Roxie
~2 Trimesters Later

“Dibs on holding the baby first!” Milo announced the moment we stepped out of the car.

“No,” I said, aiming a finger at the drummer. “We’re not playing games today or screwing around. I’m meeting my best friend’s baby.”

“Right now you’re at a ten,” Cash told Milo while holding his palm at eye level. “We need you at a two.” He moved his palm down to waist level.

“Best I can do is a three!” Milo said in a sing-song voice. “I’m just excited!”

I gave him a peck on the cheek. “We’re all excited. But she’s possibly going to ask me to be her godmother. So I need you on your best behavior.”

He gave me a mock salute. “Roger that, Groupie Commander Roxie.”

“And we don’t know the baby’s name?” Riot asked.

“Nope. Meghan wants to introduce her to me. So don’t ruin it by making a bunch of silly guesses.”

“I don’t think naming the baby Cherry Midnight is silly at all,” Milo muttered.

Riot glanced at his watch. “How long are we going to be here?”

I rolled my eyes. “Yes, I know you want to go refresh the music charts. You’ll have plenty of time to do that later.”

“I just don’t understand why we all have to be here,” the lead singer complained.

I stepped onto the front porch and rounded on him. “Because this is important to me. And because Meghan is the reason the four of us are even together.”

“She is?” Milo asked.

“I didn’t want to go on tour with you guys, originally,” I replied. “Meghan convinced me.”

Riot gave a start. “Wait, you didn’t want to go on tour? You had to be convinced?”

“Shh,” I said, “don’t worry about it now. It’s baby time.”

I’d been warned not to knock or ring the doorbell, so I texted Jeff to let him know we were here. Two seconds later, the door opened.

“Roxie,” he said affectionately while hugging me. “Thanks for bringing everyone. You’ll see why in a bit.”

“Have you met them?” I asked.

“Actually, no.” Jeff shook hands with the members of the band and they shared introductions. “I’m actually kind of star-struck. I just watched your NPR Tiny Desk concert on YouTube this morning.”

“Hell yeah!” Milo exclaimed. “We’re big time now.”

“Shh,” I whispered.

“Shit, sorry.” Milo pressed his lips tightly together.

“That NPR concert was the reason I wasn’t here for Meghan’s early delivery,” I said. “I still feel bad about that.”

“Don’t. Meghan didn’t want anyone around her during labor.” While Jeff led us into the house, he whispered over his shoulder, “I saw your big tour announcement. Meghan and I will be at your Austin show. If we can get a babysitter, I should say. Right now, Meghan won’t leave the baby’s side for more than a few seconds. Not even to use the bathroom.”

“How’s that work?” Cash asked.

Jeff gave him a look. “You don’t want to know. But it involves me holding the baby and an open bathroom door. She’s right through here. The baby just went down, so no loud noises.”

Still keeping his lips clamped shut, Milo gave a thumbs-up.

Jeff opened the door to the nursery and we filed inside.

Meghan sat in a plush chair with a little pink bundle held tenderly against her chest. Her face lit up when she saw us, and she slowly rose from the chair so I could hug her and the baby.

“You have no idea how happy I am to see you!” I whispered. “After all you went through to get pregnant…”

“Worth it in the end,” Meghan replied in a hushed tone.

“May I ask what day she was born?” Cash said.

“Last Thursday,” Jeff replied. “June fourth. Why?”

“I don’t want to out you guys,” Cash said carefully, “but that’s pretty much exactly nine months after our Austin concert. The one where we opened for Rainknife.”

“The one where we met you and Roxie,” Riot confirmed. He was looking at the baby with caution, like she was a bomb who might go off.

Jeff chuckled to himself. “Meghan gets very handsy after two drinks, and I think she had more than two that night.”

“We had sex twice!” Meghan announced, still keeping her voice down for the baby’s sake. “Your music put us in the mood.”

“Those aren’t the details I want,” I complained. “Tell me this perfect little angel’s name!”

“Oh! Right!” Meghan stood up straighter and cleared her throat. “Roxie, my best friend in the world. Meet my daughter… Cherry Meredith.”

I accepted the baby like the precious cargo she was. “Cherry?”

“Holy shit!” Milo said. “I guessed the name right!”

“Holy shit, Milo guessed the name right,” Cash muttered.

Riot put an arm around me and leaned in to look at Cherry’s face. “You… named your daughter after our band?”

“Felt fitting, all things considered,” Meghan said.

“I…” Riot trailed off.

I looked up at him. “Are you crying?”

“It’s just… sinking in,” he said, getting more choked up by the second. “This living, breathing human exists because of our concert. And now she’s named after our band! I… I need to, uh, go check on something.”

He quickly exited the room. A moment later, we heard him blowing his nose in the bathroom.

“I always knew he was a softy on the inside,” Meghan said. “Roxie, there’s something else I want to ask you. Will you do us the honor of being Cherry’s godmother?”

“Yes!” I replied while holding the baby. “I’m so surprised. But I’m honored.”

Cash leaned close to Meghan and said, “She was hoping you would ask her.”

“You’re lucky I’m holding my god-daughter right now, or I’d smack you,” I told him.

“Can I hold her?” Milo asked. “I got my whooping cough vaccine two weeks ago just to be safe. And I brought hand sanitizer!” He pulled a little bottle out of his pocket and squirted some on his hands.

“Just be careful,” Meghan said. “She’s a baby, not a drumstick.”

“For Milo,” Cash muttered, “those two things are equally precious.”

Milo accepted the baby from me, cradling him against his chest. He stared at us with wide eyes, his mouth hanging open in disbelief and reverence.

“Look at me!” he said. “And to think this is only the second coolest thing to happen today.”

“What’s the first?” Meghan asked.

“Uh, our new album!” Milo replied. “It’s the one we wrote and recorded while on tour with Roxie.”

“Oh!” Meghan put a hand to her temple and shook her head. “I’ve been too busy to notice. I’ve gotten six hours of sleep total since we got back from the hospital.”

“Have you seen the rankings?” Jeff asked while swiping on his phone. “It just updated, and…”

He held out the phone and grinned.

“Your album is in the top ten! It just leapfrogged Chappell Roan!”

We shared a moment of silent celebration, pumping fists and hugging.

“I was going to make a joke about wanting to spike this baby like a football,” Milo whispered.

“DON’T YOU DARE,” Meghan whisper-yelled.

“But I didn’t! I showed restraint!” Milo argued.

“Does this mean we can afford hotels in every city on the next tour?” I asked.

Cash smiled at me. “We already could. Now we can afford nicer hotels. With rooftop pools.”

“I want a massage in every city,” Milo told Cherry. “These arms get tired playing the drums. My shoulders, too. When you’re old enough, I’ll teach you how to play. Your parents won’t like it, but that will be too bad for them! Because Uncle Milo will buy you a drumset, even if we have to keep it at our place!”

Jeff pinched the bridge of his nose and murmured, “For fuck’s sake.”

Cash put a hand around my waist while we watched Milo talk to the baby. “Want one of your own?”

“Maybe,” I admitted. “Someday.”

“Someday,” Cash agreed with a smile.

“Riot’s the one you need to convince,” Milo told us. “He’s never wanted kids.”

“I think he’s actively changing his mind as we speak,” Cash replied. We could still hear the lead singer blowing his nose in the bathroom.

“Someday,” I repeated. “When we’re done with the rock and roll lifestyle.”

As I watched Milo gently cradle the baby, that future life with my three men sounded perfect.

But for now, we still had a lot of fun to have together.