Battlescars: A Rock & Roll Romance Page 23
It’s really happening. I’m going to be someone’s dad…
After I changed I folded my clothes and put them in a neat pile. I hurried back into the room, and Tim was there. Aubrey said she was fine, nervous and excited. They came to tell us it was time to go. I kissed Aubrey and told her I would see her in a couple minutes. I hated the thought of leaving her. A nurse took me to where I could wash my hands. She instructed me to wait in the hallway until they were ready. I was anxiously pacing the hallway until she came and told me I could go in. I walked right over and sat in a stool next to Aubrey. There was a blue sheet draped in front of her. The doctor asked if she could feel anything. She said she couldn’t. I held her hand and stood up so I could watch.
I watched as the scalpel moved across her skin. I watched as the doctor reached in and pulled out a set of feet and then the rest of the baby. I heard crying and I started crying myself. A nurse came over and brought the baby to the table. The doctor quickly reached in and pulled out the second baby. I heard the crying again, and Aubrey told me to go check on the babies. I reluctantly moved since I didn’t want to leave her side, but I wanted to see our babies.
I walked over to baby ‘A’ first. Our son, Jameson George Parker. He weighed 7 lbs. 1 oz. and was 20 inches long. He had a full head of dark brown hair. I took a couple pictures and walked over to the next table to see our daughter. Violet Kate Parker. She weighed in at 6 lbs. 12 oz. and was 19 inches long. She had light brown hair and opened her blue eyes. My heart melted. She was only minutes old and already had me wrapped around her little finger. I snapped a couple more pictures and stood there in complete awe. They were both doing wonderfully. Once Jameson was cleaned the nurse handed him over to me. I carefully cradled him in my arms and walked him over to Aubrey. I sat down and leaned so that she could kiss his forehead.
“He’s perfect.” She cried.
“Just like his momma.” I said. “Violet’s getting cleaned off now, but she’s doing really well too. She has your nose and lips, thank God.” I laughed.
She giggled and grimaced. They were putting in the final staples to close up the incision. One of the nurses came over and switched babies. I held Violet up to show Aubrey. She kissed Violet’s little nose and told her she loved her. The nurse stood there with Jameson next to Violet.
“I’d sacrifice my beating heart before I’d lose either of you.” I told them.
They wanted to take them to the nursery so they could move Aubrey to recovery. I told Aubrey I would meet her there since we decided we wanted to make sure they got there safely. Tim, Caroline, and Granny Jean were outside waiting as they pushed the bassinets into the hallway. They peeked in and saw their grandchildren for the first time. Caroline was completely overcome with emotion. Tim clapped me on the back and told me that ‘I done good.’ I told him that I didn’t do anything except for the fun part, which earned me a smack in the back of the head.
“Always the smart ass, isn’t he. I guess I’m officially an old coot now since I’m a great-grandma.” She laughed peeking at the babies.
Caroline said she was going to stand by the window and watch them get checked over. We headed down the hallway to the nursery. I wish I could clone myself so that one of me could stay here and the other one could be with Aubrey. The nurse said as soon as they were done they would bring them to our room. I unwillingly left them and went to go find Aubrey. I had to force myself not to turn around a handful of times. She was in her room when I got there. I leaned in and kissed her.
“Do you feel okay?” I asked her.
“Yeah. I’m a little uncomfortable, but nothing unbearable.”
“You’re amazing. Seriously baby, you’re the strongest person I know.”
She smiled sleepily at me.
“I can’t believe they’re finally here. They’re perfect.” She mumbled.
“Yes they are. Why don’t you close your eyes for a couple minutes? I’ll get you up when they bring the babies in.”
“’Kay.”
She closed her eyes and fell right asleep. I would imagine the whole thing was really rough on her body. She had to be exhausted. I walked into the hallway and called Ron. He answered the phone right away.
“Hey Gramps.” I said.
“Did she have the babies already?”
“Yes, less than an hour ago. Her water broke at the house this morning, we came straight to the hospital, and they took her right in.”
I could hear him getting choked up on the other end. He was planning on taking a flight out and staying with us for a little while so he could meet them. He said he would call and make the arrangements right away. Next I called Brett and the guys. They all said to send pictures, and that they would see us in a couple weeks. Piper was my last call. She shrieked so loudly that I had to hold the phone away from my ear. She said she was on her way and would see us soon. Tim was walking down the hallway when I was hanging up. He was grinning from ear to ear.
“I can’t believe I’m a grandpa.” He shook his head. “How’s my princess doing?”
“She’s good. She’s sleeping. I’ll get her up when they bring the babies in, but she needs some rest to recover.”
It was a full hour before they wheeled the babies into the room. Aubrey was struggling to sit up. I went to help her and saw in her face that she was in pain. As soon as I handed her Jameson her whole face lit up. Caroline went to sit on the bed next to her. Aubrey held him closely and rubbed her nose on his. I picked up Violet and kissed her head before handing her to Granny Jean. She handed her off to Tim when she was done. They were just leaving to go home when Piper came in. She practically bounced into the room and over to the babies. She picked up Jameson first and cooed at him. She claimed that she wanted one, and that since we had two we should share. It turns out that she was a total baby hog. She didn’t end up staying too long since Aubrey needed to rest, but vowed that she would be back tomorrow.
Aubrey was nursing Violet when Jameson started. I could see this was going to be a challenge with both of them wanting to eat at the same time. We turned them so they could both eat at the same time. Poor Aubrey had turned into a human milk machine. She looked up at me and smiled. I couldn’t help laughing at the sight in front of me. I burped Violet while Jameson finished. We were going to have a method down in no time. Aubrey scooted over so I could slide in next to her. Here, we were with our perfect little family.
