She asked me how the "baby project" is going, I hadn't heard it called that before, "baby project" - baby nightmare more like. I told her how it wasn't going well and about our failed attempts. Melody already knew all about Melon, she actually was friends with her already, she knew Mel from the Bistro where she works, which is the one all the doctors use being right next door to the hospital. Of course the town gossips are already at it, everyone wandering just why the girls have moved in with me and Forrest, but only my family know the real reason.
Melody: "You know Lyric, I don't know why you haven't been and asked me for help yet!!"
Lyric: "How can you help me without giving me one of your kids?"
Melody: "I work at the hospital stupid!!"
Lyric: "And that will help me how?"
her pager started to bleep and she quickly pulled it off her belt to look at it.
Melody: "I've got to shoot, I'm on call and there's an emergency, I will phone you later, I want to run something past you."
She hugged me quickly then ran off in the direction of the hospital.
I really do not like the smell of the stale booze that hits me every time I walked into this place, but after a few I will not even notice it. Lara greeted me with her usual smile,
Lara: "Your usual Lyric?"
Lyric: "Yes thanks Lara, and keep them coming!!"
I chose this place because it is where I get hassled the least, the regulars are now used to me propping up the bar all day so they leave me alone for the most part. This is not really the kind of place you would find somebody rich and famous, most of the regulars are pretty much, like minded people, who came here for only one reason, like me, just to get wasted.
I am miles away, at this point in the day my thoughts are merrily staggering around in my head like I would be if I got off this bar stool, but this is the place I liked being - it is stress free. So frazzled I sat looking at Melody and it didn't register, she was just some woman at the other end of the bar.
Melody: "Excuse me, has he been here all day?"
Lara: "Yes, since opening time."
Melody: "How many has he had?"
Lara: "I've lost count, sorry."
It took me a few minutes to realize that "she" was talking about me and that "she" was my sister. I half slid, half fell off the bar stood, I had to grab the bar to stop myself from falling flat on my face, I was incensed that I'd just heard her tell Lara not to serve me any more alcohol.
Lyric: "Since when have you been my keeper?"
Melody: "I could punch you Lyric - what the hell has gotten into you?"
Lyric: "That's my business don't you think!!"
Melody: "When Forrest told me you would be in here and half cut by now, I thought he was joking, but I can now see he wasn't - you really are wasted aren't you Lyric!!"
She was livid with me, rambling on, I wasn't really taking much of what she was saying in, because I was way too drunk for my brain to make sense of it, whatever she was saying was just going straight over my head.
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Lyric has totally lost the plot, he comes to this Dive everyday and has for weeks, we have tried to stop him but he just won't listen, he sneaks off when our backs are turned. This started after the second time he and Mel tried baby making, he couldn't do it, and he cracked up. He hasn't done any singing for weeks, and he is totally wasted every day.
Forrest: "I see you found him then!!"
Melody: "How long has he been like this?"
Forrest: "A few weeks now, we thought he would snap out of it but he didn't - he's getting worse."
Melody: "What has driven him to this?"
Forrest: "The baby thing, I think it has cracked him up!!"
Melody: "That woman, I could kill her - this is all her fault!!"
Forrest: "Your Granddad has already had a run in with Amber over it but she doesn't give a damn, it's Cain's problem apparently not hers!!"
Melody: "That really doesn't surprise me and she has obviously said nothing to Dad because he does not have a clue that this is going on!!"
Forrest: "We have been out of our minds with him, when it started we thought he would go on a few day bender then get over it, but he hasn't, I have tried stopping him but he's impossible."
Melody: "Well you are going to have to sober him up somehow, you have got three days, I've made an appointment at the hospital for him and Melon. I've had to pull a lot of strings to get him this appointment, there is normally a three year waiting list, and it is going to cost him, but he can afford it. Forrest you need to make sure you get both of them there and he must be completely sober."
Forrest: "Appointment - what for?"
Melody: "Artificial insemination."
Forrest: "What is that, I've never heard of it?"
Melody: "Its a fertility treatment for couples who are struggling to conceive in the conventional way - although it is not generally given to gay couples wanting babies, I have had to pull some strings in high places to get them onto this program. Basically they take a sperm sample from the male and insert it into the females uterus, there are various ways to do it, some procedures take months in cases where there are genuine infertility problems, but in Lyrics case it should be a pretty straightforward procedure, and Melon will only be admitted as a day patient. So they can have their baby without going through the act of it, so to speak."
