Chapter Sixteen 

July 2013 

Justin, Emma and Noah were out and about in Los Angeles while on a short trip, and Emma was beginning to get frustrated with the people following them with cameras.  It was the first time they had taken Noah out in the public – outside of Arkansas – so there were few, if any pictures of him out there, and they could see the excitement in the photographers’ eyes.

Justin ignored them for the most part, but didn’t hesitate to make sure Noah was secure in the carrier strapped to his body and that the little hat he had on was hiding his face.  He could tell that Emma was getting more and more frustrated with their presence.

“Justin, I want to go home.”  Emma sighed loudly, glaring at the men with the cameras.

“Why?” Justin asked.  He wasn’t sure why he even asked this, because it was obvious.

“Because of them,” she rolled her eyes and gestured toward the other people around them.  “I don’t want his picture taken.”

“He’s fine Em, they can’t see him.”  Justin checked on Noah again.  “Just ignore them.”

“Justin – lets go.”  Emma stated with finality.  He sighed, but followed her as she turned around and headed back in the direction of where he had parked.

“I don’t see what the problem is.  I thought you were okay with this.”  He was frustrated as he opened the back door.

“I said I’d try, and I did, but I’m not putting him out there.”  Emma grabbed Noah from the carrier and put him in his car seat, which was in the middle.  She climbed into the back and sat next to Noah.

“What are you doing?” Justin asked when she put her seatbelt on.  Emma very rarely sat in the back with Noah so he knew she was upset with him.  They had been having a perfectly fine afternoon.

“I’m sitting back here.”  Emma glared.  “Just get in the car and drive.”

“You’re about to cause a scene Emma,” Justin turned and looked behind him, and then back at her.  “That doesn’t help your cause.”

“Well you’re not helping either.”  She turned her attention to Noah who was looking up at her with wide eyes.  Justin huffed and unhooked the carrier.  He stuffed it at Emma’s feet before closing the door angrily.  Emma reached for the backpack she used to carry Noah’s stuff and found his pacifier for him.

Justin got in the driver’s seat and started the car.

“I don’t understand Emma, one second you were fine and the next you’re blowing up at me.”

“I was uncomfortable okay.  Can’t we just drop it?”  Emma met his eyes in the rearview mirror for a moment and then looked back at Noah.

“Em I wouldn’t put you or Noah in danger like that, and you know that.  They weren’t anywhere near us.”

“They were too close.” 

“Whatever,” he said just loud enough for her to hear.  Emma rolled her eyes, and they ignored each other the rest of the way back to the house.  When they got home, Emma hid out in the kitchen making dinner, while Justin played with Noah in another room.

“Let’s talk.”  Justin was the first to break the silence later that evening.  Emma was sitting on the couch with Noah who was bouncing up and down on her knees, babbling.  He sat down next to the two.  “So, what was up with this afternoon?”

“I don’t know.”  Emma shrugged.  “I just really don’t want him to be out there like that.  It’s not fair to him.  You chose to be okay with the cameras, I chose to be okay with them, but he didn’t.”

“We’re not out here that much.  Once in a while is not going to kill him,” Justin stated.  He poked at Noah’s side and made a face causing Noah to squirm and giggle more than he was. 

“I just want him to be safe.”  She looked over at Justin.

“I do too Emmy.”  Justin reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.  “He was perfectly fine, and you know that.  If I was worried about it we’d have been out of there.”

“But what about me?  Don’t I get a say in it?”  Emma was starting to get defensive.

“Of course you do.” Justin said letting her know he didn’t want her to be upset with him again.  “I am sorry I got frustrated, because I know you tried, and I’m happy you did.”

“I’m sorry I got mad too,” Emma apologized and looked back at Noah.

“Do you still love me?”  He grinned at her.

“Well that’s a stupid question.”  Emma laughed and rearranged Noah on her lap so he was sitting.  Justin leaned over and put his head on her shoulder so he could look at Noah and make different noises and faces, which he enjoyed at six months.  Noah reached for Justin’s mouth and mocked the noises Justin made. 

“I will always love you,” she said over the noise the two of them were making.  Emma was content; just her and her boys.

*  *  *

The sounds of Noah’s newest toy floated over the railing upstairs to where Emma had just come home from work.  She could hear Justin talking animatedly to Noah, encouraging him, while the 10-month old pounded away on the piano keys of the musical toy.  Emma quickly took her coat off, hung it up and made her way downstairs.

