Things were happening fast. Every day it seemed they were getting more popular and the world wanted a little bit more of them. Talk shows had started calling for interviews, and every week they got more invitations to play gigs with huge exposure. They had even gotten to the point where they were having to turn down performances and could negotiate higher prices because they were in such high demand, they were getting double or even triple booked for some weekends.
It didn’t surprise me, but it was still stunning to watch. From the very beginning, I’d believed in them. I always knew they could hit the big time, but now that it was happening, it was awe-inspiring.
A waitress walked up to the table looking down at the pad in her hand. Without even glancing up at us, she rattled off a greeting and then the list of specials for the day. It was only after she had gotten through the entree options and was moving on to desserts that she bothered to lift her eyes. They swept over me with barely a notice, but when they hit Jayson, her gaze stopped.
I watched her eyes widen and the color first drain from her face, the rush back into it to create a bright red glow across her cheeks. She started stuttering, babbling incoherently about who Jayson was and what he might like to eat. Finally, she stopped and took a breath.
“Can I get a selfie with you?” she asked.
He nodded. “Sure.”
The young waitress scrambled to get her phone out as fast as she could as Jayson stood and positioned himself beside her. She leaned her head near his and smiled broadly, snapping one picture before slightly adjusting her position and snapping another. She started to turn and kiss him on the cheek, but Jayson was already very familiar with that maneuver. He deftly moved out of the way to avoid the kiss without hurting the waitress’s feelings. She thanked him and stuffed her phone back in the pocket of her apron, scurrying away into the kitchen. Jayson laughed and shook his head.
“She didn’t take our order,” I pointed out.
He laughed again. “No, she didn’t.”
It didn’t bother me. There might have been a point in my life when it would have gotten to me watching a bunch of other women flirt with the guy I was dating. But I didn’t feel that way with Jayson. I realized this type of attention and silly moments like that with the waitress were just the start of women falling all over themselves to get close to him. It didn’t intimidate me or even make me uncomfortable. In the end, they were trying to get close to my man, and we both took that distinction very seriously. I was completely confident in my relationship with him and the way he felt about me. So, instead of feeling jealous, I felt proud. My man was a rock god, not to mention sexy as hell. But he was also faithful. I trusted him fully, and that felt good.
Beside me, Harper started fussing in her highchair. She was getting so big. It felt like just a few days ago I was cradling her in my arms as a newborn, and now she was taking shaky steps and babbling nonstop. I was sure she’d be talking way before she turned two. She was so much of a little person already, and I saw her daddy in her more and more every day. They had gotten extraordinarily close, and I loved to watch their relationship, even if it did occasionally make me feel like I was on the outside. It was definitely something I was willing to be on the outside of.
Jayson leaned close to her and took her hands, bouncing them playfully. He started signing her the little song he had written for her when she was just a few months old, and it instantly soothed her. She cooed and giggled along with him, and I could have sworn I heard her humming along at the right tune. She was going to be a musician like him one day. Maybe not playing the drums. Hopefully not playing the drums. I didn’t think I could handle two people practicing the drums in the house at the same time. But she had music in her, and one day it would become something amazing.
He finished his song and kissed Harper on the tip of her nose. I loved how good he was with her and felt a familiar surge of gratitude. Things could have been so different. He could have never come to find me. He could have never wanted anything to do with me. He could have found out about our daughter and withdrawn, not wanting to be a father. They were all possibilities, and I felt so lucky that none of them happened. Instead, I got an incredible man and an incredible father for my daughter.