If I Knew Then
Chapter Two: Present
“Nothing exists except the here and now.”
– Bruce Lee
Your kisses lift me higher
Like the sweet song of a choir
You light my morning sky
With burning love
Burning Love – Elvis Presley
Barbara Sullivan didn’t have to wait much. About three months after tidying up the attic with her children, during a casual dinner, Jimmy and Lillian announced they were expecting their first child. The couple weren’t looking for a kid and despite being careful during sex, it simply happened. If it was a shock for them at first, it certainly wasn’t for their families, especially the Sullivans, who were more than excited. Kelly and Katie were already making a plan of who would get to babysit the kid and for how long, Joe kept suggesting names and Barbara called Lillian everyday, making sure she was okay.
Jimmy and Lillian, in the meantime, were simply trying to enjoy their new adventure. At first it hadn’t been easy, with the girl suffering from morning sickness every single day, but they somehow adjusted to their life anyway.
That Christmas, they decided to throw a party with their friends at their place. Their house wasn’t big, but there was enough room for the band and their girlfriends, and while at first they thought about inviting their families, too, when their friends arrived, both Jimmy and Lillian realized what a bad idea would’ve been.
“Alright, but when are you due?” Johnny asked, taking a sip of his beer.
“Jesus Christ, Johnny. Are you dumb or what? We told you at least five times tonight!” Jimmy complained, but Lillian hit him on his arm.
“I’m due on 20th April.” She answered, smiling sympathetically at Johnny. There was something about him that she simply liked a lot. Maybe it was the way he was so hopelessly in love with his girlfriend, or how he spoke about her, or maybe it was just his silly being. “But you never know what this little boy might do. I mean, have you seen his father?”
Lillian went to last OB/GYN appointment by herself as Jimmy was busy recording the new album and she didn’t want him to lose half of a day of recording just one scan. Not when she already knew the baby was okay. Her doctor, however, told her the gender of the baby and that was the first time she told someone. Even Jimmy.
He stared at her, with his deep, blue eyes wide open.
“What?” He exclaimed and the guys started cheering. “Are you fucking serious?”
Lillian laughed and nodded. “Yeah, the little Sullivan is a boy.”
“This is fucking great!” Matt exclaimed as Val clapped her hands.
“Not sure I wanna have another James around.” Brian joked.
Jimmy’s mind couldn’t catch what his friends were saying. His eyes were glued on his girlfriend. He kissed her passionately until Zacky got up and separated them.
“No need to make me puke after we just got dinner.”
“Shut up, Vengeance.”
“I’m so, so happy for you!” Gena said, giving Lillian a quick hug.
“You guys calling him Johnny, right?”
“I appreciate the suggestion and I’ll keep it in mind, but I don’t promise anything.” Lillian answered, letting the bassist rub her belly.
Jimmy couldn’t stop smiling and although he shared a few words with his friends, thanking them for their congratulations, he also couldn’t stop looking at Lillian. She looked radiant and there wasn’t a single thing he didn’t love about her.
“To baby Sullivan, hopefully you’ll get your mother’s beauty, instead of your father’s.” Brian smirked and raised his glass.
“And hopefully he'll get his father’s big heart.” Lillian said, giving Jimmy one of her sweetest smiles.
“To baby Sullivan!” They all exclaimed, raising their glasses, before taking a sip of their drinks.
Ø
Lillian was busy talking with the girls, who wanted to know everything about the pregnancy and the baby. She wasn’t used to so much attention, but she was handling it well. Jimmy kept an eye on her, though, making sure to intervene if she’d ever need his help. But she didn’t. So he got up and went to their bedroom, grabbing a few sheets of paper. When he came back downstairs, he found Zacky, Brian and Johnny focused on some card game, while Matt was taking the score.
“Matt?”
“Yeah?”
Jimmy handed him the sheets and smiled a little.
“That's it, that's the last song for this record.”
Matt looked up at the drummer and took the sheets, immediately starting to read the lyrics of this new song. It was called “Death”. It gave him chills. The singer looked up at Jimmy once again and smiled.
“It’s fucking great, man.”
Jimmy smiled as well, glad he liked the song. Hopefully the others would enjoy it as much as him.
