Brian sat in a rocking chair in his sons room and gently hummed a tune inspired by the book I Love You forever. It was one of his favorite books growing up. He used to beg his Mom to read it to him every night before going to bed. She would sit next to him on the bed, his head cradled in her lap and she would sing those words whenever they appeared in the story.
I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living, my baby you'll be...
Now as he sang those same words to his son, he found himself smiling at how true to life that story actually was. How indeed everything does come around to a full circle. He looked down when he heard the deep breathing he had come to associate with his son sleeping. He picked him up and kissed the top of his head.
"Love you Bay" He whispered placing his son in his crib. He loved watching Baylee sleep. He looked so carefree. He wished he could protect his son from all the worries in the world. But unfortunately he wouldn't be able to and life would have it's way with Baylee. He would stand by him and protect him though. And he thanked God for that.
Life could be cruel sometimes.
If anyone knew that first hand it was Brian. He knew that no matter what, there would be people in this world who hate you for just existing at all. No matter how good of a person you were, no matter all the great things you have tried to do with your life, no matter what you say or do, people would still disapprove. That was always the hardest for him.
He wasn't used to failure.
He found himself not only succeeding in everything he tried but also gaining a ton of praise for it along the way. So, when his group started falling apart and people began whispering the "F" Word. It had hit Brian the hardest out of any of them. The first time he heard anything derogatory about himself was way back when they had first started. They were being called a bunch of phonies. Purely untalented but just there based on looks. He almost left the entire music scene that same night.
Almost threw everything away because of one bad review.
Luckily his cousin had persuaded him to stay, promising him that things would get better and their reputation would change once people started to take a minute and listen to them sing.
He was right.
People's opinions did change and his group soared to the top. Never in his wildest dreams did he ever imagine he would have gotten as famous as he did. Never in his lifetime would he think he could ever pay his parents back ten fold for all the wonderful things they have done for him. But he did that too.
That was back in the good old days.
Things have changed though. Baylee stirred in his sleep which had Brian bending down and rubbing his back. Even touching his son, brought a feeling of peace to his soul. He now understood what people meant by unconditional love.
Drifting back to his thoughts, he remembered how innocent they all were back then. How he always vowed to his parents that no matter how much money he made, or how successful he had become, that he would always remain firmly grounded. There was a time when he began to let his money get the better of him. Using his popularity to get whatever he wanted. That was before Leighanne stepped into the picture. She kept him in check and for that he was happy. Yes, he thought, Leigh is the best thing that ever happened to me.
He found himself thinking that a lot these days. It had almost become a mantra and after awhile he couldn't help but feel like maybe he was saying it so much because he needed to convince himself that it was the truth. He absolutely loved Leighanne. He didn't mean it that way, it's just that sometimes he felt like he was trapped. Rushed right out of his younger years into adulthood. And he knew he was immature. That's why he blended so well with Nick. When he dated Sam, which seemed like eons ago, she let
him act like a child, when Leigh stepped into the picture almost immediately after that, she let him know right off the bat that there was no place in her life for an overgrown kid.
So he had changed.
He was all of 22 when his courtship with his wife began. Just a baby himself. He wasn't sure if Leigh would stay around for his growing pains, but she had and together they built quite the solid relationship. The same kind of relationship his own parents shared. It made him happy that he found a great girl that his parents seemed to love.
"Hey baby" Leigh said walking behind her husband and kissing him on the neck while wrapping her arms around his waist.
"Hi. I was just thinking about you"
"You were?"
"Yes"
"What were you thinking?" She asked placing her head on his shoulder. He loved when she did that. She smelled so great all the time.
"Just that you're the best thing that ever happened to me" She went around to the front of him and kissed his lips.
"Same to you Mr. Littrell" Brian smiled. How could he ever want to be anywhere else.
She reached down to her son and kissed his neck and then grabbed her husband's arm, walking with him towards the door. "You ready to come to bed?" She asked in that sing song voice. The same voice she used when making love was right around the corner.
"Yeah in a minute, I think I want to stay here just a little while longer" She smiled, "Daddy, you know you are going to spoil that child"
"It's my job"
"No, it's not. It's his grandparents job" He winked at her. She laughed in return, "Oh, before I forget, Howie called you before"
"D called? What did he say?"
"Just wanted to say he was thinking about you" She rolled her eyes, "I don't remember he kind of babbled on and on" Her whole demeanor would change whenever talk of Brian's bandmates entered the house. It made him tense.
"Did you talk to him?"
"No, he left a message"
"Oh excellent, I'll listen.."
"I erased it. Figured I'd just relay what he said"
"But you can't remember what he said" Brian found himself becoming angrier all of the sudden.
"Relax, I told you the gist of what he said"
"It just would have been nice to...I don't know..hear his voice I guess" Brian looked down at the floor. Truth was he missed his bandmates...no not just bandmates but friends. Brothers even. He missed them a lot.
"I'm sorry honey, I didn't think it would be a big deal"
"Okay, no problem, but I think I'm gonna call him back real quick before I come to bed" Now it was her turn to look annoyed.
"Can't it wait until tomorrow?" She asked dropping her husbands hand.
"I will be fast okay?"
"Fine" She said rather coldly. She bent down and gave her son one final kiss before exiting the room.
Things were so different now.
He let out a heavy sigh and once again looked down at his sleeping son. It will be nice talking to D again. He smiled picturing Howie go on and on taking forever to get to his point. Leighanne's eyes probably rolling upward the entire time. He wondered if his bandmates knew how much his wife disliked them all.
Well, that was okay because she was the best thing that ever happened to him. He walked out of Baylees room and called up Howie.
"Howdy D my man, it's Brian..how's it goin bro?"
Excerpts from I Love You Forever by Robert Munsch
