Blue Siofra (blue_siofra) wrote in butterfly_fics, @ 2008-12-30 02:32:00 |
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Entry tags: | !-all fics, *rating: pg-13, +length: novella, -fandom: nsync, =the melody of life, ^jc/melody, jc chasez, melody beam (ofc) |
The Melody of Life (7/7)
Title: The Melody of Life (7/7)
Author: blue_siofra
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Jc Chasez/Ofc, Lance Bass, rest of *N Sync
Summary: Jc meets a woman and his life changes dramatically.
Chapter 61
“What do you mean Lance didn’t get home last night?” I asked Mom.
“Well, when Cassie didn’t make it back by four, I got a bit worried. I know she’s not related to me, but she’s so young. Anyways, I went and drove by where the party was and his car was the only one there, but nobody was around. So I drove by his house, thinking that he might have taken a cab home, but his neighbor was kind enough to tell me that Lance had been gone for hours.” She said.
“Why is that so worrisome? They might have gone to a hotel.” Even as I said it I knew it was ridiculous. Lance wouldn’t take Cassie to a hotel on their first date, or any date for that matter.
“Cassie didn’t want to say anything, but Todd, Ethan’s father came by the other day. I guess she ended their relationship and that it was bad. He was looking for Cassie, said he wanted to get back together. Luckily Cassie was out at the time, but it just seemed to piss him off even more.” Mom said. The phone rang. Mom picked it up and was quiet for a moment.
“Oh hon, I’m so glad you’re alright. What? Surgery? Todd did what? Oh hon. Melody’s here. Do you want to talk to her? No? Alright. Bye.” Mom hung up and looked at me.
“That was Cassie.” she said. I nodded.
“She’s alright, but they had to take Lance into surgery. He and Todd had a fist fight and Todd broke Lance’s nose. Cassie needs someone to be with her.” Mom said.
“I guess you’ll get to hang out with Bella for a bit longer. I’m going to the hospital.” I got up and left.
I pulled into the parking lot of the hospital and asked the nurse where Lance would be. She pointed me down a few hallways and told me where the waiting room was. I hurried to it and saw Cassie sitting alone in the room, crying.
“Oh, Cass.” I said, rushing to her. She looked up at me.
“Melody! I’m so happy to see you!” she said as she stood up. I hugged her.
“Tell me what happened.” I said as I sat down next to her.
“Well, after you and Jc left, Lance and I stayed for a bit longer, and then decided to go somewhere more quiet and talk, to get to know each other better. On our way to his car, Todd came out of the shadows. He called Lance a ‘girlfriend stealing SOB’ and wound up to punch him. I tried to stop them, but he pushed me into a car.” She stopped and showed me her arms, where a line of bruises were starting to form.
“After he pushed me away, Todd punched Lance really hard in the face, and Lance fell down. Todd started kicking him, and I did the only thing I could think of, and I screamed. Todd turned to me and started beating me and calling me every name in the book.” Cassie took a moment to collect herself.
“When I thought he was going to kill me, he was pulled off of me. I looked and saw Lance punch him in the eye. Todd must have given up because then he left, telling me to have a nice life in a really nasty voice. Lance asked me if I was ok before he fainted. I found his cell phone and called for an ambulance and waited with him until they came.” she was interrupted by Josh walking into the room.
“Honey, how’d you find me?” I asked him as he came over and sat on the other side of Cassie.
“When I woke up and you weren’t there, I headed to your mom’s house and she told me what happened and I rushed over here.” he said. A doctor came in and asked if we were waiting for Lance.
“He’s going to be fine. His nose was so broken up, we gave him a new one. He also lost a lot of blood, and that was a concern, but he will pull through with flying colors. You can go in and see him soon.” he said before he left.
When we could finally go in and see him, he looked worse than he was. He had a large bandage wrapped around his head and they were still giving him blood. Cassie burst into tears when she saw him. I could tell she felt so guilty that he was here. I pat her on her shoulder reassuringly. She reached for Lance’s hand and held it. The three of us stayed as long as we could before we had to leave. As we left the hospital, I told Josh to go home. I took Cassie to my mom’s house and picked up Bella.
