~
The Next Day
Eric woke up and took a bath as he glanced towards his daughter's crib, Erica was still asleep.
As soon as he got out from the bathroom, his daughter Erica was up and waiting for her father.
"Did I wake you up?" Eric asked as he went to pick up his daughter. Erica just played with her dad's hair.
~
Soon, it was breakfast and Ace helped Eric make breakfast while Paul and Gene looked after Erica.
"Come on, Erica. You can do it. Just say my name, Star-child." Paul said as he was trying to get Erica to say his name. "Man, what do you think you're doing?" Gene asked, as he was about to laugh. "I'm trying to get her to say my name!" Paul said.
As Paul continued his attempt on getting Erica to say his name. "Don't force her, Paul." Eric said from the kitchen.
"Speaking of teaching her some words, when's her birthday, Eric?" Paul asked. "Um,.....15th August. Why?" Eric said and asked back. "Man! That's two weeks away and that very date is when we are still in Chicago!" Paul said.
"I actually been planning to celebrate her first birthday with me in Chicago." Eric said.
~
"That's not a bad idea. It's just how are you going to handle planning her first birthday when we have a show that night?" Paul asked.
"Yeah, curly. He's right." Ace said as he placed the waffles on the kitchen counter and Gene was the first one to start eating it. "I planned on doing it after the show. Plus, it's only a 2 hour 30 minutes show right?" Eric said and asked.
"I guess he's right. So, should we like bring her presents or something?" Paul asked again as Erica started to giggle in Paul's arms. "Oh,...you like that word? Huh, little Erica? Yes, you do. Yes, you do." Paul said as he was playing with Erica.
"You don't have to force yourself to buy presents for her. Plus, she's just going to be 2 years old now." Eric said as he was holding back his tears. "Aw,.....Curly is trying so hard not to cry." Ace said as he was joking around.
~
"Well, I better start writing down some instructions for Mrs. Fox once she's here to pick Erica up." Eric said as he went upstairs.
"Do you think he was serious about the presents or not?" Gene asked as Paul nudged him a bit. "Come on, guys. This is Eric's daughter's first birthday! We have to give her something that she likes!" Paul said. "Curly, she's just a kid who's barely 2 years old. What could she possibly wants?" Ace said, sarcastically.
Then, all of them glanced towards Erica who was happily eating her porridge in her high chair.
"I think I know what to buy!" Gene said. "Just like that, seriously, man?" Paul asked, unamused.
~
Then, Eric came downstairs and glanced towards Erica, who just finished her porridge. Eric then saw that the three of his friends were not even paying attention towards Erica. He lets out a sigh and grabbed Erica's empty bowl and towards the sink.
"Hey, man!" Gene said. "You didn't even noticed that my daughter finished her breakfast way earlier than you guys!" Eric said as he picked Erica up. "What?" Paul asked, confused and saw that his plate still has waffles in them.
Eric let's out a sigh again. "Come on, Erica. It's time for you to spend some time with your dad!" Eric said, happily as he went towards the couch and played the xylophone with her.
But, Erica was playing with her fox plushie and ignored her father. Soon, Paul came over and sat next to Erica.
"I find it odd that Erica is almost 2 years old now but, she hasn't said a single word yet." Paul said. Eric was scratching the back of his hair until Erica suddenly caught her dad's drumsticks as Eric let's out a sigh.
"I guess you're right, Paul. But, I'm worried if whether she can talk or not." Eric said. "Hey, man. Don't say that. Give your daughter some time because all of this is new to her. And, maybe she's not ready yet." Paul said as he reassured Eric but, then, Erica tried to say a word and this caught both their attention.
"Pa. Pa." Erica was trying to say a word. "Erica! Did you just tried to talk?" Eric said as he picked up his daughter from the carpet. "Can you say it again, my little angel?" Eric asked as Erica was silent for a while.
"Can you say it again, starlight? For your uncle Paul? Please?" Paul asked as he tried to do the same thing as Eric but, no luck.
Then,....
"Pa. Pa. Pa. Pa. Pa-pa." Erica said. "Did you said your first word?" Eric asked as Paul's attention was caught too. "Pa-pa. Pa-pa." Erica slowly said. "Yes! That's me! I'm your papa!" Eric said as he started crying tears of joy. "Papa!" Erica said again as she started to giggle in her father's arms.
"See man, I told you. Give her time. She'll get there eventually." Paul said as he was comforting Eric.
"Swar- chiwd?" Erica was trying to pronounce Paul's stage name. "What? Did she just say?" Gene's attention was caught, same goes for Ace. As they both went over the couch too.
"Swar-chiwd!" Erica said, happily. "Man, she's trying to say your name!" Gene said as Paul grabbed Erica from Eric's hands towards his. "Swar-chiwd!" Erica said again as she giggled and Paul was at a lost of words.
He then let's go of Erica and placed her on the carpet as Ace played with her. Eric was calm now but, Paul was still shocked and happy at the same time.
~
"Guys. Look at this." Ace said as he stopped playing with Erica. Erica was trying to stand up and walked slowly towards Eric. Eric was surprised and happy too. "Papa!" Erica said as she went towards her father's arms. "She walked her first steps! She's walking now! You're walking now, my little angel!" Eric was screaming with excitement as he picked Erica up and hugged her. Erica just hugged her father back.
~
That Night
Mrs. Fox came over as Eric went through the rules with her regarding his daughter. "So, Mrs.Fox, the instructions are on the fridge. I'll be back tomorrow afternoon." Eric said. "Oh, don't worry, Eric. We've been neighbors for months now. And, I myself have a daughter too. She's almost 7 this year. And, my son, Max would love to have a friend like little Erica here." Mrs. Fox said as she smiled.
"Papa will be back soon, okay? Be a good girl and don't give Mrs. Fox a hard time okay? If you do that, I'll buy you a gift!" Eric said as he kissed his daughter's check before leaving towards Gene's car. "I'll see you after band practice then." Eric said again as he waved his daughter goodbye and went on his way.
~
Eric and his bandmates arrived at the place where the band practice will be held.
They all entered a room filled with the sounds of electric guitars, drums, and vocals, all blending together in a symphony of rock and roll. Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Eric Carr, and Ace Frehley, each in their own space, working on their parts until they're perfect.
They would probably start with a warm-up, playing some of their well-known hits like "Rock and Roll All Nite" or "Detroit Rock City." Then, they might move on to new material, experimenting with different chords, lyrics, and rhythms.
"So, take 5 everyone!" Paul said as he went outside to take a breather. Eric let's out a sigh as he pulled out his phone.
Both Gene and Ace were whispering something but, Eric didn't notice it.
"Eric? Eric? Eric!?" Paul said as his voice got louder and Eric's attention was caught. "Ah! Uh,...hey there, Paul." Eric said as he puts his phone away.
"Did you heard about my question?" Paul asked again. "What question?" Eric asked back as this was clear to Paul that Eric wasn't paying attention. "I was asking about your opinion on your daughter's birthday." Paul said.
"Man, curly! You got to pay attention to this!" Ace said as he sat next to Eric.
"I'm just stressed out probably. But, I'll be fine." Eric said as he twirled his drumsticks and got ready to practice back.
"Alright! Let's rehearse one more time! From the beginning to the end!" Paul said as he got ready to tune his guitar.
~
"Let's begin!" Paul said again as they all started rehearsing again.
To be continued