Connected
My Sweet Posie (
mysoulunfolding) showed me last night that two of my blurbs have been posted in the pop newsletter on LJ and I was absolutely flabbergasted to see it. I mean, thank you so much for whoever recommended me. I wish I knew who it was to begin with. But, I never thought I was deserving of that. My blurbs are just... Well, I don't feel they're that great, but, thank you. And, another continuation to Nick and Grace's saga has been added:
Blurb - Nick / Brian / Victoria / Baylee
Glancing up from the monotonous game of Go Fish he had been sneakily drawn into by his son and wife, Brian was surprised that he hadn’t drifted into a comatose state and was startled when the door opened to reveal Nick. Lurching from his spot on the floor, his cards scattered from his lap and onto the coffee table. Greedily, Baylee and Victoria dove to collect his cards into their own hands, seemingly falling into an attack of tickles so they would get the best pairs. Shaking his head in disbelief at their silliness, Brian hurriedly attempted to mask his pleased smile when he noticed Nick’s exhausted features.
“You don’t look ready to be back in the recording studio, Frack,” Brian commented carefully, reaching out to gently embrace the younger man. Management had been quite heinous about Nick’s personal life, demanding he be back to work within a week of the funeral. In fact, Brian had been skeptical that he would return, considering Nick’s defiance against management when he had initially been told.
“I don’t think I really am ready to be back in the studio,” Nick agreed whole-heartedly, not having the strength nor the conviction to attack his best friend. Instead, he stooped in time to receive the exuberant four year old racing to tackle his legs. Baylee giggled when Nick swayed slightly, throwing his arms about the man’s neck for a jubilant squeeze. Smiling ruefully, he squeezed the youngster back before leaning to accept Victoria’s kiss. He always admired the closeness of the family and how they worked so steadily to make him part of the niche.
“I’m sure AJ will be quite excited to see you’ve returned,” Victoria suggested in hopes to elicit a smile from the younger man, but when he didn’t even seem to smirk with the knowledge that AJ would simply want information on Grace, she sighed and toyed with a short strand of her layered mocha locks. Reaching out, she gently squeezed the man’s upper arm, her soft caramel eyes warm with a kind understanding. She had always thought of Nick as a little brother, adopting that mantra from her beloved husband, who she had been with for many years. They even had taught Baylee, their only son, to think of Nick as an uncle or brother of sorts. But, looking into his dark sapphire eyes, she realized he did not want to be reminded of familial times. He wanted a chance to grieve for his love. “So, how is Grace?”
“She acts like she’s okay, but I know that she’s not, which is killing me,” Nick admitted honestly, shifting Baylee into his mother’s arms before collapsing on the nearby couch, having no desire to travel beyond those doors into the studio. How could he possibly sing of love and life when the love of his life was dying inside? Groaning at the thought, he furiously rubbed the palms of his hands into his eyes as if to clear away the grit of his mixed emotions.
Moving to sit on the opposite couch that faced Nick, Brian was loving in the way he reached to thread his fingers with Victoria’s, pulling her to rest at his side. Leaning forward, he carefully cleared his throat to catch Nick’s attention. “Her husband just passed away, Nick, it’s going to take time for that pain to heal. She loved him very much. I remember being at their wedding and how she shrieked bloody murder if he pushed cake into her face. He did it anyway and she still loved on him for the rest of the night, despite the brief slam of cake into his crotch--”
“Please, don’t remind me.”
Victoria offered a small sigh of sympathy and squeezed Brian’s upper thigh to keep him from reminiscing, “Nick--”
“Her and the kids are flying out soon.”
“They’re staying with you?” Brian guessed, deciding to carry the conversation before Victoria could nag at the old recurring wounds opened in Nick’s heart from the sudden death.
“Yeah, I’m going to fix up the one guest room for the kids. Izzy’s just turned one, so she’s still sleeping in a crib. Benji is four now, so he can use a regular bed, I guess?”
“Bay sleeps in a big boy bed and he’s four,” Victoria confirmed, playing with her son’s thick platinum curls. “Tell Grace that I’d love to spend time with her and the kids. Bay and Benji could be perfect playmates.”
“Benji’s not exactly up to playmates right now with everything and being there when it happened, y’know?”
“Being there? When his father died?” Brian asked in confusion, furrowing his dark blonde brows when Baylee slipped from his mother’s lap to crawl back onto Nick. “How did it happen, Nick?”
“Car accident,” Nick whispered softly, squeezing his eyes to ward off Grace’s devastated expression when she explained. “Logan was taking Benji out to pick out presents for Gracie for her birthday. They were going to meet her and Izzy later at her favorite restaurant. But, some asshole was driving hard and fast and… Logan lost control of the car and it flipped. Benji was pinned in his booster seat and had to watch his father die… I mean, it’s a miracle that he wasn’t killed, either… He got hurt and… Well, it could have been worse…”
“Jesus,” Brian breathed, feeling his wife’s arms wrap tightly about him in a fierce hug of protectiveness. “I can’t imagine…”
“Yeah…” Nick trailed, haphazardly shrugging his shoulders as he stooped to help Baylee collect the cards that had fallen. “Anyway… She’s flying out with the kids in a few days. She had some stuff to wrap up with Logan’s lawyers and whatnot. She got some kind of grieving leave from her job and she can’t stand the thought of being in the home that they built together right now. I’m not even sure she’s going to go back to work… The life insurance and his practice and… I don’t know… She needs friends and family and--”
“She needs you,” Victoria suggested softly.
Nick looked up from the cards he had been diligently shuffling. “I hope she does…"