“Yeah and then we head to Burbank.” JC was on the phone in the wee hours of the morning of Emma-Claire’s school play while Annie slept next to him. “My kid’s got a show today at eleven so I’ll have to leave a few minutes early.”

Annie snuggled closer to him upon hearing his voice next to her. She placed her hand on his chest and lazily rubbed down to his stomach and up to his sternum. Her eyes were still closed but JC knew she was awake now.

“Uh huh. Sure. Yeah, sounds good.” JC looked down at Annie whose eyes were fluttering open. She looked up at him and gave him a languid smile. “I gotta go. See you later.” He hung up and placed the phone next to him on the nightstand and then turned on his side to face Annie. They were nose to nose and her lips were easily accessible to him. “Hi.” He greeted her with a soft kiss and rubbed her shoulder with his arm.

“Hi.” Annie sighed and pulled the covers over her, closing her eyes again. “Do you have to get out of bed now?” She mumbled into his chest and kissed him there, then looked up at him.

“Yeah.” JC nodded. “But I’ll see you later today at Emma’s play.” Annie reached over and pulled his arm, gesturing him to wrap it around her. “You don’t make it easy to leave this bed.”

“You can be late.” Annie kissed his arm and in her tired state rolled on top of him. “You were gone all day yesterday.” She kissed his neck and then bit at his earlobe. “And I want you so bad, Josh.”

JC moaned softly beneath her and turned his head, lifting it to see the time on his phone. He owed her this time and he knew it.

“I can be a little late.” He let out a slow breath as Annie’s lips continued to make contact with his body. JC pulled her back up to him and rolled over so that he was looking down at her now. His fingers found her clit and began to massage it, then  dragged one finger between her slit and chuckled.

“What?”

“It’s not even six in the morning. How are you already this wet?” He probed his way inside of her with two fingers and Annie reached between them and massaged her clit while he fingered her.

“Maybe you just make me that way.” She could feel him pressed hard against her inner thigh and in a few seconds he removed his fingers and slid into her.

“See, this is …why…you shouldn’t leave all…the..time.” Annie could barely get out a sentence because of how good he felt inside of her that morning.

“Having trouble talking, baby?” JC pulled out and entered her again with a little more force, which made Annie buck against him wildly.

“Shut up.” Annie wrapped her arms around his neck and let him rock with her, grateful that they’d at least been given this much time together, even if it wasn’t much.

The auditorium of the preschool was decorated in green and pastel colors throughout. It was also the church gym and whoever had decorated had taken advantage of using the basketball hoops to decorate them as flowers. Annie found a row of seats in the middle where there would be enough room for JC, Lance, and Michael, who had both agreed to come and had been honored that Emma-Claire had asked for them.

Annie checked her watch and saw it was five til eleven. Most of the parents had already arrived and were chatting with each other. Annie looked around for any sign of Lance and Michael, then checked her phone to see if JC had called or texted. Her phone had one missed call but it was from Megan.

“Sorry we’re just getting here.” Lance apologized as he and Michael walked up to Annie. “Where’s JC?”

“Not here yet.” Annie looked at Lance and grimaced. Lance placed a hand on her shoulder.

“He’ll be here. He knows how important this is to Emma.” Lance was trying to be assuring but he saw the look on Annie’s face. “Annie, you know he’s really trying.”

“Yeah.” Annie moved to the side so that Lance and Michael could get to their seats next to her. “I know he is but it’s just been one thing after another. He promised her last week he’d be home in time to tuck her in and when he wasn’t…well, I just hate the look on her face. I know he’s busy and I know that this band is a huge priority, but I just feel like Emma’s taken a back seat to his work again.”

“I’m sorry, Annie. This business is tough, especially when you’re in a relationship. I can’t even imagine having a child to add to that.” Lance reached over and placed a reassuring hand on Annie’s shoulder.

