Take It Like A Man

Holding the tiny figure in my arms I beamed as a tiny squeal erupted from her mouth. She turned to me and gave me a look that said scream-now-or-I’ll-cry. So I let out an excited yelp as I bounced her around in my arms. As the music splashed throughout our veins vibrating against the floor our bodies swayed, jumped, hoped, twirled and any other kind of dancing you could do while squished next to a few thousand girls who were all attempting to do the same motions.

Drums thumped in an introductory tune provoking the crowd of preteens to let out all the breath they were holding in their lungs. A single male figure backed up on the stage in an excited walk, “Are you ready Chicago?” Every girl shouted back a screeching ‘yes,’ but the boy shrugged his shoulders, “I know all of you can be louder than that!”

And I quickly held my hand over the girl’s ears to prevent them from bursting as the crowd of females voices squeaked so loudly it could probably crack glass. She shoved away my hands when the guitars strummed vibrantly and that tantalizing voice began to echo through the entire Chicago stadium.

After what I assumed was an hour, most likely more, the music came to an end and the band exited the stage sweating profusely. I shouted into the girl’s ears, “Are you ready?!” Her large brown eyes sparkled in delight.

Digging into my purse I searched for the tickets I had won over radio Disney a few months prior to this enthusiastic concert. Teenage girls shoved past with forcefulness as they exited the arena heading home for the night, however I turned down a corner coming to face a very bold man.

“I won these tickets…” Slightly intimidated by his buffness I handed him the VIP tickets.

Grinning, he must have noticed my frightened stare; he informed me of where to head next, “Go straight down this hall and all the way down. The last door on the left is where you need to be.”

“Thank you,” he nodded his head at my politeness. I adjusted the small girl in my arms as we walked for a few seconds. Coming towards the end of the pale hall I knocked on the door the man had informed me about. There was silence for a few moments before the oak frame opened to reveal another man. I flashed him the tickets and he opened the door all the way to divulge a room that somewhat resembled a living room with a side table filled with delicious foods and drinks.

“The boys will be in here when they are done with their meet and greet, that might take a while,” the man explained. He ushered me into the room and motioned for me to sit down. “You are welcome to indulge in all the food and drinks you wish. And if you need anything just holler Tom and I’ll come running. While I’m here, do you need anything?”

“No thank you. We are both fine,” I replied with a smile as I glanced down to the curly haired brunette who had found amusement in the wooden coasters on the coffee table in front of the couches we sat upon.

“I have to run some errands so I will be back momentarily,” Tom explained before he exited the room and shut the door behind him.

Rubbing my temples I sighed, I thought this was going to be more of a five-minute hello goodbye situation. It would be extremely rude to leave seeing as someone more grateful could have had the tickets that I had rushed to win so I would have to sit and wait it out. Standing from the couch I roamed over to the table of assorted foods and ogled the strawberry doughnut that appeared extremely scrumptious.

I brought a tray of sweats over towards the table and sat it down. The three year old smiled as she took a chocolate chip cookie from the plate and scoffed it down in seconds, “Yummy,” was her only response as she continued to play with the coasters. She named one Poop and the other Pee and dubbed the coasters best friends.

Being consumed with Poop and Pee falling “in love” I had barley took notice to how fast the time had gone by. The door opened and I didn’t have to look up to see who had entered the room, my daughter had her arms wrapped around my legs in fear as the three males entered the room with bright smiles on their faces. I chuckled down at the girl and lifted her up and cooed in her ear that everything would be fine.

“Hello!” Greeted the boys as they casually walked over to the both of us. I bounced the tiny-framed girl in my arms. The tallest boy grinned ear-to-ear, “She is adorable.”

“You hear that Aoife? Kevin thinks you’re adorable!” She hid her head in the crack of my neck and picked up my hair to cover her face with it. I rolled my eyes. “She was excited to see you guys all morning. All that came out of her mouth was Jonas Brothers this Jonas Brothers that.”

“It’s okay,” Kevin grinned and held out his hand to shake my free one, which I shook happily. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“I’m Beth,” I introduced myself cheerfully. “And this is Aoife.”

The other two boys graced their presences by following Kevin’s actions, although the boy with straight hair introduced names for the two of them, “I’m Joe and this is Nick. And your sister is really cute.”

