A Life of the Plain and the Simple
Twenty-Six
"I think we owe it to ourselves to drink a beer," Jack mumbled, sliding a cold one in front of me as we sat on the back patio of my home. "I feel like we all just pushed out a kid."
The events as of late have brought us all closer together, that's for sure. Rian was finally feeling what Jack and I had felt for quiet some time now and he couldn't be more excited about it. Xander was definitely a rare newborn. He was calm, he didn't cry unless he absolutely needed something and he didn't keep the kids up at night unless it was time for a feeding. He was the perfect mix of Gaskarth and Dawson, though I had a feeling he'd take after Aubree's side more than Tom's. He may have had Gaskarth features, but one look into those eyes and you can tell he came from Rian's gene pool.
"I'm trying to talk Aubs into letting me and Cass keep Xander for a night. You know, they've had so much stuff going on since the wedding that I feel like they should have a break. What do you think, Alex? Think we could talk them into going on a honeymoon?"
"Maybe," I smirked. "Once Xander is few months old, they might go away for a weekend."
"Besides that, I think Alex has his hands full with Izzy."
"Yeah, how is that situation going?"
"Well," I sighed, taking a long sip from my beer. "Stella's going through something, but Jack has requested that I let him deal with it for now, since he's really the only one she'll talk to. We pretty much take turns with Izzy. Jack and Jasmin keep her while I go to the hospital or to Tom's, and I do the same for them."
Rian frowned. None of us had expected for Stella to go through anything like this. She did so well when she had Izzy that we just assumed it'd be like last time. It didn't even seem the phase her that the twins were doing great. The doctor's guess that in about a week or so, we'll be able to touch them when we go visit. She doesn't seem to realize how much progress that is or that they'll be home soon. Honestly, she should be spending this extra time with Izzy, preparing her for the fact that she'd have to share her attention with two other, much smaller girls now.
I was worried about my daughter, but she's an adult now and I have to respect everyone's wishes. She's tough, she'll get through this.. I can only pray Jack gets her the help she needs before it's too late.
Aside from that, I'm a happy man. Izzy keeps me on my toes, Xander puts me to sleep when he curls up against my chest and the twins make my heart melt when I go to see them and hear about how far they've come since birth. Those four children were my entire world, right next to my own kids.
"Zack, so nice of you to join us!"
My head shot up when I heard footsteps coming towards the patio. Zack had a grin on his face, trailing behind him was Nate. I was so proud of that boy. He was really living his life. Not to say that my kids weren't, but Nate was exactly where he was meant to be at this age. I offered him a seat and he plopped down next to me, Zack in between Rian and Jack.
"This is nice," Rian smiled. "All of us together."
"Sorry I haven't made dad fit in to the old man club," Nate chuckled. "But he's still pretty cool."
"We are not old!" Jack countered, a grin on his lips. "We're sexy, young, hip grandfathers!"
"Yeah.."
"We're so old, Jack," Rian laughed. "Look at us, all we do is sit around and talk about our kids.. And their kids."
"That just means our lives have meaning."
"Are you going to write a song about it, Mr. Gaskarth?"
"You know what? I just might," I grinned, picking up my bottle to use as a microphone. "Nate and Laney, they're the only two not making babiessss!"
Nate laughed at my words and rolled his eyes. I couldn't be more thankful to have these people to chill with after all of the constant going I've been doing recently. Between my own kids, and their kids, I felt like I couldn't catch a break. But it was worth it, every single second of it was worth it, because at the end of the day, they're the only thing that really matters. My family and how much I love them.
The events as of late have brought us all closer together, that's for sure. Rian was finally feeling what Jack and I had felt for quiet some time now and he couldn't be more excited about it. Xander was definitely a rare newborn. He was calm, he didn't cry unless he absolutely needed something and he didn't keep the kids up at night unless it was time for a feeding. He was the perfect mix of Gaskarth and Dawson, though I had a feeling he'd take after Aubree's side more than Tom's. He may have had Gaskarth features, but one look into those eyes and you can tell he came from Rian's gene pool.
"I'm trying to talk Aubs into letting me and Cass keep Xander for a night. You know, they've had so much stuff going on since the wedding that I feel like they should have a break. What do you think, Alex? Think we could talk them into going on a honeymoon?"
"Maybe," I smirked. "Once Xander is few months old, they might go away for a weekend."
"Besides that, I think Alex has his hands full with Izzy."
"Yeah, how is that situation going?"
"Well," I sighed, taking a long sip from my beer. "Stella's going through something, but Jack has requested that I let him deal with it for now, since he's really the only one she'll talk to. We pretty much take turns with Izzy. Jack and Jasmin keep her while I go to the hospital or to Tom's, and I do the same for them."
Rian frowned. None of us had expected for Stella to go through anything like this. She did so well when she had Izzy that we just assumed it'd be like last time. It didn't even seem the phase her that the twins were doing great. The doctor's guess that in about a week or so, we'll be able to touch them when we go visit. She doesn't seem to realize how much progress that is or that they'll be home soon. Honestly, she should be spending this extra time with Izzy, preparing her for the fact that she'd have to share her attention with two other, much smaller girls now.
I was worried about my daughter, but she's an adult now and I have to respect everyone's wishes. She's tough, she'll get through this.. I can only pray Jack gets her the help she needs before it's too late.
Aside from that, I'm a happy man. Izzy keeps me on my toes, Xander puts me to sleep when he curls up against my chest and the twins make my heart melt when I go to see them and hear about how far they've come since birth. Those four children were my entire world, right next to my own kids.
"Zack, so nice of you to join us!"
My head shot up when I heard footsteps coming towards the patio. Zack had a grin on his face, trailing behind him was Nate. I was so proud of that boy. He was really living his life. Not to say that my kids weren't, but Nate was exactly where he was meant to be at this age. I offered him a seat and he plopped down next to me, Zack in between Rian and Jack.
"This is nice," Rian smiled. "All of us together."
"Sorry I haven't made dad fit in to the old man club," Nate chuckled. "But he's still pretty cool."
"We are not old!" Jack countered, a grin on his lips. "We're sexy, young, hip grandfathers!"
"Yeah.."
"We're so old, Jack," Rian laughed. "Look at us, all we do is sit around and talk about our kids.. And their kids."
"That just means our lives have meaning."
"Are you going to write a song about it, Mr. Gaskarth?"
"You know what? I just might," I grinned, picking up my bottle to use as a microphone. "Nate and Laney, they're the only two not making babiessss!"
Nate laughed at my words and rolled his eyes. I couldn't be more thankful to have these people to chill with after all of the constant going I've been doing recently. Between my own kids, and their kids, I felt like I couldn't catch a break. But it was worth it, every single second of it was worth it, because at the end of the day, they're the only thing that really matters. My family and how much I love them.
10/23/13