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Before: Overnight at Frick's


Nick

We packed quickly. Brian helped. We stuffed three large suitcases and two carry-on bags and Zoey's diaper bag into the car and I locked the front door and just like that, less than three hours after Brian and I had gotten back from attempting to serve the papers, we were backing down the driveway of the house. Ashley had tears in her eyes, hugging Zoey's pink giraffe to her chest. "It's not fair," she said thickly, staring at the house, "It's not fair that we aren't safe in our own home."

I reached over and took her hand.

We followed Brian's car across town to the house he was renting. It wasn't the same place he usually stayed when he was in Los Angeles, so unlike how I'd felt at AJ's almost two months before, I felt like this was an okay place to stay for the night before we left for Boston the next morning. Chris would never know that this was where Brian was staying, so there was no way he'd look here for us. It was safe.

When we pulled in Ashley turned to me, "Are you sure we aren't an imposition on poor Brian?" she asked.

I shook my head, "I think we're more of a welcome blessing," I said. "He signed up for Match dot com."

Ashley's eyebrows went up. "And we haven't looked his profile up to mock it ceaselessly because....?"

"Because I just found out when we were driving over to the prison," I answered. "But trust me," I reached for the door handle, "We'll be doing that tonight." I climbed out of the car as Ashley laughed.

Brian was already out of his car and halfway to ours. "It ain't much," he said. He looked back at the house, rubbed his head, "It ain't got the beach out back."

"I'll live," I said. Ashley was pulling Zoey out of the car. "I'm just glad my ladies are safe, you know? That's all I really want."

"I hear ya," Brian said. "C'mon inside."

The house was really sparse, and it was so painfully obvious that Brian was the only person living there that it hurt. It reminded me of the apartment him, Kevin, and Howie used to share back in Orlando in the early days. At least in that place it'd had Howie's touch, which is really close to having a woman's touch. But this place, this one... Well seriously the living room contained a couch, a TV on an squat book case that had DVDs and CDs haphazardly stacked on its shelves, a coffee table, and on the wall hung a Kentucky Wildcats pennent. And it was the best furnished room of the house.

I looked around.

Ashley held Zoey to her chest. "So you're staying in Los Angeles full time?" Ashley asked. I knew this was her polite way of asking what the hell is with this decor?

"Yeah," Brian replied. He shrugged. "It's easier. You know. All the guys are out here now."

"Yeah," Ashley nodded. "That's why Nick relocated out here, too." She settled onto the couch, Zoey was asleep in her arms.

Brian nodded. "I mean when we're all working together or whatever it's way more convenient."

"Yeah it is," I agreed. I stood there awkwardly.

"Do ya miss it yet?" Brian asked.

I shrugged.

"You will," he said. Then, "Are y'all thirsty? I have water and, I don't know, maybe juice or something in there...?"

"Water's fine," Ashley replied.

"What kinda juice?" I asked, following Brian to the kitchen. He opened the fridge. It was sadly empty.

"I haven't gone grocery shopping yet," he said. He pulled out the Brita filtered water jug he had inside and poured three glasses of water, then turned to the cupboard. "If you want, I have Crystal Light," he said. He pulled it out and shook the bottle. "It's Sweet Tea flavor. It's not the same as --- hers." I could hear the sadness in his voice. "But it is pretty good," he added.

"I'm good with plain water," I said.

"Okay."

Brian added the Crystal Light to his own glass, then we went back out to the living room. Ashley was asleep on the couch, Zoey laying across her chest, their faces in identical positions. I pulled out my cell phone and took a picture of them. I looked at Brian. "I've never felt so protective over anything in my entire life," I said.

Brian was lowering himself onto the floor by the far end of the couch from Ashley, water glass clutched in his hand. I put Ashley's down on the coffee table in front of her, and joined Brian on the floor.

"That's kind of amazing," Brian said, "I remember how you used to get over Twinkies. You were like one of them crazy mongoose things."

"I can't believe they stopped making Twinkies, man," I muttered.

Brian chuckled. "You stopped eating them. They went bankrupt. This is why you shouldn't diet."

I shook my head.

"You're a lucky man," Brian said.

I nodded, "I know."

Brian sipped his fake sweet tea. When he lowered the glass, he said, "If you leave the papers here, I'll make sure they get to Chris this weekend."

"Okay," I replied.

I pictured a big guy - like the guy from Princess Bride - dropping off the papers to Chris. Even in my imagination, Chris's face went red with anger.




Ashley

"C'mon baby." Nick's voice was husky in my ear. My eyelids fluttered open. It was dark. He was haloed by light from another room, giving him an unearthly glow. I felt the weight of Zoey lift off my chest and he held out a hand, "It's bedtime, love."

I let him pull me up. I looked around. Brian's house, I thought. It was dismal and dark and quiet and lonely. Nick led me out of the living room and into the hall, where the light had been coming from. Evidently Brian was already in bed. Nick carried Zoey into a spare bedroom, and I staggered along after him. He handed her to me while he popped open a travel crib and slipped her into it. He turned back to me, and waved for me to get under the covers of the bed. I crawled under and a moment later, Nick climbed in beside me.