I smiled awkwardly, this idea that Aoife was my sister wasn’t a new one, “This is actually my daughter.”

Kevin nudged Joe at his “rude” behavior, but I objected immediately, “I get it all the time it’s okay. I mean it’s not uncommon for an eighteen year old to have a three-year-old daughter, but I mean people always wish it was a little sister. Right?”

“Would you like to have a seat?” Offered Kevin to change conversations. I easily could see the boys grow uncomfortable at the turn in discussion. I slid onto the couch across from the three and I sat down Aoife, who was now growing extremely curious as she analyzed the boys. She pushed her way out of my arms and hobbled over to Joe.

“Joe.” Was all she said as she stared up at him. The boy looked at her with the same curious stance, as if they were both foreign creatures.

“Does she want me to pick her up?” Joe questioned me while raising one of his eyebrows. Kevin rolled his eyes at the obvious way the child was acting; of course she wanted to be picked up.

“Ask her.” I suggested with a smirk as Joe once more glanced down at the child, who now had her arms extended in a ready way for him to grab her. Leaning over he picked him up and settled her down in his lap.

Aoife turned to Kevin and pointed, “Kebin-“ then she turned to Nick, “- Ick.” They all cracked up at Nick’s nickname. “Mommy’s boyfriends!”

“No honey,” I chuckled at her comment as she huffed and she folded her arms and glared menacingly at me. “Sorry, I don’t date so every time a boy is around she immediately assumes they are my lovers.”

“I want Joe to be my daddy.”

“Sweetie Joe can’t be your daddy.” Joe laughed as Aoife crawled out of his lap and moved over to Kevin, since he started to make funny faces at the child, who in turn giggled every time he made a different face. The child chose to ignore my comment and started an incomprehensible conversation with Kevin about how Joe should be her new daddy because he looked very handsome in a tuxedo.

Joe to break the silence, I assumed, questioned me, “So you don’t date at all?”

“No… I don’t trust the male species,” I shrugged my shoulder. “And Aoife doesn’t need to be around people who come in and out of her life. It might give her the impression that is how boys should treat her and I want her to realize that she doesn’t need a man in her life to make her happy.”

“That’s understandable,” commented Nick with a smile.

“You boys are really Catholic right?” Nick and Joe nodded his head. “I noticed by your abstinence rings. I actually joined this club in high school last year that was about having a second virginity.”

“Really?” Joe piped up, taking a quick glance at Aoife before turning back to me. I could tell he was trying to choose his words carefully, but wanted to say whatever he was thinking.

“Do you want to know why I preach a second virginity?”

“Ugh… you don’t have to answer that,” Joe muttered while glancing at his hands. “I know that it’s personal.”

“There’s nothing personal about my life, believe me. I hold school assembly’s about this kind of stuff all the time and have to confess and answer the most brutal questions,” I laughed at his modesty. “When I was fourteen I was raped and obviously ended up becoming pregnant. I started going to an abstinence club because I wasn’t actually willing to do anything.”

“Yeah, that man was a bastard.”

My honey eyes grew with astonishment at Aoife’s new word, “What did I say about swearing at a Disney incorporated concert?”

Kevin, Joe, and Nick all chuckled amused at my daughters cursing. Aoife put her hand over her mouth and shook her head, pointing at Nick to blame him for her swearing. Shaking my finger at her I gave her a stern look and she ducked her head underneath Kevin’s arm.

“Sorry about what happened,” Joe sympathized not really knowing what to say to my confession.

“I’m not sorry. I received the most amazing gift I’ve ever had,” I brushed off Joe’s apology as I stared at my daughter who was now crawling over onto Nick’s lap. I grinned at Kevin, “You are really good with kids.”

“I love them,” he blushed at my declaration. “And your daughter is absolutely gorgeous.”

“Yeah, she looks like you a lot,” Nick stated while Aoife played with his loopy curls. Kevin and Joe caught on with the ‘gorgeous’ comment and laughed as a red tint formed on the fifteen year olds cheeks. “So are you a fan or are you just here for Aoife?”

“You guys play really good and your music is really catchy. Aoife only allows me to listen to you guys anyways so I must say I am a fan,” I giggled as Joe smirked at my answer. “Very talented young men.”

