Das Letzte Lied - Chapter Nine
As the sun shone through the curtains early the next morning, Tayla's arm reached out to the far side of the bed. She was met with cool sheets and an empty pillow where Tom should have been. She crawled out of bed and tip toed down the hall to Bradyn's room where she slowly pushed the door open and smiled.
Curled up on the tiny toddler sized bed was Tom with Bradyn sound asleep against his chest. The little boy's head was nestled between Tom's elbows, which didn't look comfortable at all but somehow they both looked content. Tayla smiled and carefully nudged the door shut to let them sleep a little longer. With Bradyn beside him in such a small bed, she knew that Tom probably didn't get much sleep.
Tayla went downstairs and walked around in the warm silence of the house. She pretended it was her house and she was home alone on a lazy Saturday morning. She walked barefoot into the living room and sat in the single sun splash on the couch by the window. The cushion was warm as she curled her feet up under her and reached for an old issue of Entertainment Weekly on the end table.
She didn't get very far before there was a thump upstairs and footsteps on the stairs. "Shhh. We have to be quiet, Bradyn. We don't want to wake Tayla up." Tom whispered as they walked into the kitchen behind her.
"Where she?" Bradyn whispered.
"She's upstairs so we have to be quiet down here." Tom pulled the refrigerator open and resettled Bradyn on his hip.
"No, Daddy." Bradyn said in a normal voice as he spotted her on the couch.
"Shhh. We have to be quiet." Tom held his finger to his lips.
"Daddy, see Tayla." Bradyn pointed to the living room and wiggled to be set down. "I have pankay an nana an gapes?" He asked as he ran over to where she was sitting.
"Good morning." She smiled as she looked up at Tom.
"G'morning." He nodded and smiled slowly. Tom watched as Bradyn crawled up on the couch beside Tayla, sidled up to her side and made himself comfortable across her legs. She put her magazine down on the floor and wrapped her arm around his waist to give him some support then asked him what he was going to put on his pancakes.
"Put nassing."
"Nothing? You're going to eat them plain?"
"Yeah."
"That's pretty silly." Tayla made a face at him and tickled his sides. "You're a silly boy."
"No, you!" Bradyn laughed and tried to tickle her under her chin.
She laughed and tried to duck away from his fingers. "No, you are!" They tickled each other in a mini wrestling match on the couch surrounded by a chorus of giggles.
"You guys are both silly." Tom smiled and leaned on the counter.
"Daddy silly." Bradyn laughed and looked up at Tom. He'd forgotten he was there. "Have pankays an nassing?"
"Sure." Tom nodded and looked in the pantry to get the things out to make breakfast, while Bradyn and Tayla continued their tickle attack on the couch.
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They enjoyed breakfast outside on the patio table and talked about how much fun Bradyn was having at school and all of his little friends. He told Tayla all about how Dylan comes over to play sometimes with Georg and how Bill and Tom are twins. "They same." Bradyn explained. He ran inside a dozen time to find projects he'd done to show to Tayla, forgetting that he'd shown her already twice in the week she'd been there but she showed just as much enthusiasm and listened to his toddler speak babble with genuine interest.After a while, Bradyn and Tom took to digging holes under the bushes lining Tom's security wall while Tayla went back inside to start to get her things packed. Her flight left early the next morning and she'd already put it off as long as she could. She knew it would take at least an hour to get all of her things located and back in the suitcase. She only hoped they all fit back inside.
When she was done she set her suitcases against the wall and looked up at the bookshelf in the guestroom. She hadn't taken the time to notice the books when she got there and hadn't spent many nights in the room after that. The books were in alphabetical order by author for the first two shelves, then shoved haphazardly onto the bottom three shelves. On the shelf at her eye level she found a row of Patricia Cornwell books, several of which she hadn't read yet. "Tom?" She asked over her shoulder, not sure if he was even in the house.
"Yeah?" His voice grew closer as he walked by the room. "Tayla?"
"In here." She said as she pulled two of the books out. "You like Patricia Cornwell?"
"Hmm? Tom stepped into the room and saw her looking at the books. "Oh, yeah. I love those kinds of forensic investigation type books." He nodded and put his hands in his pockets. "You?"
"I love her stories. Kay Scarpetta is like a close friend of mine." Tayla laughed. "But I haven't read these two, would you mind if I borrowed them? They'd be perfect to read on the plane."
"Sure, of course. You can borrow any book you want." Tom looked at the shelves.
"You know that Angelina Jolie has signed on to play Kay Scarpetta in a movie based on one of Patricia's books, right?"
"No, I hadn't heard that. I'll have to check it out. I love mysteries. My favorites are the true crime stories though. With the pictures in the middle?" He laughed. "It's morbid, I know."
"I know what you mean. I love seeing the crime scene pictures even if they're black and white. It's gross but I love it."
"We'll get along just fine." Tom laughed and sat on the bed.
"Have you read the Sue Grafton series? A is for Alibi, B is for Burglar? That whole alphabet series?"
"No, is it good?"
"I loved it." Tayla nodded. "It's about a private investigator. Each book is another case that she's working on. Kinsey Milhone is kinda like Kay Scarpetta. I mean, they're addicting characters."
"I'll have to check them out."
"I can bring some on the road if you want." Tayla smiled as she thought about heading out on the road with Tom.
"I doubt I'll get much time to read." He sighed and made a face. "But yeah, bring some. Hopefully I'll get a few minutes at night."
"Okay." Tayla leaned down to kiss him quickly while he sat on the corner of the bed. "Is Bradyn napping?"
"Yeah." Tom nodded and tried not to yawn. "That actually sounds like a good idea."
"It does." Tayla covered her mouth and crawled up onto the bed that had been empty most of the week. She fell on top of the cool blankets and gently kicked Tom's behind. "You're in my way."
"Mind if I join you?"
"Not at all."
"Good." Tom fell over sideways and bent his knees so they were touching Tayla's. They lay on the bed facing each other in the half darkness and let their eyes drift closed. "You're really leaving tomorrow?" Tom murmured softly.
"Yeah." She paused and smiled as she fluffed the pillow under her head. "We're going to have so much fun on tour. It's hard to believe this is my job."
"I wish this was your job." Tom opened his eyes and let them trail down her face to her neck as he reached out and scooted her closer to him. "I'd give you a raise and let you work all kinds of overtime." He laughed softly.
"Oh, really? Maybe we can work something out, you know, so I can do this on the side?"
"I might be able to pull some strings." Tom kissed her softly then sighed and relaxed into the pillow under his head.
They dozed in each others arms for more than an hour before Bradyn stumbled down the hall calling for Tom. "Daddy? Daddy? I potty. You go bye? Daddy?" He opened the hall closet in search of Tom, then stepped into the guestroom. "I see Daddy. You no hide. Daddy? Hi!" He crawled up onto the bed and over Tom's legs.
"Hey, buddy." Tom's groggy voice woke Tayla from her deep nap.
"Daddy, a nap?"
"Yeah, I was taking a nap." Tom pushed himself up onto his elbow.
"I potty."
"You have to go potty?" He woke up a little more.
"No, I go!" Bradyn giggled and bounced on the bed.
"Oh, God." Tayla rubbed her eyes. "Where did you go, sweetie?"
"Oh, no." Tom closed his eyes, waiting to hear that Bradyn had gone in the kitchen or something.
Bradyn just sighed and shook his head. "Ina potty."
"You went in the potty?" Tom opened his eyes and looked at Bradyn with a surprised expression.
"Yeah."
"By yourself?"
"And Lello." Bradyn nodded and sat cross-legged on the bed between Tom and Tayla's legs. "We go ou-side."
"Sure, yeah. We can go outside." Tom grunted as he sat up and rolled his shoulders. "What do you want to do outside?"
"Swing!" Bradyn threw his hands up and fell back laughing.
"Okay." Tom yawned and leaned over Tayla's legs to grab Bradyn off the bed. "Let's go."
"Tayla too?" Bradyn looked down at Tayla as she stretched out her legs.
"Sure."
"Have a possick?"
Tom checked his watch and nodded. "Yeah we can have a popsicle too." He smiled and looked back at Tayla. "Cherry?"
"Cherry." She smiled as she pushed herself up to a sitting position.
They took their popsicles outside and sat on the play set with their feet dangling over the side. "Daddy, what dow?"
"Hmm?" Tom sucked on the bottom of his popsicle to keep it from dripping down the stick.
"What dow?"
"What's down?" Tom asked, licking his purple lips.
"Yeah." Bradyn bit the end off and chewed on the frozen treat.
Tom looked down between his feet. "Just grass." He shrugged. "Grass and dirt."
"And bug?"
"I'm sure there are some bugs down there." Tom nodded and licked a drip off before it could reach his hand. "Maybe even a worm."
"A tato?"
"A potato?"
"Ina dirt."
"A potato in the dirt?" Tom gave him a weird look.
"Potatoes grow in the dirt." Tayla smiled. "We had a discussion about that the other day when we were eating french fries."
"You what?" Tom laughed and looked from Bradyn to Tayla.
"I don't know. I said something about french fries being potatoes and we started talking." Tayla laughed and sucked at the side of her popsicle.
Tom's eyes crinkled at the sides as he laughed and swung his feet. "You guys are crazy." He shook his head and looked at Bradyn. "We don't have potatoes in our dirt."
"Maybe?"
"No, not at all."
"Maybe lato?"
"Later?" Tom asked.
"Yeah, lato we have." Bradyn nodded.
"Sure, I don't see why not. Maybe when we get back from the tour we can plant some vegetables or something."
"A tato." Bradyn nodded.
"I don't see why not." Tom smiled and licked his thumb as the popsicle juice dribbled toward his wrist. "Hey." He swung his foot over and tapped Tayla's. "You busy tonight?"
"I don't know, am I?" She smiled slowly and kicked him back.
"I made reservations at the Yacht Club." He nodded.
"Really?"
"Uh huh."
"Do you have a yacht?"
"No." Tom shook his head. "But you don't have to own one to have dinner."
"I didn't know you were a member of a yacht club."
"I'm not but I know a guy." Tom laughed softly then kissed her. "So do you want to go?"
"Is this our date?"
"Yeah."
"I'd love to go." She nodded. "Did you call Bill and Nadiehn?"
"Yeah. They're expecting Bradyn at five." Tom bit his popsicle and ate it all in a few small bites. He chewed as he made a face. "Brain freeze, hang on."
"I see Pie appo?" Bradyn asked as his popsicle dripped juice on his legs.
"Yeah, you get to go see them tonight. You'll get to play with their dogs too." Tayla smiled.
"Can feed?"
"I don't know you'll have to ask." She shrugged.
"Our reservations are at six thirty so we'll miss the sunset but I figured this way the timing will be good. We can drop Bradyn off just in time for dinner there then go out to the beach and, by the time we get back, he'll be asleep."
"The beach?"
"Yeah."
"Isn't that far?"
"Eh, about an hour." Tom smiled. "It's worth it."
"Okay." Tayla licked around the bottom of her popsicle and smiled with bright red lips. "I can't wait." She added softly.
"Tayla, we go ina pool?" Bradyn asked as he chewed on his popsicle.
Tayla looked at Tom and raised her eyebrow. "Can we go in the pool?"
"Sure, of course." He nodded as he licked the last bit of popsicle from the stick. "That way you can get all that sticky popsicle off of you." Tom laughed and poked at Bradyn's side to make him laugh. "You're all sticky, eww."
"No, you." Bradyn laughed and poked back at Tom.
"I'm not all sticky." Tom shook his head. "Gross."
"Tayla is." Bradyn laughed and leaned forward to look at Tayla.
"No way, I'm not sticky." She shook her head and stood up as she finished the last of her popsicle.
"Yeah, you." Bradyn laughed.
"No, you." She laughed and lifted Bradyn up off the floor. "Come on, sticky boy. Let's go get your swim suit on and go swimming." They both laughed as she tickled his sides and sat at the top of the slide on the far end. "Are you ready?" She positioned him on her lap before she pushed off and soared down the yellow plastic slide.
"Wow!" Bradyn shouted as they hit the grass below. "Gan, Tayla."
"We'll do that again after we get this sticky mess off of you." She laughed and bounced him on her hip. "What kind of swim shorts do you want to wear today?"
"Hey! Wait for me." Tom held onto the railing of the little bridge they were sitting on and jumped to the ground. "Come here, buddy." Tom reached out his arms for Bradyn as he walked up.
"No, Tayla." Bradyn held tight to Tayla's shirt.
"Denied." Tom shook his head. "Do you like Tayla more than you like me?"
"I like." Bradyn nodded.
"You don't like me any more?" Tom pretended to pout.
"Yeah."
"You don't?"
"I like, Daddy." Bradyn nodded. "An Tayla."
"Yeah but you don't want me to carry you?" Tom's bottom lip protruded as he pretended to sniffle. "You never let me carry you anymore."
"Yeah, Daddy carry ina nigh."
"I carry you at night?"
"Yeah."
"What about during the day?"
"Ummmm." Bradyn thought for a minute. "No now Daddy. Now Tayla." Bradyn explained as they walked into the house and up the stairs to his bedroom.
"Maybe you can carry him down the stairs when we're done." Tayla said over her shoulder as they stepped into his room and went to his dresser in the corner.
"Daddy can carry dow."
"Thanks." Tom rolled his eyes and laughed. Tayla sat Bradyn on the floor and opened the drawers of his bureau to let him choose his swim shorts.
Bradyn chose his shorts with surfers and waves all over them. "Daddy?" He asked as he took them to the bed to sit down.
"Hmm?" Tom sat on the bed beside him and tugged his shirt over his head.
"Like an love you." Bradyn sighed.
"Aww, I like and love you too." Tom dropped Bradyn's shirt on the floor and pulled him close for a hug.
"An Tayla, Daddy." Bradyn said softly into Tom's shoulder.
"And Tayla." Tom whispered back as he glanced over to where she was standing by the closet.
"Okay." Bradyn sighed and stood up so that Tom could get him in his swim shorts. "Now we go simmin?"
"Well, I need to put on shorts but yeah, we can go."
"Go get short now." Bradyn tugged his hand toward the hall.
"We'll meet you downstairs." Tom said over his shoulder.
"Okay." Tayla laughed and bounced down stairs to change into her own suit.
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Tom, Tayla and Bradyn spent the afternoon in the pool. Afterward they got themselves cleaned up and ready for their night out. Bradyn was excited about seeing Bill, Nadiehn and the dogs again so he was more helpful than ever when it came time for him to get dressed. "I have a pant." He said as he handed his overalls to Tom."You want to wear those?"
"Yeah. Jayda likes." Bradyn nodded with a sigh.
"Jayda likes them, huh?" He laughed.
"Yeah." Bradyn put his hands on his hips and went back to the dresser to choose a shirt. "Daddy, I have no shirt."
"You have lots of shirts." Tom put the pants on the bed then went to stand behind Bradyn. He lifted three shirts out of the drawer and held them up for Bradyn. "How about one of these?"
"No." Bradyn shook his head. "Is no right."
"It's not right?" Tom laughed. "You sound like Tayla."
"Where she?" Bradyn looked up at Tom.
"She's downstairs."
Bradyn sighed and made a face. "I sink I need."
"We don't need Tayla to get dressed." Tom smiled. Bradyn was always surprising him. "We've been getting dressed on our own for a while now. One of these shirts will be fine."
"No, geen." Bradyn shook his head and reached for the green camouflage T-shirt.
"Cammies, huh?" Tom shrugged. "Okay."
"Is geen." Bradyn nodded and took the shirt back over to the bed so that he could get dressed.
