Be With Me

Chapter 40

1990

"Are we far?" Liam asked impatiently on the backseat.

"We're almost there." Rafaela answered for the zillion times. Her son was very impatient.

"I want to see daddy." He complained.

"We're almost there..." She said again, knowing her son had been missing his father lately. James had been on studio recording a new album, after a tour around Europe and Japan, and had been quite absent of home and Liam missed him the most.

"Hey..." She clapped looking back after parking the car. "We're here!" She smiled.

She began to unbuckle the 4-year-old boy and then grabbed his hand, but inside the studio, Liam let go and began to run down the corridor. "Hey...don't run. You know daddy doesn't like it when you run around here." But Liam was stubborn and kept running to the door.

"Don't open the door!" Rafaela ordered, but Liam played the deaf and when he got there, he burst in running.

"Daddy... daddy..." He yelled and when she got to the door James was already crouched holding his son tightly.

"I'm sorry, you know he never listens." She smiled. James got up and kissed her lips.

"It's alright." He said sweetly.

"What are you doing daddy?" Liam looked up at him. James was his hero.

"Playing new songs." He said ruffling his kid's air.

Liam looked around and then held onto James' legs seeing a man he had never seen before smiling at him. He could get shy like that in seconds in front of a stranger.

"Hi." Bob greeted him but Liam didn't say a word.

"Say hello." James told him.

"Hi..." Liam said shyly.

"Hello." Rafaela shook the producer's hand. Metallica was working with Bob Rock on their new album.

"This is my girlfriend and well, this is my kid." James said proudly.

"Nice meeting you." Bob said and Rafaela nodded with a smile.

"Where are the guitars?" Liam interrupted the moment looking up at James who smiled tenderly at the kid.

"They're hiding from you." James laughed. Liam began to wander around the studio while the three of them watched him, then he found one of James guitars' and James went up to him grabbing his hand.

"Don't touch the guitars, come on." He told his son.

"But I want to." Liam sulked.

"Liam, mom and dad are going out for lunch, don't you want to come with us?" Rafaela called for his attention.

"NO!" Liam yelled and crossed his arms around his chest. "I want to play with the guitars first." Bob Rock laughed.

"Seems like he's got his father temper." He said, making Rafaela laugh.

"He's got all his father's temper." She played along.

"I heard that fucker!" James smiled pointing his finger at him. "Don't make my woman agree with it. Stop corrupting her." Liam was already by James's hand.

"What's fucker daddy?" Liam retorted.

"Don't say that in front of him." Rafaela retorted.

"It escaped." James defended himself. Liam tapped on his leg.