The Tale of Zachary Willowbrook: A Leap Day Paradox

Chapter 24: Stacy's Second Book Tour

The very next day, Stacy's room was a mess. Suitcases were scattered. Articles of clothing were strewn out on the floor, in tiny heaps. Dresses, pants, pajamas and her lingerie. This mess bothered Stacy, as she perceived herself as a very organized person. Well, as least she tried to stay organized most of the time. With her leaving for her book tour the next day, she was in a frenzy, trying to get all her clothes packed; first for herself, and then for Zachary.

After a period of time that seemed like several hours, Stacy finished packing all of her belongings. Now she needed to pack Zachary's belongings, which was going to take a while.

While packing for herself seemed to be an arduous task, packing for Zachary was no easy one. She didn't need to pack any diapers, since the concierges at the luxurious hotels were going to provide that for her. Regardless of this, she still decided to take the diaper bag with her, since she needed them while traveling to the airports and while she's at the bookstores. Having the essentials with her made it a lot easier for Zachary. After that, she just packed a week's worth of clothes, since a lot of the high end suites had a washer and dryer, and she would be washing his clothes every week for a month. After his clothes, she packed his toys, his bottles and his stroller.

After placing all of the luggage in the car, she wiped the sweat off her brow. It starts tomorrow. It would be another book tour, but a shorter one this time. "I better get some sleep," she said, as she yawned, looking at the clock. The time was 11:28 p.m., so she went right off to bed.

That afternoon the next day, David drove her to the airport. Both of the kids were disappointed that their mother was leaving for a month. It bothered Timothy the most.

"Why do you have to leave, mommy?" Timothy said with a glum look on his face.

Stacy reached over the seat and hugged Timothy. "Mommy has to do this," she told him. "But mommy will be back soon, okay?"

"But I don't want you to go!" Timothy argued.

"Neither do I!" Audrey added. "I wish you didn't have to go on this stupid tour."

Stacy looked Audrey in the eye. "It's not stupid." she argued. "It's part of my job. I'll call every night, honey."

Audrey sighed. "Okay. I'm going to miss Zachary, though."

"Me too!" Timothy added.

The conversation continued until they got to the airport. The kids were both sad that their mother was leaving, but Stacy reassured them that she would be back. After the kids and David said their final goodbyes, Stacy left with Zachary and approached the airport.

Stacy assembled the stroller, placed Zachary in it and they were off.

As part of the book tour, Stacy's additional luggage was handled by someone she hired. The hired man was built like a tank, and accompanied her to every city. Not only did he handle her extra luggage, but he doubled as her personal bodyguard. With Stacy's widespread increase in fame, his primary job was to make sure that both Stacy and Zachary were kept safe. Having done such a good job during the last book tour, he was hired back to help her out again. In respecting her privacy, he blended into the crowd and watched her at a distance. The hired man made a swift stride next to Stacy, who was merrily pushing Zachary in his stroller. "The luggage is all set, Miss Willowbrook," he stated in a husky voice.

Stacy, maintaining her pace, looked up and nodded. "Thanks Darryl. As always, you are a great help. Now I need you to be quiet. Zachary is sleeping, so shhhhh...."

Embarrassed, Darryl lowered his volume. "Okay, Miss Willowbrook," he whispered. "I'll meet you on the plane."

Darryl scratched his head and proceeded forward, towards the concourse.

Stacy sighed as she went through security. While she didn't really mind it that much, this would mean waking Zachary up, who was in a deep and peaceful sleep. Zachary woke up, and he began to throw a fit. Stacy got out a stuffed bear and placed it in his hands before he could cry another second. Zachary saw the bear and stopped crying. He embraced it tight in his hands, saying "My bear! My bear! My bear! My bear!" Over and over again, he repeated this, since he wanted everyone around him to know that the bear was his.

When they got to the x-ray machine, a woman who worked with airport security took the bear from Zachary, and passed it through the x-ray machine.

Streams of tears began rolling down Zachary's cheek. "My bear...?" he cried. "MY BEAR! MY BEAR! MY BEAR!!!! WAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!"

Stacy picked up Zachary and tried calming him down. "Don't worry, Zacky! You'll get him back." She pointed to the other side of the machine. "You see that conveyor on the other side? Beary's going to come out the other side, and you'll get him back!"

Zachary continued crying, even louder. "MY BEAR! MY BEAR! WAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!"

Finally, the bear came out the other side, and Stacy handed it back to Zachary.

Zachary held the stuffed bear, locking it in tight embrace. He then looked at the woman in security. "My bear!" he shouted at her.

Zachary's tantrum drew some attention around Stacy, and a couple of people recognized her.

"Are you Stacy Willowbrook?" someone asked her. It was a woman that was a little older than her, with glasses and a couple of freckles on her nose. Her hair was red, with the length stopping just below the neck.

"Yes I am...." she replied, still embarrassed from the tantrum.

The freckled woman smiled, and glanced at Zachary. "Is that Zachary, your 'precious little gift of time'? Don't worry about that meltdown. I've had a few kids myself and that one that I just saw was mild."

Stacy smiled, feeling uneasy and eager to get on the plane before it finished boarding.

The woman then pulled out a copy of My Precious Little Gift of Time. "Autograph my book? I wasn't able to make it to your book signings, but I did get a copy."

Stacy nodded, and shot a glimpse at the gate - C10. "I'm actually kind of in a hurry. Me and Zachary are going to New York, and we don't want to miss our flight."

On hearing "flight", the woman gasped. "Oh my gosh! Thank you for reminding me! I'm on the same flight as you, so you can autograph the book after we're seated and the plane is in the air."

Stacy smiled, and reached for the woman's book. "How about I autograph it for you and then deliver it? I'll have a stewardess give it back to you. Just give me your name, where you want it signed, who you want it made out to and where you'll be sitting."

The woman smiled. "Thanks! My name is Dani, and I'm sitting in row 12. Oh, and sign it on the first page, above the title!"

Stacy wheeled Zachary toward the gate, and exchanged her tickets for boarding passes.

Dani ran and bumped into Stacy. "Sorry," she said, apologizing.

"It's okay, um...."

"It's Dani. I almost forgot to tell you where I'm going."

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to Manhattan. To Barnes & Noble for your book signing!"

"Really? I hope to see you there!"

"You will. Your new book releases tomorrow, and I will be the first in line to get it autographed."

Dani exchanged her ticket for a boarding pass and followed Stacy and Zachary to the gate.

Stacy entered C10, wheeling the stroller down the jet bridge with Zachary in tow. She then made her way to row 3, which seated first class passengers. She pulled a blanket out of her carryon bag for Zachary and sat it down on the window seat. She then placed Zachary on it, buckled him up and wrapped him in the blanket. She folded up the stroller and placed it in the overhead compartment. Finally, she buckled herself up. She was now ready for the plane to take off.

As the plane was taking off, Stacy got the book out. Zachary was sleeping again, so she could focus on fulfilling her fan's request. Having run into numerous fans, this was a normal thing for her. As she opened the book, she became a little weary.

Before she knew it, her mind was on other things. Stacy began to collect her thoughts. This indeed was going to be a long trip, but not as long as the first one. And with the structure a little more organized, she knew what to expect.

Her attention returned to the book, which was still open on the first page, with a pen lying on top. She grabbed the pen and began writing an autograph for her fan. She wrote:

To Dani,