IF YOU ONLY KNEW - CHAPTER 8: CJ'S HOMECOMING

Following Day

My nerves shot right through my body as we pulled into a vacant parking space at the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. I don’t know why I felt so nervous. Maybe it's because I’m getting so close to entering fatherhood by each passing second that I’m psyching myself out.

It was five till noon. Five minutes until I’ll be able to sign CJ out. Five minutes until everything will change. I jerked when I felt a hand clamp down on my shoulder. I turned in my seat and looked at my mom.

“Don’t be nervous. You can do this.” She reassured me.

I flashed her a quick smile and then took a deep breath. “How can you tell?” I asked her. I can’t be that obvious right?

She glanced down to the floor board and then back up at me, “I know that tissue didn’t tear itself up.” She chuckled. I quickly looked down and noticed little tiny pieces of tissue paper that I had apparently ripped up on the way over here, and now they were scattered all over the seat and on the floor. I pushed the pieces of tissue off the seat and watched them fall to the floor.

 “Sorry I’ll clean that up later.” I told her, still eyeing the pieces of tissue. I couldn’t wrap my head around this. I was so out of it on the way here, that I never noticed having a tissue in my hand to begin with.

“Yes you will.” She said soberly. I nodded, but stayed silent. I glanced at the clock and then quickly unbuckled my seatbelt.

“It’s noon. We need to go.” I mentioned, opening the door and climbing out.

“Yup.” My mom pulled the keys out of the ignition and stepped out of the car, “Lead the way. I’ve never been to this hospital before.”

I nodded, “Okay.” As we walked toward the hospital entrance, I reached over and grabbed my mother’s hand. She squeezed my hand so lightly, I barely felt it. The hospital was swarming with nurses, most trying to go on their lunch break, others trying to fill out last minute release forms and other paper work. We walked past a busy waiting room and headed toward the main desk.

I spotted Cat and other nurses talking amongst themselves. Rob was there as well. Cat moved slightly back and when she did I saw the angel I am proud to call my daughter standing in front of her holding on to her pant leg. I glanced over at my mom and noticed the tears springing to life. I smiled, feeling my tears start to form as well. Then, CJ finally looked over at me. “Daddy!” She let go of Cat and raced toward me. I dropped my mothers hand and scooped my baby up in my arms. I slowly walked her back to everyone else, as I held her tightly against my chest.

“Daddy, I’m ready to go home now.” She whispered in my ear. I pulled her back a little so I could look at her.

“We will baby. Here in a minute we’ll get going.” I told her. “Hey, you want to meet your Grandma?” CJ’s eyes lit up with excitement. She turned in my arms and came face to face with her Grandma Ginger, “This is my step mother Ginger.”

“Hi, Grandma.” CJ flashed a smile that could light up every star in the sky. My mom reached for her, pulling her out of my arms and held her on her hip.

 “Hi, baby. It’s so nice to meet you.” Ginger said, kissing her tenderly on the forehead.

“It’s nice to meet you too, Grandma.” CJ answered back, politely, “Daddy, when will I be able to meets my real Grandma too?” CJ asked me.

I smiled. “Soon, I promise. She lives in Florida so it might be awhile.”

 “What’s her name?”

 “Jane.” I whispered.

“You’ll like her.” My mom said, giving her a sweet kiss on her nose. CJ giggled and snuggled closer to her Grammy.

‘I hope so.’ I thought to myself, as I walked over to Cat. Cat welcomed me with a smile and then whipped out a clipboard with the release form attached to it. I quickly wrote down all the information that was required and handed the clipboard back to her.

 “Cat, if you didn’t have a boyfriend, I would kiss right now.” I smirked. Cat let out a sweet laugh and enveloped me into a hug, “Thank you for everything.” I whispered in her ear. “Thank you all for everything.” I said, turning toward all the other nurses that came into CJ’s life not too long ago. I hugged each one and thanked them again.

