Expect the Unexpected

Fourteen

Later that Eve, Rob was by no means ready to go to bed when his ex-wife turned in for the Night around eight. Between what a lotta folks called an abnormally high Energy level for his age and having a lot on his mind, he knew that going to bed that early wouldn't be smart. He'd no doubt keep her up by tossing and turning almost constantly till the wee hours of the Morn, and he didn't wanna do that since she needed her rest.

        Considering that his office-slash-studio was on the other side of the wall from their bed, he knew that practicing was outta the question. Well, that was if he Intended to use one of his electric basses since that'd obviously require the use of an amp alongside it. However, he'd a pair of custom acoustic basses that he oft used for practice sessions, and one of those'd work just as well.

        Settling on the couch that he'd wanted since those were usually more comfortable than chairs when he was playing, the Silver Fox couldn't help a sigh. After that chat with Gunnar and Grayson earlier in the afternoon, he couldn't help but wonder what he should do between himself and Mishy. There was a part of him that genuinely wanted to go as far as getting remarried, but there was another part of him that thought that was a really bad idea. He didn't know for sure that he could trust her not to cheat on him again, especially with one of his best friends. If they went into a marriage with that kinda blatant distrust, they'd wind up right back in divorce court just as quickly.

        But at the same Time, he knew without a doubt that he wasn't ever gonna truly get over her, even if they didn't give Romance a second shot. Just like he'd said several Times over the past few months, Rob knew that if he was ever gonna get over her, it woulda happened a long Time ago. Twenty Years as of this coming Summer was more than enough Time for such a thing to happen–but it hadn't, and it was painfully obvious that it never would.

        The Silver Fox didn't even realize what song he started plucking out as he sat there, lost deep in his own Thoughts. It was a very fitting one for his somewhat brooding mood, though, considering that Every Rose wasn't just referring to Love and Romance. He and the rest of his band mates oft said that it was talking about Life as a whole, that there was no gain without some pain. It mighta been Inspired by Bret finding out an ex of his own was cheating on him back with it was written, but it could still apply to other areas of Life, too. When one applied it to this situation, it could be said that he'd a Life most'd kill to have–he'd two healthy children with a third on the way, two more he'd all but adopted, and plenty of friends and loved ones, but he still suffered more than one form of pain.

        "Ugh, I'm just gonna drive myself fuckin' nuts," Rob grumbled, finally tuning in enough to realize what he was playing. "Or I'm just gonna drive everybody around me nuts."

        "No shit."

        Glancing over at his office doorway as he jumped, he saw the twins standing there with shit-eating grins on their faces.

        "Jesus Christ," the Silver Fox snapped, glad his right hand had clamped down so his strings were muted. "You're fuckin' lucky I wasn't armed or anything, boys."

       "Sorry, but we were listening to ya practice," Gunnar chuckled.

        "When we realizedja were playing Every Rose, we figured it'd be a bad idea to knock in the middle of it," his twin added.

        "I prolly wouldn't have heardja," Rob admitted with a chuckle of his own. "Hell, I didn't even realize what I was playing till I hit that last chord."

        "Ya get lost in the Music like that every Time ya play?" the taller teen asked, finally moving to join him once he waved them in.