Yours Truly (Post Malone)

43

Time flew when things had gotten busy. I finished university with a degree in music and a degree in parks, recreation, and tourism. I was busy with school and raising my children. Daphne was now four years old and quite active. Winter was fourteen years old and was doing very well for herself. She had played on Austin's newest album and played on a few songs from Teddy Swims. Her YouTube channel was growing steadily.

I walked through my house, picking up some toys that Daphne had left around. She was outside with Austin, chasing him around while laughing loudly. Daphne was a fun and active toddler who loved her father. She reminded me a lot of how Winter was as a child. I stopped in the dining room to look out the window into the backyard. Daphne and Austin were laying in the grass like they had just fallen over. Both were laughing and Austin was looking at Daphne like she meant the world. And she was the world to Austin.

I smiled and turned away. We had a studio in our home where there was often music playing. Winter was in her room, reading, so I had the studio to myself. I set up a camera and started recording myself playing guitar. I also had a YouTube channel but it didn't have a big following. Most were from when I worked at the bar in Chicago. A lot of them still commented and asked how my kids were. I missed that bar but I loved where I was at. I was at a good spot with my life. I spent time when I could at the studio with Austin and Winter. I thoroughly enjoyed my time there with them making music.

I was in the studio playing the guitar for about an hour before Austin came in. He kissed my temple and sat with me. 

I raised my eyebrow and set my guitar down. "What's up, baby?"

"Nothing," Austin replied. "Just wanted to be with you."

I squinted at him. "Are you sure? You had a look on your face."

"Our anniversary is next month and I'd like to go on a trip with you somewhere," Austin said. "I didn't know what you were thinking for it."

I thought for a second. "I don't know. We could always do an international trip."

"Where to?" Austin asked.

I rolled my eyes. "I don't want to be the only one planning this trip, baby."

Austin chuckled. "You won't be. I just want to know where you were thinking so we could get some ideas."

"How does Albania sound?" I asked. "Or Morocco? I always liked the idea of going to Morocco or Albania?"

"We could do both," Austin suggested. "Spend like a week and a half in both places?"

I tilted my head to the side. "That'd be a fun idea. There's a lot to do in both countries though."

"We traveled more during our honeymoon," Austin said.

I looked down at my hands. "You're right, I guess. We'll do both countries then."

Austin grabbed my hands and squeezed them. "What's the matter, baby?"

"I don't know," I replied. "I just haven't been away from our girls in so long."

"They'll be alright," Austin assured. "We'll be fine too. We have my parents watch them. We can take them to Texas to stay with my parents while we're gone. They're going to be fine, Mack, I promise."

I sighed. "Okay, if you say so. I just haven't been away from them for so long."

"We deserve it, though," Austin said. "Especially with how hard you worked with going to school and getting two degrees. That's an achievement, Mack. You deserve to celebrate for that."

I rolled my eyes. "Okay, let's do it."

We spent the rest of the afternoon planning our trip. I mentioned that Winter had been wanting to go on an international trip for a while. We decided to include her on the trip details and make it a surprise to her. Austin talked with his parents about what a good time was to bring Daphne to their house in Texas.

We had flights and hotels booked by dinnertime. I got up to make dinner, leaving Austin in the studio. Winter came into the kitchen a few minutes after me and started helping. Winter always wanted to learn how to cook and was too smart for her age.

While we cooked, I told Winter about the trip that we were going on. Winter was so excited that she was going out of the country. We had already gotten Winter's passport renewed and it would be coming within the next few weeks. We already had her passport since she had joined Austin on some of his world tours and needed it to do those trips.

Austin came into the kitchen with Daphne walking beside him. She grabbed onto my leg when she came in, smiling up at me. I smiled and ruffled her hair. She giggled and started asking questions. Daphne was quite the inquisitive toddler and was always asking questions. 

At dinner, we talked about our trip. Daphne asked if she could go too but we explained that she wasn't quite old enough for an international trip yet. We also didn't want to expose her to paparazzi quite yet since she was still so young. Winter was older and could do international trips better. We still didn't want to expose her to the media and did our best to shield her from the paparazzi. 

Daphne was disappointed that she wasn't going on the trip but was excited to go see her grandparents. Since my parents and Austin's parents lived in different states than we did, we didn't get to see them that often. But Winter and Daphne always enjoyed seeing their grandparents. 

After dinner, Austin cleaned up dinner with Winter while I entertained Daphne. Daphne was talking about how she was excited to see her grandparents the next month and what she was excited to do with them. 

That night, I tucked Daphne in her bed and checked on Winter. She was laying in her bed, listening to music. Her prosthetic leg was leaning against the nightstand next to her. As I walked in, Winter took off her headphones and sat up.

I sat on the edge of her bed. "How do you feel about the trip next month?"

"I'm excited," Winter replied. "I've been out of the country before but it was for Dad's job. This is different because it's for vacation, not work. I've always wanted to see different parts of the world."

"I'm glad for that," I said. "We're going to do more research about what to do in Albania and Morocco that we'd all like."

"I don't mind doing things on my own," Winter said. "I'm fourteen, after all."

"We're also going to two foreign countries, baby," I said. "I don't want anything to happen to you while we're abroad."

Winter rolled her eyes, a smile ghosting her face. "I know but I don't want to be following my parents the entire time. I want to have fun."

"And we'll have fun, I promise," I said. "That's why we're going to do research together and see what we all want to do. I can also talk with Austin about what he thinks about you going off to do your own thing. We'll most likely have security with us since Austin is famous so if you're comfortable with it, we can have a security officer nearby in case anything happens."

Winter sighed. "I guess. I just want to more independent. I like going out and doing things on my own. I don't like being followed but I get it. I get having security to be safe."

I rubbed her shoulder. "That's why they're there. We'll talk about it more tomorrow, baby."

I kissed Winter's forehead and left her room. I joined Austin in our room, climbing into bed with him. I cuddled into him and sighed softly.

"What is it, honey?" Austin asked.

"Just talked with Winter," I replied. "She wants to do things on her own when we go on our trip. I told her that I would talk to you about it but that we could have security near her if she does go out on her own."

"That's a smart idea," Austin said. "She's growing up and wants to do her own things. It makes sense that she wants to go do whatever she wants while we're traveling. But we can talk more about it tomorrow."

I kissed Austin before turning over and settling into bed. It took me a couple of minutes to fall asleep. My mind was too busy thinking about our trip the next month. It was our anniversary trip but we still wanted to bring Winter with us. She didn't get to have many experiences as often and I wanted her to see what was out there. We could always have alone time without Winter there.