 “Here you go.” Cat handed me a small Scooby Doo back pack, “And you’re welcome. You’re a good man, Aaron. CJ is so lucky to have you.”

I smiled, feeling the tears coming once again, “I’m lucky to have her.”

 “You have my number right?” She asked me. I nodded, slipping the bag over my shoulder, “I’ll try to be around whenever you need me to watch CJ. And I also talked to my sister, Stacy, who’s a regular baby sitter and she said she’ll watch her whenever work keeps me here all night.”

I smiled, nodding once again. “That would be perfect.” I chuckled, glancing at the bag I held in my hand, “Is this everything?” I asked, thinking there was no way this could be everything of CJ’s. The bag felt empty.

 “That’s all that I own…daddy.” CJ said, from her spot in her Grandma’s arms. I looked at her, a smile spreading over my face.

 “Well not anymore.” I assured her.

 “Trust me, baby, your daddy, your aunties and myself went crazy trying to get your room together.” My mom said, taking the bag from me. CJ grinned from ear to ear. She definitely loved hearing that.

“How many aunties do I haves?” CJ asked.

“Well right now you have four at home.” Ginger answered.

 “Uncles?”

“You have two. Nick and Kanden.”

 “How old are they?”

 “Nick is twenty seven and Kanden is one.”

CJ frowned, “I have a uncle younger than me?” Ginger nodded, “That’s weird. And Uncle Nick is old.” CJ said, making everyone chuckle. I shook my head, holding back my laughter.

“Baby, just wait until he turns thirty. We’re going to have so much fun!” I joked, giving her a bunch of small kisses on her cheek. She giggled, swatting her hand at me, playfully. Rob walked over to us, and watched us play for a few seconds then called me over to the side.

“Sometimes I wish Kelly was like that when she was three.” Rob told me.

 “How was she?”

 “Two words; terrible twos.”

“Oh great, something to look forward to.” I said sarcastically, letting out a heavy sigh. Rob placed his hand on my shoulder and then glanced over at CJ.

“Aaron, I don’t see CJ being too much trouble for you. I mean look at her--” I took a deep breath and looked over at my daughter. She was playing with my moms hair and glowing like the angel she is, “She may be three, but she certainly doesn’t look like it. She doesn’t talk like a normal three year old. She’s very beyond her years. You look at her only once and you can tell she’s the smartest little girl on the whole damn planet. She’s--She’s even bigger than the average three year old toddler. She could easily pass off to be…maybe six or seven.” Rob continued. As I was listening to his voice, I was listening to the truth as well. I literally could feel my heart smile.

 “Anyway, the reason why I pulled you over here is that I need to tell you something. Nothing to be worried about, but you’re going to be in a mess with Social Services as they try to process legal issues and other procedures pertaining to CJ. It may take some time.”

I blinked, feeling like he just spoke another language to me, “Huh? How much time are we talking about here?”

 “Well, it depends on her case.” Rob said. I gapped, putting my hand up so I could protest, but he kept talking, “The earliest would be in about six months or it could take a couple of years.”

 “What case?” I frowned. I had a feeling the information Rob was getting ready to tell me, was something I never wanted to hear. “Are you kidding me? Aaron, we pulled CJ out of the biggest drug bust I’ve seen in my whole career as a police officer and it involved a three year old child, possibly from the time she was born. God knows what she was exposed to. Social Services are busting their balls trying to figure out everything that went on and so are we.”

 “What the fuck are you going find, huh? Her mother is dead. You can’t just go up to her and ask her questions.” I hissed, trying to keep my voice low, so CJ wouldn’t hear me.

 “Those bastards at Social Services know something went down. And it’ll be a bigger mess for you, because CJ is now in your cust---” Rob trailed off and then crossed his arms tightly across his chest, “What is it?”

It hurt when I swallowed, “Are they going to take her away from me?”

