Chapter 60 - The Sound

The days pass by. My belly is growing bigger and bigger. I am thirty weeks pregnant now and I only have to work for one more week. The last week that I will be Lynn van der Beek.

My belly grown so big, that I can hardly do any useful.  And I am waddling more than  I actually walk.

I have to fit my dress one last time before the wedding. Carlotta is came with me to the tailor and I laugh loudly when my belly refuses to fit in the dress. The tailor assures me it will all be fine before next week.

The butterflies flutter through my stomach. I will be Mrs Graupner next week.

My phone rings and I check the screen. It’s an unfamiliar number. “Hello?” I ask.

“Lynn?” a unfamiliar voice asks and I hum.

“Hi, my name is Will. I am a friend of Ben. And I was wondering if there is anyway someone could pick me up at the airport.” He asks.

My mind flashes back two years ago. “Twhilla Will?” I ask and he snorts. “Yes, that would be me.”
“Thwilla ‘the Sound a.k.a Merch guy‘ Will?” I ask again.

The Will guy at the other end of the phone laughs loudly. “Yup. That’s me.”

I blush and almost drop my phone. I manage to grab a hold of myself. “I will be there in twenty minutes.” I promise him.

I am picking up William Schmidt. One of Bens’ friends. I smile widely. I am looking forward to seeing him again.
I drop Carlotta off at her house and speed towards the airport. I have no idea where to find him and I drive around in circles.

Then I see a familiar face. I stop the car and honk my horn. He looks up and runs up to the car. “Hi. Lynn?” He asks and I nod. “In  the flesh.”

“Wait a minute, I need to get Ben.” He says and runs back to the suitcases. I am confused. “Ben?” I ask to myself.

I look in the direction Will headed to and see him returning with a very familiar guy. The fro is not as big as I remember but his scruffy beard is still the same. “Ben Johnson. Well, I’ll be damned.” I say stammering. “I never thought I’d see you ever again.”

The guy with the fro laughs at me and I blush. “Nice to see you Lynn.” He laughs and offers me his hand.
I shake it. “Good to see you again Johnson. It’s been a while. You grew up.” I giggle.
He glances at my big belly. “You got bigger.” He teases.
I open the car doors for them.

“SHOTGUN!” Will shouts and jumps into the passenger seat. Ben Johnson sighs and  gets into the backseat.

I start the car and drive back to the house. “Where did you get my phone number from?” I ask Will.
“David.” He replies. “David is gathering some of Bens’ friends for the wedding. We’re just two of them.“ He says.

“So there will be more people calling me, asking me to pick them up from the airport? How lovely of David to inform me.” I sigh dramatically.

I need to have a word with that man.

“Is Ben home?” Johnson asks me.  I look in my rearview mirror and my eyes meet his’.  “Probably, yes.” I say.

“Great. He will be very surprised to see us.”  Will laughs.
I bet he will. Hell even I am surprised to be sitting  in a car with these two guys.

I park the car in front of the house. We step out and I tell the guys to go around back. Ben will probably be in the back yard.

I waddle after them, not able to keep up with their quick pace. “GRAUPNER!” Will yells and I giggle.

Ben peeks around the corner and sees his friends walking up toward him. A smile spreads across his face and he walks up to the boys to give them a hug.

“What are you guys doing here?” He asks surprised.

“I heard someone is getting married and you know how much I love to crash parties.” Johnson laughs.

“Lynn, did you have anything to do with this?” He asks and I shake my head. “Blame your dad.” I grin.
“I just got a phone call from Mr. Thwilla here, asking me to pick them up from the airport. I am just as surprised as you are.” I say.

“Guys sit down. I’ll get you something to drink.” I say. “Let me do it. Where’s the fridge?” Ben Johnson asks. “Not a problem. You have a lot of catching up to do.” I say and go inside.

I grab some beers and a bottle of water and head back outside. The guys are talking about the past months.
I hand them all a beer and take my bottle of water and my book to the hammock. I don’t want to bother the guys.