Tom helped him into his clothes, tied his little boots onto his feet and brushed his hair. "You look good." Tom smiled. "High five." He held his hand out for Bradyn to slap.
"I good." Bradyn giggled and slapped Tom's hand. "Okay, we go now."
"I have to get dressed." Tom sighed. "Why don't you come over to my room and I'll turn on a movie for you to watch while I get ready."
"Kay." Bradyn shrugged and slid off the bed to follow Tom down the hall to his room. Tom put a Veggie Tales video on and dropped Bradyn in the center of the big bed before he went into the closet to find something nice to wear for his date with Tayla. He chose a nice new pair of jeans and a short-sleeved buttoned, and then sat on the bed to lace his shoes. "What do you think, buddy?"
"Good." Bradyn nodded without turning around.
"You have to look at me. How do you know if I look good if you don't look?" Tom smiled.
Bradyn pushed himself up from the bed and looked at Tom. "Is good." He nodded as he lay back on his stomach.
"Thanks." Tom rolled his eyes and headed for his bathroom. He ran his fingers over his still damp hair and tilted his head to the side. He'd gotten his braids redone right after they got to Germany but they were starting to look frayed again. "Oh well." He mumbled to himself as he reached for his aftershave and splashed some on instead of opting for the cologne that always managed to smell too strong. "Impressive." He said to his reflection.
"I like carrot, Daddy." Bradyn said from the bedroom.
"You like carrots?"
"Yeah."
"Cool."
"I have carrot?" Bradyn shimmied down from the bed and walked to the bathroom door. "I go potty." He looked up at Tom and shrugged.
"You have to go?"
"Yeah."
"Awesome." Tom carried him over to the toilet and fumbled with the little boys overalls so that he could do his business. "Thanks for telling me. That's awesome." Tom smiled. "If you keep telling me you'll be all potty trained by the time we leave."
"And go ina pane?"
"Yeah."
"Cool." Bradyn finished and looked up at Tom. They cleaned up and washed their hands. Bradyn headed for the stairs. "Daddy, get star." He shouted as he hopped down the stairs.
"Yeah, let's go get a star." Tom followed him and got the stars from above the fridge. "What kind do you want?"
"Geen."
"A green one, huh? To match your shirt?"
"Yeah."
"Cool." Tom dug around in the stars and came out with a neon green one. "This okay?"
"Yeah." Bradyn smiled and held out his hand for his dad to place the sticker. "Tayla?"
"She's in her room." Tom said as he put the stars away. "But we have to go." He added as he saw the time. "Wanna go get her?"
"Yeah." Bradyn laughed and ran down the hall to the guestroom. "Tayla? Tayla, we go bye." He shouted through the closed door. "I have star an we go bye."
"Just a minute." Tayla said from the inside.
"We're going to be late." Tom said from the kitchen.
"Is late, Tayla."
"Okay." Tayla put the final touches on her hair and hoped for the best as she pulled the door open. "Well, don't you look handsome." She smiled.
"I hot."
Tayla laughed. "You sure do look hot." Tom walked up with his keys in his hand. "So do you." She smiled.
"Are you ready?" He asked.
"Yeah." She nodded.
"Let's go." Tom took her hand and they headed out.
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Tom drove them over to Bill and Nadiehn's house and dropped Bradyn off with his backpack and a small selection of star stickers. "He's getting better about telling you he has to go." Tom said as he handed everything over. "But be careful.""Okay." Bill laughed as Bradyn ran to the back door to play with the dogs. "Where are you guys headed?"
"The Yacht Club." Tom watched as Nadiehn opened the backdoor and let Bradyn out.
"Nice." Bill nodded then glanced over at Tayla. "You'll love it there, they have good food and great view."
"So I've heard." Tayla laughed softly.
"We have to get going though. We have reservations at six thirty." Tom tried not to look at his watch for the third time since they stepped in the door.
"Well, get out of here then. Have a good time and all that."
"We won't be too late." Tom said as he stepped out the front door. "We should be back by ten."
"Don't worry about it." Bill shook his head. "We'll be up."
"And he hasn't had dinner yet."
"I promise to feed him."
"But no ice cream. He doesn't need to get wired up before bed." Tom added as they walked down the walk to the car.
"Right, got it. No ice cream." Bill saluted with a smile.
"I'll have my cell phone on in case anything happens." Tom shouted from the driver's side door. Bill just nodded and laughed as Tom hopped in the car.
"They've baby sat him before, right?" Tayla asked as they pulled onto the street.
"Yeah."
"Okay." She said softly as she looked out the window. "You don't think they'd know to feed him?" She tried not to laugh as she kept her eyes on the passing houses.
"No, I know." Tom smiled. "But, when I first got Bradyn, I didn't know shit. I would never remember to feed him or change him or anything like that."
"Yeah?"
"Well, I didn't get into the habit of doing those things until he'd been around for a while and, for Bill and Nadiehn, they aren't around him very often so it's like they're beginners still. Like I was. Kind of." He shrugged.
"Oh." Tayla smiled and looked sideways at him. "Okay."
"It's a Dad thing, I guess." Tom laughed and reached for her hand as they headed for the coast.
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Their table was waiting when they got there and they were seated in a corner right by the window. A small candle burned in the center of the table illuminating the deep blue table cloths the reflecting off the window. Tom and Tayla ordered their food and made small talk while they ate. The restaurant wasn't very busy so their little corner was quiet enough for them to talk softly.By the time dessert came around, they'd covered the basic small talk and moved on to the getting to know you part that most first dates came to. "You know, for as long as you've worked with us, I don't know very much about you." Tom said as he leaned his elbows on the table.
"There's not much to know." Tayla shrugged and set her fork down beside her plate. "Working your tour is about the most exciting thing that's happened in my life. Other than that, my life has been pretty blah. I grew up in Connecticut, which ought to tell you something." She smiled and dropped her eyes to her plate.
"Well, you grew up working in your Mom's tailoring shop. That must have been interesting."
"My Grandma's tailor shop." Tayla corrected him. "It was okay but after a while it got old, you know? I wanted to have friends over after school but I couldn't because Grandma didn't want a bunch of kids running around the shop and I couldn't go home alone." She shrugged. "Besides, I had work to do."
"They put you to work that young?"
"Well, it wasn't like child labor or anything like that. I liked to help and I did it just to have something to do. They didn't make me do it."
"No, I wasn't saying it like that."
"My options were just pretty slim." She smiled at him over her food to show it was all right. "My Mom had me when she was really young so it's always been kind of weird. She was still growing up at the same time I was and Grandma was set in her ways."
"Really? See, I didn't know that." He smiled with a whole new interest in her.
"Why would you have?" Tayla laughed. "It's not like I walk into wardrobe fittings and say, 'Hey, I'm Tayla. My mom had me when she was 18. I'm allergic to corn. I've lived in Connecticut my whole life. I've had all my wisdom teeth removed and I'm here to hem your pants'." She smiled and shook her head. "If you want to know stuff about me, you'll have to ask. I never know what to say when people say they want to know about me."
Tom laughed lightly and used his spoon to stir his coffee. "What size shoe do you wear?"
"Nine or ten. It depends on the shoe."
"Hmm."
"I have big feet."
"Me too." He nodded. "Any annoying habits?"
"No." Tayla laughed and shook her head. "Of course not." She said innocently.
"Any pets?"
"No."
"No? You seem like the kind of person that would have pets."
"Well, we had pets when I was growing up and I had a cat when I moved out." She shrugged. "But the building I live in now doesn't allow pets so we don't have any now. Well, actually we do have a fish. A plain old goldfish that cost ten cents or whatever. I don't think I'd consider that a pet though."
"Cool." Tom smiled. "Does he have a name?"
"Vicki."
"Oh, it's a girl?"
"No, it's a boy. Actually, I don't know if there's a way to tell but we think it's a boy."
"And you named him Vicki?"
"Yeah." She laughed and blushed quickly. "Have you ever seen So I Married an Ax Murderer?"
"No. I don't think so."
"Okay, in the movie when they go to Alcatraz the guy who's doing the tour? His name is Phil Hartman. Anyway, he's doing the tour and he does his introductory speech 'Everyone here was once a guard at Alcatraz' blah blah blah. At the end he says 'My name is John Johnson but everyone here calls me Vicki.'" She blushed even deeper and wiped her mouth with the napkin. "So that's it. That's how he got the name Vicki."
"That's classic." Tom laughed. "I'll have to watch that movie."
"Yeah, that's one I can watch over and over again and never get tired of it."
Tom took a sip of his coffee. "The English Patient. I could watch that one over and over."
"I practically wore the tape out on that video I watched it so much." Tayla laughed. "But the one movie that I could play every day and never get tired of it is French Kiss. Honestly, when I'm home I put it on when I'm going to sleep every night. I had the DVD with me on the road for a while but I left it in some hotel room."
Tom tilted his head back and laughed. "My ass is twitching, you people make my ass twitch." He quoted in a bad French accent.
"Shut up! You've seen it?"
"It's one of the few Meg Ryan movies I like." He continued to laugh. "Now I want to see it. Do you think the rental store is still open?" He checked his watch though he had no intention of leaving.
"I'll see if I can find another copy somewhere and bring it on the road with us."
"Make sure you get one that's compatible with our DVD players."
"They're not universal? Really?"
"Yeah." Tom made a face. "They're different regions. Some are universal but you have to check."
"Okay." Tayla smiled and picked up her fork again to take another small bite of her thick chocolate cake. "What's your favorite place to visit in Europe?"
"Wow. I don't know. Everywhere we go has something really amazing to see." He shrugged. "Other than just being at home, we went to Stonehenge once. That gave me the chills for the rest of the day. The little hairs on the back of my neck stood up and it was, well, it was just really creepy."
"I can imagine." She smiled. "What about in America?"
"New York." He said without even thinking. "The Big Apple."
"Really?" She laughed and resisted the urge to lick the creamy frosting from her fork.
"Oh yeah, without a doubt. There's always a crowd of people everywhere you go. They have white Christmases and hot summers. There's something for everyone in the city, whether you like art or music or food or running or whatever. Anyone who goes to New York can find something to do, even if it's just people watching."
"Wow." She smiled. She wasn't expecting a complete monologue but she loved listening to his voice. "You've given that some thought, huh?"
"Definitely." He laughed and removed his spoon from his mug. "Eventually I want to move there or have a home there. Maybe after we're done with Tokio Hotel or whatever. I know that won't be for a while but New York isn't going anywhere."
"Very true."
"I live pretty close to there. I can drive to Manhattan in just a few hours." She nodded.
"How can you be that close and not want to live there?"
"It's easy. I've been that close my entire life. I like my little town I live in. I'm not really a city girl. I like to visit but-" She shrugged.
"You're insane."
"You're insane." Tayla smiled back and him and took one last bite of her dessert before she pushed the plate away for good. "That was excellent. Thank you."
"You're welcome." He said softly. "This was fun. I've learned a lot about you." Tom smiled and folded his napkin on the table.
"Have I scared you? Are you going to kick me out at the airport on your way home?" Tayla laughed lightly and watched him sip his coffee.
Tom shook his head before he answered. "No. I think I'll keep you around for another day or so."
"Thank you." She laughed and sat back in her chair as she sighed.
"You're welcome." Tom nodded. He had to bite his tongue to keep from reminding her that she could always stay for another few days or weeks. She knew well enough that she could stay and he knew that she had to go home.
Tom set his cup of coffee aside and wiped his mouth with his napkin. "Are you ready to head back?"
"Yeah, whenever you are." Tayla smiled up at him and he thought about saying he would never be ready to go.
"Okay." He lowered his eyes quickly and reached for his wallet. The bill sat at the end of the table so he slid the cash in the leather folder and stood up. He took Tayla's hand and they wove their way back through the restaurant and out the front door. A breeze came off the ocean sending a chill through their bodies as they crossed the small parking lot. Tayla pulled her cardigan closed with her free hand then held tighter to Tom's.
She smiled up at him as the breeze swept her hair over her cheek. It was strange for her feel the hand in hers and know it was her boyfriend. It'd been a while since she was able to do that and Tom's hand was still new to her.
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Tom and Tayla talked all the way back to Bill and Nadiehn's and were surprised at how smoothly the conversation flowed when they didn't have Bradyn's little voice interrupting every few minutes. Tom stopped the car in front of the house and killed the engine. "I almost wish we could just park here and talk for a little longer. This was nice." Tom smiled in the dark."Yeah, it was." Tayla turned to look out the window at the house. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." Tom nodded. "Thanks for coming with me."
Tayla laughed softly. "Like I could say no to you." She glanced back at Tom and leaned in to kiss him quickly.
"I should've had them keep Bradyn overnight." Tom said softly as he moved his hand up to the side of her neck. "I didn't think this through very well." He smiled and tilted his head to the side to look at her in the light from the garage in front of them.
"It's fine." Tayla smiled. "Let's go get Bradyn." She opened her car door and slid out as Tom walked around the front and took her hand. He led the way up the front walk then rang the doorbell, sneaking in one last kiss before Bill opened the door.
"Hey." Tom smiled as Tayla followed him in the door. "Thanks for watching him." He said softly as he spotted Bradyn asleep on the huge bean bag in the center of the family room.
"No problem. We had fun." Bill smiled and picked Lello up off the floor by his feet. "He was cracking me up all night."
"Really?" Tom laughed. "He's a funny kid." He looked down at Bradyn to try to decide how to pick him up without waking him.
"Did you have a nice dinner?" Nadiehn asked Tayla as they stood off to the side.
"Yeah." Tayla grinned and watched Tom circle Bradyn's sleeping figure. "We're going in reverse so it's kind of nice to get to this step, you know?"
"What do you mean?" Nadiehn laughed softly.
"Well, instead of getting to know each other and going on a few dates and then- You know. We went right to the you know and didn't bother with the rest of it."
"Yeah."
"I mean, what was I supposed to think if it was only the you know?"
"The sex."
"Yeah."
"Well, it's not like that'd be too terrible." Nadiehn gave her a sly smile as she watched Tom pick Bradyn up and cradle him against his shoulder.
"Of course not." Tayla blushed slightly. "But he's a great guy and I'd like to see that side. I want to be more than just a bed buddy to him and I want him to be more than that to me. I'm just glad we were able to go on this date to see if we actually have anything in common."
"Do you?"
"Yeah." Tayla smiled as Tom rubbed Bradyn's back and said whispered something in his ear. "More than I expected. It's weird to think we worked together for almost a year without knowing each other, you know?"
Nadiehn shrugged. "You knew him."
"No." Tayla shook her head but kept her eyes on Tom and Bradyn. "No, I knew the Tom that he puts out there for everyone but I didn't know him."
"Do you now?"
"A lot better than before." Tayla laughed lightly. "It's a good start."
"So now you'll feel better about having all the you know?" Nadiehn giggled softly as Tom and Bill passed them on the way out to the car.
Tayla laughed and blushed even deeper. "Uh huh."
"Good." Nadiehn smiled as they followed the guys out to Tom's car. Tom got Bradyn situated in his car seat as Tayla climbed in the passenger side.
"I'll see you in a few weeks." Tayla said softly as Bill dropped his arm around Nadiehn's waist.
"Bye, guys." Bill waved and shoved his free hand into his pocket.
Tom shut the back door then waved over the hood of the car. "Thanks again."
"No problem." Bill shook his head and waved again as Tom started the car and they headed for home.