Chapter 62
Josh didn’t lock himself in the studio as much. He was starting to gear up for the marketing part of the album making.
Lance’s nose healed nicely, although it did take some getting used to at first. He and Josh were trying to work their way though their problems. I had told him that he must really love Cassie to go through what he has just to be with her. He and Cassie seemed inseparable.
As Arabella turned six months old, my body decided that it was time to go back to normal. I was miserable during my signing tour. I called home every night and for a few precious moments, I talked to my daughter, and to my husband. It helped me sleep knowing that everything was alright at home. I was glad that Josh had decided to come with me on my first country wide tour, coming up after thanksgiving.
One night, Josh sounded a bit different on the phone.
“Josh. Something is up with you. What is it?”
“I came up with a title for my album.” he said. No amount of pestering could get him to tell me what it was though. When he hung up to go to bed, I sighed and thought that the next few weeks couldn’t go by fast enough. I wanted to be home.
* * *
I was finally home. As I walked into the kitchen, Josh was pulling a pie out of the oven.
Arabella was sitting in her high chair, playing with a rattle and my old set of keys.
“I’m home.” I said, standing in the doorway. Arabella looks up at the sound of my voice and starts to gurgle her hello. Josh put the pie on the sink divider and came over to me. He wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed me.
“I’ve missed you.”
“I missed you too. Johnny came up with the idea that I do a Christmas album.” I said, looking up into those beautiful blue eyes.
“What do you think?” he asked me.
“Maybe next year. It’s too late for it this year.” I say. He squeezes me tighter to him.
“Sounds cool.” he says as he lets me go.
I head over to my beautiful daughter and picked her up. Amanda rubbed against my ankle. I said hello to her and look my baby girl over. I hug her close and start singing “Love” to her quietly. Josh surprises me and joins in with his part. Arabella relaxes against my arms, tired from all the excitement, and happy that I’m home. I headed into the living room and sit on the couch and cuddle with Bella. Josh joins us. It was very cozy there, just the three of us.
“Josh?” I ask, breaking the silence.
“Yes, hon?” he answers.
“What do you think of making “Love” my next single? We could release it together.”
“Mel, that is such a great Idea. I love you. I feel so blessed that I have you in my life. I feel so privileged that you turned my poem for you into a song for us to both sing.” he said, leaning forward the little bit and kissing my cheek.
“I love you too, Josh.”
Chapter 63
The following day, Josh went to the airport and picked up his family. We had invited both sets of family to our house for our first Thanksgiving as a married couple. When Josh returned home with them, Karen picked up Bella.
“There’s my favorite granddaughter!” she said, cuddling her.
“Mom, she’s your only grandchild.” Josh said, putting down the suitcases he brought in.
“She may be right now, but I hope to have many more to spoil.” she said. I glanced over at Josh. He was glancing at Tyler and Heather. Then he glanced at me.
“Well Mom, that won’t be for a little while.” I say. Karen looks at me.
“Why not?” she asks me.
“Well, Josh and I have our careers to think about, and we want to enjoy Arabella while she’s still this young.” I say.
“That reminds me. I listened to your new album. You did a beautiful job honey. I really liked the one the two of you sang together. It was beautiful.”
“That was a poem that Josh wrote me for my birthday last year.” I say.
We got his family settled in.
On Thanksgiving, I got up early and put the turkey in the oven. A few hours later, Mom arrived, followed by Jack, Cindy and Ethan. Josh had gotten up and was wearing some sweats and sat down and watched the parade. Roy, Tyler and Jack joined him. I had strapped Arabella into her high chair and gave her some graham crackers to chew on.
“Well, it is nice to know that I didn’t marry an alien. At least he watches football on Thanksgiving.” I comment while mashing the potatoes.
“Oh he is such a big Redskins fan.” Karen added. The doorbell rang. I made Josh go and get it. He came into the kitchen followed by Cassie.