Ø
Lillian sat down on the couch and closed her eyes. She was exhausted. She didn’t do much, mostly because everybody brought something to eat since they didn’t want her to cook for everybody, but she was tired regardless. Jimmy sat down next to her and started rubbing her belly as he turned the TV on, showing what the last viewer watched. It was Lillian. The TV was on a channel that showed only music videos of old music, the same the girl loved.
His girl opened her eyes when she heard the first few notes of the next song. It was Burning Love by Elvis Presley. Knowing how much she loved Elvis, Jimmy got up and started singing and dancing, pretending to be Elvis.
“Jimmy, what are you doing?” She asked, laughing, but he seemed not to listen to her.
He grabbed her hands and made her get up, dancing with her. He wasn’t that good at dancing, not when he was trying to dance like Elvis, but he was having fun and from the adorable laugh coming from Lillian, she was, too.
“I'm just a hunk, a hunk of burning love…” Jimmy sang, putting his hands on her hips and dancing with her until the song was over. “Oh, baby. I love you so much.”
Lillian smiled and kissed his lips. “I love you, too.”
The next song started playing, but Jimmy didn’t pay attention to it. He was lost into Lillian’s hazel eyes. He wondered if their son would get her eyes, he wouldn’t be mad if he did. Her eyes were absolutely breathtaking.
“A penny for your thoughts?” Lillian asked, putting her hands on Jimmy’s chest and starting to play with his necklace.
“Give me a minute, okay?” He said and pulled away, running to the room they set up as a small studio where he could practice wherever he wanted.
Lillian stood there, confused as what had just happened. Did she say something that made him upset? Was he feeling sick? What the hell had just happened?
Jimmy entered the room and searched through his stuff, finding the little blue velvet box he was looking for.
He’d been thinking about proposing for a while now. No one knew except for Brian. Damn, that guy knew everything. He thought about the perfect way to propose and he considered different occasions and places, but none seemed right. Brian kept telling him that he would find the right moment at some point and he was right, that night felt different and Jimmy knew it was the perfect day to propose.
The moment Jimmy entered the living room again, his heart almost sunk. The look on Lillian’s face made him worry, so he quickly walked towards her.
“What’s up? Is there something wrong?”
“I don’t know. You tell me. You’re the one who disappeared all of a sudden.”
Jimmy smiled softly at her and kissed her lips. “I went to get something.” He explained, getting on his knee. His position was quite obvious and her shocked face only confirmed this.
“Jimmy…”
He couldn’t stop smiling and got the little box out of his pocket. He opened it and showed the ring to Lillian, who was simply speechless.
“I know this may be totally unexpected and what isn’t in our life?” He asked and quickly glanced down at her baby bump before taking one of her hands. “We have a child on the way and shit, I knew you were the one even before him but now the idea of spending the rest of my life feels so natural and perfect that I can’t just ignore it.” Jimmy took a deep breath and smiled softly when he noticed her watery eyes. “You know I’ve never really believe in love or marriage, but you… You made me change my mind. You’re so beautiful and I still can’t believe you chose me when you could be with anyone else.”
“Jimmy…” Lillian repeated and took a few deep breaths, trying not to cry or worse, sob. Ever since she got pregnant she’s started to become really emotional, crying for pretty much everything, and right now she was desperately trying to hold it together.
“I love you, baby. I want to have pretty kids with you, take you wherever you want and to grow old with you, so… Will you marry me?”
The blonde nodded and smiled widely, finally letting a few tears fall down her cheeks. She bended down a little and kissed him. Jimmy smiled against her lips that tasted like salted cherry.
“Is this a yes?”
“Yes! Yes, of course it is…”
They were finally getting their happy ending and neither of them couldn’t ask for anything better.
Jimmy got up and slid the ring on Lillian’s finger before kissing her once again, this time, however, their kiss was a little deeper than the previous one. Lillian wrapped her arms around Jimmy’s neck while his wandering hands were on her back.
Between them, their son was having a peaceful sleep, while in the background, Lionel Richie and Diana Ross were singing Endless Love.
And there was absolutely nothing that could ruin their life now.