----------------
When Tayla awoke on Sunday morning she stretched leisurely and rolled onto her side to face Tom. His bare back was facing her and one leg was out of the blankets that only covered up to his hip anyway. She knew that beneath the blanket he was only wearing his plain black boxer shorts and that she would miss waking up beside him for the time that she was home. For a moment, she thought about waking him up but in the end she decided against it. She carefully slid out from under the covers and walked around to his side of the bed. He slept with a sort of half smile on his lips which made her heart skip a beat as she leaned down and kissed his sleeping lips.Tayla peeked into Bradyn's room on her way down to her room downstairs and saw that he was sleeping sprawled out across the center of the bed. She smiled and continued down stairs where she packed up her clothes then hopped in the guest shower to get ready to leave. When she stepped out a half hour later she dried off in the bathroom then dressed quickly in her comfortable shorts and a T-shirt. It was still early in the morning but it was already warm outside. Before she could finish tying her shoes she heard Tom's voice in the kitchen and she assumed that he was talking to Bradyn. She smiled to herself then tied her shoes and stepped out into the hall with her backpack.
"No, I have to take my girlfriend to the airport." Tom said into the phone. Tayla stopped just outside the guestroom and listened to Tom's half of the conversation. "Okay. Yeah, that's fine. I should be back in a few hours. Can I call then? Okay. Sure." He hung up the phone and leaned against the kitchen counter.
"So who's this girlfriend you have to take to the airport and should I be jealous?" Tayla smiled as she walked around the corner and dropped her backpack on the floor.
"Absolutely." Tom's face broke out in a smile as he met her eye. "She's pretty amazing. She'd be hard to beat."
"Oh, really?" She raised her eyebrow with a smile.
"I'd even go so far as to say she's almost perfect."
"Almost perfect, huh? Wow, that's a pretty tough act to follow." She walked over and casually dropped her arms around his waist before she looked up to kiss him quickly. "What time do we have to leave here?"
"I've changed my mind."
"Oh, really? About what?"
"About going to the airport." Tom grinned then kissed her again.
"That's not an option. My flight leaves in a few hours. You may not have to go but I do."
"No, you don't."
"Yes, I do."
"No, you don't."
"Tom, it's my flight that's leaving. I have to be there." She shook her head.
"You don't have to leave though. You could just stay here." He sounded almost hopeful as he smiled.
"No, I can't." She smiled back but shook her head. "All of my stuff is at home and I have work to do there still. I can't just go on this tour with a week's worth of clothes and no games or things like that."
"You're so high maintenance." He rolled his eyes and laughed.
"Oh, I so am." She rolled her eyes right back at him and pinched his side. "Seriously, what time do we have to leave here?"
He glanced at his watch and shrugged. "Twenty minutes? Something like that."
"Okay."
"Hey, do you want me to see if you can leave from here when we leave for the tour? That way maybe you can come down a few days early and hang out before we have to go?"
Tayla paused for a second, she hadn't thought that far in advance and she wasn't sure how things were going to go once they got on the road. "Yeah." She said softly. "Yeah, that'd be cool. I can hang out with Bradyn and help you guys get ready to go and do last minute wardrobe checks or-"
"Or you can just relax by the pool with us and not worry about anything, especially the stressful tour we're leaving for." Tom pulled her closer and leaned his forehead against hers.
"You think it's going to be stressful?" She asked with a frown.
"It's a tour." Tom shrugged. "Tours are stressful. But this is in Europe, where you don't speak the language and are a whole ocean away from anything familiar. It'll be more stressful for you."
"Yeah, but I can pretty much tell myself I'm in Missouri or something when we're driving. I mean, countryside is countryside, right?"
Tom laughed softly. "In a way, yeah, but at the same time you don't want to miss out on the fact that you're seeing Italian countryside or French countryside." He smiled and took her hand. "You can't make yourself think you're not in Europe because that's awesome. Europe is amazing and you're going to want to experience all of it, even if the hills look like something you'd see in Montana or whatever."
"True." Tayla smiled then sighed. "Where's Bradyn?"
"Bradyn? Who's Bradyn?" Tom grinned and kissed her softly.
"Tom, really. Where is he?" Tayla asked after she let him kiss her for a minute.
"He's getting dressed upstairs."
"By himself?"
"He wants to." Tom shrugged and looked toward the stairs. "Maybe I should go check on him."
"Yeah, I think so." Tayla laughed.
"So do you think you'll come early?" Tom's voice became muffled as he walked up the stairs by the front door. "Before leaving for the tour?"
"What?" Tayla raised her voice to be heard through the house.
"Hey, buddy." Tom pushed Bradyn's door open and stopped. "Wow, hey! What are you wearing?"
"Socks." Bradyn wiggled his foot at Tom.
"Yeah, I can see that." He tried not to laugh at the little boy's choice of attire. Bradyn had dressed himself in an inside out and backwards shirt, a pair of shorts that were almost too small for him, socks that went to his knees and one sandal.
"I'll have to see what David says about me leaving from here." Tayla said as she hopped up the stairs and into Bradyn's room. "Ouch." She raised her eyebrows as she saw Bradyn's outfit. "Tom."
"Hey." He shrugged. "He dressed himself. I'd say that's awesome."
"I have socks." Bradyn laughed and reached for a sneaker to put on his other foot.
"I, uh- I see that." Tayla smiled and leaned on the door.
"You're lookin' good, Bradyn." Tom smiled and knelt on the floor beside him. "But why don't you put your shoes on instead of your sandals?"
"I have two?"
"Your shoes need to match." Tom reached for the other sneaker that was halfway under the bed.
"Oh, his shoes have to match? You've seen the rest of his outfit, right?" Tayla laughed softly from the doorway. Bradyn's dark green shorts didn't exactly go with his bright purple T-shirt that had a silk-screened Mickey Mouse on the front, which was now the back.
"I think he looks great." Tom smiled. "Not all of us can be fashion wizards."
Tayla laughed and shook her head. "Do you like what you're wearing, Bradyn?" She asked the little boy as he let his Dad tie his sneakers on over his socks.
"Yeah."
"Well okay then." She smiled and watched from the door. "Do you have David's number?"
Tom laughed. "Do I have it? Of course I do, don't you?"
"Not with me, no."
"040 12107-6." Tom pulled Bradyn to his feet and straightened his tight shorts as well as he could. They followed Tayla back down the stairs to the kitchen where Tom pulled a container of yogurt out of the fridge and set Bradyn at the table with a spoon.
"What's the number again?" Tayla shook her head. The number was already gone from her mind.
"Speed dial 2." Tom smiled. "What do you need it for?"
"Well, now you got me all excited so I want to see if I can leave from here. If the reservations haven't already been made I mean. If they have then I'll just leave from New York."
"It's three weeks away. The reservations have already been made, just see if they can be changed." Tom shook his head.
"I don't want them to have to go changing everything." She frowned.
"It's not that big of a deal. David will call our travel coordinator, who will call the airlines and say Tayla is leaving from Germany instead of New York and that'll be that."
"But what if the tickets are non-refundable?" She asked.
Tom just looked at her with a raised eyebrow and smiled. "So what?"
"So that's like an extra fifteen million dollars or something."
"Tayla, just call."
----------------
She sighed as she hit the speed dial for David's number and listened to it ring. "It's Sunday. I doubt he'll even be-" She stopped mid sentence. "Hi, David. This is Tayla Speight. Hi." She smiled. "Yeah, I'm here in Germany actually. I did some wardrobe work with the guys. I've had a great time, yeah. Oh, really? Well, maybe next time. No, I haven't been there before. Okay. Thank you." She nodded and blushed. "Yeah, actually I was calling to see if the plane reservations have already been made." She paused. "Yeah, for the European tour. Oh, well I was just going to see if maybe I could fly out from here with the guys and the Germany crew." She paused and nodded. "Oh, okay. That'd be great, thanks. Oh yeah, everything is the same. I just- I wanted to get a few more days of sun and relaxation in before we go so I'll be flying here a few days early. No, that's okay. I can get it. Really- I don't-" He must have cut her off, insisting that they pick up her ticket from Connecticut to Germany, because she blushed even deeper and licked her lips. She couldn't let him pay for her tickets when it had nothing to do with work. "I really don't mind." She shook her head. "But thank you for arranging that for me. It'll be a lot easier, I think. Okay. Thanks. Okay, I'll see you in three weeks then. Bye." She hung up and tossed the phone at Tom."What?!" Tom laughed and caught it in one hand.
"What?" She rolled her eyes. "You have the nicest boss ever."
"He's your boss too." Tom smiled.
"Well, yeah, but-" She shrugged and smiled.
"So the ticket isn't a problem?"
"No." She shook her head. "No, the ticket isn't a problem."
"Yay!" Tom smiled down at Bradyn as he dribbled yogurt down the front of his shirt. He sighed then laughed softly. "See? So instead of leaving today you should just stay here and leave with us in three weeks."
"Tom, we've gone over this. I have to go home and get all your clothes all prettied up and everything. I'll be back here before you know it."
"Yeah but- But- But-" Tom whined and imitated Bradyn.
"But nothing." Tayla shook her head. "We have to get going." She said softly as she looked at the clock on the microwave.
Tom nodded and grabbed a napkin out of the holder on the table and wiped Bradyn's shirt. "Yeah. Are you ready to go, buddy?"
"We go bye?" Bradyn asked as he licked his lips and put the spoon back in the container.
"Yeah, we have to take Tayla to the airport."
"No, you."
"Me?"
"You go port." Bradyn explained.
"I'm going to the airport too. We're all going."
"No, you go."
"I am going." Tom chuckled lightly as he leaned back in his chair.
"I say."
"You want to stay here?"
"Yeah." He looked up at Tom with the same stubborn look that had been passed from father to son.
"You can't stay here."
"Yeah."
"No, you can't, Bradyn. You have to come with me."
"Tayla go."
"Tayla is going too."
"No, you and Tayla."
"Bradyn." Tom sighed as Tayla smiled on the other side of the kitchen. "You have to come with us. We can't leave you here by yourself. It'll be fun." He looked over at Tayla who was trying not to laugh. "You wanna help me out here?"
"You're doing fine." She shook her head and tugged on her bottom lip.
"Come on, buddy. We have to go take Tayla to the airport." He said again. "And when we're done there we can go get some lunch at McDonald's, okay?"
"Have gogurt?"
"They don't have yogurt there, no." Tom shook his head.
Bradyn heaved a deep sigh and rolled his eyes as he slid out of the booster seat. "Kay."
"Okay?"
"Yeah, we go bye." He pulled at his ill-fitting shorts and walked past Tayla towards the front door. "Daddy, drive. Tayla, ride."
Tayla laughed and looked over at Tom. "He's so much like you it's scary."
"I know. I don't know how that happened." Tom shook his head and smiled as he followed Bradyn down the hall. He stopped in the guestroom to pick up Tayla's bag.
"I can't imagine how." She laughed and followed him to grab her backpack.
They walked out to the car parked in the driveway and Tom loaded the luggage into the back as Bradyn climbed on the running board. "Gross. Who ordered the crappy weather?" Tayla looked up at the odd shaped clouds hovering high across the sky. "It looks like it's going to rain. Does it rain all the time in Germany?"
"Occasionally." Tom nodded as he looked up at the threatening sky. "I ordered the weather. I thought maybe if the weather was bad you wouldn't fly."
"I've flown in weather worse than a little rain." Tayla squinted and followed his gaze. "How is it possible for it to be 85º out here and raining? That's unnatural. Mother Nature is messing with your head here." Her shorts clung to her legs as thunder rumbled through the sky.
"This is normal."
"This is freaky." Tayla shook her head and took Bradyn by the hand to pull him off of the running board so Tom could open the door. "Let's go. The rain will only make traffic worse."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Tom sighed and lifted Bradyn into the backseat where he strapped the little boy into his car seat and handed Lello to him. "After this we're going to go get some McDonald's."
"An toys?"
"Yeah, you'll get a toy with your lunch." Tom smiled and slammed the door shut as Tayla climbed in the passenger's side. He slid behind the steering wheel and reluctantly started the car. They headed for the airport twenty minutes away.
It started to rain harder as soon as they hit the freeway and didn't let up at all as they drove along the slick pavement towards the airport. They talked about what they'd be doing during their final three weeks of vacation before they met back up to get back to work and about how they were going to do the whole dating at work thing. "I don't think we really have to say anything." Tom shrugged. "I mean, who cares?"
"Well-" Tayla frowned and thought for a minute. "David won't care?"
Tom laughed and shook his head. "David won't care. Benjamin won't care. The guys won't care. As long as our work gets done and you don't go running to the tabloids or whatever, no one will care."
"How do you know I won't go running to the tabloids?" Tayla gave him a sideways smile as she teased him.
"I guess I figured if you were going to make shit up for publicity, you would have done that already." He grinned over at her and shrugged. "Besides, you don't seem like the type that likes to draw attention to yourself."
"Not at all." She shook her head.
"There you go." He looked over at her and smiled before he returned his attention to the wet road in front of him. They got to the airport later than they expected and were met with a crowd of traffic and people scrambling to get into the terminal and out of the rain.
"You guys don't have to go in with me." Tayla released her seat belt and reached for the handle as Tom rolled to a stop outside the terminal. "It looks pretty crowded."
"Okay." Tom nodded as Bradyn kicked at the back of the driver's seat. "Call me when you get home so I know you made it."
"I will."
"Have a safe flight." Tom reached over and tucked her hair behind her ear, letting his fingers linger on her cheek. "I'll see you in a few weeks." He added softly.
"Yeah." Tayla smiled then leaned into the back seat. "Bye, Bradyn. I'll see you in a few weeks, okay?" She kissed his cheek and made a face at him. "Be good."
"Bye, Tayla." He nodded. "I good."
"Okay, sweetie, I love you." She blew him a kiss then sighed. She really was going to miss him.
"Love too. Bye, Tayla."
"Bye, Bradyn." Tayla faced forward in her seat then leaned over to kiss Tom goodbye. "Bye, Tom."
"Bye, Tayla." He smiled as he imitated Bradyn.
"Can you pop the back so I can get my bag out?"
"I can get it." Tom reached for his handle.
"No, I'll get it. It's raining. There's no reason for us both to get wet." She smiled and opened her door. "Just open it so I can get it out."
"This is your last chance to stay." Tom gave her his million dollar smile and waited for it to take affect.
"Thank you but no." Tayla slid off the seat and shut the door to keep the rain from getting inside. She ran around to the back and pulled the hatch open to reach in and get her suitcase.
"Tayla?" Bradyn asked as he tried to turn around in his seat.
"Yeah, buddy, I'm just getting my bag."
"I go?"
"No, you have to stay here with your Daddy. I'll see you in just a few weeks though. Then we'll go get on an airplane together, okay?"
"Ina pane?"
"Yeah, for a trip."
"For long?"
"No, not really a long trip." She smiled. "Okay, guys, I'll see you in a few weeks." She slammed the hatch shut and ran around to the driver's side window. Tom rolled it down for her to lean in and kiss him again. "Bye." She said quickly as she ran back to the sidewalk where her luggage was waiting in the rain.
"Bye." Tom said as he rolled the window up and watched her get her bags. He waited until she was inside the automatic doors before he pulled away from the curb and they headed home.
----------------
When they got home Tom and Bradyn headed for the kitchen to make some lunch after deciding in the car that they wanted peanut butter and jelly sandwiches instead of happy meals. "Daddy, ou-side?" Bradyn stood at the backdoor staring longingly out the window."We can't go outside, buddy. It's raining."
"Peese?"
"No, not in the rain. We're going to stay inside today."
"Have kacket?"
"It's not cold enough for a jacket. Besides, everything's wet out there." Tom shook his head and spread peanut butter on the piece of bread in front of him. "Maybe it will stop raining later."
"We can dry?" Bradyn looked over his shoulder at his dad. "I have nakin?"
"We can't go outside right now, Bradyn. Come on, let's have some lunch then maybe we can put on a movie?"