“Melody, I need to talk to you.” she said. She looked like she had been crying. I look over at Mom. She nodded and came over and took over the potatoes. I took Cassie into the studio.
“What’s wrong?” I ask her after we sit down.
“I need to talk to someone about Todd.” she said. I drew in a breath.
“Is he still following you?” I asked. She shook her head no.
“This is about what happened when we were together.” she said. She took a deep breath, trying to settle herself to tell me what she was going to say.
“He raped me.” she finally said. I felt stunned.
“He what?” I asked.
“I never wanted to have sex with him. He would slip alcohol into my drinks and get me drunk and when I was too drunk to stop him, he’d rape me.” she said. I shook slowly.
“Does anybody else know about this?” I ask her.
“No, just you. But this isn’t all of it. I’m pregnant again. It must have happened the last time Todd raped me.” she said, starting to cry.
“Oh honey. I’m so sorry.” I said and wrapped my arms around her. She sobbed into my shoulder.
“I think you should tell Lance this though. He loves you.” I said when she quieted down a bit.
“I-I-I know. H-he left for M-M-M-Mississippi yesterday to be with his family today. I couldn’t tell him before he left and r-r-ruin his holiday.” she managed between the sobs that came more frequent again.
“I’m here for you, Cass. I’ll help you through this.” I said, stroking her hair.
“Y-You mean it?” she said, looking up at me.
“Of course I do. You’re my best friend.”
Chapter 64
Thanksgiving dinner had a certain weirdness to the air. Cassie had joined us, and I think that is what helped contribute to it. When dinner was done, the guys headed back to the couch. We let Cassie do the dishes while we did everything else. She started crying uncontrollably. I went over to her and hugged her. She cried into my shoulder again.
“You really should tell Lance. He’ll be understanding.” I whisper into her ear.
“You really think so?” She asked back.
“I know so. Look at what he’s been through just to be with you. He went through two attacks and a nose job and he’s trying to get back on track with Josh.” Cassie stopped crying long enough to realize what I was saying.
“He had a fight with Jc?” She asked. I smiled.
“For a short while there, we thought he was in love with me. Josh went off the deep end and gave Lance a black eye.” I said. I started leading Cassie upstairs.
“Really? He never told me that.” she said.
“Oh yeah. I’ve never seen Josh so mad about anything.” I helped her into my bed, and told her to go ahead and sleep.
When I had gotten back to the kitchen, it was clean. I sat down at the table and sighed.
“Well, at least the food was edible. Thanks guys for all your help.” I said.
“Oh Melody, it’s no problem.” Mom said. I sat there thinking how funny it was that both Ethan and Cassie were at the same table for so long and she never caught on to the fact that her son was there.
Eventually Mom, Jack, Cindy and Ethan left. I got up and joined Josh, Roy and Tyler on the couch with Arabella. Karen and Heather had gone to bed. The game ended and Josh’s dad and brother went to bed. Arabella was sleeping in my arms.
“Honey, you’re going to have to sleep on the couch tonight. Cassie’s sleeping in our bed.”
“What’s wrong with her?” Josh asked me.
“It’s not anything I can tell you, at least, not yet.” I said, slowly stroking Bella’s hair. I look over at Josh.
“We leave the day after tomorrow anyways for my tour.” Josh smiled.
“I’m so happy you’re not doing an extravaganza like we would be doing.” he said.
“I’m happy that you’re going to be my opening act. I need someone like you to launch me into fame.” I said.
“Oh ha ha. Look who’s so funny now.” he looked over at me and Bella.
“I feel so lucky to have the two of you in my life. I love you. I appreciate what you have been through for us, for me. You carried our daughter for nine months and gave her life. I’m forever in your debt.” he said.
“I love you too, Josh. I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat. I wouldn’t change a thing. Especially you. I love you.”
Chapter 65
Josh’s family left the next afternoon. I had stayed home and packed while he took them to the airport. He returned home and helped me pack.
