Out of My Mind: Volume I

Gotta, Gotta Be Down Because I Want It All

"The present...it's a cat."

Maybe he shouldn't have just put it out there. Maybe they should have been in a more private place. He wanted her to be able to react without anybody watching, able to scream and laugh and cry and even stop breathing if she wanted to. Brandon just couldn't hold it in any longer.

The waitress returned to the table with a slightly worried expression. "Mrs. Flowers? Is everything alright? Can I get you a glass of water?"

"Yes, please bring her another glass." The waitress walked away, so Brandon felt it was safe for them to return to their previous conversation. "Tana, darling, are you okay?" he said with a laugh, although the situation was not funny in the slightest. But the little girl inside of her just wanted to scream and squeal. He saw it on her face.

"Can I see pictures?"

"Ahhh no! That was a surprise," the singer pouted.

"Okay, fine. I won't take that away from you. What's the gender?"

"Male. He will be a very good cuddle buddy when I'm away, I'll say that much."

"Excuse me?"

"What? What did I say?"

"Brandon, you're silly," she said in between tiny giggles. "He's gonna be a good cuddle buddy even with you at the house. Not just when you're away!"

Now it was Brandon's turn to be shocked. "Tana...I am doing my best to get over my fear. One step at a time. I will not be sleeping with the devil spawn the night we get him. We can ease into it. Either you can sleep with your loving, bodacious husband," he said with a wink, "or a ball of fur."

"I choose the ball of fur," Tana said matter-of-factly.

Brandon pretended to be hurt, but deep down, he understood his wife's adoration for felines.

On the ride home, that's all the couple talked about. Tana didn't even want the radio on because she discovered it distracted her from investigating the gift. 

"I'm not sure when we will go get him, but he won't be ready for a couple of weeks."

"Weeks?! That's too long!"

"Be glad you're getting him at all," the husband threatened. 

"You're right. I'm not complaining. I'm sorry, I do realize how difficult this must be for you."

"Ronnie can't be around cats either, and I still want him to come to the Super Bowl party. And do we really want all the people to make him nervous? He could end up scratching someone, maybe even biting th-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm convinced. I just would have loved having all my friends and the family over to meet him. Little Adaline would have loved him. Oh, well. This will give me time to prepare! I can get him his toys, his leash, his collar-"

"No, I would wait on that. You don't know what will match his fur. And you don't know how big-or small-he will be."

"You do know there's such a thing as a receipt, right? We could return it if it didn't fit," She was amazed with how little her husband knew about shopping. 

Tana didn't care about the accessories anymore. She returned her attention to the actual cat. What was the breed? Color? Size? Another exciting topic made its way into the conversation.

"Ooh! What did you tell the kids?"

"Actually, I haven't. I was going to let you decide if, when, how you wanted to tell them. After all, this is mostly your present."

"Who all have you told?"

"Ted and Ronnie were with me when I was talking to the lady. I'm pretty sure Ted told Sheena and Ronnie told Rob at the after party. Oh, yeah. And I told Stephanie and Adeline. So who knows who knows at this point? I'm honestly surprised it didn't get back to you..."

Brandon stopped rambling soon after he noticed Tana fast asleep in the passenger seat. Gosh, are we getting old?

Brandon carried his sweetheart into their home, to the bedroom, and laid her carefully under the covers after taking her shoes off. 

He went to the kitchen and found  Kristen at the counter doing her homework. "Hi! How were the boys?"

The abrupt interruption of silence caused the babysitter to jump a little.

"Hey, Mr. Flowers!" Kristen replied. "I didn't realize you were back yet. They were angels, as always. They fell asleep about an hour ago. Bellies full and teeth brushed."

"That's great! Did they behave?"

"Yes! They gave me no troubles. They all have very big personalities, so that makes my job easier. Henry is just too funny! He and Gunnar were singing all night long. Ammon was a little quiet though. You might want to check on him? See what's up? It could be nothing. How was your date night?"

"It was unbelievable! It was very nice..and fun...just s-so rewarding for the both of us. i also surprised her with a present, which is what this whole evening was about. And it wouldn't have been possible without you. Thank you so much."

"That's great! What was the present, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Oh, no, I don't mind. All the guys in the band know. I got her a cat. We're going to get it in a couple weeks. It's only a newborn now."

"No way! The boys were just talking about cats tonight! Wait... they also told me that you were afraid of them."

"They told you that, huh?" he chuckled.  "Well, I was. Still am a little bit. It's a long story. But I'm willing to get over that and work through it if it means making her happy." 

"Do you need me to babysit while you go to get it?"

"I'm going to talk about that with her, but I have a whole family road trip in mind. The cat is in California. That could be fun for us!" Brandon's cheeks reddened his and smile widened just thinking about how happy the animal will make his wife. "Anyways, what time did you get here?"

"Around six o'clock I think."

Brandon glanced at the watch on his wrist. "Oh wow. Four and a half hours?" He handed Krista three hundred dollar bills. 

"No, no, no, Brandon, this is too much."

"No, I insist. You were here with three boys for over four hours on a school night. You should have been doing your homework or studying. You'll be going to college before you know it. And this covers dinner, too, right? Please, Kristen. Take it."

"Thank you, Brandon. So much." She accepted the money and started collecting her homework papers. "I should be getting home now. Good luck with the cat! Ask Tana to send pictures when she gets a chance."

Brandon walked the red-headed babysitter to the door. "Sure thing. Goodnight, Kristen. Drive safe!" He closed the door behind her, locked up, and headed back to his bedroom. The husband was just leaning in the doorway, admiring his wife. Imagining his wife's face when she saw him, that will be the most fulfilling moment of the decade.