"No, I go ou-side." Bradyn jiggled the handle to the door.
"I already said no. We need to stay inside this afternoon."
"Peese?" He whined again, hoping to have a different effect than before.
"No." Tom shook his head and sighed. "Here, I made you a peanut butter sandwich."
"No." Bradyn frowned and slapped his hand against the glass door.
"Hey." Tom gave Bradyn a stern look as he stopped in his tracks. "Don't hit the window. It could break and you'd hurt yourself."
"No hurt." Bradyn slapped the window again and cringed as it shook.
"I don't think so." Tom set the sandwiches down and grabbed Bradyn's wrists. "Do not hit the glass. Come and sit down and eat your lunch. We're not going outside today."
"Eat ou-side."
"No, inside."
"No!" Bradyn shouted as Tom picked him up and set him in his booster seat.
"Damn, what's going on with you? You were a normal kid yesterday and today you're like a psycho demon child." Tom frowned and set half of a sandwich in front of Bradyn. "Eat up."
"No." Bradyn threw the sandwich on the floor then wiggled out of the booster seat and ran back to the door to slap the glass again. "I go."
"Hey!" Tom jumped up and grabbed Bradyn's hands again. "I already told you no. Now stop it." He knelt to Bradyn's eye level and spoke loudly. "Are you going to eat your lunch?"
"No." Bradyn scowled.
"Fine, you can go up to your room and sit there."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes." Tom half laughed as he realized he was arguing with a child.
"No." Bradyn kicked his feet as the tears started.
"You're going up to your room now." Tom picked Bradyn up and held him tight as he walked up the stairs then dropped Bradyn on his bed. "When you're ready to act like a human you can come back downstairs and eat your lunch."
"No! Ou-side."
"I'm not even gonna go there." Tom shook his head. He left the room and shut the door behind him. As soon as the door shut, Bradyn screamed at the top of his voice. "Damn." Tom uttered under his breath as he bounced down the stairs.
Tom sat at the dining room table and ate his sandwich as Bradyn continued to scream and cry upstairs. He cringed with every new shrill sound but he knew that he had to let Bradyn cry himself out every now and then. After almost fifteen minutes, the cries subsided and Tom crept back up the stairs to listen at Bradyn's door. Inside he heard the muffled sobs of an upset little boy but no more crying.
The door made a soft click as Tom pushed it open and poked his head in. "Are you ready to come eat your lunch now?" He asked softly.
"No." Bradyn said as he kicked at his pillows and cried. "Go bye!" He shouted at Tom.
"Okay then." Tom shrugged and closed the door again. Just like before, as soon as the door shut Bradyn let out a piercing scream to follow Tom down the stairs.
Tom cleaned up the kitchen and wrapped Bradyn's sandwich in saran wrap for him to eat later. He made a new pitcher of orange juice. He paused as he stirred and listened for any sound coming from upstairs but heard none. He frowned to himself and trotted back up the stairs to check on Bradyn. The paternal feeling of worry appeared out of nowhere and suddenly Tom was aware of how suddenly the crying stopped. Irrational images flashed through his mind as he pushed Bradyn's door open.
Before he even got a foot in the door Tom stopped and laughed softly to himself. Bradyn was sound asleep on top of the covers with his feet on his pillows and Lello tucked under his tear stained cheek.
----------------
More than an hour later Tom was sitting in his chair reading when he heard Bradyn thump out of bed upstairs. The tiny footsteps made their way down the carpeted stairs one at a time and down the hall to the kitchen. Bradyn pulled himself onto his chair with his booster seat and carefully unwrapped his sandwich without even glancing at Tom."Daddy, have juice?" He asked in his little tired voice.
Tom smiled. It was still amazing for him to watch as Bradyn just automatically knew his Daddy was within earshot. "I made some orange juice. Do you want some of that?"
"Yeah." Bradyn pulled the crust off of his bread to eat it first.
"Okay." Tom nodded, looking for any hint of the cranky child from before. He got Bradyn a sippy cup of juice and set it on the table beside his sandwich. He got a box of crackers out of the cupboard to have them too. "Did you have a good nap?"
"Yeah." Bradyn yawned and nibbled on his sandwich.
"Good." Tom whispered as he rested his chin in his hand and watched Bradyn eat his peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
Bradyn sighed and put his sandwich down. "Go bye ona pane." He mumbled.
"Yeah." Tom bit his lip as he watched Bradyn stare at his peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Bradyn missed his Tayla. And so did Tom.
----------------
The next day was their first full day on their own so Tom made it a special one. They drove to Soltau and spent a few hours at Heide Park. Seppel came along for assistance though he seemed to have just as much fun as Tom and Bradyn. They rode all of the little kid rides and Tom rode a few rides for bigger kids while Seppel watched Bradyn. Fans were frequent and Tom was surprised at how calm they were. He signed autographs and posed for pictures while Seppel held Bradyn, then they were on their way.They went to bed early that night to prepare for school the next day. Tom just wanted to get back into Bradyn's regular routine for the short amount of time that they had left. After he put Bradyn down he stood in the kitchen and packed Bradyn's little snack for the next day. He made sure the backpack was stocked and set it by the door and settled into the couch to catch up on some shows he'd missed.
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The next morning Bradyn woke Tom up by climbing into his bed, squishing Tom's stomach in the process. "Daddy, hi." Bradyn mumbled as he patted Tom's sleeping head."Hey." Tom mumbled as he rolled over. "What time is it?" He asked in his scratchy early morning voice.
"Time?"
"Is it still dark outside?" Tom didn't even bother to open his eyes as he felt for his watch on the nightstand.
"Daddy, is time."
"It's time, huh?" Tom cracked an eye open and looked at his watch. "You're right. It's time to get up so you can go to school."
"No." Bradyn shook his head. "Have a bay-go."
"You want a bagel."
"Bay-go an cheese an apo."
"Wow, that's a lot. Are you sure you can eat all that?"
"Yeah." Bradyn smiled and slid off the bed. "Less go, Daddy." He tugged at Tom's shirt until the older man stood up and hobbled along behind him down to the kitchen. Tom made Bradyn's breakfast as he brewed coffee and poured orange juice for both of them.
"I need to wake up, buddy. I'm tired."
"No, you wake and me bay-go."
Tom laughed and shook his head as the toaster dinged. "Yeah, I'm awake enough to make you a bagel." He nodded and placed a smear of cream cheese on the bagel. "Here you go. Eat up." He set the plate in front of Bradyn and returned to the coffee maker to pour himself a cup. "Yum."
"I have dat?" Bradyn looked at Tom's mug.
"What?"
"I have dat?" Bradyn asked again.
"What? This? My coffee?"
"Yeah."
"No, coffee isn't for kids." Tom shook his head. "It might hurt your tummy."
"I see?"
"Sure." Tom walked over and held the mug down for Bradyn to peer into. "See? It doesn't look very good, does it?"
"Is hot?" Bradyn looked up at Tom, ignoring his previous comment.
"Well, it's warm. It's not too hot, no." Tom shook his head.
"Daddy, I try?"
"You won't like it."
"Peese?"
"Just a tiny bit, okay?" Tom held his mug to Bradyn's lips and tilted it gently. Bradyn took an abnormally large swallow then his eyes flew open and he looked up at Tom. "See? I knew you wouldn't like it."
"Yucky, Daddy." Bradyn made a face and shook his head before he went back to his orange juice. "Is too yucky, Daddy." He continued to make a face as he tore a bite off of his bagel and stuck it in his mouth. He sniffed and wiped his nose on his sleeve while Tom cringed.
"Wanna talk about yucky? I think snot on your arm is as yucky as it gets." Tom reached for a napkin and squeezed it over Bradyn's nose. "Blow." He said, sounding so much like his Mom that he had to laugh. "Gross." He tossed the napkin in the trash and leaned against the counter to make himself a piece of toast. "Okay, hurry it up so we can get going."
"Where we going?"
"To school." Tom checked the clock on the microwave.
"An you?"
"I'm gonna take you, yeah." Tom nodded as he reached for the remnants of Bradyn's bagel. "Are you done?"
"Yeah." Bradyn slid off the chair and headed for the stairs. "Tayla no going." Tom laughed again and tossed the bagel in the trash before he hopped up the stairs to Bradyn's room.
They chose clothes for him to wear then made a quick bathroom run before Bradyn committed to getting dressed. Bradyn coughed as Tom pulled his baseball T-shirt over his head. "Hey, buddy, don't get sick." Tom mumbled. That was the last thing he needed.
"Kay." Bradyn sniffed and looked up at Tom. "Daddy, we go see?"
"Go see what?" Tom reached for Bradyn's pants and pulled them up over his big boy undies.
"See Pie appo?"
"No, we're not going to see Bill."
"Peese?" Bradyn sniffed again as Tom buttoned his pants and sat him on his bottom to put his shoes on.
"You're going to school to see Dylan and Miss Heather." Tom explained.
"Lato?"
"Later?"
"Lato see Pie appo?"
"Yeah, maybe later we'll go see Bill." Tom tied Bradyn's shoes then stood him upright and ran his hands over the toddler's hair. "I think you need another haircut."
"Kay."
"Unless you want to grow your hair out and braid it like me." Tom smiled and pulled at one of his braids.
"No." Bradyn smiled and shook his head. "I cool like Pie appo." He brought his hand up to his head and patted his short hair.
"Yeah, you have cool hair. I don't know where you get that Bill has cool hair though." Tom laughed, "Okay, let's get going. You don't wanna be late to school."
"Get a cut?" Bradyn asked as they hopped down the stairs.
"Yeah, I'll take you to get a cut this week maybe."
"Now?"
"Not now, it's time for school right now." Tom laughed and held the garage door open for Bradyn. He got him situated in his car seat and they headed for the school. "This is our last week to play around. Next week I have to get back to work and then we leave for the tour." Tom sighed and glanced in the rear view mirror. "The next few weeks are going to suck for you. There's not much to do at the compound."
"Who dere?"
"Who's at the compound? Everybody will be there but we'll all be working."
"I work?"
"Yeah, you can work too."
"Day?"
"Not today. Next week."
Bradyn sighed and reached for his toy on the seat beside him. The action figure's mechanical voice roared behind Tom as Bradyn bounced the half man half bear figure up and down his leg. "We stop?" Bradyn asked as Tom slowed down.
"Stop? No we're not stopping yet. The light is green." Tom looked up at the light to double-check and continued around the corner.
"Stop and have chee-burg?"
"A cheeseburger? For breakfast? I don't think so. That's not a good breakfast. You already had your bagel and cheese."
"Go simmin?"
"We can go swimming this afternoon if you want, after your nap."
"Now?"
"No, we can't go now, silly. We're in the car. We don't have a pool in here." Tom smiled at Bradyn in the rear view mirror.
"At home?"
"Yeah, we have a pool at home so this afternoon when you get up from your nap at home we can go swimming." Tom nodded. "I'll get your swim suit out and your water wings and everything so they'll be ready to go."
"Kay." Bradyn sighed and looked out the window as he yawned.
"Okay." Tom said under his breath as they pulled into the school's parking lot. They walked in together and Tom signed Bradyn in then headed for the classroom at the end of the hall.
"Daddy?" Bradyn stopped walking and grabbed onto Tom's pants.
"What's the problem, Bradyn?" Tom asked softly as they stepped just outside of Bradyn's classroom. "What's up with this?" He tried to pry Bradyn's hands from his jeans with no luck.
"We can go." Bradyn whined. "Now?"
"You like school. What's going on?" Tom knelt to Bradyn's eye level and gave him a concerned look. "Don't you want to see Dylan?"
"Say hi?"
"Yeah, let's go say hi to Dylan."
"Anen we home?"
"You want to say hi to Dylan and then go home?" Tom frowned.
"Yeah."
"Why?"
"I see Gay-og." Bradyn pouted.
"Georg's not at home."
"Yeah."
"No, he might be at his home but he's not at our home." Tom shook his head and reached to smooth down Bradyn's hair. "I thought you liked school."
"I like."
"So how come you don't want to go? Look. See? We're here. Your teacher is waiting for you and so is Dylan."
"And Tayla?"
"Tayla?"
"Yeah."
"No, she's not here at school. She's at her home." Tom shook his head again. "Look at all your friends in there. They're waiting for you to go play with them."
"For minit?"
Tom sighed and picked Bradyn up and he stood up. "What's the problem? How come you don't want to go to school?"
"Just want Gay-og." Bradyn sighed and gave his father a pitiful look.
"How about if I call Georg and see if he can come over this week and maybe bring Kala and Dylan?" Tom asked as they stepped into the bright room.
"Now?"
"I'll call him when I get home." Tom nodded.
"Kay." Bradyn nodded but he didn't look pleased.
"I'll be back in a few hours to get you, okay? Make something really cool for your project today, okay?"
"Yeah."
"Bye, Bradyn." Tom picked him up to kiss his cheek and set him down. He watched as Bradyn walked over to where Dylan and a couple other children were playing with books. Tom stood there for a minute just watching before he turned and left the room. He had work to do at home and he wanted to do it when he had peace and quiet.
----------------
Tom spent almost the whole time in his little makeshift office that was cluttered with all of the stuff that used to be in Bradyn's room. His old recliner was in the center of the room so Tom grabbed his guitar, hooked it up to his amp and footboard, put his headphones over his ears and grabbed his notebook. Since Bradyn had started at his pre-school, Tom had spent at least a few hours a week in his little room fiddling around with melodies and lyrics.----------------
After school and his nap, Bradyn decided he didn't want to go in the pool so they played on the play set and had dinner outside under the little wooden bridge. Tom picked up their trash then took Bradyn back inside for a bath and to get him ready for bed. "I don't know about you but I'm tired.""Yeah, I tire." Bradyn yawned and held his feet up so Tom could pull his pajama bottoms on. "I pay for minit?"
"You want to play for a minute?" Tom smiled.
"Yeah."
"Downstairs?"
"Yeah, pay and see Shek."
"I think we can do that. Shrek is already in the DVD player so we're ready to go." Tom pulled Bradyn to his feet then they went downstairs to relax in the living room. The movie started as Bradyn pulled his train and train tracks out of the toy basket and began to set them up on the carpet. He played in silence for about twenty minutes, completely ignoring the movie playing behind him.
"Okay, Daddy. I seep." Bradyn sighed as he stood up and put his train back in his toy basket before he headed for the hall.
"Hey, come here for a second." Tom frowned as Bradyn wobbled by like a drunken man. "Are you okay?" He reached for Bradyn's arm and pulled him onto his lap.
"Yeah." Bradyn said softly.
"Whoa, you're warm. I think you have a fever." Tom licked his lips and blinked rapidly. "Okay. I can do this." He whispered to himself as he ran his hand over Bradyn's forehead. "Where's my book?"
"No read." Bradyn frowned and rested his warm head on Tom's shoulder. "Daddy, I seep."
"I need to read my book for a second so I'll know what to do."
"Go seep."
"No, you can't go to sleep yet." Tom walked to the phone alcove in the kitchen and looked through the drawers there for his What to Expect: The Toddler Years book. Once he found it, he adjusted Bradyn on his shoulder and set the book on the counter to flip through it to find the fever section.
Tom read the few paragraphs and calmed himself down considerably, "Does your throat hurt?" He shook Bradyn a little to make him open his eyes.
"No."
"Does your nose hurt?"
"Yeah."
"What about your ears?"
"No." He whined and squished his face into Tom's shoulder.
