If this isn't great, I apologize. It's just, I've felt so horrible for not updating recently that I wanted to get something going. The next chapter starts the actual birthday festivities and it's when it should get better, I hope. I want to thank everyone who still reads and who's starting to read. You're fabulous, but you know that. Review, actually, if you like it. Haha. Kisses.
"So, what do you want to know?" Jude asked her daughter as they sat on Jude's bed eating casserole and watching Saved! on mute.
"Everything," Avery gushed. "Why'd you date Jamie? How come you broke Spiederman's heart? And most importantly, why in the hell didn't you go to Asia?"
"Mouth," Jude warned. "Well, I dated Jamie because it felt right then. He'd been there for me when both Shay and Tommy broke my heart and I thought he was the right guy for me. Turns out, I only ever really wanted him because he was dating my best friend, Kat Benton, and I didn't like that. But, I realized I couldn't be a good girlfriend to Jamie, so it ended, badly. We were on the rocks for a while, but he eventually came around."
"And Spiederman?" Avery implored. "Why'd you screw with him?"
Jude laughed lightly. "I didn't. I really did fall for Spied because he was goofy and cute and knew how I was feeling most of the time. The only problem with our relationship was that I never got over Tommy properly and after my seventeenth birthday, I knew it was practically over. Besides, he was the greatest best friend I've ever had." She sighed. "Asia. I guess I didn't go because I was terrified of Tom Quincy. He'd hurt me so many times before and I wasn't ready for that again, especially an overseas trip. What if we got into a big fight and I had to fly back? It wouldn't have been easy, so I took the safe route and stayed in Toronto. I regret it most days, even though I was lucky to have you, and I wonder what would've happened, but I can't live in the past anymore."
"Do you think you guys could ever work things out?" Avery wondered. "He'd make a good step-dad, I think."
"Really?" Jude smirked at her daughter's openness. "I'm not sure it's realistic. I haven't spoken to him in eighteen years and a lot has changed in that time."
"How do you know?" Avery said. "You haven't really talked to him yet much, so maybe absolutely nothing has changed and you're just too scared to find out?"
"Seriously, read The Baby-Sitters Club or something," Jude joked. "I'm sure he and I will talk at some point this week. I just don't know what it will be about yet."
"Don't let it pass you by, Mom," Avery advised as she turned the volume up on the movie. "You deserve to be happy again."
Down in the basement, Nic watched as her husband beat Wally at Guitar Hero while playing behind his head. She yawned loudly. "Can we pause the game and discuss why Lee is here, Wallace?"
"Cause I invited her," he answered, still playing furiously. "She's staying with some friends for the night, but she's moving here tomorrow."
Nic groaned and threw a pillow at Spiederman. "You're 33-year-old, Spied; give up the video games."
"It's just perfecting my art," he rationalized as he beat Wally for the millionth time. "Now, how was dinner with Jude?"
"Fine," she replied. "I really like her and I think getting her and Tommy back together won't be as hard as we thought it would be."
"Wait, what are you guys attempting to do?" Kyle asked, playing with a spare set of drum sticks he'd found in a corner. "How'd you decide to do that?"
"Avery," Spiederman admitted. "Earlier today, the three of us were down here and we were talking about her and Tommy and how Jude used to play 'White Lines' when Avery was little and she decided Jude still loved him and that she wanted to get them back together."
"She seems to be on the fast-track to being one of those kids who graduates college at like, fourteen and then will create a cure for cancer or something," Wally laughed. "Does anyone else see that?"
"Yeah, but without being completely weird and anti-social," Nic put in. "I think she just wants Jude to be happy and she thinks Tommy can do that."
Kyle shrugged. "Can't he?"
"Who knows?" Spiederman replied. "I always thought so, but they've managed to survive fifteen years apart."
"Speak for Jude," Nic interrupted. "There were times Tommy was barely getting by on his own. Love can do that to you."
"Do you feel like you're barely getting by when Spied isn't around?" Wally teased.
"I feel like part of me might be missing," she answered honestly. "I know, I know, that sounds ridiculous and I hate stupid stuff like that, but it's true."
Before anyone could make fun of her, her cell phone rang.
"Nic," Tommy said as soon as she answered. "Do you want to come watch That Thing You Do with me in the entertainment room? I need to talk to you."
"Sounds daunting," she mused. "I suppose I could tear myself away from these three for a while. I'll be up in a minute."
Spiederman pouted. "Ugh. Where are you going?"
