Days Like This. | D.L.

23.

"Happy due date, Baby." I look up and see Jesse walking in with a tray. I set my phone down and he sits down next to me.

"God, this looks delicious." I say looking down at the assortment of breakfast foods on the tray. "Thank you, J. Happy Valentines, I love you." I tell him and kiss his lips.

"Same to you my love. What do you want to do today?" He asks as I start eating.

"I really want to go on a long walk. And eat some spicy food and drink a lot of water. Literally anything to start up labor." I say and he takes my hand.

"You just make such a good home that she doesn't wanna come out." He says putting a hand on my belly.

"I'm happy about that but I'm ready for her to be here. Let's go on a long walk on the beach?" I ask and he simply nods.

"Sure, babe. I'm gonna make sure everything is in the car in case this actually works. You finish up and get ready, k?" I nod and he goes out to the garage.

I happily finish my breakfast and start to get ready. I decide that Batman needs an outing too so I gather his things and we go find Jesse.

"Let's go whore!" I shout when I see him and my tone and energy makes Batman bark.

"Aggressive." He says before he comes over and gives me a kiss. I roll my eyes and walk towards the car when he slaps my ass.

"Jesse!" I yell and he just laughs, making me start laughing. "You're an asshole." I say as he helps me into the car.

"Says the one who just called me a whore!" He says and we start the short drive to the beach.

"She is so active today. It's so weird. She's rarely like this." I say, instinctively his hand moves from my thigh to my belly to feel.

"Isn't that what Dr. Montgomery wanted? For her to flip head down?" He asks getting excited.

"Yes. But don't get your hopes up it doesn't mean anything." I say taking his hand and holding it. "Can we get milkshakes after this?"

"Sounds good to me. Let's just hope the paparazzi don't find us." He says and I nod.

"I know. They have been basically stalking me since the kissing scandal." I say slight sadness detectable but I try to cover it up with annoyance.

"I'm sorry." He says and I squeeze his hand. "I know. You don't have to keep apologizing, I shouldn't have brought it up."

We both tried to move past the obvious tension in the air as Jesse helps me down to the beach. I take his hand in mine and we start walking up and down the shoreline. Thankfully we had chosen a beach much less populated then most in LA.

"How was work last night?" I ask looking up at him.

"It was good. I filmed a pretty big scene and I think it's gonna leave people surprised." He tells me with a proud smile on his face, like he always has when talking about work.

"That's great baby. I can't wait to watch. Although I am kind of glad that filming is over for the season so we can have you all to ourselves." I say smiling.

I look over at Jesse since he didn't respond. "Jesse?" I ask confused.

"I've been meaning to talk to you about something." He says and a lump instantly forms in my throat. "The High School I taught at in Philadelphia asked me to come talk to their students about acting in film and in theatre. I would only be gone a few days."

Jesse was a teacher before we ever met and he has talked about it a lot. I know how much it means to him and how much he loves it.

I stop walking and look out at the ocean. "When?" I ask.

"Next week. I haven't accepted yet." He says and for some reason I feel emotional.

I start crying and Jesse walks in front of me and takes my hands. "Hey, I won't go, okay?" He says sincerely.

"I'm just scared. What if you aren't here and... Jes I don't think I can do this alone. I couldn't come with either because she would only be a few days old or I would be really pregnant." I cry into his chest and he puts a hand on the back of my head.

"I'm not going to go. You're right, baby. I should be here." He places a kiss on my head.

"I want you to go though. Can you reschedule?" I ask and he pulls out his phone and makes the call.

I feel so stupid for crying over a conversation. I've been really struggling the last week. Emotionally and physically, this pregnancy is draining me.

Jesse finishes the phone call and comes over to me. I'm facing the water, the waves splashing over my feet. "Everything is good. They totally understand the situation and told me that they will be in contact with my manager about when it would be a good time in the future. They told me to take as long as I need."

I wrap my arms around Jesse, resting my face on his chest. "I'm so emotional I feel like I'm not myself anymore. Do you feel different?" I ask looking up, our eyes meeting.

"Definitely. I feel like we are about to enter a new chapter in our lives and no matter how excited I am, I'm terrified. Life will never be the same, and of course I wouldn't have it any other way, but it's a big shift." He confesses and I nod.

"Yeah I've been thinking about it too. It's even made me write some songs. I thought I wanted to take a break, but it was really therapeutic for me. I've been so engrossed in life and my pregnancy that I have kind of forgotten that I'm a person too, not just a mom or wife." I pull away from Jesse and anxiously wait for his response.

"Of course you are baby. Let's enjoy our marriage and being parents but let's also have our own hobbies. For me, acting has been something that I have always loved. And I love our family more now, but I don't want to give up that part of me. I want to teach our children that they can do whatever they set their mind to." Jesse wraps his arms around me from behind, his hands resting on my belly.

"Me too. I'm gonna keep writing and making music. I can't believe I ever let myself believe that it wasn't what I wanted." I say and he kissed my shoulder.

"How about we go get some ice cream?" He asks and I nod. We head back to the car with a lot more surety and a stronger connection.