Annie said nothing, only sat back and watched as the curtain opened on the small stage and in a minute ten little four-year-olds were walking on stage led by Miss Morton. She introduced the children and welcomed the parents and relatives. Emma-Claire spotted Annie, Lance, and Michael and immediately waved at them with a big grin on her face. Annie saw her looking around the auditorium with a hopeful expression and then watched as her face fell when she saw that JC wasn’t in the audience.

The program began and the children came up to a microphone and said memorized poems or verses about spring. When a song about flowers in a garden began to be sung, Emma-Claire came right up to the microphone and without missing a note, belted out a tune about daisies and springtime. Annie caught it all on her camera and texted a picture of her to JC that read:

This is what you’re missing. Where are you?

JC cursed at the car in front of him. Traffic on the freeway from Burbank back to West Hollywood was a mess as usual. He could blame it on that when he got home and tried to explain to Annie and Emma-Claire why he was late. Unfortunately, he also knew that Annie would want to know at what time he’d left Burbank to get back to West Hollywood and JC couldn’t lie to her. He’d left fifteen minutes before the play was to begin. On a good day it took a half hour to get there and back. During rush hour lunch, it was taking much, much longer.

The girls had given a great performance and interview at a local radio station and it had gone so well that JC had felt bad for leaving them. Jimmy had been insistent that he leave a half hour before he decided to, but JC hadn’t listened. In his mind, he figured he would be fine with traffic and get there right as the play started. He was more than wrong.

He saw the text come through with the picture and knew there was nothing he could do now. It was getting close to noon and by the time he would get to the school the play would be over.

Knowing he was defeated, he took the exit to the house and decided to text Annie from there, already expecting the worst.

“Did my daddy come?” Emma-Claire hadn’t asked about anything else when the play was over. She’d only run over to Annie, Lance, and Michael and after they’d hugged her and told her how good she’d done, it was the first thing she wanted to know.

“No, Emma.” Annie could hardly look at Emma-Claire and felt her heart tighten within her chest. “I’m so sorry.”

“But he said he was gonna come, Annie!” Emma-Claire tugged at Annie’s arm.

“I know he did, honey. I’m sorry.” It was all Annie could say without blasting JC in front of his daughter.

“Annie, we have to go,” said Michael putting his arm around Annie’s shoulder. “But if you ever get bored while JC’s away, you can always call us. We love hanging out with you and Emma.”

Annie smiled gratefully and hugged Michael. “Thank you. I really appreciate that.”

“Emma, you were awesome.” Lance bent down to give Emma-Claire a high five. The little girl gave him a small smile in return, but leaned into Annie, letting her know she was ready to leave.

“Thanks,” Emma-Claire said in a small voice.

“We’ll see you later.” Lance waved as he and Michael exited the auditorium.

“C’mon, babe. Let’s go home.” Annie took Emma-Claire’s hand and walked out of the building. She was doing her best not to let herself get too worked up but it was too late. It was then that her phone rang and when she saw it was JC she had to count to ten before answering.

“I got in traffic. I’m so sorry. Is she OK?” JC asked before Annie had a chance to say hello.

“She’s right here. Hang on.” Annie looked down at Emma-Claire. “It’s Daddy. Do you want to talk to him?”

Emma-Claire shook her head and looked down at the ground while Annie unlocked the car.

“I don’t think she wants to talk to you,” Annie said as she helped Emma-Claire into the backseat.

“I don’t know what to say. I know that ‘sorry’ isn’t gonna cut it-“

“No, it’s not.”

“Well, anyway, I came on home because I figured if I went to the school I would’ve missed you.”

“Okay.” Annie was giving him much to go on and it was on purpose.

“Annie, honestly I didn’t mean to-I mean, I don’t even know what to say.”

“Good. It’s probably better that I don’t respond to you right now, anyway. I’ll see you in a few minutes.” Annie didn’t give him a chance to reply before she ended the call.