“Ma-ma-ma-ma- …” Noah chanted when he saw her on the stairs, he smiled widely – revealing a few teeth to her.

“Noah … Noah,” Emma grinned.  She loved coming home to that smiling face – Justin’s too.  She leaned over and gave the two of the kisses.

“Hi Emmy.”  Justin smiled from his spot on the floor behind Noah who was standing at the toy.  Noah had become more confident with standing on his own and it wouldn’t be long before he started to walk.  “Did you hear his music?”

“I sure did.”  Emma answered with a smile as Noah started pounding away again, and she sat down on the floor next to them.  Emma reached out and rubbed Noah’s back.  “So what did you boys do today?”

“We played, ate some lunch, changed some diapers, and took a nap … the usual.”  Justin shrugged as Noah plopped back onto his diaper-covered butt and crawled onto Emma’s lap.

“Sounds fun.”  Emma happily took her son into her arms, hugging and kissing him.  “Mama missed you today.”  She only went into her office three days a week and spent the rest at home, which allowed Justin to work on his own projects as well.  It was a definite advantage to having her own business.

“How was work for you today?”  Justin stood up and stretched.  He and Noah had been sitting on the floor for a while.

“Busy busy.”  Emma pushed herself up from the floor with Noah in her arms still.  “I swear if Mr. Stevens sends me that proof back for his brochure one more time, I’m gonna scream.  He’s driving me nuts over the smallest details.  Mama does not like that people like that … no, no, no.”  She shook her head at Noah playfully, as he reached out to play with the necklace she was wearing.

“He just doesn’t know that it’s already perfect.”  Justin smiled and leaned down to kiss her.  “Maybe we could meet you for lunch tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” Emma answered.  “I want to try that new burger place down the street from work.”

“Sure.”  Justin nodded and walked into the kitchen area.  He opened the fridge.  “I was just going to reheat the leftover taco meat for dinner tonight.  Is that okay with you?”

“Sounds good.”  She was up for whatever he was willing to make.  “I’m going to change him and get out of my work clothes.”  Emma headed upstairs having a conversation, the best one could, with the 10-month old.  When she was done, the two came back down, and Emma got Noah’s dinner ready for him and settled him in his high chair, just as Justin finished preparing their dinner.

After they had eaten and cleaned up, they settled into their typical evening routine, which consisted of playing with Noah, bath time and bedtime, with a little time left for themselves.  Justin and Noah played with a squishy basketball, which Noah loved, rolling it back and forth across the floor. 

Noah got bored with that after a little while and crawled over to the chair, where he pulled himself up so he was standing.  He looked over at Emma.

“What are you doing Noah?  You gonna come here?”  Emma asked him.  She leaned forward and held her hands out, gesturing for him to come toward her.  Noah grinned, kept his hold on the furniture and made his way toward her.  Emma laughed and picked him up.  “Silly, you’re supposed to let go!”

Noah giggled and squealed when she blew raspberries on his stomach.

“Dow!”  Noah said.  Emma set him back on the floor, and he put his hands on her knees, looking toward Justin.

“You gonna go to Daddy?”  Emma asked him and then looked at Justin.

“Come here Noah!”  Justin encouraged.  Noah looked at him like he was thinking about it.

“Go see Daddy.”  Noah took a hesitant step away from her, still bracing himself on Emma’s knee.

“Come on NJ.”  Emma wasn’t sure when, but Justin had given him that nickname at some point during the last few months.  Noah dropped his hand, took a couple of steps away from her, then dropped down on his butt and into a crawling position, moving quickly toward Justin.  “Good job!”  Justin praised him, a bright smile on his face.  He pulled Noah onto his lap, giving him kisses.

“Yay!”  Emma clapped.  Noah clapped his hands too, feeding off of his parents’ excitement.  He didn’t know what he had done to garner that excitement, but he liked it.

“You’re such a big boy Noah.”  Justin was amazed everyday with every little thing that Noah accomplished.  He kissed the little boy’s head, and Noah shifted so he was snuggled up against Justin’s chest with a yawn.

