I Hate California

forty four

"Taylor, everyone is wondering about what happened to Sage during the kidnapping. It's spreading all over the internet even more than before. Are you going to release another statement? You don't have to though, it's up to you on what you want to do" Tree tells me, looking up from her phone.

The truth was, I didn't want to talk about this situation anymore. I was thankful that Sage was back with us and safe. We found out that the woman that took her was an obsessive stalker of mine. Attending each and every one of my concerts up until we had to postpone them all. She took Sage from us, wanting to teach me a life lesson. She's lucky that I didn't kill her on the spot when I saw her in jail.

"I don't want to. Sage is safe and that's all that matters. If you want, you can post something, but don't say anything on why that lady did it or what happened to Sage. Just say that she was taken by a stalker and that importantly, Sage is now safe" I tell her. I could tell that Sage was slowly getting back into her regular routine, which I was grateful for. She was taking baby steps, but she was getting her personality back.

"Mommy, Mommy!" Sage yells, running into the kitchen where Tree and I were talking. I quickly turn in her direction as she runs up to me and I pick her up, setting her onto the island.

"Daddy said that I can have a treat because I finish all of my assignments early!" She exclaims, pointing towards the pantry. I kiss her forehead giggling at how excited she was. I was happy that she enjoyed learning and that she never refused to do it when Joe would tell her it was time to work in her booklets.

Walking into the pantry, I looked at the top shelves that had all of the special occasion treats, "What are you feeling babe? Do you want a rice krispie treat, gummy bears, or oreos?" I ask.

"Gummy bears! Gummy bears! Gummy bears!" She yells, swinging her legs in the air. I hear Tree chuckle as she places Sage onto the ground and she runs towards me, coming out of the pantry. I hand her a newly opened package of gummy bears and she happily takes it from me, walking over to the living room. I watch as she sits down on the couch, watching this random Disney movie that we had playing.

"She's so perfect, Taylor" Tree smiles at me as we watch Sage. I felt myself blushing, knowing how lucky I was.

Joe walked into the kitchen, wrapping his arms around me from behind as he gave me a quick kiss. He set down Sage's math booklets, opening them up to reveal all of the addition and subtraction equations that she solved. She got all of them correct and it looked like she finished them early since Joe had timed her, with the time mark written at the top of the page.

"She's solving these so quickly, I feel like we need to try a grade higher" Joe tells me, smiling at all of Sage's work. I nodded my head. We could easily tell that Sage was ahead for her age and she could perfectly read all of her books by now.

-

"Okay baby, remember what we told you to do when your grandparents arrive?" I asked Sage who was quietly sitting at the kitchen table, coloring.

Both of Joe and I's parents were coming over today. The house was practically already done and most of the things we wanted to redesign have already been finished. It would be my parent's second time coming to the new house and Joe's first time since they just flew in from London.

We all came up with a plan on how to announce the baby's gender and we made sure Sage knew our plan and hopefully it goes through alright.

"Grandma, Grandpa, Gramma and Grampapa are all coming over today!" Sage exclaimed with a huge smile on her face. I nodded my head as I tucked her hair behind her ear.

"Yes, you gotta be on your best behavior baby. We need to make sure they're super surprised when you tell them the news!" I tell her in an exciting tone. Sage nodded her head and went back to coloring.