Shattered Hearts

by Coral McCallum

“Hey,” said Jake quietly. “What are you doing in here?”

  “Need Mommy hug,” stated the small boy. “Want my Mommy.”

  “Mommy’s sleeping,” pointed out Jake. “And this isn’t your bed, Jesse.”

  The little boy glowered at him then his hazel eyes filled with tears.

  “Want my Mommy,” he whimpered.

  “Sh, son. Mommy’s sleeping,” cautioned Jake. Quickly, he checked the time on his phone - 6.22 am. “Let’s go get some breakfast.”

  Carefully, he slipped out of bed, scooped the small boy up into his arms and crept out into the hall. Quietly, they made their way down to the kitchen.

  “Not hungry,” stated Jesse almost defiantly.

  “You’re not?”

  “No,” stated the little boy sourly. “Play.”

  “Jesse,” began Jake calmly but firmly. “It’s too early to play.”

  “Outside, Daddy?” suggested Jesse hopefully. “Play on the sand.”

  “Well,” sighed Jake with a grin. “Just for a half hour then we come back and make breakfast for everyone. Deal?”

  “Deal!”

  The sand was icy cold under their bare feet as they walked across the beach towards the ocean. After a few steps, the little boy reached up and took Jake’s hand. The gesture wasn’t lost on him. With all the months and months of touring, his relationship with Jesse always took a little longer to re-establish when he arrived home. Feeling the tiny warm hand in his melted his heart.

  “Daddy?”

  “Yes?”

  “You not go back on the big silver bus.”

  “Not for a long time. Promise,” said Jake warmly, aware his voice was still husky and his vocal cords tight.

  “Good,” stated Jesse with a directness older than his years. “Can we go in the water?”

  “Later,” suggested Jake. “It’s kind of cold just now. Let’s run.”

  “I’ll win,” shrieked Jesse, letting go of his father’s hand and darting away.

  Jake let him get a few yards of a start then pretended to struggle to catch up. They played “races” up and down the beach for nearly an hour before Jake called, “Time out, Jesse!”

  “Why?”

  “Breakfast time,” declared Jake firmly. “Want some eggs and bacon?”

  “Scrambled eggs! Scrambled eggs!”

  Hoisting the little boy onto his shoulder, Jake carried him back towards the house. Playing on the beach with his son had been therapeutic, reassuring him that the father/son bonds had been secured once more.

  Life at the beach house settled into an easy rhythm over the next ten days. Both kids quickly got used to Jake being home and became competitive for his attention. Humouring them to a degree, he established a routine that, if they were well-behaved all morning, he would take them on an outing in the afternoon. This worked well to give Lori time to focus on finishing her commission then, once it was done, she too joined them on their excursions.

  After a few days of regular hot water and honey plus minimal talking, Jake felt his throat relax and his voice return to normal. Erring on the side of caution, he refrained from singing despite the kids’ pleas. Unable to resist the lure of his guitars though, he spent a couple of hours every day down in the basement playing and working on his various instruments. Touring with them had taken its toll but he found that doing the running repairs himself was therapeutic.

  As Melody’s birthday approached, the party planning began in earnest. Instead of hiring a party room or kids’ play barn somewhere, Lori had decided to have the celebration at the house. Realising that this was the last year that she could plan something low key for her daughter, she argued with Jake that they should keep things simple, saying there was plenty of time for big parties once Melody started kindergarten. Wanting to ensure that there was some form of kids’ entertainment, Lori drew on her own creative talents. She had been collecting shells from the beach for weeks in preparation. Her plan was for the various children to paint the shells then either to make them into a picture or a necklace.

  In true Lori style, she had invited their entire Silver Lake family to the beach house for a BBQ, declaring that it had been too long since they had all been together. Knowing it was pointless to argue with her, Jake agreed to her plans, commenting that Grey could help with the cooking.

  Balloons and banners decorated the sunroom and a small pile of gifts sat on the footstool ready to be opened by the birthday girl herself. Unable to sleep, Jake had risen at first light and gone for a long run down the beach to cleanse his soul. He had kept an eye on the time, making sure he arrived home before Melody normally woke up.

