Trouble-Maker

By the time my lunch hour ended and we were headed back to the daycare, I still hadn't told Ronnie about my confrontation with Sven. I didn't know if I was ever going to tell him. Yeah, I knew that he'd want to know but I wasn't going to be working there much longer anyways.

The tour was coming quick and I'd never seen Ronnie more excited. He was about to be back on top again, his fame hitting a new peak as teenage girls fawned over him and teenage guys created mosh pits down in front. Ronnie was number one again, the hardships of his past pushed behind him as he tried to forget. I wouldn't be the one to bring it back again.

"I'll see you later," I said as I climbed out of Ronnie's monstrous car, "I might go see Arch at his new home so that I can explain the tour to him."

"Want me to come with?" Ronnie questioned, leaning on the center console.

I shook my head. "I'll be fine," I told him, "I'll call you when I'm done visiting with him."

Ronnie nodded. "I'll be with the guys."

I nodded, too, and then chuckled at us. We were definitely set in our ways. Each other knowing exactly where the other person was. We were smitten with each other. "I'll talk to you later, Baby," I said before I pushed the passenger's door closed and made my way inside of the now silent building.

"Hey, Jamie," I greeted as I walked in, "I'm back. The kids sleeping?"

Jamie waved at me and nodded from her desk but then turned her attention back to the little girl who was cradled in her lap, half-asleep.

I chuckled and headed to the left, down the hall that would take me to my office. I shut the door behind me and logged in to the online files and started typing in what each kid had eaten as a snack before they went down for their naps.

About forty-five minutes later I headed out of my office and towards the infant room where the little babies slept. Heather was sitting on a rocking chair with her eyes clothes when I opened the door. There were about four babies and they all slept soundly in their specific cribs.

"Heather," I whispered as I sat down on a small chair next to her.

Her eyes opened automatically and she jumped in shock when she saw me sitting right next to her. She put her hand over her heart and took a deep breath. "Oh, Atticus," she murmured, shaking her head at herself, "You surprised me."

I chuckled softly and said, "Sorry."

She smiled at me brightly and leaned back in her chair. "How are you?" she asked nicely, her eyes looking up to a white crib where a little baby boy was fussing.

"I'm alright," I said as I stood up and moved over to the baby, "Just got back from lunch a little bit ago."

"With Ronnie?" she asked, although she already knew the answer.

I smiled at her before I picked up the little boy, Elliot. I cradled him in my arms and listened as he quieted down automatically. I moved and sat back in my chair as he yawned and curled his little fingers around one of mine.

"When do you leave for that tour thing?" she asked quietly, tickling the baby's bare feet.

"Warped Tour," I corrected, "And in twelve days."

"Warped Tour," she repeated, feeling the words on her tongue, "Wow, that's coming up quick. Are you excited?"

I nodded my head slightly. "Yeah," I said, "It's going to be great. I got my ID today and everything."

"You need IDs?" she asked, confused, "Is it that strict?"

I shook my head. "No, just the band members have IDs so that they can go in and out of the venues without any trouble."

"Then why do you have one?"

I smiled over at her and shrugged my shoulders. "Kind of like a souvenir," I stated, "I told Ronnie it would be cool to have one and he had one made for me." I stood up so that I could put the baby back in his crib. Instead, Heather reached her arms out for him.

"That's cool," she said softly as she took Elliot in her arms. "You'll have to show it to me before you leave."

I nodded my head. "It's in Ronnie's car right now. I'll show you tomorrow when I get back from lunch." I sat back down in my chair and ran the palms of my hands over my jeans.

"You get a bus and everything, right?" she asked, since she didn't know much about the music industry except for the obvious.

"Yeah," I said happily, "Ronnie's turning that back of the bus into a bedroom for us."

"That's sweet," Heather replied, "He's a good guy."

I nodded my head. "Yeah. Luckily, his friends aren't bad either or else this tour would be a whole different story."

"His band members are his friends, right?"

"His best friends," I replied, "And if they weren't his band mates then I'm sure he would've found a way for all of them to come along anyways," I laughed, knowing that Ronnie would be lost without his band and his friends.

"What are their names?" Heather asked politely, "I know I've heard of them before, but I just can't seem to remember that much about Ronnie's band other than he's in it." She let out a little laugh and gave me a smile.

I chuckled and thought about the band members. "Well, there's Derek, Ryan, Mika, and Jacky."

She smiled again. "I think I heard some where that one of them is British," she laughed like it was a rumor.

But I nodded. "Jacky is," I told her, "He used to live there. Ronnie found him over the internet and he flew out to join the band." I pictured the soft-spoken guitarist in my mind.

"Really?" Heather asked, "He really gave up everything to join the band?"

I nodded my head. "Music is a lifestyle for these guys. It's what the want to do. They'd give up everything for it.," I said honestly, knowing that my words were true.

"That has to be hard," Heather murmured, her eyes trailing over the face of the baby, "To rely on something so much that you'd have to give up everything else."

I shrugged my shoulders. "You get good at balancing things," I said, remembering how my father always balanced his career and his children, "The music industry won't wait for you," I said, "So everything else has to."

Heather knew what I was referring to, so she asked, "Was your dad like that? You know, making you guys second-priority?"

I thought about it, remembering the Christmas phone calls and the summer trips out to see him on the road. "Kind of," I said after a few moments of silence, "He wasn't always there physically, but he was always there to talk to when you needed him."

"Was it hard?" Heather asked, "Not having any parents around?"

"I'm sure it would've been easier if my mom didn't leave," I said with a shrug, "But my dad did his best to keep the three of us happy."

"Everyone thinks that you had an easy childhood," Heather said, motioning outwards, meaning everyone we work with, "That's why some of them don't talk to you."

