Celestial Love (Anthony Rizzo)

.84. Yellow

Anthony

Though our time in Florida is relatively short it was a vacation so we didn't do much. It wasn't one of those exploring or exotic vacations, but a vacation where school was done and baseball was in the back of our minds so we can do nothing for once. We spent a few hours at the beach one day and I went home for a little to listen to my parents talk about sleep schedules with a new born and playing classical music while she sleeps. Things that probably aren't even going to cross my mind when I'm trying to figure out what my little girl needs. But it was still good to see them before we take off back to Chicago to finish out the season.

Before we return to the Windy City I signed us up to take some maternity pictures with a family friend. She did the pictures with my brother and his wife when they had their son and they turned out great. I know she won't let us down and I really really wanted some pictures of such a great time of my life. Something I'll always be able to look back and smile.

So we dress up in light yellow and head out to the beach once more. Celeste loved putting her toes in the sand and watching the waves crash on the shore. She might be a city girl coming from Atlanta then Seattle and staying in Chicago but it's hard to not love the beach. So that's where the pictures will take place, our toes in the sand and water up to our ankles. Nothing but the future to look forward to.

Like any good photo shoot we got some music playing to loosen everyone up. No one was around letting these pictures be intimate and real. I couldn't wait to put them up in the apartment back in the city.

"Look at the stars
Look how they shine for you
And everything you do
Yeah, they were all yellow

I came along
I wrote a song for you
And all the things you do
And it was called Yellow

So, then I took my turn
What a thing to've done
And it was all yellow

Your skin
Oh yeah, your skin and bones
Turn in to something beautiful
Do you know
You know I love you so
You know I love you so."

I grab Celeste's hands and I pull her as close as I could. She was about 7 months now so I couldn't hold her as close as I used to. But that is perfectly okay. The only thing that would ever challenge my love for Celeste was that little girl growing in her belly. That baby hasn't even seen the light of day but I would die for her. Just as I would for her mom.

So in a way they were my yellow. The stars, the perfect song, all of that. My muse that I couldn't ever imagine living without. That was them.

"Do you want to know my favorite thing about you" she asks randomly.

"I think I do" I admit.

"I love that even though I was broken and even though I was very very sick you saw me as this. This girl who can stand out on this beach and look into your eyes and only feel happiness. You always saw this version of me even when I was shattered. You have this ability to see the world better than it is. And in doing so you have created exactly what you wanted to see. Me, healthy and happy by your side. Helping me raise a little girl who can change the world just like her daddy" she claims.

I smile like a idiot as I pull her closer to me. I place a long kiss on her forehead as I close my eyes. This wasn't a part of the pictures and it's not what the photographer told us to do but it felt right. My lips on her skin.

"I always believed in you. You were my yellow, like they say in the song your skin and bones turned into something beautiful. I always saw that something beautiful in you. Even when you couldn't see it. Even when you could and couldn't do anything about it. Thought it's hard for you to realize just how much you mean to me, I always saw it" I assure her.

"I swam across
I jumped across for you
What a thing to do
'Cause you were all yellow

I drew a line
I drew a line for you
What a thing to do
And it was all yellow

And your skin
Oh yeah, your skin and bones
Turn in to something beautiful
Do you know
For you, I'd bleed myself dry
For you, I'd bleed myself dry

It's true
Look how they shine for you
Look how they shine for you
Look how they shine for

Look how they shine for you
Look how they shine for you
Look how they shine

Look at the stars
Look how they shine for you
And all the things that you do."

We finish up with the pictures and look through them on her camera. From what I can tell they looked really good. She wanted to do some touch ups and light editing before handing them over but it shouldn't be too long. I couldn't wait to post these everywhere and brag about the yellow I found.

"You know, I've done a hundred of photo shoots but I don't think I've ever seen two people so in love with each other. So wrapped up with each other they forget I'm even there. It's hard to capture tender moments in photo shoots but you guys, you have something I've never seen before. It was the most natural shoot I've seen. I don't even have to edit much, just make some shadows more dynamic and get rid of some of the foam from the beach. You guys are quite the couple" Reagan tells me.

"Well thank you. We've been though hell and back. I watched her completely reinvent herself into someone she can be proud of. Someone that I cannot live without. This was a nice reminder of how much we care for each other. Neither of us like having pictures taken and neither of us like dressing up. But we put on these outfits and got in front of a camera because there isn't much we wouldn't do for each other.  It's that scary kind of love that makes you feel like you can do anything. And with her by my side I truly believe that I could do anything" I insist.

"Well I'm ready for some wedding pictures whenever you are" she claims.

"I got your number ready" I smile.