Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga || Oh How I Love You So

Airplanes

Bradley

"Look at the air-pane, Daddy!" Margo squealed, only taking a second to crane her neck back towards me, only to return to her previous position. Her ten little fingers and forehead were glued to the massive airport window that opened to the entire runway.

"They go up in da air, Daddy?" she asked, as she as she readjusted her spot against the window.

"Mhmm," I nodded, and secured my hands around her sides as I saw her losing her balance from her concentration.

Margo, who was three and half now, was already a little philosophical being. She wanted to know how everything worked, why it existed, how it got there, and why it was important. The list of questions was endless, but maybe that's what made her so charming.

"The planes go all the way up there," I pointed up into the sky as another plane started it's ascent away from the runway. Her eyes widened and I chuckled and ran my hand over her cheek.

I could see Stefani's inner hypochondriac starting to come out in the corner of my eye as Margo's breath formed against the glass. I know she wanted to let our daughter to enjoy the moment, so she was clearly trying her best to resist the urge to smother her entire body with hand sanitizer.

Stefani's attention wondered as she returned to french braiding our oldest daughters two long brown French braids. Eloise, or Lulu as we called her, was this vivacious, bold spirit. She was smart, and a natural leader, which made her favorite past time bossing around her little sister. It was a good thing Margo thought her big sister was the coolest being to walk the earth.

Traveling with a three year old and a six year old will never be an easy feet, particularly when your wife is pregnant. As parents, we are always told to expect the unexpected, but let's just say Baby Cooper #3 came as a little bit of a shock.

And what came as even more of a shock was that the baby was another girl; she was due in June. The day we found out, I thought I was going to pass out in the ultrasound room, not because I was unhappy, but really due to the fear I could feel pumping through my veins just at the thought of having three teenage daughters in a little over ten years. Honestly, I think the thought of that would make any father feel a little woozy.

I don't think it ever crossed my mind that we might have little girls in our future, but they were the best thing to happen to my life.

Despite the fear, to say these days I was feeling blessed would be an understatement. I got to wake up every day with the love of my life, spend the day fulfilling my greatest aspirations and passions, and come home every night to have dinner with my babies and kiss them goodnight. I cannot think of anything better than that.

We were on our way to home from Los Angeles after a few weeks on the west coast for work, sitting on the floor of a private room in Los Angeles International Airport with a box of half eaten graham crackers, a bunch of broken crayons because of a rain delay. Even private flights like ours had not been spared, and after three hours of waiting, we were all getting a little restless.

Rain in sunny southern California was a rarity, and usually a welcome change given the dry climate, but we all just wanted to get home.

With Margo's hands still plastered against the glass, I shifted my attention as I heard a knock on the door.

"Come in," I said, turning my head.

"Excuse me, Mr. and Mrs. Cooper? It looks like we can have you board now," a flight attendant said as she peaked her head through the door.

"Thank you, Lord!" Stefani sighed, as she readjusted Lulu's hair elastic at the bottom of one of her braids and started to pick our belongings up.

"We gotta go, Margo," I said, pulling her gently away from the window and fixing her sweater back onto her shoulders.

"But Daddy, I wanna watch da panes!" She pouted as I grabbed my backpack, placed her on my hip, and handed her favorite stuffed Rabbit, Humphry.

"But guess what?" I paused as Stefani and I checked around us to make sure we weren't forgetting anything. She looked at me cautiously as she grappled with her bunny's long ear. "We get to go on the plane, all the way up in the air!"

"We gonna go high, Daddy?!" She squawked in excitement.

"We're gonna go high," I laughed, and nuzzled my stubble against her face as she let out a squeal and I kissed her cheek. "Come on, let's follow Mommy and sissy," I continued, as Stefani turned and gave me a grin. She was gripping Lulu's hand in hers, with her carry on settled on her shoulder.

As we followed the attendant through the airport, I turned as I heard the whispers around us. This was an everyday occurrence, it was unavoidable, but the frequency did not alleviate the girls' anxiety when it happened.

When I was younger, I used to be more at ease and willing to take pictures with people, but ever since we had the girls, it just did not seem appropriate. They are still too little to understand why the strange man with the Yankees hat wants Daddy to sign his shirt, or why that group of girls yelling across the terminal wants a picture Mommy.

As we waited for the elevator to take us down to the tarmac, Stefani turned and saw Margo's eyes darting around the room, and start to well as people were taking pictures. "Hey, hey, sweet girl - don't cry. You're ok, Daddy's got you," she whispered against her ear, running her free hand down Margo's back and over our daughters loose, brown, whispy hairs that were too little to fit into either of her pigtails.

Margo nestled her face instinctively into my shoulder and I kissed her forehead.

"I like your Rabbit," the attendant grinned, trying to engage Margot.

"Can you say hi?" I asked with a chuckle as I poked Margo's belly to get reaction.

"Hi," she whispered shyly to the woman.

"What's your Bunny's name?" she asked as we entered the elevator, and she pushed the button to floor level.

"Humphry," Margo whispered with a grin, as she rested her head in my shoulder.

"Well, Humphry is very cute," she smiled. "And your bear is awfully cute too," she added, motioning to Lulu and her bear.

"She is!" Lulu agreed much more confidently than her sister.

"Can you say thank you?" I said, running my hand over her head.

"Thank you," she whispered with another shy smile.

"Your plane should be right ahead," she said, as we walked on the tarmac and towards our private plane.

I put Margo down, letting her climb up the stairs to the plane as she followed her big sister.

"Finally" I heard Stefani mumble, as she let out a sigh of relief. She put down her purse, and placed a supportive hand on her back, the other subconsciously running over her bump.

Margo laid down in the seat next to Stefani she placed a comforting thumb in her mouth and curled perfectly into the seat with her rabbit tucked against her chest. Lulu climbed towards the window seat next to me and we all heaved ourselves into the long awaited comfort of luxury.

"You ok?" I turned to Stefani, putting my hand out for her to hold.

"Mhmm," she nodded intertwining my fingers with hers, "Just tired, these two settle down and then this little girl thinks it's funny to start acting up," Stefani signed splaying her other hand across her belly.

"Look's like we have a little comedian, huh?" I chuckled, "well she is your daughter, Stef."

"Oh, shut it," she laughed as the engine started to run. Goodbye Los Angeles, hello New York City."

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Hello! This account lives! This has been sitting in my drafts for a long time, so I thought I might as well publish it. Who knows, maybe I'll really start writing again? Please like, comment, and let me know what you think in the meantime! Should I come back?