He sat at the table and watched as she prepared to eat. While she slept he ate his brunch. She looked so adorable. She had on a black Adidas T-shirt and a black and white bandana.
�You want some?� He shook his head. He knew how a good meal revived him and he knew she had probably ate less than him over the last few days,
�No, you go ahead.� He slid a bottled water across the table from one hand to the other.
�So what�s going to happen with the touring and all that? Are you guys done?� The last thing he had thought of during these days was the tour. He really didn�t care if he went back or not.
�They finished the last few shows of this leg without me so we�re done for now. I�m not sure when we go back on tour but its going to be overseas.� He was going to have to leave his daughter and that was something he really didn�t want to do.
�The tour isn�t going to be that long I don�t think. You and Mac should come with me.� He knew instantly that sounded ridiculously. She might not even make it to tomorrow and he was planning months away. He gasped at his own thought. He couldn�t think like that. He couldn�t think that Mac wasn�t going to be ok.
�I mean, if the doctors say its ok.� She still wasn�t saying anything.
�And I�ll make sure we have a doctor there for her and everything.� She smiled and nodded her head,
�That sounds fun Nick. Maybe, but I don�t know. Depends on how soon you guys leave again.� He didn�t want to leave, he really didn�t. He didn�t want to leave MacKenzie and to be honest, he didn�t want to leave Quinn either. Sitting across the table from her he felt like they were together. During his brief cat nap earlier he dreamed Quinn was sleeping and he an older Mac were sitting on the couch watching cartoons together. He couldn�t wait until she was better.
�Is the rest of your family coming?� He was going to give it to her straight. No more trying to make his family and every associated with him look good. No more trying to defend people. He wasn�t going to walk on eggshells for her either. He couldn�t control many things, just himself and he wasn�t going to be filled with anxiety because he was afraid he was going to say something that she didn�t like,
�I don�t know. Aaron really wants to come. He�s so fucking excited about being an uncle.� He shook his head and laughed,
�I love my brother but the last thing I need is to have to look out for him while trying to keep him away from me at the same time.� She smiled,
�That�s pretty difficult. What about your dad?� He sighed,
�I haven�t heard from my dad since I told him about Mac. He was pretty pissed. I guess he still is.� He figured he might as well tell it all at once,
�And my sisters, I haven�t heard from them at all.� He shrugged,
�I guess my family just isn�t the same as yours.� He was almost embarrassed o admit that. Actually, he was very embarrassed to admit that. Why did they always seem to embarrass him? None of them had done anything that made him proud. He loved them, he took care of them but besides him and Aaron no one had accomplished one fucking thing in that family.
�It�s ok. I�m sure the last thing your sisters want is to be cooped up in some hospital.� She stood up and grabbed a napkin from the kitchen counter.
�Besides, I wish my family wasn�t here.� she said as she sat down. She only said that to make him fell better; he knew it. Her family dropped everything at the drop of a dime. His wouldn�t even make a couple of phone calls.
�You don�t mean that.� She didn�t argue with him because they both know she was more than happy her family was there and she was only trying to make him feel better about the lack of support he was receiving from the people who were supposed to care the most. He quickly tried to take the focus off his family,
�How long is your family going to be here?� She smiled as she chewed a little faster in order to answer him. He smiled at her, she was pretty. No make-up, nothing but a T-shirt and a bandana and she was so attractive.
�My brother, if all things go well with Mac, will go back Saturday night. My parents I�m not sure.� His frown signaled for her to continue,
�My parents have a butt load of vacation days. They only take one vacation a year and it�s usually a cruise. They have so much time saved up they could probably take a couple of months off.� He was sure that if they needed to they would take all that time off and they would be right here with their daughter and granddaughter. At least one side of MacKenzie�s family was normal. Face it, normal just wasn�t a word used to describe his family. They weren�t bad people, just not normal.
He sat on the couch with his arm wrapped around her as she lay her head on his shoulder and they watched television that afternoon. That constant dull pain that seemed to live in his stomach whenever he was near her seemed to have disappeared. No more anxiety, no more stress. Still a lot of worry about his daughter but no more of the unnecessary drama. He continued watching the TV as she got up to answer the phone but he could hear her as she carried on her conversation in the kitchen.
�Hey. I�m okay; just relaxing.� Nothing about the conversation interested him until he heard that name,
�James, really I�m fine. I just need to relax and get away from everything.� He looked over at her and her eyes were closed so she wasn�t aware he was listening in on phone call,
�Yes that means you too. No, not like that. It�s not meant to be a bad thing. I just meant I need some time alone to just breathe. Its not personal, it has nothing to do with you. My parents and Nate aren�t even here James.� But one person was there and she failed to mention him to her fianc�e and that was him; the father of her child. If James knew that he would surely go berserk. There is nothing like your girl being with a man she had slept with and you aren�t around to keep an eye on him. A man always has to watch out for the other guy when it comes to his woman. Men are sneaky. He had already proven that earlier that morning.
�Yeah, she�s still hanging in there. I spoke to the doctor before I left this morning.� She looked his way and he quickly turned his attention back to the TV.
�Ok, I�ll talk to you later. Love you too. Alright, see you tomorrow. Bye.�
She walked down the hall and returned with an arm full of supplies.
�What are you about to do?� She smiled as she placed nail polish, cotton balls and some weird contraption on the coffee table,
�I�m going to paint my toes. I feel like being girly.� She slid her toes in between the grooves of the weird contraption and her toes were perfectly separated.
�Let me.� She looked at him hesitantly and he gave her a few words of confidence,
�I can do it. I�ve done it before.� She seemed to think it over for only a moment before she agreed. It was only her toes, no one was going to see him.
�Ok hold on I�ll be back.� She ran out of the room and came back with a mirror and a pair of tweezers.
�Your eyebrows?� She looked at him, seemingly impressed,
�Yeah, the things us girls have to do and you guys don�t appreciate it one bit.� She couldn�t be further from the truth on that one. He loved a girl who took care of herself. Especially when they did things for his benefit. �Oh we appreciate it.� He looked up and caught her eye,
�Trust me.� She smiled at him before tending to her eyebrows as he began the first coat. Maybe she believed him, he really had done this before.
Chapter 86
Reunited
Stories