Serendipity Strikes

61

Shawn

Being a father to Jax and Xyla was the greatest thing ever. It wasn't always easy, but even the hard parts made me thankful for what I had.

I'd been a part of Jax's life from the start, but I wasn't spending every day and night with him until he was 5 months old. Living with an infant was brand new to me. When Em and I started our friendship, she was seriously sleep deprived, and I now understood why. Xyla got us up several times every night, which meant a diaper change, a feeding, and then doing whatever it took to get her back to sleep. Sometimes that involved walking her around our bedroom for an hour or rocking her to sleep as I sang softly. I always took that part of the job since Em had to nurse her, but honestly, I loved doing it because holding my tiny daughter in my arms felt wonderful.

During Xyla's first months I learned a lot. I'd diapered Jax, but not when he was a newborn. I had no idea just how gross baby poops are at first. Thankfully they didn't stain, even though they were this terrible yellow color, because more than once I ended up with some on my shirt. She spit up at least once a day, which concerned me until the pediatrician said that it wasn't enough to be reflux or some other gastrointestinal issue.

It only took me a few weeks to figure out that babies are pretty predictable. They have very basic needs, and they are amazingly adept at letting you know what they want. Before long I could distinguish between my daughter's hungry cry and her tired cry. I also knew when she was going to fill her diaper based solely on her facial expression.

Jax started junior kindergarten in September, which was a fairly smooth transition for him since he'd been in preschool for a year and a half. He was attending the Rosedale Day School, which was a highly rated private school near the Royal Ontario Museum and Queen's Park.

Em and I had mixed feelings about choosing private over public school. Jax was extremely advanced in terms of his verbal development, and we knew he'd excel more in a smaller class where the teacher could challenge him, which was what Rosedale guaranteed. We'd spoken to a gifted education specialist at the public school who told us they'd make sure Jax received extended instruction there, too. In the end it was the added security that won us over. Jax was the child of 3 famous people and was worth millions, which put him in a higher risk category for kidnapping than most children, and his safety was more important than anything else. When he was older and not quite so vulnerable, we'd consider switching him to the Forest Hill Junior and Senior Public School, which was just blocks from our house. For now I made the drive each day for drop off and pick up, which was nice since it gave us time alone.

One mid-November morning, we got into the Tesla after saying goodbye to the girls at the door. I buckled Jax into his car seat and then got myself situated. He always selected the music for our short ride, and I loved how varied his taste was. Em and I had music playing around the house most of the time so for a 4 year old, he had an impressive knowledge of bands and singers.

"What do you want to listen to today, DJ Jazzy Jax?" I asked as I started the engine.

"Hmmmm," he hummed as he gave it some thought. "OneRepublic."

"Excellent choice! I know Ryan Tedder. He helped me write songs early in my career."

"You say you know everyone," my son said, clearly unimpressed with my blatant name-dropping.

"I don't know everyone in the music industry, but I'm very lucky to have met some really cool people."

I queued up a playlist and Counting Stars flowed from the speakers.

"Milo told me his mom likes you."

"She listens to my music, eh?"

"I dunno. He said she thinks you are cute," Jax said with a tone that implied the idea was crazy.