“Mister Millan is not available at this moment. May I ask what’s  the reason for your call?”

“Ehm… My girlfriend is a huge fan of Cesar Millan and I would like to surprise her. She’s been trough some difficult things lately” Nick nervously played with his keychain.

“You know what, I’m going to ask mister Millan when would be a good time for him. One moment please, this might take a while because I have to go outside. Please hold the line okay”.

“Of course. Thank you so much”. Nick was nervous. He desperately wanted this surprise to work.

After a couple of minutes the girl got back on the phone.

“Mister Carter, Cesar asks if you’re able to meet him tomorrow at two at the Dog Psychology Centre. He loves the idea and would like to meet you”.

“Oh great, that’s amazing. Two is fine. And what’s the address?” Nick smiled from ear to ear.

After he wrote down the address he thanked her and they hung up. He was so happy. This was going to be amazing. He couldn’t wait to see the look on her face.

He knew Kirsten would come home soon so he carefully hid the address in his wallet. As he looked inside the wallet he saw that it was empty. “Shit” he grumbled. He had to go to the ATM today to get some cash.

He walked upstairs to the attic for the suitcases and brought them down to the bedroom. It was time to start packing for the tour. Of course Nick was a professional when it came down to packing. He made piles of clothes on the bed that had to be packed and took the ironing board and the flat iron from the other room. Half an hour later, while he was ironing a pair of jeans, he heard the door and Kirsten’s voice calling for him.

“Honey, I’m home” she called and he immediately heard the sound of tripping paws in the living room.

Nick laughed out loud while folding his jeans. AJ was hilarious. That dog was such a cutie. He loved that animal to death. He reached out to a shirt to iron that one.

Kirsten walked up to the bedroom and saw him ironing. She stopped to watch him for a second. Nick looked up to her and smiled.

“What you’re looking at Princess?” he smirked.

“Nothing” she smiled “except I love the sight of you handling that iron so well”.

“Well I wanted to ask you to do it for me but you weren’t there” he teased her.

“Ah but it seems you do it perfect on your own” Kirsten laughed “Hell, your iron skills are better than mine”.

“Thanks honey, but you still have to iron your stuff yourself” he smiled.

She walked up to him and kissed him “I’ve missed you”.

“I’ve missed you to babe” Nick continued the ironing “did you get everything you need?”.

“Yes I did. I have it downstairs. But I think it’s more practical to bring it in here”.

“Just wait for me okay? I’m almost done. I’ll take it upstairs for you”.

“Ah thanks sweetheart”.

“So how are you feeling now sweetie?” he looked down at the iron board, busy folding up a t-shirt.

She sighed. “I’m okay I guess. I steel feel weird. It’s like I have an extremely heavy period, you know. Of course you don’t know. You’re a guy”.

“Hey hey, don’t underestimate me. I’ve grown up with sisters who had heavy periods so I do know a little about it. Especially BJ was a mess sometimes”.

“Okay. Well I’m happy you understand”.

Nick pulled out the plug from the flat iron. He noticed that she was looking a little pale. He walked to Kirsten and wrapped his arms tight around her and kissed her. “Do you have any idea how much I love you?” he  whispered.

“Is it as much as I love you?” she whispered back.

“Maybe more” he held her more tight.

They then heard paws on the stairs and within seconds AJ and one of Nick’s dogs ran towards them.

That day he and Kirsten drove to her house and also packed her suitcases. They then drove back to Nick’s place. When they returned home he ordered pizza that was delivered within forty minutes. When he opened the door the pizza guy said it was fifteen dollars and thirty cents. “One moment please, I’ll get my wallet”. Nick walked inside.

“Fuck” he grumbled.

“What’s wrong sweetie?” Kirsten headed over to him.

 “Shit, I forgot to stop by the ATM. I don’t have any cash here”.

“Oh, don’t worry. I have money. How much is it?”

“It’s fifteen thirty”.

She took her wallet from her purse and gave him twenty dollars.

Nick paid the pizza guy and went inside with the pizza’s. They had dinner.

