We're Finding Hope In The Hopeless

How Can I Say Goodbye When You Won't Leave?

"Breathe in... Breathe out..."

I rolled my eyes at my Lamaze instructor's breathy voice and resisted the urge to walk out of the class. Do you know how hard it is to stretch with a stomach big enough to knock someone over? Finally she dismissed us and I walked to my car. Ricky was coming home tonight and I was excited to drag him along to these annoying child birth classes.

I smirked to myself as I drove home and thought about how I would welcome him home. I was running out of romantic things to do for him and I chewed my lips furiously just thinking about it.

Dinner? Too obvious.

A movie? Typical.

Sex? Pregnant... And weird.

I sighed and pulled into his driveway. The house was eerily quiet and I decided to clean up the mess I made. Vegetables left unfinished and drinks I was too lazy to complete sat around the living room. I turned on some music and gracefully cleaned up the whole living room. When I finished, I decided to work upstairs. I worked on the baby's room, which was more than clean, and moved down the hall to ours. The smell hit me and I gagged at it. I carried all the dirty laundry down the the laundry room and started a load. I continued to clean around the bed and the closet, sorting his clothes and mine. I started another load of laundry and walked back upstairs to clean the bathroom.

Yes, hands and knees clean. I scrubbed the tub, the sink, the toilet, and anything else I could think of. By the time I was done, I could smell the clean air. The freshly dried laundry invaded the space with the smell of meadows and daisies. It smelt so great, I wanted to dance around in it. I almost started to but I heard the front door unlock.

I quickly ran a brush through my hair and skipped downstairs to Ricky. He dropped his bags once he saw me and I ran into his arms. We toned the excitement down a few levels for the baby and settled for a gentle hug and passionate kiss.

"How was tour?" I breathed against his lips and he smiled.

"Horrible without you."

"You're cute," I chuckled, "honestly, how was it?"

He laughed at me and shrugged. "The UK is awesome actually. Really exciting to see the fans so pumped to hear our music."

I smiled at the glint in his eyes and pulled him to the couch to sit down. We talked about his tour and how it was the rest of the evening. It wasn't my ideal picture of a 'welcome home', but we both seemed so satisfied to just be in each other's company that it was more than enough.

* * * * *

The band was coming over for a visit and barbecue later today. Ricky was upstairs in the shower while I was setting up the picnic table in the backyard for everybody. I decided to lie down in the hammock until Rick was done and took out my phone to check any messages. My mother called but I texted her reassuring her I would call her back. The back doors opened and I raised an eyebrow to who was coming out.

Chris grinned at me from the patio and I smiled sweetly in return. His tattoos were super bright today against his pale skin and black clothing. Once again, he was wearing my favorite outfit: ripped black jeans and his 'Blackcraft' shirt. I mentally bit my lip at the sight and sat up.

"The food isn't ready yet and neither is Ricky but there's some snacks over there." I pointed at the table and Chris smiled a thank you but didn't move. We sat awkwardly in our positions before I sighed and got up.

"Why are you here so early?" I mumbled as I walked past him for a bottle water. I saw him shrug in the corner of my eye and I smiled.

"Nothing else to look forward to, I guess." I turned around at his sentence and was surprised to see how close he had gotten to me. I smiled shamefully and moved away. But knowing Chris, he snaked his arm around my waist and kept me there.