Dear Diary,
Johnny and I have a daughter named Gracie and she's the heart of our home. Lily-Rose and Jack are killing it at being a big brother and sister and come over almost every weekend to be with her. However, Gracie is now five years old and she's still learning about the world around her. Combine that with her... I guess you could say unique(?) outlook on life and it can sometimes be a disaster...
On her first day of preschool, she refused to let go of the teacher's leg because she thought we'd abandoned her earlier that day. She claimed her teacher was now her Mommy and the stuffed teddy bear in the corner was her Daddy and that Johnny and I were too late to win her back.
When my great-aunt Doris passed away, Johnny and I were preparing for the funeral when Gracie brought us her rubber ducky rain boots. When we asked why she was giving them to us, she said we would need them if we were going to stand in a gravy-yard. She assumed a graveyard was just a yard with gravy flooding it!
Suffice it to say, little Gracie had a strange way of seeing the world. I tell Johnny she gets it from his side of the family... he begs to differ. Although, what Gracie pulled today was her biggest misunderstanding yet. Apparently, it all started when Johnny was picking up Gracie from school on Friday...
⚘Johnny's P.O.V⚘
"Shouldn't we have gotten an ice cream for mommy too?" Gracie looked up at me from the back seat.
"No, it would've melted by the time we got home" I told her, staring at her in the rear view mirror. "Besides Mommy doesn't know that Daddy gave you ice cream and I think we should keep it that way, don't you?"
"That's lying" Gracie told me.
"No, it's lying if you tell someone something that isn't true" I explained. "If you don't say anything then it's keeping a secret. Understand?"
"I guess..." Gracie shrugged, enjoying her ice cream.
Suddenly I heard sirens and flashing lights behind me. My eyes widened.
"Uh-oh! It's the fuzz!" Gracie exclaimed. "The jig is up!"
"Hush, baby" I told her, pulling over. "There is no jig... and where did you hear the term 'The Fuzz'?"
"Uncle Alice and Uncle Joe" Gracie answered.
"I'm gonna kill those two..." I muttered.
The cop got out of his crusier and walked up to my car. I slowly rolled down the window.
"Where are you coming from, Mr. Depp?" The cop asked him.
"I was just coming back from picking up my daughter from preschool" I nodded to the back seat.
The cop peered into the back seat and waved to Gracie. "Hello, sweetie" He said.
"He told me to lie to my Mommy!" Gracie spilled her little guts. "I didn't want to! I just wanted ice cream! Please don't take me to jail! I'm too cute!"
My eyes widened. "Grace Elizabeth Depp!" I scolded under my breath.
"You know you were going a hundred in an eighty-five mile zone?" The cop asked.
"I'm sorry, I was chatting with my little girl" I said. "I must've missed the sign."
The cop turned back to me. "License and registration, please" He asked.
"I don't have any!" Gracie called from the back seat.
"He's talking to me, sweetheart" I said as I reached into the glove compartment for the car registration and then into my wallet for my driver's license.
"Stay where you are" the cop advised as he turned and headed back to his car.
"What's happening?" Gracie whispered.
"The police officer is just gonna check Daddy's license and make sure the car isn't stolen" I explained. "See? He's talking on the radio to his friends at the police station to make sure everything is okay."
The cop came back and handed me back my items. "Okay, so you now have two options" He told me. "I can issue you a ticket and you'll have to pay a five-hundred dollar fine for speeding or... you can take a selfie with me because there is no way my wife is gonna believe that I met you."
I blinked. "Uh... yeah, I'm gonna go with the selfie" I smiled.
After taking the selfie, he got back in his crusier and took off. I exhaled and restarted the car.
"What's that?" Gracie asked me.
I looked down at my license, which was still in my hand. "This? This is my driver's license" I told her. "It's what you get when you learn to drive. You'll get one too when you're sixteen."
"What's all the stuff written on it" Gracie asked.
"All the stuff that people need to know about me..." I explained, showing it to her. "See? It's got my full name, my age and my address, my gender. What color my eyes and hair are, my picture."
"I wanna see the picture!" Gracie said.
I passed it to her in the back seat and she stared at it.
"Do I look good?" I asked her.
She didn't say anything. I looked in the rearveiw mirror and saw her eyes go wide as she stared at my license.
"Gracie? What's wrong?" I asked.