“Are you going to be able to keep working while we’re on the road?” I asked him.
“Oh yeah. All I have to do is a few more marketing things with it.” he said.
“Are you ever going to tell me what you’re calling it?” I asked him.
“Maybe.” he said. I threw a sock at him. It bounced off his head and landed on the floor. On the baby monitor, there was a cry. We stopped laughing and listened. I looked at the clock.
“She’s got some time before her snack. We better finish packing.” I said as I finished packing my suitcase. I went to get Arabella and give her mid-afternoon snack. She looked up at me with her beautiful blue eyes. She reached up and pulled my hair really hard.
“Ow! That hurt Bella!” I said. She smiled from below the bottle.
“I bet you don’t do that to Daddy.” I said to her. Her grin got bigger.
“Do what?” Josh asked, poking his head into the room.
“Pull handfuls of hair out. If she keeps this up, I’ll be bald within the next year.” I said. Josh chuckled.
“Well, you’d still be beautiful.” he said. I threw him a look. He ducked out of the room. When Bella finished her snack, I packed up her essentials and got her ready to leave the next morning.
We left early the next morning. Mom was taking care of Amanda for us. After lunch, I stretched out on my bunk. Josh stretched out on his with Arabella. The next thing I knew, it was dark out. Josh was sleeping on his bunk with Bella in his arms. I smiled and settled myself in to watch a movie in the back of the bus. After a while, Josh had gotten up and joined me.
“Your hair is getting long.” I said, looking at him.
“You don’t like it, do you?” he asked me.
“I think it makes you sexier. I like it.” I say.
“Really?”
“Oooh baby yes!” I said in my sexiest voice. Josh shakes his head.
“I’m hungry.” I say.
“Well, what do you want?” he asks me.
“Ice cream.” I say.
“For dinner?”
“Yep.” I say. Josh gets up and talks to the driver. We stop at a Dairy Queen. He gets a chicken strip basket and I get a banana split. I take a small little spoonful and give some to Arabella. She mashes it in her mouth, her face screwed up in whether she likes it or not. Josh took a picture of her. She eventually spits it back out. She got restless and we took her to the adaptable crib we had brought for her. Once she was asleep, Josh and I went to the back to enjoy some quality time together.
Chapter 66
Josh and I reached the first venue. I went through the sound checks and things. I had a few hours before we had to get ready for the concert, so I went shopping at a nearby mall. I bought Arabella some squishy toy I knew she would like chewing on. I also got her some other things, mostly teething things. Josh was going to get a few toys of his own, as well as some more books and some DVDs. I got my mother a gift certificate to her favorite store. I was going to send Tyler and Heather signed copies of Baby Blues. I got Karen and Roy some gift certificates to some national chain stores. I figured that was enough for the day and headed back. I wrapped Josh’s gifts and hid them in my suitcase and went off to makeup and wardrobe. Josh was already there. He was going to be my opening act tonight. I was a bit nervous, but knowing that Josh was there for me helped calm my nerves.
Josh sung beautifully. He sang songs from the album that he had been working on. He’s been so secretive about it, I only knew the one song he played for me that one day. When he came off, I went on. He hugged me and wished me luck on my out. I went out there and sang my best songs for about an hour. My encore was having Josh come back out on stage and we sang “Love” together. It seemed to be my biggest hit yet. The crowd went wild when he came back on stage. They knew which song was coming up next.
When the show was over, we headed back to the hotel and slept. We went back on the road the next day and the first few days went by so uneventful, it was completely boring. We were starting to wean Arabella off of the formula and onto ‘adult’ food. She became very cranky, and on that small bus, her mood quickly rubbed off on Josh and myself. One time we went out for Chinese food, and she cried the whole time we were out. She couldn’t be comforted. I took her temperature but she was normal.
“I think she’s starting to teethe.” I tell Josh.
“How long does it last?”
