Punk Rock-A-Bye Baby(27)

“Sorry, dude. I forgot he was here.” Damien pulled the headset from Mason’s ears. “Whattaya working on? Sounds like the start of a hit song.”

Mason’s drumsticks came to rest, and he looked up at Damien. “I’m makin’ a song.”

“You’re making a song? You writing for Immortal Angel now? It sounded pretty good. It got a name?”

Mason scrunched his brows together in deep thought. “It’s called Tantrum.”

A genuine smile spread across Damien’s face. “Tantrum? That’s cool. How’d you come up with that name?”

“Aunt Mary said I play drums like I’m a tantrum.”

Jimmy laughed. “Like you’re having a tantrum. It means . . . It means you play good.”

“Like your old man,” Damien added. “Let’s hear whatcha got so far.”

Everyone waited while Mason adjusted himself on the stool and readied himself to perform his new song. He clacked his sticks together, just like Jimmy always did to count off the start of a song, and the boom of Mason’s drums filled the studio. It was a complex beat for a child to put together, and his talent blew everyone away. He pounded on the drums with enough force to reverberate inside Angel’s chest. Mason exerted so much effort and force behind his drumming that his little arms were muscular and toned.

Mason paused to catch his breath and scratched his head with a drumstick. “I don’t got any words yet. Maybe Uncle Angel can help me make some.”

Angel threw his head back and laughed. “I’d love to help you write lyrics, Mason.”

“That’s my kid.” Jimmy looked on like the proud father. “Already writing music.” He gave Mason an approving nod. “Good job, Mase.”

Angel slung his arm over Tommy’s shoulder. “Isn’t he so goddamn adorable?”

“Sure is. That could be our boy one day, but with a guitar instead of a drum set.”

“Playing side by side with Mason and jamming along with Immortal Angel.” Angel’s heart filled with so much pride at the mere thought of the new baby that he couldn’t imagine how big his heart would swell once the baby actually arrived.

Mason was an amazing kid and a constant reminder of what was to come in the near future. Angel’s thoughts drifted back to the nursery. The North American tour was short, only three months, but it would take them across the country. They would start in St. Louis, go west, and then backtrack to New York. Once complete, it would put Jessi at 31 weeks, which meant that the baby’s room needed to be completed by the time they finished the tour. He didn’t want Jessi’s last few weeks of pregnancy to be stressful because the baby’s room wasn’t ready. “How’s renovation at your place?” Angel asked Jimmy.

“All done. It wasn’t pretty living there while construction was going on, but I didn’t want to uproot Mason and move into a hotel or rent a house.” Jimmy flashed a wide smile. “Me and Audra are now the proud owners of a duplex at Trump Parc. You’d never know they were once two separate apartments. How’s the nursery? Did you blow out the side of the house yet?”

Jimmy was joking, but it was something Angel was seriously considering.

“You’re not thinking about knocking down the wall and combining two bedrooms, are you?” Tommy asked.

“Actually . . .” Ideas were ping-ponging around Angel’s head. It would provide a nice-sized play area for the baby. A suite.

“I don’t want to lose a bedroom, A. It decreases the value of the house.”

That was Tommy, the finance major, always analyzing dollars and cents. He was right, but Angel wasn’t dismissing the idea. “How about we add a playroom off the back of the house or off the great room? We can’t exactly have a baby playing on the marble floors. We can have a nice, soft carpet in the playroom with all of his toys downstairs.”

Tommy just smiled and rolled his eyes. “Let’s get back to rehearsal.”



Chapter Nine

The familiar rush of adrenaline hit Jessi the moment she set foot on the tour bus. It had been almost a year since the band went on the road. The time at home had been well spent. She got to watch Immortal Angel record their next album, and she was able to spend her days at her shop interacting with customers. She even commissioned several custom-made garments. She loved spending time in their home, but she missed the thrill of the live performances and the culture of the various cities they visited.

Jessi navigated through the narrow corridor of the bus and didn’t get past the first section before she had to climb over Jimmy’s feet. He pulled his legs up onto the couch to let her pass.