"Bailey, we're home!" Petey announced coming into their house.
Four months had passed since Christmas and Bailey was now seven months pregnant. Riley raced into the kitchen.
"Mommy! You started without me!" she pouted, looking exactly like her father.
Bailey was busy adding the ingredients to the large mixing bowl, "I know I'm sorry but your brother and sister were craving these cookies."
Riley pulled the bowl to her and began stirring. It had become a ritual on the twenty-fifth of every month Bailey and Riley would bake "Aiden's Special Cookies." It helped put Riley at ease so Bailey had begun the tradition.
"So how was Daddy this weekend?" she asked.
Petey came behind her and rested his chin on her shoulder and caressed her belly.
"Good. We went to the bookstore and bought magazines and we went to where the fish are and we ate pizza, and Daddy's room smells too Mommy. He says I have to clean mine but who tells him to clean his?" Riley rambled.
Bailey's hands stilled, "What do you mean Daddy's room smells?"
Riley shrugged her small shoulders, "It smells like he needs to clean it."
Bailey thought that after Valentine's Day Alex would be okay. Then his and Riley's birthday rolled around and all of his progress got shot to hell in a hand basket when Riley and Joey received presents overnighted from France. Alex had sulked for days. He was okay if he was occupied but the second his mind had time to wander that's when he felt like he couldn't breathe and that's when Bailey worried about him the most.
"Maybe you should go check on him." Petey whispered.
"Hi guys!" Ajay called.
"Yay! A-Ten cookies!!" Joey said scrambling onto the bar stool beside Riley.
Bailey kissed Petey's cheek and grabbed her friend's hand.
"Where are we going?" Ajay asked, very confused.
"I think Alex is worse than we thought." Bailey said, "Riley told me that Daddy's room smelled."
"Oh, damn. He didn't like kill her and is like engaging in necrophilia is he?" Ajay asked.
"You can't even spell half the shit you just said, and I don't know but we're going to find out." Bailey said as she eased behind the wheel.
"I can so spell." Ajay said sticking out her tongue.
Bailey laughed. They got to Alex's house and banged on the door loudly. After fifteen minutes and still no answer Bailey pulled out her key and they let themselves in.
"ALEX SHELLEY!!!" Ajay hollered.
Still no answer.
"The downstairs is pretty clean." Bailey noted.
"He's here, his car is in the garage." Ajay informed.
They both went up the stairs to his room. They opened the door and were instantly hit with the smell of old, dirty dishes and dirty laundry. His bed was a mess, the covers thrown about and over half of the bed was covered with magazines all opened and on top of one another saving the pages. His clothes were strewn about the floor; pizza boxes were stacked with beer cans beside his bed. Ajay sat in the only clean space on the bed and looked at one of the magazines. Bailey wandered into the closet.
"Bay, look at this." Ajay said joining her in the closet.
She pointed at a picture on one of the glossy pages. The picture was of a runway show in Madrid. The models were lined up and were applauding the designer at the end of the show. Circled in the background was Aiden who was smiling brightly as she admired the garments before her.
"Look at this one." Ajay said placing another open magazine in front of her.
Aiden's name was circled at the end of a photo spread as the fashion consultant. She removed that one and put another one on top of that one. This one she was backstage at a runway show assisting a designer in sewing a model into a dress. She had a pin sticking out the corner of her mouth her brow was furrowed in concentration.
"What the hell are you two doing?" Alex asked coming into his room.
The girls screamed and dropped the magazines.
"You scared the shit out of us!" Ajay admonished, swatting at him.
"What are you doing in my house?" he reiterated.
Bailey composed herself, "Riley said that your room smelled and we got worried about you."
She looked him up and down from head to toe. He was standing in only a towel, his skin still had beads of moisture on it, his hair was wet and slicked back.
"You don't look like you've been eating and drinking nothing but pizza and beer." Bailey commented.
Alex licked his lips; "I work out a lot now. It helps me keep my head out of the clouds and off of her."
Ajay picked up the magazines, "What do these do for you?"
He snatched them from her hands, "I feel better when I know that she's okay. I can actually sleep if I see that she's doing well and that she's doing what she loves."
"You're torturing yourself. I mean look; you kept all of her clothes. Why would you do that to yourself?" Bailey asked.
"They're hers. I'm not moving them until she comes back and gets them. I can't throw them away. Just leave them alone." Alex argued.
Ajay came out of the closet and pointed at the wall underneath his flat screen that was mounted from the ceiling. There were post-it notes in neat rows with numbers scrawled across them, and a small pile of the discarded ones beneath them.
"What's that about?" she asked.
"He's counting down until she comes back." Bailey said looking back at Alex who'd defensively crossed his arms.
"Just go. I really don't want to hear your shit right now." Alex muttered.
Ajay opened her mouth to protest but Bailey shook her head to silence her. Alex was staring at the floor like it would open up at any moment and swallow him whole.
"Will you let us straighten up a little bit for you please?" Bailey asked.
He went to his drawers and pulled out some clothes.
"Whatever, but leave her clothes, the magazines, and the post-it notes alone." He said walking back to the bathroom.
"Guess I'll go get some trash bags." Ajay grinned, "Sit down somewhere, you're making me tired just looking at you."
Bailey laughed and took a seat on the bed. She picked up a stack of magazines and perused through them. She glanced at the covers and at some of the articles noticing that most of them were in foreign languages.
"Please leave those alone." Alex sighed.
She analyzed him. He was in the best shape of his life, his arms were stretching his shirt, the fabric taut across his chest and broad shoulders. He looked tired and worn though. He looked like he was carrying the weight of the world on his back. He began stacking the magazines one on top of the other and put them on the floor in front of the nightstand.
"Where did you get these from? I've never seen these around here." She asked.
"I had to order them. They're French, Spanish, and Italian fashion magazines. I get them all so maybe I'll get a chance to see her or see what she's doing." He explained.
Bailey followed him with her eyes as he stood beside the bed in front of her.
"Those are all the ones she wasn't in." he said managing a half smile as he pointed to another stack against the wall.
"I'm sorry Alex." She whispered.
He sighed again, "Will you stop apologizing already? What's done is done."
She held out her arms for him to pull her up. When she was standing she wrapped her arms around his neck, "I don't know what else to say. I want you to be happy but I don't know how to accomplish that other than kidnapping her and flying her back here for you." She said.
"I'm fine, really." He mumbled
She motioned to the magazines, "No, you're not. Will you do me one huge favor, please?"
"Probably not, but go ahead." He grinned.
"Go to dinner with us tonight. No bars, no clubs, no other girls, just dinner please?" she begged folding her hands together.
Alex dropped his head, "I'm not going to be any fun. I'll just stay here and watch a movie or something."
"Come on, you gotta go." Ajay said coming into the room with an armful of cleaning supplies.
"I'll only ruin everybody's dinner by being in a bad mood." He said.
Ajay came up beside Bailey and they both poked their lips out, "Please?"
Alex smiled despite himself at their pitiful expressions.
"We'll drag you kicking and screaming if we have to." Bailey smiled, sugary sweet.
"Conscious or unconscious, it makes no difference to us." Ajay added.
Alex narrowed his eyes between the two of them, "No girls?"
They shook their heads no.
"Promise?" he asked.
They both nodded.
"Alright, I'll go." He gave in.
They both squealed and kissed his cheeks.
"Go watch TV or smoothing while we clean up." Ajay ordered pushing him out of the room.
She closed the door behind him.
"So where do we start?" Bailey asked.
"I guess we should start at ground zero and at least be able to see the floor." Ajay laughed.