The Family Man
Part 5 of the Sav & Mindee Series

The Family Man

1

 

This story is a continuation of ‘But I Want To’, ‘I Left My Heart in San Francisco’ and ‘Can’t Say Goodbye’ and ‘A New Day’, short Sav stories. Again, it is completely fictional and is based upon songs, speeches and experiences that do not belong to me. As a matter of fact, there are many items in this story that are works of various artists. If you would like information on any of the songs, please contact me at Kimmi@abshire.org and I’ll be happy to pass it along. Enjoy!!

 

 

“And there’s a bird… And that’s a cat…” Sav pointed to a picture book as little Austin sat on his lap.

Austin pointed to a picture and began to bark.

“That’s right!” Sav laughed. “Can you say puppy?”

The one-year-old shook his head ‘no’ and continued to bark.

“Close enough,” he grinned.

“We’re ready for the band,” the sound engineer spoke over the PA.

“Ooh, Mummy’s ready to sing. Let’s go,” he placed the book to the side and pulled his son up to rest on his arm.

“Ma ma!” he clapped his hands excitedly.

 

Mindee walked across the stage and took her guitar from Jimmy. Without a second thought, she slid the strap over her shoulder. She stopped and sighed when she realized how awkward this was going to be.

“Vegas, we have a problem!” Charlie laughed over the microphone.

“Todd!” Mindee yelled.

“What?” he ran out to the stage.

“I can’t reach the strings. Any ideas?”

He looked down to see her guitar resting against her pregnant belly. “And you’re only 7 months?”

“Back to the subject, please.”

“Well, you either play at your side all night, or you don’t play at all.”

She bit her lip as she looked out to Sav and Austin.

“Hire a backup!” Sav yelled out as he smiled.

“Fine,” she waved her hand. “Let’s get on with it.”

 

Later that night, after Austin was asleep, they snuggled on the sofa and watched a movie.

“Are you okay?” he whispered before leaning his cheek on her forehead.

“Just tired,” she yawned. “Baby’s been kickin’ up a storm today,” she rubbed her belly.

“I’m just worried about when you start the new schedule. Can you keep up with three shows a day?”

“I guess we’ll see. I’ll probably just take a nap in between,” she smiled.

“That’s actually a good idea,” he kissed her.

Her eyes sparkled as she rubbed her nose against his. “Have you had a chance to work on that song Joe sent?”

“Not really,” he sighed. “I’ve been busy.”

“Honey, Austin will be fine. Just take a day or two to work on it. You can leave him with…”

“We are not hiring a nanny and we are not sendin’ him to a babysitter. I can do this.”

“And what about…”

“It’s settled,” he stopped her with a kiss.

She gave in and wrapped her arms around him.

The Family Man

2

 

 

 

“We’re off to the park,” Sav kissed Mindee’s cheek.

“You two have fun,” she giggled as Austin waved at her. “And bring back ice cream.”

“When ‘ave we ever let you down?” he winked before walking out of their condo.

She sighed as she walked over to the computer and propped her feet up. She logged onto her email and noticed a message from Joe. She smiled and clicked on it.

 

From:  The Shagmeister [jtelliott@dbn.uk]

To:  Mr. Mum [the_savage_4@yahoo.com]

Subject: Hellllloooooooooooooooooooo!

 

Okay, I didn’t mind when you hung up on me. Hell, I even overlooked the returned letters. But now you’re ignoring me and that is just COMPLETELY UNCOOL!!!

We need to get to work, mate. And at this point, you’re either in or you’re out. Either way, you’ve gotta let someone know.

 

Joe

 

Hope sighed as she reread the note. This was not good. She picked up the phone and dialed.

“Yello?”

“So fill me in,” she huffed.

 

 

“Have I ever told you how much I love seeing you on stage?” Sav wrapped his arms around his beautiful wife as she dressed for bed later than night.

“Yes,” she grinned as he kissed her shoulder. “Have I ever told you how horny it makes me when you work?”

He flashed his eyes at her in the mirror.

She turned around to face him. “Don’t you think it’s time to get back to work?”

“How did we go from foreplay to work?” he kissed her. “Let’s change the subject…”

“I will completely rock your word tonight if you promise to do one tiny little thing,” she slipped her finger down the front of his jeans.

“I’m not into sellin’ me soul,” he huffed.