“Way too long.” I said, handing her some crackers to chew on. Finally somewhat satisfied, she chewed on her fingers and the crackers. We were very happy when she finally started to show signs of sleepiness. We rocked her to sleep and fell into the same bed together. The moment our heads hit the pillow, we were wide awake. We wrapped ourselves in each other’s arms and talked for a long time before we drifted off to sleep.
Chapter 67
As my short tour started to wind down, we headed towards D.C., where we would have a concert and then have a day off and have an early Christmas with Josh’s family. We got there about nine p.m. and stayed at his parent’s house. The next night was my concert, and Josh’s family was going to be there, in the front row. They were so excited that they would finally get to see me perform, it rubbed off on both Josh and me. We had the best concert so far because we gave his family the best of ourselves.
The next day was our Christmas together. His parents showered toys on Arabella. They gave Josh gift certificates and a book of blank staff paper so he could write more music. They gave me a book of blank staff paper and a roll out keyboard that I could use to think on. I don’t know why they gave me that bizarre gift, but I guess it’s the thought that counts. Tyler gave me a journal to write my songs in. I guess he’d been talking to Josh. Only Josh knew how much I write. Heather gave me a gift certificate to my favorite store.
They loved the gifts I got for them. We all started laughing when Tyler opened up his gift from Josh and it was this huge bra. It must have been some inside brother joke, but it was still funny for all of us.
We arrived home a few days before Christmas. On Christmas, we had invited everyone over to our house and we exchanged gifts, but Lance declined. I think he was going home for Christmas. I got mostly gift certificates, although Josh got me this one necklace that had a heart shaped stone pendant. It was beautiful. I leaned over to him and kissed him.
“I take it you liked it?” he asked.
“Oh yes. Thank you.” I said.
When finally everyone started to leave, Josh and I had a nice dinner and then let Arabella play with the boxes from all her new toys. When her bedtime came, she was so tired she fell right asleep. I headed into our bedroom and got the gifts from underneath the bed and headed downstairs. Josh was sitting on the couch, listening to some music, and on the end table next to him was a bottle of my favorite non-alcoholic sparkling grape juice and two champagne glasses. I sat down next to him.
“Merry Christmas baby. I saved these for when we were alone.” I said, handing him the presents. He opened the first one to find a piece of lingerie.
“For me? You shouldn’t have. I don’t know if it’s my size.” he said.
“I married a dork.” I said, laughing. Josh finally lost it and laughed with me. He put the gift down and opened the other ones. When he finished, he started laughing again.
“What?” I asked him, taking a sip of my drink. Josh got up and headed in the direction of the hall closet. He came back with a box.
“I saved this for when we were alone.” he said. I opened it up. Inside was the most gorgeous formal gown I have ever laid my eyes upon.
“What’s this for?” I asked him.
“We were invited to the biggest party on New Year’s Eve.” he said. I looked up at him.
“No way.”
“Oh yes way. I thought you would like a night out, just the two of us, not even a thought about Arabella.”
“Oh Josh, you know just what I need. I love you!” I said, leaning in to kiss him.
“Or you could wear it to bed tonight.” Josh said suggestively.
Chapter 68
“Mom’s happy to take Bella for New Year’s Eve.” I told Josh a few days later. Josh nodded while he talked into his phone. Arabella looked up at me from her playpen and smiled. Her one tooth shone in the light. It had just cut loose the day before. I couldn’t believe how big she was getting. At eight months old, she looked nothing like the newborn I had birthed in April. It was amazing to think of how much one year could change your life. The doorbell rang, interrupting my thoughts. I went and answered it to find Cassie and Lance standing there.
“Where were you on Christmas? I didn’t see either one of you!” I said, letting them in.
“I went home, and I brought Cassie with me.” Lance said.
“Is Jc home?” Cassie asked me.
“Yeah, but he’s on the phone, something to do about his album. He won’t even tell me what he titled it. Do you know, Lance?” I asked. Lance shook his head no.
“We just stopped by to tell you what’s been going on. I told him what happened.” Cassie started.
“Well, that’s good.” I said, getting comfortable in the chair across from them.
