The rest of your day went by slowly, giving you enough time to figure out how you were going to tell Danny you had a child. She wasn't something you could hide from him forever. Hell, you couldn't even hide it from him for one night. You knew you just had to be honest with him. He was your best friend and, you'd like to think he still is, he'd have to understand.
Eventually, you heard the ringing of the bell above the door again. Danny walked over to the counter and smiled down at you. "Are you ready to go?"
You looked down at your phone and saw the time was just after six. You threw your phone in your bag and grabbed your keys. "Yeah, just let me lock up, and I'm all good." You locked up the register and made your way to the door, Danny following close behind. Once you were outside, you locked the door behind you and turned back to Danny.
"My car is parked on the side here." You spoke, leading him around the corner. Your car was the same one you had from your senior year of high school. It was almost ten years old, but it still worked so you couldn't complain. Not that you could afford a new one anyway. You both got in, and you pulled out of the parking lot, making your way to your apartment building.
The car ride was silent until Danny spoke.
"Wasn't that your street back there?" He looked at you while pointing out the window. "Did your family move?"
"No. I don't live with my family anymore. It was getting a little too crowded."
"God that had to be hard on them. I remember how close you all were."
You pulled into your parking spot in front of your building. The sun was just about set indicative of the early March weather. Shutting off the car, you turned to face Danny.
"Look, Danny, a lot has changed since graduation."
"Like what?" He looked at you, confused.
"For starters, I have a child." You shifted your gaze to the sleeve of your jacket, not wanting to see Danny's reaction.
"You have a child? You mean, you're a mother?" The change in this tone surprised you. You expected him to have an adverse reaction as most people do when they find out you have a child. But instead, his voice was filled with excitement. You didn't even have a chance to respond before he spoke again.
"Is it a boy or a girl? What's their name?" This was the first positive reaction you'd received since finding out you were pregnant. It was a pleasant surprise.
"I have a little girl. Her name is Y/D/N." You looked back up at Danny as you spoke, and he had the widest smile on his face. You'd only ever seen him smile like that when he was on stage.
"That's adorable. How old is yout daughter?" You thought the drummer was going to burst he was so excited.
"She'll be two at the beginning of September." You smiled, thinking of how big your little girl was getting already.
"Would I be able to meet her?" His voice had gone quieter. "I mean if it's okay with you. I know you probably don't want random people coming in and out of her life."
"Sure. She's upstairs with her babysitter now. And Danny you're not just a random person. You're much more than that. Come on. I'll show you inside." You got out of the car and led Danny upstairs to your apartment. Once you found your key, you unlocked the door only to be met with the patter of tiny feet against the hardwood floor.
"Mama." Your daughter yelled as she made her way over to you. While she was walking, she didn't have the best balance yet, and any wrong step could send her tumbling to the floor.
"Hi, baby." You bent down to the floor to scoop the small child up in your arms.
"Hi, Y/N." Sarah, your babysitter, greeted you as she stood up from the floor where she and your daughter were playing. "I fed her. All she needs is her bath, and she'll be ready for bed." Sarah grabbed her coat and began making her way towards the door.
"Wait, let me pay you." You said as you tried rummaging through your purse for some money.
"That's okay. You can pay me next time. It's a school night, and I have a history exam tomorrow, so I need to get going. Have a nice night." She yelled, shutting the door behind her.
"So, this is Y/D/N," Danny spoke slowly admiring the little girl.
"Yup. This is her." You shifted your daughter in her arms, so she was facing Danny.
"Y/D/N, can you wave hello to my friend Danny." You whispered into her ear.
The little girl didn't say anything, but she shook her hand, which was supposed to mean she was waving at him.
"Can I hold her?" Danny asked, hesitantly.
"We can try. Usually, when anyone other then me or Sarah hold her, she throws a fit." You untangled your daughter from around your waist, and handed her over to Danny, bracing yourself for the loud cries that would fill the room. Instead, you were met with silence. Your daughter was staring at Danny like he was the most fascinating thing on the planet.
"Hi," Danny said, tickling her stomach. Loud laughs were erupting from the tiny girl.
"Wow. I can't believe she's not crying." You said, dropping your bag near the door and setting your keys on the table.
"Okay, ow ow," Danny exclaimed.
You turned around to see your daughter with a tiny fistful of Danny's hair. Running over to the living room, you grabbed a stuffed animal bringing it back for Y/D/N to hold. She released Danny's hair to grab the small stuffed dog.
"I'm so sorry. I'm still working on breaking her from that habit."
"Don't worry about it. She's adorable." Danny made his way over to the couch and sat down with the little girl.