Forrest: "Does Lyric know anything about this artificial insemination?"
Melody: "No, I bumped into him this morning, but I was called away on an emergency so I didn't get to tell him about it, I checked out a few options when I got back to the hospital and luckily there had been a cancellation in the AI program so I grabbed it for him, after doing a lot of grovelling."
Forrest: "Wow - I'm blown away, I didn't know such a thing existed - I don't know what to say!!"
Melody: "Like I said it is not an option normally available to gay couples, all I need you to do is help him not to let me down on this, because it's not like the option will be available for him again!!"
Forrest: "Thank you!! You just might have saved him from himself!!"
Melody: "No need to thank me, Oh and Forrest, you know what abstinence is don't you?!"
Forrest: "Yes." I couldn't help but snigger.
Melody: "Well you need to leave him alone until its done, the higher the sperm count the better chance she has of getting pregnant first time!!"
Forrest: "No worry on that score, hes not capable anyway, he's too drunk!!"
Lyric hadn't been listening to our conversation, not that he would of taken any of it in he was too wasted, he had worked his way back to the bar, drink in hand he was well away. How I am ever going to sober him up in three days, I don't know. Just getting him home was going to be problem enough, with the bar not being closed yet, I am going to be dragging him out of here.
I should have known he would make his way down here. Telling Cain about the "Artificial Insemination" I took my eye off him for a second and he was gone. I was beginning to think he had gone back out when I found him down in the basement, propping up the bar like a proper drunk.
Forrest: "Come on Mr, drink up, its closing time!!"
Lyric: "But I've only just got here."
Forrest: "Sorry bar's closed, time to go home!!"
Lyric: "Can you call me a cab?"
I had to laugh at him, if I didn't I would be crying, it is breaking my heart watching him do this to himself, he is so wasted he doesn't even realize he is home already.
He started to kiss me and I knew where he was trying to go with this, but it would get him nowhere he would just pass out the minute he hit the bed.
Forrest: "Oh no you don't!!"
Lyric: "Why not?"
Forrest: "For one you are way too drunk and I can't stand the smell or taste of your boozy breath, and your banned - doctors orders!!"
He really is not going to know what's hit him when he wakes up in the morning!!! Lets just hope that this artificial insemination will be enough to stop his drinking.
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My head is banging and Forrest set about me the minute I got up.
Forrest: "You Mr are going nowhere today, your drinking stops right now!!"
Lyric: "You say that every day, and not so loud my head!!!."
Forrest: "Well, today I mean it and if you slope off to the Dive bar today I'm leaving you!!"
Lyric: "You wouldn't!!"
Forrest: "Try me!! and don't push me Lyric because I will!! You need to pull yourself together, we can't carry on like this!!" He sounded angry, there was a tone in his voice I have never heard before - suddenly I was scared, he has shouted at me plenty of times over the past few weeks but he has never threatened to leave me before. Talk about a wake up call!!! I know if Forrest left me it would just about finish me off, whether he meant it or not I don't know - I was not even going to take that chance!!
I know he is right, and I don't like what I am doing everyday, but it takes me to a better place than my sober brain lives in, the alcohol numbs the pain and shuts down my brain, it takes away the problems that I can no longer cope with. Still hung over from last night, my head is banging and now Forrest is telling me that I have no reason to drink anymore - my problem is over, I will never have to worry about it every again. "artificial insemination" - I can't take it in, a solution to my problem, but it sounded too good to be true, I pinched my arm just to make sure I am not having some drunken dream!!
I had to get him to go over it all again, just so I was getting it right. Suddenly it was like a great weight had been lifted off me, I really didn't have a reason to be drinking anymore.
Forrest: "I've got to run an errand for work take some papers to the town hall, while I am gone your Granddad is going to watch you, but I am warning you Lyric leave this house or if I smell booze on you when I get back - I will leave you.!!
Lyric: "You know you don't need to baby sit me, I promised Forrest I'll stay in, I'm not going anywhere, not even down into the basement."
Cain: "After the way you have been behaving lately, you can't be trusted!!"
Lyric: "I know I'm really sorry!!"
Cain: "I have made a right mess of things!!"