She slowly unzipped his jeans and slipped her hand down the front of them.

“You’re cheating,” he growled.

“C’mon, Ricky. Promise me,” she whispered before taking his earlobe into her mouth.

“Min, this isn’t fair.”

“Fine, have it your way,” she pulled her hand away and turned toward the bed.

“Okay! You win!”

“Call Joe in the morning,” she waited.

“I thought we agreed that I’d be off for a few months? If the lads can’t ‘andle that, then piss on ‘em!”

“It’s been seven months, baby. You need to go back to work,” she waited.

He ran his fingers through his hair. “Fine! I’ll call!”

“Good boy,” she dropped her robe and climbed onto the bed. “Now get over here!”

He chuckled as he obeyed.

 

The Family Man

3

 

 

 

“Talk to me,” Joe answered his telephone.

Sav rolled his eyes. “Aye.”

“Well I’ll be damned,” he laughed. “Mindee ‘as spoken!”

“What is so important that you felt the need to interrupt my hiatus?”

“So a month or two off is now a hiatus? Don’t you think your band should’ve been clued in?”

“I can’t leave right now, Joe. Mindee’s only got two months left. And there’s a chance this one might be early like Austin was.”

“Just for a few weeks. So we can kick out somethin’ to make the record company ‘appy.”

He thought it over. “Refax me what you ‘ave. I’ll look over it and then Auss and I’ll be there in a week.”

“You’re bringin’ the Mini-Savage?”

“Of course. Min’s workin’ and I’m not hirin’ a nanny.”

“All righty, then,” he sighed. “I’ll see you in a week.”

 

“Yay!” Mindee clapped her hands together.

“You think this is a good idea?” he spat. “Cause I don’t.”

“I’ll be fine,” she kissed him. “And your daughter will be fine,” she placed his hand on her belly. “And I really think that you need to do this.”

“I know what’s gonna ‘appen. I’ll get into it. And I’ll get on a roll. And a week will turn into three or four.”

“You are not gonna keep my son away from me that long, Rick.”

He smiled. “You’re right.”

“Say that again. I like the sound of it.”

“You really ‘ave been talkin’ to Joe,” he laughed.

 

Sav finished packing and looked around the room. When he was satisfied, he reached for the flap of the suitcase and began to zip it up.

“Da da!” Austin ran in.

“What is it?” he looked down to see that his son was holding his most beloved bath toy, his rubber ducky. “Wow, we can’t forget that, can we?” he smiled as he opened the lid. “Toss it in.”

The toddler grinned from ear to ear as he helped his Daddy pack.

“Anything else?”

He ran out to his bedroom and returned with his stuffed lamb.

“Can’t forget Fleece either. Very good. Toss it in,” he again waited. “Anything else?”

“No,” he spoke plainly.

“Right then,” he finished zipping the suitcase. “It’s cold in Ireland. Where’s your Elmo coat?”

“No,” he pouted.

“It’s either that, or you stay inside the entire time. I don’t think you’d ‘ave fun if we didn’t go outside and play. Do you?”

He sighed as he walked to the closet and tried to turn the handle.

“That’s me boy,” he chuckled as he went in to help him.

 

The Family Man

4

 

 

“Hello?” Joe answered the phone.

“We’re here,” Sav whispered.

“Cool! C’mon over and we’ll…”

“Can’t, mate. Austin’s worn out, and I’m not much bet’er. I’ll call in the morning.”

“Fine, then.”

“Bye, Joe,” there was silence.

He huffed as he slammed down the phone. “Poor pussy-whipped bastard.”

 

“Alright little mate, I’d like for you to sit here and play with your toys. There’s also a coloring book and crayons on the table. If you need anything, Daddy will be down those stairs, got it?”

Austin looked at him blankly.

“You’re right, you can’t climb stairs. Come on,” he gathered the toys and headed for the studio.

“He’s… joinin’ us?” Phil asked.

“We’ll never know he’s ‘ere,” he winked. “Right, here will be my schedule for the next… 12 days. Don’t bust my balls, it won’t be changing any time soon,” he flashed a glance at Joe.

“You? Get up at 7:00? Is that AM?” Phil smirked.

“Once Auss goes down for ‘is kip at 11:00,” he ignored the comment. “I’m free to work until lunch.”

“And how long is that?” Vivian looked up.

