OUT OF THE RED ↝ dave grohl

one-hundred-nine.

"Why does it matter?" Kate replied hotly.

"Because the one who picked Deftones has better taste."

"Ha!" Reagan exclaimed, kicking one foot up from under her blanket triumphantly.

"But her taste is so one-dimensional," Kate grumbled.

"I actually gotta' head into work," Robbie told them as he pulled back his long hair into a ponytail, reminding Reagan of when Dave had once done the same thing. "I'll be back home by six."

After Robbie left, it wasn't long until Richard entered the living room, wrangling the twins along with him and looking in need of a stiff drink.

"Where are you going?" Kate asked, eyeing the twins with an expression that gave away how fortunate she clearly felt to not be in Richard's shoes.

"Kody and RaeLynn have a birthday party to go to in Wildwood," he explained, sounding exasperated by the idea of having to step foot outside with the twins.

Kody and RaeLynn were locked in a heated argument, though from what Reagan could tell, Kody was the instigator. That was a first. RaeLynn had always been the first to antagonize.

Kody was attempting to rip a book out of her hands while RaeLynn fought back, hissing at her brother through her teeth to stop.

"Hey!" Reagan called, making her voice sharp as she slapped a hand down on the arm of the couch. Both of the twins flinched.

"If you behave for Dad, I'll take you out for ice cream tonight," she said. That had always been her go-to trick with the twins, striking deals to get them to do what she wanted. Just as they had done when they were toddlers, they quieted after exchanging a pair of dirty looks.

"Thank you," Richard mouthed at Reagan, putting a hand on each of twins' shoulders and leading them out the front door.

"You can't do that around Mom," Kate announced once the door slammed shut and they were alone again.

"Do what around Mom?"

"Whip Kody and RaeLynn into shape like that. She'll start bribing you to move back in."

Reagan rolled her eyes. "There was nothing difficult about what I just did. Mom just has a complex."

They went back to watching t.v., though Reagan was beginning to brainstorm ideas that would get them out of the house along with everyone else. Chris was supposedly bartending on an afternoon shift, but Reagan questioned the morality of walking into a bar pregnant, even if it was to see her best friend.

She was showing, but only a little. She glanced down at her stomach, turning her head to the side as she inspected the slightly raised bump under her shirt.

"Do you think if went to go see Chris today, I'd get any weird looks?" she asked out loud. "You know, with my belly?"

It took a moment for Kate to answer and Reagan realized that it was because she was drifting off to sleep, her head lolling on her shoulder. She nudged Kate's leg with her foot.

"Kate!"

Kate mumbled out a halfway coherent response. "You could get away with it. You just look . . . bloated."

"Are you seriously going to fall asleep? We have the whole day ahead of us!"

That time, Kate didn't answer. She rolled on to her side and tucked her hands under her face, effectively confirming to Reagan that she was indeed going to take a midday nap.

It looked like everyone but Reagan had decided on their plans for the day.

Out of boredom she kept watching MTV, but was delighted when the video for 'Everlong' came on. She watched the whole thing through, laughing quietly to herself at Dave's surprising flair for acting. It shouldn't have been normal, seeing her husband's music video on television, but it made her feel closer to him somehow. The person in the video was her person and it made it all the more special.