You pulled your phone out of your pocket to check the time. It was just before seven.
"I'm sorry, but it's getting late. Do you mind if I bathe her and get her to bed first?"
"That's no problem. Do you need any help?" Danny questioned, handing the toddler over to you.
"No. But thank you, though. I promise this won't take any longer than 25 minutes." You carried Y/D/N down the hallway and disappeared into the bathroom.
It ended up taking a lot longer than 25 minutes. Not only did she make a mess with the water in the tub, but Y/D/N also refused to sleep. After searching for her favorite stuffed animal for 10 minutes, which happened to have rolled under the crib, you finally got her to fall asleep. Silently closing the bedroom door, you made your way back out to Danny.
"I know you haven't eaten all day and there's not much here, so I ordered Chinese food. Is that okay? Danny asked in front of your record collection.
"That's fine. I forgot about food."
"I got you sweet and sour chicken. Is that still your favorite?" Danny grabbed the Howlin Wolf album from the shelf and gently placed the record on the player. The blues music filled the tiny apartment. Danny readjusted the volume remembering the small human sleeping down the hall.
"Of course. I'm surprised you remember that." You were now sitting on the couch, exhausted after a long day.
"How could I forget? We used to order it almost every weekend as we listened to records together." Danny made his way back to the couch sitting next to you.
"God, I miss those days." You sighed.
"So, what exactly happened after graduation?" Danny questioned.
"You mean, how did I end up with my daughter?" You raised an eyebrow at your friend.
"No – no, that's not what I meant." He stuttered.
"It's okay. I get that question all the time." There was a knock on the door, interrupting your conversation.
Danny got up and answered it. When he returned, he had a box which you figured was your food. You didn't realize how hungry you were until the container of sweet and sour chicken was in your hand. Once you both got situated with your food, you continued your story.
"Well after you guys left for LA and to tour, I left for Michigan State. I was excited to study biology and eventually become pre-med. After a couple of days, I met this guy, named Liam, who was also a biology major. He ended up being my lab partner, and we started talking. He was sweet and funny. We would study and work on our lab reports together. Eventually, he asked me out, and I was beyond excited. We started dating, and it was going well."
You watched Danny shift in his seat, almost as if he was jealous. You brushed off the thought and kept talking.
"He's from Midland and over Christmas break I even drove up there to visit him for a weekend. Then we came back for the spring semester, and there was a party one weekend. You know I don't drink much, but I wasn't thinking, and He was drinking too. One thing led to another, and I found out I was pregnant at the end of February." You took a bite of your chicken, not wanting to make eye contact with Danny.
"How did he react when you told him?" Danny questioned.
"He laughed at first like this was all some big joke. Then when I told him I was serious, he yelled at me and said he wanted nothing to do with me or the baby. He said he didn't even care if I kept the baby or not. I was crushed. But I guess it's better he's not around."
"Why do you say that?" Danny scrunched his face as he spoke.
"Well, not long after I told him I found out he wasn't as smart as I thought. His grades sucked, and the only reason he got into Michigan State and the biology program was a sports scholarship. Also, I found out that back home in Midland, he had another girlfriend. I don't even know if she knows about me because he blocked me on every single social media site along with my number."
"Oh, wow I'm sorry about that. You should have called me. Even if you just needed someone to talk to. I would have answered." Danny offered you a comforting smile.
"Danny, you were touring all over the world, playing festivals and such. You were in a different time zone every two days. What was I supposed to do? Call you in the middle of the night crying because I was stupid and got myself pregnant?"
"No, you were supposed to call me regardless of what time it was wherever I happened to be. You were supposed to tell me everything and the moment I got home, I would have been here for you." Danny explained. "At least you had your parents to help you."
"Not exactly. They freaked out when I told them. My dad said I screwed up my whole future and he wasn't going to help me if I dropped out of college. So, I took all the money I saved for med school and used it to get this place and buy everything I needed for Y/D/N."
"That's awful. Another reason you should have called me. I would have helped you in any way you needed it. I would have babysat or even been your roommate to help with the bills and Y/D/N. You didn't deserve to go through this alone."
"That's okay Danny. You're back now, and Y/D/N seems to like you." You noticed the record stopped playing and neither of you even got to pay attention to it.
"Do you want me to put on another record?" Danny asked.
"That would be great." You put your take-out container on the small coffee table and reposition yourself.
Danny put on Neil Young's Harvest Moon and made his way back to the couch. You finally realized just how tired you were, and you were barely able to keep your eyes open. Right there on the sofa, you fell asleep with your head on Danny's chest listening to the hum of Neil young's voice mixed with Danny's even breathing.