Sweet Children Come Out And Play

Billie Joe bounced through the waiting room where Richelle, Tre and Cody were all taking advantage of the hospital free coffee. Not as good as Starbucks but it would have to do. Like I said, it was free. “Guess what guess what guess what!” he shouted in a rather girly tone that may not have all been on purpose.

“What?” they all answered casually.

“We know what the baby is going to be!”

“UUU! What is it!” the girls jumped up.

“It’s going to be a girl!”

“Man, that’s awesome. What’s-her-name?” Mike got up and gave Billie a big hug.

“We have no idea but it’s going to be a girl!” he said grabbing Mike by the shoulders and planting a kiss right on his lips he was so happy.

“Wow, that’s pretty hot, Billie, oh, and is she ok?” Brites smirked.

“Yep, everything’s great.” And Richelle called the baby a she. That’s what it’s all about.

“Anything else?”

“Um, nope.”

“You get any tongue?” Brites poked. Obviously referring to the kiss with a smirk written across her face.

“No, I got no tongue.”

“You jealous?” Mike smiled to Brites.

“No, not really.” But he swung her around in his arms like a dance and kissed her passionately.

“Ok, that was pretty good,” she smiled.

“Now I’m jealous.” Billie folded his arms.

“Aww,” Mike propped back up Brites quite ungracefully and went over gave the same kiss to Billie Joe much to his delighted surprise.

“Now, that’s better,” Billie said getting up and straightening out his pants.

“You know it’s Swedish-tongue in Germany.”

“Really?”

“Ahuh.”

Richelle had already run out of the room to see Delphine. About thirty seconds later, she ran back for a second laughing hysterically. “ONE MORE THING! Billie fainted!”

“Dammit,” he muttered. Now he was never going to live that down. Then he chased Richelle off back through the hospital – Tre following close behind wanting to get in on the action – and Richelle locked herself in Delphine’s room. Billie was banging on the door and shouting to let them in, but he couldn’t sound very serious and Richelle taunted him from the inside.

“I don’t wanna talk to you no more, you empty headed animal food trough wiper! Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!” as was the custom of all professional taunters who have seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

“Is there someone else I could talk too?!”

“No, now go away or I shall taunt you a second time-a!”

“Now this is you’re last chance-”

Just then a nurse walked by to shush them. Billie dashed behind a cart in super spy mode and Tre took off down the hall. “Ma’am, can you please open the door?”

“Oh, yeah sure…”
~
Delphine awoke. For a short second, she had forgotten where she was. Billie lay asleep still with his arms around her. Sunlight flew dimly into the room through the shades. It was so like at home for those seconds as she came too that she could have forgotten all about the hospital and this terrible time. And the pain too.

Billie stirred beside her. He really was not supposed to be sleeping in bed with her, but after the nurses kicked him out of it about five times, and he didn’t listen, they gave up.

Billie opened his eyes, obviously thinking the same as her for a moment, and then saying quietly, “Hi Del. Good morning.” And then the daily morning kisses.

“Morning.” They lay together for awhile. “So, how are you feeling?”

“Ok, it’s starting to hurt a little more than yesterday though.”

“Oh, should we tell the doctor or something when they come to check on you?”

“Oh no, it’s probably nothing. Just the drugs warring off. I don’t want to hurt the baby or anything with more.”

“All right, take it easy then.”

“I can’t really do anything else.” Billie kissed her, brushing the hair away from her neck.

“It’s just, I worry about you.”

She kissed him back, “Thank you, Billie.”

“For what?”

“For all of this. I don’t think I would have – you know – without you.” Billie didn’t say a word. He just pressed his lips against hers softly again and hugged her closer, the baby between them. “Honey, you should go out for awhile. Go play with Mike and Tre.”

“Play?”

“You know what I mean. Music. You guys haven’t been able to do anything.” She was right. It had been a week and a half since they had done any “work”. They were just starting to record another album.

“I guess we should. I haven’t touched a guitar in over a week. That’s a record.”

“Wait, I just remembered. Someone was playing 2000 Light years Away. It was a few days ago.”

“Oh yeah. You’re right. I had the acoustic.”

“Yeah, I heard it first and then I guess I woke up. Damn.”

He grinned. “I was pretty much trying everything. Ironic eh?” Canadians. Love 'em.
~
Delphine walked through her front door, with a little help from Tre, who was being oddly sweet ever since she had awoken. It was really quite funny. “I never knew you were so goddamn noble, Tre.”