"My brother needs me," she explained. "We're just going to watch a movie. Besides, I know you really want to keep playing this, so I won't stop you." She kissed him lightly and walked up through the house to the entertainment room, where she found Tommy setting up their mutual favorite movie.
"So, I really like Avery," he admitted once they were both seated on the couch. "She's a really smart kid."
Nic nodded. "She really is. She has a lot of all of you in her."
"How do you mean?" he wondered as the movie started.
"Well, she's about seventy-five percent my husband, with her mouth and her personality, but she's got some of you and Wally and Kyle in her, too," Nic explained. "She's an incredibly musician and she's smart and she can read people. You do that a lot. You read people fairly accurately."
He rolled his eyes. "If I read people accurately, I would've known fifteen years ago that Jude wasn't coming to Thailand as soon as I asked her and yet, I hoped she would. I would've been able to tell you were going to marry Spiederman the moment you met and yet, I flipped out when he asked if he could propose. I'm not a good people reader."
"I think you are," she shrugged. "Regardless, what else did you want to talk about?"
"What do you think?" he murmured. "How am I supposed to make it through this week, Nic? I can't stand to be around her without being withher."
Nic was caught off guard. She knew Tommy was still harboring feelings for Jude, they all did, but she never expected him to just admit it like this. "Wow. Do you think you can talk to her about it?"
"No," he said immediately. "I can't scare her; I've gone fifteen years without talking to her and I don't want to go another fifteen. She was my best friend for three years and she understood me more than any other person ever had. I can't just give that up again."
"Tommy," she breathed, "I'm impressed. You really do still love her, don't you?"
He knew he should've lied, because he knew Nic could use it against him in the future, but he couldn't. "I do. Fifteen years and I still love her."
"Tell her," Nic advised. "And I don't mean run down to her room right now and spring it on her, but you do have a full week to do it. Starting tomorrow at the yacht party, just get back into your element with her. Kwest said you all always made it seem so effortless."
"I don't know if I can," he admitted. "I'm 40-years-old now, Nic. I think my game might be a little rusty."
"Can I get that in writing?" she teased. "You're Little Tommy Q. You know no rust."
He yawned. "Trust me, I really do. I remember times when Saturday mornings meant Friday nights, when one supermodel brought on four more, and when alcohol was the gasoline to my car. But, those times have come and gone. I still sleep in, but not like I used to. I haven't dated a supermodel in nine years, and my alcohol consumption is considerably less."
"I won't tell," she promised. "I know I'm technically like 33, but I still feel 23."
"You still look 23," he added. "And looking that way without having any work done says something, especially out in La-La Land. The Paris Hiltons of the world, who aged terribly if you ask me, must be so jealous."
"Duh," she smirked, her infamous answer to everything. "Paris really isn't so bad. She went into the hotel business and got married to an NFL quarterback from Dallas. Her kids and Nicole Richie-Madden's are BFF, just like they were once upon a time."
"And when do you plan on children?" he wondered.
She eyed him like he was crazy. "Not now, that's for sure. I mean, we're sort of precarious with protection, cause it's not like we couldn't afford kids, but we're just not ready yet. He's still touring all the time, and I'm always on the road with them, playing their mother, so a baby would drastically change our lives."
"You're right," he agreed. "Then again, you usually are." He paused. "And don't 'duh' me, please."
"All right," she laughed. "So, who will be there tomorrow that you're most excited to see?"
"Probably Georgia and EJ," he decided. "I know they're doing their thing at the LA branch, so I'm sure you've seen them, but I haven't. You?"
Nic scoffed. "S-to the H-to the A-to the Y. I haven't seen him since my wedding six years ago. And even then, it was only for like, ten minutes. Darius told me he recently married Selita Ebanks who used to be a Victoria's Secret Angel."
"Oh, no," Tommy muttered. "Does that mean you'll be berating her tomorrow?"
"I don't do that!" she cried. "I just don't understand modeling. It's like, do you honestly need someone telling you you're gorgeous all the time? It's just a little self-centered if you ask me."
Tommy sighed. "She's a philanthropist now, though. You have that in common."
"That's about it," Nic interrupted. "She grew up poor and wanted to study law. I grew up rich and studied politics."
"How are law and politics that much different?" he questioned.
"Politicians create laws that slimy lawyers find ways around," Nic explained.
"Yeah, yeah," he mumbled. "You're so liberal."
"Thank you," she beamed. "So, how's work?"
He shrugged. "It's great. It's nice to still work with Mason, cause he's always a familiar face, but I like finding raw talent. I'm working with a band now and they're like four John Mayers put together. I think they'll be huge."