"So you're just kind of stuffy?" Tom looked at Bradyn with a concerned expression as a trail of clear snot ran from one of his nostrils. Bradyn sniffed and coughed, answering Tom's question without speaking. "Okay, let's go upstairs and take your temperature." Tom's tucked the book under his arm as they walked upstairs to Bradyn's bathroom and took the ear thermometer from the medicine cabinet. He prayed that Bradyn's fever wouldn't be high as he placed the little monitor in his ear. After having meningitis earlier that year, he knew how easy it'd be for him to get sick again and Tom knew he didn't want to do that again. Spending the week at the hospital wasn't Tom's idea of a good time and he wasn't sure he'd be able to hold it together again.
Tom depressed the button on the thermometer as instructed. It beeped and Tom sighed with relief. "One hundred point three. That's not too bad."
"I good?"
"Yeah, you're going to be okay." Tom flipped the book open on the counter and read what to do next. "Okay, since it's only one hundred we don't have to go to the doctor. That's good. We don't need a cool bath, good. We don't need to do much of anything except sleep." He looked down at Bradyn. "Are you tired?"
"I seep, Daddy." Bradyn yawned and rested his head on Tom's shoulder.
"Okay, cool." Tom kissed the top of Bradyn's head and carried him to his room.
"No, Daddy. You."
"Me?"
"You bed."
"You want to sleep in my bed?" Tom looked down at his son as they stood over his little car bed.
"Yeah. An you."
Tom sighed and conceded. "Okay." They went down to Tom's room where he set Bradyn on the bed and pulled the blankets up to his chin. "I'll be right back, buddy." Tom went back to Bradyn's room and got Lello off of the bed as well as Bradyn's own pillow and a truck.
When he got back to his room, Bradyn's eyes were already half closed and he'd kicked the blankets off of his legs. "Here you go." Tom lifted Bradyn's head and slid the thin pillow under him. He tucked Lello under his arm and crawled into the bed beside him. "I have a truck here too if you want it."
"No." Bradyn yawned and rolled over onto his stomach. "I seep."
"Okay, you go to sleep. I'll be right here." Tom laid his head on his own pillow and clicked the TV on. He adjusted the volume and placed his hand on Bradyn's warm back as the little boy fell asleep. Tom watched movies on cable until he fell asleep beside Bradyn.
----------------
Tom and Bradyn slept through the night. In the morning when Tom woke up, he took Bradyn's temperature as he slept. "One hundred point two." Tom looked down at his sleeping son. "I'm sorry you have a bug." He sighed before he set the thermometer on the bedside table and pulled out his trusty book. It said that as long as the child was eating regularly and taking fluids, all he would need was plenty of rest and fluids. His glands weren't swollen, he wasn't lethargic or any of the other telltale symptoms of something more serious so Tom ran downstairs and decided he'd bring a juice box up with him.While in the kitchen digging through the fridge for a juice box, the house phone rang. Tom spotted the juice boxes behind the milk and grabbed one before he lunged for the phone. "Hello?"
"Hi, you."
A broad smile swept across Tom's face as Tayla's voice drifted through the airwaves. "Hey."
Tayla sniffed and held the phone away as she coughed. "I just wanted to let you know I made it home in one piece." She sniffed again. "And I seem to have brought a bug home with me."
"So that's where Bradyn caught it." Tom said as he nodded.
"Oh, no." Tayla said, feeling guilty. "Did I get Bradyn sick?"
"I don't think you made him sick." Tom said to reassure her. "I'm betting you guys caught it at the same time."
Tayla coughed again. "Is he okay?"
Tom smiled at her concern. "Yeah. He'll be fine. He just needs rest and fluids. Same as you."
"Are you sure?" She held the phone away from her head as she sneezed.
"Gesundheit." Tom frowned and stared at the juice box in his hand. He wished Tayla were there so he could take care of her as well. "Yes, Bradyn's okay. Now go get some juice and go to bed. Sleep the day away or just lay around and watch movies."
"Thanks, Tom." Tayla smiled and she wished she were back in Germany with Tom and Bradyn.
They said their good-byes and Tom bounded back up the stairs to check on Bradyn.
"Daddy?" Bradyn asked as Tom hit the top of the stairs.
"Yeah, I'm coming. I brought you some juice." Tom said softly.
"Me?"
"Yeah, it's all for you." Tom popped the straw in the opening and handed it to Bradyn as he rolled over onto his back on the bed. "Do you feel any better today?"
"I feel my nose." Bradyn said as he grabbed it with his free hand. "Is ow."
"Yeah, I need to see about getting you some kids version of Dayquil or something, you'd like that." Tom watched carefully as Bradyn drank down some of the juice. He took the box and put it back on the table.
"Daddy?" Bradyn mumbled as he rolled over and kicked Tom's shin.
"Yeah, buddy, I'm here."
"I go potty."
"You have to go potty?"
"Yeah." Bradyn pushed himself up to a sitting position and rubbed his eyes. "Peese?"
"Hang on a second. You can go in the big boy potty." Tom rolled out of bed and rushed to Bradyn's bathroom down the hall. He returned with the toddler-sized toilet and set it beside the regular one in the bathroom. "Okay, here you go." Tom helped Bradyn out of his pajamas and let the little kid do his business. "You know what? This is gonna be cool that you're using the big kids potty before we go on tour but it's gonna suck that I have to lug the thing around." Tom sighed as he stood in the door. He tilted his head to the side and looked at Bradyn standing near the standard sized toilet. "Maybe-"
"I done." Bradyn stood up and reached for his pants.
"Hang on, let's try this." Tom picked Bradyn up and sat him on the big toilet. Bradyn's hands came down to his sides and he held himself up using the toilet seat. "There. You kinda fit on there."
"Is big."
"Yeah, it's big but this is the kind of toilet we're gonna have on tour."
"We no go." Bradyn shook his head and leaned forward to help balance himself to keep his tiny little butt out of the huge hole.
Tom laughed. "We have to go."
Bradyn sighed and held his hands out to Tom. "Daddy, I done."
"Okay, okay." He lifted Bradyn off the seat and helped him pull up his pajama bottoms. They went back to Tom's giant bed and crawled under the covers to set the tone for the rest of their day.
----------------
Tom and Bradyn spent the next two days curled up in Tom's bed or downstairs on the couch as Bradyn's temperature slowly went back to normal and his sniffles subsided. They watched hours of Winnie the Pooh movies and Veggie Tales while eating lots of soup with grilled cheese sandwiches. Any other time, Tom would have felt like he was wasting time lying around on the couch for days on end but, right then, he felt like he didn't want to leave.They'd be leaving for the tour in a few weeks and he knew that, once they got started there, it would be so chaotic he probably wouldn't have any real time with Bradyn alone. The hours of napping on the couch in his pajamas with his son seemed to bring home the fact that they were bonding more and more each day. More than Tom even thought was possible. The two years that Tom didn't know about Bradyn seemed to vanish in Tom's mind as he pulled his socks off on the third day and stood up by the couch.
"See Dylan?" Bradyn yawned as he squirmed off the couch to stand beside Tom.
"No. No school today. Today is Friday." Tom shook his head and scratched at his unshaven jaw. "Are you feeling better?"
"Yeah."
"No more runny nose?"
"Nose here?" Bradyn touched his nose to assure himself it wasn't running.
"Cool." Tom stretched his arms and looked around the family room. "How about we get dressed and go get some McDonald's? Are you ready to get out of the house?"
"Now?"
"Yeah, I think you're feeling well enough to go out."
"And have kickin?"
"Chicken nuggets? Sure, if that's what you want. I just need something else besides soup." Tom sighed and nodded for the stairs. "Let's go get cleaned up a little bit. I need a shower in a major way."
"Yeah."
"Yeah? You think I need a shower?"
"Yeah." Bradyn giggled and followed Tom.
"Do I stink?" Tom sniffed at his armpits.
"Sinky, Daddy."
"I don't stink."
"Yeah, you sink." Bradyn made his way slowly up the stairs. "And I sink, Daddy. I sink and need a sower." He stopped at the top of the stairs and put his hands on his hips. "My nose need a sower."
"Your nose does, huh? We'd better hurry up then." Tom held the door open to Bradyn bathroom and started the water. He bathed Bradyn and dressed him in clean but comfortable clothes. He set him on the bed to watch TV for fifteen minutes while he cleaned himself up.
They went into town and got McDonald's. They sat in the heavy plastic booth to eat in the corner. Bradyn chatted through the whole meal and Tom knew he was feeling a hundred times better. His nose had stopped running and he hadn't coughed in more than a day. "Hey, how would you like to go see your Oma and Opa?" Tom asked as he wadded up his trash. He reached up to pull his hat down a little lower and scooted closer to the wall.
"I see?"
"Do you want to?"
"I do?"
"I'm asking if you do." Tom smiled. "You met them before. Back when we were in LA."
"Kay." Bradyn shrugged and stuck a fry in his mouth. He shoved his chicken nuggets aside and stood up in the booth to take a drink of his orange soda. "We can go now?"
"Not right the second but I thought we would go spend the weekend with them? Just a few days."
"Kay an I bing Lello?"
"Of course."
"Yeah." Bradyn nodded. "But no Pie appo an no Gay-og an no Goose-gog an no Tayla."
"That's right." Tom nodded. "Are you done with that?"
"Yeah."
"Eat three more fries."
"Two?"
"Three?"
"I have two."
"You can eat two but then you'll have to eat another one. I want you to eat three."
"I no hungry."
"Yeah, you are." Tom sighed and smiled. "Eat three more fries so we can go home and get things ready to go see your Oma and Opa."
"Daddy?"
"Yeah?"
"I have two." Bradyn picked up two fries and put them in his mouth. He slid off the seat and carried the rest of his fries to the trash. And that was that. Bradyn truly was a smaller version of Tom's stubborn self.
----------------
They spent the weekend at Tom's parents' house and had a great time while they were there. Bradyn told them how much fun he was having in school and Tom shared some of his potty training stories. His Mother had a good laugh picturing Tom trying to hold Bradyn over the big toilet while not getting pee all over himself. "It was a mess." Tom shook his head and laughed."I go potty on Daddy." Bradyn added with a little giggle from his seat on the floor by the couch.
"Yeah, you did. You nailed me."
"And Daddy say ahhhhh!" Bradyn made a shocked face and screamed loudly.
"Don't go telling everyone I screamed." Tom blushed and playfully covered Bradyn's mouth with his hand. "I'll pee on you. Let's see if you scream."
"No!" Bradyn shouted from behind Tom's hand as he continued to laugh.
"Yeah!" Tom shouted back. He took his hand from Bradyn's mouth and began to tickle him. "I'm going to pee on you and see if you scream too."
"No! No, Daddy! Is yucky!" Bradyn laughed hysterically as Tom tickled his sides.
"You guys are sick." Simone shook her head and smiled as she watched her son and grandson goofing around on the floor. She managed to keep her tears of happiness back while her heart almost burst with pride. Tom was doing a phenomenal job with Bradyn, even though he was still figuring it out. Considering the situation, she never would have expected Tom to fall into the role of Daddy as fast and as well as he had.
----------------
Tom promised his parents he'd call from the road as often as he could to touch base, then he and Bradyn headed for their own home. Bradyn fell asleep along the way. When they got home Tom carried Bradyn inside and up to his room. He laid him on the bed in his clothes and went about taking his shoes and pants off before pulling the blanket up to his chin. Tom kissed Bradyn's forehead then whispered his night time prayers that he was trying to teach Bradyn before ducking out the door and going down to the kitchen.The red light on his answering machine flashed and he debated putting the messages off until the morning. Instead he hit the play button and grabbed a soda from the fridge. "Hey, Tom! This is Georg, in case you couldn't tell. I know you're probably out playing at McDonald's or something but gimme a call when you get in. I wanna see about getting one of those portable DVD player things for the plane and Bill said you were lookin' at them last year so I wanted to find out which ones are the best. I called Gustav but he's pretty much useless. He dives into that techie talk and completely loses me. Anyway, call me when you get back. As long as it's not six in the morning. Bye." Tom smiled and a second later Georg's voice came back. "Or seven in the morning. Or before noon. Okay, Bye."
The machine beeped and moved to the next message. "Hi, Tom! Hi, Bradyn! This is Astrid. I was, uh- I was just calling to say hi and to see how you were doing. I'm back in California now. They had me running all over the place for other training classes and stuff. So anyway, I know you're going to be leaving to tour Europe but I don't remember when you said you were going. If you could please call me back and let me know, I'd appreciate it. I don't think I'll be able to get back out to Germany before then but I'd like to talk to Bradyn on the phone if I can. Thanks, Tom. I'll talk to you later. Bye." She hung up then the next call was a telemarketer with a very important message regarding your life insurance.
Tom skimmed the last of the messages and deleted all of the sales people and hang-ups. He checked his watch and counted back nine hours. It was barely one in California. He dialed Astrid's number and let it ring through to her voice mail. He left her a short message in return. He included his cell phone number since they would be at Benjamin's for most of the next week. When he was done he called Georg back, knowing that there was no way he'd be asleep before midnight.
"H'lo." Georg answered on the first ring.
"Hey, Georg." Georg always brought a smiled to Tom's face.
"Hey, what's going on? You just now getting in?"
"Yeah, we spent the weekend with my parents. You know, before we go on tour and all that." Tom explained.
"Right on." Georg nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow, right?"
"Yeah."
"Cool, can you tell me about the things then? I have people over."
"People? Or a girl?" Tom smirked.
"People. More than one but yes."
"More than one girl? You're a dog, Georg."
"Yeah, whatever Tom. It's my Mom and Kala. Hardly what I'd call an orgy." Georg rolled his eyes and Tom heard the two ladies laugh and slap Georg.
"You need help." Tom laughed and felt almost nostalgic as he looked at the toys strewn across his living room floor. "I'll bring you the stuff I printed tomorrow. You'll be there at eight, right?"
"Uhh-" Georg paused. "Yeah, close to then."
"You have to be there at eight."
"I know. I will." Georg said quickly. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Bye, Georg."
"Later." Georg hung up the phone and left Tom holding the mute handset in his hand.
"He's gonna be late." Tom smiled and shook his head. The real life he'd known for so long was getting replaced with this new one that included Bradyn yet somehow things were still just the same.
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Tom and Bradyn got an early start on their morning the next day. They were at the compound by eight. There were already a few cars parked out front but the only other member of Tokio Hotel there was Bill."Daddy, out." Bradyn strained at the straps holding him into his car seat and tried to pull himself free. "Daddy, out! I see Pie appo!" He smiled as he caught sight of Bill getting out of his car a few feet away.
"Bradyn! Hey, buddy! What's up?" Bill smiled as he slammed his car door.
"I suck." He pulled at the straps again.
"Oh, that's no good." Bill walked over and nodded hello to Tom as he stood on the other side of the car throwing things into the familiar red backpack. "Can I get him out?"
"Yeah." Tom grabbed Elmo from the seat and shoved him in the bag making the little red doll giggle and vibrate. "Can you take him in for me? I have to run up to Benjamin's office to drop off Bray's passport."
"You got it?"
"Yeah, we had to pull some strings but we got it." Tom pat his back pocket as he slammed the passenger door shut. "I'll see you in the studio. Bradyn, listen to Bill, okay?"
"Kay." Bradyn shouted after Tom while Bill fumbled with the nylon restraints.
"Where's the button thing?" Bill asked Bradyn softly.
"Is dere." Bradyn pointed to the bright red button between his knees. "And you push."
"Got it." Bill pushed the release and Bradyn darted into his arms.
"Hi, Pie appo! We go." He wiggled to the ground and started walking up to the house.
"Wait for me. There are cars."
"Cars?" Bradyn looked around the wide empty space that was used as a parking lot. "Where?"