“Usually an hour and a half,” he nodded. “Then lunch, followed by a round of footie outdoors, or some kind of game if it’s rainin’,” he read on. “Then his second kip.”

“So we can expect about 4 good hours a day?” Joe snipped.

“No, ‘e goes down at 6:30, right after supper. Just remember that I’ve got’a get up early.”

Rick stared at him with a smirk on his face. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”

“Absolutely.”

“That’s it, I’ll hire a bleedin’ nanny meself,” Joe mumbled.

“You wanted me, you’ve got me. An this is the way it’s gonna be,” he waited.

 

“How did your first day go?” Mindee asked.

“Bet’er than I thought it would. They’ll get used to it.”

“You really don’t have to…”

“We’re fine, Min.”

She smiled to herself. “Of course you are.”

“How are you feelin’?” he changed the subject.

“Only two more shows before I go on my little maternity leave. I’d hate to have her on the stage.”

“Don’t you dare!” he chuckled. “If your waters break, cross yer legs and I’ll be right there.”

“You’re funny!” she giggled.

 

The Family Man

5

 

 

Sav finished strumming on the acoustic and looked around the room.

“That was brilliant, mate,” Phil grabbed his guitar and followed. “Here’s somethin’ I’ve been workin’ on that I think might fit,” he began playing.

“I like that,” Joe nodded his head.

“And then what about this?” Vivian added.

 

By the end of two weeks, they had enough songs for two more albums. Joe was thoroughly impressed with Sav’s contribution to the sessions.

“Aye,” he spoke to him. “Think we could go out for a beer or two before you ‘ead out t’morrow?”

“I’d love to, but…”

“Bobbie can keep an eye on ‘im. Just for a few hours? Like old times.”

He smiled as he nodded. “Just let me tuck ‘im in.”

 

Sav opened his eyes the next morning to see another set of Savage blues staring back at him. Austin smiled. “Da da.”

“Good mornin’,” he rubbed his face.

“Num num!” he giggled.

“Ugh,” he pushed back the nauseous feeling at the mere mention of food. “Right, num nums.”

“Yeah!” he ran to the kitchen.

“I’m get’in to old for this shit,” he mumbled as he followed him in.

 

“There’s my boys!” Mindee met them at the airport.

“Mamma!” Austin ran away from his father.

“Austin!” Sav ran after him.

Mindee reached down and picked him up.

“Don’t you ever run away like that again!” Sav scolded him.

“He was just comin’ to me,” Mindee watched him. “Long flight?”

“Yeah,” he huffed before kissing her cheek. “I’ll go get our bags and meet you at the car.”

“That’s fine,” she turned to walk toward the doors. “Daddy’s awfully grumpy when he’s hung-over, isn’t he, baby?” she kissed Austin’s cheek before glancing over her shoulder and flashing a smile at her husband.

Sav smiled back at her before walking off.

 

 

The Family Man

6

 

 

Mindee sat on the bench to rest as she and Sav watched Austin play on the huge foam play land in the lobby of their condominium. She looked up and smiled as she watched her husband.

“So? You gonna tell me how it went?”

“It was good,” he sat next to her.

“Good?” she grinned as she raised her eyebrows and searched his face.

“It was great,” he smiled at her. “I didn’t realize I ‘ad all that creative energy built up.”

“I did,” she laced her fingers through his. “C’mon, lemme hear it.”

“You were right,” he kissed her.

“Yes!” she laughed. “So? When are you goin’ back?”

He sighed as he again looked out to watch his son. “Don’t know.”

“I’m thinkin’ about the time I go back to work…”

“And that’s when I’ll need to be ‘ere the most.”

“It’s okay to have a sitter every once in a while, Rick. The kids aren’t going to suffer because we both work.”

“It worked for my parents.”

“Your mother stayed home,” she squeezed his hand. “Is that what you want me to do?”

“No! Of course not.”

She sighed. “Are you sure?”

“Positive. I thought we settled this years ago.”

“So did I.”

 

“Rick,” Mindee shook Sav. “Honey.”

He moaned as he rolled over to face her.

“I’m having those little contractions like I did with Auss.”

He opened his eyes. “You sure?”

She cocked her eyebrow and smirked. “Huh, let me see… yes!”

He chuckled as he sat up.

