Above the Noise

by Michelle Kemper Brownlow

  “I’m Chelsea. Becki and Calon, it’s been great getting to know you both. You’ve got something beautiful going on between you. Don’t take it for granted. I can’t wait to hang out some more with y’all. Congratulations and thanks for letting us be a part of your special day.”

  “Dudes, this gig is awesome.”

  “Yeah, good party, man. And like, congrats and all.”

  Yaz and Van from The Garage forgot to introduce themselves. We all lost it after we saw what they probably thought was their fifteen minutes of fame. They were stoned out of their minds. I was glad they had a good time.

  “Well, I’m Rob, and I feel personally responsible for the two of you hooking up. Oh, wait, no that was Gracie that hooked up with Calon out at Phi Tau that night…” Rob pretended to be embarrassed by is fake slip of the tongue. “Just kidding guys. I’m thrilled you invited me to your big day. It’s been a long ride, this time we’ve all spent at UTK, but we’re headin’ out into the real world knowing what true friendship is all about. Thank you for that. I wish you the best.” He raised a frosty mug of beer and called out, “CHEERS!”

  Everyone behind him answered with, “CHEERS!”

  The words Happily Ever After scrolled across the screen from all directions and in all different fonts. Then instead of the typical The End appearing on the screen, the words The Beginning ended the video.

  “Gracie, that was perfect! What an awesome surprise!” I walked over and hugged her and Jake. “Thank you!”

  “You’re welcome. You know it was a surprise for Calon, too, because we can’t tell him anything that we want kept a secret.”

  “Yeah, yeah.” Calon shook his head and rolled his eyes.

  A sweet little muffled cry came through the monitor and before I even turned around, Samantha was headed to the nursery.

  Before Calon was released, and regardless of how he was feeling, he never missed a day in the NICU. He sang “Absolute” to Abby each time he visited. Each time I heard him sing that last verse, I lost it.

  And should time run out

  This message isn’t moot

  Make sure they always know

  I love them, absolute.

  And, apparently, the nurses all swooned as they tended to the other little ones in the room. Who wouldn’t? Seeing our itty bitty Abby in Calon’s arms was enough to make anyone melt. Add the look in his eyes and the sound of his voice… unbelievably beautiful. I made sure I took a couple quick pictures and short video clips on my phone, so I could show Abby one day.

  Abby and Calon were released from the hospital within days of each other. Calon struggled for a while with balance and walking without a crutch or cane, but he was an ace at painting from a rolling office chair. Samantha and Calon spent some sweet brother-sister time turning Calon’s office into a nursery. He insisted on painting Abby’s room and putting together all of the furniture because he could do both while seated. Samantha and I filled the room with all the frilly girly stuff that I swore I’d never buy, and Manny found an old guitar in the back room of Mitchell’s and had the guys all sign it. It looked perfect hanging on the wall above the crib.

  “There’s my girl.” Calon put his hands out and walked toward Abigail, who was snuggled into her blanket in Samantha’s arms.

  She saw her daddy coming her way, her huge evergreen eyes lit up, and her arms shot out toward him. “Dada.”

  I watched Calon melt into her just as much as she melted into him. It was my peace. Her dark, curly hair and thick eye lashes were simply smaller versions of Calon’s. There was no denying she was his daughter. Abigail lay her head on Calon’s shoulder and put her thumb in her mouth. Instinctively, my broad shouldered, long-haired rock star husband began to hum “Absolute” to his baby girl.

  “Can I hold you, pretty girl?” Gracie clapped her hands lightly and held them out to Abby.

  Gracie and Abby had the most special relationship. Gracie was like my own personal Down syndrome dictionary. She’d been to every one of Abby’s well-visits and even the eye appointment we’d just taken her to. She was going to look adorable in her new tiny glasses.

  Abby smiled from ear to ear with her thumb still in her mouth and leaned toward Gracie from Calon’s arms.

  “Hi, baby. How was your nap?” Gracie pulled Abby’s head into her cheek and breathed her in.

  Abby pulled away from Gracie and peered down as though she was looking for something on the floor. We all craned our necks to try and see what she was looking for. Her blanket was in her hand, so I knew that wasn’t it.

  “What are you looking at, Abby?” Gracie giggled and struggled to keep her from twisting out of her arms.

  Abby practically bent in half and reached down with her little hand and pressed it onto Gracie’s belly that peeked out below her shirt from all the wiggling. She looked at her own little hand then up to Gracie then back at her hand again.

  “Ha bee bee.” Her little voice went up in pitch on the last syllable. She smiled and said it again, “Ha bee bee.”

  “Gracie! She’s repeating you. You said ‘Hi, baby’ when you took her from Calon.” I was stunned that she picked up on that so quickly. She was remarkable. She had all her therapists floored at how well she was able to speak for being so young.

  “She’s definitely your daughter, Calon.” Gracie shook her head, and laughed. Jake stood up behind her.

  Calon and I looked at each other, both wondering what Gracie meant by her comment.

  “Don’t you see what she’s doing?” Gracie laughed so hard Abby bounced in her arms.

  “She’s a terrible secret keeper, just like Calon.”

