Michael
We broke our record in the airplane bathrooms - twice between Sydney and LA and once from LA to Baltimore. We did as she suggested and switched the flight. Her friend just picked us up at Baltimore and is now driving us home. The plan worked. Not a single fan was waiting in Baltimore for us.
"So wait! Sarah! This is the guy from that band you showed me, isn't it?" her friend says once we're on the freeway. Sarah smiles and confirms it, then introduces us properly. "She talked a lot about you the last time I saw her. This is so exciting! So you two are together now? How did this happen? Oh my god, I'm so happy to see you smiling again Sarah! I told you, your life isn't over, it's just beginning! I knew you could get some hot young guy. You're too fun and hot yourself to be tied down to a miserable life!"
Oh my god does she ever stop talking? Apparently not, as she continues her rambling for another 15 minutes solid before anyone else can get a word in. She's tiring, but in all her rambling, one thing's obvious - she adores Sarah and cares for her a lot.
An hour drive feels like three in this car, but we finally make it home and all three kids and I dart out of the car quickly, grab all the luggage from the trunk and let ourselves inside while Sarah says goodbye.
"Is she always that talkative?" I ask the kids once we're inside.
"YES!" all three answer at once. We all start laughing then take the luggage to the rooms.
We are all exhausted. It's always harder coming back to the states than going to Australia. I don't know why, maybe because we are going back in time, so to speak, then forwards. Regardless, I'm ready to pass out, and I can already hear Casey lightly snoring across the hall.
A few minutes later, Sarah comes in the room and climbs up into bed with me. "It feels good to be home in my own bed," she says, curling up into my chest falling asleep rather quickly, myself right after.
I wake up before her in the morning, which rarely happens. I love when it does though. I can just lie here, uninterrupted, watching her sleep, running my fingers through her hair. I don't understand why some people find it creepy, it's so peaceful to watch her sleep. She's happy and trouble free. No wrinkles of stress, just pure vulnerability that she entrusts to me and only me. My heart inflates as I watch her and I run my mums words from yesterday through my head for the fiftieth time since she spoke them. I've figured out what it comes down to. I need to be happy and complete without her, then I can be even happier with her. That's exactly what I'm going to do this tour. Learn how to be happy with me, so I can be truly happy with her.
Sarah
I open my eyes to see my favorite green ones staring back down at me. My heart flutters at the sight. There's that sparkle in his eyes I don't see enough. It's the sparkle of true happiness.
"Good morning babydoll. Sleep well?"
"Like a baby. How'd you sleep?"
"Never better. It's weird that I feel more like this is home than the house I grew up in."
"Home is where the heart is!" I answer. Until recently, this house has never felt like home, not until I started to be happy with myself and my life again.
We all stay in bed pretty much all day, with the exception of picking up my car from Dulles. We're all just recuperating from the flight, which is totally fine by me.
After a mid afternoon lovemaking, I realize that I really need to feed this crazy crew. We emptied out the refrigerator before we left so nothing would go bad, meaning it's pizza night. It's not Michael's favorite pizza, just because they don't deliver and I'm too lazy to go out, so we settle for Dominos.
After dinner, I throw a load of clothes in the wash for tomorrow at my parents for Easter dinner. Normally, we would have spent the week, or at least the weekend there because of traveling, but this year we're just doing it in one day. And nobody's complaining. Not after a week in Australia! The kids know that the trip was their Easter, too.
Once again, we make it an early night and all five of us are asleep by 9pm.
Easter morning rolls around and I am taken by complete surprise when I find four easter baskets in the living room, overflowing. Michael woke up extra early to do this for us? I am so deeply touched and shocked by his thoughtfulness. But upset at the same time.
"Michael Clifford! What did you do? Why?" I've already told him I don't want him buying us the things I should be doing.
"Spoiling my family one last time? Sue me!" My family? It sounds so perfect coming from his lips. And when he says it that way, how can I refuse?
"God I love you!" I tell him, tears threatening to make an appearance.
Together, we go wake up the kids and all open our easter baskets, a huge smile of pride stretching across Michael's face. It's mostly candy, which makes the kids' day, and a few little things. Batteries for the Xbox remotes, hand sanitizers for Grace (she has a thing for hand sanitizer), lens filters for me, small gifts that we all love. How and when did he do this? I'm not going to ask, I just accept it. He's amazing, that's all there is to it. Grace and Casey thank him for the baskets and then a thought comes to Grace.
"Oh no!" she exclaims, "Mikey, we didn't get you anything!"
"You already have, Grace," Michael tells her. "You've accepted me being with your mum, after such a short time. You've accepted me in your family. Under these circumstances, most people wouldn't." And now I can't hold back the tears any longer. How the hell have I gotten so lucky? I have three terrific, loving kids, and a wonderful boyfriend who is living up to his new years resolution - not taking anything for granted.
After I wipe away the tears, we all get dressed and pile in the car to start the drive to my parents.
"Thanks for the basket, Mike," Mason says as we are getting in the car. My heart stops, I swear. Mason doesn't thank people often, does not show much appreciation for anything. Out of all three, he's by far the most materialistic. Just like Rob's brother. For him to thank Michael without being prompted fills me with pride.
"What?" Grace asks in shock. "Did Mason actually show appreciation for something?"
"Grace..." she smirks at me and I smile back to her to let her know I agree with her unspoken thoughts that I interrupted her from saying. I know my daughter well.
"You're all welcome guys."
I put my Spotify onto all my starred songs, just for more variety for the four hour drive, starting with Shake Tramp, just to make sure it plays, earning a groan from the boys. Oh well. Suck it up. Grace, Mikey and I dance and song along, then let the music do its shuffle. We spend four hours shuffling from early 70s like Steve Miller Band and Ozzy, through current, including some 5sos in there, as well as less popular or even unsigned local bands like Art of Dying and This The Rescue. There's quite a bit of country mixed in there, old and new, pop, lots of 80s hairbands which makes Michael really happy, some old school hip hip, and Eminem. Mason has his headphones on most of the time because he can't stand 90% of my music, but the rest of us have fun. It's a huge array of music, which just shows that I like just about all music. Except rap, but even some of that's growing on me.
"What concerts do you have this summer?" Mikey asks me. The new concert season at the amphitheater is coming up and I'm so excited!
"Besides yours?" I wink "which I'm not working, by the way, there's Dixie Chicks, Journey, Kenny Chesney, Josh Groban, and Black Sabbath so far."
"Black Sabbath? Are you shitting me? Damn I'm jealous! I want your job!" That's when I lose it. I can't stop the laughter. He plays for thousands of people, gets to meet and write music with his idols, gets to go play on stage with them if he wants, and is jealous of my minimum wage part time seasonal job? Why? Because I'll be on the same property as Ozzy Osbourne? Not that I'll be allowed anywhere near him! My mind flips to my coworkers there and the variety of reactions to my love of 5sos, before I was dating one of them. Oh god it's going to be an interesting season!