  Stamping sand off his feet, Jake opened the back door to be greeted by the sounds of a full-fledged toddler tantrum.

  “Hey, buddy, what’s going on?” he asked as his son was continuing to have a monumental meltdown in the middle of the kitchen.

  “Your son wants to open his sister’s birthday presents,” stated Lori, her voice echoing with frustration. “Won’t take “no” for an answer.”

  “Jesse,” growled Jake, directing a stern stare at his son. “It is not your birthday. It’s Melody’s. You will get plenty presents next month when it’s your birthday”

  “Want presents today!”

  “No,” stated Jake firmly. “And, if you keep yelling and stamping your feet, you won’t get to come to the party. Do you want to spend the whole day in your room alone?”

  “No!”

  “Then behave. It’s that simple,” replied his father calmly. “Now, sit down at the table and finish your breakfast.”

  “No!”

  “Jesse!” growled Jake, taking a step towards him.

  Instantly, the little boy scampered back to his seat at the table.

  “Thanks,” sighed Lori softly as she hugged Jake. “He’s so damn stubborn.”

  “Wonder who he takes that from, li’l lady?” he teased, kissing her on the forehead. “I’m going to jump in the shower.”

  “Don’t be too long. Miss M must be awake by now.”

  “I’ll be quick. Promise,” assured Jake, kissing her again.

  With a towel wrapped around his waist and his long hair dripping, Jake stepped out of the en suite bathroom into the master bedroom to find Melody sitting cross-legged in the middle of the bed.

  “Good morning,” greeted Jake, tightening the towel around his waist. “Happy birthday.”

  Smiling, the little girl reached out to hug him. Taking a seat on the bed, Jake pulled his daughter into his arms and held her tight, “How does it feel to be five?”

  Melody giggled, “Same.”

  “The same?” teased Jake. “But you’re not the same. You’re five! You start school after the summer. You’re all grown up!”

  “Stop it, Daddy,” giggled Melody. “So far, five feels a lot like four did.”

  Laughing, Jake had to agree with her.

  “Have you had your breakfast yet?”

  “No,” confessed Melody quietly.

  “Well, go and get breakfast then we’ll see if there are any birthday presents to open.”

  “Mommy promised me an American Girl doll,” said the little girl as she scrambled down off his knee. “I hope she looks like me.”

  “Those dolls are ugly,” Jake tormented her. “You’d be better off with a bear from that store where you stuff your own.”

  “They’re not ugly,” protested Melody indignantly. “Becky let me play with hers one time. She said Mommy bought it for her in New York when she was my age.”

  Remembering that first trip to New York well, Jake grinned, “Yeah, your Mommy bought Becky her doll. It’s ugly too!”

  “Daddy!” shrieked Melody. “You’re nasty. Becky’s doll isn’t ugly.”

  “If you say so. Now go and get some cereal,” suggested Jake. “Ask your Mommy to pour me a coffee too, please. I’ll be down in a minute.”

  As Melody skipped down the hall singing to herself, Lori smiled. Quickly, she put down t
he bowl she was washing at the sink, turning around in time to see her daughter bounce into the room.

  “Happy birthday, baby girl,” said Lori, reaching out to hug her.

  “I’m not a baby, Mommy!”

  “You’ll always be my baby girl,” declared Lori, holding her tight. “My precious five year- old baby girl.”

  Giggling, the little girl squeezed her mother tight.

  “Oh, Daddy asked for some coffee. He’s getting dressed.”

  Silently, Lori prayed that her husband had at least been wearing a towel when he’d come out of the bathroom. With a smile, she said, “I’ve just made a fresh pot. Now, what does the birthday girl want for breakfast?”

  “Cheerios!”

  “Go and sit down then, Miss M,” instructed Lori before turning her attention to her young son. “Jesse, do you have something to say to your sister?”

  “Happy birthday,” said Jesse. “Want to open your presents.”

  “No!” wailed Melody shrilly. “They’re my presents.”

  “But I want birthday presents,” protested Jesse tearfully.

