Here, Here, and Here

“Well hello, I wasn’t expecting you to pick Caoimhe up today” Mia, the site director of the daycare greeted me.

“I normally wouldn’t and won’t, but Jessica had a final today and couldn’t watch Keevie tonight” I smiled at her.

“Did you take off work?” she asked leading me to Keev’s classroom.

“No, I’m taking her back to work with me” I grinned.

“Don’t you work for that really famous band Tokio something or other?”

“Yes” I answered simply. I saw out of the corner of my eye that she disapproved.

We came to the door and she left there to collect my little girl. I walked in and Caoimhe’s teacher, Miss Tiffany, spotted me and pointed towards a little blonde girl who was picking up the dress up clothes with one of her friends. I mouthed thank you and walked over to Caoimhe. I squatted down to her level and handed her a toy to put away.

“Mommy!!” she yelled when she realized it was me. I wrapped my arms around her and she squeezed me as tight as her little body would allow.

“Hey Sweetie, do you want to come back to work with me?” She shook her head yes. I smiled and she ran over to her cubby to get her bag. When she came back over to me I took her hand and waved good bye to her teacher. As we headed out the door I smiled to Mia with her disapproving look.

After I buckled her into her car seat and got in the front seat behind the wheel I started to pull out of the parking lot. When we arrived at the studio I got out, opened her door and unbuckled her.

As I got her back-pack I looked down at her and said, “Now there are some rules okay Keevie?” When she nodded her head I continued, “You have to be very quite and not distract Mommy’s friends while they’re playing music”

“Okay Mommy. Mommy who are your friends?” she chirped as she jumped up to the door.

“You’ll meet them when we get up there” I smiled.

“Well then let’s hurry, I want to meet Mommy’s friends” she raised her voice a little, pulling on my arm.

“Shhh,” I tried to scold, “Don’t run.”

I reached the door first and quietly opened it. I looked in and saw the band playing so I crouched down to look Caoimhe in the face. “Remember, no noise when Mommy’s friends are playing music”

I opened the door and snuck in trying to go as unnoticed as possible. I sat her on the couch and got out her coloring book and crayons.

I sat on the edge of the couch next to her and watched the boys play a song and then Tom stopped to say something to Bill. I took this time to look down at Caoimhe, expecting to see her hard at work on a picture, but instead I found her concentrating hard on Tom and Bill and the rest of the guys. She saw me and put her finger to her lips to silence me when I opened my mouth. I smiled and rolled my eyes focusing back on the band as the music started up again.

About a minute later they all stopped and came out of the booth area. It seemed that Bill needed to go work on the lyrics in private. Tom sat down on the couch not taking any notice of Caoimhe. She looked at me and then stood up on the couch. As I was about to yell at her to sit down she whispered in my ear, “Can I talk now? They’re not playing any music.”

“Yes you can talk, but be quiet” I smiled pulling her down to the other side of me, placing me next to Tom. When I have her settled next to me Tom decides to get up, mumbling something about Bill and needing a Coke

“Mama?” she asks, “Why is his hair like that?”

I looked to where she was pointing and saw Tom walk out the door and chuckled to myself, “Um…well he…I…” I struggled for an answer, “I don’t know.”

“What don’t you know?” Georg asked overhearing my answer.

“Caoimhe wants to know why Tom has his hair in dread locks” I say kind of dismissing it like it’s no big deal.

“It’s because he’s lazy” Georg shouted from across the small room.

“Ja, he just wanted to be able to get up in the morning and do nothing to his hair” Gustav mumbled.

“Like you’re any different Gustav” Tom, walking back into the room with a Coca Cola in his hand, said making reference to Gustav’s short hair.

“If we’re talking about hair I think that this conversation should involve me” Bill said walking in soon after Tom.

“Okay, four guys talking about hair is not something I want to relive so let’s change that subject” I said remembering the time when Tom and Bill got in a fight because of how long it took Bill to do his hair, “Everyone this is my daughter Caoimhe.”

“Hallo” they all say in varying degrees.

“Hi!” Keevie says with excitement.

“Caoimhe this is Bill” I introduce her to Bill first because he seems the most excited to meet her, “This is Gustav and Georg. And the one with the dread locks is Tom.”

After a moment of what was quickly becoming an awkward one Caoimhe spoke up. “I liked that song you were playing” she said meekly, which wasn’t like her, “But why’d you stop playing it?”