"And that's a wrap," I declared after listening to the playback on the song I'd just finished recording.
"This one's going to be huge," Andrew said with a proud smile. "Do you really want to hold on to it until the next album comes out? That could be eighteen months away."
"I was thinking about that last night, and I think it should be a single. I'll introduce it on tour."
In two months I was hitting the road. This tour was going to be more like the pre-covid ones, and I couldn't wait to perform in front of huge crowds in arenas and stadium. I was also excited to travel the globe with Ceci by my side.
I drove from The Woodshed recording studio to my home and parked in the driveway behind Ceci's car, which we'd purchased the week before. If this was going to be our primary residence, it made sense for her to have one of her own instead of sharing mine or relying on Uber. I had a Range Rover but she'd opted for a Volvo XC40 because of the high safety ratings. Plus she loved that it came in a pretty sky blue color.
As I walked down the stone path to the door, I could hear music wafting from the open windows. It was warmer than usual and we liked to have fresh air circulating through the house whenever possible.
"For once, I can say, this is mine,
you can't take it..
As long as I know I have love,
I can make it...
For once in my life,
I have someone who needs me..."
Stevie Wonder. His music always put a smile on my face and today was no different.
Inside I found Ceci in the kitchen, dancing to the song as she worked at the counter. She obviously hadn't heard me come in, and I took a few moments to enjoy the scene in front of me. When the song ended she turned to reach for something on the stove and saw me leaning against the wall.
"Shawn! How long have you been standing there?"
"Long enough to watch you shake that sweet ass," I replied.
She had on one of my t-shirts, which was what she liked to wear on lazy days around the house. I never complained because when she paired this ensemble with a messy bun and her glasses, she was utter perfection in my eyes. In less than ten days she'd be glammed up to walk the Grammy red carpet with me, but that look didn't hold a candle to how she was right now.
"I hope you're hungry," she said, pointing to the counter. "I'm making eggplant parm."
Our joint new year's resolution had been to eliminate meat from fifty percent of our dinners. This meant that we were trying lots of new recipes. Some were successes, but many were complete disasters. The only way we'd get better at cooking was to keep trying, though.
I walked over to Ceci and pulled her into my arms so that I could give her a deep kiss. "What can I do to help?" I offered once we broke apart.
"I was about to get the step stool from the garage, but maybe you can reach what I need. Can you get the red mixing bowl from that cabinet? It's on the top shelf."
I reached up and grabbed it and was about to hand it to her when I saw that there was something inside. It was a pregnancy test! I didn't even need to look at the results to know what it said, since she wouldn't surprise me with a negative result.
I set the bowl on the counter and picked her up and swung her around. "Holy shit!That was fast!"
She giggled. "Sooooo fast! Remember when I was anxious about fertility issues? I guess I was worried for nothing."
"We're having a baby! I can't fucking believe it!"
A look passed over Ceci's face.
"What's wrong, honey?" I asked.
"I'm a little afraid to get too excited. You know?"
I kissed the top of her head. "We can't let the past keep us from enjoying this moment."
"Can we keep it between us for awhile? At least until the first trimester is complete?"
"Whatever you're comfortable with is fine with me."
Together we breaded the eggplant and fried it before topping it with jarred sauce (so much safer than trying to make marinara) and provolone. We made some spaghetti to go on the side as well as a simple tossed salad.
"When do you go to the doctor?" I asked as we sat at the dining room table eating our surprisingly good dinner.
"In two weeks. I looked online and found an obstetrics practice that's highly rated. Hopefully I can get an appointment."
"I hate doing this kind of thing, but it might help if you say I'm the father."
She rolled her eyes. "Maybe as a last resort."
Something occurred to me. "Do we want to have the baby here or in Toronto?"
"That kind of depends on if we find a new condo. I'd like to be close to our parents for the first month or so, especially since you'll be back on tour while I'm still recuperating. If we haven't moved by then, I'd prefer to be here."