“Hey! Where are you going?” Ben asks and I turn around. “I’ll just leave you guys alone, you must have a lot to talk about. And you don’t need me for that.” I smile and continue my way to the hammock. Ben jumps up, runs after me and grabs my arm. “Of course I need you. I want my friends to get to know the important woman in my life.” He gives me a kiss and pulls me with him.

Ben sits down and pulls me onto his lap. I giggle. “I am way to heavy for your lap now.” I blush, but Ben pulls me closer.

We talk about our upcoming wedding and the baby. When Ben Johnson points at our matching bracelets we tell them about Amada. I wipe away a tear when I think back to that day.

I feel tired and I have to work in the morning so I say goodnight to the guys. “Want me to kick them out?” Ben asks and I shake my head. “Of course not. Have a good time.” I kiss him softly on his lips.
Will gets up from his chair and pulls me into a big hug. “Goodnight.” He says.

Ben Johnson gives me a hug too. “You are still the best hugger.” I whisper in his ear. And he laughs.

“What are you talking about?” Ben asks and I shrug. “Nothing in particular.” I grin and walk away.

“Now I remember her.” Ben Johnson tells Ben. “What did she say to you?” He asks curious.

I don’t hear Ben Johnsons’ answer.

There is no way to lie down comfortably in the bed with this big belly. So I lie down flat on my back. A soft thud at the end of the bed announced Theo. He barks softly and curls up next to me with his head pressed against my waist.

I wake up when Ben comes to bed. He gives me a soft kiss. His lips taste like beer.
He smells like beer and cigarettes.
He falls down next to me and starts to snore loudly, almost immediately. I stare at the ceiling.

This sucks. There is no chance for me to go back to sleep with him snoring next to me. I nudge him and he turns over. The snoring stops and I manage to get some more sleep.

It’s way too early when my alarm clock rings. I moan and get out of bed. I get dressed and head downstairs to make some tea before Inéz arrives.

I open the door to the living room and I am startled when a loud snoring is coming from inside.
I peek around the corner and see Will curled up on the love seat and Ben Johnson sleeping on the couch.

Of course they are.

I’ll be as quiet as possible and sneak into the room. A soft knock on the door makes me look up. Inéz is waving at me.
I quickly waddle to the door to let her in. I place my finger at my lips and point at the sleeping guys. Inéz arches her eyebrow but stays quiet.

We quickly go into the kitchen. “Who the hell are they?” Inéz whispers with a grin. “Who’s the cutie with the fro?” She continues while wiggling her eyebrows. I laugh. “Which one?”  I ask. “They both have a fro.” I laugh. “The dark one.” Inéz replies.

“That’s  Ben Johnson. Bens’ friend. The other one is William Schmidt, another friend. They flew in from the United States yesterday. I assume they drank to much last night.” I giggle.

The tea is ready and we head to the daycare. Inéz keeps asking me about the guys but I can’t tell her much.
“I only met them yesterday for real.” I say. “For real?” She asks and I tell her that Ben and Ben used to be in the band together and that they are sorta in another band together. I also tell her that I met them two years ago when I was still in love with the band.” Inéz laughs.

“So, technically you are a groupie. Screwing a band member and getting knocked up.” She giggles.
I nudge her. “Technically, yes. But I really love this man.” I sigh.

The kids arrive one by one and we brace ourselves for another fun day.

Inéz, the kids and I are having lunch when a weary head peeks around the corner of the daycare. “Hi Will.” I wave at him. “Come in.”

He steps in the room and looks at me. “We’re heading out for a while and we’re taking Ben with us.” He says with a smile. I nod. “Sure, have a great time.” I reply and wave when he leaves the room. “He’s cute.” Inéz giggles.

“Heard that.” Will says from the other side of the door. He opens it and steps back inside. “How rude of me. I am William.” He offers his hand to Inéz. She shakes it with a faint blush. “Me llamo Inéz.” She suddenly speaks Spanish and I look at her with a light frown.

She’s still staring at Will and Will stares back at Inéz. What is this all about?