Rob looked directly into my eyes. It scared me. “As long as you don’t give them a reason to.” He said calmly. I sighed and lowered my eyes to the ground, feeling once again like the failure I’ve always been. I knew exactly where Rob was going with this, “I know how you can be, Aaron.”

 “And you proved it, by saving my ass on many occasions.” I said, giving him a fake smile. Immediately as it came, it was gone.

Rob sighed. “I’m not judging. I just know what you’ve been through. I’ve been by your side every step of the way. I’ve seen how hard everything is on you. Just be careful not to screw anything up, until this shit blows over, and until those little snitches are out of your hair.”

I closed my eyes, wondering why this is always happening to me. I reopened my eyes when I felt Rob’s hand on my shoulder, “Aaron, take CJ home. All she wants is her daddy. So give her, her daddy.”

I blinked a few tears from my eyes, “What do I need to do?” I whispered.

 “There’s nothing you can do right now. I don’t know when, but soon enough you’ll get a call from either me or Social Services with any news and then you’ll know what to do next.” I slowly nodded and kept quiet. I wiped my tears away and cleared my throat.

“Mom, let’s go home.” I told her. She nodded and handed CJ back to me. She snuggled her head up into the crease of my neck and closed her eyes. We said our goodbyes and headed back home.

Meanwhile at the house

 “CJ’s room is all set.” Angel said as she walked into the kitchen, where BJ was busy making a home made frosting. BJ’s apron was covered in flour and her hair was a wild mess. Angel stood at the sink, glancing over at BJ as she washed her hands. “You look like shit.” Angel joked drying her hands off.

“Thanks.” BJ grunted. Angel put the towel down and rested her hands on her hips, eying BJ down.

“What are you doing?” Angel asked, after a couple of seconds of staring at her.

 “Get the cake out of the oven and see if it’s done, would you?” BJ ordered, ignoring her question. Angel rolled her eyes in annoyance and grabbed some oven mitts. She pulled the cake out and placed it on top of the stove.

“So what’s the cake for?” Angel asked, leaning over it and taking in it’s sweet smell.

“It’s for CJ. It’s going to say, ‘Welcome home CJ’ on it after it’s all done.” BJ said, sighing heavily.

 “I was wondering what smelled so good when I was walking down the hall.” Angel murmured. She stuck a toothpick in its center and pulled it back out, “It’s done.” She said throwing the toothpick in the trash can beside her.

“Great, so is this frosting.” BJ said, whipping off her apron and throwing it to the side. She blew her bangs out of her face and took in a deep breath, then let it out slowly. After a few seconds of resting, BJ quickly started to clean up her mess. “Why are you in such a hurry?”

 “Because, CJ could be home any minute and I want it to be all prettied up before she gets here.” BJ said trying to clean up her mess as quickly as she could, while glancing at the clock from time to time.

 “That’ll take awhile, BJ. The cake has to cool first.” Angel mentioned.

 “I know that! Just put the damn thing in the freezer.” BJ snapped. Angel shrugged her shoulders. She grabbed the cake and placed it on the second rack in the freezer. Angel let the freezer door shut by itself and followed BJ out of the kitchen and into the bathroom. BJ positioned herself into front of the mirror and tried her best to straighten out her hair and makeup. Angel smirked, crossing her arms in front of her chest. BJ glanced at her and stopped fidgeting with her hair for a split second.

“What?”

“BJ, you look fine.” Angel chuckled.

 “I want to make a good impression for my niece, Angel, so shut the hell up would you?”

 “BJ, she’s three. I don’t think she would care, besides I think she’ll find it funny when she sees her Aunty BJ has flour caked in her hair.” Angel said her lips pressed together in a tight smile. BJ gasped, quickly turning back to the mirror and shaking the flour out of her hair. The sound of the front door opening and closing, drew both girls’ attention toward the hallway, trying to catch a glimpse of who just came in. Leslie crossed into view, humming silently to herself and walking into the kitchen. BJ sighed in relief and turned her attention back to the mirror.

