by J. O Mantel
“Yeah, that was pretty embarrassing. Jake, none of this is your fault, in case you forgot, Lukas was the one who suggested I take this trip with you. I’m the one who made the decision to come on this road trip, not you.”
“Yeah, and I should never have allowed it. Sienna, you’re about to give birth in a few weeks, you should be at home resting, and I should be there helping you, rather than causing this extra stress to you and the babies.”
Sienna turned around and looked at Jake. She could see the sincere look of concern in his eyes.
“Jake. I love you and all, but you really need to stop being such a fucking drama queen. If I didn’t think I was up for taking this trip, I would never have agreed to come with you. Now, will you please shut up and give me a massage, so that we can get on the road again and see my parents.”
She smiled at him and he answered with a smile of his own.
It was 10am when they reached Phoenix. Jake grabbed their bags from the trunk and they walked up to the door and knocked. Within seconds, Sienna could hear footsteps approaching and then the door flung open and Margaret stood before them.
“Sienna!” She smiled and threw her hands around her daughter.
“Hey mom,” Sienna replied.
“Hello Jake.”
“Hi Margaret,” Jake wrapped his arms around her, and they stepped inside the house.
“Hello darling,” Sienna heard her father call from the kitchen.
“Dad,” she replied, greeting him with a hug.
“Hi, Jake.”
“Hello Carl,” Jake reached out to shake his hand, but Carl pulled him in and gave him a hug.
“It’s so good to see both of you,” Margaret said.
“Jake, let me take those for you,” Carl grabbed the bags that Jake was holding and placed them in the spare room.
“You must be exhausted. I’ll make us some coffee, we have so much to catch up on.” Sienna and Jake made themselves comfortable in the living room while Margaret prepared the coffee. Carl reappeared from the bedroom and he sat down beside Sienna.
“Look at you,” he said, looking at Sienna. “When are you due again?”
“The middle of May,” Sienna said.
Margaret returned from the kitchen, holding a tray with their coffees.
“Sienna, I can’t believe how big you’ve gotten. I mean, the last time we saw you at Christmas you were only just getting a bump. Now, you’re here and you’re absolutely glowing.” Margaret couldn’t help but get slightly emotional, Sienna couldn’t help the tears that fell from her eyes also.
Jake sat there in silence, drinking his coffee. They had been over this whole paternity thing millions of times, but it never got any easier for him. Even now, sitting here with Sienna’s parents made it more difficult. It was easy for them, no matter how the results turned out, they were going to be the biological grandparents of those twins. For Jake and his family, they still had to live with the uncertainty for the next couple of months.
“So Jake, how’s the album coming along?” Carl asked, breaking the awkward silence that had filled the room.
“The album is finished, it’ll be released in a couple of weeks. I’ve got a promotional tour and all that stuff, it’s going to be pretty full on. This is why I wanted to take this trip now, before all the chaos crept up on me.”
“Lightning Ridge are competing for the top position with Dark Falkon,” Sienna said.
“Really?” Margaret asked.
“Their album and single release the same day as ours. It’s a very competitive industry, and I know Lukas and his band have worked just as hard as we have, it’s anyone’s race.”
Margaret smiled and looked at Jake; “Jake, I have to admit, you are looking really well under the circumstances. I know this pregnancy and your career can’t be easy for you and your family, please, I just want you to know that no matter what happens, you’re always family to us and you’re welcome here anytime.”
Sienna got emotional, the tears falling down her cheeks. Jake looked at the three of them and he himself couldn’t control his emotions. Tears began to gather, as he sat there with the three of them. Margaret and Carl had been a part of his childhood, and now even as an adult, they were like a second family to him.
“You don’t know how much it means to hear you all say that.”
They finished their coffees, Sienna helped her mom in the kitchen, while Jake headed outside with Carl.
“So how are you really, Jake?” Carl asked.
