Jada~
"Welcome to Malibu," I tell Lizzie as I drive onto the Pacific Coast Highway with her and Camille after I picked them up from LAX.
"It is so much better than the pictures."
I turn onto our road and drive up the hill to the driveway as Christian and some of his friends are working out. They move out of the way so I can park in the garage.
We get out and the boys get back to working out. I take Camille's suitcase, "I can get my own suitcase."
"Don't fight me on this."
She looks at Christian, "Hey, pretty boy, your fiancé is super stubborn."
He's out of breath after getting done with sprints up and down the driveway. He looks at us, "Camille, tell me something I don't know."
We go inside and Camille walks to one of the guest bedrooms as Lizzie stares out at the view of the backyard. "Why would you ever want to come back to Wisconsin when you can look out of these windows every day?"
"Well, I do enjoy being with Christian when he's out there."
"You know I'm not going to want to leave?"
"Well, as much as I love you, you do have to go back to school and I don't want to hear from your mom how I'm keeping you here."
"She wouldn't mind."
"You must not know your mother very well."
I take her back to the other guest bedroom, "I stocked the bathroom too. You should have everything you could need in there."
"Thank you."
"So, tomorrow, I would like to leave by 9:15. We have to pick up his mom and she lives 25 minutes from here. I scheduled three appointments but I don't know if we'll need to stop at all three."
"Okay."
"I'll be out there if you need anything. Do you want something specific for dinner?"
"Anything is fine. I'm just happy to be here."
"Okay."
I walk out of her room to go talk to Camille. I knock on the closed door and don't get a response. I walk in to see her sleeping on the bed. I move her suitcase against the wall and go into the closet all while staying quiet. I take one of the blankets and unfold it to drape it across her. I close the curtains before closing the door behind me.
I pull out a lacey dress from the rack and stare at it before putting it back. I'm not sure what I'm looking for, but I do know that I want to look and feel good.
We've spread out around the shop, looking at all dress styles possible. "Jada," Camille says.
I look over at her as she holds out a ball gown dress. I shake my head vigorously, "No."
"I figured, just had to make sure."
Alecia walks up to me, "Are you doing okay?"
"Yeah."
"I appreciate you having me here."
"I didn't want you to miss it."
She continues to look with me until I know we have a good stack to start with.
I look through the dresses picked out by Lizzie, Alecia, Camille, and myself. "Are there any you don't want to try on? Any that you feel you know you wouldn't like?" a young woman asks as she's been helping me since we got here.
"I'm not super into the ball gown or flowy shapes. I'd rather it be fitted. We're going for a classy wedding. I want something simple and that isn't gaudy."
"Lace?"
"I'm not into it."
She pulls a few dresses off that I described that I wouldn't like. I'm left with classy, beautiful, sleek dresses that fit my style and personality as well as our wedding.
My eyes dart to this one dress. I pull on the fabric to look at it more closely. "Do you want to start with that one?"
"Sure."
She helps me into the dress and buttons the back for me. I stand in front of the mirror looking at how this dress hugs my body in the best way. It fits perfectly. I know not to fall in love with the first dress that I absolutely love, but I love this dress.
It's classy yet sexy but modest. The front comes together at the perfect spot making it still appropriate. The open-back is possibly my favorite part. There's extra fabric that intentionally makes it look like it's falling off making it feel so sexy and free. It becomes flowy right after the knees making it easy to walk in. "Do you like this one?"
"Is it normal for the first one to possibly be the best one?"
"It works for some. I assume you like it?"
"Yeah, I do."
I don't think we'll be making any other stops today. This might be my dress.
We go out to where everyone else is. I stand on the pedestal facing three mirrors with everyone behind me. "Jada, that's your dress. I'm sure of it," Camille tells me as her hands rest on her bump.
Alecia smiles and nods in agreeance, "It's just what you want."
"His mom is seriously the best," Camille tells me as we walk into the house.
"She's amazing. I love her."
"Where should we keep these?" Lizzie asks as she holds up her dress bag. Both of them got their bridesmaid dress today too. It's the most beautiful champagne-gold color.
"They can go in one of the guest bedroom closets. I'm going to start dinner. Do either of you want something specific?"
"Do you have pasta?" Camille asks.
"Yes, is that what you want?"
"Baby wants it."
I smile, "Okay. Does it matter what kind of sauce?"
"Nope."
"Okay."