It was silent for a good part of the time after Annie and Emma-Claire had arrived home. JC had been waiting on them when they came in the house but Emma-Claire had immediately gone to her bedroom and Annie went into the kitchen to prepare lunch. JC stood in the doorway of the kitchen and watched her, wondering when it was best to speak. He knew she was upset and angry at him. Her whole demeanor was closed off to him and she’d barely even looked his way.

“Will you at least talk to me?” JC finally ventured in asking her a question after Emma-Claire had come downstairs for lunch.

“What do you want me to say?” Annie muttered and put a grilled cheese sandwich in front of Emma-Claire. “And really, I’m not the one you should be talking to. It’s your daughter whose play you missed today.”

JC let out a breath and looked over at Emma-Claire. He walked over to where she was seated and knelt down next to her. “Hey, Emma?”

Emma was chewing on a piece of her sandwich and slowly turned her eyes to her father. She didn’t say anything, only looked at him and waited for him to continue.

“Daddy’s so sorry. I got in traffic and-“

“You promised me you would be at my play.” Emma-Claire’s words were like daggers. “You always promise me stuff, Daddy. How come you always miss it?”

“Emma, baby, I feel really bad about that. I-“

“Annie, I’m done. Can I go to my room now?” Emma-Claire turned to look at Annie and away from JC.

“You didn’t eat very much.” Annie pointed to Emma-Claire’s plate. “Are you sure you don’t want more?”

“I’m not hungry.” She pushed her plate away and climbed down from the booth in the breakfast nook. “Can I go play before my nap?”

“Yes.” Annie told her and watched as Emma-Claire bypassed JC and left the kitchen, heading upstairs. Annie went over to the table and cleared off the plate and cup that Emma-Claire had been using. JC was still positioned next to the booth and watched as Annie went about the normal daily routine as though he weren’t there.

“I’m here now, Annie. I took the rest of the day off. Jimmy even told me I was an ass for what I did.” JC was trying his best to come clean. These fights and misunderstandings with Annie were becoming more and more routine and he hated what it was doing to them.

Annie put the dishes in the dishwasher and looked at JC as she wiped off her hands on the dishtowel hanging over the stove. “It’s one thing that you missed telling her goodnight. But when I had to be the one to tell her today that you weren’t there, it almost tore me apart. She was crushed, Josh. And as much as I love her and she loves me, I’m not you. You mean the world to her and you should’ve done whatever you had to do to get there on time.”

“Annie-“

“I don’t really want to talk to you right now, okay? I’m gonna go get her down for her nap and maybe take one myself.” Annie didn’t give him a chance to answer or respond before she left him standing in the kitchen alone.

JC stayed downstairs long enough for Annie to put Emma-Claire down for her nap. When he heard their bedroom door close, he finally decided it might be safe to venture upstairs. He opened the door and found Annie pulling on a pair of sweatpants and laying down on her side of the bed.

“Mind if I join you?” He didn’t wait for her to answer, simply crossed to his side and crawled next to her. He wanted to touch her or pull her close but he knew she wasn’t going to reciprocate that so instead he lay on his side with her back facing him.

“I’m not ready to forgive you, okay?” Annie said softly, still turned away from him. “Maybe I should because I hate it when we fight but I’m really mad at you right now.”

“I wasn’t coming in here for you to forgive me. I was coming in here because I wanted to be with you. I’ve felt like shit all day and knowing that this keeps happening with us doesn’t make me feel any better about it.” Without hesitating, he reached over and touched her arm. He felt relieved when Annie didn’t push it away, but she wasn’t making any gestures towards him either.

“I’m the one that has to look at that little face and deliver the bad news, Josh. I’m so tired of it. It’s draining to me to always have to tell her the same thing, lately.”

“Well, what if I promise it won’t ever happen again-“

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Josh.”

Two evenings later, JC was gone again, but had sworn to Annie he’d be back before midnight and he would spend the morning with them the next day. It had taken a whole day for Annie to come around again. Emma-Claire was less resistant and when she’d woken up from her nap and realized her father was still at home, seemed to have forgotten that he wasn’t at her play earlier. They’d spent the rest of the day playing in her playhouse and JC bathed her and tucked her in that night. He’d treaded carefully with Annie and by the end of the night, she’d relented and they’d spent a heated night together in bed.

