Chapter 71

On his way home, he made a quick stop at Sarah's favorite bakery in town and bought her favorite pastry. To be safe, he got an extra one. Maybe she would like a surprise second or one to save for later.

Afterwards, he went straight home where he happily walked into the house. Glad to be able to see his wife's face and kiss her lips, even if it was only for one day. Any day spent with Sarah, was a perfect day. She was all he needed to be happy. He knew that very well.

He brought her pastry into the living room and found the family scene he loved to be part of. The tv was on a kids cartoon for Daniel who was paying no attention to it as he played with his toys. Caleb was excitedly talking about university classes. Sarah tried to pay attention but Richie could easily see she was tired. He just wasn't sure if it was because she'd been taking care of Daniel alone plus studying for the last month or because she was pregnant. Perhaps a combination of both of those options.

"Want to go play some guitar?" He asked Caleb, pulling him from his dialogue.
Caleb looked up at him, just noticing Richie's entry. "Sure." He said as he stood up from the chair and started out of the room.
Richie sat down with Sarah as he gave her the paper bag he got for her, noticing a pout on her face. "It's your favorite."
She opened the bag and looked inside it. Happy with her treat. "Thank you." She said but pouted again.
"Then why are you sad?"
She looked at him. "You want to go play guitar while I only have you for one day."
"You looked tired, I wanted to let you rest." He explained.
"I love listening to you play and so does Danny."
"Alright." He stood up again. "I'll get Caleb and we'll play here."

Upstairs he found Caleb in his office, the door was left open so he was easy to spot. The boy stood in front of a guitar case, thoughtful. Richie pushed the door further open as he walked into the room, making Caleb look up at him.

"Tough choices?" Richie asked him as he walked into the room.
Caleb shrugged. "They basically all do the same."
"That's insulting."
He rolled his eyes. "Electric?"
Richie pursed his lips in thought.
"Acoustic?"
"Yeah, let's do that and we don't needs amps so we can go downstairs, then we can let Daniel join in."
Caleb picked up a guitar to pass over, then another. "That would actually be a lot of fun when he's older, we can teach him."
"We will." Richie agreed. "I want to get him one of those mini guitars when he's a little older. He likes to listen so I think he'd be interested in learning when he can." He explained his future plans as he headed back down the stairs to the living room.

Sharing the gift of music was something he had always loved to do. To be able to do so with his children meant even more to him. Inspiring them with music was an amazing way to build a relationship, to share the love of music and instruments.

As they played, Daniel took notice of the music and abandoned his toys to watch them, fully enjoying the sound of the guitar music. Watching him so amazed, always filled Richie with love and joy for his son, knowing that such a young mind already had such passion for music.

When they took a break from playing, he noticed Sarah had fallen asleep next to him. She looked so sweet and peaceful, he knew she needed to rest and let her. It gave him the opportunity he came home for, spend time with his son and make Ava's birthday special tonight. Since he hadn't planned to be home for her birthday evening, he called Heather to catch up on what the plan for tonight was and how he could be included and contribute.

A little while later he quietly walked back into the living room but saw his cautiouness wasn't needed anymore.

He sat down on the couch next to Sarah and Daniel.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, feeling hungry for lunch himself.
"I'm alright."
"Yeah? I can make food as long as it won't make you throw up." He suggested, also remembering how her last pregnancy had gone.
"I think I'll be okay. I haven't been feeling very morning sick."
Richie frowned at that.
"Except this morning." Sarah added. "That was the first time I had to throw up."
Richie nodded. "Okay. I think we should still play it safe though." He said.

After lunch he was more than ready for a nap. Not because he was tired and needed the rest but because he had missed his midday cuddles with Daniel. The boy was too active to want to cuddle so naptime was the perfect time to get that dose of closeness that he craved from his little boy.

He took Daniel upstairs to his room and changed his diaper, not bothering to put his pants back on and carried him back to the bedroom. He was glad to see Sarah was joining them. Once in bed, he turned on the tv and turned the volume a little lower so Daniel would soon enough be asleep in his arms as he watched midday talkshows.