So Everybody Loves You

It had been a little over a month since Maria had seen a 'monster' in her closet. Since then, she has been sleeping with me. Every time I would try to will her to come with me to look and see, she wouldn't do it for anything. Now, I rolled over in my bed and opened my eyes to meet the sleepy brown ones that belonged to my baby girl. I smiled at her and brushed the curl out of her face. "Good morning, Love." "G'morning mommy." "Sleep well?" "Yes." "No bad dreams?" "Nope." "No monsters in mommy's closet?" "No." "There's no monsters in Maria's closet either, you know. Ya wanna go see now?" "No, no no mommy!" She buried her little face in the heap of blankets tossed carelessly on the bed from the night's sleep. She was stubborn, and that was a fact. Now, when she disagreed to eat something she didn't like, I knew she took it after me, but when she just down right wouldn't do something day in day out, she took it after one person, and one person only. That person being Jacoby Shaddix. Jacoby and Maria's daddy.

Flashback

"No Jacoby I cannot go with you. I have a baby boy to tend to and a rock star life is not for us." "Come on Adeline, you know I need you, and you know that the two of you need me. I mean, are you not even think of how Jacoby Junior will feel here?" "Babe, he's just a baby, he can't be dragged all across the universe. I'd love to go with you, but I can't." "Adeline Adriana Avery, you cannot keep him away from me, or yourself." "Jacoby Dakota Shaddix, you talk as if I'm trying to leave you for good. It's just me staying home while you're on tour Coby, you're not gonna die I swear!" "Come on Addie." He pouted. "Stop it." "Adeline, think of Jacoby, little Jacoby, he'll, he'll be hurt, angry, sad, disappointed-" Jacoby continued to ramble as I made a point to try to interrupt. "Jacoby you're over re-" "Devastated! Look Adeline, you can't do this to me. You know you'll miss me just as much. you can't deny it." "Jacoby-" "Nope!" "But I-" "Don't wanna hear it." "Will you-" "No more excuses Adeline. You've run out." I then sighed. Inwardly and outwardly. At that moment, Jacoby Shaddix grinned in triumph, for he knew that he had won this war. Again.

End Flashback

I sighed as I thought back to that moment. "Mommy? Mommy. You okay?" I heard the tiny calls from my two year old. "Huh? Oh, yeah! Yeah I'm fine sweetheart, just think is all." "About what." "Nothing sweetie, don't worry about it. You hungry? Ready for mommy to get up and make breakfast?" And then, as if reading my thoughts, she asked the question I never wanted to hear. the question I tried to avoid for three years. The one that I thought I'd avoided so well with her being so young and not worried about it, and Jacoby being a boy, boy's just don't ask questions like that. But here was my little 2 and a half, almost three, year old asking the question I tried to avoid.

"Mommy, how come I don't have a daddy?" Maria's small voice came. The question rang throughout my ears. Again, and again, and again. 'Mommy, how come I don't have a daddy?' What could I say to that? Because I was an idiot. Because I broke his heart when I decided I was going to leave him because he was a rock star and I had decided that my own life was more important. Because i was selfish. How did you explain these things to a three year old? "Well, sweetie. You do have a daddy. Everyone has one. It's just, sometimes, mommies and daddies have different lives and they need to go different ways. Daddy was in a band. So he had to stay gone a lot. He wanted mommy to come with him, but I had to take care of you and your brother." 'Couldn't you just take us with you?" "No honey, it's not that simple. You guys, like Jacoby now, have to go to school and things. And with daddy, he's never in one place." "I don't understand." "I know, I don't expect you to either. I wasn't expecting this question until you were older, but I'm facing it."

"Mommy?" "Yes, M-rie?" "Do you miss daddy?" "Sometimes I do. Sometimes I do very much. But I've moved on and so has he. He's married again. And he has two more little boys. I've accepted that, and I've also accepted the fact that it was my choice. I've moved on as well. Maybe not with another man, but hey, I don't need a man. I've got my babies." She giggled and snuggled close to her mommy. Just then, Jacoby walked through the door. "Good morning guys!" He jumped on the bed attacking the two of us. "Good morning!" I said and started tickling the bellies of my two children. They laughed, kicked, screamed, hollered, and then..."Ding! Dong!" The door bell rang. I jumped out of bed, wrapped my bed robe around my night clothes and walked down stairs with my children behind me.

As soon as I opened the door, my jaw dropped, as I was very surprised to see what I saw standing before my very eyes.