Two days later we arrived home to our new house with the babies in tow. I opened the door and helped Aubrey inside. Caroline set a room up for her downstairs so she wouldn’t have to do the stairs until after her staples were removed. I brought in both infant carriers and set them down on the floor. Bella came running over to see what all the excitement was about. I couldn’t help but thinking without her, they might not be here at all. She was sniffing them and laid down right in front of the carriers like a little protector. We fed Jameson first, and I brought him up to his room to sleep.
His nursery was rock star themed, of course. It was painted gray and red. I hung pictures of guitars on the walls. We had a black glider chair set up in the corner. He had a black crib and changing table. His sheets were white and had little records on them. I carefully placed him down in the crib and made sure the baby monitor camera was on. I headed back downstairs to get Violet. Violet’s room was a carbon copy of Aubrey’s room at her parents. It was hot pink with white wainscoting. She had a white crib and changing table. Her glider chair was hot pink, and she had zebra patterned curtains and sheets. I looked down at her and read the onesie she had on. It said, ‘look what my daddy did.’ I smiled. I double checked her camera and went to go sit with Aubrey for a couple minutes. Bella was sleeping in the middle of the hallway since she couldn’t decide which baby’s room she wanted to be in.
I went into the kitchen and made us a couple sandwiches. I put them on a tray and carried them into the living room. I handed Aubrey her plate, and she thanked me. We enjoyed eight minutes of silence before Violet sta
rted crying. I went up to check on her. She had a total diaper blowout. I carried her over to the changing table and put a new diaper on. I put her pacifier in her mouth, and she was back out in minutes. The rest of the night was pretty much the same. Maybe Bella was onto something with sleeping in the middle of the floor. They were being really fussy, and Aubrey called her mom to see if she had any advice. She said because they have been together in the womb for such a long time they probably wanted to be near each other. I went and moved them so that they were together, and it was lights out. Unbelievable!
Aubrey
One month later…
A month has gone since the babies were born. They were actually really easygoing for being newborns. They ate, slept and pooped. A lot. I had turned into a 24-hour diner, and life has never been better. Jake was wonderful. He made sure that everyone was taken care of and though I didn’t really like to bottle-feed he would do it sometimes at night so I could get a little more sleep. My mom was over almost every single day cooking and helping out how she could. I was so thankful that she was nearby. The boys were scheduled to fly in today to start working on the new album. Jake wanted to push it off for another month or two, but I told him it was fine and that they should start now. I also knew there was mounting pressure from the record company. He pulled his guitar out and started strumming a lullaby.
We just got the babies to sleep when the buzzer went off. It was the boys. I hit the button and let them in. They came in through the front door bearing giant stuffed animals. They bought Violet a giraffe and Jameson a monkey. They also brought a bottle of champagne. We took it into the kitchen and pulled out some glasses. Jake popped the cork and poured it. Everyone took a glass and clinked.
“To some of my best friends, congratulations.” Kevin saluted.
“I still can’t believe that Jake’s somebody’s dad.” Derek said shaking his head.
He still cracked me up when he did that.
“Is Piper coming over?” Blake asked.
“I’m not sure…” I said trying to avoid the subject.
After the wedding, they went their separate ways. Piper was being stubborn and hasn’t talked to Blake since. Blake has been trying to pursue her to no avail. It was hard being on the other side of the country. He really tried, though it was several failed attempts. He sent her flowers, shoes, sketch books and really fancy art supplies. I knew he was still pining hard for her, but I didn’t really want to get in the middle of things with them because they were both my friends. They were adults and could figure it out on their own. Really, I thought the whole thing was a colossal misunderstanding, but I was biting my tongue.
“You have to get her to talk to me, Aubs.” He pleaded. “I miss her like crazy. It was like those couple days with her ruined me for all other women. I haven’t even slept with anyone since. I can’t even you know…”
Derek started cracking up. “You can’t get it up, can you?”
“Shut up asshole.” Blake grumbled.
“Blake’s got a crush.” Derek goaded, and Blake glared at him.
We finished our champagne, and they headed back to see the guesthouse. The babies woke up a little while later. We bathed, changed and fed the babies before putting them back to bed. They would be good for at least a couple hours. Jake and I went into our room. I was feeling good and really missed that connection between us. He was so set on waiting the full eight weeks, but I wasn’t about to let that happen. I undid my wrap dress and kicked it at him.
Jake’s head snapped back, and I knew that I had his undivided attention. He walked over to me and ran his fingertips along my collarbone making me shiver. He moved them over my tattoos, right over my scar. It’s taken me a long time to realize that no one can go through life without a scar or two. I’ve chosen to turn my scars into stars, figuratively. He’s helped me learn to accept them and heal from the inside out. I looked into his blue eyes and felt completely awestruck.
“I love you, Mrs. Parker.” He smiled.
“I love you too, Mr. Parker.” I leaned in and kissed his nose.
The key to finding lasting love is to find someone who loves you, battlescars and all.
THE END
***Be on the look out for Piper and Blake’s story coming Summer 2013***
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Official Battlescars Playlist:
30 Second to Mars- I’ll Attack
Finger Eleven- Living in a Dream
The Brixton Riot- It’s Been Too Long
Lit- Partner In Crime
Nonpoint- Everybody Down
Angus & Julia Stone- Big Jet Plane
Lostprophets- Can’t Catch Tomorrow
Hinder- Heaven Sent
Journey- Don’t Stop Believin’
Papa Roach- Alive (N’ Out of Control)
The Gaslight Anthem- Blue Dahlia
Metallica- Turn the Page
Age of Daze (Days) – Afflicted