“We try,” joked Joe with a cocky smile. My eyes did a huge turn at his facial expression which Kevin laughed at. Kevin leaned forward on the couch and rested his arms on his knees, rubbing his face he yawned, “What a show…”

“If you guys are tired we could leave,” my statement earned Kevin a punch in the arm from Joe. “Really it’s no problem. I have work tomorrow anyways.”

Joe, to avert my attention from leaving, decided to play twenty questions, “Where do you work?”

“I work two jobs actually, just at a store downtown and I recently landed a modeling gig at this Chicago magazine for fashion,” I replied with a slight grin as Joe’s eyes perked up.

“Aren’t you too short to be a model?” Nick quizzed in contemplation. “When we were standing you were shorter than me.”

“I’m 4’11,” I bit my lip in amusement as Nick’s eyes grew. “It’s really hard to land a gig when you are that short, but I worked really hard to get that job and they really liked my face.”

“You do have a beautiful face,” uttered Joe. I was about to say something in reply when my phone began to vibrate in my pocket. Taking it out I glanced at the screen to view the name MARY flash across the screen. I held up my finger to the boys to tell them I would answer the call and flipped open the phone, placing it against my ear.

“Hey Mary,” I greeted already knowing that she would start screaming about the Jonas Brothers as soon as she spoke.

“Are you with them right now?!” Her squeaky voice reached a higher pitch than I have ever heard her release before. I held the phone away from my ear a bit. “Let me talk to them!”

I looked at Kevin, “Do you mind humoring my friend by giving her a small conversation?” He nodded and I extended my hand to give him the phone, which he laughed as the girl began to scream loudly. “She’s a bit of a Jonas fan…”

“Friend?”

“Yeah, since middle school,” I enlightened Nick as I watched Joe grab the phone from Kevin and speak a few words to him. After Joe was done Nick retrieved the phone and chuckled as the girl screamed even louder at the sound of his voice. “She’s infatuated with Kevin. All she does is talk about the Jonas Brothers and how she’s going to marry Kevin.”

Kevin chuckled at this information and glanced over at his brother. Aoife was now taking the phone away from Nick and yelling at Mary about taking her time away from “her boyfriend.”

“Auntie Mary, Ick’s mine. You no have him,” Aoife explained into the speaker with a glare. “Joe is my new daddy. You no have him eder. You have Kebin.”

“Aoife what did I tell you about encouraging Mary’s love for Kevin?”

Aoife blinked at me innocently, “No ‘et hopes up.”

“Exactly,” I stood and walked over to my daughter quickly snatching the phone from her grasp, as she was about to start speaking to my friend once more. Holding it up to my ear I heard Mary ushering ‘my daughter’ to give the phone back to Kevin, “Mary I’m sorry, but I’m hanging up the phone now. I’ll call you when I’m home.” And with that I shut the cell as her last scream echoed throughout the room. I faced the boys and smiled sweetly, “I am so sorry. She’s insane.”

“It’s okay. We get that a lot,” Kevin accepted my apologetic words with a small grin. Aoife held up her tiny hands for me to grab her and I picked her up. Instead of clinging to me Aoife stuck her nosey hands in the black purse that was slung around my arm. She enthusiastically brought out her High School Musical camera.

“You want a picture?” I already knew the answer, but she giggled humorously. “Do you guys mind?”

Joe stood from his spot on the couch and stole my daughter from my arms, “Of course not.”

Kevin and Nick moved beside their brother and posed with perfect smiles upon their faces. I counted to three just to amuse my daughter, including the ‘say cheese,’ before I snapped the button. Aoife urged the boys to take a few more before she tugged on my arm to give her the camera, “I wanna ta’e a pictua of Joe and you. He’s my new daddy.” I gave Joe an awkward smile, who just beamed dazzlingly at me.

Joe wrapped his arm around my waist and I bit my lip to prevent myself from choking on my own saliva from the initial shock of a man touching me. Kevin offered to take the picture for Aoife, since she couldn’t even get our waists in the picture. The twenty year old had an estranged twinkle in his eye that I for some reason was taken aback by. It seemed as if he knew something Joe and I missed.

“You two ready?” Joe rolled his eyes at Kevin’s questions. We had been standing their posed in the same position for a few moments now. “Okay, say cheeseeeee!” And the blinding flash of the camera prevented me from seeing anything but the light.