Page 71 of Best Friend Burden

With Kiefer able to stay home with Olivia, it gave me time to invest in putting the restaurant together. It wasn't quite ready to open, but it was well on its way and would give us the ability to add much more to the menu and try new things.

It was extremely exciting.

Kiefer still, of course, went in for work, but we set up a mini home studio for him within the apartment (really not much more than a bedroom with foam on the walls for better recording) so he could self-produce without having to go into Santa Monica every day.

I asked him if he was ever upset about giving up on his dream of becoming a rock star, and he gave me a definitive no. He chose to be with me and Olivia, and he didn't regret it for a second.

After Natasha came back from her tour — the early buzz for the record was positive and one of the singles even crept into the top 40 — Kiefer did join her on stage for her local performances, including one on a late night TV show, which I was barely able to stay up long enough to see. But he was there in the background, absolutely beaming and having the time of his life.

He still got to be a rock star, he just wouldn't be able to travel as much doing it.

For the record release, I suggested we throw a party for Natasha at our apartment, and when I suggested that we keep the party dry, he asked, “Why?”

“Well, because...” and I trailed off.

“Of my sobriety?”

I nodded.

“Put a bottle of the finest beer in front of me or the greatest cocktail of pills you can imagine,” he said. “So long as I've got the two of you, I'll never be tempted by that again.”

I worried that it might be more difficult when he actually had the physical distraction in front of him, but by the time the party came, he completely ignored all the alcohol as if it wasn't there. The hardest thing he had to drink was a Coke Zero.

At one point, he nodded, then stepped to the center of the room and cleared his throat.

“Excuse me,” he said. “Excuse me!”

The party quieted down.

“I want to thank you all for being here to celebrate Natasha on the release of her spectacular new album.” He gestured towards her, and the party-goers gave her a bit of a cheer.

“And I hate to do this, but as the host, I'm going to ask you for your attention for just a few minutes, because I have something of a surprise. Melody, can you go get me my guitar?”

“Kiefer,” I said, “come on, this is Natasha's big day.”

Where was Natasha? I looked around and couldn’t see her. And then the door to the other bedroom opened, and Natasha came out. I wondered what she was doing in there until about two seconds later when Jackson followed her out, buttoning his shirt back up.

They were both glowing. Old habits die hard.

“Oh, Natasha,” Kiefer said and she blushed, practically caught in the act. “Would you mind helping me out?”

I was confused, to say the least.

“Not a problem,” Natasha said quickly, then grabbed a keyboard bag from the side of the room.

“The guitar’s in the bedroom,” Kiefer told me.

I tiptoed into the bedroom, where Kiefer's guitar was. It was also where the crib was and where Olivia was sleeping, at least for the time being. We both wanted to keep her close. Eventually we’d move her into her own room, but neither of us was ready for that.

I had hoped she was still asleep, but she wasn’t. She lay there calmly in the crib, staring at nothing and smiling at me. It wasn’t fair for her to have to stay in there while the rest of us were partying. I picked her up and carried her back into the living room with the guitar. By the time I'd gotten there, Natasha was already set up. I handed Kiefer the guitar. He put it on and asked Natasha for a few notes so they could be in tune.

Ernie came over to me, “They're really great together, aren't they? Really amazing team.”

And they were. Kiefer loved being up there playing music, and I knew he especially enjoyed playing with Natasha.

“Can I hold her?” Ernie asked, addressing Olivia.

“You know how to hold a baby?”

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