– Bruce Lee
Your kisses lift me higher
Like the sweet song of a choir
You light my morning sky
With burning love
Burning Love – Elvis Presley
Barbara Sullivan didn’t have to wait much. About three months after tidying up the attic with her children, during a casual dinner, Jimmy and Lillian announced they were expecting their first child. The couple weren’t looking for a kid and despite being careful during sex, it simply happened. If it was a shock for them at first, it certainly wasn’t for their families, especially the Sullivans, who were more than excited. Kelly and Katie were already making a plan of who would get to babysit the kid and for how long, Joe kept suggesting names and Barbara called Lillian everyday, making sure she was okay.
Jimmy and Lillian, in the meantime, were simply trying to enjoy their new adventure. At first it hadn’t been easy, with the girl suffering from morning sickness every single day, but they somehow adjusted to their life anyway.
That Christmas, they decided to throw a party with their friends at their place. Their house wasn’t big, but there was enough room for the band and their girlfriends, and while at first they thought about inviting their families, too, when their friends arrived, both Jimmy and Lillian realized what a bad idea would’ve been.
“Alright, but when are you due?” Johnny asked, taking a sip of his beer.
“Jesus Christ, Johnny. Are you dumb or what? We told you at least five times tonight!” Jimmy complained, but Lillian hit him on his arm.
“I’m due on 20th April.” She answered, smiling sympathetically at Johnny. There was something about him that she simply liked a lot. Maybe it was the way he was so hopelessly in love with his girlfriend, or how he spoke about her, or maybe it was just his silly being. “But you never know what this little boy might do. I mean, have you seen his father?”
Lillian went to last OB/GYN appointment by herself as Jimmy was busy recording the new album and she didn’t want him to lose half of a day of recording just one scan. Not when she already knew the baby was okay. Her doctor, however, told her the gender of the baby and that was the first time she told someone. Even Jimmy.
He stared at her, with his deep, blue eyes wide open.
“What?” He exclaimed and the guys started cheering. “Are you fucking serious?”
Lillian laughed and nodded. “Yeah, the little Sullivan is a boy.”
“This is fucking great!” Matt exclaimed as Val clapped her hands.
“Not sure I wanna have another James around.” Brian joked.
Jimmy’s mind couldn’t catch what his friends were saying. His eyes were glued on his girlfriend. He kissed her passionately until Zacky got up and separated them.
“No need to make me puke after we just got dinner.”
“Shut up, Vengeance.”
“I’m so, so happy for you!” Gena said, giving Lillian a quick hug.
“You guys calling him Johnny, right?”
“I appreciate the suggestion and I’ll keep it in mind, but I don’t promise anything.” Lillian answered, letting the bassist rub her belly.
Jimmy couldn’t stop smiling and although he shared a few words with his friends, thanking them for their congratulations, he also couldn’t stop looking at Lillian. She looked radiant and there wasn’t a single thing he didn’t love about her.
“To baby Sullivan, hopefully you’ll get your mother’s beauty, instead of your father’s.” Brian smirked and raised his glass.
“And hopefully he'll get his father’s big heart.” Lillian said, giving Jimmy one of her sweetest smiles.
“To baby Sullivan!” They all exclaimed, raising their glasses, before taking a sip of their drinks.
Ø
Lillian was busy talking with the girls, who wanted to know everything about the pregnancy and the baby. She wasn’t used to so much attention, but she was handling it well. Jimmy kept an eye on her, though, making sure to intervene if she’d ever need his help. But she didn’t. So he got up and went to their bedroom, grabbing a few sheets of paper. When he came back downstairs, he found Zacky, Brian and Johnny focused on some card game, while Matt was taking the score.
“Matt?”
“Yeah?”
Jimmy handed him the sheets and smiled a little.
“That's it, that's the last song for this record.”
Matt looked up at the drummer and took the sheets, immediately starting to read the lyrics of this new song. It was called “Death”. It gave him chills. The singer looked up at Jimmy once again and smiled.
“It’s fucking great, man.”
Jimmy smiled as well, glad he liked the song. Hopefully the others would enjoy it as much as him.
Ø
Lillian sat down on the couch and closed her eyes. She was exhausted. She didn’t do much, mostly because everybody brought something to eat since they didn’t want her to cook for everybody, but she was tired regardless. Jimmy sat down next to her and started rubbing her belly as he turned the TV on, showing what the last viewer watched. It was Lillian. The TV was on a channel that showed only music videos of old music, the same the girl loved.