They go back to their rooms as I get started on dinner. We only went to one bridal shop but we were there for a few hours. I tried on at least six more dresses after the first one but I picked the first dress. It was perfect.
Then we went to lunch and got drinks. All four of us talked for a while about everything: our wedding, Camille's pregnancy, and Lizzie's college experience.
Christian comes into the kitchen, "I thought I heard you guys."
I smile as I stop filling the pot with water, "Camille has requested pasta so that's what we're having for dinner and I hope you're okay with it."
He comes over and kisses me, "That's perfectly fine."
He kisses me again, "How'd it go?"
"Wonderful."
"Yeah?"
"I picked the first dress I tried on."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Oh, and your mom wants you to stop by sometime soon."
"Why?"
"I don't know. She just told me to tell you."
"Where do you want to go?" Christian asks me as we sit on the ledge of the heated pool as we watched the sunset.
"For what? Your off-season is almost over."
"Not now. For our honeymoon."
"Oh. I don't care. Somewhere warm."
"Okay, you do care."
"Warm, sunny, and somewhere that I can tan."
"You really do care."
"You didn't let me finish. And somewhere that I can spend however long with you as my husband. I don't care where it is."
"You recovered well from that."
"No, you didn't let me finish."
He puts his arm around, "Somewhere warm?"
"Yes."
"Is this my responsibility?"
"Yes. Let me do everything else."
"You and Camille?"
"Yeah."
He swims away from me toward the other side. I follow him and hug him from behind as I pop my head over his shoulder. "Are you coming with me? To Arizona?"
"Did you think I was going to stay here?"
"I wasn't sure."
"Yes, I'm coming with you."
"To Milwaukee?"
"Yeah."
"So you're telling me, I just had to propose to get you out to Milwaukee with me throughout the season?"
I laugh, "Yeah."
"I wish I knew that."
"Well, we're past that now."
He holds my left hand, "Good."
He kisses my hand, "I love you."
"I love you too."
Paradise Valley
Christian walks into the house as I get ready to leave for Camille's baby shower. "Where are you going?"
"Camille's baby shower."
"Do I have to go to that?"
"Not if you don't want to."
"That makes it seem like you want me to go."
"You don't have to. I have to get there early to set up before everyone else gets there. There's going to be food."
"Now you're coaxing me with food?"
"I wouldn't mind the help."
He kisses me, "Give me five minutes."
"Thank you."
He walks away from me, "You owe me later."
"Deal."
I load my car with the decorations and food I made. I put the gift I got them in the backseat as Christian comes out. He gets in my car as I shut the doors, "You should drive more often."
I look at him, "You won't let me."
He quietly laughs, "Yeah, I guess so. Do they know what they're having?"
"No. They're waiting."
"What do you think they're having?"
"It's a boy. Nothing can change my mind about it either."
"Is that what they want?"
"Yeah."
We get to the reception hall where everyone should be gathering. We unload everything from my car. Camille's parents got here before us and have set up most things.
I put Christian to work as I get the food set up. I see Corey and Camille out of the corner of my eye walk into the room. They come over to me, "You're early."
"No, you're running late."
"Don't tell me that. I'm stressed out."
"Jada, it's fine. We are a little early."
"Go sit, I've got this."
"Can I do anything?" Corey asks.
"You can go help him if you want to," I say, pointing to Christian.
He goes over to Christian as Camille stays by me. "How did you get him to come?"
"I coaxed him with food."
"Smart."
I hand her a plate, "Grab some food. Mom eats first."
She takes the plate from me, "Thank you."
I fix the desserts as she fills her plate. She sits near me as I finish setting everything up.
Once everything looks okay, I grab a plate and fill it for myself before going to sit next to her. "This baby better be thankful for all of this, he or she has been keeping me up at night."
"Yeah?"
"Every night for the past week. They've been kicking me all night."
"When do you sleep?"
"Never."
I laugh, "A little less than two months, huh?"
"Yeah. Our doctor thinks I'll give birth a couple of weeks early. The baby is measuring a bit bigger than normal and that is terrifying because I don't want to have a c-section."
"I don't blame you. I wouldn't want to have surgery either."
"It's not even that. The whole experience is just different if you have a c-section. I wouldn't get to hold my baby right away and I don't like the thought of that. Maybe it's a little selfish that I don't want Corey to hold the baby right away but I grew and nourished this baby for months."
"It's a motherly thing. I think Corey would understand that."
"I know. It's hard to explain. Because obviously Corey loves this baby as much as I do but it's different, I guess."