*  *  *

September 2014

“EnEn!”  Noah screeched and then broke into tears.  He had dropped the cookie he was eating on the floor, and Brennan had quickly snagged it up.  Emma sighed, having seen it all.  “Mama … cookie …” He managed to get out in between his tears.

“I know.  We’ll get you a new one.”  She grabbed a cookie from the container on the counter and held it out to Noah who was standing at her feet. 

“No.”  He pushed her hand away and pouted.

“Fine.  It’s time for bed anyway.”  Emma was as tired as he was.  She put the cookie back where it came from and reached for her cell phone when it rang.  “Hello.”  Emma sounded exasperated.  She needed a break, and Noah was still crying.

“Hey!”  Justin’s voice came over the phone, “What’s going on out there?”  He could hear Noah crying in the background. 

“Brennan ate his cookie.”  Emma explained as she rubbed her forehead.  “It’s bedtime.  Noah?  Do you want to talk to Daddy?”  Emma held the phone out to him.

“No.”  Noah shook his head and pushed it away too.

“He’s tired.”  She said after she brought the phone back to her ear.

“I can tell.”  He sounded a little upset.  Noah almost always wanted to talk to him, so that was a first.  “How about you?”

“I’m tired, with work and then Noah … and I just want you home.”  She sounded like she was on the verge of tears herself.  Justin had been in L.A. for a month, working on a soundtrack for a new movie, and she missed him and it was stressing her out.

Emma balanced the phone between her shoulder and ear so she could pick Noah up.  He was still sniffing a little, but he rested his head on her shoulder. 

“I wish I was there too.”  Justin sighed.  He missed everything about being there – even Noah in hysterics.  It was quiet for a second, both of them in thought.  “Why don’t you come out this weekend?”  He suggested.

“Oh, geez … I don’t know.  That’s a lot of traveling for Noah.”  Emma hesitated.

“Just you – not that I don’t want to see Noah,” he added that qualifier.  “But I’d love to just have a weekend for us.” 

“That sounds nice.”  Emma smiled at the idea.  It had been so long since it was just the two of them, but she felt bad about leaving Noah for the weekend.  “I’d hate to leave him though.”

“I know …” Justin understood her hesitation, but he really did want to see her.  “Why don’t you call your parents and see if they’ll take him for the weekend.  I know they’d love to have him. … Just think of what we can do.”

Emma could just picture his face. 

“Okay.”  She gave in just like he knew she would.  “Let me put Noah to bed and call my parents.”

“Sounds like a plan.”  Justin smiled.  “Let me say ‘night’ to NJ.”

“Noah, Daddy wants to say ‘night.’”  She held the phone up to Noah’s ear.

“Night Daddy … … … love too.”  Noah sighed and turned his head in the other direction.

“I’ll call you back in a while.”

“Bye.”  They both hung up.  Emma stuck her phone in her pocket and headed toward the stairs.  Emma and Noah did their nightly routine, and after Noah had fallen asleep, she called her parents, who agreed to watch Noah for however long they wanted, and then called Justin back.

*  *  *

“Justin!  I’m here!”  Emma yelled as she opened the front door.  The car Justin had called for her just dropped off from the airport.

“I’m up here!”  Justin hollered back and then appeared at the top of the steps, before coming down them quickly.  “Emmy!”  His arms went around her as soon as his feet reached the bottom.

“Oh my gosh, it’s so good to see you.”  Emma’s smile went from ear to ear as she wrapped her arms around Justin’s neck.  It had been too long.  He lifted her up, and she wrapped her legs around his waist.  He laughed at her enthusiasm and then kissed her.

“I missed you too,” Justin said when he pulled away.  “You don’t know how much.”

“I bet I do.”  Emma dropped her legs from his waist and put her feet back on the ground, keeping her arms around him.  “I hated leaving Noah.”  She rested her head on his chest.

“I know you did.  It’s always hard to leave the both of you.”  Justin squeezed her and kissed the top of her head.  “So what should we do first?”

“I don’t know what to do with myself without Noah,” Emma laughed.  She had practically been glued to Noah’s side for 21 months.

“Should we go grab something to eat?”

“Sure,” she answered.  “Let me take a quick shower and change.  Where do you want to go?”

“Somewhere nice, I’m gonna take full advantage of this weekend.”  Justin grinned.

“I’m sure you are.”  Emma shook her head.  She dropped her arms from around him and reached for her bag.  Justin grabbed it before she could.