  “Ha bee bee,” Abby spoke again and patted Gracie’s belly.

  Hi, baby. My stomach rolled.

  “Gracie?” I exclaimed as I ran over to her and gripped her shoulders. “Gracie Ann!”

  “We’re having a baby.” She beamed. Samantha and I lost it. Jake and Calon shook hands while all the girls squealed and giggled and hopped up and down. Abigail was laughing hysterically by the time we all settled.

  Another baby in the family.

  “Samantha, you are going to make a killing babysitting for Gracie and me. Oh, this is going to be fun. This is going to be SO fun!”

  “Wait! You didn’t open my present.” Samantha ran over and grabbed a large, flat, rectangular gift from our stack. “Open it! Open it!”

  I took the gift and sat down on the couch. Everyone stood around me as I carefully unwrapped it and slid something flat out of a butcher paper sleeve.

  My breath hitched when I flipped it over and saw what it was.

  ABSOLUTE.

  A beautiful black, white and gold design.

  “Samantha, you did this?” I saw her initials in the bottom corner. SKO.

  Samantha nodded and blushed a little.

  “Becks, you texted me something that looked just like that.” Calon scratched his head.

  “Calon, this is exactly what I texted you.” I looked back at Samantha. “I saw this in the hallway the very first time I was in your school. I took a picture of it and texted it to Calon because the word ‘absolute’ has always had a special meaning to us.

  Samantha smiled.

  “You know why it’s special to us?” Calon leaned into Samantha with his shoulder.

  Samantha nodded. “Gracie told me.”

  “This will be something we will cherish forever, Samantha. Thank you.” Calon hugged her tight and lifted her off the floor which made her giggle.

  “Now, I absolutely want to hold that baby! Sheesh!” Samantha huffed, walked right over and stole Abby from Gracie and we all laughed.

  If the love that was held within our little living room that day could be bottled, there would be world peace. But, I’d settle for it simply being our little piece of Heaven.

  Absolute.

  I LOVE YOU, Ken Brownlow! Yeah, you’re the reason I have the nerve to put my heart on paper and send it out to the masses. Thank you, for encouraging me and su
pporting me and listening to hours and hours of one-sided conversations with myself as I hash out a plot twist. I’m living my dream because you believe in me.

  Thanks to my family for always asking about my progress… it’s what keeps me going. Tiff, it thrills me to no end that you love what I do. And thanks, Mom and Dad, for being proud of me, even when I write the “spicy” scenes.

  Matthew and Emily, I couldn’t have named all the characters and bands without you.

  Izaiah, you’re only eight and you already “get” what I do. And when you’re frustrated with me and yell, “Mom! Just go write your book!” to get me off your back, I have to admit, I love it!

  All the artists that make the amazing music on the playlist for this book have the MKB seal of approval (like they need it that from ME). Especially, to the men of Pearl Jam, thank you for making music that touches lives and inspires the soul and thank you for being the inspiration for this series!

  Pete Griesbach, thank you from the bottom of my heart for being my very own ROCK STAR RESOURCE! I couldn’t have gotten all the details right without you! Sidebar: If you’re reading this book and you’re a Pearl Jam fan, be sure to check out Pete’s Pearl Jam tribute band, LAST EXIT, they’re from Long Island, and they’re super awesome!

  A huge thanks goes out to the bands of State College, past and present; Bones, Man Alive, and Spider Kelly for your inspiration for Alternate Tragedy. And Eric, thanks for being the inspiration for Calon.

  Michele, Nicole, and Joe Joe, thank you for all your knowledge and answers to my Down syndrome questions and for the inspiration for Abigail. Love you.

  Todd, thanks for being my SWAT COP RESOURCE. You really come in handy. Hope all my texts didn’t keep you from hauling in the bad guys.

  A huge thank you to all my friends and acquaintances who inspired this series’ cast of characters! Ken, Jeni, Lauren, Todd, Mike, John, Shirley, Todd P., Michelle (RIP), cheers to each and every one of you for the parts you’ve played in my life! I can’t thank you enough for your friendship and love.

  Ashley Erin, thank you for being Sam’s girlfriend! <3

  Bruce, thanks for the badum-ching lesson a la Gene Krupa.

  Thank you to all my fans who ask for more on a daily basis and to all my author friends who answer my questions and breathe life into my creativity when I need it. And thank you to the authors I fangirl over… you inspire me!

  And to my BEAUTIFUL BETAS—Jenee Gibbs, Heather Davenport, and Holly Baker—I love you all SO FREAKIN’ HARD for the passion you have for romance and the love you have for my little group of characters!

  Thanks to Heather at Book Plug Promotions for all the work you put into my launch, cover reveal, release and book tour. You’re amazing at what you do, and I’m thrilled we are friends. Thank you, Liz at Book Peddler’s Editing, for all the time you spent editing this book. Your editing talents far surpassed anything I expected. And, thanks to Angela at Fictional Formats for your beautiful formatting talents. It’s business owners like the three of you who make our dreams reality! Thank you!

  And, of course to the gorgeous “Lorenzo C” for his beautiful face that graces this cover.