“I’m fine, Carl. I’m not going to lie and tell you it’s been easy, because it hasn’t but honestly, Sienna and I have discussed this and we both know what we want. I’ll admit it’s going to be hard seeing her with Lukas, whether I turn out to be the father or not. But this is her life and her happiness, that’s all I want, that’s all I’ve ever wanted for her.”
“I wish things could be different for the two of you.”
“I know. Me too. Anyway, I’d rather not talk about it anymore, at the moment things are great the way they are and I prefer to keep them like that. I’ll have a lot of decisions to make when the babies are born.”
Jake helped Carl in the backyard while Sienna and Margaret prepared them all a nice lunch. The four of them sat around the table and enjoyed their food.
After lunch, Jake, Sienna and her parents spent a pleasant afternoon visiting the Phoenix Zoo. They drove past the Camelback Mountain and enjoyed some afternoon tea, before they decided to head home.
Sienna was exhausted by the time they walked in the front door. They enjoyed a quick but filling meal that Margaret had prepared, consisting of shrimp, calamari, fish, lobster and pasta. Sienna ate mainly the shrimp and lobster, as she had read that some fish may contain high levels of mercury and she didn’t want to harm the babies.
“I think I’m going to head to bed, everyone. Jake and I have a long drive to Santa Monica tomorrow and I’m really tired.”
“It’s been lovely having the two of you here, even if it has only been for a day.” Margaret leaned forward and kissed her daughter, then Sienna said goodnight to her father and walked into her old bedroom.
“Thank you for a lovely day,” Jake said, kissing Margaret goodnight and giving Carl a hug.
“Thank you for looking after her, Jake” Margaret said.
“I always will.”
“What time are the two of you leaving in the morning?” Carl asked.
“Early, it’s a seven-hour drive to Santa Monica. Once we arrive, we will have some dinner before heading to the hotel, and then drive to the airport the following morning.”
“Won’t you both at least stay for breakfast?” Margaret practically pleaded.
“Sure. We can do breakfast,” Jake replied.
He turned and started heading for his room, but saw that Sienna’s bedroom door was still open.
Her mom had made up her old bedroom, Sienna was walking around slowly, before she finally sat down on the bed and looked at the walls. Jake walked in and sat down beside her.
“Are you okay?”
“This room, it brings back so many memories,” she said, as she rubbed her hand along the Little Mermaid quilt cover she had received for her tenth birthday.
“I can’t believe mom kept this quilt cover all these years.”
“Yeah, Ariel was pretty hot,” Jake joked.
“She was the first movie I ever watched at the movie theater, it’s always had some sentimental value to me.”
“I totally get that. The first movie I ever watched was Scream.”
“Really?” Sienna asked.
“Yeah. I was at a friend’s party, I was fourteen at the time and they managed to sneak me into the theater.”
They smiled and Sienna yawned.
“I’ll let you get some sleep. I’ll wake you in the morning, your mom insists that we have breakfast before we leave. Goodnight,” he told her, kissing her on the forehead.
“Night Jake,” Sienna replied as she slowly star
ted to undress.
Jake made his way to the guest room, Margaret prepared his bed and his bag was sitting beside it. He changed into his boxers and climbed into bed. It didn’t take long before Jake closed his eyes and fell asleep.
The following morning, Margaret was awake before Jake and Sienna. She had made them bacon and eggs and some pancakes with maple syrup. She had also prepared them a bag with food, drinks and snacks for them to take on the road.
It was almost 9am when Jake and Sienna finally left her parents’ place. After kissing them goodbye and wishing them a safe trip, Sienna and Jake got in the car and drove away.
ROUTE 66 DAY FIVE
Phoenix to Santa Monica, California.
It was great spending yesterday with mom and dad. I could tell they were both getting really excited about the birth and can’t wait to meet their grandchildren.
Jake and I are finally on the last section of our trip, we are due to arrive in Santa Monica later this afternoon and our journey on Route 66 will finally come to an end. Tomorrow we will be on a plane heading home. As much as I have enjoyed this trip with Jake, I can’t wait to get home and see Lukas and Ivy.