"There may be cars." Bill corrected himself. "Hold my hand." He extended his hand out for Bradyn. They walked hand in hand around the house to the back where the studio was set up facing the lake. The door to the studio opened easily and Bill reached in to turn the bright overhead lights on.
"Don't touch anything in here, Bradyn." Bill warned as Bradyn's eyes lit up. The stereo equipment in front of the windows lured Bradyn toward the wall as Bill followed close behind. "I'm serious. If you touch that you're going to be in trouble."
"No can touch." Bradyn shook his head and put his hands behind his back as he looked closely at the stereo. "Is a song?"
"Yeah, that plays music."
"I see?"
"We'll turn it on in a minute when everyone gets here." Bill pulled his sweatshirt over his head and tossed it toward his duffel bag in the corner. "Did your Dad bring you some toys or something to play with?"
"I dunno." Bradyn shrugged as he continued to stare at the stereo at his eye level. "Pie appo? You touch?"
"Yeah, I can touch it."
"I see?"
"You want to see me touch it?"
"Yeah." Bradyn stepped back and leaned against the wall. Bill laughed as he reached out and touched the side of the stereo. "Uh oh." Bradyn whispered with a frown.
"Uh oh? What?" Bill asked.
"It no wok."
"It works."
"You touch an no song." Bradyn shook his head. "You bake."
"I didn't break it." Bill laughed and shook his head.
"Yeah." Bradyn laughed with him and jumped from one end of the room to the other.
"What's up?" Georg shouted as he walked into the room and threw his bag into the corner with Bill's.
"Hi!" Bradyn wove his way over to Georg and grabbed his leg. "Pie appo bake. No song."
"He what?"
"He bake."
"He baked? What'd he bake? A cake?"
"Cake?" Bradyn gave him a peculiar look as Georg walked with Bradyn hanging onto his pants. "Have some a can-does?"
"I have no idea what you're saying." Georg shook his head and looked at Bill for a translation.
"He was saying that I broke the stereo because no music came out." Bill offered from the floor where he was sitting.
"Oh, he's gonna be in trouble. No one's allowed to touch that."
"I no touch." Bradyn shook his head. "Pie appo, he touch and no song."
"Bill's not supposed to touch it either." Georg raised is eyebrow at Bill. "Did you touch it?"
"Yeah, I touched it Georg. Like this." Bill placed his finger on the side of the stereo again. "I didn't go messing with the settings again so just relax." He rolled his eyes.
"Good, because Peter just about had a fit when you tweaked his EQ last time."
"I just told you I didn't touch anything."
"Yeah. This time."
"Pie appo say no." Bradyn shook his head.
"Yeah, see? I told him no."
"Anen he touch." Bradyn sighed and sank to the floor.
"He's a tattle tale." Bill pointed at Bradyn as Tom walked in.
"What's the problem?" Tom asked only half paying attention as he set his duffel bag and Bradyn's backpack on the bench across the room. "What?" He stood up straight and sighed.
"Bradyn's a tattle tale."
"Did you do something wrong?"
"He say no an he touch." Bradyn shrugged.
Tom laughed and looked at Georg. "Was he touching stuff he wasn't supposed to?"
"Bill was, yeah."
"Bill." Tom gave him a fatherly look then burst into laughter.
"Shut up. I touched the stereo like this." Bill leaned over again and put his finger on the side of the stereo. "That's it."
"After you told Bradyn not to touch anything?"
"Yeah." Bill sighed. "Okay, fine. Bradyn, come here and touch it."
"No." Bradyn shook his head. "Say no touch."
Georg and Tom laughed and high-fived Bradyn as the little boy ran by. "You guys suck." Bill complained. "Where's Gustav?"
"He's outside on the phone." Georg nodded to the exterior door. "He's turning into Bill."
Bill rolled his eyes and pulled his shoes off.
"Something like that." Tom nodded. "Bradyn, come here for a second." Tom sat on the floor and opened his bag to put his sneakers on. Bradyn walked over and sat next to Tom. He took his own little sandals off just like Tom did. "We have to practice our songs today so I need you to stay in here, okay?"
"I pack-tiss?"
"You can pretend to practice over here by the bench." Tom nodded to the corner. "But we have to practice for real out there." Tom looked toward the other room that was set up to look like a stage. "So can you stay over here?"
"And Gay-og?"
"Georg's going to be practicing with me and Bill out there."
"And Goose-gog?"
"Gustav too, yes."
"Is Toke Hoh-tell?"
"Yes, we're Tokio Hotel." Tom smiled.
"He doesn't know we're Tokio Hotel?" Bill asked.
"He knows who we are and he knows that Tokio Hotel exists, I just don't think he gets the fact that we're all in Tokio Hotel."
"I Toke Hoh-tell." Bradyn nodded.
"Yeah, you can be in Tokio Hotel too." Tom smiled and ran his hand over Bradyn's head, inconspicuously feeling for a temperature. Assured that there was none, Tom tied his shoes then grabbed his and Bradyn's sandals and stood up. "You need to stay where I can see you."
"Ou-side?"
"No, you can only go outside with me or Seppel."
"Pie appo?"
"Bill will be practicing with me."
Bradyn heaved a heavy sigh. "All them?"
"Yes, all of the guys will be practicing. You'll have to either watch or play with Seppel." Tom nodded as he leaned on the bench beside Georg.
"Nadiehn will be here tomorrow, I think." Bill offered.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah, so maybe she can take him around and show him the game room and stuff like that." Bill shed his windbreaker and rolled his shoulders. "You have fun with Nadiehn, don't you, Bradyn?"
"Yeah." Bradyn nodded as he stood up and ran around in circles.
"You know, I had a dog that used to do that." Georg said softly as he looked over his shoulder at Bradyn. Bill cracked up laughing but Tom just smiled and shook his head.
"Shut up, Georg." Tom laughed and threw a fake punch at Georg's cheek. "But Bradyn doesn't shit on the floor."
"True. Very true." Georg laughed and slapped Tom on the back. "You have a point there."
The tech guy, Peter, rushed into the room with David only a step behind. "Okay, asshol- " Peter stopped short when he saw Bradyn running around. "Is that the new guy?"
"That's Bradyn." Bill reached out to stop Bradyn with his arm. "Come here. Say hi to Peter."
"Hi, Pee-tah." Bradyn giggled as Bill held him upside down.
"Hi, Bradyn." Peter nodded at the child and looked at Bill. "Who does he belong to?"
"Me." Tom raised his hand. "Haven't you heard?"
"I thought it was a fu- A rumor." Peter cleaned up his language for the sake of Bradyn.
"No, not a rumor." Tom shook his head.
"Unreal." Peter smiled and reached out to touch Bradyn's hair. "How's it going? You like to to hear your Daddy play?"
"No." Bradyn looked at Peter upside down.
"You sure he's yours?" Peter smiled at Tom. "He's cute."
"Thanks." Tom laughed. "Bradyn, what's your favorite song?"
"A teepo?"
"No, what's your favorite song that I sing?" Tom asked.
"A teepo!" Bradyn started to sing. "I a teepo sort and stauw. Here is hannle, here is spou!"
The guys laughed but kept quiet. "What's your favorite song that I sing with the guys on stage?"
"Da ma-sue."
"How does it go?" Tom asked with a proud smile.
"Two da ma-suuue." Bradyn wiggled as Bill stood up upright on his feet. "No, Daddy. You sing."
"I'll sing it a little later." Tom laughed.
"That's sick man. Don't be teaching him our songs. He'll really start looking like you, the poor kid." Georg shook his head and smiled at them as he stretched his legs.
"We just have to teach him to play an instrument, then hand him over to Benjamin and David and have him market him as the next Justin Bieber." Peter poked fun at the guys as he went to the stereo to get things started.
"I'd sooner burn in hell." Tom grumbled under his breath but he was silently happy to have everyone enjoy having Bradyn around.
"Yeah, we'll work on that, Tom. Let's get started. Are you guys ready?" Peter asked.
"Yeah." Came a chorus of answers.
"Bradyn, you ready?"
"Yeah." He laughed and ran over to the corner where his backpack and snacks were set up.
"Let's do it." He clapped his hands as the guys each went to their instruments and got comfortable. At the cue, the familiar music blasted from the speakers and the guys dove into their usual routine.
----------------
When they were done running through their performance for the thousandth time the guys were beat and ready to go home. "Anyone wanna drive my ass home? I'll pay you-" Bill paused to pull his wallet out of his pocket as he lay flat on the hardwood floor. "Thirty Euro." He tossed the cash on the floor and set his head down."Just your ass? What am I gonna do with your ass at home?" Georg asked.
"I can think of something you could do." Gustav smirked.
"You're sick." Georg shook his head.
"Perv." Bill said without looking up.
"Can I drive your car?" Georg asked.
"Huh?"
"If I drive you home, can I take your car?" He asked again.
"Hell no." Bill turned his head to look at Georg. "My Oma can drive my car before you can. You're a maniac."
"I'm not a maniac." Georg argued.
"Gustav?" Bill asked for back up.
"You're a maniac." Gustav shook his head. "You need a ride?" He asked Bill.
"I can't feel body. I'm so tired." Bill mumbled.
"Wimp, you're the young guy. You should be able to go for another few hours!" Gustav laughed and pulled at Bill's arm.
"Georg, make him stop." Bill whined. "Grab my foot and kick him with it."
"Pie appo!" Bradyn ran across the floor and plopped himself down on Bill's stomach as the older man lay on the floor. "Pie appo pack-tiss?"
"I'm done practicing."
"Gan?"
"I'm not practicing again."
"Morrow?"
"No, I'm not practicing tomorrow. I'm going to go home and lay on my couch and never get up." Bill laughed lightly as he pulled Bradyn to his feet to relieve the pressure on his abdomen. "Can you help me up?" Bill asked as he reached for Bradyn's hand.
Bradyn pulled on Bill's hand with all his weight before Bill used his free arm and pushed himself up. "Thanks, I was almost stuck on the floor."
"You get up." Bradyn laughed then looked over at Tom who was leaning against the wall with a bottle of water. The first day back at practice after any kind of a break was always the hardest and his hands and arms were sore.
"We done here?" Tom asked.
"Yeah. Get your lazy butts outta here. I'll see you tomorrow." Peter laughed as he fiddled with the stereo. "How is it possible that you guys get so out of shape in just a few weeks?"
"We're not out of shape. We're just tired." Bill whined.
"All you do is sing. How is that tiring? Rest up tonight. No tired wimps tomorrow." Peter laughed.
"You don't have to tell me twice. See ya." Georg picked up his bag and ducked out the door before anyone could say anything. Gustav fell down on the bench against the wall to load his stuff back up in his bag. He talked to Peter for a minute about the music as Bill dragged his feet toward the door.
"Do you really need a ride?" Tom asked as he and Bradyn headed for their car.
"No, I'm cool." Bill smiled while Tom suppressed a yawn.
"Okay, see you tomorrow." Tom raised his hand in a half wave and opened the back door to get Bradyn into his seat. "Come on, let's go home."
"We go ina pool?"
"No, I don't think we're going to go in the pool today."
"Yeah."
"No tonight, Bradyn. I'm tired. I think we'll just go home and eat dinner and watch a movie."
"Afer ina pool?"
"No. We're not going in the pool." Tom strapped Bradyn in and shut the door. He climbed in the driver's seat. "Oh, damn."
"No pool?"
"No, Bradyn, no pool." Tom sighed. "I forgot that I have to go to the store before we go home."
"No." Bradyn whined. "We go home."
"We have to go to the store first. We don't have any toilet paper or milk."
"No, Daddy. Go home."
"I need to get that stuff otherwise we'll be in trouble. We need toilet paper for the potty and milk for breakfast tomorrow."
Bradyn sighed and scowled as he looked out the window. "No wan a potty an a mook." He uttered under his breath with the perfect little pout settled on his lips.
Once they were in the grocery store, Bradyn's mood did not improve and neither did Tom's. They immediately headed for the back to get the gallon of milk. While they were there Tom picked up some more cheese and looked at the yogurt. He figured they would finish it before they left for the tour so he picked some up then went in search of the toilet paper.
"Have cookie?" Bradyn asked as they passed a display.
"No, we don't need cookies." Tom shook his head and kept moving.
"One?"
"We don't need even one cookie, no."
"Peese?" Bradyn tried his foolproof tactic.
"Bradyn." Tom sighed. "Just stop it. Come on."
"Daddy, peese?"
"No." His voice took on a harsh tone as the stress of the day collided with the whining. "Listen to me, I already said we don't need the cookies. We have cookies at home." Tom closed his eyes and, for a second, wished Bradyn would just disappear for five minutes. He tuned out Bradyn's whining and, without warning, thought about his life before Bradyn and how he would never have even been here if Bradyn hadn't been left with him. "Damn it." Tom cursed himself and pinched his eyes closed even tighter.
"Sowwy." Bradyn said softly, sensing his father's mood.
"It's okay, buddy. I'm not mad at you." Tom hugged him awkwardly in the cart and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry." Guilt crept up on him for wishing Bradyn would go away. He was sure every parent felt that at one time or another but that didn't make him feel any better. "I suck, buddy. Let's just go home." He lifted Bradyn out of the cart and carried him back out to the car, forgetting about the groceries he was leaving behind.
----------------
"Hey." Tom stopped playing and shouted over the music as he held up his hand. "I have to go." It was their second day of practice and they were just getting into the flow again."Go? Go where? It's not even noon." Bill laughed.
"Half day!" Georg and Gustav shouted in unison.
"No, I have to go get Bradyn." Tom shook his head and wiped his mouth on the shoulder of his shirt. "I have to pick him up by twelve."
"How long are you going to be?" Peter asked.
"An hour?" Tom shrugged. "His school is by my house and we'll probably stop and get some lunch while we're out. So you guys can have lunch here and when I get back we'll be ready to go."
"You can see he's given this some thought." Bill said to Peter as Tom used a spare towel to wipe his neck.
"Why don't you just have Nadiehn pick him up?" Bill asked.
"Huh?"
"She's not really doing anything for the next few weeks. She's working the late shift so she's home all day."
"Yeah but then she'd have to drive from your house, to the school, then all the way down here for nothing." Tom shook his head.
"She was gonna hang out here anyway." Bill shrugged. "Just trying to save you some time."
"Do you think she'd mind?"
"I'll have to ask but I don't think she'd mind." Bill laughed.
"That'd help a lot." Tom nodded and dug in his bag for his car keys. "But for today, I have to go get him."
"Okay, I guess this is lunch." Peter laughed and dropped himself onto the bench. "They have anything good to eat around here?"
"Lots of carbs and proteins and shit like that. We have manly food for menly men." Gustav beat his chest like a gorilla and made growl-like noises.
"Nice." Peter rolled his eyes.
Tom laughed and trotted for the door to make it to the school on time. He pulled up in front of the school just after twelve and ran inside. Tom scribbled his name in the book and walked back to Bradyn's room where he was sitting by himself in the little play area.
"Hey, buddy." Tom panted as he walked in the door. He was only a few minutes late but the other kids had already started to get their lunches ready to eat.
"There's your Daddy, see?" Kathleen the high school volunteer smiled as she saw Tom. She reached out for Bradyn's hand and walked him over to his cubby where Tom was waiting.
"Sorry. I'm late. We're working this week."
"It's no problem." Kathleen smiled up at him. "Bradyn was getting a little worried but I think he'll be okay."
"Daddy, you no get me."
"I got you." Tom nodded.
"No." Bradyn pouted as he took his sweatshirt off the hook.
"I was a little late, I know." Tom sighed. "It's not the end of the world."
"Yeah." Bradyn looked up at Tom with tears in his eyes.
