Shattered Pieces

Two

"Come on, Gray! Say ma ma." I try to coax my sweet guy while feeding him his breakfast. He smiles and babbles something unintelligible before smashing his hand into his oatmeal.

Grayson is not an easy baby by any stretch of the imagination. Even at ten months old, he's determined to be as independent as possible, and he has so much personality. I grab the towel I keep by my side whenever he's eating and patiently clean the mess off his hands. Usually, I'll allow him to try to feed himself, but this morning, mama has things to do. Apparently, my son could care less.

"That wasn't very nice, bubs. You can make it up to me by saying, mama!" He giggles before leaning forward and pressing his messy face to my cheek. I guess that will have to do.

"mm"

"That's right, Gray! Come on, ma ma!"

"Mm— dada! Dada dada dada!" He beams with his feet kicking uncontrollably and arms flapping in the air. I follow his big grin and find none other than my husband back from his morning workout. He walks over, matching our baby's energy, and places a sloppy kiss on my cheek before lifting our son out of the high chair. He's genuinely his father's son.

"How was it this morning with Jordan?" I ask as I begin to clean up Grayson's high chair. The boys fist bump, and it melts my heart. Spencer has been teaching Gray to do that since the kiddo could control his movements. I don't think he's ever been more proud than the day his training finally succeeded.

He places Grayson down and walks over to me.

"It was good. I have a really good feeling about my rookie season, baby." His arms find their way around my waist as he presses sweet kisses into my neck.

"I have no doubt, babe. Although, I'd like to point out that had you entered the draft last year when everybody with a brain recommended, we'd probably be living on the beach in Miami and not here in the desert." I turn in his grasp so that I'm facing him.

"You loved having that extra year with me." He kisses my nose.

"That decision is 100% the reason we have a ten-month-old right now, just saying." I shrug and smile.

"And he's the best thing to ever happen to us." He smiles back at me.

"I guesssssss." I playfully roll my eyes.

Being a mom at 22 was not on my vision board, but honestly, neither was being married at 19. Both things, while beyond even my wildest plans, I wouldn't trade for anything in the world.

"I know I've had to keep pushing it back, but the movers are coming to get the last of the things for the house, and I figured we could finally have our date night, Mrs. James."

"I'd love to go on a date with you, Mr. James."

"We should kiss on it." His deep brown eyes suck me in as they light up.

It started as a little joke when we were still in undergrad, our own silly pinky promise. Now, whenever one of us wants to illicit a promise out of the other, we say 'kiss on it.' Of course, Spencer came up with it. He's easily the more romantic one out of the two of us.

He grins so hard it makes me weak to my knees because I'm the one who put that smile on his face. Our lips meet in pure passion, his arms tighten around my middle, his body pressed to mine. He could kiss all the air from my lungs, and I'd be okay because I'd rather breathe him in instead.

I feel sticky hands on my legs, and I know this intimate moment with my husband is over. His mini wants my attention now, and what he wants, he gets! Funny enough, Grayson's personality may be all Spencer, but he looks just like me. Loose black curls sit on top of his head. They're almost impossible to tame, just like mine. He has the widest light brown eyes, just like me. I'd die for his complexion. It'd take me several sessions in the sun to achieve his infuriatingly natural golden brown. He's the best parts of both of us—a perfect representation of what true love can create.