“Mom gave us so much food,” Sienna said, reaching in the back seat and grabbing the bag that her mom had prepared.
“I think she’s worried that we’ll starve her grandchildren,” Jake laughed.
Sienna pulled out some chips and shared them with Jake, they were making excellent travel time, and so far they only had to pull over once for a pee stop.
“What are you going to do once we get back home?” Sienna asked.
“Hit the gym for starters. I’ve eaten so much these past few days, I feel like I’ve gained ten pounds. I have meetings with Stuart and the guys to organize the itinerary for our promotional tour. Did I mention that we’re going to feature on the Justice League soundtrack?”
“What?” Sienna gasped.
“Yeah, I forgot to tell you, shortly after we were signed to Sony, Warner Bros. contacted the CEO of Sony and asked them if we could feature on the soundtrack.”
“That’s fucking fantastic news. You must be stoked.”
“I’ll admit, there was a lot to consider before I signed the contract, but when I found out that they had chosen us over the other rock bands out there, it made the decision easy.”
“Not to mention the amount of money you would make from royalties,” Sienna added.
“Yeah, there was that too.”
Sienna turned and looked at Jake, he threw her a slight smile, and she ran her fingers through his jet black hair.
“You really need a haircut” she said.
“Excuse me?” Jake replied.
“I haven’t really noticed it until just now, but it’s getting rather long.”
“It’s perfectly fine. I’m not cutting my hair,” Jake told her.
They continued driving for a couple of hours before they pulled over into a nearby rest stop. The two of them got out to stretch and enjoyed more of Margaret’s food.
There wasn’t anything worth seeing as they continued driving along Route 66. Sienna opened the glove compartment and pulled out the collection of CD’s. She shuffled through the collection and then placed one of them into the CD player.
Steps’ 5,6,7,8 came onto play and the two of them sang at the top of their lungs, as Jake made the final turn for the home stretch to Santa Monica.
“This is it, the final run before we hit the pier,” he said.
“This trip has been amazing Jake, I’m so glad we got the opportunity to do it.”
“Thank you for sharing it with me, I couldn’t imagine better company to spend it with.”
“It’s almost like Thelma and Louise, but instead it’s more like Thelma and Brad Pitt,” Sienna said.
Jake laughed and almost choked, he’d never been compared to Brad Pitt before, but it made Sienna laugh and that’s all that mattered.
It was just after 5pm, when Jake and Sienna finally reached the end of their journey, at Santa Monica Pier. The two of them walked along the pier, taking some selfies of them by the ROUTE 66 sign, marking the official end of their journey. They finished the last of the food that Margaret had prepared for them, and then they headed to the hotel for their final night.
After flicking through the channels, Sienna stopped on the MTV channel to watch a special that they had on Dark Falkon. Jake couldn’t keep his eyes open, he tried to stay awake, but soon he fell asleep on the sofa. Sienna brushed her hair and changed into her pajamas, she was about to wake Jake, but she saw how peacefully he was sleeping on the sofa. She grabbed a blanket and threw it over him, whispering “goodnight.” She then made her way over to her bed, slid under the covers and soon she too was fast asleep.
At 7am the following morning, Jake and Sienna headed for LAX. They made their way to the departure terminal and checked in, before settling into the lounge and waited for their flight to board. Sienna fanned herself with the magazine she had been reading, while Jake went through his phone. It was roughly a five-hour flight to New York, and by the time they left the airport and caught a cab back to their apartment, they should be home by late afternoon.
A boarding call was placed over the public address system, Sienna and Jake grabbed their carry-on luggage and headed for the boarding gate. They found their seats and Sienna sat down by the window, leaving Jake with the aisle seat. They fastened their seat belts and after everyone had finally boarded the plane, the captain made the announcement that they would be taking off shortly.