"I'm glad you still like what you do," she told him sincerely. "In the music industry, that's not always easy. That's why I tell Spied, Wally, and Kyle to be thankful they have each other all the time."
He glanced down at his baby sister, who was dressed in a white tank top and silk purple short shorts, and smirked. "Never in a million years did I expect you to marry Vin Spiederman and not only fall in love with him, but also his two crazy best friends."
"Technically, Kyle is my best friend," she clarified. "Spied gets Wally and even after ten years, sill Jude. Kyle, however, is sometimes deeper than he lets on, so we get along better than you'd imagine."
"Of the two, I can say I'd see Kyle as the deep thinker over Wally," Tommy reported. "Wally lives like a five-year-old."
"Lee likes him," Nic pointed out. "And we both know how she is about her men."
He laughed. "Carefree and sometimes blinded?"
"I meant smart," she told him. "She never dates a guy she couldn't see herself with for at least two years, so he must have potential."
"Other than with music, I never thought I'd hear 'Wally' and 'potential' in the same sentence," he joked. "But, Lee's always been a smart girl, even though she grew up as one of your closest, and slightly craziest, friends."
Nic yawned. "I remember when that rapper came out and his name was Murphy Lee, that she wanted to sue him for rewording her name."
"He was more famous than she was," he pointed out. "She's not even famous, other than being mentioned in articles about you and where you're putting your money."
"I know," Nic nodded, "but she said if she decided to ever be famous, it would hurt her chances to have the backwards name of a soon-to-be has-been, which he now is."
Tommy rolled his eyes. "You two are definitely two of a kind, that's for sure."
"We are," she nodded. "I love her like a sister."
They sat in silence through most of the movie, as he hated movie talkers, and when it was over, he stood up and turned on the lights. "Well, I'm going to bed." He kissed the top of her head. "Good night, Nicola, and I'll see you bright and early for the bus to the marina."
Nic went back down to the basement and found the three boys passed out withDazed and Confused playing quietly on the big screen TV.
"Hey," she whispered into Spiederman's ear. "Do you want to stay here or come up to bed?"
Her husband sat up and tiredly rubbed his eyes. "Gee, sleep down here with Beavis and Butthead, who smell like potato chips and Heineken or up in a California king bed with you, who smells like vanilla and cotton candy? It's a toss-up but I think it falls in your favor."
"Funny guy," she smiled, grabbing his hands to pull him up from the floor. "You guys watch this movie, like, eight times a month. Find a new favorite. What happened to Talladega Nights? You three love that movie."
"This was on TV," he shrugged. "And we just didn't feel like getting up to put something else in." He stumbled over his Converse and led her up to the kitchen.
"Hey," Avery said from her seat at the island in the kitchen. "What are you two doing?"
Nic looked at the clock on the microwave. "Avery, it's 2:15. We have to be up at 8:00 to be ready for the bus."
The little girl spun a stray pen like a drum stick. "It's been decided I'm sort of an insomniac. I'll fall asleep at like, ten and wake up around one and won't go back to sleep until two-thirty or three."
"You can take medication for that," Spiederman told her.
"Spied!" Nic said, hitting him in the stomach. "That medication hooks kids and gives them a path to heavier stuff. Your ex-wife would know. She probably took something like that, or Ritalin, as a kid."
He scoffed. "Oh, good, let's bring up Karma."
"I'm not," she assured him. "I'm just saying, ridiculous drugs like something for sleep insomnia lead to addictions to cocaine, meth, and Vicodin."
"I know what all of those are and I'm not going to take them," Avery interrupted. "My doctor says it could be stress-related and that eventually, it'll pass." She drummed on the counter. "So, my mom was playing that song again."
"She played 'White Lines?'" Spiederman repeated. "What does that mean?"
"It means it's working," Avery grinned. "She hasn't played it since I was three, which was about the time she just gave up on men, so I think she's feeling something for Tommy."
Nic clapped excitedly. "Yay. Tomorrow will be really good because neither of them can run away on a boat. Plus, Portia's really good at fixing people up, so we'll have her help."
"Yeah, good," Spiederman said. "Umm, I'm wiped, so I'm going to bed." He kissed Nic's cheek, winked at Avery, and went upstairs.
"You should probably try to get to bed, too," Nic advised. "Good night, sweetie."
As Nic walked past Jude's bedroom, she heard the faint sound of a piano playing an all too familiar song. "She's right," she murmured. "It's working,." She smiled to herself and joined her husband in their bed.
