All through college, Bailey and I lived in the garage apartment. Those years cooking with Jodi, swimming with Bailey and Sawyer, and hunting with Kirk and his boys changed how I saw the world. Even more important, it changed how I saw myself. By the time Bailey and I married on the deck overlooking the river she loved growing up, I rarely thought of my life before Ellsberg.
Bailey wanted a tropical honeymoon which meant I walked around shirtless 99% of the time. The old Nick wouldn’t have gotten through the two weeks without fearing the opinions of strangers. The new Nick only cared about enjoying his sexy overjoyed wife. Bailey in a bikini certainly kept me focused too.
Returning to Ellsberg, we moved into our renovated farmhouse just outside of town. Every room torn down to its studs, the place was essentially brand new. The summer after college and before I started teaching at St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy was a tranquil one. Bailey and I spent most of our time lounging at the house and learning to bowl so we might beat Vaughn and Raven. The latter goal was never to be realized.
A year later, Bailey decided we should have a baby. Only a few months later, she was carrying our first boy while I struggled with the fear of turning into my father. Of course, nine months felt like forever. By the time of his birth, I was more than ready to see my boy.
Unable to tell my sexy pregnant wife no, we named our first son after me. I did worry having two Nickolas Davies in the house might prove confusing, but Bailey had that covered.
Bubba began our tradition of giving the boys a normal “N” name then calling them a “B” nickname. Each following two years apart, Nathan and Noah went by Butch and Buzz.
Mothering didn’t come naturally to Bailey. Fortunately, Bubba was born at the end of the school year and I could be home to help. Despite declaring being a mom was her thing, Bailey just couldn’t get the hang of the noise and Bubba cried a lot. Like his mommy, the boy had a temper. Jodi and Maddy helped a lot. Between the three of us, we kept Bailey from going nuts as she suffered post partum depression made worse by her inability to connect with the mini-her.
One day like the sun breaking through the clouds after a long storm, Bailey and Bubba bonded. Once he smiled at her, she was hooked on the little guy. By the time Buzz came along and displayed a similar stubborn streak, Bailey was an ace at outlasting his temper.
Yet Butch was all me. He even had my dark hair unlike his brothers. Butch was slow to try new things, shy around people, and hung back when playing with his rowdy cousins. Sly as hell though, he was never found during hide and seek.
With Butch as my shadow, I did everything I could to give him the confidence I never had growing up. A confidence I only found when I let Bailey close. Cooper warned me that his sister came with baggage, but she really brought a whole amazing life with her.
The first time I saw Bailey, I just wanted her to know I existed. In the end, I could only survive when she held my heart in her hands. Bailey Fucking Johansson was my salvation.
Epilogue – Bailey
One of my family’s traditions was RVing for several weeks each summer. We travelled all over the country and to Canada. Growing up, Nick didn’t have any traditions besides his father getting drunk on Christmas Eve and screaming that Santa was dead. My man never knew what he was missing until he spent a few weeks in a rented RV. After following around my parents and brothers, Nick became a believer.
Eventually, we bought a RV that I named Bailey’s Badass Bus. Our three boys loved driving the RV everywhere even to the grocery store. During the summers, they viewed the world the way I did growing up. We ate at campgrounds, sat around fire pits until late at night, and played in hotel pools.
Bubba and Buzz took to water like me while Butch and Nick were more likely to sit with their feet in the water. Nick and his shadow smiled in unison whenever they caught me looking at them. In those moments, I wasn’t sure how I managed to get so lucky, but I hoped the blessings never ended.
Taking time away from managing the family’s legit businesses, I also gave Cooper slack on the RVing trips. In Ellsberg, I was always on his ass, protecting my assets. As the head of the club and family’s less legit businesses, he was always putting my stuff second. Our relationship involved a lot of fit throwing and silent treatments. Occasionally, objects were thrown and offensive nicknames given. On our family trips away from home, we returned to brother and sister. Objects were still thrown and names were still given, but we laughed a lot more and screamed considerably less.