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Chapter Thirty Four

Jane arrived at the house at six thirty, a half hour later than she said she would. It wasn’t a good start. By 6:01 Nick was already in a huffy mood. By the time he answered the door you could tell he was frustrated.

“Sorry,” Jane said breezily, walking in. She took a look around.

“Nice place.”

“Thanks,” Nick said.

“Where’s my granddaughter?”

I was sitting in the living room with Brooke. She was lying on a blanket, gnawing on my pinky like it was a bone. I looked up as Jane walked in.

“Hi Jane,” I said.

“Hi.” She came around the couch and knelt down and scooped Brooklyn up. As soon as my finger left her mouth she let out a startled (and if I may say so, pissed off) cry.

“Aww, shhh, shhh,” Jane cooed. “Don’t cry for grandma.”

Nick walked up behind Jane and stroked Brooke’s cheek.

“She’s cutting teeth, mom,” he explained. “She’s a little crabby.”

“Cutting teeth? Already?”

“She’s four months old.”

“Well, if I would have seen her more it might not come as such a surprise,” she said. I could tell Nick was biting his tongue. I stood up.

“Let me show you around, Jane,” I said.

I gave Jane a tour of the house, pointing out the formula and extra bottles in the kitchen and the diapers and outfits up in the nursery.

“She loves her swing,” I said. “She hates her bouncy seat.”

“Nick used to love his little swing,” she said. For once her face relaxed into a warm smile.

“Did Nick like baths?”

“Loved them.”

“So does Brooke.”

I was waiting for the orchestra to start playing a sappy instrumental. We were sharing a moment.

“Liv! Your limo’s here!” Nick called up the stairs.

So much for that moment.

“Okay, well…” I kissed Brooke’s cheek. “Have fun with grandmommy,” I said. I looked up at Jane. She bounced Brooke gently.

“Have a good evening,” she said.

I smiled; I was already nervous about leaving Brooke. Lord, help me.

“I will. Thanks.”

I ran down the stairs before I could change my mind. Nick grabbed my hand and spun me towards him.

“Have a good time,” he said quietly, his lips right next to mine.

“I will. You too. Be careful.”

“I’ll try. Something tells me I’m going to be a little preoccupied.”

His eyes darted towards the stairs. I turned his face back towards mine. I kissed him softly.

“I love you.” Nick smiled.

“I love you too, Livvy.”

He smacked my bottom.

“Now go before I drag you up the stairs and lock you in the closet.”

The thought of the closet brought back visions from this morning. Nick laughed evilly.

“I’m leaving,” I said, opening the door. I blew him a kiss. He jumped up with an exaggerated leap and caught it. He fell over the back of the couch on landing, his face smashing into the pillows.

“Be careful!” I reminded him again. I shut the door and headed towards the limo.

It seemed like we had just done Ro’s bachelorette party.

Now it was my turn.

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Leighanne was waiting for me as I walked towards the limo. She smiled brightly. She looked like she was ready to pop right on the spot. I hoped the limo was roomy enough in case we had to do an emergency delivery.

“Happy Bachelorette Party!” she said, hugging me tightly when I got to the door.

“Thanks, Leigh,” I said with a laugh. She opened the door.

“Go on. Get in.”

I slid onto the plush leather seat. The moment I sat down, someone placed a blindfold over my eyes.

“What’s this for?” I complained.

“Just go along with it,” I heard someone, I think Rochelle, say. “It’s a Backstreet bride tradition.”

I heard the door close and we took off. I was patiently quiet for all of five minutes.

As the limo picked up speed, I began to get antsy.

“Hey, how come Nick’s crew isn’t leaving to eight?” I asked.

“We have a longer trip,” Leighanne explained.

“Don’t give her any hints!”

To say the limo ride was long would be an understatement. Rochelle was only blindfolded as we made our way across town. I knew by the speed of the limo that we were on an interstate. After an hour my butt fell asleep.

“Okay, where are we going?” I asked impatiently.

“Just be patient,” Angel said with a laugh.

After what seemed like an eternity, the limo finally stopped. I heard the sound of doors opening and high heels hitting concrete. Finally a warm hand grabbed mine.

“Slowly," Leighanne said. "Watch your step."

Feeling a little like an eel, I flopped my way along the seat until I felt the warm night air on my calf. I stood awkwardly, blinking rapidly behind the blindfold. I heard the door close behind me.

"Alright, one...two...three!"

The blindfold was yanked off of my head. My eyes widened.

I was standing at the entrance of Universal Studios. BJ, Angel, Leslie, Rochelle, Leigh, and Leighanne were all grinning at me.

"What's this?" I asked dumbly.

