Through Thick And Thin
The Only Thing To Solve A Hangover Is More Beer
True to his word, Brian appeared on Zacky's doorstep just fifteen minutes after the other man had put the phone down, with a six pack for the two men and a pint of milk for Linzee. His philosophy was that to think anything through clearly, a man needed booze- and then he'd 'release the full potential of his brain to a point where he will be able to find a cure for cancer. That is if he can remember it after he passes out'
"I think drama is your middle name, Vengeance. First you get Linzee dumped on your doorstep, then you find out the Mom is Val? She's known us since forever- so why'd she pick you to play Daddy?" he announced as he pushed his way into Zacky's kitchen, where he'd been peacefully doing dishes, Linzee in a barely put together high chair watching him- New Medicine blaring out of his stereo.
"And there was me thinking it was James. Listen, Brian, I don't know what to do. I thought you were here to help me rather than come up with new names for me" Zacky replied, wiping his soapy hands on a dish-cloth and starting to stack the dishes back into the cupboard. Linzee laughed, for no apparent reason, and Brian acknowledged her for the first time since he'd walked into the kitchen.
He removed her from the 'torture' that was a high chair, he gave her a little kiss before balancing her on his hip while he picked up his beer and drank heavily. Even though it was just gone midday- Brian could always find a reason to drink.
"She doesn't look anything like either of them. She's sure it's not Matt's?" he questioned and Zacky shook his head, knowing full well that both of them would have to work this out without letting their old friend know that his wife had had another guy's baby.
"Linz is still the prettiest little girl on the planet, aren't you babygirl? Why couldn't you be left on Uncle Brian's doorstep huh?" he asked in a high voice, speaking to the little girl who had once again becoming fascinated with his porcupine hair and was trying to grab it into her little hands.
"Because then she'd be a raging alcoholic at aged four. She's too young to appreciate fine wines, Brian, you would have nothing to talk about until she was twenty three" Zacky replied, laughing when his friend gasped in mock horror.
"True, true. But we have to do something about this whole situation. Val told you to keep it to yourself, I'm guessing?" Brian said, almost as if he could read Zacky's mind and his friend nodded, slipping into one of the barstools opposite him. Zacky was tired, even though he'd woken up about three hours ago, and he didn't know exactly where he was meant to progress from here. Was he meant to wait until Linzee was eighteen and then tell her she wasn't his Dad- and instead his uncle's wife was her mother?
"That's why I called you. I needed someone who knew her to tell me what to do- so I don't have to over think this. All I want is for Linzee to be in a home where she knows someone loves and wants her" Zacky said, his head in his hands and wishing that something would give, otherwise he'd collapse.
"Then that's what we'll do. If Val doesn't want this baby back, and she's letting you raise it as you want to, then we can keep quiet. But eventually...we're going to have to tell Matt. We're his best friends, Zee, we can't hide something like this from him" Brian said wisely, and Zacky almost cursed how a couple of beers made his friend turn into fucking Gandhi or something.
And then his cellphone rang.
Startled by the sudden noise, Linzee began to wail and even though Zacky was torn between answering his phone and going to comfort his daughter, Brian nodded at him and started to bounce the baby up and down in his arms, singing an impromptu encore of '99 Hookers' in a low voice, the first song he was corrupting Linzee with.
The name on the screen read 'KEIRA' and it struck Zacky that since their date, he hadn't called her- much less texted her. He pressed the green button and held the phone up to his ear.
"Hey Keira, how are you?"
"I'm fine, Zacky, but you sound terrible. Did Brian keep you up drinking last night- or was it Linzee who was hot on the beer?" she replied, automatically realising how beat up he sounded. That's what he loved about her- that in an instant she could know how he was feeling, and actually be bothered to care about it.
"No, neither of them were drinking. Um...Linzee's birth Mom came over today" Zacky replied, Brian giving him a thumbs up as Linzee's eyes began to close, and he realised he was actually getting the little girl to go to sleep rather than just doze in his arms until someone made a loud noise and she woke up again.
"Oh my god, are you OK? Does she want Linzee back?" Keira asked concernedly, and it was almost like she was in the room with Zacky, comforting him. All he wanted was to be in the same room as her, even if it was just so he could feel her presence next to him.
"I'm OK, and no, she doesn't want the baby back. Listen, I don't really feel right talking about this over the phone. Do you want to meet me for coffee?" he asked, even though he didn't feel like leaving his house.
"Of course I will. There's a place down town, just beside the pier. I'll meet you there in ten minutes, and we can talk, OK?"
"Alright. Thanks for, um, understanding, Keira. It's kind of hard to talk about this sort of stuff with a lot of other people" Zacky said awkwardly, already standing up and thinking about where he'd left his jacket.
He was going to see her again, and that gave him just a little ray of hope that she'd make everything OK.
The pair said their goodbyes, and as Zacky slipped his phone into his pocket, Brian cocked his eyebrow at his friend. It was his signature look, and already Zacky knew that a smart remark was just going to fall out of his mouth any second.
"So I'm guessing I'm gonna be your babysitting service again? Honestly, I should get paid for this gig" he grumbled, the little girl in his arms finally asleep.
Maybe, Zacky thought to himself, I should try '99 Hookers' as a lullaby, rather than that Mozart crap the books had told him to play. He dug out his wallet from his back pocket and threw a twenty at his friend, leaning down to kiss his daughters head and clap Brian on the back.
"There you go, sweetheart. Buy yourself something pretty" he joked as Brian glared at him.
