Johanna had finished her last class early and she was officially done with the semester. She was exhausted, having gone from class to check on Mollie at the hospital then over to the dance studio to handle a few things. She got undressed and passed out on her bed. She was sound asleep when the phone rang. She didn’t know what time it was, but it had grown dark. She grabbed her phone off the side table and flipped it open, worried that this might be the moment the babies were coming.
“Hello?” she mumbled, her voice gravelly with sleep.
“Shit, sorry were you sleeping? My hours are all off, I forget that not everybody is nocturnal.”
“It’s okay Justin. Is everything alright?” She glanced at the clock. It was 11pm.
“Yeah, yeah,” he said. “I just…I figured I’d get your voicemail. I just wanted to hear your voice.”
Johanna sat up, leaning against the headboard. She wanted to say she felt the same way but something held her back.
“I just miss you. I’m not trying to stir anything up or bother you. I’ve just made a point of not calling and texting you constantly these last few weeks. I wanted to honor your wishes.”
“I miss you too,” she said, letting the wall down.
“How’ve you been?”
“Keeping busy. I was taking some classes at the local college.”
“Lance told me that. That’s awesome.”
“You? Doing anything new?”
“I’m actually in Virginia, working on some music. I haven’t really told anybody. I’m trying to keep it quiet so there’s no pressure. I haven’t even been writing anything down on paper, which is new for me.”
“How’s it going? You’ve got some material?”
“Well, I’ve got plenty to draw on,” he said, a sad chuckle following the sentiment.
“I guess you do.”
“I’m actually about to go in and lay down some vocals and piano. I got here before everyone, I just had something I want to get off my chest. I just wanted a little confidence boost.”
“Like you need any confidence?” Johanna said, trying to lighten the mood.
“It’s been harder to find lately,” he said, feeling comfortable telling her that.
Johanna was pleased by his honesty. She knew it was hard for him to be vulnerable. They sat quietly for a few moments, a comfortable silence.
“I should let you go, I didn’t mean to wake you up,” he said, his voice betraying his words.
“It’s okay. You can always call me if you need me.”
“Yeah…”
“You’re gonna be alright Justin.”
“You think?”
“I know.”
“Thanks Joey. I’ll talk to you soon?”
“Yeah,” Johanna said, unsure of her reason why. “I’d like that.”
“Call me when those babies are coming.”
“Will do.”
They lingered for a moment and finally, Johanna hung up. She put her phone back on the nightstand and lay back down on the pillow. It was hard to say for sure what had changed in the last few weeks. She hadn’t even realized he’d stopped calling and leaving messages. She hadn’t been asking their friends about him and she was okay. She felt more energized and now that she finished her exams and was officially a beauty school graduate. She wanted to work as a makeup artist and possibly start her own makeup line. She knew now that she wasn’t happy before, working in the corporate sector. She needed a life where she felt passion and she was living it. She rolled over, staring out the window into the night sky. She needed to settle these butterflies that rose up in her belly when he called. It had been awhile since she felt them.
Justin sat on the deck chair for a moment more, letting the cool night air wash over him. Tim wasn’t scheduled to come into the studio for another half hour. Justin wanted to do this one alone. He let out a deep breath, comforted by Johanna’s words and went back inside. He fiddled with a few buttons at the sound board and hit record. He slipped into the booth, where Tim had helped him roll the piano into the previous day and sat on the cushioned bench. He knew this would be raw but he wanted it that way. It was only a demo after all. He flexed his fingers then settled them on the keys, counting himself off. He sang from the heart, he’d been assembling a few lines over the course of the last week and he hoped to be able to get the whole thing out in one take.
He let himself get lost in the melody and sang as if Johanna was right in front of him. He was actually breathless by the end and he found himself crying. He took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He went back out to the switchboard and ended the recording just as Timbaland walked in.
“Sneaky sneaky, recording without me?”
“Just this one. If you wanna save it. I’m gonna need you to burn me a copy to mail out tomorrow morning.”