"Nothing" She said, handing me back my license. "It's a nice picture. Let's go home now."
"Okay..." I said putting the card back in my wallet and driving off. "And sweetheart, when we get home remember... the ice cream and the cop are a secret."
⚘O.C's P.O.V⚘
"Come on, John... pick up your phone!" I said rapping my nails against the kitchen counter. This was the third time in the past hour I got his voice-mail. If he got into an accident with our baby in the car...
"We're home!" Came his voice from the front doorway.
"Mommy!" Gracie ran into my arms.
"Hello beautiful!" I picked her up and set her on my hip. I gave Johnny a punch on the shoulder.
"Ow!" He yelled. "What's your problem?"
"Why didn't you answer your phone?" I asked him.
"I was driving" Johnny replied.
"It only takes twelve minutes from the preschool and back here" I told him.
"It does?" Johnny asked.
"Yes!" I raised my voice, trying not to swear in front of Gracie. "So why did it take you an hour and a half?"
"Relax!" Johnny wrapped his arm around my torso and set his chin on my shoulder. "I went for a drive with my baby girl."
"Well, tell me" I attempted to shrug him off, he didn't move. "Tell me if you're going to be late! You know that, Johnny. You had me so worried."
"Relax, Mama Bear" Johnny kissed my cheek. "We got back to the den safely, didn't we Gracie-Locks?"
"Daddy and I went out for ice cream and then we got stopped by the fuzz!" Gracie told me.
"What?!" I shrieked.
"But you can't tell anybody, Mommy!" Gracie whispered. "Cause Daddy says it's a secret..."
Johnny unwrapped his arms from around me and began backing away.
"Freeze!" I told him as I put Gracie down. I turned to Johnny. "Sugar?! Cops?!" I yelled at him. "What were you thinking?!"
"Don't yell at him, Mommy!" Gracie exclaimed.
"No, no... Mommy isn't mad at Daddy" I explained to her. "I'm just disappointed." I turned to look at Johnny. "Because when Mommy and Daddy make rules, like no sugar before dinner, it's up to Mommy and Daddy to make sure those rules stay in place."
"I don't want you to be mad at Daddy anymore!" Gracie told me. "I want you to just love him."
"Listen to her!" Johnny praised her. "She is so smart!"
"Must have gotten it from my side of the family" I muttered to him. I looked at Gracie "just because I'm mad or disappointed in your father, doesn't mean I'm going to stop loving him. Remember how I told you about that?"
Gracie nodded.
"Good girl" I kissed her forehead. "Now you can go watch TV until dinners ready."
I turned to Johnny once she left. "You're lucky she loves you..." I told him.
"What about you?" Johnny asked.
I smiled and kissed him.
"Is that peanut butter caramel ripple I just tasted on your lips?" I asked him. "Why do I even bother making dinner, if you're just gonna fill up on sugar beforehand!"
⚘⚘⚘
That night I laid in bed reading as Johnny brushed his teeth. He crawled in beside me and stared at me, I refused to look back at him.
"C'mon babe" He whined. "I said I was sorry about the ice cream! And the cop let me off with a warning! What more do you want from me?"
"I'd like for you to follow through on the rules we lay down for our daughter" I told him. "So I'm not seen as the bad guy who makes the rules and super dad is the one she goes running to."
"You're too pretty to be seen as the bad guy" Johnny said, brushing the hair out of my face.
I put the book down and turned to look at him that time.
"You're lucky I love you..." I kissed him.
"I know how lucky I am..." Johnny smirked, looking at me.
I leaned in close, kissing him as he wrapped his arms around me. I leaned into him as he pulled me closer, one of his hands creeping it's way down my backside.
Then we heard a giggle come from witin our bedroom...
Johnny and I froze mid-kiss and turned to glance at the set of purple slippers peaking out from under the curtains.
Johnny put a finger to his lips and carefully crept over to the curtains. I surpressed my laughter as he reached out and whipped the curtains aside. Only Gracie wasn't there... just her slippers.
Suddenly I saw a little lump crawling under the bed covers near my feet and over to Johnny's side of the bed. Gracie popped up from under the covers and layed next to me.
Johnny turned and looked at her. "You little creeper!" He said. "You took my spot!"
"You were touching Mommy's bum-bum!" Gracie accused him.
My smile fell and my eyes widened as I shot Johnny a look that said fix this!
