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“Yes?”
“I really liked the bush.”
Her brow furrows. “What bush?”
I look down toward her lap and back up. “That bush. No landing strip. No naked skin. Perfect.”
Her cheeks grow rosy. “Oh, well, that’s good to know.”
I press my lips against hers. “I just wanted you to know in case you were thinking about shaving it off before I get you naked again. You know, prepping for the big day.”
“And…you…don’t want me to prep…that.” She points down with her index finger.
“Fuck, no,” I growl against her lips. “It’s perfect, just like the rest of you.” I kiss her again and then I go to change a diaper. Or two. Or four. Hell, I can’t remember my own name, much less who has a poopy diaper.
As I walk out of the room, I see Wren sink back to lean against the counter, as though her knees have gone weak. I’m glad I’m not the only one.
Wren
We make it almost to Davenport, close to where Iowa meets Illinois, before we stop again. Last night, the kids were comfortable and tired, so Mick and I took turns driving. He drove while I slept, and I drove while he slept. Now it’s almost ten pm, and the kids are asleep, except for Chase. He had a late nap in the car, and now that we’re at the hotel, he thinks it’s time to party. I’m holding him in my lap, counting his fingers and toes, and he laughs at me when I yawn.
“You think that’s funny. You think everything is funny.” But then his face scrunches up. “Except for me telling you you’re funny, apparently,” I mutter. He didn’t want his bottle a few minutes ago, but he happily accepts it now. As his eyes begin to close, my phone starts to buzz quietly from across the room. I don’t want to move Chase to go get it. They’ll call back.
Mick has gone out to get groceries for tomorrow, so we can make some sandwiches and some snacks. He should be back any minute.
My phone buzzes again, and Mick comes through the door at the same time. He has shopping bags looped over one arm, while he holds a rolled bundle of magazines under the other. He talks into his phone. “She’s fine. She’s right here. I just got back to the hotel and I’m looking at her.” He rolls his eyes. “I promise that she’s fine. She’s holding a sleeping baby in her lap.” He walks to me and holds out the phone. “It’s Emilio.”
I take it and put it on speaker. “You people don’t give up, do you?” I ask. If they don’t get me immediately on my phone, they just call Mick’s.
“I’m sending two security guys to you. They should be there before you wake up.”
I sit up a little, careful of Chase sleeping in my lap. “Why?”
Mick unrolls a few of the magazines that were stuck under his arm. The headlines on the gossip magazines are stark and glaring.
FALLEN FROM ZERO BAND MEMBER HAS FALLEN TOO FAR
IS WREN VASQUEZ LEADING A DOUBLE LIFE?
SHE STOLE HER MAN, AND NOW SHE’S RAISING HER KIDS
“Oh, good grief.” I get up and put Chase in his portable crib. “When did all this start?” I ask, as I sit back down.
Mick leans into me, laughing silently as he sees a headline that says STAY-AT-HOME DAD REVEALS WREN VASQUEZ IS A SEX ADDICT. THAT’S WHY THEY HAVE SO MANY KIDS. He wipes a pretend tear from his eye.
“It started today,” Emilio says. “I don’t like it. I’m sending two guys, whether you like it or not.”
I flip open one of the magazines and see a picture of me and Mick standing beside the van, along with the four children, in front of the last hotel we stayed at. “Okay,” I say quietly.
“What?” Emilio barks. “Did you just say okay?”
“Yes, I said okay. They’re taking pictures of the kids. And I didn’t even see them.”
Since Mick and I were going to be in the car most of the time, I’d thought I could go incognito and I didn’t bring security with me. Apparently, that was a mistake. They even took pictures of us sitting at a local fast food restaurant as we ate burgers. The photos are grainy, and you can’t see the kids well, but still… They’re innocent in all this.
“Do you want to just fly them the rest of the way? You could get them there in a few hours.”
Mick shakes his head.