  “Jesse!” yelled Jake from the doorway. “Come here!”

  The little boy froze.

  “Come here! Now!” stated Jake firmly, his tone even.

  “Not time out!” wailed Jesse. “No, Daddy!”

  “Five minutes, Jesse. Move!”

  “No!”

  “Ten,” said Jake, holding the door open.

  “Daddy!”

  “Fifteen minutes.”

  “But Daddy!” screamed the little boy without moving from his seat at the table.

  “Twenty minutes, Jesse. No more arguments. Time out seat. Now!”

  Tearfully, the little boy climbed down from his seat at the table and walked out into the hallway. The “time out” seat was a wooden monk’s bench that sat in the hallway outside the lounge room door. There were no cushions on it. Nothing to make it comfortable. Just a bare polished oak wooden bench seat.

  “Twenty minutes,” stated Jake plainly as the little boy clambered up to take a seat. “Not a word. You don’t move from here. Understand, Jesse?”

  “Yes, Daddy.”

  “I’ll be watching and listening.”

  Returning to the kitchen, Jake poured himself a mug of coffee then popped a cinnamon raisin bagel into the toaster.

  “Lori, any bacon?” he asked as he added sugar and half ‘n’ half to his coffee.

  “In the refrigerator. Middle shelf to the right.”

  “Thanks,” replied Jake as he searched for the bacon. “Melody, do you want any?”

  “Two rashers, Daddy.”

  “Magic word?”

  “Please, Daddy,” answered Melody politely.

  “Coming right up.”

  Pouring herself a coffee, Lori whispered to her husband, “You just can’t take the school teacher out of the rockstar, can you?”

  “I guess not,” conceded Jake with a mischievous grin. “That son of ours is hard work.”

  “I’ll not argue with you there,” agreed Lori quietly. “And I’ll not have him spoiling Melody’s big day.”

  “He won’t. Twenty minutes out there will calm him down.”

  “Shame he’ll miss her opening her presents,” mused Lori, regretting that their son’s poor behaviour was spoiling a family moment.

  “I’ll spin breakfast out,” replied Jake with a conspiratorial wink.

  “I love you, rockstar,” said Lori, reaching up to kiss him.

  Twenty minutes later, Jake declared that it was time to open presents. His daughter’s patience had impressed him but he had kept her talking about the party so the time had passed painlessly.

  “Jesse, you coming?” called Jake warmly.

  “Yes, Daddy.”

  Soon all of them were in the sunroom. Melody’s eyes lit up when she saw her sparkling birthday banners and balloons for the first time. In keeping with the seashell theme, Lori had chosen balloons in the shapes of various shells and some large dolphin-shaped ones. When the little girl saw the pile of presents, she rushed straight towards them.

  “Wow!” she gasped as she flopped down on the oriental rug in front of them.

  “Which one are you going to open first?” quizzed Lori, poised with her camera in hand.

  “The little one,” replied Melody, reaching for a small square pink parcel.

  “That’s from me!” shouted Jesse. “I picked that one.”

  “Yes, you did,” agreed Lori warmly.

  Carefully, Melody peeled off the paper then squealed with delight, “It’s Ariel! It’s an Ariel watch!”

  Much to her parents’ delight, she rushed to hug her little brother, “Thank you!”

  “Mommy bought it at the store.”

  “I love it!”

  “But can you tell the time?” asked Jake, genuinely curious to know if she could.

  “Of course, I can, Daddy!” replied Melody indignantly.

  Trying not to laugh, Jake said, “Ok, what’s next, Miss M?”

  “That big shiny blue one.”

  Excitedly, Melody ripped the paper from the large box then shrieked shrilly with delight, “My doll! My Truly Me doll!”

  Clutching the huge box, she danced round the room hugging it. Her parents were helpless with laughter at her excitement.

  “Want me to help you open the box?” offered Jake, trying hard to contain his laughter. “Then you can hug her properly.”

  “Please,” said Melody passing him the box.

  “What are you going to call her?” asked Lori with a smile.

  “Harmony.”

  “Harmony?” echoed Jake as he wrestled with the packaging.

