Two Worlds Collide

My little boy just couldn't stop growing. It seemed as if it was just yesterday when I was in the hospital, giving birth to my son. Bryce was seven months now and he was such a smart baby. He understood a lot of what mommy, daddy, his uncles, or anyone else would tell him. He had also grown very used to being out in the road. It was tough putting him to sleep when we were back home. He still babbled a bunch of random words, but nothing that made sense yet. John and I would try literally every hour for him to say mommy or daddy. Garrett would cheat and try for Bryce to say his name first. I would chase him around the bus or venues, attempting to tackle him to the ground.

John and I were steps closer to the wedding. After the Bryce's first tour, we were home for almost three months and, Stacy, our wedding planner, had been very helpful. I was still trying to find the perfect dress, but nothing seemed to catch my eye. We were getting married in Windstar Gardens back home in Arizona. After the wedding, the reception would take place in Arizona Grand Resort. Our friends and family would spend the night there, and the next morning, John and I were leaving for a week trip to The Bahamas for our honeymoon. We had also picked out a variety of things to decorate the reception. John's favorite color was blue, while mines was purple, so we chose the colors of the decorations to be white, blue, and purple.

Bryce was going to be the ring boy, while John's uncle's cousin's niece would be the flower girl. The wedding was going to be a month after mine and John's two year anniversary. August 30. It would also be perfect since Bryce would be one and hopefully able to walk by then. We had a special number between us, and it was number three, since it was three of us. John and I had even gotten matching tattoos. We had three hearts on our left wrists, with "yours forever" written under them. I never thought I would get a tattoo. Especially not one to match a boy. But the day I met John, he changed my mind about everything. Mostly about love.

"Come on, Bryce," Garrett pout. "Say Garrett."

Bryce sat in the couch in the front lounge of the bus. We were out for yet another month and a half long tour with Taking Back Sunday. We all stood around, watching him. He opened his mouth and reached out, grabbing Garrett's nose and babbling unknown words. Everyone laughed. John picked up Bryce into his arms and kissed his cheek. Bryce smiled and dug his face into John's chest. He scratched his eyes, showing he was tired.

"Is it nap time, buddy?" John asked, walking to the back room of the bus. He and Bryce took a two hour nap together in the couch as the guys and I chatted and played video games.

"So what has been the 411 with Kirky and Vivi?" Jared asked, killing Pat's player in the game. Pat groaned to himself and crossed his arms over his chest. He knew if he woke Bryce, everyone would be on his case the rest of the day.

"Same as it was four months ago. Just now Kirky's more heart broken." I sighed.

When we arrived home from tour, we had a party at mine and John's house while Bryce stayed over his grandparent's. Kirky showed up out of the blue. He begged Vivi to forgive him, but once he heard those hurtful words come out of Vivi's mouth, tears spilled down his cheeks.

"I don't love you anymore."

I flinched at the memory. Kirky was back to living with Jason in Texas. Simon was now moving in with them so he could work with them and the band. Kirky was still my best friend, but things weren't the same. He and his band were of course coming to the wedding. I didn't care how much Vivi and Kirky hated each other's guts at the moment, everyone who was important to John and me were invited.

Around two, the bus stopped outside the venue in Jacksonville, Florida. I went to the back to wake John and Bryce. I giggled from how adorable they looked, snapped a picture, and kissed John's forehead. He stirred with a smile before opening one eye.

"You have the most perfect way of waking me up." He yawned. He carefully stood with Bryce in his arms before pressing his lips to mine. I smiled into the kiss, and felt a small hand on my chin. John and I looked down at Bryce's hazel eyes. His pacifier blocked part of his smile.

"Did you have a good nap, baby?" I asked him, kissing his forehead. He spit out his pacifier and dug his face into John's shirt, hiding from me. I caught it before it hit the ground and looked back at him, a pout on my face.

"Aw, Bryce, you made mommy sad." John said. Bryce turned his head to look back at me again. A fake tear slid down my cheek. Bryce's eyes softened and he reached his arms out for me.

"Mama." He mumbled before I picked him up into my arms. Chills surged through my body.

“He just said mama!” John rejoiced.

“Can you say it again Bryce?” I asked.

“Mama.” He smiled, laying his small hand on my cheek.

“Good job, buddy!” John laughed, kissing his cheek.

“Can you say daddy?” I turned him to face John. Bryce extended his arms to John and mumbled a bunch of random words again. I pout, “I guess not.”

“He’ll learn eventually, love,” John smiled and set Bryce on the ground. He kept hold of his arms, as the small booties on his feet touched the floor. I bent over, calling him over, but his body swayed side to side. We had been teaching Bryce everything early. He was crawling by the time he was four months old and standing at five. Now, we tried to get him to walk, but he was afraid to fall. John encouraged him on. “Go to mommy, Bryce.”

Bryce took a step foward, followed by a few others. He had John holding on to him, so it was simple and safe.

“Are you guys coming?” Tim asked, stepping into the room. John picked up Bryce and we followed the guys out of the bus to hunt for food.

The closest place in the venue was a Chipotle, so we settled for that. Bryce sat in a high chair with us. I gave him finger size pieces of my tacos since I knew he was hungry, but I would give him his own food back in the venue. I stopped breast feeding him long ago, and I swear my boobs had grown a cup.

