Jake walked into Cadence’s room, still naked, and used some of her baby wipes to clean his hands and face. He then picked her up and put her on the changing table. She continued to cry loudly as he changed her diaper and refastened her jammies. Once changed, he carried her back into the bedroom. Laura had now stripped off her shirt and her maternity bra and was completely naked in the bed. She took the squalling baby and held her to her chest. Caydee immediately latched onto her left nipple and quieted down, leaving only the sound of her suckling. Jake watched for a few minutes, amazed at how quickly his vision of his wife’s body had turned from sexual to maternal. A man’s brain must be hardwired to make the distinction, he theorized.
He cuddled up next to Laura and enjoyed the feel of her warmth and the closeness of his child until Cadence had drank her fill. He then threw a washcloth onto his shoulder, took the baby from Laura, and put her in the burping position. He patted her back gently until she issued a resounding belch.
“That was a good one,” Laura observed.
“Yep,” Jake agreed.
He carried Caydee back to her crib and put her down on her back. He swaddled her and then covered her with a blanket. She fussed for a minute or two and then closed her eyes and went back to sleep. He turned off the light and went back to the bed. Laura was already asleep, laying on her side with the covers pulled up to her neck. Jake went to the bathroom to pee and then climbed in next to her, snuggling against her body and closing his eyes. Within ten minutes, he was asleep as well.
But not for long. One hundred and thirty-six minutes later, Cadence began to cry again. He dragged himself out of bed and they went through the feeding and changing ritual yet again.
The original deadline for KVA to be done in Blake Studios had been January 30, 1998. It had become apparent by the time that Jake and Laura returned to Coos Bay five days after Cadence’s birth that they were not going to be done in time. This deadline became even more unobtainable when Jake and Celia refused to cancel the planned Christmas break from December 23 through December 28th. Jake had flown Matt and his band to Seattle so they could have some big city time during the break and then he, Laura, and Caydee had flown from Seattle to Pocatello to spend the holiday with Joey and family (they did, thankfully, stay in a hotel room instead of in Chase and Grace’s bedroom). Now, as 1997 expired and 1998 began, Obie agreed to extend KVA’s use of the studio for another six weeks beyond the original deadline. He did, of course, charge them time and a half hourly rate for the extension, but this was fair as he had to push back two other acts who had been scheduled to enter Studios A and B on February 1.
They did not stop to honor the turning of the year with a party, not even Matt and company. Instead, they treated New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day like any other weekday. They all got up early, went down to the studio, and worked on their music until 5:00 PM. They then went back to their houses, ate their dinners, and went to bed well before midnight so they could get up and do it again the next day. They even started working on Saturdays, something they had not done up to this point, because Obie had made it quite clear that the new deadline of March 12 was set in concrete and would not be extended further.
On Sunday, January 4th, Jake and Laura drove to North Bend Municipal Airport just after noon. They installed Cadence’s car seat in the seat immediately behind the pilot’s seat. They then strapped Cadence herself into it. Jake did the preflight checks and they roared into the sky at 12:45 PM, heading south for San Luis Obispo and home. Laura and Cadence both slept the entire flight. Both woke up a little cranky from their naps.
Jake drove them home in Laura’s Lexus. Once there, Laura told him to go catch a nap of his own, that she would take care of Caydee.
“Thanks, babe,” he said gratefully. Last night had been a rough one. Caydee had awakened them every ninety minutes on average and he had only gotten about three hours of broken sleep. He kissed Laura and then Caydee and headed for the bedroom. Before he could make it to his destination, however, the phone began to ring.
He looked over at Laura, hoping that she would get it, but saw that she was on the couch, opening her blouse so she could feed Caydee. With a sigh, he changed course and headed for the nearest phone, which was the one on the bar.
“Hello?” he said into it.
“Jake!” said a familiar, weasel-like voice. “How the hell are you, my man?”
It was Joshua Flag, the head of the A&R department at Aristocrat Records—the company that KVA was currently contracted with for manufacturing, distribution, and promotion of their products. It was a contract that was renegotiated with each new product they put out. Jake bemoaned the day he had provided Flag with his home phone number while being simultaneously grateful that he had never given him his cell number.
“I’m fine, Josh,” Jake said now. “What can I do for you?”
“I understand you’re in town for a few days,” Flag said. “Is that correct?”
Jake shook his head and rolled his eyes. He had never even told Flag that he was out of town, but that information was public record at this point. Yet somehow, Flag knew that he was back in southern California for a visit. He probably had someone keeping an eye on flight plans that were filed.
“I’m in Oceano, obviously,” Jake said, “since you called my home number and I answered. I now ask again: What can I do for you, Josh?”
“I was hoping that maybe you could hop over to LA tomorrow and meet with us,” Flag said.
“My daughter has a pediatrician appointment tomorrow,” Jake said. “That’s why we’re here. We’ll be flying back to Coos Bay tomorrow night so we can get back to work Tuesday morning. Flying to Los Angeles and back does not enter into that equation. Sorry.”
“Oh ... I see,” Flag said. “Is there any chance that you can make it enter in? We have some very important things we would like to discuss with you.”
“What kind of things?” Jake asked.
“Items of mutual interest,” Flag said. “Items related to the project you are working on up in Oregon.”
“I’m working on two projects up in Oregon, Josh,” Jake said. “Which one are you referring to?”
“The project you are working on with Matt Tisdale is particularly interesting to us,” he replied. “We want to touch bases with you and get a heads up on the particulars.”
Jake rolled his eyes again. It was obvious that Flag and the other suits were buying into the rumors about an Intemperance reunion and they wanted to be in position to cash in on it. “The project I’m working on with Matt Tisdale is a solo album, Josh,” Jake told him. “We are not putting Intemperance back together, nor do we plan to do so in the future.”
“I understand that that is what you have to say at this point,” Flag said. “We have no problem with that, and we would not want to prematurely release any details either. We just want to discuss the particulars with you and start talking some numbers related to the CD release and the tour that will inevitably follow.”
“We are not just saying this, Josh,” Jake explained patiently. “We are not working on new Intemperance material. We are working on a Matt Tisdale solo album because the suits over at National just wanted him to pump out a new CD and hit the road again. He came to us so he could make a quality solo album and not just a token one with the only purpose being to justify that tour.”
“Is that so?” Flag asked slyly.
“That is so,” Jake confirmed.
“Then why are Charlie Meyer, John Cooper, and Nerdly Archer all up there in Oregon and working at that studio too? Are you seriously trying to tell me that you have all five members of Intemperance working out of the same studio and you’re not putting together new Intemperance material?”