Chapter 29: Traveling Back to Massachusetts

David and I were making good time in the RoadRunner. He still wouldn’t let me drive it, and it was driving me crazy. I had to content myself with taking over control of the iPod. We listened to Black Sabbath, Metallica and Iron Maiden at ear-shattering decibels all the way through Jersey and half of Connecticut before he finally pulled over.

“ALRIGHT!” he shouted, and I burst out laughing.

“What’s wrong, my love?” I asked; all innocence and light.

“I can’t take this anymore, that’s what,” he growled at me. Checking the side mirror first, he jetted from the car, and crossed around front of it to my door. I clapped gleefully and slid across the bench seat to the driver’s position. Once David was in and we were buckled up, I eased the baby back onto the highway, and groaned with pleasure.

“Oh, this is SUCH a great ride! I’m so glad you didn’t sell her to Jon,” I said.

“Yeah, well, he made me an open offer, so watch out,” David groused from the passenger seat.

“You wouldn’t dare!” I said, and slid my eyes to look at him. He was grinning, enjoying the hell out of pushing my buttons. “Oooh, you brat,” I said, and tried to throw a punch at his arm, but the car was huge, and I couldn’t reach. “You’ll get it when we get home,” I said, and he laughed.

“You’ve got me scared,” he said, and stuck his tongue out at me. He found some Christmas tunes on the iPod, and we settled in for the rest of the ride home.

* * * * *

Hath pulled into the driveway a little past dinnertime. They had elected to drive straight through, and had stopped for fixings for a simple dinner on the way. When they pulled into the driveway, David commented on how much snow there was. “We do things right here,” Hath answered. “We have snow for Christmas, and guys to take it off the driveway.”

David laughed. “Why did I know you’d have someone to take care of that for you?”

“Because I make things happen,” Hath said with a smile. “I’d’ve done it myself if I were here, but I couldn’t be, so,” she shrugged, “I had someone else do it.”

David chuckled and followed Hath into the house, carrying the bags with him. They went through, turning on lights and getting the heat going. David took their bags up to the bedroom. When he turned on the lights, he noticed a puddle on the floor. “Sweetie,” he called, “you’d better come up here.”

Hath hurried up the stairs. “We’ve only been home five minutes! You can’t wait until –“ she stopped when she came into the bedroom and saw the puddle on the rug. “Shit!” she said.

Hath took the shade off the window and saw there was a puddle where the sashes came together. She grabbed a flashlight from the night table and shined the light on the upper sash. She could see a bead of water coming down from where the window met the wall. “Shit!” she said again,

“Is it the new windows?” David asked.

Hath looked again at where the water was coming in. “I don’t think so,” she said. “C’mon, let’s check the other windows up here.” The windows in the loft and office were dry, but the bathroom was wet. Hath sighed. “Crap.” They went outside and shone flashlights at the roof. Hath sucked in a breath. “Ice dam,” she said.

David looked concerned. “What do we do?”

“Get the phone book,” she said. “I am SO not getting on a ladder with two feet of snow on the deck.” They went back into the house, went up to the office, and called around until they found someone who would be out the next day. “They’re telling me to check in the attic, to see if there is anything coming in there,” she said, covering the mouthpiece of the phone. David pulled down the overhead stairs in the hallway, and the two went up. They looked around the edges of the attic, and saw a little water where they expected. Hath told them there was a little water, and they confirmed her initial guess of an ice dam. They’d send out a couple of guys the next day to take care of it.

“Welcome home,” Hath muttered. “C’mon, let’s get this cleaned up, and get dinner going.”

They wiped up the water from the windows, soaked up as much water from the rugs as they could, and worked together in the kitchen to get their simple roasted chicken and rice supper together. While dinner was cooking, they settled onto the couch in the living room, lit some candles and poured some wine. Hath sighed and put her feet up on the ottoman, and sipped at her glass. Her brow was furrowed, and David reached over to smooth a finger between her eyes and down her nose.

“Sorry, darlin’,” David said.

“Oh, it’s alright,” Hath said. “I’m just annoyed, that’s all. No real damage has been done.” She sighed again, closed her eyes, and dropped her head onto David’s shoulder. The waves of tension wafted off of Hath, and David could feel them.

David said, “Scooch forward, babe.” Hath complied, and David moved to sit behind her, settling her between his legs. He dug his fingers into her neck and shoulders, eliciting a groan of appreciation. He kneaded at the knots and kinks in her muscles until he felt her relax.

