Reason to Live

"Just keep walking," Bruce whispered in my ear as he held onto my arm tightly. I looked up at him and smiled. Paparazzi truly are annoying.
A lot had changed during our time overseas. Gene Simmons shocked the world, much like he did in the 70s with blood drooling. Instead, this time he shocked fans by boasting about the joys of fatherhood. He and Shannon proudly announced the birth of their first child, Nicholas. This sparked rumours that KISS were finished. Gene had movies, a record label with many talented musicians signed, and now a family. He wasn't "The Demon" he was before (or so they thought.) People doubted his time for KISS. Then Paul began to advertise his solo tour, instantly suggesting a spilt within the band. This was, of course, untrue. Eric also mentioned his solo projects that Bruce would occasionally be involved in. Then of course there was the news of my pregnancy, made obvious as Bruce and I walked through the airport upon arrival in Los Angeles, from our honeymoon. I certainly didn't get a gut like that from too many nachos, an excuse Marie gave to a reporter during those months of madness. It would be baby number three for the 80's KISS line up.
Then there was the "end" of Crypteia. Billie publicly announced her departure from our band, based on perusing "personal ambitions." At least she didn't use the worn out "creative differences" excuse.
With the belief that there would be a possible end to both bands, we were of interest by the media. It was overwhelming, literally stepping into the public eye. In Italy we were just a couple. In Los Angeles, we were pieces to a puzzle. The magazine to first announce the split of KISS would no doubt have been the magazine to sell the most copies. Then they'd go back to not caring about us, and instead chase people like Tom Cruise. It was all so crazy.

Bob Kulick and his girlfriend, Stella, were waiting for us in the parking zone. We got in their car pretty quickly.
"If I had of known you were bringing friends, I would have got us a limo," Bob joked.
"One of those guys had the lens cap on his camera!" I said, laughing. Bob and Stella both laughed too.
"Aud, that's been the highlight of your day so far, hasn't it?" Bruce asked me, amused.
"Yes, and I'll tell everybody too, don't worry," I smiled. It still think it's hilarious.
"So how's married life?" Bob asked, pulling the car out from the kerb.
"Not to different yet," I replied.
"So, why are we here and not at home?" Bruce asked, desperate to know why Bob insisted that we stop in LA before going back to New York.
"You'll see," Bob said with a cocky grin.
"I dunno if I can trust you Robert," I teased. "We're still waiting for our wedding present you know?"
He and Stella shared a suspicious look.

After a small drive through the city, we eventually were led to a quiet, but spectacular suburb. There were some amazing homes that we drove by. I was so used to the tall, skyscraper apartments in New York. These mansion-like homes were eye catching to say the least. Most opted for the classic white, land hogging places with oversized swimming pools and gardens. Some were colourfully decorated homes with bright pink and blue exterior. The car pulled into a drive way, leading up a paved road, shaded by large trees. We stopped in front of a home, illuminated by outdoor lights.
"We're here kids," Bob said loudly, as he and Stella jumped out of the car. Once their doors closed, I looked up at Bruce, who shared the back seat with me.
"Where the hell are we?" I asked.
" California, " he replied, looking out the window curiously. "I wouldn't have the slightest idea," he then answered seriously.
"I don't wanna complain, but I will. Bruce I just wanna go to Eric and Marie's so that I can sleep and in the morning go home. I'm tired."
"I know babe, me too," he said, kissing my forehead.
"I guess we have to meet Bob's friends first," he said, opening the car door so that the lights turned on.
"Okay," I groaned.

We walked up a couple of steps to meet with Stella and Bob at the large glass door. The house looked nice with blackened stone walls I thought. "Who lives here?" Bruce asked.
"You'll see," Bob answered.
"I don't know what you are up to, but whatever it is, can it not take too long? Aud's pregnant don't forget, she needs to relax," Bruce said, trying not to sound too rude.
"Oh, sweetheart, how is the pregnancy?" Stella turned to me and asked. Her large blue eyes watched me with interest. Stella is a sweet woman, and I've always found her inspiring. She's always been glamorous and fun-loving, after all, she was a classic Hollywood actress. I often struggled to believe that an iconic woman in her fifties was dating my dorky, however lovable, thirty-nine year old brother in law.
I shrugged at her question. " It's going okay I guess, I don't really have anything to compare it to."
"Well, you look well, as always. You're a cutie kiddo," she said hugging me. I smiled at her graciously. "Do you have a name for the baby yet?" Stella asked.
"Well, I have a few names for her," I said, as her and I walked into a beautifully decorated home. I looked around, amazed. It was what I always wanted. Classic, black and white themed. I instantly fell in love with the stair case.
"It's a girl?" Stella asked with excitement.
"Well, we don't actually know yet. But I have a feeling, ya know?" Stella smiled at me. "Bruce thinks, if it is a girl, that we should name her Katie."
"That's a beautiful name," Stella replied.
"Yeah, It's alright. But I was thinking of something a little more... creative," I smiled.
"I can only imagine," Stella laughed, knowing roughly what to expect from me.