I smiled sadly. "They think I'm spoiled," I said with a nod, "I know."

Heather shook her head. "You're a good person, Atticus," she said, "You deserve to be happy with Ronnie. You're both good people. I don't care what he's done in his past."

My eyes shot over to hers. "So you heard," I stated, a smile on my lips, "About what happened before he went to prison."

Heather nodded. "Sven told me awhile back. He saw that we were friends and wanted me to know that he was worried about you getting involved with Ronnie," she laughed like it was funny, "But I told him that you two were already involved. That you loved him."

"I do," I said simply, "With everything I have."

"Then the past doesn't matter," Heather said matter-a-factly. She smiled at me and flipped her hair out of her face before she stood up and moved to put Elliot back in his crib. "Nina will be coming in soon so that I can help the kids put their mats in their cubbies. Come on," she said as she nudged me towards the door with her elbow.

When we entered the playroom some kids were climbing to their feet with messy hair. I spoke quietly as I directed them to fold up their mats and shove them into their cubbies. Once they had done so they were told to go play on the playground outside since it was so nice.

Heather as I plopped down on the floor against the wall. We'd tell more kids the same thing when they woke up. It didn't take very long for all the kids to awaken. Once they started it was like the others could sense it and rolled over with their eyes open.

Soon enough, there were kids in every direction. As a young boy raced past me, I reached out and pulled him to me, stopping him in his tracks.

"Hi, Atticus," the six year old said cheekily.

"Hello, Ethan," I replied as I leaned down, his back to my stomach.

"How are you?"

I kneeled down and turned him around to face me directly. "You get in trouble for running everyday, Ethan."

He looked at me simply and shrugged his shoulders.

I shook my head. "If you keep running I'm going to have to calm your mom and tell her why you're getting put in the time out room," I said to him.

His eyes grew wide. "But she'll tell my dad!"

I shrugged my shoulders like he had done. "That's not up to me," I said, "But if you stop running I won't have to call her."

Ethan nodded his head quickly. "I promise," he said automatically, "No more running. And I'll even tell Dillon to stop, too."

I smiled and ruffled his hair. "I knew you'd understand, Ethan." I stood up and sent him on his way. He walked quickly over to Dillon Jameson and spoke enthusiastically, his eyes wide.

Heather came walking up behind me and laughed. "You sure have a way with kids, Atticus," she said, her arms folded over her chest, "I'm going to hate to see you go."

I shrugged my shoulders. "It's just a little blackmail, Heather," I laughed, "Anyone can do it."

"But you're so nice about it," Heather replied, grinning.

I smiled and shrugged my shoulders again. "It's no big deal."

"Jamie's out for lunch," Heather said as we walked into the lobby, "So I'm manning her post for the next half hour."

I nodded my head and climbed into the second chair. "I'll man with you," I joked.

Heather rolled her eyes. "I love the freedom of your job," she said, "You can do what ever you want all day as long as you type a few things into the computer."

I grinned. "Then why don't you apply for it? I'm screening applicants tomorrow."

Heather shook her head quickly. "I would not want to be the disciplinarian around here. Angry parents, no thank you."

I laughed and crossed my arms over my chest. "That is not all I do around here," I told her firmly, watching as she laughed. "I watch their allergies, track every bruise and scrape. I deal with parent concerns and problems. I'm in charge of accepting new kids. I do a lot of things, thank you very much."

"Yeah, yeah," Heather said, "You do too much. That's why I'm not applying for your job. I'd rather just play with the kids than do all that."

I shrugged. "It's not hard. Just some paper work and parents."

Heather laughed. "Yeah, right, Atticus, you're basically the face of the company."

"Symantha is the face of the company," I corrected, "I'm just the one that people see."

"Same thing."

"Completely different."

Heather and I didn't do that much for the rest of the day. When the kids started getting picked up a parent talked to me about enrolling their youngest daughter since she'd just met the minimum age requirement, four months.

"We'd be thrilled to have her here," I said politely when we were in my office. I was sitting behind my desk while Allysan Naden sat with her two children, Mason and Audrey, on the couch across from me. "Just let me get the paper work for you and if you bring it back tomorrow I can have Madeline all logged into the system by Friday."

Mrs. Naden smiled happily. "That sounds wonderful," she said, "I go back to work on Monday."

I smiled in return. "Are you nervous about being separated from Madeline?" I questioned, since that was a fear that most mothers had about their new babies.

Allysan Naden shook her head. "Not really," she spoke, "I've already been through it with these two, so I know Maddie's going to be in capable hands."

"I'm glad you like it here," I said to her as I stood up and walked over to hand her the paperwork.

She nodded. "This is the first large scale daycare I've found that is affordable and comfortable for my kids. Plus," she added, "I love that the rates get cheaper depending on how many kids you enroll here. It's like the bundle you see on TV."

I couldn't help but laugh. "I've never thought about it that way," I told her, "But it is like that."

She stood up from the couch with her hands clasped with her children's. "I'll see you tomorrow," she said, "I'll have this done for you."

"Thank you," I replied as I followed the little family to the door.

"No, thank you," she replied before heading down the hallway with Mason and Audrey on either side of her.

"See you tomorrow, Jamie," I said as I clocked out, "I'll be in early to screen the applicants."

Jamie shook her head at me. "You never stop working," she said, "Tomorrow is Sunday."

"I'm done working for a few months after next Thursday," I told her, referring to two Thursdays, "The lease I can do is fill my position."

"Goodbye, Atticus," Jamie said firmly, "Go home and spend some time with your boyfriend."

I laughed and shook my head. "We both have plans," I called, "I'll see him enough on the tour."