A Different Reality (Lasting Love)

Not so Eventful Birthday

Justin's POV

I get out of bed the second that I hear Kayleigh cry.  It's Jen's birthday, and as a gift, I want her to be able to sleep in.  I walk over to her little bed next to ours and pick her up.  She squirms around in my arms looking around for Jen.  Now that she's 3 months old, she's definitely more alert.  I carry her over to the nursery where I change her and find a cute outfit for her to wear.

"Crap." I look around the fridge trying to find a bottle.  Kayleigh is still crying, and obviously hungry, but I didn't want to have to wake up Jen.  I look in the freezer to see if there's any chance that she has any frozen milk, and know instantly when I don't see any that I'm out of luck.

"Guess we gotta wake mommy." I tell Kay as I bounce her lightly to calm her down.  She calms down a little, but knowing that she's still hungry, I carry her upstairs and back into our room.  As soon as she sees Jen she starts crying again and reaches her hands out towards her.

"Hi, baby!" Jen reaches her arms out the second she wakes up.  Kay immediately starts tugging on her shirt for food "You hungry?" She asks as she arranges Kay to eat.  The room gets quiet right away.

"Happy Birthday, babe!" I sit on the bed next to her.

"Thank you!" She looks over kissing me "So what did you get me?" She jokes.

"I got you $25." I reply seriously, I'm not really lying, reaching under the bed for the present "Here."

She quickly takes it from me, switching Kay around so she can open it "You did not!" She opens the box to see that I did give her $25.

"Seriously, 25 ones? Where did you even get these?"

"From my stripper friend." I joke "She gave them to me for free."

"Oh really," She starts acting upset "I'm not good enough for one's that haven't been in some woman's crotch?"

"Well, I mean you are, but then I would've had to go to the bank.  I was also at the strip club."

"Okay now you better be joking." She glares over at me "You can't be too lazy to go to the bank.  That's ridiculous."

"Will this make up for it?" I ask handing her the real present I got her "I think you'll like this one more."

She hands me Kayleigh since she's done eating, and quickly opens the box.

"This is amazing!" She holds up the necklace that has a K pendant on it "Thank you!"

"Look at it closer." I point to the back of the pendant. The front as little gems in it and the back has her name and birthdate carved into it.

She looks at it carefully for a minute before looking up at me "I love it!!"

"More than the $25?" I ask sarcastically "Because I thought that was a pretty damn good gift."

"That's a close second." She leans over to kiss me "This is better though.

We lay in bed for a while.  I put Kay on my chest and she squirms around to look at everything.  Jen lays her head on my shoulder watching Kayleigh's every move.  It's so different from how we used to spend our birthdays, yet even better than the past.  Having her here, even though she screams all night and is always hungry, makes our lives so much better.

She ends up somehow hitting her head with her little toy and starts to scream.  Jen picks her up and she stops right away.

"See, you're okay." She lifts Kay so she's closer to her chest "I think you need changed again."

I quickly grab her and get out of bed. Since it's Jen's birthday, I'll do this for her.  Kay starts to cry again as I change her, not liking what is happening.  She only likes certain things and the things that she doesn't like she let's us know.  Like the time I laid her on her back on the floor and she screamed bloody murder.

"Are you all better, baby?" Jen walks in picking up Kayleigh "You seem happier now."

"Where do you wanna go for lunch?" I ask knowing Kayleigh obviously isn't going to answer Jen "I figured it'd be nice to go out for your birthday."

"Really?" She looks over at me shocked "Are we taking her with?"

"I kinda figured we would.  It gives us a chance to show her off to everyone."

"Yes, because everyone wants to see a cranky baby." She jokes "Just give me a few minutes to get dressed."

As soon as she's dressed and feeds Kay again, we walk out the door.  It feels like we have half the house with in the diaper bag.  Whatever it is must be important, because Jen won't leave the house without it.

"You do realize that bag is bigger than she is, right?" I slide it into the booth next to me "What could possibly be in there?"

"Toys for her, a blanket, diapers, bottles, an extra outfit." She looks at me like I'm dumb "Stuff to keep her from screaming while we're here."

Fair enough.  I pick up the menu to find what I want to eat.  Jen sits across from me, infatuated with Kay's squealing noises that she has recently started making.  She finds a pacifier and shoves it in her mouth so that us, and everyone around us can eat in quiet.

"What are you getting?" She looks up from her menu "I can't decide if I want the salmon or the chicken."

"I think the chicken." I close my menu knowing that she means she's eating what I get anyway. 

We order our food shortly after.  Kay ends up falling asleep, so it's almost like she isn't with us. 

"Let me try your chicken," Jen pulls my plate closer to her "It looks really good."

I reach over and take part piece of her salmon to try as well. 

"Wanna switch?" I ask noticing that she likes the chicken more than I do.  She happily pushes her plate towards me and takes mine.

"This is really great."  She looks across at me, flashing a genuine smile "My best birthday yet."