“God, that felt fantastic, baby,” Hath said, tipping her head back for a kiss. She leaned back against his chest, and David wrapped his arms around her waist. “Thank you.” They sat cuddled together for a while, and when David started to talk to Hath, he saw she was asleep. He grinned and hugged her close. He’d have to wake her soon so they could eat and she could go to bed – if she slept too long in her contacts, she’d never be able to pry them off her eyeballs later. But for now, he was content to sit there with her in his arms.

David sighed deeply and leaned his head back on the back of the couch. He was so comfortable with her and her family and felt as if he’d known her for years rather than weeks. He had a hard time believing that they had known each other for so short a time. They had spent much of that time together; a week in Arkansas, and time here and at his home, but spent lots of time apart too. The cameras Hath had bought made that time apart easier, and he was touched that she had thought to get his kids set up.

Hath had bought four additional cameras; one each for the kids’ computers, and one for the machine in the family room, and spent an entire afternoon and evening patiently explained to the kids how to use them. She got their screen names all set up, and made some test calls. The kids got a kick out of calling Uncle Tico and talking to him on the computer. She bonded more with the kids, too, and they all gave her hugs when she left. She left them her e-mail address, and gave them her business card, telling them to call her anytime they had questions about the cameras or the computer or anything.

David had talked to April while Hath was with the kids. She genuinely liked Hath, and told him so. She said that Hath was what he needed; a strong woman who wasn’t in awe of him because of who he was. David shook his head. He was glad he and his ex had been able to remain friendly, but it was a little strange having her explicit approval of Hath. He chuckled at the memory of the kids talking to each other on the computers; Hath had shown them how to set up a conference call, and got them all online at the same time. He was so looking forward to being able to keep in visual touch with his kids when he was on the road.

David thought ahead to the upcoming tour. The next six months were already planned out, and were pretty full. He knew they had July off, as that’s when Jon and Sam’s baby was due. He knew too that Hath would want to be around for the birth of that baby, but he was hoping he could spirit her away somewhere during that time. He was thinking Hawaii or Cancun or someplace like that. Some tropical hideaway where he could watch his girl turn brown in the sun, and where he could frolic with her in the surf. He’d have to book something for the whole month, just to be sure they could get away, and something private, so he could make love with her on the beach. Smiling to himself, he leaned forward to kiss Hath on the neck. He bit her lightly, and she stirred.

“Sorry, babe,” she said drowsily. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep; you’re just too damned comfortable.”

“Yeah, but your eyes are gonna be glued shut if I let you sleep too much longer,” David said, as his stomach growled. He laughed. “And I’m getting hungry, and I don’t want dinner to burn.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Hath said. “Dinner should be ready; let’s eat.”

The couple shared a quiet, candle-lit meal, and chatted about nothing important. They stacked the dishes in the sink, and went up to bed; it had been a long day.

* * * * *
BANG! BANG! BANG!

That was the lovely sound I woke up to this morning. I winced and checked the clock: 8:00 on the nose. The guys were right on time. I had meant to be up when they got here, and had actually set an alarm so I’d be up, but apparently David beat me to it. I staggered out of the bedroom in search of Advil, then went downstairs to find David having breakfast and reading the paper. It was such a normal, domestic, couple-y thing to see, that I teared up.

David looked up and saw me standing there at the foot of the stairs with tears in my eyes. He poured me a cup of coffee and brought it to me, kissing me gently before handing me the mug and saying “Mornin’ darlin’.”

“Good Morning yourself,” I said. “You should have gotten me up.”

David shrugged. “I was up, thought you could use the sleep.” He nuzzled my neck, making me shiver. “As I recall, you didn’t get too much rest last night.” He chuckled in my ear, and that was the precise moment one of the guys knocked on the sliding glass door. David laughed and went over to talk to him while I went upstairs to get dressed.

When I came back down, David had his breakfast cleared up and was sitting on the couch, looking at me expectantly. “Well, sweetheart,” he said, “what do you want to do today?”

“I don’t know, what do you feel like doing?”

The pair ended up going to a movie, and sitting in the back, where they necked like teenagers. They had a late lunch, and set out for Boston, where they walked around Quincy Marketplace and had dinner at Dick’s Last Resort. Hath and David spent the rest of the days leading up to Christmas doing those sorts of things, along with domestic errands, laundry and general housekeeping. They worked together seamlessly, and laughed all the time. As they made love tenderly on Christmas Eve, Hath reflected on how this was the most perfect time she’d ever spent with someone. She cuddled into David’s arms, and fell asleep, her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat.