Esther, Be Tender With My Love

II - Four

Heavily slow footsteps padded through the hall as Maurice and I stood by the sofa. Barry appeared in nothing but a pair of pajama pants and his bed head.

"Well I'm glad to see you two have reconnected." He smirked as he saw me wrapped in Mo's arms. His comment only made Maurice hold me tighter.

"maurice..." I tapped my hand on his back. "let me go i can't breathe." Instantly, my body was released from his embrace and he gave me a cheesy smile.

"Sorry about that love." He reached down for my hand and brought it up to his soft lips, kissing it. My knees went week and a feeling I hadn't felt in a long time errupted in my stomach. His eyes shown with adoration as they stared into mine. I just wanted to grab his face and kiss him but before I could even think about doing it, a cry sounded out through out the hall. Confused, I looked over to Barry.

"Ashley must've woken up." He said as he made his way towards the sound of the baby.

"Oh my gosh! Barry has a baby?" I asked, enthralled by the idea of a baby Bee Gee.

"Yeah, there's Ashley who was just born in September, and Steve who is about four years old now I believe." Maurice informed me. I've always loved children, especially babies, so hearing that one of my best friends had two kids made me super excited. Maybe I could be like their "cool aunt who isn't really their aunt" or something.

A moment later, Barry walked out with a baby cradled in his arms. He smiled, knowing that I wanted to hold him, and gently placed him in my arms. My heart warmed at the sight of the little boy. His thin blonde hair was tousled and he let out a quiet yawn.

"He is so cute, Barry. I'm so happy for you!" I held out my finger to Ashley while softly cooing at him. His tiny hand wrapped around my finger and he began giggling. Maurice walked over and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. He began making silly faces at Ashley, which made him giggle even more. It was very cute to see him making the baby laugh.

"Oh, Esther, there is someone else I'd like for you to meet." Barry said. Holding onto his hand was a little boy about four years old. He seemed to be very shy as he refused to look up from the floor. Gently placing Ashley in Mo's arms, I kneeled down in front of the little boy.

"Hello, I'm Esther. What's your name?" I spoke softly, hoping to calm the boy's nerves. When the boy didn't look up, Barry nudged him with his leg. He slowly looked up from the floor and scanned my face. I gave him a big smile, which seemed to help him loosen up. He returned the smile and straightened up.

"My name's Stephen, but you can call me Steve."

"Well, it's very nice to meet you Steve. You can call me Es." I stuck out my hand for him to shake. Now with more confidence, he returned the gesture with a grin. Barry watched the interaction between me and his son proudly. I'd assume that it probably took awhile for Steve to warm up to new people.

Linda appeared from the hall in a pair of jean shorts and a tank top. Her appearance signaled that she'd already gotten ready for the day. "So what's the plan for today?" She asked. Maurice handed a giggly Ashley over to her.

"We've gotta go pick up our suits for the premiere from the tailor at some point." Barry pointed out. He turned to me as if asking for permission and said, "and we can go shopping to get you some clothes?"

"Sure!" I exclaimed. I've always wanted to go shopping in the '70s. Then the sudden realization dawned on me... "uhm, I don't have any money." I said, looking down at my feet.

"Don't worry! It's a good thing we are famous musicians!" Maurice joked from beside me making us all laugh.

--