“Oh, rockstar,” she gasped with a long sigh of satisfied contentment.
“I love you,” whispered Jake as he slowly withdrew from her. “I’ve missed you.”
“I could tell,” replied Lori with a little giggle.
“It’s been too long, li’l lady,” he sighed. “Way too long.”
“Let’s refresh your memory then,” suggested his wife with a mischievous grin. “But let’s refresh it in bed.”
Smiling, Jake allowed himself to be led indoors, their beers left long forgotten on the picnic table.
Sunshine flooding into the room and a strange warm wriggling sensation roused Jake from sleep next morning. For the first few seconds he was unsure as to where he was then remembered he was home. Beside him, Lori lay on her side sound asleep. Between them a small tousled blonde head appeared from under the sheet as Jesse forced his way up the bed.
“Hey,” said Jake quietly. “What are you doing in here?”
“Need Mommy hug,” stated the small boy. “Want my Mommy.”
“Mommy’s sleeping,” pointed out Jake. “And this isn’t your bed, Jesse.”
The little boy glowered at him then his hazel eyes filled with tears.
“Want my Mommy,” he whimpered.
“Sh, son. Mommy’s sleeping,” cautioned Jake. Quickly, he checked the time on his phone - 6.22 am. “Let’s go get some breakfast.”
Carefully, he slipped out of bed, scooped the small boy up into his arms and crept out into the hall. Quietly, they made their way down to the kitchen.
“Not hungry,” stated Jesse almost defiantly.
“You’re not?”
“No,” stated the little boy sourly. “Play.”
“Jesse,” began Jake calmly but firmly. “It’s too early to play.”
“Outside, Daddy?” suggested Jesse hopefully. “Play on the sand.”
“Well,” sighed Jake with a grin. “Just for a half hour then we come back and make breakfast for everyone. Deal?”
“Deal!”
The sand was icy cold under their bare feet as they walked across the beach towards the ocean. After a few steps, the little boy reached up and took Jake’s hand. The gesture wasn’t lost on him. With all the months and months of touring, his relationship with Jesse always took a little longer to re-establish when he arrived home. Feeling the tiny warm hand in his melted his heart.
“Daddy?”
“Yes?”
“You not go back on the big silver bus.”
“Not for a long time. Promise,” said Jake warmly, aware his voice was still husky and his vocal cords tight.
“Good,” stated Jesse with a directness older than his years. “Can we go in the water?”
“Later,” suggested Jake. “It’s kind of cold just now. Let’s run.”
“I’ll win,” shrieked Jesse, letting go of his father’s hand and darting away.
Jake let him get a few yards of a start then pretended to struggle to catch up. They played “races” up and down the beach for nearly an hour before Jake called, “Time out, Jesse!”
“Why?”
“Breakfast time,” declared Jake firmly. “Want some eggs and bacon?”
“Scrambled eggs! Scrambled eggs!”
Hoisting the little boy onto his shoulder, Jake carried him back towards the house. Playing on the beach with his son had been therapeutic, reassuring him that the father/son bonds had been secured once more.
Life at the beach house settled into an easy rhythm over the next ten days. Both kids quickly got used to Jake being home and became competitive for his attention. Humouring them to a degree, he established a routine that, if they were well-behaved all morning, he would take them on an outing in the afternoon. This worked well to give Lori time to focus on finishing her commission then, once it was done, she too joined them on their excursions.
After a few days of regular hot water and honey plus minimal talking, Jake felt his throat relax and his voice return to normal. Erring on the side of caution, he refrained from singing despite the kids’ pleas. Unable to resist the lure of his guitars though, he spent a couple of hours every day down in the basement playing and working on his various instruments. Touring with them had taken its toll but he found that doing the running repairs himself was therapeutic.
As Melody’s birthday approached, the party planning began in earnest. Instead of hiring a party room or kids’ play barn somewhere, Lori had decided to have the celebration at the house. Realising that this was the last year that she could plan something low key for her daughter, she argued with Jake that they should keep things simple, saying there was plenty of time for big parties once Melody started kindergarten. Wanting to ensure that there was some form of kids’ entertainment, Lori drew on her own creative talents. She had been collecting shells from the beach for weeks in preparation. Her plan was for the various children to paint the shells then either to make them into a picture or a necklace.
In true Lori style, she had invited their entire Silver Lake family to the beach house for a BBQ, declaring that it had been too long since they had all been together. Knowing it was pointless to argue with her, Jake agreed to her plans, commenting that Grey could help with the cooking.
Balloons and banners decorated the sunroom and a small pile of gifts sat on the footstool ready to be opened by the birthday girl herself. Unable to sleep, Jake had risen at first light and gone for a long run down the beach to cleanse his soul. He had kept an eye on the time, making sure he arrived home before Melody normally woke up.
Stamping sand off his feet, Jake opened the back door to be greeted by the sounds of a full-fledged toddler tantrum.
“Hey, buddy, what’s going on?” he asked as his son was continuing to have a monumental meltdown in the middle of the kitchen.
“Your son wants to open his
