chapter 2.60

Jackson

This was it. Tomorrow was the day I was getting hitched. There were so many years that I thought this was never going to happen. But yeah. I was completely and amazingly happy.

Except for now.

Clarke, Manu, and Lane dragged me to this garbage dump of a place because it’s my “bachelor party” and “Dude. Like you’re not going to get to sample any different girl scout cookies. Like ever.” (This was Clarke speaking. Go figure.)
They sat around with their mouths on the ground while my sane friends, Ro and Pax, joined me at the bar. (Maybe I should call them my married friends. Lane was married, but their relationship was somewhat open. I didn’t get it.)
“So,” Pax said, “What are my wife and her friends really up to tonight? I hope they aren’t doing what we’re doing.” He said this with a smirk. Did he know his wife at all? Luci would never step foot in a dive like this with male strippers.
I shrugged. “According to Winter, it’s none of my business. And likewise. She’d flip if she knew I was here.”
He laughed, taking a pull on his drink. “Oh, you don’t want to know what Luci would do to me. Do you realize the soapbox she’d get on about the denigration of women by us heathen men? It would be the guillotine for me. Or worse.”
“What’s worse?” I asked, shrugging.

“She’d throw me on the couch for a week. That’s not fun, my friend.”

Ro chuckled. “And that is why I married a guy.”

“Sounds like you’re the smart one, bro,” I said, laughing.
Ro and Eskander were considered the seasoned married couple. Going on three years, that seemed like an eternity for me and Pax. Pax and Luci had been married for about six months. And Luci had the huge belly to show it. I definitely wanted to wait on that, though. Concentrate on my wife first. Kids later.

Phone buzzing, Ro got up to take it. Eskander was meeting up with us later at a high end restaurant along with Patrick who I got to know after my accident. He was big buddies with Pax since they were doctors together at SM General (and he was one of the lead surgeons who saved my life.) His wife wouldn’t allow him to go to the strip club. I told him not to tell her, but he was whipped. She made him confess. We all had a huge laugh at his expense. Eskander booked the restaurant for late and they allowed it because it was for me. I appreciated the staff waiting. It was going to be probably 2 AM before we left this joint.

Pax bought me a beer and we both sat down on a couch, away from the dancers.

“Here you go, bro. Drink up. You’re gonna need it.”
“What? Is marriage that bad?” I asked, a little worried.

“No, dude. Not if you’re married to Luci but Winter...hey, it’s not too late to back out.” He threw me one of his sh**t eating grins.

I laughed. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

He grew serious. “I don’t know. It’s just...I work with her, dude. She’s demanding. I bet she becomes the youngest hospital director in SM General history. She’s already gunning for my job and she’s still a resident.”

“So, she’s driven. That’s not going to make her a bad wife. And besides, I’m driven, too. That actually should help. She’s not how she used to be when she had nothing else but me in her life.”
“You’re right. I’m sure I’m just on edge because I’m about to become a father.”

“Hey, that’s right. Only a few more months to go.”

“Yeah,” he said. “It’s kind of scary, to be honest.”
“You’ll do fine. You’re a doctor, right? What could go wrong?”

He pulled his leg up and changed the subject. “When are you going to have kids?”
Shaking my head, I said, “Whoa, I can’t even think about that right now. I’ve got a huge schedule coming up with this new album. I’d never be home if Winter got pregnant. She’s safely on the pill, thank God.”

Pax put his arms on the back of the sofa. “Sounds smart. I’m sort of regretting Luci talking me into having kids right away. She made the case that she wasn’t getting any younger. But if we’d waited a couple of years, 28 isn’t old. But it’s too late now.”

“That’s a true statement. You’re the man, though. What are you going to name it?”
“Crystal if it’s a girl and Joris if it’s a boy.”

“I’ll drink to that,” I said, as we both clinked our beer cans.

I couldn’t remember much of the restaurant. By that time, I’d drank at least a six pack and the guys made me do tons of shots.
Pax and I guzzled champagne and then everything grew hazy afterwards.
I heard that Patrick, who is the resident light weight, passed out on the table.
Ro told me that Eskander had to herd all of us like we were sheep into the back of the limo by the end of the night. I guessed he played mom. Whatever. The only problem with that was I was going to have a hell of a hangover for my wedding.

When I got home, I stumbled around to an awaiting Winter. My memory was fuzzy. I remembered we made love in the jacuzzi as the sun rose.
And then out of nowhere I thought she told me she was pregnant.
Weird dream.