Just Jack: Everything laid bare

by K. L. Shandwick

  I had already paid for Mya’s college course even though it wasn’t due to start until the September. Mainly because I wanted her to achieve her own aspirations and dreams like I had mine. After watching Lily’s struggle between being with Alfie and trying to keep her own dreams alive, I knew that I didn’t want Mya to resent me in the future if she didn’t do it.

  During Mya’s parents visit, Maddie, her husband and Nathan popped in to meet Ava as well as did Dave and Emily who incidentally, were now kind of living together. As usual, Dave’s filter was missing but did me a huge favour when he told Mya’s parents that whatever I did, I always did it properly. I never cut corners and once committed to something they could be assured that I’d do everything in my power to see it through. I made a silent note to thank Dave for the reference for the job of being Mya’s husband.

  After a couple of hours her parent’s left to check in at a local hotel and the others all went to Maddie’s place while I called my parents to ask if we could bring Mya’s parents to dinner. We were already due to spend the evening there and we felt that it would be a good opportunity to put their minds at rest about our decision to be together and for our parents to know each other. My parents were delighted at the idea and were excited to finally meet them.

  We were already there when Joel and Sarah arrived and initially, relations were strained. I was thankful for my parents’ ability to make people feel at home. They were very hospitable people and before long they were chatting about mutual interests, rather than talking about us. Mya and I were really grateful for this and I felt that inviting Joel and Sarah was probably the best move we could have made. Sarah and my mother had a lot in common. Joel was a wealth manager and well… my father was a very wealthy man, so they had a lot to talk about as well.

  When their small talk ran dry, the topic of conversation turned to us and the way my parents spoke about Mya and how wonderful she was had her parents bristling in their seats. Mya’s dad listened with a furrowed brow then sounded jealous when he spoke about Mya in an extremely possessive way. My dad was intuitive enough to pick up on that and did his best to make them realise that they were gaining a son in their family, just like mine were gaining a daughter.

  To be perfectly honest we could just have said, “Fuck all of you, we’re consenting adults and we can do what we want,” but we respected our parents and wanted to do things properly, after all, what would we be teaching our daughter about relationships in the future if we did that.

  My parents had taken to Mya as if she was their own, and Mya fell in love with them almost as easily as she did with me. I think both of her parents noticed the warmth in the relationships between them that wasn’t there in theirs with me. My thoughts were that they didn’t know me yet, and to some extent I was the man that stole their daughter’s affections away from them.

  From their perspective I was a guy with a job and a baby living half way around the world and Mya was smitten. I could accept their concerns for her. I’d probably be the same if Ava presented the same circumstances to me. However, during the evening there were glimmers of hope in their conversations and I was confident they’d eventually warm to the idea of us as time went on.

  The contrast between my parents and Mya’s reactions were clear, but nothing more than I’d expected given Mya’s circumstances. My mother, after she got over her initial shock, was ecstatic about having a grandchild and even more so that she was a girl. Mya was just accepted as Ava’s new mum and as I had suspected, my mum had booked us all in for those family portraits saying it was about time the one of my grandparents, my parents and me from when I was a baby was updated.

  It wasn’t long before my mum brought up the subject of me and Mya getting married. Mum was desperate to throw us an elaborate affair despite Mya and I telling her that we had no time for anything as luxurious as a wedding because we were too busy with our new role as parents. The look of relief on Sarah’s face at us not getting married immediately didn’t escape my notice.

  By the time Mya’s parents left, they had a different idea to the one they had been forming in their minds about me. I had told them that I was more than happy to support and encourage Mya to live her dream and Mya told them that a part of that dream was to live as a family with Ava and me. As he was leaving, Joel asked me if Rick knew how potentially wealthy I was. I responded by saying I doubted Rick knew anything about me other than my work.

  Joel smirked and nodded.

  “That sounds like my brother. Unless it directly affects him he’s not that interested in other people’s business, and he regarded Mya as his business. I think had he known what a wise head you have and a good man you are, he’d have formed a different opinion. His assessment is that you’d play with Mya until you were bored and would use her to help you with your child. Rick said he loves you like a brother, Jack. He’s a good guy and if he likes someone they are treated with care, but when it comes to Mya, his only niece, I think his judgement can get distorted.”

  Joel patted me on the back and added, “My daughter loves you very much and I think you’ll take very good care of her. I have to go with my gut on that. The most important thing is that Mya has assessed you as someone she wants to spend her life with and she’s not easily fooled, so that’s good enough for me.”

  The relief I felt at his simple statement meant everything. I was expecting a more difficult time from Mya’s parents. I believed Ava’s presence helped as well because before dinner all of our parents were fawning over her and I could see that she was already staking her claim on their hearts. I’m sure when they saw how we all were together it must have been a little reassuring at least.

  However Ava had been born and to whom and how she came into our lives didn’t matter anymore, she was here forever and we all had a stake in her upbringing. Anyone that wanted out knew where the door was as far as Mya and I were concerned. However having everyone’s blessing made it a much smoother path even if it was tentative at the start.