Lyric: "How is this your mess - I'm the one who has been drinking myself into oblivion"
Cain: "I should have put my foot down with your mother, I should never have let you go through this!!"
Lyric: "Grandad forget it - its done now, Melody has thrown me a life jacket, I am not going to mess it up, In a few days hopefully our problem will be over."
Cain: "Still I am never going to forgive myself for what its driven you to."
Lyric: "Is Melon at work? Did Forrest tell her?"
Cain: "Yes he told her last night after you passed out."
Lyric: "That won't be happening again."
Cain: "Well I hope not - for all our sakes!!!"
I went online to do some research, I had been reading for quite a while when the chat box popped up.
Melody: Are you sober?
Lyric: Yes!!
Melody: Has Forrest explained the AI to you?
Lyric: Yes, thank you Mel, I'm just reading up about it.
Melody: If you mess this up I'm coming round there to batter you Lyric
Lyric: I won't I promise!!
Melody: I have spoken to Mel and filled her in a few things
Lyric: Thanks Mel - I owe you big time!!
Melody: Just don't let me down!!!
I was pretty disgusted with myself, for the two weeks I had been in a drunken state I had neglected everything, including my career. I just wanted to get back out there, get life back to normal pretend like the past few weeks had never happened. I could on one condition, Forrest came with me - he really didn't trust me not to slip off to the Dive bar.
I spotted my two nephews and niece in the park. Pipers son, Melody's daughter and Symphony's son. It struck me that all my nieces and nephews had a part of that woman in them if not her hair but her eyes and if they were really unlucky they had both.
I thought Forrest might get bored hanging about out in the park for 8 hours hearing me sing the songs he has probably heard a hundred times already, but he didn't seem to be, every time I looked up he was chatting with someone, signing autographs or having his photo taken, he actually looked like he was really enjoying himself.
I had some grovelling to do with the park proprietor, I needed to audition to get my weekly park show back, as I had let her down over the past few weeks too wasted to remember or even care that I had a show in the park to perform.
We also went to the Rodeo bar, Forrest didn't like it but unfortunately bars are the places that I worked and I couldn't avoid them forever, just as long as I kept away from the alcohol what did it matter, but I can understand why he is nervous.
Now he was just showing off sat on the bull arms crossed "This is too easy!!" he shouted, but I noticed he was not doing it on top speed!!
He also thought the Karaoke song was easy, I definitely need to tell him sometime that he really can't sing!!
Lyric: "You know Forrest, you don't have to follow me around everywhere, I won't be doing anymore drinking, I promised you didn't I and I am sure Granddad doesn't have the energy to tag along when you can't."
Forrest: "Nice try Lyric, just because you have been sober for two days doesn't mean you can be trusted, I am not letting you out of my sight for a very long time - so get used to it!!!"
Then there is the girls, I bet they must have wandered why they were even here while I was off acting like a fool. Mel was just happy that I was back in the land of the living and we were doing this Artificial Insemination tomorrow. Lilac on the other hand was just being Lilac, on her own planet grumbling about something and nothing, but I did catch one comment she made, Mel is not the only one who wants her own baby and think somehow we are going to have another problem to solve in the future.
It had been a long day in the hospital, Mel still wobbly from the sedation was carried in and put to bed by Forrest, she slept for the rest of the day and this morning she was still out cold. She was beginning to worry me.
Forrest: "Lyric you should leave her alone you are going to wake her.!!"
Lyric: "She shouldn't be sleeping this long surely, do you think she is alright??!!"
Forrest: "You heard what Melody said, the more rest she has the better, leave her she will be fine."
Lyric: "You did not see what they put her through yesterday, prodding and poking I thought it was never going to stop."
Forrest: "All the more reason why you should leave her to sleep, Mel's tough she will be as right as rain before you know it."
Lyric: "You are awake finally!!"
Forrest: "He has been stressing like a girl while you have been sleeping."
Lyric: "How do you feel?"
Melon: "I am warning you Lyric, I am not going to have you asking me every five minutes if I am pregnant or not, it will be a while before I know and the minute I know I'll tell you ok!!"
So I guess now all I can do is sit and wait.
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Artificial Insemination = MC mod pollination. Lyric kicked up a fuss twice - he got upset with himself and never actually got past kissing Mel. So I had to rethink how I got the baby.
I think it's a wonderful way to go since this way it fits the situation better. Lyric sure did go through an emotional ringer.
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