Baby Love

Chapter 29

Word Count: 2296

Taylor's POV

Joe and I spent last night decorating the apartment for Averie's birthday. She turns four today and as she has reminded us several times, it means that she's old enough to stay up late with us. We beg to differ but Joe said it's okay if she stays up late tonight. There's no school for the rest of this week, in fact, I think she's been out of school all week. Part of my week has been spent working so she's been hanging out with Joe's parents and siblings. I'm fairly sure Patrick is ready for a break from her. No matter how many times she tells me that Uncle Patty wasn't doing this or that right, he's still just as happy as he was the day before. 

I'm not sure I would've made it through if I was in his situation. I know that Joe is paying him to help watch Averie, so that must be an incentive of some kind. It's the week before Easter, so it's a busy time in the UK with most of the children out on holiday. I'm not spending Easter here but instead with my mom and brother back home. I thought it was important for Averie to get to spend a holiday with just her Dad. There's a lot of work I need to do if I'm going to release an album this year, so I have to be back in the States as well. 

Joe was going to visit the week prior to my trip but after her OOTW thing, he elected to cancel it. He chose her and I didn't say anything but I was really proud of him for that. Work can be hard to juggle but that doesn't mean it should always come before your kids. 

This past week has made me feel a lot more comfortable about the OOTW thing and Joe being a parent in general. I still notice moments when Averie flinches or gets snippy because she's scared or anxious. She's still sassy and playful but usually around bedtime or when we're going places she gets short-tempered. My mom said it's probably because she's four and has no good way to release her emotions. Hence the constant struggle it has been to get her in the car these days.  She really doesn't like it when Parker drives also, which is funny to me because Greg is a safe driver but a worse one than Parker. Joe is about the same level as Greg but she really doesn't like it when Parker drives. No one here trusts me to drive in the UK for some odd reason. You get in a few car accidents and suddenly you're a hazard to everyone on the road. 

I recently researched Averie's star sign because Blake and I were analyzing James' so of course I had to look up Averie's. She's a rising Leo, an Aries sun, and a Taurus moon. I had to ask Joe what time of day she was born and that took him a while to figure out. And who would've guessed, Averie was born at 1:31 PM or as Joe told me 13:31 because of military time. I was speechless by his confession. She's literally a double thirteen again. Blake couldn't stop laughing at me when I told her. They just don't understand! They literally said that they were happy for me but I needed to be quieter because Averie and James were sleeping. Averie was down for the night and James was napping. 

The more time I spent with Averie, the more I learned how much Aries energy she has. I didn't realize how much Aries energy ensues until I saw her chasing her Uncle around the house at a family dinner recently. She truly is a rising Leo because she easily captures all of the attention in the room. 

This year she decided to forgo a birthday party and instead, we're going to spend the day with just the three of us. Then we'll meet up with the rest of the family for dinner, cake, and presents. She didn't really give us a reason for skipping a party but Joe thinks it has something to do with her recent CPTSD flare.

Joe stepped out to pick up her favorite breakfast from a nearby diner. I was sitting at the kitchen table when I heard her, little pitter-patter across the apartment. Averie appeared soon with her hands full as she eagerly joined me at the table. 

"Happy birthday!" I cheered pulling her into a hug and onto my lap. She doesn't seem to really notice the decor.

"Thank you," Averie grinned sheepishly. She has been talking about this day all week so I'm surprised by how quiet she is.