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Brian's POV
There's nothing more heart warming that being up at two-thirty in the morning, while you read a book to your one year old daughter. No one will ever understand how much it means to a man, until they've experienced it themselves.
There she sat on my lap, reclining against my chest as we flipped through a book about farm animals that my dad bought her. It was our eighth time reading it in a month and she still wasn't tired of it. Nor was I, to be honest. It would help her communication skills because there were words that she could learn to say like the sound a horse makes, neigh or the sound a pig makes, oink.
"This is a cow that goes moo... and makes the milk for children to drink... Can you say moo? Go moo, baby."
"Ooo." She cooed, pointing to the picture of the cow.
I chuckled. "Good job, baby. Moo... Okay. Turn the page for me." Sophia picked at the bottom of the book and pushed the page over. "This is the sheep. It has a woolly coat and goes baa. Sheep give us the wool we need... Can you say baa? Say baa."
"Baa!" She squealed excitedly.
"Very good! The sheep goes baa. Okay..." I turned the page, "Here is the duck that goes quack. Ducks waddle and swim in ponds." I let out a loud chuckle as I thought of Jimmy and the fans that carry on the Stallion Duck joke. "Uncle Jimmy liked chasing ducks, you know. But you'll see that video later on... Can you say quack?"
She pointed to the duck, "Ca! Ca!"
"Close. Don't worry, you'll get it some day." Again, I turned the page, "This is the chicken. She lays the eggs for children to eat. She goes cluck... Say cluck, cluck."
"Ca! Ca!" She shouted, excited to see a picture of a chicken.
"That's another we'll have to work on, but for the most part, correct. Okay... Last one... Here is the goat. The goat makes milk and cheese and goes beh... Can you say beh?"
"Ba!"
I closed the book, "Sort of, but don't worry. Beh, baa, I can't tell the difference. Wanna read another one? Yeah? Alright, go get one." I set her down as she ran toward her crib, where beneath it we kept a basket of books. She searched through the basket before pulling a very colorful one out. She ran towards me, handing me the book. "Ah, zoo animals. Good choice, babe. C'mon. Last book before we put you to sleep because Daddy has a lot to do tomorrow." I lifted her on to my lap, in which she took the same position I previously had her in. "Alright...This is an elephant. They are very big animals and have a long memory, and a very long nose called a trunk. They make a trumpet sound. Press the button, mama." I pointed to the bar of sounds on the side of the book.
With her small finger, she pressed it. From the speaker, a trumpet sound came out. She giggled with excitement. It made me smile with happiness. "How cute. Okay... Turn the page for daddy... This is the lion. It is the king of the jungle and goes ROAR! Press the button."
When she heard the roar, she shook with fear, grasping my shorts. "Woah! Scary huh? Lions are bad. Bad lion. Okay..." I said, turning the page. "This is a monkey. They spend a lot of time up in trees and like to eat fruits. This one has a banana. They go eee....eee...eee..." I scoffed, "Okay they so do not make that sound. Illiterate book. Monkeys go like this, oooh-ooohh aah-aah!"
She chuckled, "Ooooo, aaaa!"
"Good job bubs. Alright... Turn the page again..." From the corner of my eye, I saw my phone's screen light up. It was Jackie calling-- My heart skipped a beat. I didn't know whether or not to answer it. We hadn't spoken in a few days and I wasn't sure what would happen if we did. I chose to ignore it. "This is the tiger. It is a big cat that hunts in the jungle. Be careful not to run into one of these big cats in the jungle! It goes GRRRRRR... Say grr, baby."
"Rrr." She hummed.
I tickled her stomach, "Grr. I'm a tiger. I'm going to eat you up because you're so God damn cute!" I stood up, letting the book fall to the floor. I laid her on the seat, growling against her stomach. "Grr! Grr!"
She squealed with excitement. "Da!"
"Da! Da! Stop that dad, you're ruining my cute little shirt!" I mocked, hovering over her. "Daddy loves you baby."
A vibration came from the table beside the chair, pulling my attention away from SophiBear. It was Jackie again. Something told me to answer it, just to see what she wanted. "Hello?" I answered, standing Sophia up.
"Oh thank God..." A man said, with a heavy British accent. "Brian, it's Andrew..."
My blood boiled with anger. "What the fuck are you doing with my wife's phone? I swear to fucking Go-"
"Brian, please... Hear me out." He begged, "Before you kill me, give me one second to explain something to you."
"No, where's Jackie?! Why the fuck do you have her phone? I will fucking find you and beat your fucking brains out of your head-"
"Brian, Jackie is drunk. I'm outside of Superstar Nightclub in Hollywood."
"What? Don't fuck with me like this. If you laid a hand on her, I will fucking end you." I threatened.
"No! Please. Listen, Brian. Jackie came with Randall and he left. I'm not even sure where he is at the moment. She's so drunk right now. I didn't know what to do, so I'm calling you."