In all my excitement, I'd forgotten that I was touring this fall. We knew that when we'd made the decision to try to get pregnant, but neither of us expected it to happen right away. Now that reality was setting in, the timing was a bit problematic.
"I can postpone the last leg," I told her.
"No! We can make this work. I'm due in September, and you're home then. You go back on tour at the end of October, and we'll just have to cope with the separation. If I'm comfortable with it and the doctor says it is okay, the baby and I might join you at some point. We won't travel to Oceania or Asia, but we could maybe go to South America."
"Touring with an infant that young is going to be a challenge. I know you don't want anyone to know yet, but what if I told Andrew and asked him to try to find dates the following spring? He's in town, so we could have him over for dinner tomorrow and figure this out together."
"If you push back all the fall and winter shows, people are going to jump to the correct conclusion," Ceci said. "You're a musician who spends a lot of time on the road. We're going to have to adjust our lives to your work schedule. If that means we're not together all the time, then we will learn to manage. Look at Zubin...he's had to be apart from his young children while you toured in the past."
Now that I thought about it, my guitarist had sacrificed a lot.
"You're right. Leaving you with a one month old baby is gonna suck, though," I said glumly.
"It's two weeks and then you'll be home for a few weeks before the last round of shows. It will be fine!"
"Your positivity is incredible. I'm the luckiest man in the world."
"Yup. You really really are," she said before taking a bite of salad.
"And..."
"And what?" she asked.
"Aren't you the luckiest woman in the world?" I teased.
"For having you? Definitely. I've had some pretty bad luck otherwise."
Fuck. I hadn't even thought of that.
"I'm sorry, Ceci. It was thoughtless of me to joke about luck given everything that's happened," I told her.
She reached out and took my hand in hers. "You don't have to apologize. It's a fact that some very bad things have happened, but I've come a long way in accepting them and not letting them define me."
This was just one of many reasons why I loved this woman so much.
After dinner, we did the dishes and cleaned up the very messy kitchen while listening to Harry Styles. When "Sign of the Times" started playing, we took a break to slow dance.
"I'm so happy right now," Ceci said as she looked up at me with her beautiful brown eyes.
"I'd like to make you even happier."
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"If what you are thinking involves turning off the security cameras and getting naked in the pool, then yes," I told her.
"That sounds great, but I had ice cream on my mind. We could drive to Hollywood and get cones at that place with the unique flavors. I had ginger rosewater last time and it was divine."
I chuckled. "Pregnancy cravings already?"
"Probably not. It just sounds good to me."
"You'll have to put some clothes on if we're going out," I reminded her.
"That's the one downside, but at least I can take them off again when we get home."
"And then get in the pool? The water is heated..."
She reached down and gave my semi-erect bulge a gentle squeeze. "If only people knew what a one-track mind Shawn Mendes has!"
"I can't help it! You do things to me. Did I ever tell you that my first sex dream was about you? It was before we ever even kissed and I woke up feeling so confused by the whole thing."
"You had a wet dream about me?!"
"I was avoiding that term, but yeah, I did," I said as my cheeks turned red.
"Was it good?" she asked as she started to rub me through my jeans.
"Anything sexual is good when you're fourteen...or wait, was I thirteen? I just remember that I woke up and didn't know what to do with my boxers, so I just threw them away."
"I'm incredibly flattered, though I'm sorry you lost your underpants because of it."
I grinned. "It was worth it. From that point on I sometimes thought of you when I...you know."
"Masturbated. It's not a bad word, Shawn."
"Did you do it back then, too?" I asked out of curiosity.
"Duh. And I might have had you on my mind on a few occasions."
I leaned forward and nibbled on her neck before whispering in her ear, "I want to watch you do that later tonight."
"I've changed my mind," she said abruptly as she took me by the hand and led me to the security control panel. "Turn off the back cameras and let's take a swim. We can get ice cream tomorrow."