“Ohhh….cake.” Leslie’s voice rang from the kitchen. BJ pulled the brush she was using away from her hair and slammed down on the counter, making Angel jump back.

“Leslie, don’t you dare touch that cake!” BJ yelled.

The sound of the freezer door closing came and Leslie’s voice quickly followed, “Well that ain’t no fun!”

“At least not yet!” BJ yelled again, picking her brush back up.

 Angel turned and walked back into the kitchen, were Leslie was silently sitting on top of the counter, “I think BJ has officially gone insane.” Angel said standing up against the counter beside her sister. Leslie smirked and continued to pick at her nails. A few seconds later, BJ emerged from the bathroom looking somewhat better.

“I am not.” BJ growled, “Angel, get the cake out of the freezer.” BJ ordered her.

“It hasn’t had time to coo---”

“Angel--! Do it now…” BJ gritted through her teeth.

Angel stole a glance at Leslie, “See…coo-coo.” Angel said, mimicking the crazy sign in BJ’s direction. Angel squealed when BJ turned around and whipped her in the butt with the towel she was using. Angel glared at her, flopping the cake down in front of her.

 “So what’s the cake for?” Leslie asked.

“Missy CJ. It’s her welcome home cake.” Angel answered, “Actually it will be if BJ doesn’t screw it up first.” Angel continued, giving BJ a sly remark.” All Angel got back was the bird in her face. Angel and Leslie faced BJ and watch her apply the frosting on the cake--er--disaster to the cake. BJ slowly lifted the spatula up and gently slid the frosting inch by inch over the cake. BJ suddenly stopped when a piece of the cake started to ride up.

 “Oh no, no, no, no, don’t do that….” BJ whined as she kept spreading the frosting on.

 “And she calls herself a chef.” Leslie snickered.

 “Fuck you both.” BJ hissed, shooting a-go-to-hell-look at both of them, then she continued spreading on the frosting. As she went, the cake kept tearing up, “Shiiiiit…..” BJ kept ranting in frustration.

“So how’s Mike doing?” Angel asked Leslie, trying to drown out BJ's whining. “He’s wonderful. I love being married.” Leslie said, grinning from ear to ear. Angel and Leslie tried to keep a conversation going but they kept getting distracted by BJ’s tantrum. BJ threw the spatula across the counter. It hit the wall, splattering frosting all over the bottom of it. BJ put her hands on the edge of the counter and lowered her head.

 “BJ, it’s not that bad.” Leslie assured her, pulling herself off the counter. She grabbed the spatula and tried smoothing out the frosting. BJ sighed heavily and snatched the spoon out of Leslie’s hand.

“It’s fucked up, Leslie. Just leave it alone.”

 “BJ, stop being such a bitch about it, it’s fine. CJ is not going to care!” Leslie huffed, rinsing off the spatula and placing it into the dishwasher. Angel grabbed the cake and set it on the bar, away from BJ.

 “Guys?” A small voice came from behind them. Angel and Leslie turned and saw Taylin standing in the door way.

 “Hi, sweetheart what’s wrong?” Leslie asked her, as she walked up to her. Leslie placed her hand on Taylin's shoulder.

“They’re here.” Taylin said.

“They are??” BJ and Angel said in unison. Taylin nodded in silence, clutching her stuffed gorilla in her hand. BJ could feel herself start to shake and her lack of patience start to take over. She quickly snatched the cake off the bar.

“We have got to do something with this damn thing!” BJ stammered out, trying to figure out a way to clean up the cake to make it look a little ‘decent’.

 “It’s fine, BJ! Leave it alone!” Angel said pushing BJ away from the cake.

“It looks like shit, Angel!” BJ snapped at her.

