Jack pushed himself from the floor before reaching for my hand and pulling me up with him. He wrapped his arms around me and held me so tight, I could literally feel the love radiating between us. With a firm grip on my hand, Jack pulled me toward the bed and sat down before making room for me between his legs. I sat on the bed in front of him and settled in, feeling the muscles of his chest press against my back as he spoke.
“When are you planning on moving, Kitten? I can’t have you all the way across the country. I’ll go f**king crazy knowing you’re alone. I need you with me.” He planted soft kisses along my neck and shoulders.
“I know. I’ll hire movers as soon as I get back.”
“What about your work? Does Nora know you’re leaving?”
I turned my body to glance at him. “Shit! I forgot to tell you. Nora told me I could work on an assignment basis. I had to give her a resignation letter and everything.”
“So, what does that mean? Do you still get to do the shoot with Matteo and Trina after the baby’s born?”
“Yes, I just have to fly back to New York to do it. And whenever an assignment comes up that I’m qualified for and interested in, I just accept the offer. But I don’t have to accept anything, or I can accept everything.” I shrugged my shoulders. “Now that I’m pregnant, though, I’m not sure what I want to do.”
“What do you mean, Kitten? You want to stay home with our son?”
“Jack, stop!” I giggled and rolled my eyes even though he couldn’t see, then turned my body around to face him. “But I think I do. Want to stay home, that is. Plus, I really want to be there for you and travel together as much as possible.”
Looking deep into his eyes, wanting to be sure he saw the sincerity in mine, I said, “You see, I had this epiphany on the train home the other day. You’re my home. I don’t want to be where you’re not. And I know those feelings are only going to magnify once the baby comes. I’ll want to keep our family together as often as possible. So, if my career sits on the back burner for now, I’m totally okay with that.”
Jack held a hand in the air to stop me. “Are you sure? You’re okay with not working? I know how much you love photography, and I don’t want you to resent me or hate me somewhere down the line. I’m in this for the long haul, Kitten. I’m not planning on ever letting you go, so I can’t have you hating me in five years.”
“I want to do this. It’s my choice. I want my family to come first, and you,” I choked back a sob, “you’re my family. I’m not saying I’ll never work again, I just don’t want to work for now. Priorities, babe. These are my new ones.”
Jack sighed. “God, Kitten, I want to fight you on this right now. I want to tell you that you’re wrong and stupid and should never quit working because you love it so much, but I’m too busy feeling so happy with everything you just said. Not because you’re giving up something you love, but because there’s no one else on earth I’d rather have raise our son than you. And if that means I get to spend more time with you at home, on the road, wherever—I’m thrilled.”
Then he cupped my cheek with his hand, looked deep into my eyes, and said, “Every moment with you is never enough; I always want more. And I always will.”
Hearing that, I broke out into tears again.
Fucking hormones.
Moving Home
One Month Later …
The following week, I’d hired movers to pack and move our apartment. Saying good-bye to not only the view, but the city and our friends, was extremely hard. I knew we’d keep in touch, but the reality was that it wasn’t the same once you didn’t get to see one another whenever you wanted.
Plus, I had fallen in love with New York City. It was harder to leave than I anticipated. I mourned the loss of my second home, a city that was so opposite from where I was from, but filled my heart in much the same way. Tears were shed, and not because I was pregnant.
Well, maybe a little.
The movers drove all of our belongings to a storage unit near Gran and Gramps’ place, where we all took turns stacking boxes into the rented space. Except Jack had everyone on strict orders that I wasn’t to move or carry much of anything, unless it was super light. So I ended up spending the majority of the day watching them do all the work. I felt like an ass.
Since Jack was already staying in his old bedroom at Gran’s, I joined him there until I could find us a house to live in. It was hard looking for a place while I traveled with Jack and attended all his home games at a new stadium.
I had to learn new faces, meet new wives and girlfriends, remember what it was like to drive in LA traffic again, all while battling morning sickness that usually turned into afternoon sickness, followed by night sickness. Aside from that, everything was great. When I told Jack that I needed to stay back from the team’s last road trip to look at houses, he begrudgingly agreed.
Jack claimed to understand, but said he didn’t like it. The only way he’d accept my staying away from him was if I finally found us a home to live in. As much as we loved Gran and Gramps, we desperately needed our own space. And with the baseball season coming to a close, I wanted to find one soon. We had such a limited amount of time before the season started back up again, that I longed to be as comfortable as possible as soon as I could. Plus with the baby coming, I needed to be settled.
What could I say? I’d always been a planner.