Thrive - Side 2

It's officially been a week without Abby and Scarlett, and naturally, I miss them terribly. It was one thing being away from Abby much of the time while she was pregnant, but now my daughter’s here, and I’m on a whole other continent. When she called that same day, I was over-the-moon as soon as I saw her face.

“Good morning, Beautiful.”

“Good evening, Alex.”

“Where’s the princess?”

She maneuvered her phone so I could see Scarlett.

“Hi Scarlett. It’s Daddy.”

She giggled.

“She’s clearly happy this morning.”

“Has been since I woke her up this morning.”

“And she has that cute bunny onesie on.”

She touched the fine hair on her head while our princess squirmed.

“Want me to stop?”

Abby paused and so did she.

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

“Someone’s grumpy.” I said, making a funny face.

If I can make Abby laughed by being goofy, I don’t know how I couldn’t do the same with Scarlett. Abby laughed, but it wasn't working. She did the usual routine of smelling her diaper and I’m sure she’s wondering if she needs to be fed.

“What?” I asked.

“I need to change her diaper. I apologize.”

“That’s fine. I get the pleasure of not smelling her stinky diaper.”

I was smug.

“Wipe that look off your face, babe. I’ll put you on diaper duty when you get back.”

“No, you won’t.”

“You think I’m joking? I’m dead serious.” she said with a not so serious look on her face.

She picked her up, putting her in the baby wrap and walked upstairs.

“Doesn’t look like it to me.”

“Shut up.”

She laughed; at least, I was able to make Abby laugh. She set her phone aside once she was in the nursery and placed her on the changing table.

"I kinda wish you could smell this. It reeks."

"I've said this many times, but I'll say it again. You are one of the weirdest people on the planet.”

“But you love me.”

“That’s true. That’s absolutely true.”

“Do my girls have any plans for today?”

“Gonna go for a walk, maybe head down to the park.” she said as she put a new diaper on.

“Sounds like fun.”

There was a pause as Scarlett was back in her wrap.

“Is she asleep?” I asked.

“Almost.”

“Fuck. I miss you guys.”

“We miss you too.”

You’re killing me.

“I love you, Alex.”

“I love you, Abby.”

“Want me to hold the phone to her so you can talk to her one more time?”

I nodded.

“I love you, Scarlett.” I whispered.

“She’s asleep.” she whispered, moving the phone so Scarlett was in sight.

“Wanna still talk?”

“I do." she yawned.

"Looks like you need a nap."

"I wanna talk to you." she pouted.

“I wanna talk to you, too, but I think you should take advantage of a nap.”

She sighed.

“You’re right. I’m gonna do that.”

“I’ll talk to you later then.”

“Ok. Have a great show tonight.”

“You have a great day. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

I wiped my eyes as tears began to run down my face. I hadn’t cried like this in quite a while, so I had to admit that I was surprised. The memory of our first date always makes me smile when I’m feeling sad.

I was readying myself for a date with perhaps the most beautiful woman on the planet. We met at a supermarket one day when I was reaching for the same container of rocky road ice cream as her. She tried to apologize, but I beat her to the punch and said I was sorry first. She looked at me directly and I smiled.

Holy shit. She’s stunning.

"You can take that one. I'll uh... take another." she said flabbergasted.

"Only if I can have your name and number."

She was blushing, but I had no idea why.

"Ok. Abby and hand me your phone, so I can put it in."

I set up my phone and handed it to her.

"Well, Abby, I'm Alex. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Pleasure to meet you, too."

Then, I grabbed my ice cream as did she and we went our separate ways. I called her a couple of days later and asked her out on a date. I spent plenty of time deciding on what to wear and making sure I looked my best before heading out to my car to pick her up for our date. I took a deep breath in then let it out after I knocked on the door in front of her apartment.

“Hey.” Abby greeted.

“Hey. You look beautiful, even more than the other day, but I don’t know how that’s possible.”

There she goes blushing again.

“Thank you. So, where are we headed?”

She shut her door and locked it.

“It’s a surprise.”

She smiled.

“Well, let’s get going then.”

I opened the door for her as any man should. I flashed her with a smile once she said thank you. The restaurant I pulled up to was one that I quickly discovered after I moved to LA and fell in love with. When I opened the door to the restaurant, she had an odd look on her face.

“You okay?”

“Yeah. I’ve just never been able to eat at a place this nice before.”

“You are in for quite the meal.”

“Name?” the hostess asked.

“Gaskarth.”

“Right this way.”

She followed me to our table.

“Feel free to order whatever you’d like.”

“You sure?” she asked, scratching the back of her head.

“100%.”

She nodded.

“So, Abby, you know my last name. Mind if I ask what yours is?” he asked.

“Not at all. It’s Shaw.” she said, smiling.

“Short and sweet and to the point.”

She laughed. I hoped I didn’t appear cheesy, but I made her laugh, so I took it as a win.

“Normally, on a first date, I’d ask you what you do for a living, but I already know.”

“You do?”

We were interrupted by our waitress who took our order.

“Yeah. I’m a huge All Time Low fan. I started listening to you guys at a truly tough time in my life, actually.”

This must be why she was so flustered when we first met.

“How are things now?”

“Still tough, but what I was going through at that time is over.”

“That must be a relief.”

“You have no idea.” she sighed.

I was tempted to ask her more about the subject, but by her reaction, I let it go.

“I’m gonna let that topic go.”

“That’s much appreciated. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Anyway, is there anything about you I don’t know? I know a lot.”

"My second favorite flavor of ice cream is rocky road."

“What's your favorite?" she asked, biting her lip.

"Strawberry. I know it's not an exciting flavor, but..."

"Hey. Strawberry isn't my favorite like rocky road, but it's still delicious, just not as delicious as my fave."

She couldn’t keep a straight face.

“Is that so?”

Neither could I.

“Yeah. It is.”

“You think you’re so cute.”

She tilted her head.

“Maybe.”

You totally are.

“You’ve got a sense of humor. I like that.”

“You know, flattery is clearly your strong suit. Well, one of them.”

“One of them?”

“You know what the others are.”

“Do I?”

“Stop.” she said, blushing.

“Tell me something about yourself then. What do you do for a living?”

“I work at a couple restaurants. At one, I’m a waitress, the other I’m a fry cook.”

“Sounds like you have a passion for cooking.”

“I do, ever since I was a kid. I made breakfast every Sunday since I was twelve. I hope to work as a sous chef one day.” she said, smiling.

“What’s your speciality?”

“Chicken marsala. Maybe I can cook it for you sometime.”

I was liking this girl even more.

“Maybe.” I said, smirking.

The rest of the date went perfectly, and we seemed to both feel comfortable around one another.

“Tonight was amazing. Thank you.” she said.

We were back at her doorstep and she was looking straight up at me.

“Thank you. You are pretty damn amazing.”

“Look who’s talking.”

She smiled and did something I wasn’t expecting; she kissed me. Just as she was about to separate from me, I pulled her closer and kissed her back.

“Goodnight Abby.”

“Goodnight Alex. Hope to see you soon.”

“Me too.”

Notes