“That’s enough you guys.” Leslie groaned in annoyance. Her attempt to make them stop ranting back and forth failed just like she knew it was going to. Leslie rolled her eyes and motioned Taylin out of the kitchen and into the hallway. The dogs, Tiki and Jada, could be heard barking from afar as the front door opened.

Meanwhile…

 Closing his eyes, Nick laid his head back against the seat as he let out a long sigh. He rubbed his eyes, tiredly. “Are we done yet?” Nick asked, glancing at his watch. Brian sat down beside him, throwing his arm around Nick’s shoulders.

“We haven’t been here for very long. What’s up, man?” Brian asked him.

“Dude, it’s past one.” Nick rushed out, pulling himself forward and facing Brian.

“What’s your fucking point, Nicky?” AJ asked from the other end of the room.

 Nick gapped. “My fucking point is Alex, is that my niece will be home any minute now and I want to fucking leave and go see her.”

 “CJ comes home today? Oh my gosh I totally forgot, Nick.” Brian said.

Nick groaned and dropped his head in his hands. “I told Aaron I would be there when he came home with her and they’re probably home by now.”

 “Nick, just go home. I’m sure it’ll be okay.” Howie said, “Although, Andrew might give you crap about it.” Howie continued.

 Nick narrowed his eyes at him. “Thanks Howie!” Nick said rolling his eyes.

“Nick, Howie’s right. We can pick up with your vocals tomorrow. You need to go home and see that beautiful niece of yours and spend some time. We’ll probably be over at the house after we’re finished recording.” Brian said patting Nick lightly on the back. Nick nodded and stood up. He raised his arms over his head and stretched.

 “That’s right, Nicky.” AJ said sitting down on the other side of Nick, “Let me tell ya, I can’t wait to meet this little one! I’m gonna teach her everything I know.” AJ said grinning.

 “Oh God no!” Everyone groaned, “Whatever you guys do, do not let this man two feet from my niece.” Nick told Brian and Howie. Brian chuckled and squeezed Nicks shoulder.

“I’m serious!”

 “What the hell, Nicky? CJ is going to love me. And we already have something in common.”

Howie raised an eyebrow. “And what is that?”

AJ leaned forward, a goofy grin plastered across his face, “Our first names are our initials. AJ and CJ, can‘t miss.”

“This is so not my problem.” Nick murmured under his breath. He then left the room to go talk to Andrew.

 “Seriously, AJ, you need to watch what you say or ‘teach’ CJ.” Brian told him.

“Shit Brian! I’m not going to teach her anything ‘bad’. What kind of person do you think I am?” AJ asked. His eyes widened and he stared them down hard when they remained silent, “Who do you think I am?” AJ repeated.

“You’re a good person, AJ. Just keep it clean when you’re around the toddler.” Howie added.

 “And I will.” AJ assured them, “I’m gonna teach her how to be cool, like her cool uncle AJ.” AJ said, feeling pretty good about himself.

“Cool as what? You gonna lend her your cowboy hat and shades?” Brian asked chuckling.

“She would so totally look awesome in that!”

Nick walked into the control room feeling nervous. Andrew didn’t even notice him walk in, as he continued working with the sound mixer.

 “Andrew?” Andrew jumped back, startled. He turned in his chair and saw Nick standing behind him. He blinked a few times and sighed, “Don’t do that, man.” Andrew groaned.

Nick chuckled. “Sorry.” He said, sitting down in the chair next to Andrew.

“I’m glad you’re in here, Nick. We need to get your vocals done and---” Andrew trailed off when he saw Nick raise his hand to stop him, “What is it?”

 “Can we finish tomorrow?” Nick asked, his eyes lowered to the ground. Andrew leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. He stared at Nick for a few seconds before speaking.

“What’s so important that we can’t finish today?”

 “My niece.” Nick said nodding, “She’s coming home from the hospital today.”

“Oh well, I guess that’ll be okay. Take a couple of hours off to see the new baby and I’ll see you at…” Andrew said looking at his watch, “…four. How’s that sound?”