  His daughter nodded, “It goes with my name. Both musical names.”

  Astonished by his daughter’s insight, Jake declared, “It’s the perfect name. And here she is, Miss Harmony Power.”

  “Thank you!”

  “There’s a part two to getting Harmony,” began Lori. “When we go to New York next month we’ll go to the store for a girl’s day out. Harmony gets to come too.”

  “Do we get our hair done and our ears pierced?” quizzed Melody hopefully

  “We’ll see,” said Lori calmly. “Now, what about the rest of those gifts?”

  Sitting amid a pile of wrapping paper, Melody generously allowed her little brother to open one gift. By the time she was done, she had four outfits for Harmony, some new books and some craft supplies.

  “This is the best birthday ever!”

  “What if I said there was one more gift? One from me,” said Jake with a grin. “One your Mommy doesn’t know about.”

  “Another present?”

  “Yup,” confirmed her daddy. “Wait there. It’s still down in the basement.”

  Aware that Lori was staring after him, Jake disappeared from the sunroom. His gift had been a spur of the moment choice while the band had been shopping in Nashville a few weeks before. Amid the chaos of his arrival home, he’d managed to smuggle it downstairs.

  Within a couple of minutes, Jake returned to the sunroom carrying a small bright red gig bag.

  “Happy birthday, Miss M,” he said as he handed over the bag containing a half-size acoustic guitar. “Your very own guitar.”

  “For me?” gasped Melody, her bright blue eyes wide with surprise. “For real?”

  “For real,” nodded her daddy. “You’ve been pestering me for lessons so they come with it.”

  “I love it!” she declared as she ran her hand lovingly over the body of the guitar. “Oh, it’s got the Silver Lake dragon on it! Mommy, look!”

  Smiling at her obvious delight, Jake said, “I got the guy at the store to customise it for you.”

  “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” said Melody, her eyes filled with wonder as she traced the shape of the Celtic dragon design below the bridge with her finger.

  “You’ll need to work hard. It’s not a toy,” cautioned Jake, feigning seriousness then, with a wink
, added, “But we can have some fun with it.”

  “Jake, that’s perfect,” agreed Lori, touched that he had chosen a special gift for their little daughter. “Dragon looks great on there. Whoever it was has done a great job.”

  “He sure did. Some of the guitars in that store were works of art. You’d have loved the designs.”

  “What do I play?” interrupted Jesse, looking and feeling left out. “Me play music too.”

  “We can talk to Uncle Paul about that later,” suggested Lori in an attempt to placate her son. “I’m sure he’s got something you can play.”

  “Right,” said Jake, glancing at his watch. “Time to get this place tidied up for the BBQ. Our guests will be here in less than two hours.”

  Temperatures soared over the Delaware Riviera and, as the guests began to arrive at the beach house, the mercury levels were touching ninety degrees. Hastily, Jake had erected a gazebo over the area of the beach just beyond the white picket boundary fence where Lori intended the kids to paint their shells. They had set up two low makeshift tables deciding it would be best to keep the messy craft activities off the deck and away from the food. Out on the deck, Jake had erected the large umbrellas to give everyone a little shade.

  First to arrive were Maddy and Paul, along with their twins. Now seven years old, Wren and Hayden loved visiting the beach house. As soon as she saw Jake, Wren flew into his arms for a hug, squealing, “Uncle Jake!”

  “Hey,” he cried as he swung her up into his arms. “My favourite little Wren.”

  “Wren, put Jake down,” scolded Maddy sharply. “Don’t strangle him!”

  The little girl gave Jake’s neck an extra squeeze before letting go and allowing him to slide her to the ground.

  “Where’s the birthday girl?” asked Paul, who was carrying a large pink glittery gift bag.

  “Lori’s just fixing her hair. She’ll be out in a few minutes” answered Jake then spying his son making a bid for freedom down the path to the beach, yelled, “Jesse! Get back here!”

  The little boy paused then took another step towards the sand.

  “Now!” roared Jake.

  “Still pushing the boundaries, I see,” laughed Paul as Jesse trudged back up onto the sun deck.