  So after Mya’s parents visited life settled down and our home life fell into a comfortable routine. I only took on local assignments for work. Joe, my editor was incredible and gave me some great pieces before giving me my own column. Most of it I could do at home between feeds, nappy changes and cooing at Ava.

  Caring for Ava was a pleasure, but when she went through a phase where she became clingy I became concerned, but my mum reassured me it was normal at her stage of development. Everyone always made comments about how strongly we had bonded and that gave me hope there would be no lasting effects from being introduced to her several months after her birth.

  Our daughter’s cuteness factor was off the charts, she’d started to follow me around, mirroring my expressions and copying my mannerisms and when she said, “Dada,” for the first time…I can’t describe how that felt. The speed of Ava’s progress was rapid. She went from being an immobile child that lay gurgling and cooing whilst being flat on her back into a confident toddler who thought chairs and tables were some kind of fun obstacle courses. And she tried to eat anything within her grasp. Learning the dangers to a baby around our apartment was a steep learning curve.

  Every day she amazed me with something new and every day I fell in love with her just a little bit more. Above all, she was a funny, sunny baby who had an infectious giggle which sent us all into hysterics. I’ve yet to meet an adult that Ava couldn’t wrap around her little finger.

  Our work-home balance was just about right and Mya picked up the rest, but I insisted she study until her school year started; she had to keep her student visa running. Within a couple of weeks of a music appreciation course she was attending, Mya had got bored at summer school and pulled together a couple of guys and then dragged me into the mix. Somehow from that we started playing as a band for fun. Ava had special noise reduction headphones and was usually so impressed by the sound of us that she fell asleep. I really enjoyed taking part and Mya gave me the confidence to perform. Because of that I realised how mu
ch I had missed playing.

  I still hadn’t shared what I really did when I went on sabbatical with anyone except Mya, the guys in the band never knew my past, and she had been great at respecting that. She just knew what I needed from her. Mya was everything I’d waited my whole life for, even if I hadn’t known I was waiting at the time. She was also proving to be the excellent mum I knew she would be. She was patient, kind, firm, protective and practical and Ava doted on her. My amazing girl’s life was full on with all she was doing yet Mya still always seemed to find time for me.

  My sexy, confident girl coped with everything from Ava’s first viral infection which scared the shit out of both of us, to all the milestones of weaning, crawling and walking and she took every challenge in her stride. She made me feel like the proudest guy alive and I was in awe that she was mine.

  All of our friends said we were obviously meant to be by the way we only had eyes for each other. In fact we had to push ourselves to socialise because we were so happy in our own little world. I kind of expected my friends to ease off after Ava came on the scene, but I found the opposite to be true.

  Dave and Emily became constant visitors to our home and finally Emily ‘officially’ moved in to Dave’s place, while Maddie and I met up for walks in the park with the kids when the weather permitted. Sam I didn’t see as much of, but he and Cat loved partying. I guess our social scenes had changed since Ava came along but the more interactive she became the more smitten they all became with her, so I was sure they’d come back on the scene more as she grew.

  We felt truly blessed. We’d survived the new couple and our sudden parent status and my friends had completely taken to Mya. They were loyal and supportive and they’d all been so encouraging during some pretty intense moments, like when Ava was sick or we were both exhausted and looked like we’d forgotten where the bedroom was.

  Emily and Dave had actually turned up one evening and refused to leave unless we went out to dinner for a few hours. After using his powers of persuasion we armed them with a million instructions and reluctantly set off for the Chinese restaurant at the end of the street. I knew it took less than two minutes to get back to our place if we needed to hurry back.

  It was quite funny actually because we managed to drink a bottle of wine due to us being nervous before our entrée even arrived. We were so busy discussing how they were getting on that neither one of us noticed we were downing the drink as fast as we were pouring it. We couldn’t really relax during our time away and were fretting about leaving Ava at least every five minutes.

  No matter how hard we tried to relax we worried about how they were coping. In the end it was the quickest dinner we’d ever eaten and we were home in just over an hour. Ava never even knew we were gone and had slept right through our dinner date. It was an amazing gesture from Dave and Emily, but I think they got the message that while she was still tiny, we preferred to socialise at home.

  The first months seemed to fly by as we got to grips with parenthood and before we knew it, Ava’s first birthday was coming up as was Mya’s twenty-first, and it was only two weeks until Mya’s music school started. It was an amazing coincidence that we could celebrate two milestones in the same weekend with Ava’s birthday on the Friday and Mya’s on the Monday.

  When I thought about Mya’s background I knew I would struggle for something special for her birthday, especially something that would involve the three of us. I could have kissed my mum when she rang to ask if she could arrange a marque and a local band to play for her birthday. She thought a hog roast and barbeque would go down well with our friends and would be more relaxing than trying to attend anything formal with Ava. I was relieved to have the whole thing taken out of my hands. I just had to find something special for both of their birthdays.

