**Thank you for the wonderful reviews! I'm SO happy that you're enjoying this! I hope everyone has a great Monday!**
WEDNESDAY MORNING
John walked in the door at 6:30a.m. and found Melody mopping the kitchen floor. "Honey, I'm home!" He called out.
Melody looked up and smiled. "Welcome home!"
"Gee…I'm guessing you're not just whipping the house into shape on my account." John teased.
Melody blushed, "Tell me the truth, are you upset with me?"
John shook his head no, "No. I'm surprised. I figured this would have taken a little while longer, but I'm not upset. Remember, I'm the one that freaked you out, remember?"
Melody giggled and kissed him sweetly. "I'm glad you're home. Are you tired? Hungry?"
"How about all of the above, plus some?" John said with a laugh. "What do you have on the agenda?"
"I cleared my schedule for the day once I knew you weren't coming home until this morning. So, how about I make you breakfast, then you can nap while I finish cleaning and run to the market. Then I'll wake you up and we can start working on dinner." Melody said as she hugged him.
"That all sounds good, but you've left out one little detail." John said kissing her sweetly. "What about if I want to make love to my wife to celebrate the day?"
Melody smiled and bit her bottom lip, "Then you'd better figure out a way to work that in."
John scooped her up and kissed her passionately. "Oh, I think I can do that."
Pretty soon the lovebirds were on their way upstairs for their own little celebration. By the time they finished, John was tired and fell fast asleep. Melody took a shower and returned to cleaning.
At the grocery store, Melody was listening to her iPod when her cell phone began to vibrate. She looked at the caller id and saw that it was her father. She smiled, "Hi Dad!"
"Hey Melody, how are you doing?" Jimmy asked.
"I'm good, I'm at the grocery store. What are you up to?"
"I'm calling with the most amazing opportunity EVER." Jim said with excitement.
Melody stopped in her tracks, "Most amazing opportunity ever? Are we being a little over dramatic?"
"Nope. How would you like to audition to sing back-up for Adele?" Jim replied. "Bonnie's good friends with her and was Adele mentioned to Bonnie that she needed to find a new back-up singer and Bonnie recommended you to her."
Melody swallowed hard, "Dad, I don't know. I mean, I'm still getting used to singing and I don't know if I'm all that good anymore. I've been singing karaoke at the club here in town but that doesn't mean I'm doing well." She wasn't quite ready to tell her dad about the possibility of her adopting Trinity's baby yet. Why get feathers ruffled for nothing.
"I'll tell you what. Are you familiar with Adele's music?" Her dad asked.
"Umm…yeah, who isn't?" Melody replied with a laugh.
"Use the recording software and record yourself singing one of her songs. Then email it to me. I'll call you and let you know what I think. But, you need to do it today or tonight. The tour isn't for a few months yet, but she's getting ready to start auditioning and Bonnie's been chatting you up."
Melody swallowed hard, "That's great. Yeah, I can do that. When I get done at the grocery store, I'll send you the song."
"Ok, make sure you include two others from different artists. One that's a ballad and one that's an upbeat song." Jim reminded her.
"Yup, I will. I've gotta run, but I'll email you. Love you dad." Melody said quickly. Once Jim hung up, Melody hung up the phone. Her heart was racing, was this seriously happening right now?
She got home and checked on John. He was still fast asleep. She put the groceries away and headed into her office. Melody booted up her computer and grabbed the microphone. She sang "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion and then "Make It Shine" by Victoria Justice.
John awoke to the sounds of Melody singing. He really hadn't heard her do much musically since the surgery so he quietly crept to the doorway so he could listen.
The last song she did was "Rolling In the Deep" by Adele. She belted it out with everything she had.
When she finished, she quickly emailed in to Jimmy before she could second guess herself. She didn't even listen to it.
John opened the door and began to clap. "Baby, you're back."
Melody's face broke into a huge smile, "You really think so?"
"I know so. That was amazing. You sound incredible." John said as he kissed her. "So, what are you doing now?"
"Attaching the songs to an email to dad. He wants to know where I'm at musically. Bonnie is friends with Adele and she's looking for a back-up singer. And since I can't tell him about what we're doing tonight, I have to do this or he'll get suspicious." She replied nervously.
John looked confused, "Ok, who is Bonnie?"
"Bonnie Tyler. She is a singer from England. She was famous here in the eighties for "Total Eclipse of the Heart" and "Holding Out for a Hero" from Footloose. Dad wrote those songs."