Nick shook his head, “Not good. And by the way, the new baby is three years old, so can I just take the rest of the day off to see her? It won’t take much to do my part, man.”

 “You do know that I’m on a schedule too?” Andrew said flatly.

Nick sighed and leaned back in his chair. “I’m aware of that. Andrew, you have got to understand, that this little girl is almost four years old. I’ve missed three years of her life. My brother has missed three years of her life and so has everyone else. At least you can do is spare me the rest of the day.” Nick told him.

Andrew looked at him and blinked once. “You have the rest of your life.” He said coldly. Nick gasped lightly at Andrew’s cold words. Nick knew it was going to be hard to reason with Andrew, especially since he was on a tight schedule too. “Anyway I won’t be available tomorrow. Only on Friday for a couple of hours then I have to get my butt to New York.” Andrew continued.

“What time on Friday?” Nick asked.

 “Eight AM.” Andrew said without looking at him. “Eight Friday? That will be perfect!” Nick said with a smile.

Andrew jumped back in his seat and stood up, “Nick!”

When Nick reached the door, he turned back around, “I’m going to go see my niece. See you on Friday, dog!” Nick then turned on his heal and walked out of the room.

 “But---” Andrew stuttered. He rolled his eyes and sat back down.

Meanwhile back inside the lounge, just outside the control room, Brian, AJ, and Howie sat in silence trying to enjoy their lunch. AJ glanced over at Howie who was playing with his sandwich. AJ raised an eyebrow and tapped Brian on the shoulder, motioning his attention toward Howie. Brian put his plate down beside him and looked at Howie with a concerned look.

 “Howie, penny for your thoughts?” Brian said calmly.

Howie shot his head up feeling a little bit startled. He smiled and pushed his plate aside. “I still can’t wrap my mind around the fact that Aaron is father now. It’s just weird.” Howie said.

“Yes!” AJ exclaimed, jumping up from the couch and shooting his arms in the air, “I’m not the only one who thought so!”

“It’s called growing up!” Brian said, slapping AJ in the arm, “He’s not the little boy we’ve always known anymore.”

“Yeah, but he’s still yet to really grow up.” Howie said.

 “I agree with you Howie. I think it’s weird that he’s a father too. It’s just Aaron’s like a little boy lost in this world. I’m just afraid all this is going to be a bit much for him. I don’t want to see him unravel.” Brian said.

 “Are you saying you don’t have faith in him?” Nick said from the door way, making the rest of the guys jump a little.

“Whoa!” Brian said holding out his arms and standing up, “Now I am not saying that.” Brian walked over to Nick and pushed him further away from the others, “Look, I love that boy. I really do. He needs to turn his life around now, man. I mean--I just have a feeling that all of this is too overwhelming for him. I don’t want to see him crack under pressure or keep doing what he’s doing. He needs to stop and get help.”

 “I know.” Nick gritted through his teeth, “Brian, I know Aaron has a lot of growing up to do and a lot of sense smacked into him, but I have faith in him. A lot of people may not believe this, but Aaron really is a good person. He could have found out he had a kid, and turn the other cheek and say fuck it, I don’t have time for this kid. But he didn’t, because he’s not some asshole like some people are. He’s taking on this huge ass responsibility and doing all that he can to make sure CJ is well taking care of, despite that he’s a single parent and will eventually be doing this on his own. Right now he has us to help him out a little bit.” Nick swallowed hard and took a deep breath, “Brian, I know Aaron has…problems right now. But he has already proved to us and everybody else that he has the biggest heart than anyone I know. I would have put my foot all the way up his scrawny little asshole, if he denied her or if he knew that she was his and turned his back on her.”

“Your right.” Brian said, “All we need to do is be there for him.”

Nick nodded. “And he does need us. He may not say it, but his eyes tell a thousand words. He‘s scared, overwhelmed, but he can do this.”