Around 7:30 Nick looked at his watch.

“Sweetie, I was thinking. It such a nice evening. Do you feel like going for a walk in the dunes with me?”

“Sure, I would like that. Do you want to take the dogs with us?” she looked up to him.

“No, actually I just want to go with the two us”.

“Sure. Let’s go” she got up from the sofa and walked to the hall to get her jacket. Nick followed her.

They arrived at the dunes. As soon as they got out of the car they walked on a small shell - path that eventually lead them to the beach. Nick took her hand and they were both silent for a while. Each having their own thoughts.

They crossed a field with a sloping hill. On it where bushes, marram grass and some gentian bog’s.

“Oh my god” Kirsten squeaked “Nick look, baby bunnies”.

Nick looked up from his thoughts. He had been thinking about the tour and his surprise for her. He saw a group of rabbits in the fields and some little ones playing and running after each other. It was adorable.

 He saw the happy glow on her face when she looked at the little rabbits.

“You like rabbit’s don’t you?” he smiled and kissed her cheek.

“Yeah I do” she spoke softly “I used to have rabbits when I was a child”.

They stood there and watched these animals for a while. They then walked further. It was already becoming dusk when they got to the beach. The sun was already going down. Nick sat down in the sand and Kirsten sat down too between his legs. Her back leaned against his chest and he had his arms folded around her waist.

“Do you want to listen to some music” Kirsten looked at Nick over her shoulder.

“Sure, but I forgot my Ipod”.

“I have mines. It does have BSB on it, I hope you don’t mind?” she turned back to get her Ipod.

“Well, normally I’m not that keen on boy band music but for now I’m willing to make an exception” he laughed.

Kirsten giggled. She gave him an earphone and used the other one for herself. They sat there for a while with Nick holding her. She leaned back at him and he leaned with his head on her shoulder while looking at the sunset.

A couple of songs later the music of Story Of My Life (BSB) started. Kirsten felt a lump in her throat and tears welled up in her eyes.

 So staring at the wall
Feeling ten feet small
It's like the world is on your shoulders
Now nothing's making sense
You just wanna quit
You runaway but you just don't know
How to feel what is real
You're not alone

(Chorus)
Everybody falls, everybody cries
Everybody feels like a nobody sometimes
You get up again, give it one more try
Everybody's got what it takes on the inside
Story of your life, story of your life
It's the story of my life

Tears rolled over her cheeks as she sat completely still. Nick noticed her crying but decided not to ask anything. He let her be. Knowing it was good thing that she went through these emotions.

Then, sometimes you got to crawl
Before you start to walk
I'll be there
I've had my rainy days
You try to keep up a smile
You go the extra mile
You run the race no matter where your place
You know which way to go so turn the page

Everybody falls, everybody cries
Everybody feels like a nobody sometimes
You get up again, give it one more try
Everybody's got what it takes on the inside
Story of your life, story of your life
It's the story of my life

Nick also felt a lump in his throat. Tears welled up in his own eyes. And he couldn’t push them away.

It's hard to be strong
No right seems wrong
And nobody hears what you say
So don't be afraid
Hold on to your faith
I swear to you there will be better days

So staring at the wall
Feeling ten feet small
It's like the world is on your shoulders

(Chorus)
Everybody falls, everybody cries
Everybody feels like a nobody sometimes
You get up again, give it one more try
Everybody's got what it takes on the inside

Kirsten looked over her shoulder at Nick and noticed he was crying too “Oh baby” she sighed. She turned around to face him and kissed him. She wiped the tears away from his face and then she did the same on her own face “we need time to get over this”.

Everybody falls (Everybody falls), everybody cries (everybody cries)
Everybody feels like a nobody sometimes
You get up again, give it one more try
Everybody's got what it takes on the inside
Story of your life, story of your life
It's the story of my life

When it got dark they went back to the car and drove home. There was a serene silence between them. Not a bad silence. But a serene one. They both realized what effect this miscarriage had on them both. It created an unbreakable bond between them.