Good Man

"Think not forever of yourselves, O Chiefs, nor of your own generation. Think of continuing generations of our families, think of our grandchildren and of those yet unborn, whose faces are coming from beneath the ground."
- T.S. Eliot



It was midday in the first week of June, only two weeks after Joey and Nicole's wedding. Since Nicole was too far along in her pregnancy, they hadn't been able to fly anywhere for a honeymoon, so they spent the following week at a bed and breakfast in Napa. They didn't want to fore-go the honeymoon experience but they also wanted to be close enough to home in case something happened and Nicole went into labor early. They apparently had a wonderful time and were now at home at his parents' home where they were preparing the nursery for their little one who was due in about another two weeks' time.

While the Armstrong household was alight with baby fever, the Pritchard household was quite calm, and that's considering the four little ones running around seemingly at all hours.

Caroline was seated on the couch in the living room, being very domestic as she folded two baskets full of laundry while and almost six-year-old Mikey played the ringleader by keeping his three younger siblings in check as they made a mess with their toys in the play room; a room that used to be the office but Caroline felt a play room made more sense. Any work she needed to do could be done on her laptop anywhere in the house or downstairs in the basement in the studio. All her paperwork and other important information she kept filed away she had moved into what had been Mike's section of the master bedroom's walk-in closet. She had since found the strength to pack up his clothes and shoes, jackets and ties, and put them into storage. Some pieces of clothing she actually kept out because Mike had been lean enough that she could wear it herself, like one of his leather jackets and some of his T-shirts she still wore to bed, despite being in a low-key relationship with Tre. Then there were also the pieces of clothing she decided to give away to friends and family who loved Mike a great deal.

Estelle really wanted a few of his shirts and another jacket. Tre took some shoes, Billie Joe took some shirts as well, Joey took belts. Jakob had claimed he always liked some of the chains and necklaces Mike had worn, so Caroline gave them all to the younger Armstrong. Mike's parents didn't want anything, though his brother Chris and his four sisters Myla, Lauren, Rena and Kodi all wanted only one shirt. Just a little something to hold onto.

Even after all she had given away, Caroline still had so much to put into storage; most of which she planned on passing on to Mikey when he reached adulthood in the next ten to fifteen years. He would no doubt be built just like his father. He was already sprouting up and losing a lot of his baby fat and growing into a handsome young boy who had just recently graduated from Kindergarten.

As Caroline sat there on the couch with her laundry to fold, listening onto the muffled chatter and giggling or whining wafting in the air from the play room into the living room, Estelle walked into the room with a book in her hand and plopped down on the opposite end of the incredibly comfy wrap-around couch.

"Wow, an actual book and not a Kindle? Feeling old school?" Caroline quipped as she set a folded pair of Mikey's Batman underwear on the coffee table in front of her.

"Kindles are efficient when you wanna read a lot but not lug around a bunch of books, but nothing compares to actually holding a book and smelling its pages."

Caroline raised an eyebrow. "You smell your books?"

"Yeah," Estelle smirked. "Don't you?"

"I've never intentionally smelled them, no. I don't think I even remember what books smell like anyway. I haven't had the time to read for fun in probably years." Caroline tossed an article of clothing at her stepdaughter. "Here's one of your bras."

"Need help?"

"I knew there was a reason I loved you."

The two Pritchard women laughed as Estelle dog-eared a page in her book and set it down on the armrest beside her and began to attack the second basket of clean, unfolded laundry.

"So what's next on your busy schedule?" the eighteen-year-old, recent high school graduate inquired.

"Rollingstone interview at the end of the month. The issue it will appear in will coincide with the release of our album which is geared for mid August. Then..." Caroline trailed, trying to drudge up what awaited the band in the coming months. "Photo shoots, for both the interview and the album; design and promotion and whatnot. Yada, yada, yada."

"What about the first single and video?"

"Beginning of next month we're releasing the first single. Filming the video is scheduled for July 8th and 9th down in LA."

"Are you excited?" Estelle wondered, throwing something black at Caroline. "Here's your bra," she added with a smirk.

"Thanks, and yeah. It's an exciting time. This is the first time I'm going through all this hoopla without Dave or Nef at my side and instead with Tre and Billie. Different dynamics, for sure. With Dave and Nef, we were experiencing everything together as firsts. I'm more seasoned now and Tre and Billie have even more seasoning than I do, so I kinda feel like the new kid on the block in ways. But, I'm used to working with guys and being the only girl, whereas Tre and Billie aren't used to it. Billie especially had to get used to it; sharing the lead, that is."

Estelle simply smiled as she listened.

"What about you? Are you excited? For school, I mean..."

"Scared shitless, is more like it. It's another first I wish my dad was hear to see me do, like my prom last month. But he's with me in spirit and I have a lot of family there for me and a lot of friends I know are only a phone call away. Plus one or two are going east for school, also."

"Really?"

"Yeah, one is going to Brown University in Rhode Island and another is going to NYU so they'll be in the city as well. Plus, I'll see you when the band comes to New York City for a concert. Just don't forget to get me backstage passes for me and a friend or two."

Caroline let out a hearty chuckle. "Oh, don't worry. You'll be first on the list, honey. And wherever we end up during your holiday break between semesters, I want you to know you're welcome to come along for however long you can."



Eight days later, Billie Joe was woken up in the early hours of June 14th by Adrienne shoving him hard.

"What?" he groaned.

"Billie, get up. Nicole's going into labor," came his wife's urgent voice.