 

The doctor examined the sonogram and smiled. “Perfect position. I’d say there’s a big chance we’ll be having this one naturally. Plus, you beat the length of time you carried your first child by 8 days.”

“And it’s still a girl, right?” Sav squinted as he adjusted his glasses.

“Um…” he adjusted the probe to several different locations. “Can’t tell.”

Mindee’s eyes widened as she grabbed the doctor’s hand. “Guess we’ll find out soon. My water just broke.”

 

“Ello?” Joe answered the telephone gruffly.

“Sorry to bother you, lad. But Rick asked that I call,” Sally Savage spoke softly.

“Aye, Mum. What is it?” he sat up.

“Mindee ‘ad another little boy,” she sniffed. “But she’s not doin’ well at all. She bleedin’ heavily.”

“Is it serious?”

“You know Rick, he didn’t want to go into it. But it’s serious enough that he’s ringin’ both families.”

“Thanks for callin’, Mum,” he lowered the phone.

“What’s wrong?” Bobbie looked over at him.

“I… I think we need to go to Vegas.”

 

The Family Man

7

 

 

Mindee slowly opened her eyes and looked into the frightened blues looking back at her.

“Welcome back,” Sav whispered.

“What happened?” her voice was raspy and dry.

“They don’t know. After your final push, you began hemorrhaging and passed out,” he stroked her forehead.

“Where’s the baby?”

“He,” he smirked. “Is in the nursery.”

“He?” her eyes widened.

“So much for modern medicine, right?”

“I guess,” she gave him a weak smile.

“How do you feel?”

“I’m cold,” she looked up at the IV bags of blood hanging above her head. “And tired.”

He walked to the closet and returned with a blanket. After gently placing it over her, he returned to his seat. “Would you like to…” he looked down to see that she was once again asleep. “Hey, Min,” he stroked her cold, pale cheek. “Baby?”

There was no response.

A nurse walked in and quickly began to take her blood pressure. “Mr. Savage, can you step outside for a moment, please?”

 

As he waited in the hall, two more nurses and Mindee’s doctor rushed into the room. He closed his eyes and tried to stay calm.

“Mr. Savage?” the doctor stepped out of the room.

“Yes?” he quickly answered.

“We need your consent for emergency surgery. We need to stop the bleeding very soon, or she’s not going to make it.”

“What kind of surgery?”

“We’re going to explore and try to see where the bleeding is coming from. Try to cauterize what we can to stop the bleeding.”

He nodded his head as the tears he had been fighting since the night before threatened to fall. “Just fix it,” he pleaded.

 

“You’ll let me know if I’m doin’ this wrong, right?” Sav spoke softly to his new little boy as he fed him with a bottle. “Your Mummy fed your big brother a little differently. Maybe she’ll take over when she’s bet’er?”

He watched over the tiny baby. “What should we call you, huh? Your Mum would be very unhappy if I named you without her consent, wouldn’t she? She’d never let me ‘ear the end of it.”

He heard footsteps and looked up at the door to see Joe and Bobbie peeking in.

“Hi,” he looked surprised.

“How…” he noticed the empty bed. “How is she?”

“In surgery at the moment,” he nodded as he rose to his feet. “She’ll be okay. She ‘as to be, right?”

“Right,” he smiled.

He looked up with tears in his eyes. “Right.”

Without a second thought, he pulled him in for a warm, brotherly hug. “Just let me know what you need. I’m here.”

“Thanks, Joe.”

 

 

The Family Man

8

 

 

The nurse quietly walked into the room. “I need to take the baby back for his shots,” she whispered.

“Sure,” Sav smiled briefly before placing his son in the bassinet. He then watched as the nurse wheeled him out into the hallway.

 

Once the nurse was out of the room, she nodded to the doctor.

“Thanks, BeLinda,” he sighed before walking toward the room.

 

Sav quickly rose to his feet as the doctor stepped in. “How is she?”

He closed the door behind him and turned on the light. “We couldn’t stop the bleeding, so we did an emergency hysterectomy… but we weren’t fast enough.”

Bobbie’s eyes widened as Joe’s face flushed of all color.

“Weren’t fast enough for what?” Sav fought his emotions.

“She’s gone, Rick,” he whispered. “I’m sorry.”

He shook his head. “I’d like to see her.”

“Sav,” Joe whispered.

“I want to see my wife,” he raised his voice.