Guilt slapped Tom as he reached down to pick Bradyn up. "I'm sorry, buddy. We were working and I left a little late. It was only ten minutes though. You were a big boy to sit here and wait for me."
"You no get me."
"I'm here now." Tom held him against is chest and picked up Bradyn's backpack. "Thanks a lot." He waved at the teachers then ducked out the door. "You wanna get some McDonald's on the way back to work?"
"No, Daddy. We go home."
"We can't go home. I still have to work."
"Morrow you work."
"I have to work tomorrow too but I have to go back today."
"Noooo." Bradyn whined and threatened to produce more tears.
"You'll have fun." Tom smiled as they walked out the thick front doors and out to the car. Tom strapped Bradyn into the backseat and smiled. "You'll have a lot of fun today. Guess who's at work with us."
"No."
"Aww, don't be a party pooper. Guess who's there."
"Pie appo." Bradyn pouted as Tom shut his door and got in the driver's side.
"Yeah, Bill is there but I meant guess who you get to play with." He looked in the rear view mirror.
"Who?"
"Nadiehn! Isn't that cool?"
"Nay-dee?"
"Yeah."
"An she pay?"
"I'm sure she'll play with you." Tom nodded. "In fact, I need to call the school when I get there to have Nadiehn's name put on the list so she can pick you up on Thursday."
"Nay-dee see my school?"
"Yeah, I think she's going to pick you up. I have to ask her though."
"Kay." Bradyn nodded. "An have Chase and Jayda?"
"No, I think the dogs are at home."
"We have?"
"Maybe you can ask her if she can bring them next time so you can play." Tom smiled.
"Yeah." Bradyn's frown disappeared and he attempted a small smile. "An we have kickin?"
"You bet." Tom pulled into the nearest McDonald's and pulled through the drive through. As he ordered the girl seemed kind of hesitant and almost nervous and when he pulled up to the window she went absolutely white.
"Oh mein Gott." She whispered.
"Hi." Tom smiled.
"Oh mein Gott." She said again before she launched into action, suddenly remembering that she was at work and over ten. "H- Hi. You- You're Tom."
"Yeah." Tom laughed lightly and took the cup holder she offered him. "How are you?"
"I, uh- I'm fine. How- How are you?"
"I'm good." He nodded with a smile.
"Wow. Awesome." She tried not to bounce up and down but she was having a hard time. "I'm sorry but I have to ask. Can I get your autograph?"
"Sure, absolutely." Tom looked over to his passenger's seat. "Do you have anything? I can't- I don't have a pen or anything."
"Yeah, yeah. Hang on." She disappeared from the window and came back a minute later with a take out bag and a marker. "Here. Thank you so much."
"No problem." Tom smiled and took the supplies.
"Daddy, have juice?" Bradyn asked from the back seat.
"It's Limo gelb, do you want some?" Tom set the bag and pen on the seat next to him then leaned back to give Bradyn his drink. "Take a sip. I have to keep it up here with me."
"No, I have."
"No, it'll spill. I'll hold it and when you want it you let me know."
"I wan."
"Come on, buddy." Tom sighed and held the cup. Bradyn took a quick sip then sat back and sighed. "Thanks." He placed the cup back in the holder then reached for the bag and pen. "Sorry about that." Tom mumbled to the girl in the window.
"Oh, it's no problem. He's really cute." She glanced in the back window.
"Thank you." Tom scrawled his name and a short message on the bag then handed it back through the window. "Here you go."
"Thank you so much." Her hand shook as she took it back. "I'm sorry to just, you know, throw that at you and everything, it's just-"
"It's okay." Tom laughed.
"Oh! Here." She produced a bag with their lunches in it and handed it to Tom.
"Thanks. I'll see you later." He waved then rolled away from the window.
"Daddy, whosat?"
"That was a fan." Tom rolled the window up and turned onto the street.
"Who?"
"I don't know what her name was." He shook his head and reached into the bag for Bradyn's chicken nuggets.
"She say hi?"
"Yeah." Tom nodded. "Remember sometimes people are going to do that."
"Yeah." Bradyn took two of the nuggets and nibbled on them. "And now I see Gay-og?"
"Yeah, now we're going to see Georg and the guys."
"And Toke Hoh-tell."
"Of course." Tom opened his chicken sandwich and ate it as they drove across town back to Benjamin's. When they got there Tom handed Bradyn his mini bag of fries and they walked into the studio still nibbling on lunch.
"Oh, there's a healthy lunch for you. Burger and fries. That's just what you need when we're trying to work out." Bill laughed. "What'd you eat?" He asked Bradyn.
"I have kickin."
"Chicken? Chicken nuggets? Awesome." Bill held his hand out for a low-five which Bradyn happily slapped.
"And fies."
"Fries rock." Bill nodded.
"Yeah." Bradyn took his fries and went to sit by the bench on the far wall. Tom set both of their drinks down beside him and gave him a handful of napkins. "Okay, now finish up your lunch then Nadiehn can come in here and play."
"Kay." Bradyn nodded and stuck a fry in his mouth. "Anen we go ou-side?"
"Maybe." Tom nodded then quickly drank the rest of his soda and tossed it in the trash.
"Hey, is that Bradyn?" Georg asked as he stormed into the room through the door leading into the house. "I thought that was you, little guy! What's up? Did you have a good lunch?" He asked as he dropped himself on the floor beside Bradyn.
"Yeah. I have kickin and fies."
"Sweet." Georg nodded as he took a fry. "Yum, those are good."
"Yeah." Bradyn nodded as he carefully took a sip of his Limo gelb.
"I have something for you. I have a little toy thing here." Georg leaned over and unzipped his bag. "I forgot I had this earlier. Here you go. Try this out." He handed Bradyn a little yellow plastic harmonica.
"What is?" Bradyn stood up and looked at the object in his hand.
"It's a harmonica." Georg smiled and moved it to Bradyn lips. "Blow in there." Bradyn blew into the long end of it and a sound came out the other.
"Whoa!" Bradyn's eyes flew open and he grabbed the harmonica with both hands.
"What's that?" Tom looked over at Bradyn and Georg.
"A harmonica."
"A real one?" Tom asked.
"Well, it's plastic and cost two bucks but, yeah, it's real." Georg laughed.
"That'll be a lot of fun in the car. Thanks, Georg."
"Anytime." Georg laughed then pushed himself up off the floor.
"What do you say to Georg, Bradyn?"
"Danke, Gay-og." Bradyn said shyly.
"Bitte." Georg messed Bradyn's hair as he walked back to the center of the floor. "Hi, Nadiehn." He nodded toward the door as she walked in.
"Hi, Georg." She smiled and waved to the others.
"Hey, babe." Bill threw his napkin in the trash and walked over to give her a hug and a kiss. "Mmm, you stopped for lunch on the way over." He licked his lips. "Something salty."
"Fries."
"And you didn't even bring me any?" Bill sighed and kissed her again.
"Nay-dee!" Bradyn ran across the floor to where she and Bill stood. "Nay-dee, I have fies and a toy!"
"H,i Bradyn!" She stepped away from Bill to pick Bradyn up. "I didn't know you were going to be here."
"I here."
"I see that." She laughed and tucked her hair behind her ear. "So what's the plan for today?" She asked Bill.
"We're just running through everything." Bill shook his head. "We're changing a few little things that just sucked last time around but basically we're trying to get back in shape and play and sing without wheezing like old men."
"Sounds fun."
"Yeah." Bill rolled his eyes. "Hey, Tom needs to know if you can pick Bradyn up for him."
"He's here." Nadiehn frowned and looked down at Bradyn who was swinging from her hand.
"I mean on Thursday."
"Oh! Yeah, I guess. From where?"
"Daycare."
"Is my school." Bradyn protested.
"From his school, sorry." Bill laughed lightly.
"Yeah, sure. Just, you know, have him let me know where and what I need to do."
"Hey, Nadiehn!" Tom called from across the room. He fanned his T-shirt out from his body as he walked over. "I'm glad you're here I have a favor to ask you."
"Can I pick up Bradyn?" She beat him to the punch.
"Yeah." Tom looked from Nadiehn to Bill. "I was gonna ask her, you know."
"I know." Bill smiled and shrugged.
"Would you mind? It would just be for this Thursday and next Tuesday and Thursday." Tom reached down to pick Bradyn up and pry him off of Nadiehn's arm.
"Sure, that's no problem. Just let me know where and all that good stuff." She smiled.
"I will. Thanks a lot."
"No problem." Nadiehn smiled back and took Bradyn from Tom as Peter came in shouting instructions. "Come on, buddy. Let's go finish your lunch and then you can show me your new toy." She tickled Bradyn's side as they headed back to where he had all of his things set up.
The guys shook their legs out and rolled their shoulders as Peter cued them to get them going again. Nadiehn and Bradyn watched them play while he nibbled on his fries and played with his harmonica quietly.
They paused between songs more than an hour later as Nadiehn stretched her sleeping legs out in front of her. "Hey, Tom? Can I take Bradyn outside to play?" She asked as Bradyn pretended to brush her hair with his new yellow harmonica.
"Sure." Tom adjusted the strap of his guitar. "Not in the water though." He added as an afterthought.
"Okay." Nadiehn stood up and reached for Bradyn's hand. "Let's go outside."
"Ina pool?" Bradyn asked.
"No pool." Tom shook his head quickly.
"Peese?" Bradyn asked.
"I didn't bring my suit today but maybe next week." Nadiehn squeezed Bradyn's hand and smiled over at Tom. "But I bet if we go out there we can find a lot of things to play with. Do you know how to play croquette?"
"Kokay? What is?"
"It's a cool game." Nadiehn smiled then caught Bill's eye. She nodded to the far door to let him know she'd be ducking out for a while before she and Bradyn left the studio and stepped out into the beautiful weather.
----------------
The rest of their rehearsing days went well and, before they knew it, their second week was half over. Tayla had received her ticket and would be arriving in Germany the Thursday before they left to give them a few days to hang out and relax before the tour. Nothing was planned as far as what they would be doing with those few free days but, as long as they were relaxing, Tom didn't really care.Tom helped Bradyn choose clothes for the day and was pleasantly surprised when Bradyn didn't put up a fight. He'd been getting more and more stubborn about picking out his own clothes but Tom didn't want to let him wear the same swim shorts, hiking boots and extra small tank top every day. That day Bradyn happily dressed in denim shorts and a faded blue T-shirt that Gustav had made especially for him with his name written across the front.
"Daddy, isa Bay-den." Bradyn pulled the shirt away from his chest and looked down. "Is Goose-gog." He looked up at Tom as he tied his sneakers.
"Yeah, Gustav gave that to you. Cool, huh?" He double knotted the laces and patted Bradyn's leg.
"Yeah. Isa cool Bay-den."
"You need a haircut." Tom mumbled for the hundredth time that week. "Seriously, when Tayla gets here you're going to have to get a haircut."
"Have Tayla?"
"No, not today." Tom shook his head and helped Bradyn to his feet.
"Yeah."
"No, she's coming tomorrow."
"No day."
"She can't come today." Tom laughed. "She's riding on an airplane and her airplane won't get here until tomorrow."
"You drive a car?"
"Yeah, I'm going to drive the car to the airport tomorrow."
"Drive get Tayla day."
Tom smiled and reached over to mess Bradyn's hair. "I can't drive and get Tayla today." He shook his head. "She'll be here tomorrow and then she'll be around for a while."
"Peese, Daddy?"
"I'm sorry, Bradyn. We can't see her today." Tom sighed but smiled. He was happy to see Bradyn so excited to see Tayla. Tom was even more excited himself. "But tomorrow after school we'll be able to go pick her up and bring her home so you guys can play and then guess what."
"What?"
"Then she'll be here for a few days and then we're going to ride in an airplane with the guys."
"Ina pane?"
"Yeah, in a plane."
"We fye?"
"Yeah, we're going to fly in the airplane."
"Cool." Bradyn nodded and sighed. "No, Tayla now."
"No, not now. Tomorrow." Tom smiled and picked Bradyn up. "Should we go get her a cake? So we can have cake and ice cream when she gets here?"
"Yeah!" Bradyn giggled and reached to tickle Tom under his chin. "I ticko you."
Tom laughed and ducked away from Bradyn's fingers as they headed for the garage. "Ahh! You got me!" He laughed again and opened the garage door. "What kind of cake should we get?"
"A bug."
"A bug cake? Ewww, you want a cake made out of bugs?" Tom made a face as he strapped Bradyn into his car seat.
"Yeah." Bradyn laughed and sat kicked his feet. "Isa laaaady bug."
"Gross, we don't want to eat lady bugs. What if they fly in our mouths?" Tom got in the driver's seat and looked at Bradyn in the mirror. "Wouldn't that feel weird if there was a lady bug in your mouth?"
"She fye and go-" He waved his hand around in erratic circles imitating how the ladybug would fly around.
"That would feel weird if it was in your mouth." Tom made a face in the mirror.
"We tend?"
"You want to pretend it's a bug cake?"
"Yeah." Bradyn nodded. "A candy cake."
"A candy cake? Now that's more like it. What kind of candy should we have on the cake?" Tom smiled into the mirror then turned his attention back to the road as Bradyn answered.
"A skittoe and a sucker."
"Skittles and a sucker on the cake? I think we can do that."
"And we have a can-doe?"
"A candle?"
"Yeah."
"Um, sure we can have a candle on there." Tom nodded. "We'll go to the store after practice today and get a cake and some Skittles and a sucker and everything."
"Kay." Bradyn nodded and ran his fingers over his window. "Daddy, I go simmin?"
"Yeah, you can go swimming if Nadiehn and Seppel are there."
"You?"
"No, I can't go swimming today." Tom shook his head. "I have to practice still."
Bradyn sighed and tried to cross his arms over his chest. "I just want you sim."
"I know you do and I wish I could swim with you but I have to work today so I can't. I'll tell you what, when Tayla gets here we can all go swimming at home."
"We can sim at work?"
"Work? You mean Benjamin's?"
"Yeah."
"I don't know if we'll go out there."
"Yeah."
"Maybe."
"Tayla can see."
"Yeah, maybe we can do that." Tom nodded as they turned into the long driveway leading up to the compound. Georg and Bill were there already and he could hear some of Bill's music blasting from the studio. "He's gonna ruin his ears with that stuff." Tom sighed.
"He likes." Bradyn shrugged and looked out his window as they pulled up to the house.
"I know he likes it." Tom shook his head. "But Bill's weird."
"No, Daddy. Pie appo cool."
"Don't let him influence you like that." Tom laughed and parked beside Bill's car. He got Bradyn out of the back then set him on the ground so he could run into the studio a few yards away. "Make sure Bill is in there before you go in." The irrational father-like position was becoming more and more common for Tom.
Bradyn ran up to the open door and leaned in. He laughed and pulled his head out to look at Tom. "Daddy, is Pie appo and Pee-tah."
"Okay, go inside." Tom nodded and opened the back of the car to get Bradyn's supply of snacks and toys out. He lugged all of the gear into the studio where Peter and Bradyn were standing in the middle of the floor.
"Try this." Peter demonstrated as Bradyn watched. "Give it a try."
Bradyn laughed and bounced around as he waved his arms. "Daddy, I dance!"
"I see that. You have rhythm." Tom smiled and set Elmo on the far bench.
"That's more than I can say for you." Peter laughed as he looked from Bill to Tom.
"Hey! I can dance." Bill pouted.
"Like a scarecrow in a wind tunnel." Peter said which set Georg into a fit of laughter.
Tom smiled and shook his head. "Can you guys keep an eye on him for a minute? I need to go up to the house and put his lunch in the kitchen." Tom held up a brown bag.
"Sure." Bill waved over his shoulder as he walked up beside Peter and Bradyn.