"That's because... Mommy's bum is very big and I thought I was touching part of her back" Johnny lied through his teeth.
"Oh..." Gracie nodded in realization.
"Yes..." I stared Johnny angrily.
"Can I sleep with you guys?" Gracie asked us.
"Sweetie, I thought you were passed this phase?" I asked softly.
"I am!" Gracie insisted. "But I want to be closer to Daddy."
"Aww, Grace..." Johnny smiled softly.
"Gracie, does this have anything to do with the fact that Daddy stopped to get you ice cream before dinner?" I asked.
"No" Gracie shook her head. I searched for a hint of dishonesty in her voice, but I couldn't find any.
"Just for tonight, okay Munchkin?" Johnny said to her.
Gracie nodded as she crawled to the center of the bed and Johnny laid down beside her.
"Just be careful Mommy doesn't crush you with her big bum" Johnny whispered to her.
I reached over Gracie's head and flicked Johnny on the nose.
"Hey..." Johnny groaned.
Gracie giggled.
⚘️⚘️⚘️
The next morning, Johnny and I were awoken by the front doorbell ringing. Johnny rolled out of bed and groggily slipped on his robe. I turned over and stared at the alarm clock: it was 6:57 a.m! On a Saturday!
I listened as Johnny opened the door. I could hear Lily-Rose and Jack's voices and got up to run a brush through my hair and headed downstairs.
When I walked down the stairs, I was surprised to see Lily-Rose hugging Johnny and sobbing as Jack rubbed her back in a comforting manner.
What the...? I thought. The kids never act like this unless someone dies! What the hell happened?!
"What's going on?" I mouthed to Johnny as I came down the stairs.
"I don't know" Johnny mouthed back.
Gracie came hopping down the stairs behind me. "Lily! Jackie!" She went running to her half siblings.
"Oh my God, Gracie!" Lily-Rose wrapped her arms around her next. "It's gonna be a okay! We're all going to watch out for you!"
"We were already doing that before the news, Lil!" Jack told her.
"What news--" Johnny was cut off by the doorbell ringing again.
"That must be Auntie Christi!" Lily said, scooping up Gracie and heading into the sitting room.
We opened the door and there was Christi, along with Johnny's half siblings, Debbie and Danny and his father John Sr. Debbie was sobbing into Danny's shoulder and John Sr looked like he was fighting back tears himself.
"Hey, baby brother" Christi hugged him. "How are you feeling today?"
Johnny seemed a little weirded out by the hug. "Oh... fine" He said. "Tired."
"You look it" Danny told him, ever the honest one.
Debbie smacked him on the arm. "Don't tell him that!" She glared at him through her teary eyes. She looked at Johnny "Oh Johnny, there's just so much to say..." she began to ugly cry again.
"O...kay" Johnny said. "Why don't you guys come in...? Have a seat on the sofa? Grab some tissues? Try to avoid anymore emotional breakdowns...?"
"He's right!" Daniel nodded. "We need to remain positive. That's Johnny for you... always thinking of others... love you, man." He began to sob, going to hug him.
Johnny backed away. "Sofa! Sofa! To the sofa!" He reminded his brother. "Over there! Please!"
Then John Sr walked in and padded his shoulder. "Son, I want you to know I'm sorry" he told him.
"Okay... about what?" Johnny asked him, confused.
"Probably a lot of things" John Sr shook his head. "I should've quit smoking back in the day, when they discovered it was unhealthy. But I thought it was just some health fad!"
"Well, Christ Dad! That's not your fault!" Johnny shrugged. "I'm no better! I only started smoking to spite you and mom! I was a stupid teenager! You know that!"
"Oh, God love ya!" His father padded his shoulder and made his way into the sitting room with the rest of the family.
I walked up beside Johnny, shutting the front door.
"What the hell is this all about?" I muttered to him.
"I'm just as much in the dark as you are!" Johnny shrugged. "Did you invite all of them over?"
"I thought you did!" I replied.
For whatever reason they were here, Johnny and I walked into the sitting room and sat with them.
"Can I get anyone something to drink?" Johnny asked.
"No, Johnny!" Debbie said. "You sit down! You shouldn't be straining yourself!"
"Deb, I was just gonna get you a soda from the fridge, not hike up Mount Everest and get you water from a well!" He told her. "I'm not that old!"
"No, you're really not!" Daniel shook his head. "Who would've guessed the youngest would be the first to go?"