"We'd make the worlds best gay couple. I'm just saying" he announced, following Zacky into the hallway. Zacky turned around and stared at Brian for a moment, completely confused. But he just shrugged and answered,
"What can I say, we're two extremely good looking guys. The fans would have a field day" before stepping out of the house, and leaving his friend and daughter behind.
Time to face Keira.
"I think drama is your middle name, Vengeance. First you get Linzee dumped on your doorstep, then you find out the Mom is Val? She's known us since forever- so why'd she pick you to play Daddy?" he announced as he pushed his way into Zacky's kitchen, where he'd been peacefully doing dishes, Linzee in a barely put together high chair watching him- New Medicine blaring out of his stereo.
"And there was me thinking it was James. Listen, Brian, I don't know what to do. I thought you were here to help me rather than come up with new names for me" Zacky replied, wiping his soapy hands on a dish-cloth and starting to stack the dishes back into the cupboard. Linzee laughed, for no apparent reason, and Brian acknowledged her for the first time since he'd walked into the kitchen.
He removed her from the 'torture' that was a high chair, he gave her a little kiss before balancing her on his hip while he picked up his beer and drank heavily. Even though it was just gone midday- Brian could always find a reason to drink.
"She doesn't look anything like either of them. She's sure it's not Matt's?" he questioned and Zacky shook his head, knowing full well that both of them would have to work this out without letting their old friend know that his wife had had another guy's baby.
"Linz is still the prettiest little girl on the planet, aren't you babygirl? Why couldn't you be left on Uncle Brian's doorstep huh?" he asked in a high voice, speaking to the little girl who had once again becoming fascinated with his porcupine hair and was trying to grab it into her little hands.
"Because then she'd be a raging alcoholic at aged four. She's too young to appreciate fine wines, Brian, you would have nothing to talk about until she was twenty three" Zacky replied, laughing when his friend gasped in mock horror.
"True, true. But we have to do something about this whole situation. Val told you to keep it to yourself, I'm guessing?" Brian said, almost as if he could read Zacky's mind and his friend nodded, slipping into one of the barstools opposite him. Zacky was tired, even though he'd woken up about three hours ago, and he didn't know exactly where he was meant to progress from here. Was he meant to wait until Linzee was eighteen and then tell her she wasn't his Dad- and instead his uncle's wife was her mother?
"That's why I called you. I needed someone who knew her to tell me what to do- so I don't have to over think this. All I want is for Linzee to be in a home where she knows someone loves and wants her" Zacky said, his head in his hands and wishing that something would give, otherwise he'd collapse.
"Then that's what we'll do. If Val doesn't want this baby back, and she's letting you raise it as you want to, then we can keep quiet. But eventually...we're going to have to tell Matt. We're his best friends, Zee, we can't hide something like this from him" Brian said wisely, and Zacky almost cursed how a couple of beers made his friend turn into fucking Gandhi or something.
And then his cellphone rang.
Startled by the sudden noise, Linzee began to wail and even though Zacky was torn between answering his phone and going to comfort his daughter, Brian nodded at him and started to bounce the baby up and down in his arms, singing an impromptu encore of '99 Hookers' in a low voice, the first song he was corrupting Linzee with.
The name on the screen read 'KEIRA' and it struck Zacky that since their date, he hadn't called her- much less texted her. He pressed the green button and held the phone up to his ear.
"Hey Keira, how are you?"
"I'm fine, Zacky, but you sound terrible. Did Brian keep you up drinking last night- or was it Linzee who was hot on the beer?" she replied, automatically realising how beat up he sounded. That's what he loved about her- that in an instant she could know how he was feeling, and actually be bothered to care about it.
"No, neither of them were drinking. Um...Linzee's birth Mom came over today" Zacky replied, Brian giving him a thumbs up as Linzee's eyes began to close, and he realised he was actually getting the little girl to go to sleep rather than just doze in his arms until someone made a loud noise and she woke up again.
"Oh my god, are you OK? Does she want Linzee back?" Keira asked concernedly, and it was almost like she was in the room with Zacky, comforting him. All he wanted was to be in the same room as her, even if it was just so he could feel her presence next to him.
"I'm OK, and no, she doesn't want the baby back. Listen, I don't really feel right talking about this over the phone. Do you want to meet me for coffee?" he asked, even though he didn't feel like leaving his house.
"Of course I will. There's a place down town, just beside the pier. I'll meet you there in ten minutes, and we can talk, OK?"
"Alright. Thanks for, um, understanding, Keira. It's kind of hard to talk about this sort of stuff with a lot of other people" Zacky said awkwardly, already standing up and thinking about where he'd left his jacket.
He was going to see her again, and that gave him just a little ray of hope that she'd make everything OK.
The pair said their goodbyes, and as Zacky slipped his phone into his pocket, Brian cocked his eyebrow at his friend. It was his signature look, and already Zacky knew that a smart remark was just going to fall out of his mouth any second.
"So I'm guessing I'm gonna be your babysitting service again? Honestly, I should get paid for this gig" he grumbled, the little girl in his arms finally asleep.
Maybe, Zacky thought to himself, I should try '99 Hookers' as a lullaby, rather than that Mozart crap the books had told him to play. He dug out his wallet from his back pocket and threw a twenty at his friend, leaning down to kiss his daughters head and clap Brian on the back.
"There you go, sweetheart. Buy yourself something pretty" he joked as Brian glared at him.
"We'd make the worlds best gay couple. I'm just saying" he announced, following Zacky into the hallway. Zacky turned around and stared at Brian for a moment, completely confused. But he just shrugged and answered,
"What can I say, we're two extremely good looking guys. The fans would have a field day" before stepping out of the house, and leaving his friend and daughter behind.
Time to face Keira.
11/4/13