"Where the fuck is she right now?"
"She's inside with these girls she met. I'm outside in the back. I didn't want to take her to your house because she seemed mad at you and I didn't want to send her off in a taxi. I'm not trying to hurt your marriage, Brian, understand that. I'm trying to get your wife back to you."
I threw my head back, "I have to find someone to take care of Sophia. Can you just please take care of her? Don't let her go anywhere..."
"Of course. Do you know where this club is it?"
"Yeah, I've been there before. I'll be there in about an hour and a half. Please make sure she is okay." I begged, picking Sophia up from the chair and shutting the light off.
"Yes. I'm going to take her out to my car because she keeps falling over."
I shook my head in disappointment. "Alright. Bye."
I wasn't sure whether or not to believe him, but a little voice in my head told me just to go see what was happening.
With Sophia on my side, I sprinted down the stairs, grabbing her diaper bag Jackie prepared and headed out the door, locking it behind me. Once I had her safely in the car, I called Mr. Baker. I figured since I'd be taking Jacks there after, it would be easier for me to pick her up.
"Hello?" His groggy voice answered.
Checking the driveway for any passing pedestrians, I pulled out. "Mr. Baker, it's Brian."
"Oh, hello son. Everything alright?"
"Not really..." I responded, putting the car in drive. "Listen um, Jackie got pretty fucked up at the bar she went to with Randy and my worst enemy called telling me she's gone..."
"Aw, shit. Andrew?"
"Yes sir... I'm not even sure if I should be believing him. For all I know he's out to get me pissed off and start a fight... But he says she's really drunk and they can't find Randall so..."
He sighed, "Should I go get her?"
"No, but I don't know how things are going to get when I pick her up. I was wondering if I can leave Sophia with you and when I come back with Jackie, I'll pick her up?"
"Certainly, son. I'll be waiting for your arrival."
I looked back at Sophia from the front facing mirror, seeing she was occupied with a stuffed animal. "Thank you so much. We'll be there in a few."
About fifteen minutes later, I arrived at Mark's house. I half-assed parked in the driveway and took Sophia out of her car seat. With her bag over my shoulder, I followed behind her to the door.
Mark was waiting at the door with a smile on his face once he saw Soph. "Did you miss grandpa?" He asked her. She demanded to be picked up, which he obeyed. "You okay, son?"
I nodded, handing him her bag. "Yeah. I just got angry when I heard Andrew. But I just hope she's okay."
"I know. Go get her and bring her back. I got the little one."
"Alright, I'll be back. Oh wait, there's a book in there, you can read it to her and well you know the rest, warm milk, or warm chocolate milk. Okay, I'm leaving. Bye baby!" I waved, running backwards to my car.
An hour later, I found myself driving around the streets of Hollywood, passing Little Armenia and Sunset Boulevard. Coming up on Hollywood Boulevard, I found the club, buzzing with energy. I pulled up in front of it and saw no sign of Andrew or Jackie. I decided to go around through the back, where the parking lot was, just in case they were there.
Sure enough, in the parking lot, Andrew was sitting on the hood of his Jaguar, deep in thought. Considering the parking that was free, I double parked behind a white pick up. I pulled the keys out of the ignition and got out.
Once he saw me, he got off his car and approached me. "I wasn't lying... She's in my car, really pissed off cause I took her away from her party friends."
I shook my head, hastily walking towards the car. She had her head back against the head rest, eyes closed, looking like complete shit, but still absolutely beautiful. "Jackie." I knocked on the window. She opened her eyes as her face softened. "C'mon."
She opened the car door and got out, slamming the door. "What do you want?"
"Jesus Christ, I paid a fortune for this. I'd appreciate it if you didn't break my car." Andrew said, pissed off as ever.
"I'll pay for any damages." I replied for her, then gave her my attention. "I'm here to take you home."
"The fuck you are!" She shouted, pushing past me. "I'll fucking walk."
She only got so far, until she rolled her ankle, sending her straight to the ground. I happened to catch her before she actually hit the ground. "Get up."
"Let me go." She fought my grip around her waist. "You told me you didn't want me as your fucking wife. Don't worry about me."
I rolled my eyes, pressing her against my car, "I was pissed the fuck off. I love you and I'm going to be there for better or for fucking worse, idiot. Snap out of-" I was silenced by a stinging sensation on my cheek.
"Asshole, I'm not an idiot. I hate you, you self-centered b... brat."
"Relax." I said, moving away from her to rub the redness forming on my face. "Hate me all you want, but I'm not leaving you here so you can get even more drunk."
She lowered her head, strands of hair fell to her face. I heard a whimper come from her, "I thought you loved me enough to be with me... Why can't we just work things out?" She cried.