John nodded, "Ok…So, she's friends with Adele…as in "Someone Like You" Adele. And they're trying to get you auditioned for her as a back-up singer? Yet, we're in the process of possibly adopting a baby?"
"The tour isn't for a few months, and I don't even think I'd get it. And I can always decline the offer if it was presented to me. I just…I don't want to tell dad about Trinity's baby yet because I don't want to hear what he might have to say and if it doesn't happen then it was all ruffling feathers for nothing." She began to ramble when John interjected.
"And if it does happen, then we only have like two months to prepare for this baby and are you really going to be able to say no?" He said looking her in the eyes.
Melody turned away, "Maybe I should just forget about it. But, if it doesn't happen, then it'll give me a Segway to get back into things."
"It's your call babe." John replied. "I'm going to get in the shower and then I'll meet you downstairs so we can start prepping for dinner.
Melody thought about it, and then clicked the send button. If things didn't work out with the baby, she wanted to be able to do something familiar and this wasn't a permanent thing. No one knew if she'd nail the audition or not. She might not even get an audition.
A short time later, John got out of the shower and threw on a pair of jeans with a jersey. He came downstairs and found Melody mixing up a salad.
He kissed her cheek, "Looks good."
She smiled, "Thanks. It's one of my favorites."
John sat down on one of the stools, "Hey, did you send the songs to your dad?"
Melody sighed, "Yeah, I did. I know you don't agree with me still pursuing music and I know you want me to quit and just go on the road with you, but…"
John held his hand up, "Slow down. You're right, I want you to quit and go on the road with me. But that's not what you want, and I respect that. The only reason I was hesitant on you sending him those songs is because you're going to blow him away. You sound great. And I know that if I was Adele, I'd hire you in an instant. And I worry that we're going to get the baby and you're going to jet off to England and I'm not going to hardly see you for a few months and that thought drives me crazy."
Melody smiled, "That's why you're so worried? You're so sweet. What if I promise, no world tours right away if we are blessed with the baby?"
"It would make life easier for me to fly out to see you if you were at least IN the country." John said with a laugh. "And if I have to go out of the country, then at least only one of us is overseas."
She kissed him across the breakfast bar. "I love you."
He smiled as he kissed her back, "I love you too. I know, I have a lot to learn about being married. Thank you for being patient with me."
Then he got up and went into the fridge and took out the steaks he had been marinating.
Together the two began to prepare dinner. When the doorbell rang, Melody jumped. John burst out laughing, "Gee…you're not anxious."
"Shut up honey." She replied sweetly. "Now remember they're both deaf so you'll need to sign while you speak."
Melody opened the door and smiled and Trinity and Mike standing on her doorstep. "Hi you guys!" She signed happily.
They smiled and signed hi back. Melody welcomed them into their home. Both Trinity and Mike were shocked but were trying to mask it.
"Did you find the place ok?" She asked.
Mike nodded, "Yeah, I used to deliver newspapers over here." He signed back.
Melody looked at Trinity, "How have you been feeling?"
"I still have a few contractions now and then, but nothing like what it was." Trinity replied.
John walked in from the patio where he had the steaks on the grill. He smiled as he walked into the living room, "Hi, I'm John." He said as he signed.
Trinity and Mike smiled as they greeted him. As Melody and John invited them to sit down, Mike began to sign to Trinity, "You didn't tell me she was married to John Cena?"
Trinity giggled, "Oops, did I leave that part out? My bad."
John looked at Mike, "So Melody tells me you play football. Are you going to college on a football scholarship?"
Mike nodded, "Athletic and academic scholarships. They're split 50/50. I'd like to go into sports medicine."
John smiled, "Great field. Congratulations." Then he turned to Trinity, "What are you going to school for?"
Trinity smiled, "Photography and journalism."
John was impressed, "Wow, double major. Very nice."
The four of them began to talk about Melody and John's life and family. John's signing held up pretty good and he only needed Melody to help him out once and awhile.
Trinity and Mike were impressed with how much John had learned to be with Melody. They also liked how between the two of them, they completely embraced sports, music, school and theater. John and Melody didn't believe that someone shouldn't pursue something just because it might not be easy. But if it's their dream, then they should go for it and they would be fully accepting.
They sat down to eat and continued their discussion there. Trinity smiled, "Ok, I have a tough question."
"Go ahead." John replied.
"How would you feel if the baby grew up and was gay or lesbian? Or bisexual? And what if the person they loved was of another race?" Trinity signed.