His girl opened her eyes when she heard the first few notes of the next song. It was Burning Love by Elvis Presley. Knowing how much she loved Elvis, Jimmy got up and started singing and dancing, pretending to be Elvis.
“Jimmy, what are you doing?” She asked, laughing, but he seemed not to listen to her.
He grabbed her hands and made her get up, dancing with her. He wasn’t that good at dancing, not when he was trying to dance like Elvis, but he was having fun and from the adorable laugh coming from Lillian, she was, too.
“I'm just a hunk, a hunk of burning love…” Jimmy sang, putting his hands on her hips and dancing with her until the song was over. “Oh, baby. I love you so much.”
Lillian smiled and kissed his lips. “I love you, too.”
The next song started playing, but Jimmy didn’t pay attention to it. He was lost into Lillian’s hazel eyes. He wondered if their son would get her eyes, he wouldn’t be mad if he did. Her eyes were absolutely breathtaking.
“A penny for your thoughts?” Lillian asked, putting her hands on Jimmy’s chest and starting to play with his necklace.
“Give me a minute, okay?” He said and pulled away, running to the room they set up as a small studio where he could practice wherever he wanted.
Lillian stood there, confused as what had just happened. Did she say something that made him upset? Was he feeling sick? What the hell had just happened?
Jimmy entered the room and searched through his stuff, finding the little blue velvet box he was looking for.
He’d been thinking about proposing for a while now. No one knew except for Brian. Damn, that guy knew everything. He thought about the perfect way to propose and he considered different occasions and places, but none seemed right. Brian kept telling him that he would find the right moment at some point and he was right, that night felt different and Jimmy knew it was the perfect day to propose.
The moment Jimmy entered the living room again, his heart almost sunk. The look on Lillian’s face made him worry, so he quickly walked towards her.
“What’s up? Is there something wrong?”
“I don’t know. You tell me. You’re the one who disappeared all of a sudden.”
Jimmy smiled softly at her and kissed her lips. “I went to get something.” He explained, getting on his knee. His position was quite obvious and her shocked face only confirmed this.
“Jimmy…”
He couldn’t stop smiling and got the little box out of his pocket. He opened it and showed the ring to Lillian, who was simply speechless.
“I know this may be totally unexpected and what isn’t in our life?” He asked and quickly glanced down at her baby bump before taking one of her hands. “We have a child on the way and shit, I knew you were the one even before him but now the idea of spending the rest of my life feels so natural and perfect that I can’t just ignore it.” Jimmy took a deep breath and smiled softly when he noticed her watery eyes. “You know I’ve never really believe in love or marriage, but you… You made me change my mind. You’re so beautiful and I still can’t believe you chose me when you could be with anyone else.”
“Jimmy…” Lillian repeated and took a few deep breaths, trying not to cry or worse, sob. Ever since she got pregnant she’s started to become really emotional, crying for pretty much everything, and right now she was desperately trying to hold it together.
“I love you, baby. I want to have pretty kids with you, take you wherever you want and to grow old with you, so… Will you marry me?”
The blonde nodded and smiled widely, finally letting a few tears fall down her cheeks. She bended down a little and kissed him. Jimmy smiled against her lips that tasted like salted cherry.
“Is this a yes?”
“Yes! Yes, of course it is…”
They were finally getting their happy ending and neither of them couldn’t ask for anything better.
Jimmy got up and slid the ring on Lillian’s finger before kissing her once again, this time, however, their kiss was a little deeper than the previous one. Lillian wrapped her arms around Jimmy’s neck while his wandering hands were on her back.
Between them, their son was having a peaceful sleep, while in the background, Lionel Richie and Diana Ross were singing Endless Love.
And there was absolutely nothing that could ruin their life now.
Notes
Here's the second chapter! It's not much, just a glimpse of Jimmy's life. The next chapter will feature Jimmy's future and while I've already written most of it (and it'll be longer than the first two chapters) I need to change a few things first, so I'll probably post it later this week.
A big thank you to those who commented, subscribed and voted my story. It's very appreciated and I'm glad you enjoy my story so far.
Hope you liked this chapter :)
@HometownGlory
You're absolutely welcome dear <3
3/8/17