“I ain’t doing shit until you let me hear it. How many takes?”
“Just one.”
"One?"
Tim hit the playback button and the piano sounds came through the speakers. His voice came through, raw and unfiltered. Justin sat, his knee bouncing in nervousness. The song came to an end and he kept his eyes on his feet.
"That's the best you've ever sounded. It's not like anything else we've done so far but I don't care. I'm gonna tell them I ain't signing no release forms on my tracks if this one ain't on the album."
"Thanks man. Don't forget to burn me a copy."
"You don't want me to smooth it out?"
"Nope, someone's gotta hear it as soon as possible."
They continued on with their tinkering, developing beats and throwing lyrics around. They got some things going and recorded a good chunk of a new song. A few calls were made for collaborations and tracks sent out. When the sun came up they started to wrap up, for the night. They were rapidly approaching enough demos to send out to the label.
Justin headed out, taking the rental to the post office in town. He scribbled a note on a card they had and tucked it in the envelope. He quickly addressed it and sent it out. Feeling physically and emotionally tired, he went back to the pool house, crawled into bed and slept.
Johanna flopped onto her bed, she was excited about her day, having met with her school advisors for her end of year review and thought of Justin. When he called a few days ago he mentioned making new music. This was exactly what she meant when they separated they needed to be themselves, separately for a while. She hoped Justin was getting as excited about his new ventures as she was about hers. It had been a long day and she was exhausted.
She headed downstairs in search of food. Her day hadn’t allowed for a break and all she wanted was food and her sweats. She found some salad fixings and made a small one to munch on as she cooked up a stir fry. She was slicing some peppers when her phone rang.
“Johanna, it’s happening,” JC’s nervous voice said.
“What’s happening?” Johanna replied, yawning.
“Babies! Now! Could you call everyone and come here? I need a little support.”
“Oh my God! Of course, yeah be there as soon as possible.”
She hung up and dropped the knife. She ran towards the door, slipping her leather jacket over her shoulders and her shoes into some boots. As she ran towards the car, she called JC’s mom. After that, she knew Karen would call the rest of the family so she moved on to the guys. She managed to get a hold of Lance who agreed to tell Joey and Chris. She dialed Justin without thinking, like it was second nature.
“Hey Joey, what’s going on?” Justin said, talking over a hip hop beat.
“Justin the babies are coming right now. Jayce just called me and said it’s happening. I’m on my way there right now. I’m freaked out.”
“Calm down while you’re driving,” he replied, the music fading out as he walked away from it. “I’ll be there as soon as humanly possible. Tim’s got a hook-up with a private plane. I’ll be on it in half an hour.”
“Thanks.”
“Of course.”
She took a deep breath and slowed her speed. It had only become real to her when JC called to tell her that Mollie was in labor. When she pulled up to the hospital, she parked and took a moment to call everyone else. JC's family was already halfway there, they'd planned on coming down this weekend and they were at a layover in South Carolina. The guys were scattered, Lance in LA, Joey in New York, Chris in Chicago. Each assured her they were on their way. She took a few deep breaths and ran into the hospital. She grabbed her visitor badge and stepped into the elevator. When she got up there, the environment was much calmer than she felt. Even Mollie, seemed pretty calm.
"It's time Jo. I've kept them in long enough and I know they'll be okay."
She sat with her for a while before being shooed out of the room by a nurse who was checking her blood pressure. When she found the waiting room, she sat and waited. A few hours later everyone started trickling in. JC's family was first, then Joey, Chris and Lance. She was beginning to think Justin wasn't going to make it. As everyone took turns in the room wishing the couple well, Johanna paced the hallway. She heard the squeak of sneakers and looked up to see Justin jogging towards her.
"Did I miss it?" He said, out of breath.
"Nope," Johanna said, dragging him by the hand to the room.
With one final bit of encouragement, they stood in the hall to allow them to wheel Mollie away and Justin slipped his fingers between Johanna's, a bit of comfort she didn't realize she needed.