Annie had just finished bathing Emma-Claire, who’d had a rough afternoon. She didn’t want to play, had complained of her stomach hurting, and at dinner, she’d barely touched her chicken and rice. As Annie helped her out of the bathtub, Emma-Claire lurched forward and threw up all over the bathroom counter and floor.

“Oh, Emma, honey.” Annie reached for a towel hanging above the toilet.

“Sorry, Annie.” Emma-Claire began to cry and Annie shook her head.

“No, sweetie, it’s okay. You’re sick. Is that why you didn’t eat anything tonight?” She wiped off the counter and grabbed another towel from the linen closet in the bathroom to clean up the mess on the floor.

“Yeah.” Emma-Claire hiccupped and stood there watching as Annie cleaned up the mess. “My tummy hurts.”

“I know it does, babe. I’m going to get you some Pepto-Bismol and then you can sleep in Daddy’s bed with me.” Annie sprayed 409 all over the surfaces where vomit had landed and let it sit while she went into Emma-Claire’s bedroom to put on her pajamas.

Ten minutes later, Emma-Claire was settled in their bed and Annie went back to her bathroom to finish cleaning up. She texted JC and let him know that Emma-Claire was sick and that she would most likely be in their bedroom when he got home. She went back downstairs and plopped on the couch, realizing just how exhausted the last half-hour had made her. Annie closed her eyes and fell asleep.

The sounds of Emma-Claire bawling hours later woke Annie from her slumber and she sat up on the couch seeing that it was past eleven. Running up the stairs and down the hall, she quickly opened the door to her and JC’s bedroom and saw Emma-Claire sitting up in bed, holding her stomach.

“Did you throw up again, Emma?” Annie walked over to the bed and sat down next to her.

Emma-Claire shook her head. “No. My tummy aches, Annie. It hurts a lot!”

Annie noticed that Emma-Claire held the right side of her stomach and was holidng it tightly. She vaguely remembered back when she’d first begun working at the McGriffin’s how Henry had had the same symptoms the day he had his appendix taken out. Annie knew what she was going to have to do. She just hoped JC would answer his damn phone when she called him on the way to the hospital.

“It’s a good thing you brought her in,” said the doctor on call at the children’s hospital. “She’s going to need an emergency appendectomy. It’s no wonder she didn’t eat today. Normal for someone who has acute appendicitis.”

Annie could only nod her head and look down at Emma-Claire who was resting on the hospital bed.

“We’ll get her prepped for surgery immediately.” The doctor looked down at Emma-Claire. “Hi, Emma-Claire. How is your stomach right now?”

“It hurts. Bad.” Emma-Claire whined and looked at Annie. “When can we go home?”

The doctor smiled and with a warm and friendly tone said, “Well, Emma-Claire, it looks like we have to take out a bad little guy in your tummy. But you get to sleep through the whole thing. And it won’t hurt at all.” Annie appreciated the doctor’s bedside manner but worried about Emma-Claire who was looking at her extremely worried. The doctor turned to Annie. “We should be ready to go in about a half hour. We’ll leave you two here and come wheel her out when we’re ready.”

“Thanks.” Annie smiled at the doctor and let out a shaky sigh. For all that had just happened, she felt relatively calm on the outside but was a mess on the inside. She pulled out her phone and immediately called JC. It went straight to his voicemail which meant he’d either turned it off or it had died.

“Great,” Annie muttered and tried again. Nothing.

“Where’s Daddy?” Emma-Claire asked in a tired voice. “I want Daddy.”

“I know, babe. I’m trying to call his phone. He’ll be here.” Annie was doing her best to remain calm and collected but the more she called JC and it went to voice mail, the more she felt as though she would explode.

“Ugh turn your phone on!” Annie grumbled and restrained herself from throwing the phone across the room.

It was going to be a long night.