Time To Live

Chapter 23: Hype

Jenna had acquiesced to allow Christian to spend the day with his mom and Alice, probably being spoiled rotten with sweets. Of course, that meant he'd come back home, bounce off the walls, and then claim he had a stomach ache but, oh well. Whatever the case, Chris felt as though some higher power had seen fit to treat him, as well, as the stunning mother of his beautiful boy stretched across his bed and yawned. "I don't want to see you cry over 'Edward Scissorhands' for the hundredth time," she admonished him. "Pick a different movie."

Okay, so a movie date in his apartment wasn't exactly the most romantic or over-the-top thing, but Jenna had agreed to it and he was going to take what he could get. No complaints that she was splayed across his bed in skin-hugging yoga pants and a cropped hoodie, either. So, he grinned. "Should we check Netflix?"

"They never have anything good, but sure," she smiled up at him from her place on the bed.

He scrolled through the menu of popular selections and within minutes they had agreed on "Hereditary," as neither of them had previously seen the film and both had heard great things about it. Leaning back against the headboard, Chris stretched his long legs out and crossed them at the ankles with a sigh. "Don't you worry that it's so hyped that you'll be disappointed?"

Lying on her stomach and facing away from him, towards the TV, Jenna shrugged her shoulders. "What you just said describes life in general, no? Everything is over-hyped and a disappointment."

He considered this with scrunched lips and then grinned. "Fatherhood is under-hyped. No one ever said how amazing having kids is."

Jenna snorted and nearly choked. "People say it all the time! You just never bothered to listen because you didn't want a kid."

She was right, so he quickly admitted defeat. "Alright, you got me there. But being a dad rocks! When I speak to him and those big brown eyes go comically wide, my heart melts. I literally want to run up and down the block with Christian in my arms screaming, 'MY KID IS FUCKING AMAZING!'"

Ignoring the beginning of the movie, Jenna glanced over her shoulder and frowned. "Are you trying to get into my good graces, Christopher Thomas?"

He met her gaze curiously, uncertain if he should be fully honest or hold something back. If he said yes, would she freak out? Because to say no would be a blatant lie, even if his statement wasn't intended for that purpose. He was just confessing the truth: he never knew that having kids would be so magical. He had never considered being a dad as part of his plan, and so he had not bothered to imagine what gaing into the eyes of his own flesh and blood would be like.

As he opened his mouth to speak, still unsure what exactly was going to come out, there was a banging from downstairs and he groaned. "Someone's at the fucking door."

"I'll pause it," she smiled sweetly as she reached for the remote and did just that.

He stood up, stretched with a groan, and then began to plod out of the room and down the hallway. As he neared the staircase, Jenna called, "I'm going to come down too and refresh our drinks. I presume you have Vanilla Coke?"