"It's more that you already have a connection with the baby. Physically you have a literal connection. Then once they're born you have that emotional connection."
"It must be a woman thing. Because if you understand and you don't have a kid and I do, it's probably just a woman thing."
"Mother's intuition."
"Right."
"Do you want to feel something really cool?"
"Sure."
She grabs my hand and puts it on her stomach right where her baby is kicking her. "That doesn't freak you out?"
"No. I think it's the best feeling in the world."
"Your baby is just kicking you all the time? All of your organs? That's freaky."
"You get used to it. Whenever you end up pregnant, you're going to like feeling your baby's kicks. And yes, all of my organs are being kicked and squished into my abdomen."
"You're making pregnancy sound not fun."
"It's super fun. I think you would enjoy it."
I sit back in my chair and stare in Christian's direction as he and Corey talk. "What are you spacing out about?"
"How good of a dad Christian would be."
"Oh my gosh, there's no doubt. He's good with every age group."
I nod, "With Ryan Braun's kids he is amazing. He is their uncle and they are not related one bit. Then him with Lizzie and Carter. When she was in LA, they went and did stuff together without me. I never expected that out of him."
"We got really lucky with our guys."
"Yeah, we did. I'm not taking that for granted."
Waking up to my phone ringing, I reach for it to turn it off. I don't know why my alarm would be set. It's too early. I hope Christian didn't wake up.
I set my phone down again and move around in bed to go back to sleep when my phone starts ringing again. What the hell? It is 4 am. I look at my phone to see Corey's calling me.
It has to be important otherwise he wouldn't be calling. I get out of bed and go into the hallway to hopefully not wake Christian. "Good morning, Corey. What is so important?"
"She's in labor."
"Okay, that's important. Get her to a hospital."
"I know that. Look, she wants you there. She's been talking about it for the past few weeks but hasn't asked because she thought you would say no. If you're up for it, she would appreciate it if you were there. Jada, I would appreciate it if you were there. I know it's early and I woke you up but you needed to know."
"Yeah, I'll be there. I need directions."
"I'll send them to you. Her water broke so we have to leave now. I'll tell someone at the hospital that you're coming."
"Okay. I'll be there."
"Thank you. We appreciate it."
"Corey, calm down. She needs your support more than you need hers. I will be there. You're having a baby. She is having your baby. You have to be calm."
"Thank you."
He hangs up and I go into our room quietly to change into different clothes. I probably should tell Christian that I'm leaving but I don't want to wake him. I'll just leave him a note that way he can keep sleeping.
I grab a small bag to put my laptop and snacks in before grabbing my keys after writing Christian a note. I put the directions into my phone and start my drive.
After a thirty-minute drive, I arrive at the hospital and go through the emergency room entrance. I look around for either Corey or someone who works there. "Jada," Corey calls for me from the waiting room.
"Hey."
I go and sit next to him, "She's in the back getting checked in. Sorry I called you so early."
"It's fine. But did you have to pick the furthest hospital from Paradise Valley?"
He laughs, "Wasn't my choice. We're five minutes from the house."
"How are you doing?"
"I'm excited. But I'm nervous too. She's a little early."
"She's 37 weeks?"
"Yeah."
"That's a full-term baby. You have nothing to worry about."
"This is why she wanted you here. To keep both of us calm."
"I hung up on you the first time you called. I thought it was an alarm."
He laughs, "Sorry."
"It's fine."
Camille comes out in a wheelchair with a couple of nurses behind her, "She's in labor!"
One of the nurses looks at me, "Are you family?"
"She's my sister," Camille tells her.
"Okay, I'll get you a wristband. She's going to take you guys up to a delivery room and get everyone settled."
Once we get up to their room and everyone is settled. I sit on the edge of her bed and hold her hand, "Why didn't you tell me you wanted me here?"
"Because I didn't think you'd want to be here."
"C'mon now. That's my niece or nephew. Of course, I'd want to be here."
"It's so early though."
"And I'm still here. I didn't even bother waking Christian."
She sits up and hugs me, "I love you like you're my sister."
"Blood or not, we're sisters."
Christian calls me as I stand next to Camille as she holds their son. "I'm going to go take this," I tell them.
"Tell him he has a nephew."
I smile, "I will."
I go out to the small waiting room and answer him, "Hi."
"Hi. You know, it freaked me out when you weren't in bed this morning."
"Sorry."