Brian nodded and patted Nick lightly on the shoulder. “Is Andrew letting you go?”

“Peesh, no. But I’m going anyway. I have to be back here Friday at eight.” Nick told him, giving Brian a hug. Nick said his goodbyes to his other band mates and left.

 ****

 As my mom, CJ, and I walked through the front door, we were greeted by two slobbery doggies, Tiki, Angel’s little menace and my baby Jada.

 “Get down!” I sternly told the dogs. Jada sniffed at CJ, curiously.

 CJ whimpered and hid behind my legs. “Daddy, they don’t bite do they?” CJ asked in a tiny voice.

 “Oh no baby they don’t bite.” I assured her, “They’re just very playful.” I bent down and snapped my fingers at Jada and told her to sit down and stay. She obeyed, but kept her tail wagging with excitement. After getting the dogs calmed down, I was greeted with an embrace from Leslie. After we pulled apart, I kept a firm hold around Leslie’s waist as she smiled down at CJ. I pulled CJ closer and lifted her up into my arms. CJ smiled shyly back at Leslie.

“Baby, meet your Aunt Leslie.” I saw Leslie’s eyes filled up with sweet tears.

 “Aw, can I hold her?” Leslie swooned. I laughed, as CJ immediately jumped into Leslie’s arms. Leslie hugged her tightly, a few tears escaping her eyes. I looked over and saw Taylin, clinging to moms pant leg, a beaming smile on her face. I smiled back, then I felt my heart skip a beat. I realized there was something I forgot to tell CJ, just incase. I gently pulled CJ out of Leslie’s arms and held her close to me.

 “Baby, I want you to meet Aunty Taylin now, but don’t stare okay?” I told her quietly.

 CJ leaned in closer. “Why would I stare?” She asked.

I smiled and kissed her lightly on the nose. “You’ll see.” I put her down and turned her toward mom and Taylin. I saw that Taylin’s eyes lit up immediately. She stepped toward CJ. CJ took the remaining step toward Taylin and then threw her arms around her waist. Taylin laughed and hugged her ever so tightly.

 “It’s nice to meet you CJ.” Taylin whispered, kissing her head softly. I felt my heart smile as I watched the scene that unfolded before me. CJ pulled away and looked up at Taylin.

 “What happened?” CJ asked, glancing at Taylin missing left arm. She pried her eyes away from it and looked back at Taylin face. Taylin looked at it and shrugged.

 “I was in an accident.” She told her. I bit my lip nervously as my mom pulled me to the side.

 “We forgot to tell CJ about Taylin.” My mom whispered to me.

 “I already did. Well, I didn’t exactly tell her what happened, but I told her not to stare. I don’t think her asking questions is going to hurt anything.” I whispered back to her. She nodded and rested her head on my shoulder.

 “Did it hurt?” CJ said, continuing asking questions.

“At the time it didn’t. It hurts from time to time now though.” CJ nodded and then her eyes lit up.

 “Is that a monkey you’re holding?” Taylin smiled and held the monkey out to CJ.

“Yeah, his name is Boo.”

I snorted and bent down behind CJ. “That’s actually my boo. Taylin, you little monkey thief.” I joked, giving her a playful glare.

 “I love your monkeys.” Taylin grinned.

“So do I.” CJ said hugged Boo tightly.

“The only reason why you named that monkey Boo, Aaron, was because it has boobies.” Leslie joked.

“I did not!” I shot at her. I smiled, because I knew Leslie was just joking with me. I kissed the top of CJ’s head and stood up straight. I rested my hands lightly on CJ’s shoulders. CJ gave Boo back to Taylin and then looked up at me.

“Okay, I met two of my Aunties, where’s the other ones?” CJ asked. I frowned.

“Good question.” I said. Although in the back of my mind I figured they were somewhere in the house, because I kept on hearing loud talking or…yelling.