He twitched, “Yeah, you learn some great things in gay bars.” Delphine laughed. Now that was more like the old Tre. Billie was still outside at the car, struggling with her two suitcases at once because he refused to bring them in one at a time. He had also refused to let Delphine help in anyway with the heavy lifting. She was thankful though. She did not think she could lift one of them if she tried – with the combo of being almost six months pregnant now and the accident. She was still pretty sore and the doctors suggested she stay at the hospital for another week, but she had been in that same hideous boring room for the past three weeks already and could not take another moment of it.

She needed to be home with her own bed, own sheets, the big TV with a few good freakin’ channels, her own goddamn bathroom and food when she wanted it. You forget the comforts of things like that when you are away from them for long enough. Also, Billie could legally sleep in the same goddamn bed with her, where there’s enough room unlike the twin at the hospital, and she wouldn’t be bothered by all the fucking nurses checking in.

It still hurt. Not to sound ungrateful. She was eternally thankful to them at the same time. She was alive. It’s hard to picture when nothing is wrong with you, but some accidents happen so fast, you don’t know what hit you.

Tre let go of Delphine’s arm as she dropped down onto the soft cushions of her old couch in their living-room kitchen dining-room. She could care less at how small the little house was. Since she moved in, she had always felt it was a home – unlike her parent’s house. The big apartment had always been that way for them all too. In fact, she was dieing to get over to it and just hang out with the guys like before. Listen to their jam sessions, make muffins, eat, help them at the clubs and watch them play. Billie always told her that Green Day never would have gotten anything done if they did not have the girls to help plan and set up and all that.

Billie Joe finally lugged both the bags through the front door and threw them onto the bed in their bedroom with a puff. Then he meandered over to the fridge and took out a beer – Budweiser in a can, that was the best – not that she could drink it anymore. As she heard the unique sound of the can opening, Tre walked back through the front door. “Billie, dude, you forgot your guitar! I’m leaving now!” He dropped the case inside the hall.

Billie sighed. After his long trip up the stairs, he would have had to go back down anyway. “Ok. Thanks Tre!”

“Bye Tre!” Delphine called after him.

“Bye! FEEL BETTER!” he said bounding down the steps.

Billie walked over and fell down beside Delphine on the bright orange couch. “Want a soda?” he handed her a Cherry Vanilla Coke.

“Yes, thanks.” Coca-Cola was just her thing. Vanilla was the best but they stopped making it so she had Black Cherry Vanilla now. Sweet is good. As she flipped the top making the same sound as the beer, Billie propped his arm around her and she leaned against him, closing her eyes. She all of a sudden felt exhausted.

“You ok?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Want to watch something?” he picked up the remote.

“Sure.” Billie stopped. Inked.

“Want to watch this?”

“Yeah.”

“You know, I was kinda thinking about getting another tattoo.”

“Oh cool. Why do we always talk about this when the show is on?”

“I have no idea.”

“What did you want?” Delphine perked up a little.

“I was thinking about putting some more stars – bigger ones – up on my shoulder here. Below the tiger.” Billie had a black outline of a tiger on the top of his left arm that looked like it was clinging to his skin. You usually couldn’t see it because of the sleeves on his shirts, but Delphine always liked it. He had quite a few other ones down his arms too. “Also, I was thinking of putting the baby’s name somewhere, like over here,” he pointed to his right arm above the ring of green ivy that went all the way around his arm. “You know, when we decide. Probably after she’s born.”

“That would be adorable,” she kissed him. “And I love the stars idea.”

“I also think I need you somewhere else on here.” He had a little 80 drawn on his side already. It was for her. He did it over a year ago. 80 was Delphine’s number in a game she and her friends used to play where they gave guys numbers. Katie and Natalia started that rant of random silliness when they talked about them. Then everyone ended up with a number. Hers was 80. Natalia knew Billie then, who was secret number 86, and called her that when she was talking in conversation. Billie asked “Who the hell is 80?” and Natalia had to explain. Billie had always known her, but until that day when they sort of were put together in their group of friends, they never said much to each other. After that, they wouldn’t shut-up about each other, and Billie got the tattoo 80 almost as a joke. It’s an inside joke no one would understand but what the hell. It was his tattoo. Then he went and wrote a song called 80. It was the sweetest thing she had ever heard. Natalia and Katie will laugh their heads off when they see Green Day’s next album.

“You have the 80.”

“Yeah and I love it, but I need something where everyone can see it.”

“I’ll think about it.”