A Rock & Roll Romance (33 page)

“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 J
ameson 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 started 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