For the most part, Erik felt as if he was in a waking dream. Up until the wedding, which to his surprise came off without so much as a hint of drama, whenever he came home from a concert, Kaitlyn was in a foul mood. She’d stomp around those ancient stone halls all bent over with a scowl marring her beautiful face and he always wondered why. He had to work. And he ceased to invite her along because he couldn't stand how hurt she’d be any time he interacted with a fan. Leaving the decision to stay or go entirely up to her. Mostly she stayed behind.
“Why can’t you just stop flirting with them? Some of them are just teens! Back where I grew up, we’d call that ‘jail bait’ so you best watch your step, Old Man.”
Erik looked around him, thinking his father had come in. Certainly, she wasn't calling him an old man. He was only twenty-seven. You’re not old until you hit thirty, at least, he told himself.
“Kaitie, why can’t you just get off of my back! My fans buying tickets to see me in concert is what will put food on our table and keep a roof over our heads, after we move out. I should think with the amount of rain we've been having lately you would appreciate that.”
“Yeah, yeah, what I don’t appreciate is that I’ll have a passel of little kids and you’ll dump me for one of your cute little fans. Or worse, yet, you’ll walk out of the wedding altogether.” Kaitlyn sighed and bowed her head. “Leave me standing at the wedding arch …”
Erik drew her to him and held her tight. “I won’t, you know,” he said into her ear.
“Won’t what?”
“Won’t leave you at the arch, or with a passel of little kids. I’d take at least half of ‘em with me,” he said, and then leaned away from her as she smacked his upper arm. He grinned and watched as Kaitlyn’s anger subsided.
“Can’t you ever be serious?”
“I am and I have been. I’m serious about marrying you.”
Happily, once the ‘I do’s’ had been said, his wife became another person. The person he knew her to be when they first met. Cool, calm, unflappable Kaitlyn was back. She no longer greeted him with a melt down whenever he returned. Even when he’d had several encounters of a flirtatious manner. He began to realize the problem was his unfortunate track record. Engaged three times prior, twice to the same Sim, why shouldn't Kaitlyn be wary? Insecure. Now, she was the one everyone called Mrs. Cantrell, and she bore a 22 caret gold band to show it.
Time slipped by. Erik stayed busy, writing song lyrics, recording music and holding concerts. He even hosted a couple of Fan Meet & Greets, for which he was given a couple of awards. Then he got brave enough to throw a Charity Event. This also went very well. He raised an ample amount of money, and was awarded a very nice trophy for his efforts. He placed all three on the mantle in his very own Music room. Which really was a music room, unlike that of his sister’s.
Before too long Kaitlyn found him in his music room, and gave him some exciting news. They were going to have a baby. Erik was warmed by her Big News, his dearest dream about to be realized. No longer would he be just Uncle Erik, but would have a small Sim calling him Daddy. He was going to be a Daddy, he thought as he gazed out of the window. A thrill running through him with the thought.
“When is the baby due?” he asked Kaitlyn.
“On the sixteenth of June. Not for awhile, yet.”
Opening up his cell phone, he marked his calendar. “Okay, okay, okay, that’s good.”
Time went by, Erik cut another album, sales were good. Finally summer arrived. Consulting his calendar, he was careful to not book anything for the night of the sixteenth.
Erik went off to the Glass Ceiling for his gig that was due to start at seven. As usual, he tried to get there a bit early. Promptly, he began. He was well into his first set when he noticed a rather familiar figure walking toward the stage. The music hall was packed, it was a good turnout. As he finished the song, he took a moment to catch his breath, gazing out at the audience. There was Kaitlyn, trying her best to be as unobtrusive as possible. He could tell by the grimace, and her body language something was wrong.
“Forgive me for a minute,” he said into the microphone. “I may have an emergency. Kaitie, Kaitie is that you?”
Waving her arms at him to get his attention, he finally saw her and said, “What’s wrong, what is it?”
Instead of shouting, she merely pointed at her wristwatch.
“I should be done about ten,” he said, to which she shook her head.
Again, she pointed at her wristwatch and then rubbed her huge belly. One of his fans helped her into a chair while a Paparazzi shouted, “Is there a doctor in the house?”
“Doctor? What do we need with a doctor?”
“Your wife says it’s ‘go time’,” the same Paparazzi shouted back.
“Go-time? Baby, it’s only the fourteenth. You said the sixteenth!” Erik went pale and began to go into a pre-birth panic. “Sorry, I have to call the concert. Check with the front desk for a rain check!” With that Erik jumped down from the stage, grabbed up his wife and vacated the venue. Once they got home, he realized he was also scheduled to do a magazine shoot for the cover of Sim Teen Magazine.
“I know I said I’d be there, but my wife has gone into labor. Can’t you send a couple of photographers here, instead?”
Shutting off the phone, he quickly called his parents and Kaitlyn’s parents. Then he called Brianna so that she could call the rest of the family.
Erik paced and then he paced some more. Finally, the doorbell rang and his Butler let in the two professional photographers and make up artists. Very shortly thereafter the doorbell rang again. This time it was his younger brother, Joey, Dr. Joe, as he was called. Glancing into the living room Doctor Joe Cantrell, Jr., gave Erik a peculiar expression, as the star posed for a photograph, then he hastened up the flight of stairs, his little black medical bag in tow.
The photo shoot took about two hours. Erik hoped they would come out okay. He’d never before felt so nervous. What was going on upstairs? The house was rather well sound-proofed. At least his wife wasn't screaming in pain. Or, at least he couldn't hear it. Was everything okay? Was the baby okay? After seeing the professional crew out the door, Erik turned and ran down the entry hall turning right and then took the stairs two at a time.
By the time he got back upstairs, Kaitlyn looking radiant introduced him to his new son. Joey smiled at his older brother, busy rolling his sleeves down again.
Patting his brother on the back, “Gotta go,” Joey said.
“Thanks, Joe, for being here. I owe you one.”
Joey shrugged. “I needed the experience.”
“What? You experimented — on my wife!”
Joseph Cantrell, Jr., snickered as he left the room, shaking his head. “I’ll call you,” he said, closing the bedroom door behind him.
Erik kissed his wife and then gathered up the tiny bundle she placed into his waiting arms.
“Hey, Daniel, welcome to the world.”
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