Celestial Love (Anthony Rizzo)

.89. Young Love

Anthony

Now that the things that Celeste can do comfortably is getting down to a scary low number we were taking it easy. We were a little over a month out from her due date though she seems to think the baby will be here before November. And I'm good with that because I couldn't wait to meet my little girl. I couldn't wait to hear her dreams, to cheer her on every step of the way.

As for today we were going out on a nice little picnic. I picked up all of Celestes favorite foods and whatever she is craving at the moment which was spicy pickles and blueberry pancakes. We find a nice little spot just outside the city to sit and talk like we haven't shared everything already. But the future is in motion and it's forever changing. It was about time for postseason baseball and for our baby to come light up our lives. There was never a lack of words when it came to us and it is one of the many things I love about us.

"You know my mom just ordered a giant cut out of you for her classroom" Callie tells me as I start to laugh.

"Are you serious" I chuckle.

"Sadly yes. Though she has all new kids from when we visited her at work last she still wants the kids to meet you. She has a million pictures of me up and now she's going to have a life size you for the kids to see" she giggles.

"I'm flattered. I hope she got me from my good angle" I joke.

"So any angle" she smiles.

I just smile as I shake my head. Though I am confident with my body, maybe a little too confident if you ask the boys, I've never been that guy who's face is on the front of magazines or on the cover of MLB. But knowing that she thinks I look good from any angle gives me a sense of happiness. One that only she gives me.

We crack into the food that we enjoy so much as let the sun hit us. We don't get many off days in baseball, that's what happens when you're trying to have a 162+ game season. But we don't complain, we do what we can with what we have and it makes for some beautiful moments such as these.

"Can I ask you a question" I wonder.

"Shoot" she encourages.

"If James wasn't awful do you ever think we would have gotten together" I question.

"Oh man" she sighs. "That's hard to say. I feel like I was only in that relationship because I didn't know much else. We had been together for as long as I could remember. We were friends years before that too. I want to believe that falling in love at the age we did is sustainable but the trick isn't faking in love but it's staying in love. Love is meant to change with the times. Ours didn't so I don't think even with the way he turned out we would have been happy together" she claims.

"You don't think the love we share will meet the same fate, right" I ask. I mean it's only been eight months since we've been together technically. But time is relative and I don't want our love to change but I don't want it to get old either.

"This is different" she insists.

"Different how" I wonder.

"You gave me young love. The sneaking out of the house trying to be as quiet as I can just to see you kind of love. The childish dates like we didn't have money or time but we still made it work. You gave me the old love where I just smile thinking about you. The early mornings waking up and you're the first thing that I think of and the late nights where you're the last thing I see before drifting off. You gave me hard love where when I needed it most, those moments I didn't think life could ever get any worse you were there to help me. The moments when I thought no one could possibly love me and you always did. You gave me soft love when I was at my lowest and I just needed to feel the warmth of your heart. The way you looked at me gave me the greatest sense of security and freedom and only you gave me that.

And there was a time you gave me so much love I tried to run. I was scared to think a man could love me in the way you did and it wasn't who was supposed to love me. I tried to deny myself the softness and get through the hardness without you. I was a fool to believe that the only thing to do in that situation was to try and stop loving you. But I was terrified to know that everything I ever wanted was right in front of me, and I couldn't have you. Luckily for me there was nowhere I could go where you couldn't find me. And there was no denying that this is the kind of love that doesn't go away" she says.

"No lie, that was the most beautiful thing I've ever heard and I kinda want to cry" I sniffle.

"Are you pregnant" she jokes as I laugh.

"No. I just really love you" I admit.

"How much do you love me" she asks.

"More than what should be allowed. Because just as you were scared I was scared too. I fell in love with a girl I never should have. I knew you were married and I knew what we were doing was wrong but it didn't feel wrong. And yet that exact reason is what made me fall ten times harder. I just knew I was meant to be with you. Good to know you feel the same" I tease.

"I got a stomach to prove my theory" she jokes.