Different Circles

Laura’s abstinence did not preclude the rest of them from imbibing, however. The four of them went out onto the deck to watch the sun go down and Jake fired up a nice fatty he had rolled earlier. He, Neesh, and G passed it around while Laura looked on with envy. It had been a year since she had last enjoyed some good bud. Two more months, she thought as she relished the odor of the burning marijuana. Get Caydee weaned and then I’m toking up like there’s no tomorrow.

Caydee woke up just after dinner, while Elsa was cleaning up the kitchen and the rest of them were listening to music, drinking, and talking in the family room. G and Jake were discussing their latest collaboration tune that they had been working on in fits and starts for nine months now. G was about ready to hit the studio in Oakland and start recording. Jake agreed to spend a good portion of the next week in the Compton rehearsal studio with G and his boys so they could finalize the project.

Caydee spent another hour and a half being passed around from G to Neesh and then back again. Elsa had, by this point, retired to her quarters and was no longer in the rotation. At 9:30, Laura, who was a bit beyond tipsy at this point, took the baby into her bedroom and gave her a bath in the little insert in the tub. Once she was clean and dressed in her jammies, she then carried her back to Jake, who fed her one of her bottles. Once she had her fill, he told everyone to tell her goodnight, that it was her bedtime.

“How long will she sleep for?” asked Neesh.

“She’s getting pretty good at staying down at night now,” Laura said. “She’ll usually sleep from ten until about six or so.”

“Six o’clock in the morning?” asked G with a wince. “You call that pretty good?”

“It’s a lot better than having her wake up every three hours,” Jake said. “You take what you can get in the baby world.”

“Man,” said G, shaking his head. “The fuckin’ sun ain’t even up at that time of morning.”

“I can verify that,” Laura said with a giggle.

Jake carried his daughter into her room and laid her down in her crib. By this point in her existence, she no longer liked being swaddled. In fact, it was a chore just to keep her blankets on her. She snuggled into the mattress and looked up at her father in anticipation. She knew what came next.

Jake walked to the corner of the room where his old Fender was leaning against the wall. He carried it over and sat in the chair next to the crib, where Caydee could see him well. He began to strum the guitar. She cooed happily at the sound of it. She really liked listening to her daddy play and sing for her.

He started with one of her favorites: Nights in White Satin by the Moody Blues. He sang the first two verses and the choruses for her—emphasizing the ‘I love you’ parts—and then gave her a little Zeppelin, playing Going to California. For the finale, he began to strum out the melody that she had always enjoyed when she had been in Laura’s belly—the tune in which she had come by her name. As she had done in utero, she kicked her little legs in cadence with the rhythm. Jake played the melody for her over and over again, his fingers moving automatically, his eyes watching her as her eyes grew heavier and started to droop. Finally, she was asleep, but her little legs kept kicking a little until he stopped the music. She fussed for a moment and then went back to sleep.

He stood slowly. “Good night, little girl,” he whispered to her, kissing the tip of his finger and then touching it to her cheek. “Sleep tight.” He smiled one more time. “I love you.”

He put the guitar back down and then left the room, turning off the lights but leaving the door open. As had been the case in Oregon, they used no baby monitor for fear of someone intercepting the take from it.

He went and rejoined the gathering, making himself another drink first and foremost.