That's Alright

A Word of Advice

"Daddy!" two little voices greeted him in unison and I could her him pick the boys up and say hello as I checked my reflection before joining them, still in my robe, now paranoid for my lack of outfit choices.

"What have you guys been up to, huh?" He asked.

"I threwed up," Luca announced with gusto.

"Oh, you did," Lindsey's demeanor changed.

"Uh huh. On mommy."

I could hear Lindsey stifle a laugh as I walked down the hallway towards them.

"Don't laugh, Buckingham, you could be next." I told him, leaning against the corner as he stared at me, Luca and Matty still both in his arms.

"You look incredible," he told me, sitting Matty down when he became a little wiggle worm.

"Thanks, you clean up pretty well yourself," I winked.

He made his way to the couch, sitting as Luca curled up on his lap, beginning to doze off, and Matty showed him a new dinosaur toy.

I reflexively handed him his drink of choice, sitting down with a glass of wine. I was nervous about this evening, and any time that the band met to discuss something serious like this it often had a double fold effect on Lindsey and I.

"I called us a car," he told me, and I nodded my head, glad that was one less thing we'd have to deal with.

My mother returned shortly after and Lindsey read the boys a story. I changed quickly into a black dress, kissing my little princes goodbye and heading for the door with Lindsey.

"Mama! Wait," Matty shouted, running towards us.

"Buddy," Lindsey began, "we've already talked about this. You guys are going to stay here with Grammy while Mama and I go to work. They'd been asking to go all night, and we were already running a bit behind.

Matty tugged on my arm, so I bent down to listen to what he had to say.

"You look pretty, Mama," he told me with a sweet little smile on his face and the blue eyes he got from his Daddy staring back at me.

"Thank you, Matteo." I kissed his forehead and Lindsey tousled his curls, also grinning, before he ran back to the couch and sat with my mother and Luca.

As soon as the door closed, Lindsey's arm was around my waist.

I hadn't had a night out with just the band since the boys were born, and the evening completely lived up to my expectations. Everyone got along so well, laughing and catching up with no animosity.

We were all in for another album. We discussed the details and I think that it's safe to say everyone is excited. Mick and Lindsey have tasked themselves with selecting a studio and I need to go through all of my work to determine which songs I want to bring to the table. I know I've certainly written enough material, though I knew it would all strike a nerve with Lindsey, but that was nothing new. Christine and I sat in a dimly lit corner of the bar, sipping our drinks as the gentlemen went up for refills, laughing about something. She was carrying on a lovely conversation about Luca and Matty but starkly changed her tone as soon as Lindsey was out of ear shot.

"Are you two sleeping together again?" She shot me a look.

I was dumbfounded. How did she know? "What?"

"Oh don't play stupid. You guys are practically undressing each other at the table. And I think I've been around enough of your- whatever it is," she waved her hand about, "to know when it's going on."

I shrugged. "I know. We just want to keep it to ourselves right now. It's been going so well, and," I swirled my drink in my glass, "I don't know. I just don't want to get carried away and ruin it again."

She considered what I said for only a moment before offering her best advice. "But don't miss your opportunity either," she warned. And I knew she was right.

The guys joined us again, and I laughed more than I had in quite some time. We'd all had quite a bit to drink and eventually parted ways, Lindsey ushering me into the waiting car, giving the driver my address and immediately pulling me close, his hands moving dangerously high on my legs. Arriving at my condo, he moved to get out of the vehicle and join me.

"What are you doing? The boys and my mom are up there... Lindsey we can't, umm, in close quarters."

"I know," he grabbed my hand. "But I can walk you to the door, check on the boys and kiss you goodnight, right?"

I smiled. "When did you become so charming?"

He laughed, pulling me into his arms on the elevator ride to my floor. The boys were sleeping soundly and it was late, even for me, as Lindsey kissed me goodnight. He told me he'd see me in a few days to take Luca to the eye doctor, and he hoped I'd have a few demos ready for him to get things rolling.

I locked the door behind him and climbed in to bed, disappointed that I was alone. Even though I was exhausted I had too much on my mind for sleep to come. After a few minutes Matty wandered in, rubbing his eyes and dragging his stuffed giraffe, crawling into bed beside me. I watched him sleep peacefully and cuddled him close, eventually finding sleep myself.