We found Bob and Bruce standing in a living room. "Seriously, what's going on?" Bruce asked him. "Did you buy this place or something?" Bob nodded smiling.
"Wow! You guys have another house and an apartment in New York?"
"Not quite Audrey," Stella replied, smiling. Bob handed Bruce the keys.
"Here's your wedding present," Bob laughed. Bruce and I exchanged a surprised look.
"Ha ha, very funny," I said, clapping my hands together just once.
"No, I'm serious," Bob swore.
"C'mon, this place? Bob, I've fallen for your tricks far too many times before," I grinned.
"...Babe...I think he's serious actually," Bruce said, looking at the contract he then held in his hands. I walked over to him and stood with my hands on my hips. I peered over Bruce's shoulder and there it was in black and white. The house belonged to Bruce and Audrey Kulick.

A few months later...

It's funny how there are times when I can barely hear the phone ring, usually because I'm making too much noise. It's also funny how when it rings at 2am, it seems louder than ever before.
"It's alright, I got it," Bruce muttered, reluctantly getting out of bed.
"I only just got to sleep," I complained adding Bruce's pillow to mine when he got up.
"I know, you kept kicking me when you tossed and turned," he said before picking up the phone.
"Sorry," I whispered, closing my eyes. It seems my daughter liked to do gymnastics in my uterus at night. It also seemed that I was right, by this point my doctor had confirmed that we were expecting a girl. I remember being so excited. I always sort of pictured us with a daughter.

We love our Los Angeles home. It isn't ridiculously large, but it's big enough for us, a lot larger than Bruce's New York apartment. The best thing about it is the location. During the late 80s, both Bruce and I spent more time with our bands in L.A. , rather than New York. So it was convenient. Since my bad experience with the lunatic, Dr Pickle, anything birth, baby or hospital related was in Los Angeles. Bob, Holly, Debbie, Gene , Paul, and more recently, Eric and Marie, were all living in L.A.
That was the best part, living twenty minuets away from Marie. At first it was just insane fun, but this night presented a far greater reason for living nearby.

"Hello?" Bruce answered the phone in his sexy just woken voice. "Marie, calm down. Nothing you just said made any sense. What's wrong?" he asked, confused. I sat up quickly, listening carefully. "Is he okay? ...yeah, but is he okay?"
I started to worry. Surely what I heard could not have been good. "No, don't worry Marie," Bruce said, trying to calm her down. I could hear her voice faintly as he spoke to her. "Marie...Marie...Marie, listen will you! It's alright, I'll do whatever you need me to do," Bruce spoke so calmly. "Yep...right, I'm leaving now. Hang in there, I'll see you real soon. Okay, bye!" He hung up the phone and turned to me. His expression saddened when our eyes met. "Aud, don't you worry either," he said, sensing that I was upset. By this point I had gotten out of bed and walked over to where he stood.
"What happened? Is she okay?" I worried.
"Eric's gone to hospital," Bruce replied, gently pushing me aside so that he could walk back into the bedroom to get changed.
"What happened?" I screeched.
"I couldn't make much sense of Marie, she was hysterical," he answered, quickly grabbing his keys once he threw on his jacket. Bruce was worried too. I could tell by how he rushed to leave.
"Does Marie need our help?" I asked, seconds away from putting on my jacket too.
"He's already in hospital. I don't think it's that serious, she said not to worry about him. It wasn't very convincing though. She cried the whole time." It broke my heart to hear that. I pulled my hands to my face, as I generally do in shock. The thought of Marie so upset was killing me, and I was terrified to learn what might have happened to Eric. "Where are you going now?" I asked.
"I'm going to get Mitchell. I told her we'd look after him tonight. I'll make sure everything's okay, then I'll be straight back home," he explained with a quick kiss to my forehead.
"No, no. I'm coming too," I told him.
"Aud, you haven't been well tonight. You need sleep. I've got this under control babe, don't worry."
I put my hands on my hips and gave him a questioning look. "Do you really think that you can drive a screaming baby home, while trying to calm down an emotional woman?" He looked at my belly, then up at my face.
"Now would be a good time to learn."
I reached for my dressing gown and insisted "I am coming too."