Bryce would slam his hands on the table, begging for more food, as he yelled “mama”. The second the guys heard it, they spit out their food and drinks.

“Did he just say mama?” Kennedy asked.

“Yes he did.” I answered proudly.

“No dada yet?” Jared asked before taking a bite of his burrito.

“Not yet, but I know it’ll happen soon.” John grinned. I chuckled and kissed his cheek.

Back in the venue, I sat in the green room alone feeding Bryce while the guys were in sound check. He never gave me trouble feeding him. He had learned to shake his head when he was full. I was a proud momma!

“How’s my two loves?” John asked once the guys came into the room. Now I was leaning back in the couch with Bryce in my arms as he drank his milk.

“As great as always.” I answered, closing the only eye I had opened. He sat next to me and wrapped his arms around me. Bryce grabbed John’s shirt, as he drank his bottle, and tugged on it.

“Yo, yo, yo!” Adam, lead singer of Taking Back Sunday, came into the green room then. “How are you guys?”

“Good so far.” Jared shrugged.

“How’s the little guy?” He asked, turning to look at Bryce. He turned and buried his face on my shirt. He was a shy little guy. Adam laughed, “Are you guys up to come with us to the bar tonight?”

“We’re in.” Kennedy replied, excited. Adam cheered before exiting. I laughed. He was a hyper guy, but he was a kind and good person.

“Do you want to go with them, Carter?” Garrett asked. “I want to stay in tonight and I can take care of Bryce.”

“I’m not going to make you do that.”

“You wouldn’t be making me do anything,” Garrett chuckled with a roll of his eyes. “I love hanging out with him.”

As if knowing Garrett was talking about him, Bryce used his legs to push himself off me. I laughed and grabbed his waist so he wouldn’t fall. Garrett came over and picked him up, lifting him up into the air.

“Just don’t watch anything that will traumatize him.”

“I promise,” Garrett nod. “We’ll watch some Elmo.”

“Sometimes I think you use Bryce as an excuse to watch that.” Pat noted, dialing on his phone to call his mom. Garrett flipped him off.

As the guys changed, I headed side stage to wait for them. Once they were ready, we chanted their “We Like to Party” ritual. John kissed me and Bryce like he usually did before he and the guys ran into the stage and cheers erupted. Bryce would bounce up and down in my arms as I sang along. At one point, he started to try and push himself out of my hold. I bent down and carefully set his feet down on the floor, keeping a secure grasp on his waist.

“You want daddy?”

“Dada!” Bryce yelled, clapping his hands together.

“Yes! That’s daddy, Bryce.” I smiled. He took a few steady steps forward. He seemed determined to get to John. I let go of his waist, and he didn’t fall back. Instead, he made his way into the stage and to John on his own. John turned and caught sight of Bryce behind Kennedy. His lips turned into a huge smile and he bent over, still singing, and opened an arm for Bryce. He made it to John’s arms, and he picked him up, kissing his cheek. Once the song ended, cheers erupted again.

“I don’t know if many of you know, but this is my son, Bryce.” John spoke to the crowd.

“Whoa! Did he just walk?” Garrett asked.

“Yes! He finally walked.” John answered proudly.

“I’m charging extra for babysitting services, Carter.” Garrett said, turning to me. I laughed with a roll of my eyes.

“What’s up, buddy?” John asked Bryce as he reached for the microphone.

“Dada!” Bryce mumbled into the mike.

“W-what?” John’s eyes widen.

“Dada! Dada! Dada!” Bryce yelled.

“He finally said dada, too!” Kenned said into his mike.

“A round of applaud for the smartest baby we know.” Garrett said and the whole venue clapped and screamed.

Bryce laid his hand on John’s lips, and mumbled random words.

“You want me to sing again?” John asked, and he nod, a smile appearing on his face. He set Bryce down on his feet and kept his arms hovering around him in case he fell. “Okay, but you have to go with mommy.”

Bryce ran back to me screaming “mama” and “dada”. I picked him up and kissed him. He laughed and pressed his saliva soaked lips to my cheek.

“Was that a kiss for mommy?” I smiled, wiping the saliva that trailed down my cheek. “You need to give one to daddy and your uncles when they’re done with their show.”

When the guys finished their set, John ran over and picked up Bryce, leaving kisses all over his face. Bryce recoiled, laughing. We headed back to the green room to gather our things. Bryce did leave a big kiss on John’s cheek, but he was embarrassed to do it for his uncles. As the guys met their fans, I headed inside to make Bryce another bottle for Garrett to feed him while we were gone. I sat Bryce on the floor with his toys and changed for the night’s events. Once the guys were back, they changed as fast as they could. Before we left to join the Taking Back Sunday guys across the street, I checked up on Garrett and Bryce in the back room. They were actually watching Elmo as Bryce rested in Garrett’s arms, sucking on his bottle. I smiled and followed everyone out of the bus.

Everything was going perfect, just like I had always wanted. The fact that Bryce was doing so well was the best thing I could ask for. Just having him and I made me feel complete. Now, tomorrow we would go to my hometown and visit my dad. I was beyond excited.