“Also, It must be some miracle, and it probably sounds horrible to say that, but I lost the baby. I’m so grateful for that. I can’t imagine bringing another baby into this world like I did the last time.” she said.
“Well, I don’t know if I should be happy for you, or sad that the baby doesn’t get a chance to live.” I said. I got up and went over and hugged Cassie. I started to laugh while I was hugging her.
“What?” she asked me. I broke the embrace and sat back down in my chair.
“Well, how do you feel about your son, if you don’t mind my asking?”
“Why?” she asked.
“Because I know he got a good home and is growing up comfortably.” I said.
“How do you know that?” Lance asked.
“Aw, come on. Lance, you didn’t pick up on it? I thought you could pick up on these types of things.” I said, joking. I dug out a picture of Ethan and handed it to Lance.
“Oh. My. God.” He muttered. He handed the picture to Cassie. She looked at it. Her eyes got wide.
“How did you get this picture?” she asked, recognizing Ethan.
“I took it. That’s Ethan Beam, Arabella’s adopted cousin.” I said. The picture was of Ethan and Bella next to each other on the couch, taken a few months ago. Cassie looked up at me.
“You mean?” she started.
“Yes. My brother is the one that adopted your son. Kind of ironic isn’t it? I mean, he’s the one that delivered him, and now he adopted him.” I said.
Just then, Josh came wandering in.
“What Up? “ he asked us.
“Do you know who your adopted nephew is?” Cassie asked him.
“Yeah. They named him Ethan.” he said. I pushed him.
“You do too know who he is.” I said. Josh looked at me.
“Oh you mean the part where he’s your biological son and Jack was the one that was there and delivered him and then adopted him?” he asked.
“Hon, you are such a dork.” I said.
“Well, it takes one to know one.” he retorted.
“What was that all about?” I asked him.
“Well, we finally have agreed on a release date for my album, that’s all. They drive me nuts sometimes.” he said.
“I know the feeling. So when is the big day?” I asked.
“Late February, apparently.” Josh said.
Cassie and Lance stayed for a little while, and we talked about a lot of things. I was happy to find out that Cassie was going to the big party as Lance’s date. It meant I would have someone to hang out with and have fun if I got tired of dancing.
Chapter 69
Josh took me out to dinner before we went to the party. As soon as we arrived, we bumped into Lance and Cassie. For some reason, Lance looked nervous. Cassie looked absolutely stunning in her mid-calf midnight blue dress. She looked elated, but also a bit awestruck. I don’t think she was completely comfortable being with all these well known people just yet. Josh and I chatted with them for a few minutes, then went to mingle a bit more.
“Do you want to dance?” he asked me a little while later, near the end of a fast song.
“Yeah, sure.” I said. Josh lead me to a spot on the dance floor just as “Love” came on. I started to laugh.
“You have impeccable timing, Mr. Chasez. I love you.” I said, looking into his deep, beautiful, serious blue eyes.
“I love you too, Mrs. Chasez.” he said, leaning down to place a kiss on my lips. I deepened the kiss, and we put so much feeling into it that we almost ended up sitting on the floor.
“Wow.” I said when we came up for air. Josh slowly opened his eyes and looked into mine.
“I’ll love you for all time. It gets stronger with each passing day.” he whispers to me.
“You are my breath of life, my very soul. I love you.” Josh smiled and kissed my nose.
“Love” ended and a fast song came on. Josh and I didn’t care. We danced like we were the only two people in the universe, dancing to a rhythm that only the two of us could feel.
“I have something to tell you.” Josh said at one point, looking into my eyes.
“What?”
“Do you want to know what I titled my album?”
“You know I do. What is it?”
“I decided to call it Melodies.” He said, watching my reaction.
“Really? You named it after me? You shouldn’t have!”
Josh smiled.
“I love you, and you were the inspiration to me to make it, so I felt it should be called Melodies.”
I reached up and placed a kiss on his lips. He reached for more, and we shared a very special moment together.