  During the time we were getting to grips with Ava, Lily and I had got our friendship back on more of a firm footing. I had to forgive her because there was too much between us for me not to do so. Besides, I knew I’d never forgive myself, god forbid, if anything ever happened to her and I didn’t settle our differences like I hadn’t been able to with Rosie.

  Lily’s parents had told her what was being planned for Mya and called saying she was going to be over for the week leading up to the barbeque. Both Lily’s and Alfie’s bands were playing at a festival and she was excited to be able to come and see us. She sounded determined to spend time with me, and asked about our availability which I was glad about because I needed to see her making the effort. We still had some fences to mend. We’d spoken a few times on Skype and she’d watched Ava grow through photos I sent in emails, but we still had a way to go to get our relationship back to where it was.

  I had accepted that we’d never be the same. Lives change and so do people, but Lily still held a special place in my heart. She had always been there, apart from the past year or so but ultimately she was still there when it mattered. So I had learned to let everything go. People are flawed, I just never figured Lily as people.

  Lily arrived on the Wednesday before Ava’s birthday, and she and my mum begged me to let Ava stay overnight at my parents. It was Mya who eventually talked me into it but I only agreed if they promised to call me if there was anything wrong.

  Dropping off Ava and driving away was difficult for the both of us, but the sense of freedom I felt when I saw all the guys from XrAid and Crakt Soundzz in the club helped me relax and I felt like I was coming home. They were all brilliant guys. I had kept in touch loosely with Lennon and Cody from Lily’s band just before Lily and I had our spat, so seeing them again was great.

  For one night Mya and I had a rare night out as a couple instead of a family and we were making the most of it. Mya and Lily were like kindred spirits and were constantly laughing and joking with each other. It made my heart swell because unlike Rosie, Mya didn’t feel threatened by Lily’s presence and it was amazing that my three favourite women get along.

  Chapter 40 ~ Group night

  During the evening Mya started doing tequila shots while I had limited myself to two gin and tonics. Like I said, we had one night—I didn’t want to be too drunk to perform when I got her home. It was difficult making time for intimacy with a baby at times.

  “Mya, you know how it’s your birthday this weekend?” Mya smirked like she knew what was coming and leaned in to place her hands on my chest. She stared up at me and her eyes were filled with humour.

  “Don’t tell me, Jack, you have a present in your pocket for me. Am I right? Or are you just playing with yourself because you’re so used to holding Ava and she’s not here so you don’t know what to do with your hands?”

  Mya’s questions were funny and I started chuckling but Alfie roared with laughter. “Damn, Jack. Mya’s got a smarter mouth than you have.”

  I grinned widely, “Well I was going to say, why don’t we spend a night in a hotel, but if you are dissing the not-so-little-guy in my pants he may not want to play with you at all, love.”

  Mya swept her hand down over the material at the front of my pants and ground her palm into my now semi-hard dick smirking wickedly. She had no issue in claiming me no matter who was looking.

  “Oh he wants to play all right, Jack. Don’t pretend you can take it or leave it. You’re almost ready to come in your pants at the thought of having me alone in a hotel bed.”

  “No, Mya, I’m almost ready to come in my pants because you’re grinding your hand over my semi. Keep your hands to yourself, love, or I’ll have to cut the night short and teach you a lesson.”

  “Jack, if I keep my hand here you’ll come and it’ll cut the night short anyway, so less of the threats.”

  Alfie and Cody shook their heads trying to muffle their laughter then Alfie grinned widely at me.

  “Damn, you two are a match made in heaven my friend.”

  I smiled slowly and nodded at his comment because everyone said the same and that was exactly how I felt.

  Our night out was great fun and everyone had tu
rned up to share it with us, even Maddie and David had gotten themselves a night off from Nathan to come and party with us.

  We were at Konnect nightclub again, but that time was very different because being with two hot rock bands had its advantages. We had a private party room so everyone could relax without having lots of screaming and jostling when fans tried to get a piece of one of the guys as I had seen happen previously.

  Cody and Lennon disappeared at one point and came back with half a dozen girls who must have been well warned because none of them interacted with Drew or Alfie at all. They looked like they were all enjoying themselves though.

  Mya chatted with Lily, Emily, and the rest of our female friends and was excited because they were all coming to the barbeque my mother was arranging. When I’d heard her talking I realised it had actually escalated from a marque and a barbeque to caterers and a sit down dinner of Italian cuisine, but that was typical of my parents. They believed in taking the stress out of parties by employing people to make things go smoothly and simple plans became more elaborate the longer they had to plan.

  The rest of the night we danced and caught up with the latest from everyone and it was a great feeling to dance with Mya in my arms to one of her favourite songs ‘Lost Stars’ by Maroon 5. She felt perfect, snuggled up beside me.

  When Mya danced with Alfie I felt more than a little jealous, she was smiling up at him and it gave me a sense of what he was feeling when Lily and I danced together all those times with him watching us, but that was all in the past now. We were good mates now.