“Pizza?” quizzed Jake, raising his eyebrows.
“Pizza,” echoed Melody firmly.
Beside him, he felt Lori trying not to giggle.
“All the fabulous restaurants in town and you two want pizza?”
“And cheese fries,” added Melody, smiling up at him. “And a milkshake.”
“Pizza, cheese fries and milkshake?”
“Yes!” squealed both children excitedly.
“Lori, what do you want for dinner?”
“Well,” began Lori with a mischievous look on her face. “Pizza, cheese fries and a milkshake sound good to me.”
“Alright, pizza it is,” sighed Jake, pretending to be exasperated with them all.
Even after all these years, Jake was still warmly welcomed back at the restaurant where he had worked prior to resuming his teaching career and the band taking off. Several of the members of staff who had worked with him always made a point of stopping by their booth to say hello whenever the family were in.
“Can we get a quiet corner booth?” Jake asked his old boss when they entered the bustling restaurant. “We just want a quiet family meal.”
“What and hide our very own rock star in the corner?”
“Yes, that’s exactly where I want to be,” said Jake calmly. “I just want to enjoy some family time. No selfie hunters if you catch my drift.”
“I hear you, son,” agreed the older man warmly. “Follow me.”
The restaurant was busy as they followed the owner across the dining room to the booth in the back corner. Fortunately, no one seemed to give the family group a second glance and, within five minutes, they were seated, had placed their order and received their drinks. The kids had settled down contentedly with the children’s colouring pack.
“Are you going to take a few days off now that the baby has arrived?” asked Lori before taking a sip of her vanilla milkshake.
Shaking his head, Jake said, “No. I’ll stick to the plan. Try to get the guitar solos tracked. Maybe some vocals. We’d talked about trying a different approach. A more live sound but there’s still plenty work to be done. Still got some writing to do too.”
“Is it hard being out there without Rich?” she asked softly.
Jake nodded, not trusting himself to speak as an unexpected wave of grief hit him.
“Sorry,” apologised Lori, reaching across to touch his hand. “Dumb question.”
Forcing a smile, Jake said, “It’s weird. We’re working with so much of his music. He’s on almost every track on the board. He’s just not there. We all keep expecting him to walk in and start taking control. He’s left a hell of a gap to fill.”
“Must be tough,” agreed Lori. “Any ideas yet when you want the artwork done for or what you want?”
Jake shook his head again,” We’ll need to agree on the title and see if a theme emerges. Too soon yet, li’l lady.”
“Well, there’s space in my schedule for it when you guys are ready,” she replied. “Unless you want a different artist this time round.”
“Never.”
Before they could continue, their meal was served and, for the next half an hour, chaos descended on the table as the kids squabbled over pizza slices and cheese fries. Moments like these were precious to Jake and he found it difficult to reprimand them for just being kids. He’d missed so many family meals while touring that he treasured every one.
As the waitress brought the kids their ice creams a while later, Jake became aware that someone was watching him. Initially, he thought he was imagining things but he couldn’t shake the feeling. Uneasily, he glanced around, trying not to draw any undue attention to their table.
His eye fell on a table at the far side of the restaurant. There was only one occupant in the booth. Nicole. He could feel her green eyes boring into him. Seeing her sitting there, watching him, watching his family meal, made him uneasy. Something else caught his attention and his blood ran cold.
Nicole was wearing his missing shirt from the memorial show.
“Let’s get those ice creams put into cups to go,” suggested Jake, anxious to get out of the restaurant. “Time to head home, kids.”
“What’s the rush?” quizzed Lori. “They’ll be done in five minutes.”
“Just remembered something I need to do tonight,” lied Jake, not daring to look at his wife. “Five minutes then we need to make a move.”
On the walk back to the beach house, Jake barely said a word. Both kids ran on ahead of them, stopping to sit on a bench every few yards till Jake and Lori caught up with them. Leaning heavily on her cane, Lori watched her husband closely, trying to read his expression. Something had happened back at the pizza place but she had no idea what it was. Judging by the dark brooding look on Jake’s face, she knew better then to ask what was wrong.
Dusk had fallen by the time they arrived back at the house. Sliding the patio door open with its usual screech, Lori said, “Time for bed, kids. Go and find your pjs.”
“Not sleepy,” protested Jesse as a yawn threatened to swallow his words.
“Do as your mom says,” stated Jake sternly. “No arguments. Pjs, teeth and bed.”
“Daddy!” wailed Jesse shrilly.
“Bed!” roared Jake in an uncharacteristic display of anger. “Now! Right fucking now!”
Both kids fled through the house towards their rooms, leaving Lori standing in stunned silence in the sunroom beside her husband.
“I’m going downstairs,” said Jake bluntly. “Don’t wait up for me.”
“Jake….” began Lori softly.
“Leave it, Lori. Not now!” he snapped.
Feeling somewhat numb, Lori watched as her husband stormed down into the basement, slamming the door behind him. It was a clear “do not disturb” sign.
Letting out a long sigh, she headed through the kitchen and down the hallway to the kids’ bedrooms. She wasn’t surprised to find Melody’s door firmly closed.
