I sigh at the memory, wondering what my life would have been like if every day could have been like the day in the park. My daughter chooses that exact moment to clutch my hair in her little fist and pull, hard, giggling as I struggle to loosen her fingers.
“My God she’s strong!” I laugh as Ellie helps me untangle her iron grip.
By the time we separate Sadie from my scalp, we’re all laughing and she’s got a good chunk of my hair in her hand.
I let Ellie carry her back to the car, slipping my hand in my wife’s free one so I can stay connected to the most important people in my life. After we strap Sadie back into her seat, and the car pulls out of the cemetery, Ellie leans over and kisses me.
“Adam…”
I pull back so I can look into the gorgeous face of my wife, her cheeks pink from the cold and her blue eyes flashing with mischief. “Yes Sweetheart?”
“How do you feel about adding to our little family?” I look down and notice that Ellie has her hands splayed out on her still-flat belly.
“Are you trying to tell me something?” I grin, hoping that she’s saying what I think she’s saying.
“What do you think of Lucas if it’s a boy?” Her eyes glitter with a mixture of joy and a hint of sadness.
“You want to name him after your dad?” Ellie nods and blinks away the tears. I gather her in my arms and hold her close, sliding one hand over hers on top of her flat stomach, “I think it’s brilliant. I love you.”
“I love you too,” she whispers.
I finally have everything I ever wanted. My band, my music, my wife, my daughter, a baby on the way… for a poor kid from the East End, everything turned out pretty okay.
42
Ellie
The noise of the crowd is so loud, I can hardly hear the directions being given to us by Adam’s assistant, Justin, a quiet, hardworking kid.
“You okay, Sweetheart?” Adam leans down so I can make out his voice over the screaming.
“Yeah, fine,” I lie. My heart is thrumming faster than I thought possible and my eyes are scorched from the bright lights of the cameras.
“I’ve got you, no worries.” Adam grins at me and splays his hand protectively over my huge belly, which causes the paparazzi to go wild. I smile up at my husband, knowing that he’ll take care of me.
Slipping his hand in mine, Adam follows Justin up the red carpet, stopping whenever we’re told to stop and pose, speaking to the different reporters at designated places, laughing with the other guys in the band when we meet up for a group photo.
“You didn’t tell me how exhausting the Grammy’s are. I’m knackered already and the show hasn’t even started.”
Adam gives me a playful smirk before leaning down for a quick kiss. He tilts towards my ear so I can hear him, “I wasn’t seven months pregnant any of the times that I was here.”
“I should hope not,” I joke. “That would definitely cause a ruckus of enormous proportions.”
“Just a few more hours and we can fly straight home, Sweetheart. Sadie’s waiting for us.” Adam’s eyes meet mine and I sigh. I know the love he has for me is genuine, it runs so deep that it shows with every word, every touch.
“Okay, home sounds brilliant.”
* * *
I flick on the telly and run through the channels, looking for Sadie’s favorite program. When I see Adam on the screen, I stop and turn the volume up.
“Dada!”
“Yes love, that’s your dad.”
Sadie grins and stuffs her poor teddy bear’s ear in her mouth.
“Ugh! I look enormous!” I scowl at the screen and put my feet up on the couch.