn asked with a yawn as he settled into his unfamiliar car seat.
"No. Not yet. We get to go to California."
"And see Pie appo?"
"Bill will be there, yeah." Tom nodded. "What's your fascination with Bill this week? You just want to see him all the time."
"Pie appo?"
"Yeah. You want to see him."
"Yeah." Bradyn nodded. "Where's he?"
"He's in the other car."
"Why?"
"Because that's the one he wanted to ride in." Tom shrugged and laughed softly. With Bradyn asking why, he was afraid that the questions may never end.
"Wiss Gay-og?"
"Yeah. Georg's in the other car too."
"And Goose-gog?"
"No, Gustav is right there." Tom pointed to the front seat where Gustav was trying to fold a map back to its original shape.
"Oh."
"Bill's in the other car with Georg."
"Gay-og?"
"Yeah."
"I can see?"
"You can see them when we get to the airport." Tom nodded and looked over at Tayla. "Does he have an off switch?"
"No." She laughed and shook her head.
"He's turned into chatterbox."
"Something like that, yeah."
"Amazing."
"Daddy, I can see ina pane an I fye?" Bradyn looked concerned and his expression caused both Tayla and Tom to laugh.
"You want to fly the airplane?" Tayla asked.
"I can see."
"You want to see the cockpit where the pilot flies the airplane?" She asked to clarify what he meant.
"Yeah." Bradyn sighed and sat back in his seat.
"I don't see why not." She looked at Tom for an answer.
"He's been once." He shrugged. "We'll have to see if they'll let him see it again. That'd be cool."
"I'd like to see it too." Tayla smiled and laced her fingers through Tom's on the seat between them.
"We'll have to wait and see." Tom spoke to her like a child then laughed. Bradyn chattered the rest of the way to the airport. Though he pretended to hold his hands over his ear, Tayla knew that Tom was loving every word that came out of Bradyn's mouth. The little boy was sounding more and more like his Father every day and it cracked everyone else up.
Chapter Fifteen