I didn't want to talk our issues out while she was drunk. It wouldn't be right because in the morning, God knows she might've regretted it. "Not the time or place, Hope." I turned to Andrew, "Can I have her phone?"
He nodded, "Yeah, oh and this fell from her dress." He showed me a hundred dollar bill and her ID. "I picked it up off the floor."
Grabbing the phone and her personal belongings, I shoved them into my pocket. "Thanks."
"Answer me!" Jackie demanded.
"I'm not talking about this now. Get in the fucking car..." I said, becoming frustrated.
She crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head, "You are unbelievable... It's like you want us to get a divorce."
Everything she was saying aggravated me because it wasn't true. "Shut up, Jackie, fuck seriously. Get in the fucking car... I'm not repeating myself. You wanna act like a drunk teenager, then okay that's how I'll treat you."
"You're a dick." Turning on her heel, she held on to the car as she made her way to the passenger side, her six inch platforms drumming against the cement.
I sighed, returning my attention to Andrew. I felt bad for even assuming he was lying, but I also felt grateful he was at the club because with out him, God only knows where she would've ended up. Though, I was quite surprised by his sudden spark of kindness. "Um, thanks for calling me. I would've never guess she would have done this."
"No problem, Brian. I saw how obliterated she was becoming and you weren't anywhere in sight. The last thing I wanted was a repeat of... You know."
"I know. It means a lot. Sorry for snapping. I'm just really protective over her. I love her even if she pissed me off sometimes."
He smiled, "I understand. I better get back inside. You two take care now."
I nodded, walking backwards to my car. "You too, be safe."
During the car ride home, Jackie continued to cry and beg for us to speak of the situation. I refused to do so. I kept quiet, which eventually pissed her off enough to stop talking. Along the way, I took my eyes off the freeway to see how she was doing. To my surprise, she fell asleep.
Although I also wanted to speak about our problems, I couldn't-- At least not while she was intoxicated. I missed her, obviously, but there was still so many things to talk through. It would take endless hours of communication and negotiation for us to work things out. I also wanted to apologize, but in her state, she wouldn't accept it, or even remember I actually asked for forgiveness.
I parked in the drive way of Mark's house, and attempted to wake Jackie up. Nothing. She was dead-asleep. I got out of the car and went around to her side, opening the door and unbuckling her belt. I lifted her out of the car, kicking the door shut with my leg. She was light-- She'd always been light. I carried her to the door of Mr. Baker's house, where he waited in an anxious manner.
He stepped aside, letting me through. I carefully laid her body on the couch, on her side just in case she got the bad end of a hang over. "There we go. She's knocked out."
"Shit, she looks gone."
"Yeah, she's pretty much passed out."
He chuckled. "Damn Esperanza, your mother would kill me. Thank you so much Brian. Sophia's asleep on my bed. I'll bring her down. Make yourself comfortable. I'll be right back." He said, hurrying up the stairs.
I sat beside Jackie, taking a minute to relax. I took a glimpse at her and sighed, stroking her velvet soft face. No matter how separated we were, no matter how drunk she was, I still saw beauty in her and it's a promise that I always will.
"I love you..." I said, gently gracing my thumb over her lips. "You don't even know how much I miss you... I wish we could work things out. I miss waking up to you and falling asleep with you. I miss fighting with you. I miss kissing you. Babe, I miss you..."
"Alright, here is your daughter." He announced, carefuly walking down the steps. I stood up and took Sophia into my arms. Her little mouth moved around as if she was sucking on a pacifier. She nestled into my chest. Mark helped put the bag over my shoulder. "Look at her. She's a spitting image of you."
I shook my head, "No. When I look at her, I see Jackie. Her charisma and her eyes."
"She's beautiful. You're a damn good father, Brian, and she's an excellent mother. You two will work things out, I promise. This little girl doesn't need this separation. Maybe it's good for the both of you to think separately and take a well needed break, but I hope you both realize that you're perfect for each other."
"I hope so too..." I responded, admiring Sophia. "Well I better get her to bed. I haven't even started packing and I leave today at twelve so, I gotta head out."
He pat my shoulder. "Alright son, you have a safe trip now. I'll see you when you get back."
"I will." I made my way towards the door. "Take care of her please. We may not be together right now but she's the woman I love and I don't want anything bad to happen to her..."
"Will do, Brian."
"Thanks. Goodnight, Mr. Baker."
"Goodnight Brian."
Half an hour later, I found myself looking at Sophia as she slept in her crib. Granted, every father says their daughter is the most beautiful of all babies, but I beg to differ. My angel was the Queen of Beauty. Other than Jackie, my mother and Suzy, I'd never seen a face as beautiful as Sophia's. I wasn't just saying that because she's my daughter. With every growing cell in my body, I meant it.
She was the reason I wanted to be with Jackie-- Because if I knew we weren't compatable, I wouldn't have had a child with her. I was in it... For better or for worse.