The doctor nodded his head. “We’ll come and get you when the nurses are ready.”

“Thank you,” he stared at the wall as the doctor left the room.

Joe’s heart was breaking for his mate. “What do you need?”

“Call my house and tell Min’s parents to bring Austin here,” his eyes remained fixed on the wall. “And then call Mum.”

“Mr. Savage?” a nurse peeked in.

He rose to his feet and started toward the door. There, he stopped. After a moment, he followed her out.

Bobbie began sobbing. “This can’t be happening, Joe!”

He held her as he himself broke down into sobs.

 

One by one, each of Mindee’s band mates were notified. It had to have been the hardest thing Todd ever had to do. All he could think about was Sav and the two little boys he now had to care for. Alone.

 

The lights of the operating room were dim as he walked in. The nurses took one look at him and quickly exited the room. He slowly walked up to the table where his precious Mindee lay.

“No,” he whispered, as he looked her over. “C’mon, Min. Wake up.”

He stared at her for a few minutes. “It’s not s’posed to be this way, Min. We need you so damned much. Please,” he lost all control of his emotions as he collapsed onto her chest. “Mindee!”

 

 

 

The Family Man

9

End

 

 

Sav closed his eyes, but all he saw was his precious Mindee. The first time he saw her in the hotel in Austin… Making love and music in San Francisco… How awful it was for them to be apart when they were touring… The hard times they went through trying to have children…

She was everything he had ever wanted. After they met, it was if no other woman on the Earth existed. And now she was gone.

How was he going to live without her? Raise their two sons with no mother? Was this his penance for being so pig-headed? For not wanting to hire a nanny and go back to work? For not wanting to miss a single moment of his children’s lives?

He rubbed his face as he looked up into the darkness of the room. It was too quiet. He missed her so much his body ached. How the hell was he going to make it through this?

 

After one last look around the condo, he nodded to the movers. They finished removing all of their things just as the baby began to cry.

“Da da!” Austin ran in to alert him. “Stop!” he pointed to the room where the baby was.

“I’ll do me best,” he smiled as Mindee’s mother walked out while soothing little Thompson Savage.

“You’re the only one he’ll let feed him,” she smiled as she handed him the bottle.

“That breaks my heart,” he took his son from her. “C’mon, Tommy. Show your Grandmum who’s the boss.”

The baby quieted as he began to eat.

“You have everything?”

“I think so,” he nodded.

“You sure you can handle the flight with the two?”

“Joe and Bobbie are goin’ back with me.”

Tears filled her eyes. “You’ll call us, right?”

“Of course,” he leaned down to hug her. “She’ll haunt me if I don’t.”

“Probably,” she laughed through her tears. “She loved you so much, Rick. From the moment she met you, you were all she talked about.”

He sighed. “I know.”

“Take care of my grandsons for me,” she kissed Tommy’s head.

“Absolutely.”

 

“So that’s it?” Phil asked.

“That’s it,” Sav nodded.

“When do you think…” Vivian began.

“Will you be back?” Joe asked.

“I don’t know,” he sighed. “Maybe when Tommy starts school. Maybe in a year or two. Hell, maybe next week. I don’t know,” he rubbed his face.

“It’s okay, mate,” Rick patted his shoulder. “Take your time.”

“Thanks.”

“If you need anything, you know you can call us, right?” Phil asked.

“Any of us,” Vivian added.

“I know,” he smiled.

 

After settling the family back into their house in Dublin, Sav decided it was time to start putting Mindee’s things away. He went through box after box, putting her clothes, jewelry and toiletries back where they belonged in the house. There they would stay until he was ready to deal with it.

As he approached the last box, he stopped. He knew what was in there, but he didn’t know if he could do it. He sat on the edge of the bed and stared.

After what seemed like an eternity, he reached out and opened the box. There, on top, where he fully expected it to be, was her guitar. There were so many memories attached to that instrument that he didn’t know where to begin.

After a long while of crying and reminiscing, he placed the guitar on the bed and reached for her lyric book. Part of him wanted to burn it and the other wanted to read. Did she write while he was gone? Was there anything new?

His curiosity won out and he slowly opened the black leather-bound book. But instead of music or song lyrics, he found ads for nannies and home childcare providers in both Dublin and Las Vegas. He read over them for a moment before laughing.

“You always had to ‘ave the last word, didn’t you?”