"No, it's fine. I saw your note in the kitchen. How are they?"
"Good. They're happy. You have a nephew."
"Really? Name?"
"They're still deciding. I'm going to leave soon and go to their house and clean and go get groceries for them. They can possibly leave tonight if everything goes well."
"When are you going to be back? I have a game at 2 but I know I'm only playing a few innings. So I should be home by 5."
"If they get released tonight, I'm going to meet them at their house because I have to let their parents in. They both flew in once Corey called them. If they're not getting released, I'll be home probably at 2 or 3."
"Okay. Just let me know."
"I will."
"How long have you been up?"
"Corey called me at four in the morning So for six hours."
"Have you held him?"
"Yeah. He's got the sweetest face. He's a chunk," I tell him as I start to tear up thinking about their family.
"What's wrong?"
"I'm watching my best friend become a mom and it's the best thing ever."
She was made to be a mom. Her son is so lucky to have her as a mom. I know they are going to do everything in their power to give him the best life possible.
"How's Corey doing?"
"He's so in love with her and the baby."
He smiles, "I'm glad. Let me know when you're home. I'll pick something up for dinner."
"Okay. I will."
"I love you."
"I love you too. Good luck today."
"Thank you."
I go back into their room. "Do you guys want any specific dinners made?"
"You don't have to do that."
"I'm doing it. Neither of you is changing my decision. You just had a very cute baby and you're not going to want to make anything once you get home."
Camille smiles, "Make whatever you want."
"Okay."
"Can you actually stay a bit longer?"
"Yeah, I wasn't planning on leaving just yet."
"Okay. I was planning on showering soon and I don't want to send him back with the nurses."
"I'll hold him while you do that."
She sets him in the hospital bassinet. Corey and I help her out of bed. They go into the bathroom with another nurse and I pick up their son.
I sit in the chair with him and watch as he looks around. "You are so loved already."
His baby noises are the cutest. I love this little boy like he's my own. I take a few photos and send them to Christian.
Christian walks into the house as I worked on dinners for the new parents.
He sets a bag on the island, "I told you not to cook."
"It's for Corey and Camille. I'm going to bring this to their house later."
"Did they go home?"
"No. Their doctor wanted them to stay throughout the night and I had to deliver the terrible news to their parents."
"Why?"
"Because their hospital has some strict rule that only the people she came in with can visit. That's how Corey explained it to me. So his and her parents can't go visit but I can."
I put the pan in the oven. "What's in the bag?"
"Your favorite Chinese food in the Phoenix area."
While I clear the island, he gets plates for us and sorts the food onto the plates. We find a spot on the couch, eating and catching each other up on our long day even though it's not even six pm yet.
He takes our empty plates, "Should I take these out of the oven?"
"Yes, please."
I take the blanket off of the back of the couch and cover my legs. He comes back to me and lifts my legs to put his under me. "Who'd you play?"
"Cubs. It's weird seeing Cody Bellinger in a Cubs uniform."
"Oh, shit, I forgot about that." Looks like we'll be seeing a lot more of him. More than I'd like.
"Yeah. I forgot about it until I saw the lineup today. He's got a one-year deal. So I'm sure after this year he'll be out."
"Is he getting overpaid too?"
He laughs, "A little bit. 17 million for the year."
"For someone who can't hit?"
"Hey, I can't hit either and I'm getting 26 million."
"At least you're a little more consistent than he is."
"Okay, let's stop being mean."
"Why? I like being mean toward my ex especially because you know him too."
He laughs before kissing me, "Because it's not nice no matter how much he fucked up at one point in time."
"Fine."
"Did they pick out a name?"
"Yeah. Weston Ryan Seager. They're going to call him Wes."
"That's cute. Next star shortstop."
"Right? He resembles Corey so much."
"He's got a good set of parents."
I smile, knowing I was thinking the same thing while holding him earlier. "I should get those to their house."
"Why don't you don't it in the morning? You're tired. You've been up since 4."
"Okay."
I lean my head on his shoulder, "I am so tired."
"I know. Do you want to go to bed?"
"It's early."
"You can get 12 hours of sleep."
That sounds amazing. "Are you going to carry me?"
"I can if you want."
I put my arms around him after moving the blanket off of me. He gets up, adjusting how he's holding me before he walks back to our room. I definitely could've walked. "I didn't think you'd actually carry me back."
"Do you know who you're marrying?"
"Yeah."
He kisses me before he sets me down, "Then you should expect that."