Melody smiled, she knew how she'd feel. But, she didn't quite know how John would feel. That's a discussion they'd never really had before.
John spoke as he signed and made sure both Trinity and Mike could see him. He wasn't sure of a lot of the signs that he needed to say. "I personally believe that everyone should have the right to love whomever they choose. Gay, straight, bisexual, lesbian, whatever. And race has never been an issue. I would fully support them in whatever or whomever they love."
Mike smiled, "Ok, how do the two of you work out your schedules? Would the baby have to be in daycare?"
Both John and Melody looked at each other. Then Melody began to sign, "John is on the road Friday through Tuesday. Then if there's anything extra, we go from there. Right now I'm not singing, so I can either go on the road with him or stay home. But, if the time came where I was working and he was working, then we'd have to hire a nanny just for a few hours a day unless we had a family member or close friend who wanted to come along and help out."
Trinity took a bite, "First off, this food is great. Second, are you guys ok with us wanting this adoption to be closed. Both of us feel that it would be a lot easier for us this way."
Both Melody and John nodded, "Yes, and we are ok with that. If you ever did need something like a picture to ease your minds, you can always ask and I'd be more than happy to send one." Melody replied.
After dinner, Mike began to sign to John about sports and his career. Trinity and Melody cleared the dishes. Melody gave Trinity a quick tour of the house and showed her what room would be the baby's room.
Trinity smiled and spoke verbally, "You guys have a beautiful house. And you really seem like the two of you are really compatible and have adapted to one anothers' lifestyle."
Melody smiled, she knew from talking to her that she was very self-conscious about the sound of her voice. So she didn't normally speak in front of hearing people unless she had to. Melody nodded, "Yeah, we do have our differences, but we work through them and we're back on the same page fairly quickly."
"What do your families think of you guys adopting?" Trinity asked.
"They were surprised, but supportive. They're becoming grandparents and that's their first concern. John's parents are in West Newbury, Massachussets and my dad lives in New York, so they're not super close by and that makes them a bit antsy." Melody replied. Jim never came out and said he wasn't happy, he just wanted her to be sure of what she was doing. And she wasn't too sure just how much John had actually told his parents yet, so she went with a blanket of happiness statement.
Trinity laughed, "Yeah, my parents were surprised but relieved to hear that we were putting the baby up for adoption. We are both going to college and who knows what will happen there and this just isn't the right time. And honestly, I'm SO not ready for a baby. Mike's parents were really shocked but now they're supportive as long as we're comfortable with the family we choose."
They walked downstairs and found John and Mike watching the last quarter of the basketball game. Mike was relieved that they still had captions on the tv. Trinity rolled her eyes, "Ugh…sports again."
Melody excused herself to use the restroom and Trinity sat down by Mike. The two of them began to sign back and forth very quickly and it appeared very animated. John let them have their privacy.
When Melody returned, Trinity and Mike stood up. "I know its getting late and we should be going, but can we talk to you guys for a few more minutes?" Mike signed.
"Of course." John replied. And the four of them sat down in the living room.
"We've talked and we think you guys would be the perfect family for the baby if you're still interested." Trinity said happily.
Both Melody and John smiled. John began to sign, "Then we'd love to be the family for the baby."
They all hugged and shook hands. They talked about the legal parts and exchanged business cards of the lawyers. Then as Trinity and Mike were leaving, Trinity pulled out an envelope from her purse. She handed it to John since Melody was signing to Mike. "Here are pictures of the baby. One of them in there is in an envelope and it's up to you if you'd like to know the gender or not. We don't know. Thank you again."
John smiled and nodded, "Thank you."
Once they left, John and Melody shrieked and held each other. Then they sat down together and opened the envelope. Even though Melody had watched the baby kick and move on the monitor, it really made a difference knowing that the baby was going to be theirs.
John pulled out the envelope that had the baby's gender in it. "What do you think? Should we find out?"
"I don't know. What do you think? In a way yes, in a way no." Melody replied with a smile.
"It's hard to say, if we want a total surprise, then we should wait. But, if we want to decorate the room with something other than yellow, green and red then I say yes." John replied.
Melody nodded. "That is true. And we don't want to have to mess with painting the baby's room while the baby is here. Wouldn't it be great to have the nursery all decorated and welcoming?"
"Alright…let's open the envelope and see what we're having." John said with a big smile.
**Drumroll…..what do you think they'll have? How do you think they're parents will react? What about Melody's big opportunity? What will she do? And what is the baby's gender? Please read and review!**