“Just take it easy and avoid head bumps and you two should be fine,” Doctor Cambridge replies with a little chuckle as he walks out of the room.
“Come on, darlin’. I’m ready to go home.” I throw my arm over Erin’s shoulder as we head out of the room and towards home.
An hour later, Erin is fussing over me - again - as I sit on the couch, waiting on Maddox, Avery, and Brooklyn to come over with pizza. “Erin, stop. I’m fine. You don’t need to adjust my pillows every two minutes. If I need them adjusted, I’ll do it,” I say as I make a grab for her hands that are reaching for another pillow.
“I’m sorry. I just want to make sure you’re comfortable.”
“I’m fine. I promise. You’ll be the first one to know if I need something, okay?”
“Okay,” she says as she leans down and places another kiss on my lips. Every time she brings me something or adjusts my pillows, I steal a sweet kiss from her lush lips.
“Actually, I do need something.”
“What? What do you need?” she replies instantly.
I grab a hold of her hand and bring it down to my groin. “I need some attention right here.”
“Jake!” she says as she pulls her hand back. “Be serious!”
“Oh, believe me, darlin’. I am very serious.” Erin steps away as a knock sounds on the back door. She takes off out of the room like a rocket eager to get away from me and my hard-on.
“Uncle Jake!” Brooklyn exclaims as she runs into the living room and stops right in front of me. “Are you better fwom getting shot?”
“I’m working on it, Bean. Come here,” I reach out for her with my right arm. “You can sit on my lap on this leg. Just be careful not to hit this arm here, okay?” I say as I point to my left arm.
“Otay. I colored you a pitcher,” she says as she holds up the colorful picture of a cat.
“It’s a beautiful picture. I’m going to hang it on my fridge.”
“Otay. I’ll go put it up dere for you,” she says as she hops off my lap and runs back into the kitchen.
Avery walks in a few moments later. “How are you feeling, big brother?”
“Good. Erin’s fussing over me like Mom so I haven’t had a chance to be anything but good,” I quip.
“Oh, leave her alone. She was freaked out. We all were.”
“Well, I appreciate all of the concern, but I’m fine.”
“And for that, I’m happy. I’d be so pissed off at you if you upstaged me at my wedding by dying or something,” she sasses with a big smile.
I laugh hard. “Well, we wouldn’t want that.”
“Maddox says the parties are still on for this Saturday. Is that smart?”
“I’m gonna need this party to get my mind off of the boredom I’m going to be dying from come Saturday. The parties are most definitely on. Besides, it’s not every day my little sister gets married to my best friend.”
“True,” she says with a smile.
Maddox and Erin come into the living room a few moments later carrying pizza boxes and paper plates. We all pile around the coffee table and dive into the delicious deep dish pizza. This is so much better than hospital food.
“So, Jake, what exactly do you have planned for Maddox’s bachelor party?” Avery asks.
“Nothing too big. Why?”
“Are there going to be strippers?” she asks with a raised eyebrow.
“Why would you think that?” I ask as I take a big bite of pizza.
“Um, because you’ve been talking about strippers since we got engaged at Christmas.”
“What’s a stwipper?” Brooklyn asks as she turns her attention from the cartoons on television to the adults sitting around the table. Everyone’s face becomes super serious and all eyes roam from face to face waiting to see who is going to respond to the three year old’s question.
“It’s someone who is going to dance at daddy’s party this weekend. Like the clown at that birthday party you went to a few weeks ago,” Avery says.
“Wike a ballerwina?”
“Yep, kinda like a ballerina, princess,” Maddox says. We all laugh as Brooklyn is pacified with the stripper definition and returns her attention back to the television.
“Isn’t Holly going to have entertainment at your party?” I ask Avery.
“God, I hope not. I’m not interested in that,” she replies.
“Why would she need to see some half-decent-looking guy dance around and strip when she has me and all of my hotness at home? I don’t think you girls need to see a stripper. My mom is going to be there and I really don’t think she wants to see one.” Maddox says clearly pulling out all the stops.