Leslie clapped her hands together and started to laugh. “I can answer that. BJ and Angel are in the kitchen. They have been all day and um…I’m pretty sure BJ is about to have a panic attack.”

“What? Why?” I asked, my eyes wide. I frowned and crossed my arms over my chest, giving Leslie the go ahead so she can continue explaining.

“You know how BJ is a good cook. She always makes her meals or desserts come out perfectly. She attempted to make a welcome home cake for CJ and it didn’t come out the way she wanted it to.”

“What’s wrong with it?” I asked calmly.

“She burn it?” Taylin added.

 “No she didn’t burn it. She didn’t let the cake cool down before she put the frosting on and the cake is all torn up now. So…” Leslie said nodding, pressing her lips together in a fine line, “And now Angel is in there trying to get her to leave it alone, that it’s fine. But BJ’s obsessing over it and trying to fix it right now.”

“Did she rush it?” I asked.

 Leslie nodded. “Pretty much. She was trying to get it done, because she didn’t know when you guys would be home.”

 “Uh…” CJ started but stopped. We all looked down at her.

“What is it, baby?” I asked placing my hand on the small of her back.

“Where’s the kitchen?” She asked. I blinked and looked at Leslie.

“It’s this way.” Leslie said pointing behind her. CJ walked passed Leslie and headed toward the kitchen.

“Should we warn her first?” Leslie said grabbing my arm. I shook my head.

“No. I have a feeling she has something up her sleeve. That girl has been blowing my mind since I met her.” I told her. Leslie smiled and chuckled a bit. We suddenly stopped in our tracks when we saw CJ standing in the doorway of the kitchen in complete silence. Inside the kitchen, BJ was in tears and Angel was trying her best to reassure her that everything was going to be okay. Angel snapped her head to the side when she saw CJ in the doorway. She stepped away from BJ, her hand covering her mouth in awe. Tears welled up in her eyes.

 “Oh CJ.” Angel cried, stepping over to her and wrapping her arms around the little girl. BJ snapped her head up when Angel heard her say CJ’s name. She saw Angel hugging someone and when she moved away from her, BJ felt like crying all over again. CJ stood there looking at her with the softest look on her face and the sweetest smile. BJ let her head fall against the lower cabinet, not bothering to move from her spot on the floor. CJ walked up to her and sat down on her knees. She reached forward and gently wiped a tear from BJ’s face.

 “It’s okay Aunt BJ.” She whispered.

 BJ sniffed and slowly shook her head, “I just wanted everything to be perfect for you.”

“It is. You’re here and that’ s all I ever wanted. A family…” CJ told her. She climbed into BJ’s lap and wrapped her arms around her waist.

“Well, we can’t let a perfectly good cake go to waste.” I said, bending down and holding a slice of cake for CJ, “I hope you like Red Velvet. That’s my favorite.” CJ's eyes glistened up at me. She grabbed the plate from me and climbed off BJ’s lap.

BJ lifted her hands up for me to help her up. I grabbed her and lifted her up right into my arms. “Thank you so much.” I whispered in her ear.

 “To tell you the truth, I was just trying to make things easier for you too. This is the first day of the rest of your life, buddy.”

 “Beejee, I wanna let you know that I appreciate you, even when you piss me off or vice versa.” I joked. BJ laughed and snuggled up closer to me. I looked down and smiled at my baby, who was enjoying her piece of cake. “So do you like it?” I asked her. CJ looked up at me, chewing with ease. She nodded excitedly and continued chowing down her cake.

 ‘’See it’s not that bad of a disaster.” I joked, throwing my arms around BJ’s shoulders. BJ scowled and swatted at me. I moved away before she could touch me. Everyone else grabbed a piece of cake for themselves as well and continued to mingle among each other. I stood by the counter and smiled down at my baby. Leslie handed me a piece of cake and I silently thanked her.

My heart fluttered with every single smile my baby gave me. Every move she made was so perfect to me. Looking at her made me realize that my life suddenly made sense.