His green eyes popped open without a moment's notice and he all but flew out of bed, unaware if his feet had actually touched the floor or not in the process. "Where...are they in the car? Are they in the hospital yet?"

"Honey, come down," Adrienne laughed. "She woke up thinking she wet the bed but it then she realized her water broke. Joey helped her to the shower to clean up and he came to get me. I helped him remove the sheets. After she got out of the shower her contractions started."

"How much time in between?" the 43-year-old guitarist questioned, searching for his pants only for Adrienne to easily find draped over a chair and hand over to him.

"Ten minutes at first, but now it's about six. That's why we wanted to wake you up now. We're going to the hospital now and they want us there. Nicole called her parents and they're gonna meet us."

"Well, obviously we're gonna be there. It's our first grandchild."

That finally made Billie Joe slow down and stop in his tracks.

"Holy shit, it's really happening, isn't it? We're actually gonna be grandparents."

Adrienne nodded with an amused smile upon her lips. "Yep," was all she find the words for.

"Well..." Billie Joe spoke, grabbing any old shirt from the closet and throwing it on. "Let's hit the road."



Just after nine in the morning, Tre rolled over in Caroline's bed when he heard his cell phone ringing from the nightstand. He had spent the night, with an almost two-year-old Avarielle sharing a bed with her four-year-old cousin Chloe.

"Are you gonna answer that?" Caroline grumbled from her side of the bed while Tre was reaching for the phone without opening his eyes; trying his best to remain in his as asleep as possible.

After all, it was a Sunday. A day of rest.

"Tryin'," he spoke, blinding patting every inch of surface on the nightstand but somehow unable to make contact with his damned phone. Giving up, he opened his eyes and grabbed it up and answering the call. "Why are you waking me up this early on a Sunday," was his greeting to whoever it was on the other end, since his eyes were too blurred from sleep to register the name on the caller ID.

"I'm a fuckin' grandpa!"

"Billie?" Tre sat up slowly, wiping the crust from his eyes.

"I'm a grandpa," Billie Joe repeated. "We've been at the hospital since just after four. Nicole's water broke at home so it was a quick labor. Joey just came out about fifteen minutes ago to tell us the baby was born and it's a girl! I have a granddaughter and her name is Dominique Nicole and..." Billie Joe's voice faded somewhat as he was apparently talking to someone else for a moment. "How much did she weigh?" he asked whoever. "Oh. She weighed seven pounds, nine ounces and is twenty inches long."

"Congratulations, Billie! Have you seen her yet?"

"No, Nicole's being cleaned up first then we'll be allowed into the room in small groups as not to overwhelm or crowd the room. Nicole's mom and dad are going in first with her brother Kyle. When they're done, we're going in with Jake. But like, half my family is already here. It's nuts," Billie Joe laughed.

Caroline stirred at that and turned to look up at Tre. "Did Nicole have the baby?"

Tre nodded. "Yeah, a girl named Dominique."

"Ooh," Caroline smiled.

"Well, I'll let you hang up so you can call other people. Care and I will try to get to the hospital later. You gonna be there all day?" Tre asked with a chuckle, already knowing the answer.

"Until they kick us out."

"Figured as much. See you in a few hours. And again, congrats!"

"Thanks, Tre."

Hanging up his cell phone, Tre turned to Caroline. "Wow. He is very excited."

"As he should be. First anythings are always a big deal." Caroline sat up and slid off the bed. "I'm gonna jump in the shower first if you can check on the kids."

Tre watched her walk toward the bathroom and muttered under his breath with a laugh, but loud enough for her to hear. "How domesticated of us."

Caroline looked back at him over her shoulder and rolled her eyes. "Just do it, will ya?"



Tre and Caroline did in fact make it to the hospital a few hours later, with Estelle in tow. Caroline's mom came over to watch the four little ones during that time. As soon as they reached the hospital, they were greeted by Billie Joe who was waiting outside, smoking a cigarette. When he saw them he smiled from ear to ear and threw the cigarette to the ground, stomping it out with his foot and greeting all three with a hug.

He pulled three pink bubblegum cigars from his back pocket and handed one Tre, Caroline and Estelle.

"You're looking at the youngest, best looking grandfather...ever."

Estelle laughed. "More like the least humble."

Billie Joe eyed his deceased friend's firstborn. For a moment, her comment made him think of Mike because it was a very Mike thing for her to say. He wouldn't have held back his honesty in joke form either. "Watch it, girl. You're never too old to be taken over the lap and spanked for insubordination."

As the four of them walked into the hospital, Billie Joe directed them toward the elevators as he informed them that Nicole was being moved to a private suite. They killed some time in the cafeteria, grabbing some coffee, taking pictures with each other to celebrate the birth of the newest member to the Armstrong family before heading up to the maternity ward.

Adrienne was waiting outside the room, keeping everyone out because Nicole was in the midst of going to the bathroom and it was difficult to do having just given birth. The baby wasn't even in the room at the moment anyway so the others decided to head to the nursery where they peered into the window where all the other newborn babies were either sleeping, cooing or crying their little hearts out while nurses and doctors checked on them.

When a nurse walked over to Billie Joe's granddaughter, he perked up and pointed her out. The nurse caught wind and lifted the infant girl up for everyone to see.

Little Dominique Nicole Armstrong's dark eyes seemed to lock right onto her grandfather as if she already knew who he was. It was remarkable how alert she was being only a newborn and it was already very clear she was going to be the apple of Grandpa Billie's eye.