I arrived in Dublin exhausted, unable to sleep on the flight for worry about Nikki and Everette. Thanks to a flight delay, I only had a few hours to rest and freshen up before the show. I wouldn’t be joining my brothers after the show for autographs by the bus, that was for sure.
I called Nikki as soon as I was through customs and allowed to use my phone.
“How are you doing, sweetheart?” I asked her.
“Well, I feel better than you sound,” she answered.
“It was a pretty rough travel day, I won’t lie,” I said.
“Did you meet up with Taylor and Zac yet?”
“No, I’m still in the airport, walking to baggage claim.”
“Oh wow, you were delayed.”
“It was ridiculous. They tried to fix the mechanical problem, but they had to get a new plane for us, so we had to reboard, and that was a mess. There were a lot of folks from Ireland really upset that they wouldn’t be getting home on time.”
“I can imagine. Patience seems to get worse near the end of trips. How long do you have before the show?”
“Only about three hours. I missed sound check. Taylor wasn’t happy, but I couldn’t help the flight delay.”
“Make sure you get some hot tea for your throat before the show. And try to warm up with them a bit.”
“I will, I will. And tomorrow is an off day, so I can rest my voice a bit. We’ll be traveling to Scotland, but I don’t think we leave until the afternoon. I’ll have to check with Rebecca, though.”
“Ok, make sure you take care of yourself,” she said. I heard Everette crying in the background.
“Is he ok?” I asked.
Her voice sounded far away, I guessed she put me on speaker phone to pick him up.
“He’s alright, it’s just time for his mid-morning snack. He was a little cranky after you left, I guess he missed you being here. Maybe he somehow sensed you were going to be gone longer than when you go to the office.”
“Hmmm, that could be true. I read somewhere that babies are much more in tune with their instincts than we are. We learn to suppress them as we get older and just go along with the status quo.”
“I can see that for sure,” she said. “I know that I’m counting down the days until you come back. I’m sure Everette would if he knew how to count.”
I smiled at that. “I miss you, too. I thought about you the whole flight here.”
“That’s sweet. I worried about you, too. I know you are used to traveling with your brothers, but I am glad you stayed the extra days with me.”
“Yeah, it was a little weird. I kept looking for them, and then remembered they were already there.”
“I think Everette hears your voice,” Nikki said. “He is wrinkling up his little nose. If I didn’t know any better, I would say he is trying to turn his head toward the phone.”
I grinned from ear to ear when she said that. I’m sure I looked dumb to the other people in the airport, but I didn’t care. I had been so worried that he would forget me or that we would lose some of our bond with me leaving so soon after he was born.
“I miss you both so much already. I know this part of the tour is only a couple of weeks, but it seems so long.”
“I feel that way, too,” she said. “I understand it’s your job, but I’m ready for you to be home if I can’t go with you.”
“Are you adjusting more to the idea of coming out on tour with me?” She hadn’t seemed so sure about the idea the last time that we talked.
“I want to be with you as much as possible. I want Everette to see his father more than just every couple of months. If Natalie can travel with kids, so can I.” I was glad to hear more confidence in her voice.
“I know our life is going to be different than the usual suburban lifestyle, but it will be our life. And Everette will be so much better off for being able to see the world at a young age. Having that exposure will teach him more than school ever will.”
“I think it really will help him. We’ll have to talk about school. I don’t know if homeschool is the right thing, but we have time to plan for that.”
“We can make our own decision when the time is right.”
I had slowed down walking so much to talk to Nikki that my bag was waiting for me at baggage claim. And so was my driver. He was one of the last ones holding a sign.
“I guess I need to let you go. I have my bag and the driver is here. I really don’t have long to make it to the venue.”
“Ok, darling. Call me when you can but get some rest.”
“Well, you can count on one of those things happening.”
“I would like for both to happen, please.” She was already getting a mom voice. It was adorable.
“Yes ma’am. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
“Bye.”
I followed the driver to the car, hoping that I could keep things together as a family man and a rock star.