It wasn’t long before the plane took off and Jake and Sienna were finally on their way home.
Sienna was glad to be home. She unpacked her suitcase and made herself comfortable in the living room, with a bridal magazine and a cup of tea. There was no rest for Jake, he was awake and out the door to the studio before Sienna even woke up.
She couldn’t wait to see Lukas, he was finishing up his commitments with Mike and the band, and then the two of them were meeting at his place for dinner.
After having a shower, she dressed and made her way to the kitchen and prepared some lunch. Ivy was due to come over any moment, so that the two of them could organize Sienna’s baby shower.
Sienna heard the front door open, as Ivy let herself in.
“Hey babe” Ivy said, throwing her arms around Sienna.
“Hey,” Sienna replied.
“Oh my God, look at you. You’ve gotten so big,” Ivy said, rubbing Sienna’s belly.
“Don’t remind me.”
Ivy threw her bag on the kitchen bench, while Sienna placed their lunch on the table and the two of them enjoyed their meal.
“So how was the road trip?” Ivy asked.
“It was great, Ivy. Jake and I had a really good time. We visited a lot of places, got to see things that neither of us had seen before, we just enjoyed ourselves.”
“That’s really good news, I’m glad the two of you had fun. How were things between the two of you?”
“Pretty good actually. There weren’t any awkward moments between us. Well, actually there was one time.”
Sienna went back to eating her meal.
“And??” Ivy asked.
“Um… it’s a little awkward. Lukas and I had just finished having phone sex and I was… ”
“Coming,” Ivy blurted out.
“Exactly. Anyway, Jake walked in on us.”
“What?!” Ivy gasped.
“Yep! You should have seen the look on his face, I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“Wait a minute, how the hell did Jake walk in on you, didn’t you warn him?”
“I did. He left to go to the bar and that’s when Lukas and I started, then as I was… the door flung open. He forgot his wallet.”
Ivy burst into tears of laughter.
“Ivy it’s not funny.”
“No, it’s fucking hilarious,” Ivy said.
“Lukas reacted the same way. I don’t see how this is funny.”
“
Come on Sienna, could you imagine if you had walked in on Jake masturbating?”
“I don’t want to imagine it,” Sienna replied.
“Oh well, I’m sure Jake got more than he bargained for,” Ivy giggled.
“Ivy I’m serious, it’s not funny.”
“Sienna, I don’t see what the big deal is. It’s not as if Jake hasn’t seen you naked before.”
“That’s not the same as seeing me with a vibrator up my-”
“Eeewww, too much sharing. I don’t need the visual please” Ivy said, almost choking on her food.
The two of them continued eating their food, when Sienna felt the babies kick again.
“Ouch” she said, rubbing her belly.
“A kick?” Ivy asked.
“Yeah. They’ve been doing it a lot lately. It gets quite uncomfortable at times.”
“But it’s all totally worth it. Besides it’ll all be over soon. When’s your next appointment with the doctor?”
“Tomorrow afternoon actually. I’m going to ask both Jake and Lukas to be there, it’s the last opportunity I’ll get to have them both there before they start their promotional tours.”
“Both of them? Together?” Ivy asked.
“Why not? Until we know for sure who the actual father is, I think it’s only fair that they’re both there.”
“That should be interesting,” Ivy said.
“What?”
“Jake and Lukas together in the same room. Oh, I’d love to be a fly on the wall in that room.”
“And what exactly do you think is going to happen?” Sienna asked.
“That’s the reason why I’d love to be a fly on the wall to find out.”
Sienna looked at her and raised her eyebrows. “I’ll talk to Lukas tonight when I see him, and then Jake later when he gets home. Now, what are you doing about this baby shower?” Sienna asked.
Ivy grabbed her notebook from her bag and placed it on the table. While Sienna was away, she had been busy preparing the shower and made some notes. She hadn’t been feeling too well lately and Dick was away on a business trip.