The Ride

Chapter Seven

Emilia

"Say bye Da-da. I love you. We're gonna miss you."

Aubrey planted a kiss on our daughters forehead and gently stroked one of her chunky cheeks, "Daddy love you princess. Keep an eye on your mama while I'm gone and keep her busy."

He continued smiling at her, then looked back up at me. I knew the longer we drug this out, the harder it would be for him to get on that plane but at the same time, I wanted to savor every second we had left together.

I went for a hug. He held me for a few seconds, then pulled back so that we could share a kiss. Holding my hand, he assured me that this time apart would fly by.

"I love you, Mil."

"I love you too, babe."

And with that, he boarded his private jet with his management, security and production team in tow. On the inside all of the dramatics were flowing, but I kept it G on the outside. For him and for our little girl.

I've had him all to myself for awhile. Between Madison being born, the wedding, our honeymoon, and my blossoming career- Aubrey dedicated time off from his work to fully immerse himself in our relationship and to be supportive of me. I knew he was torn between feeling guilty for not working like he had in the past, but also wanting to have the personal life he had been longing for with his family. A lot of people depended on him. Including his new baby girl. Now, it's time for him to be back in his other home. His sanctuary. On stage, performing in front of his loyal fans who had be patiently waiting for his return.

The first night sleeping without him was weird. I'd sleep for a couple hours and wake up without knowing why. I found myself unconsciously reaching out for him, only to grab a handful of sheets. His pillow still held his scent, which eased my mind a little and finally helped me go back to sleep.

The next morning, Madison had me up bright and early at 7:00 AM. There were a few texts from Aubrey letting me know he had landed safely and was settled in at his hotel. Just as I was getting ready to call him, Madison decided to have a diaper bomb that required me to give her a bath and put her in some new clothes.

Taking care of a five month old kept me pretty busy throughout the day. I caught a few naps when she allowed me to. Elena and I texted throughout the day about the twins nursery. Thank God she had finally decided on a color palette. The neutral earth tones and the screenshots she sent gave me a boho chic vibe that I was excited to help her shop for.

My phone sent me a notification to remind me of Max's game vs. Syracuse coming on ESPN this evening. Although we couldn't make this one Elena, Gelo, Owen and I had plans to fly out to Louisville for a weekend to catch a couple of his games and spend some time with him. With his popularity rapidly rising on the basketball scene, it was important for his family to have a consistent presence in his life and to keep him grounded.

James and Joseph checked on me periodically, asking if there was anything that I wanted or needed them to do for me. Niko was staying back and would fly out to join Aubrey at the end of the week. He was nice enough to bring me lunch when he came in from picking up his four year old son, Ezee, who was also Aubrey's godson. Like his dad, Ezee was super sweet and always gave hugs when he saw me. He also loved playing with Madison.

I put her on her activity mat and he played with her while I ate, rattling her toys to make her smile and laugh. It was so adorable. I took a video and sent it to Aubrey, hoping that it would make his day. Being that it was about 5:00 AM in Amsterdam, he was either sleeping or just going to bed so I didn't expect an immediate response.