When the one minute countdown started, I was surprised at how fast the evening was flying. It had only felt like an hour or two had gone by.
At midnight, Josh and I kissed, bringing in the New Year full of new hopes and dreams.
“Happy New Year, my dear sweet Melody.” Josh said.
“Happy New Year, Josh. I love you.” I said back.
We were dancing when Cassie found us and ran up to us.
“You’ll never believe it!” she squealed.
“What?” I asked her. She held up her left hand. On her ring finger was a solitaire on a thin gold band.
“Lance proposed to me! Oh Melody! I can’t believe it! I’m engaged!” She said as Lance found us. He looked a bit sheepish.
“Well, well. We should have known something was up with you. You were acting nervous earlier.” I said.
“Yeah man. Why didn’t you tell us you were going to pop the question?” Josh added.
“You didn’t tell us.” Lance pointed out.
“So what? As you once said, it was obvious from the beginning how I feel for Mel.”
“Uh, Josh? Lance? Do we have to go into this now?” I asked.
“No.” they both answered back.
Josh and I stayed a bit longer and then headed home. I was so tired I could barely get out of my dress before I hit the bed and fell asleep. I don’t think I even took my shoes off.
Chapter 70
My hand was shaking as I put my earrings in. I was having trouble believing the news I had just received a short while a go over the phone.
“Melody! Let’s go!” Josh called up to me. We were ready to leave for the release party for Melodies. Josh and I had decided to bring Arabella with us. As I headed down the stairs, my mind wandered back to when I first met Josh. He had bumped into me in the pet store almost two years ago. I couldn’t believe how lucky I was to have met him. The past two years have been the best of my life. The love that Josh and I have developed for each other grows and gets stronger everyday. The biggest evidence of our love for each other was Arabella. It won’t be long before she’s walking. She’s already pulling herself up with the aid of anything around her, and lately she’s been inching her way around her crib rail.
We arrive at the party, and for many of our professional friends, it’s their first time meeting Arabella. Josh and I keep close to her, but let her be passed around from one friend to another. When Lance had taken her, Josh and I took a breather. The DJ starts “Love” and Lance brings her back to us and went off to find Cassie.
“I still can’t believe the two of them are engaged.” I said. Josh nodded in agreement. Cassie and Lance had decided to get married in the fall, date still unknown. I put Bella down between us and let her bounce on her feet. I sat there and watched her. Bella had a very good rhythm, she could bounce to the beat. When the song changed, Bella kept up with the beat.
“Josh, watch Bella. She’s bouncing to the beat.” I said. Josh watched her for a minute.
“She’s so beautiful.” he said. I nodded. I was gathering up my courage to tell him what I knew I needed to. Britney came by.
“Melody. I think you did a great job on your last album. I love the video you made to your last single.” she said.
I thanked her and we chatted for a few minutes before I excused myself to go to the restroom. I stood in the mirror and gave myself a pep talk.
When I came back out, Josh and Bella were over at the food table. I started to head towards them, and I saw Cassie and Lance making out on the dance floor. I chuckled to myself, thinking of what an odd pair they were. I turned and headed back to the table where I knew Josh was going to return to. I thought back to when I first started out in this business. I thought of everything that had happened since then. I didn’t realize it then, but the title of my first album really summed up my entire life.
Each person’s life is like a music score, and you’re only the conductor of your own score. Everyone you meet and interact with in your life are the true composers of the music. They place the notes where they either are harmonic or dissonant. But in the end, not one note is more important than the others. They all work together to make the music of life whole. Life is one big melody.
Josh sat down next to me and fed Arabella, interrupting my train of thoughts. I knew I had to tell him. He’s my conductor’s wand. I couldn’t conduct my life’s music without him.
“Honey?” I say softly.
“Hmm? What?” he said, turning his attention off of Arabella and onto me. I smile, thinking of how beautiful she is. I know that what I have to say is going to place a new note in all of our scores. I take a deep breath and look into Josh’s piecing blue eyes.
“I’m pregnant.”