Chapter Sixty-three

Whenever time difference worked out for them, Sarah and Richie talked over the phone. Only once they wee lucky enough Daniel was still awake to videochat. Of course the baby didn't understand the concept but Richie was happy enough to see his son all the way from Germany.

Tomorrow he'd be home again. The short European promotional tour was over and everything was set for next summer. He was looking forward to it all but in another way he wasn't. He hoped Ava would be alright with it but he also didn't want to miss all the milestones Daniel was about to make in his life. There'd be a ton more later in life but watching him roll, sit, crawl, walk and even talk were very important steps to a parent.

In the evening, the band boarded the plane back to the US. They'd only fly as far as New York City and Richie would get connection to Los Angeles on his own. He was used to that and didn't mind the few hours flight by himself. It also gave him some peace and quiet away from everybody.

A few hours later, he arrived back home. It was only afternoon, he'd have time to spend with his family. He'd drop off his luggage, say hi to everybody and then go see Ava. He was determined to spend all the time he could with her while he was still home for another month.

He walked into the house quietly, being sure Daniel was having a nap at this time.

Sarah heard him from the living room and got up to meet him by the door.

"You're home." She said with a brilliant smile.
He put his bags down and wrapped his arms around his wife. "Missed you."
"I missed you too, I'm so glad you're home now." She hugged him back, then reached up to kiss him.

Richie kissed back passionately, it had only been a few days but he had missed his wife a lot. Returning to her always felt good.

"So what's that idea you got?" He asked as their kiss ended.
Sarah smiled. "I'll show you." She took his hand and pulled him to the living room where she made him sit down. "I know you gave me a laptop so I could use it for school but then I didn't go to school so what if I do that now?"
"Go to school? But Daniel?"
"Not go to school, distance learning. I'd get all the books at home or online and then I can study on my own in my own time."
"Really?" Richie asked interested.
"I could study while Daniel's napping or in the evening when everyone is home and looking after him too."
Richie nodded, understanding how she was about to take everything on. "What are you going to study?" He knew she had wanted to be a doctor but medical studies on her own would be very hard.
"Early childhood development." Sarah answered with a bright smile. "I'd learn everything about children til the age of twelve. I'd be learning how Daniel develops, what he should be able to do at a certain age, how to encourage him to learn things, when to know he's behind on the guidelines."
Richie frowned. "He's behind on things?"
Sarah shook her head and smiled again. "No, he's even early on starting to roll and he's finally getting used to your mom."
"And you're sure you don't want to take this course just because you're worried about him." Richie asked skeptical.
Sarah shrugged a little. "Maybe but if I do go back to work when he's older or something, I could work with other children too. I could work at a playschool or a toddler group."
"Okay." Richie nodded. "If that's what you want to do, go ahead. Even if you're just worried about Daniel, nothing wrong with learning something new."
Reaching over to her husband, Sarah smiled again and kissed him. "Thanks, course money is only like ten grand."
Money wasn't an issue for him but that did seem a lot. "Seriously?"
"No. Just wanted to see your reaction to that. Was funny." She kissed him again, then snuggled into him.
"Now if only Caleb would make up his mind about college."
That reminded Sarah of something they talked about earlier. "Few days ago he found the Academy of Arts."
"What's that?"
"Seemed really neat, he was considering studying to make music for movies but he's not sure if he really wants to make music his job or keep it as a hobby." Sarah explained, she knew what her son loved to do but also understood that it was a very hard choice to make. It would be the base of his entire life.
Richie frowned. "Music? Last week he was thinking about social work."
Sarah looked up at him. "Social work?"
"Yeah, said he wanted to work for child welfare. Help kids that are in difficult situations at home." He explained. When Caleb had told him, he had encouraged it, thinking that was what Sarah would want and it would be a very nice career to help children.
"That's something I'd expect from Noah. I know Caleb cares a lot, he just likes to act though around everyone but that would be a very nice to make a career out of."
Richie agreed and cuddled his wife again. "He'll make his mind up. Whatever he picks, he can study as long as it's what he really wants to do. He can always do music later."
"Very true." Sarah agreed.

Richie knew the difficult choice Caleb had to make. At that age he also wanted to play music for the rest of his life but it's a though field to breakthrough from and he also had picked another road at first. After two years of college, he took a chance to be world famous. Who knows, maybe Caleb would do so too. As a father, he'd be supportive to his son no matter what decision he made.