I curled into him, and he wrapped his arm around me.

A couple hours passed before Zoey woke up. I woke up with her and I climbed out of bed, stubbing my toe on the leg of a chair that didn't exist at home. I flicked on the switch and pulled Zoey out of the crib, and carried her to the chair, patting her back softly.

Nick turned on the light switch by his side of the bed and peeked over. "Everything okay?" he mumbled into the pillow. I nodded. "Oh good," he said.

"We never looked up that Match.com profile," I said.

Nick laughed, "On the plane, then," he said.

"Don't forget," I said.

"I won't," he said. He smiled and hummed himself back to sleep. I sat there, hugging Zoey. My eyelids still felt heavy, regardless of how much sleep I'd gotten. I took a deep breath of the smell of Zoey's hair. Her eyes were blinking shut, too. I smiled down at her, then stood up and softly laid her back in the crib. "You just needed a hug, huh Zozo?" I asked as I put Pink Giraffe down next to her. She bit onto his antler thingy, her eyes closed.

I climbed back into bed next to Nick, and I put my hand on his chest.

"Hmm?" he mumbled, not fully asleep.

I kissed his skin softly.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yes," I replied.

Nick's arm wrapped around me clumsily. "Love you," he mumbled.

"Love you," I replied.

When I woke up next, it was early morning and the sunlight was streaming in the window. Nick was gone, and when I sat up and checked, so was Zoey. I quickly got dressed and poked my way awkwardly down the stairs and through the house until I found Nick and Brian in the kitchen, Zoey in her carrier, staring up at them with wide, just-stopped-crying eyes as they both serenaded her with a rousing version of I'm a Believer by the Monkees.

"Then I saw her faaaaaaaaaaaaaace," Nick sang.

"Baaa daada daaaaaaaaaa," Brian harmonized.

"Now I'm a Beeeelieeeeeeeeeverrrrrrrrr!"

"Da daa daaaaaa..."

"Witttthouuuut a traaaaaaaaaaaaace..."

"Daaaaadaadaa.."

"Of douuuuuubt in my miiiiiiiiiiiiind... I'm in love!"

"Oooooooohh."

"I'm a believer, I couldn't leaaaave 'er if I triiiiiiiiied..."

I clapped, and both boys jumped about a mile in the air. Brian dropped the bottle of maple syrup he'd been using as a microphone and it clubbed Nick on the foot. Luckily it was plastic and sealed so nothing broke. Although for all the dramatics that followed you'd think Nick's foot had.

"If only I'd had a video camera at that moment," I said.

Brian laughed, and turned back to the stove, where he flipped a slightly overdone pancake that he'd neglected for the theatrics of the song. Nick was holding his foot, balancing precariously on one foot. Zoey was gurgling from her seat with laughter. "Yeah? You think its funny Daddy got bashed with maple syrup?" he asked her.

She giggled herself into a giant spit bubble.

"Well that was certainly an impressive bubble, Miss. Zozo," Nick laughed as it popped on her chin.

I shook my head, smiling. "You boys are crazy."

Brian got the pancakes served up while I fed Zoey and Nick, dramatic as he is, held a bag of frozen peas on his foot. We all ate breakfast and chatted for quite some time until Nick looked down at his watch. "Well," he said, "It's time to go to the airport."

Brian jumped up and put the plates into the sink. "I'll drive you over."

We loaded our stuff into Brian's SUV. We left Nick's car there in the driveway. On the drive over to the airport, Brian and Nick goofed off, talking in crazy voices, and making all these whacky Frick-and-Frack-Only inside jokes. I talked to Zoey.

At the airport, Brian pulled up to the drop offs and Nick ran in for a cart and the two boys loaded the suitcases and carry on bags and Zozo's carrier, stroller, and crib onto the cart. Once everything had been transferred, Brian slammed the back door on the SUV shut and we stood on the curb facing each other. He took a deep breath, then came over to me and tilted his head to look at Zoey. "Well, madam," he said in a serious tone, "It was a pleasure to meet you and to perform for you this morning." He held out a finger and Zoey grabbed it. He smiled and shook her hand, then pulled away and looked up at me. "It was nice seeing you Ashley," he said.

"You, too, Brian, and thank you for trying to serve those papers, it means a lot to me."

"No problem," he said. He turned to look at Nick.

Nick stuck out his hand, and Brian reached for it to shake it, and Nick pulled him into a hug, "Gimme a hug you asshole," Nick said.

Brian patted Nick's back, laughing, and when they broke apart, Brian replied, "I ain't the asshole, asshole." Then proceeded to punch Nick on the arm. Nick punched him back. Brian grinned up at Nick. "I'm glad you're still my Frack."

"You're stuck with me Frick, what can I say, you can't shake me..." Nick grabbed the cart. "I always come back. Just when you think you're rid of me, I come back."

"Like a bad habit," Brian said.

"Like a BOOMarang," Nick replied. Brian laughed. I have no idea what the joke was but the way Brian giggled there obviously was one. Nick waved. "Seeya man."

Brian waved goodbye.