Serendipity Strikes

15

This chapter is dedicated to
my friend shawnsbuttercup
❤️❤️❤️

Shawn

The best way to describe my life was full.

My album was dropping the second week in December, so I was ridiculously busy preparing for that. The two singles I'd released the month before had both been met with commercial and critical success, but I was a little worried about how this album would be received since it had been delayed so long. There was always this cloud of anxiety that hung over my head prior to sharing new music, though I knew from talking to other artists that this was normal. Of course I was very excited to have the world hear everything I'd spent so much time working on, but I also craved positive feedback and knew that wasn't guaranteed. What if some of my fans had lost interest since I'd waited so long to produce an album?

I'd played my record in its entirety for Emmaline and she loved it, but of course she was biased as my girlfriend. Going into it, I hadn't told her which three songs I loved the most. When I asked her which she thought were the best, she'd selected two of the same ones. It made me feel good that we were in sync this way, though it wasn't all that surprising. We fit together like the teeth on a zipper.

It wasn't easy being separated from Em and Jax while I traveled to prep for the release. When I was in town, we spent hours out of each day, plus every night, together. Being newly in love meant that we were still discovering a lot about each other. It was liberating to share things about myself with her, and I told her things I hadn't told any other woman, not even Celeste. Additionally, I lived to hear various anecdotes about her childhood and college experiences. She was a fantastic storyteller, naturally, and I'd get lost in her vivid tales.

Emmaline was working on a new book, so I'd frequently hang out at her place with Jax while she locked herself in her office to work on the illustrations for the story. The text had been done for weeks, but the artwork took more time. When I was gone, she often stayed up late after Jax went to bed or worked during his two daily naps. Mike came over as often as possible to help, but hockey practice took up so much of his days, and he was on the road constantly. You'd think this would bother Em, but when I brought it up she just shrugged and said it would be the same if they were still together and that Mike was doing his best.

So yeah, between my album coming out, having a serious girlfriend who I was head over heels in love with, and helping with childcare, my life was busting at the seams in the best possible way.

"What's your ETA?" Em asked as I spoke with her while waiting at the gate at LaGuardia.

I'd been in New York for a couple days to record a bunch of promos and to sign a ton of posters that were going to be distributed at pop-up stores that would appear in six major cities around the world on the release day. As a total surprise, I was going to be at one of those stores handing out free t-shirts, singing a couple songs, and taking pictures. I was really looking forward to the excitement my fans would feel when they saw me.

"My flight is due to arrive at 4:00, barring any delays. It's crazy cold here and it's sleeting, but that's normal for December."

"Now I'm going to be anxious about you flying in snow. You need to text me as soon as you land!"

I chuckled, because she was always such a worrier. "I promise to text you. I've traveled in worse conditions than this, honey. Are you ready for tonight?"

"I think so! Everyone is coming at 7:00. The tree was delivered a few hours ago and it's beautiful. Next year we need to cut one down ourselves since Jax will be old enough to enjoy that."