Free to Love

Chapter 71

Joanna

I was sobbing uncontrollably. Shawn's new song, which he told me repeatedly was my song, was the most beautiful thing I'd ever heard. Who would have thought he'd be able to write a more romantic song than the one he wrote for our wedding? I couldn't believe he'd kept a whole song a secret. The surprise factor added to my happy tears.

I'd awoken at midnight to listen to it when it premiered. I would have just stayed up if I wasn't hugely pregnant and tired every minute of the day. Shawn was in New York for the night doing release-night promotional work. He had resisted doing this because of my birthday and pregnancy, but Andrew and I ganged up on him and insisted he do it. I wasn't due for five more weeks, and Dr. Abbott had told me at the last visit that I was showing no signs of early labor.

'My Light' was a fairly simple love song with a smoky blues vibe to it. He alluded to my love pulling him out of a dark place, but mostly it was a testimony to how deeply he loved me, using many metaphors about light. The lyrics and the emotion that came through in his voice were what did me in, as did the very sultry guitar solo. I knew my husband loved me, but this was a whole new level of declaring his love. He wasn't just telling me that I was the one; he was telling the world through the lyrics.

I texted Shawn to tell him I loved it. He called in response.

"Happy birthday, baby," he said happily when I accepted the call.

"Thank you," I said with a sniffle. "The song...oh my god, Shawn. I love it. And I love you. I hate you a little, too, for making me cry so hard!"

He chuckled. "I only have a minute since I'm about to do the live Q&A. I'm glad you love it. Every word is true."

"I'm going back to bed soon, anyway," I said. "I just had to tell you how beautiful it is."

"I'll be home in time to take you out for a birthday breakfast. Don't eat until I get there."

"Asking me not to eat is like asking someone not to breathe," I said. I was actually just thinking that a snack sounded good.

He laughed. "What was I thinking? Eat all you want but save a little room for going out with me."

"I can do that."

"I love you, Jo. I wish I could have been there to kiss you right as you turned 31."

"You can kiss me to your heart's content once you're home."

"That might be how I spend my day," he said. "Bye, baby. See you soon."

I said goodbye and hung up. I listened to my song one more time before heading to the kitchen for a snack. I made a grilled cheese and grape jelly sandwich on raisin bread, which I devoured in four bites.

After eating, I stopped in the nursery, which had been the guest bedroom until recently. We bought a sleeper sofa for the studio, and it was now doubling as the extra bedroom. We'd finished the bean's room the week before and I loved it. The walls were a pale yellow. The bedding was pale pink with accents in white and yellow. Jean had taken up quilting and had offered to make the baby one as her first big project. We'd designed the room around the gorgeous quilt. The furniture had belonged to Grace and Nolan. Shawn and his dad had hauled it out of a storage unit Shawn kept to hold things like the furniture and the thousands of items from fans he'd accumulated in his heyday.

I sat in the glider rocker and rubbed my stomach. I couldn't wait to meet the baby growing inside me.

Shawn got home right after I returned from dropping the children off at school. They'd presented me with homemade birthday cards in bed earlier that morning. Nolan had drawn a picture of me. I swear, he made my baby belly the size of a small car. Grace's card included a poem about how much she loved me. She obviously inherited some writing talent from her father. I loved these kids so much.