What Happens on the Cruise

57. I'm in a Hurry

"I think we've got everything," Tim said, getting up off the floor from checking under the bed.

"Good," Austin called from the bathroom. "Come in here."

Tim walked in and shook his head as Austin held up the toy. "Is this going in a suitcase or in you?"

"You gonna make me walk all the way to the restaurant with that inside me?"

"Yup."

"This is crazy."

"Yes or no, babe?"

Tim started undoing his belt buckle as Austin grinned.

***

"You okay?" Chris asked as Tim sat down very carefully.

"Fine," Tim answered.

"Well at least it's a few days till our next concert," Chris murmured.

"Hi, everyone!" They looked up to see Jaimie approaching the table, followed by a younger man.

"Morning!" Tim greeted.

"It's a quarter to one," the younger man said.

"Morning for us," Austin said and waved as Rob, Allen, and Dena walked in.

"Look who we found!" Rob exclaimed.

"Morning, Mom," Tim greeted, standing and giving her a peck on the cheek.

She gave him a worried look. "Are you all right, honey?"

"I'm fine," Tim answered, blushing.

"Everyone, this is my son, Joe. He's driving me home," Jaimie introduced the younger man. "Joe, you remember Adam from last night."

Joe and Adam nodded to each other.

"This is his brother Chris, then we have Rob,... Allen?"

"Yup," Allen confirmed.

"Tim, Austin, and Tim's mom, Dena."

"Good to meet you all," Joe said.

"Come join us," Chris invited, moving over so Jaimie could sit across from Adam.

Jaimie looked surprised. "You sure? Okay."

As Jaimie sat, Chris cleared his throat. "So, uh, Adam and I talked last night and I owe you an apology for... well, for last night and a number of years ago. I only knew you'd hurt Adam when you broke up and never knew why. I'm sorry for misjudging you."

Jaimie smiled. "Thank you. It was a really hard decision. My one regret is that Joey never got to know Adam. I do think he'd have made a great dad, even though he was only twelve years older than Joe."

"It all worked out," Joe said. "It was really nice talking to Ericha last night. Sarah and I appreciated it."

"What did you talk about?" Dena asked as she looked over the menu.

"Oh, Sarah's older than I am. She had two miscarriages in her first marriage, and we're expecting. It's really scary, so it was good to talk it out with someone who's been through it."

"Oh, so Jaimie's going to be a grandparent? How exciting!" Dena exclaimed.

Jaimie's smile slipped momentarily before they patted their son on the back. "Yeah. I'm really excited for him."

***

"So the next concert that's nearby is August 13 in Morrison, Illinois," Adam told Jaimie as they stood next to Joe's truck. "Unless you can travel to Minnesota."