Katherine
I decide to celebrate my 25th birthday like every twenty-five year old wants to... at home with my family. I had the day off and for once I wasn't upset about it. I happily took the hospital up on that offer and got a good nights sleep. Between the baby and the job I've under appreciated what a good nights of sleep could do for you. But this fine morning I woke up at a ripe time of 9 am with a smile on my face. I roll over and see my baby girl laying next to me. She was looking up to me with the biggest blue eyes and I couldn't help but kiss her nose.
"Now how did you end up in bed with mommy and daddy" I giggle. I sit up and see that Anthony wasn't actually in bed, it was just Abby and I, weird. I pick her up and read her shirt before laughing.
"Party pooper" I read out loud and shake my head. Typical Anthony. I put her on my chest as we just lay in bed. I wasn't sure what was supposed to happen here but I was going to chill for a little. Eventually Anthony comes in and frowns when he sees us sitting there.
"Damn, I was hoping you were still sleeping" he admits.
"Wow, am I that bad" I joke and a smile comes on his face.
"No, I'd much rather be with you when you're awake. But I was going to put a hat on her and cover the bed in confetti" he claims.
"Well I appreciate it" I say pulling him down so I can kiss him. I break away but he pulls me right back causing me to smile.
"Happy birthday goofball" he laughs.
"Thanks you" I reply. He takes the baby and I take a shower while she got fed and changed. I get out and smile when I see the outfit he had laid out for me. It was a bears hoodie and his sweatpants I always steal. Such a great fiancé he is, he knows me so well. I happily slip the clothes on and go out to the kitchen. There I find my child covered in formula and a frustrated looking Anthony sitting in front of her.
"Someone won't eat" he grumbles.
"Remember Anthony, the food goes in her mouth" I tease and he shoots me a playful glare. I pick Abby up and set her in my arms. I rest her head in my hand and position her so she's facing me still sitting up a little. I lightly massage her head with my hand and take the bottle from Anthony with my other one. She opens her mouth and slowly eats the food as she just stares at me.
"How the hell..." he trails off.
"I do this with the babies in the nursery. When she's this young and doesn't have a set schedule yet it's hard. It's easier to relax the baby and give positive stimuli to eating" I explain.
"So you're cheating" he claims making me laugh.
"Yup, that's exactly what I'm doing" I laugh.
I sit on the couch watching tv as Anthony puts Abby down for a nap. Eventually he joins me with the brightest smile on his face. He places a small box on my lap without a word and I look up to him questionably.
"Happy birthday" he exclaims and I shake my head.
"You already said that" I remind him.
"I know. But I haven't given you your birthday present yet" he says pointing to the box in my lap. After messing with him a little more I open it and pull out the prettiest necklace.
"I know you have to take your ring off for work and you're worried about losing it, so you can put it in here for safe keeping" he explains.
"Anthony that's so thoughtful, thanks" I say giving him a kiss. I'm actually really thankful he got me this because I get anxious every time I have to put gloves on and put my ring down. I would be the one to lose it.
"There's more" he claims and I raise my eyebrow. I lift the paper at the bottom of the box and find two tickets to the bears game tonight.
"No fucking way" I yell.
"Yes fucking way! Your brother and Michael are baby sitting and we're going to enjoy the bears game" he says.
"Awesome! I'm so excited! But both of us have never left the baby before" I remember.
"It's okay, she won't be half as disappointed as we will be" he claims and I shrug. He wasn't wrong.
By 7 pm Anthony and I were sitting front row at the Bears game as they take on the Packers. It was a bit chilly and the people were a bit drunk but I was really happy.
"So on a scale of one to ten this birthday is a..." he trails off.
"A ten. I loved seeing my brother and spending the whole day with you and Abby doing nothing. I've always wanted to come to a Bears game and here I am" I smile.
"Great. I can't wait to show you the second part of your birthday surprise" he smirks and I narrow my eyes at him.
"Tell me" I insist.
"Then it wouldn't be a surprise silly goose" he says pinching my cheek.
"You're so mean" I pout.
"The meanest" he chuckles. There's a tv timeout so they play music over the speakers. I lace my fingers through Anthony's and rest my head on his chest.
"Come take my hand
I won't let you go
I'll be your friend
I will love you so, deeply
I will be the one to kiss you at night
I will love you until the end of time
I'll be your baby
And I promise not to let you go
Love you like crazy
Now say you'll never let me go
Say you'll never let me go (say)
Say you'll never let me go
Say you'll never let me go (say)
Say you'll never let me go."
I look up to the screen and hide my face when I see me and Anthony up there. We were up there because he was THE Anthony Rizzo but I still didn't like the attention. He pulls me away just so he can place a kiss on my lips and I smile through it. I start laughing as I lightly hit his chest.
"Look at the screen" he encourages. In big letters it said "happy birthday Katherine" and I look at him.
"You" I tease.
"Me" he jokes back.
"Baby come on get up on it
Show me that you really want it
I wanna be the one to love you baby let's go (whoa)
Let's go (whoa)
I wanna provide this lovin' that your giving
I ain't frontin' in this love,
Can you let me love you from your head to toe (whoa)
Let's go (whoa)
Boy come to me (come to me)
Let me turn your rain into sun (come to me babe)
You don't have to worry baby (oh no)
I promise I'll set your heart free
Let my love into your soul
You go, I go, we go, that's all she wrote."
"Was that the surprise" I ask and he shakes his head.
"I actually didn't do that by myself, the Bears organization wanted to and I helped. They love what you do for their guys when they come visit he hospital and were just paying it forward. My surprise is for after the game" he claims. Well this should be good.
Eventually the game does end and everyone leaves but us. A man in a suit finds Anthony and I and takes us into a little room in the stadium. It had memorabilia from Walter Peyton to Dick Butkus hanging up. It was like a mini hall of fame for the players. I take my time to look around and actually soak this stuff up.
"Pretty cool isn't it" a voice says but it's a unfamiliar one. I turn around and see my all time favorite corner back standing there with Anthony's arm around his shoulders.
"Oh my god... you're Peanut Tillman" I gasp and he smiles.
"I heard you're a fan" he claims.
"Woah" I whisper and he laughs. Eventually I find my voice and end up talking to him. He was such a funny dude and I loved his game. He was a great player on a not so great team but he was still super nice and loved playing here.
"Well it was a pleasure meeting you, I hope you enjoy your birthday. And I would love to come by the hospital with some of the boys" he says.
"I would be honored to have you" I smile. Anthony and I go home to relieve Michael and Chris of their baby sitting duties. They got Abby down for bed no problem and now it was my turn. I laid there staring at the ceiling reflecting the events of today. I've had a lot of birthdays, but this one was perfect.