"Go where?" Johnny asked. "I don't leave for filming for another month. Besides I'm only going to France, not to war!"
"Daddy, are you sure you still wanna work?" Lily-Rose asked. "I was thinking we could spend more time together as a family."
"Of course we can, my angel" he told her. "We're not filming that far from your mom's place, you can come see me anytime on set."
"Absolutely" I agreed. "And I can bring Gracie to see you guys too."
"Y/N" Lily-Rose turned to me, holding my hand. "I want you to know that come what may, you will always be family to us."
"Oh! Uh... thank you" I smiled.
"This must be so hard for you" She said.
"No, it's not" I shook my head. "I love having all of you here."
"That's right" Jack nodded. "And we will always be here for you, Y/N. You just call anyone of us, day or night! We'll support each other and get through this together."
"Wonderful! Wonderful! Love the enthusiasm!" I smiled, not knowing what the heck he was talking about.
"So, tell me Johnny" Christi said. "Do you want to go public with this news or not?"
"What news?" Johnny asked her.
"My God, he's in denial!" Debbie sobbed.
"Makes sense! That's one of the five stages of grief!" Danny nodded.
"Johnny, I know you probably don't want to think too much into this right now" Christi told him. "But stringing your fan base along doesn't seem right. Then again, making them feel bad isn't great either."
"Feeling bad about what?" Johnny asked.
"Son" John Sr spoke up. "I know how you feel, when you get to my age you learn to live in the moment. To not think about your own mortality. But it's probably best to let the people who care about you know what's going on. Let us in, son. We're here for you."
"Well no offense, Pop, but I'm not your age yet!" Johnny told him.
"Wait a minute!" I said. "What about Johnny's mortality?"
Johnny thought about it, then looked around at his family and finally came to the realization.
"Hold the damn phone! Do you all think I'm dying?!" He cried out.
"Well... are you or aren't you?" Jack shrugged. Lily-Rose pinched him for that.
"No! No! I'm not dying!" Johnny told them.
"Oh, thank God!" Debbie sighed.
"Praise Jesus!" John Sr got up from his chair. "Someone drive me to the airport..."
"Hold on!" Christi said. "Why the hell did Gracie call us and tell us you were dying?"
"Gracie called all of you and told you that?!" I cried.
"Yes!" Christi said like it was obvious.
I looked at my phone and found that there were a number of outgoing calls from last night. All to Lily-Rose, Jack, Christi, Debbie, Danny and John Sr. I had taught Gracie to use my phone in case of an emergency. She must have called them after Johnny and I fell asleep last night.
"Grace Elizabeth Depp!" I scowled. "Why would you do this?"
"Because Daddy only has eight months left to live!" Gracie said.
"No, I don't" Johnny shook his head. "Who told you that?"
"Your driving lice-sin-ses!" She said.
"My drivers license?" Johnny asked.
He pulled his license out of his wallet and placed it on the coffee table in front of Gracie.
"Where on there did you see that I had eight months left to live?" Johnny asked her.
Gracie pointed to the card. "You said it has all the information about you!" She replied. "See? Name: John Christopher Depp. Birthday: June 9th 1963. Address: 916 West Burbank Bolavard. Eyes: Brown. Hair: Brown. Height: 5 feet 10 inches. Expiration Date: 12/08/2022! So you're gonna die in eight months from now!"
The room erupted into laughter as Gracie stared at us in confusion.
"Gracie, sweetheart" Johnny told her. "The expiration date is for the card itself, not for Daddy!"
"Oh..." Gracie nodded.
⚘️❤️⚘️
After a lengthy visit, everyone went home later on that evening. We found Gracie fast asleep on the couch and Johnny picked her up and brought her to bed.
As we both settled into out bed for the night, Johnny went to wrap his arms around me.
"No..." I unraveled him from me.
"Aw, c'mon!" Johnny protested. "I almost died today!" He snickered.
I grinned too, then rolled my eyes at him.
"This is payback for those 'Mommy has a big bum' jokes from last night" I told him. "Did you think I would just forget about that?"
"I meant it as a compliment!" Johnny told me.
"How is that a compliment?" I shot him a skeptical look.
"Luv, if there's one thing Pirates love, it's extra booty..." he said in his Captain Jack Sparrow voice.
I smirked and rolled over on top of him, giving him a kiss.