“I got it.”  He held her hand in his free one.  “Let’s get this weekend started right.”  Emma followed him upstairs to their bedroom.  After they showered and changed, they ate a quiet dinner out and returned to the house.

“Music and drinks?”  Justin asked when they got back.  The night was turning out to being like when they first started dating, but with talk about Noah. 

“Sure,” Emma answered.  “I’ll pick the music and you can pick the drinks. I have to show you the pictures I took of Noah yesterday too.”  She walked over to the stereo and searched through his music before finding what she wanted to listen too.  After she had turned the sound system on, Justin had come into the living room and sat down on the couch.  He set their glasses down on the coffee table.

“Let me go grab my computer.”  She disappeared from the room for a second and when she came back, she sat down next to Justin.  “Noah was dragging one of your golf clubs around the yard, and he was trying to hit one of those plastic balls from the ball pit.  I think he’s watched you drive golf balls into the water one too many times.”  Emma started up her computer.

“Maybe we should get him his own clubs.”  Justin laughed and put his arm around her shoulder.  He took a sip of his wine.

“Maybe.”  Emma shrugged with a smile.  She navigated to the folder with the pictures she had taken the day before.  “I think you just want him to be exactly like you.”

“Is that a bad thing?” Justin asked.

“No, it’s not a bad thing.”  Emma turned to smile at him.  “He had a blast dragging it around.”

“He looks like he got bigger.”  Justin smiled as Emma scrolled through the pictures.

“Yeah, he’s growing.  He seems to be eating more than he was,” she responded.  Emma finished scrolling through the pictures, and by the time she had put the laptop down, Justin had convinced himself that he needed to buy Noah some kid-sized golf clubs.

She leaned back against the couch and cuddled up against him.  They were quiet for a few moments, enjoying each others’ company in silence.

“I’ve been thinking about it,” Emma stated quietly, “and I was wondering if you would be opposed to having another baby.”

“Now why would I be opposed to that?” Justin asked.

“You never know.”  She shrugged and turned to look up at him with a smile.  He was looking down at her too, smiling.

“I think that would be fantastic.”  Justin took her left hand in his and squeezed it. 

“Good.”  Emma smiled.

“You aren’t already pregnant, are you?” He looked like he was thinking about it because of how she had told him about Noah.

“No.”  She laughed knowing why he asked that.

“Just checking,” he replied.  “I love Noah so much and to have another baby with you …” Justin trailed off.  He lowered his head and kissed her lips softly.  “When do you want to start trying?”

“Whenever,” she shrugged.  “I was just throwing the idea out there.”  Emma grinned as his lips met hers again.

*  *  *

Emma found herself walking the red carpet with Justin the following night.  Justin had been invited to go and wasn’t planning on going, but because Emma was there, and they wouldn’t have done anything else they had decided to go. 

She stood next to him, listening while he fielded questions from one of the reporters there.  Emma enjoyed watching him and was in her own little world when the reporter mentioned something about her not having been around.

“Emma’s busy with her business and Noah back home,” Justin said smiling proudly at his wife.  He took her hand in his.

“Parents’ night out?” The reporter looked between the two of them.

“Yeah,” he laughed.  “It’s been a while since it was just the two of us, so we’re enjoying it, but of he’s on our minds.”

“How old is Noah now?” 

“He’s 21 months and growing quickly,” Justin answered with pride.  Emma gave his hand a little squeeze and smiled when he looked at her. 

“Can I ask why you are so secretive about him?”

“That’s just the decision we made,” he shrugged.  “And where we live makes it easy to keep him away from the media.”

“So, what’s the best thing about being a Dad?”

“Everything … even changing diapers.”  Justin wrinkled his nose.  “Everyday he learns something new and even his smallest accomplishments, make me feel the greatest pride.  Noah’s the best thing that’s happened to me, along with Emma.”  He dropped her hand and put his arm around her waist.

“You are working on a soundtrack for an upcoming movie, can you tell us about that?”  The reporter changed the subject.

“Sure,” Justin happily obliged the change in subject.  As much as he loved his son and wanted to share him with the world, he knew it wasn’t the time or the place for that.  He could feel Emma relax more against his side as the topic of conversation switched.  Justin talked with the reporter awhile longer, before the two made their way inside the theater.