It was 7 o'clock the following morning when Yvette woke up. She looked at her surroundings and reminded herself that he was at Nick's parents' house. She sighed to herself looking at her side and seeing that Nick was not there. She got up from the bed and went towards the bathroom, brushing her teeth and taking a shower. Then, she went downstairs where she saw Nick sitting at the counter sipping a cup of coffee.
"Morning" Yvette whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him on the cheek.
"Hey, babe" he replied, turning around and kissing her on the lips.
"What are you doing up so early?"
Nick's eyes were glued to the floor.
"What?" Yvette asked once again, lifting his chin up to look at him.
"I have to go on a trip…" he started as she sighed. "… tonight…"
"Tonight?!?"
Nick grew silent. His new album was going to come out in a couple of weeks and he had to promote it as best as he could.
"Nick, today is your brother's birthday… he'll be crushed if you don't come"
"I'm sorry Yve" Nick sighed, taking her hand in his.
"Don't tell me you're sorry, Nick… go and tell your brother that"
"I was hoping that you could tell him"
"Me?!? No way Nick! If you're going on some business trip on your brother's birthday, you're going to tell him… don't get me into this. We've come here to be with him and now you have to go on a trip? It's not fair" she fought back.
"Yvette, I'm sorry if I have this job… you knew it since you first started dating me. I got my solo career now and I have to take whatever opportunity is brought to me, plus the album is going to be released soon. I can use all the promotion that I can get."
"I completely understand that Nick… but for God's sake it's your brother's birthday!"
"It's not my problem now, okay?!?" he argued.
There they went again. That was about the fifth fight that they had during their short weeks of marriage. Yvette crossed her arms and slumped herself in the couch giving Nick a dirty look.
"What are you waiting for Nick? Go and tell your brother that you're not going to make it for his birthday"
"I have to go now… I have to buy my ticket and I have to be there in a while… I got to go to California before midnight today"
"Well, wake Aaron up and tell him" Yvette shrugged.
"I'm not going to wake him up" he shook his head.
"I'm not going to tell him either"
"Fine, don't tell him… whatever… I got to go change"
Yvette rolled her eyes and tilted her head backwards on the couch, thinking that maybe she was going to be the one who would end up telling Aaron about why Nick didn't make it to his birthday party.
A couple of minutes later, Nick came downstairs dressed in jeans, a simple white shirt, and a cap. He looked at Yvette.
"My plane leaves in an hour. Can you drive me there?"
Yvette closed her eyes and sighed. "Yeah, are you going now?"
Nick only nodded and followed Yvette out the door. The ride to the airport was a silent one. They felt as if they said something, they would cause another fight. When they got there, Nick went out to get his luggage.
"How long are you going to be in California?"
Nick turned to look at her. "About a week or two… look, I really don't know how long I'll be there. I'll try and come back as soon as possible" he sighed as she sighed too. He took her by her arms tenderly and made her look at him. "I'm sorry sweetie… it's just that I can't really complain about the promotion… I can't deny any of the opportunities that are given to me."
"Fine… Hope you have a nice trip" was the only thing Yvette could say.
"Baby, look at me" he replied, lifting her chin up, his blue eyes looking down at her green ones. "I'm sorry… I mean, look at us… we look like an old married couple"
Yvette half-smiled. "I'm sorry too"
"I'll call Aaron when I get to California and explain"
Yvette nodded half-heartedly. Nick took her face in her hands and kissed her. She felt as if he was going to be gone for a long time so she took advantage of the moment and kissed him back. It was no use for them to get mad at each other when he was going to go on a trip.
"Don't forget to call me, okay?"
"I won't, wifey" Nick smiled. Yvette chuckled lightly and kissed him again.
"I just don't understand why do I have to leave you now, if we just got married"
"Baby, you know my work… I'm sorry…I promise that after the album is out I'll take time off, somehow, and be with you"
"Okay… I'm going to miss you"
"Me too, sweetheart" he said, taking her by the hand and kissing it.
"I love you, okay? Have a safe flight"
"I love you too" he said as he kissed her once again.
When they parted ways, he turned around and went inside the gate as she stood there waiting to catch the last glimpse of him. Then, she sighed, got into the car and drove off, going straight to Jane's house, not knowing that when she got there, Aaron was waiting for her outside with his arms crossed.
"Shit shit shit shit shit" Yvette thought as she went out the car.
"Where were you??" Aaron asked, going up to her and greeting her with a kiss.
Yvette sighed. "I was…"
"You were…" he prompted.
"I was taking your brother to the airport"
"Say what? Why?"
"He had to do some promotion stuff for the album"
Aaron's face turned red as he turned around to get inside the house.
Yvette went inside with him, putting her hand on his shoulder. "Sweetie…"
"No, don't sweetie me Yve… I'm sick and tired of Nick missing out every special occasion we have. At least he could've told me! But no, he went without saying a word"
"But, he said he was going to call you tonight"
"Do you really think so, Yvette? Do you really think that he will not forget about it when he goes there and gets loaded with work?! He has forgotten so many other times and I mean, it's not only about me… but it's about you too! You just got to stop him before he starts doing the same shit to you… soon enough he will be on the phone saying `Oh sweetie, sorry I couldn't be there for your birthday' or `Sweetie, sorry I couldn't come for the anniversary'. Nick is a married man now…"he said sighing. "I was really expecting him for the birthday. He promised me that he was going to be here and I really wanted to spend today with him and you, and of course Hillary… but that's besides the point…It's really fucked up…"
"Aaron, I know you're mad and all… but he didn't mean it"
"Didn't mean it, my ass Yvette! He could have gone tomorrow! But no, he had to go today, cause work has become more important than anything else"
Yvette sighed softly and sat down next to him, not saying a word. She knew that Aaron was right so she couldn't defend Nick.
"Look, let's do something…" Yvette said, taking Aaron's hand. "Forget about this for now… let's go to the mall and get you a gift" she finished with a grin.
"Thanks for being here, okay?" Aaron said with a smile.
"Anytime, Aaron… Anytime" she said getting up from the couch and going to the mall with Aaron.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Eight hours later, Nick's plane arrived to California and he went straight to his manager's office to talk to him about the promotion of the album.
"Hey, is Ashley Carpenter in her office?" Nick said, talking about his manager and Yvette's best friend.
"Yes, she's waiting for you there"
"Thanks" he said, flashing a smile to the secretary and going into Ashley's office. "May I come in?" he said, tapping on the door.
"Hey, Nick!" she said, getting up from her chair and greeting Nick with a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
"How was honeymoon time?"
"Great!" Nick said with a grin. "We had a really good time"
"That's good" Ashley replied as she sat down again. Ashley was pretty slim and had beautiful long black hair with hazel eyes. She was about Nick's height with her heels on and she was Yvette's best friend.
"So, what did you want me to come here for?"
"Well… we got a marketing plan for your album and we need you to promote it" Ashley said simply.
"Alright… How long do you need me here… a week? Three weeks?" Nick said, searching for an answer from her.
"Two months"
"Alright then, I'll call home…" he replied, when the thought registered in his head. "Did you just say two months?!?"
"Yes, Nick"
Nick closed his eyes and ran his hands through his hair. "Great" he thought. "Now how am I going to tell THIS to my wife, without getting her angry?"