"Bill." Tom said from the door.
"Yeah." He looked over his shoulder at Tom.
"Keep him inside. I mean it."
"I know." Bill smiled and rolled his eyes. "Inside at all times. I got it."
"Okay." Tom tried not to sound reluctant but he knew first hand how fast Bradyn could move when he wanted to. He walked quickly up the side of the building to the main house where he let himself in and said hello to Benjamin who was on his way out.
"Hey, Tom. How's it going out there?"
"Pretty good. I think we're ready." Tom nodded.
"You'd better be." Benjamin laughed. "It's the same show you've been doing for I don't even know how long now."
"Yeah, true."
"How's Bradyn doing?"
"He's doing great." Tom smiled and held the brown bag up. "He had to bring his own lunch today because all he's been wanting lately is bologna sandwiches. I don't know how he got started on that."
"Kids are weird man." Benjamin laughed again and moved his bag to his other hand. "Is everything okay out there with him?"
"Yeah." Tom shrugged. "He's kind of bored, I think, but Seppel and Nadiehn are usually here to entertain him. He's had a blast in the game room and playing outside and everything."
"That's cool. We're not exactly equipped for a daycare here."
"I know." Tom laughed. "Thanks for letting me bring him and, you know, on tour. I know it's kind of a hassle but-"
"It's cool." Benjamin shook his head. "He's a pretty good kid and, until he starts throwing fits or breaking stuff, we'll be cool." Benjamin slapped Tom on the back quickly. "You're doing good."
"Thanks." Tom smiled and blushed slightly. Hearing that come from Benjamin always made him feel proud.
"I'll let you get back to work now. I'll swing by the studio when I get back tonight, okay?"
"Sure, thanks."
"You bet." Benjamin waved then ducked out the front door to where his car was parked.
Tom dropped Bradyn's lunch in the fridge and took his time weaving his way through the halls and corridors of the compound to get back to the studio. When he pushed the door open he noticed Gustav had arrived and Peter was setting up the equalizer so they could do the entire show from beginning to end.
"It's about damn time." Peter caught Tom's eye and smiled. "You ready to work now?"
"Yeah, we've been waiting here for like an hour." Gustav sighed and wadded his sweatshirt up before tossing it on the pile.
"Yeah, I bet you have." Tom laughed and went over to his gear. Bradyn was busy dancing in the center of the room to music no one else could hear. "Hey, buddy, I need you to come over here so we can get to work."
"I work."
"No, you need to hang out over here. Nadiehn will be here soon so you can play with her." Tom waved Bradyn over to where he was setting out his books and Elmo doll.
"No, Daddy. I work." Bradyn stopped spinning and stumbled around in a circle like a drunken man. "I sing an pay gee-tar an dance like Pie appo." He did the wave and laughed.
"Oh, no way." Gustav shook his head. "You didn't teach the kid the dance did you?" He looked at Bill and shook his head.
"Hey! It wasn't me." Bill pointed to Peter then held his hands up.
"He has talent that none of you have. I can't help that." Peter argued. "If he wants to dance, he can but he's gonna have to stay off to the side."
"You hear that, buddy? You can work but you have to stand over there, okay? That way we won't run into you." Tom picked him up and set him down by his toys where he'd have enough room to dance on his own.
"Kay, Daddy."
"Okay, Daddy. Let's go." Peter imitated Bradyn and laughed. They took their positions and the music started effortlessly as Bradyn did a funky dance and imitated Tom with his own little air guitar.
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They had a good practice while Nadiehn and two of her friends entertained Bradyn for the day. Nadiehn brought Jayda and Chase as well so Bradyn was in toddler heaven. He ran around the huge, open yard with the dogs and threw the ball for them for hours. By the time lunch rolled around Chase and Jayda were panting under the bushes along the house and Bradyn was munching on his bag of pretzels on a picnic bench. Nadiehn, Caitlin and Gwyn were sitting around with him laughing and eating their own lunches when the guys strolled out."Hey, guys." Bill waved and took a drink of the soda he had in his hand. "Where are the dogs?"
"Seepin." Bradyn pointed to the bushes. "Chase tired."
"Look at them. Did you wear them out?" Bill asked Bradyn as he rubbed his hand over the little boy's hair.
"Yeah, we run an run like this." Bradyn spun his arm in circles. "And now we seepin." He sighed and looked at the dogs.
"Wow, that's cool. It sounds like you guys had fun."
"Yeah." Bradyn nodded and turned back to his lunch. Bill sat on the opposite bench beside Nadiehn as Tom walked over with a piece of pizza in his hand. "Daddy, I have petzo."
"I see that." Tom nodded at the pretzel in Bradyn's hand. "Is it good?"
"Yeah."
"Do you want some pizza?" He offered the slice to Bradyn.
"No." Bradyn shook his head and crunched on his pretzels.
"You don't like pizza?"
"I like." Bradyn nodded. "I have petzo and appo."
"Did you eat your apple?"
"Yeah." Bradyn sighed. "I eat it all."
Tom looked to the girls for back up and they all nodded at him. "He's like a little version of one of you guys. He just eats everything." Nadiehn laughed.
"Yeah, he burns enough calories running around everyday. What I wouldn't give for his energy, I swear." Tom laughed. "I'm glad he's a good eater or he'd be a five pound two year old."
"How much does he weigh?" Georg asked.
"Um, we checked last week and he was like 29 pounds." Tom looked down at Bradyn.
"Really?" Georg raised his eyebrow. "You mean the dogs outweigh him?"
"By a few pounds, at least." Tom laughed.
"I big." Bradyn put his hands over his head.
"Yeah, you are." Tom messed his hair and sighed. "You really need a haircut."
Bradyn sighed and put his pretzel back in his bag. "Yeah."
"Lunch is over guys." Peter shouted from the doorway.
"We go home?" Bradyn swung his legs over the side of the bench and scooted off.
"No, not yet, buddy." Tom shook his head but scooped Bradyn up in his arms to kiss his cheek. "We have a few more hours in there and then we can get out of here. And you know what?"
"What?" Bradyn giggled and squished his nose up at his dad.
"We get to go to the store and get a cake and candy and stuff." Tom whispered.
"And skittoes?" Bradyn whispered back as he rested his forehead against Tom's.
"Yeah." Tom laughed and kissed Bradyn's cheek again. "Okay, are you going to stay out here with Nadiehn and her friends?"
"Chase and Jayda."
"And Chase and Jayda." Tom nodded.
"Yeah, I say and pay."
"Okay, be good." Tom set Bradyn back on the bench beside Gwyn.
"I good." Bradyn sighed as he sat back down and reached for his juice box.
"Thanks, guys." Tom smiled at the girls. "We'll be done here in just a little bit."
"Tom! Today! Let's go!" Gustav shouted from inside the studio. Tom rolled his eyes and headed back into the studio, leaving Bradyn in the care of three doting young ladies.
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They finished their rehearsal and, as soon as the music ended, Gustav wiped his face and threw his towel. "We done?" He asked as he hoisted his bag up onto his shoulder."Yeah." Peter nodded. "You're going out like that?"
"I have to pick up my woman at the airport." He grinned like the Cheshire Cat and stood in the doorway. "So are we done?"
"Yeah, we're done." Peter waved over his head. "Go get your ball and chain."
"Catch ya tomorrow." Gustav saluted then ran out to his car where a guard was waiting to accompany him.
Benjamin came in the opposite door as Gustav left. "He doesn't waste any time, does he?"
"He has to go get Ang at the airport." Georg explained as he slowly packed his bag up in the corner.
"Oh, that's right." Benjamin nodded and tucked his hands in his pockets.
"I'm out too. See you guys tomorrow." Peter waved and trotted out the door to where his car was waiting.
"See ya." Bill raised his hand in a wave from his position flat on the floor.
"Georg, your parents are coming tomorrow right?" Benjamin asked as Georg shoved his sweatshirt in his bag.
"Uh huh. They're coming around noon." Georg nodded.
"And you have friends or something coming, right?" Benjamin asked Tom.
"He has a girl coming." Bill teased.
"We're leaving for the tour on Sunday. This is kinda late to be having a girl come out."
"It's Tayla." Bill smiled.
"Ooooh. Oh, that's right." Benjamin laughed. "That's right. David said something about that."
"Yeah." Tom blushed.
"Is my Tayla." Bradyn piped up.
"Your Tayla, huh?" Bill smiled and rubbed Bradyn's hair.
"Yeah, an she ina pane and I see." Bradyn pointed up to the ceiling. "She high."
"That's right. She's going to fly in an airplane." Tom nodded.
"Bill, you have anyone coming in?" Benjamin asked.
"No." He pretended to pout. "I don't have any friends that-"
"You don't have any friends." Georg joked as he tossed his dirty socks at Bill.
"Shut up, Georg. I don't have any friends that are flying in." Bill threw the socks back and nailed Georg in the shoulder.
"You guys are done here right?" Benjamin asked, looking around the room at the men. "Why don't you guys just chill tomorrow, hang out with your friends or whatever? You can just come in on Friday for the pep talk that you know is coming then we'll be ready to go."
"Ha ha, you're funny." Bill rolled his eyes and zipped his bag closed.
"I'm not kidding. I think you guys could do the whole show in your sleep so why don't you relax for a day and kick back?" Benjamin shrugged. "I'm sure Peter won't complain if I call him."
"We're not complaining." Georg said quickly.
"Are you serious though?" Bill asked already making afternoon plans for some quiet time with Nadiehn.
"Sure, I'm serious. Take tomorrow off. Just be back here Friday at the usual time. We'll only do a half day Friday. I just wanna lay down the law and smooth out any bumps that have come up."
"Sweet." Georg stood up and looked toward the door. "I'm for real not coming in tomorrow though."
"I don't want you to." Benjamin laughed and shook his head. "Now go before I change my mind." He playfully shoved Georg out the door and looked back at the other two. "I'll give Gustav a call to let him know. You guys have a good day tomorrow."
"Thanks, Benjamin." Tom waved distractedly as he packed up Bradyn's toys.
"Bye-bye, Benamin." Bradyn yawned as he headed for the door empty handed.
"Wanna help me out here?" Tom held Bradyn's sweatshirt out for him to take. "I have my hands full."
"No, Daddy. No wan." Bradyn shook his head and stepped out the door.
Bill laughed. "He doesn't want to."
"You're not helping, Bill."
"Well, you asked him if he wanted to. He doesn't." Bill laughed again and grabbed Bradyn's sweatshirt from Tom. "I'll take it." He followed Bradyn out to the car and waited for Tom to unlock it. "Here, Bradyn, hold this." Bill handed the shirt to Bradyn.
"No."
"Uh, yeah." Bill draped it over Bradyn shoulder and helped Tom get the back of the car open to put all of Bradyn's gear in.
"He's kind of opinionated." Tom said under his breath.
"Yeah, a little." Bill smiled slowly. "I wonder where he got that."
"Must have been his Mom." Tom looked at Bill sideways and smiled.
"Uh huh. That was what I was thinking." Bill laughed and slammed the back of the car shut. "I'll catch you guys on Friday."
"Okay, I'll see you later."
"Tell Tayla I said hi."
"I will." Tom lifted Bradyn into the back seat and clicked his car seat straps into place. "Say bye to Bill."
"Bye, Pie appo." Bradyn pouted in his seat and sighed.
"Bye." Tom laughed and climbed into the front seat so they could head to the store to order their bug cake. They went to a bakery near their house and looked at the cakes they had on display but the one thing they didn't have was a bug.
"Excuse me, sir?" Tom asked the man behind the counter. "Hi. Do you make cakes by request?"
"What are you looking for specifically?"
"Isa bug." Bradyn said as he pressed his nose up against the glass to look at the donuts. "Daddy, look. Have a donut."
"Yeah, they do." Tom placed his hand on Bradyn's head to keep him from wandering. "We're looking for a bug cake." He smiled up at the baker. "For my son."
"A cake that looks like a bug?" The older man laughed and stood on tiptoe to look at Bradyn. "I can do all kinds of cakes. You want a bug cake?"
"Yeah." Bradyn nodded and grabbed onto Tom's pants, suddenly shy.
"What kind of bug? A caterpillar? Maybe a worm?"
"Isa laaaaady bug."
"Oh, a lady bug. That'll be a great cake." He made a note on a pad of paper then asked. "And what color do you want your lady bug to be?"
"Geen."
"Green, hmm. Okay. Any other colors?"
"Lello."
"Green and yellow. That'll be a sharp looking lady bug." He laughed then looked at Tom.
"That's right." Tom smiled as Bradyn tried to climb his leg.
"What size cake would you like?"
"It's only for three people so maybe a small cake?" He made a small circle with his hands and shrugged. "Like for a birthday."
"Do you want anything written on it?" He looked from Tom to Bradyn.
"No, thanks. Just a ladybug will do." Tom unclenched Bradyn's hands from his pants and picked him up.
"Okay, when do you need it?"
"Can I get it tomorrow?"
"I can have it ready by 10. Is that okay?"
"Perfect!" Tom smiled.
"Have a bug cake?" Bradyn asked softly.
"Yeah, tomorrow we'll have a bug cake." Tom laughed and followed the gentleman to the counter to pay for the cake. He took his receipt then both he and Bradyn waved as they headed out. Tom drove across the street to the grocery store where they went inside and picked out some suckers, Skittles and a package of candles to decorate the cake with.
When they got home Bradyn took one of the suckers and ran upstairs while Tom went into the kitchen to make something for dinner. While he looked through the cupboards for something edible, he picked up the phone and called Tayla to tell her about their day off.
"Hello?" Tayla answered her phone sounding distracted and more than a little frustrated.
"Hey, you. Good news." Tom smiled and leaned on the counter with a box of Rice-A-Roni.
"What?" Tayla asked. She was in the process of packing and was kicking herself for waiting until the last minute.
"We got tomorrow off."
"You did?"
"Yeah. Georg's mom and some friends are coming and Gustav has to take his dogs to his friend's house or whatever and I need to come get you so Benjamin told us to just cancel the day. We're only running through the show for the billionth time. I think we've got it all down."
"Oh, well okay. That's cool." Tayla smiled.
"Yeah, so we'll be able to hang out a little. We have to be back for the technical pre-tour talk on Friday but, after that, we'll be set."
"Cool." Tayla looked down at her bags then collapsed on the bed. They would still be there in ten minutes. "So we'll have tomorrow, part of the day Friday and all day Saturday and Sunday?"
"Yeah, kinda." Tom nodded. "We leave Sunday night."
"That's right." She nodded. "So are you packed?"
"Just about. Most of my stuff is in the wardrobes but I have three bags to take. Two of them are Bradyn's though."
"I'll bet. You have to bring his toys and everything."
"Yeah, so I have almost one entire suitcase dedicated to toys. I haven't packed those yet though. I was going to let him help choose which ones to bring."
"That's a good idea. Maybe we can do that tomorrow night."
"Yeah, we'll figure it out when you get here." Tom smiled. "Only one more day."
"I know." Tayla smiled and blushed as she shivered. She couldn't wait to see Tom again, just to see if everything from before was still the same. It had only been a few weeks but, in that time, she'd second-guessed herself a dozen times. Once she saw him again, she would know for sure if everything was how she remembered it.
"I'd, uh- I'd better get going. Bradyn stopped making noise upstairs and that usually means he's getting into something." Tom laughed softly. "But I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"
"Okay, give Bradyn a hug for me."
"I will."
"Okay, bye." Tayla grinned like a teenager with a crush as she hung up her phone and looked at her half packed suitcase. "Only one more day." She sighed and dove back into her closet, intent on finishing within the hour.
Chapter Ten