"Well, I asked your mom where you might like to go for your party. And your mom mentioned Harry Potter world."

I laughed. My mom would mention Harry Potter world.

"But what time is it? It's closing," I said. The display on my watch read 9:00. People were pouring out of the gates. Leighanne's grin only widened.

"I pulled a few strings," she said lightly. "C'mon."

We made our way to the ticket booth. A moment later she was passing around VIP passes.

"Now, the rides are off limits, but I've talked a couple friends into keeping a few shops open." Leighanne handed out an itinerary.

LIV'S BACHELORETTE PARTY ITINERARY

9:00 - Arrive at Wizarding World
9:30 - Dinner at the Three Broomsticks; Dessert at Honeydukes
10:30 - Sightseeing
11:15 - Pedicures at Dervish and Bangs
Midnight - head home

I looked at Leighanne. I could have kissed her at that moment. She smiled.

"Sound good?"

"I love you. This is AWESOME."

"Well what are we waiting for?" Rochelle asked. "I'm starving."

We walked in just as they were locking the doors. I had a feeling this was going to be a night to remember.

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Our first stop was the Three Broomsticks. One lone bartender was manning the shop. Leighanne gave him a big hug and turned to all of us.

"This is Tony. I've known him since I filmed Olive Juice. He was part of the food crew."

Tony smiled and waved.

"Unfortunately, you ladies will have to enjoy a non-magical spread of pizza and salad," he said. "But I do have nonalcoholic butterbeer. For those looking for something with a little more kick I have some imported drinks."

Tony brought out three humongous pizzas. Leigh and Leslie went in the back to check out the wine selection. I smiled as a huge mug of butterbeer was set down in front of me. I grabbed my phone.

"What are you doing?" Angel asked. She had opted for water.

"Taking a picture."

"Why?"

"Because it's butterbeer!"

Angel rolled her eyes. I guess she didn't see the awe-inspiring power of butterbeer. For a moment I felt like Nick as I took the picture and sent the Twitpic to my Twitter account.

@livvyliv Butterbeer anyone?

"Do you have any idea what the guys are doing tonight Leigh?" Rochelle asked Leighanne. Leigh glanced over at me and then she shook her head.

"Nope. No clue." I knew it was a lie.

"Hey, why didn't Kevin's girlfriend come tonight?" I asked. I knew Brian and Leighanne had gone out to dinner with Kev and his "lady" the night before.

"She offered to watch Mason and Baylee. I think she's kind of shy," Leighanne said. "But, she is SO cute and sweet. I can so see Kevin and her together, riding off into the sunset."

I smiled. "So he's happy?"

"Absolutely."

I took a big bite of pizza, feeling happy and content. I was having my bachelorette party at an amusement park. And not just any amusement park. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter! It couldn't get any better than that.

"So do we have to be on labor alert tonight?" Leigh asked as she returned with a glass of wine in her hand. Leighanne shook her head.

"I had a doctor's visit right before we drove down here. No action. I think she's probably going to be late."

"Baylee was early wasn't he?" I asked.

Leighanne nodded.

"Yup. But it was a good thing. The waiting was killing us. This time around, I have Baylee to keep me preoccupied."

I nodded thoughtfully. Brooklyn was definitely going to keep me preoccupied.

"Hey Liv, AJ wanted me to ask you if you had any hand in Nick's Twitter video," Rochelle said with a smile. I laughed.

"Why?"

"Because I about died when Nick sang about AJ never tweeting," Rochelle said. "You should have seen his face. It was priceless."

Leighanne started laughing.

"Brian thought it was hilarious, but he did mention that he was going to tell Nick he could go chirp himself."

I grinned. "That was an all night jam session. It was videotaped by my friend Sam."

"Speaking of Sam," Leigh said. "Howie was incredibly impressed. He's offering him the job tonight."

"Tonight?"

"Yeah. Howie invited him to the bachelor party."

My grinned widened. What I wouldn't give to be a fly on the wall...

"Who's watching Brooklyn?" Leslie asked. My grin flickered. I was hit with the sudden urge to call home.

"Your mom."

"Our mom?" Angel asked. "Whose idea was that?"

"She called Nick and said she felt like we were depriving her of quality time. Nick told her she could babysit," I explained. My hand slid down towards my purse.

"He's a dumbass," Angel said.

"Yeah. She's been kind of crazy lately," BJ said. "With the whole Aaron thing and everything..." she trailed off and sighed.

I picked up my phone and stood up.

"Where are you going?" BJ asked.

"To check in."

As I walked down the hallway to the bathroom, I couldn't help but think if Jane's own daughters were worried about her babysitting that I should be very, very scared.