Smile (Kris Bryant)

Chapter Thirty| Painting Lessons

Kris

For thanksgiving Alex and I were going to have the holidays all to ourselves. Since we moved into our new house there's always been someone here. Wether it be some of the guys on the team, my family coming to visit, or her family coming to visit, this place was always busy. But it's really hard to keep the whole baby thing a secret when everyone is constantly over here. So we get some much needed us time and I was pretty excited.

Alex was four months pregnant now and doing so great. I go to all the doctors appointments with her and she eats all the good foods for her and the baby. She takes care of her body and takes all the vitamins suggested by the doctor. She's being a great mother and I know that's all she wants at this point.

I find her sitting in the bathtub covered in bubbles humming to a song this late November day. I sit myself on the floor behind her and start rubbing her shoulders. She lets off a soft moan and places a wet hand on mine.

"Baby" I whisper as she continues to hum along. Her eyes shut as she sinks lower into the tub.

"Yes honey" she smiles.

"Did you have anything in mind for thanksgiving" I ask.

"Well I was going to take a bath" she smirks.

"Okay... Then what" I aks.

"I don't know. We don't find out the gender of the baby until next month but we should probably start thinking about what to do for their room" she says.

"Yeah. We can look around with that today. Plus Black Friday starts pretty soon so if we find anything we really like we can get some things tonight. Anything else" I ask.

"Actually, I finished the basement this morning if you would like to see it" she says sitting up a little.

"Really" I ask. She hasn't allowed me down there since we moved in.

"Yeah, but I just got in here so I'm not getting out yet" she claims.

"Mind if I join you" I ask and her eyes finally open. Those brilliant grey eyes look me up and down as she bit her lip and I had her answer.

"That would be nice" she admits. I strip down and place myself behind her. I feel the warm water raise around us as she leans into me. I place my hands on her stomach and she smiles up at me.

"Are you more excited to start looking pregnant or sad that people won't be able to see your abs anymore" I ask and she laughs.

"Obviously I can't wait to start looking pregnant, but I am going to miss my abs" she admits.

"I can't wait until you take pregnancy pictures. I hope you now I'm putting those everywhere" I claim.

"Like where" she giggles.

"Holiday cards, my locker, the living room, the bathroom, I just might get a billboard" I joke.

"Absolutely not" she laughs.

"I'm just kidding. But I'm serious about being excited to be going through this pregnancy with you, I can't wait for those pictures. To see you're beautiful face just light up, how happy you are to be pregnant. To watch our little family grow. Then one day when our baby is old enough I'll show them those pictures and they'll say that they have the most beautiful mommy ever" I claim.

"You're too good for me" she states.

"I am not" I insist.

"Yes huh" she smirks.

"Nuh uh" I joke back. We go back and fourth until she places some bubbles on my nose making me stop to laugh.

"You are a child or you're having a child" I joke and she giggles.

"Both" she claims. The water quickly turns cold and we climb out. I put on some sweats and a t shirt and she throws on the same before pulling me downstairs.

"You ready" she asks and I smile at how excited she was. It was so cute.

"Yes" I finally reply. She opens the door and turns on the lights. We get down there and I let out a loud gasp. The whole wall was painted with shades of dark purple and pink and blue and green. The skyline was painted in amazing detail just as I remembered it so many nights ago. The lights of the city reflecting in the clam waters below. It was so realistic I couldn't believe this was happening under my very own feet. I had no idea she was so artistic.

"Alexandria... this is so... incredible. I've never seen anything like this. The details are so real and it's just like I remembered it. You are so talented I had no idea you were capable of something like this" I whisper.

"I didn't either. But you see, I've learned that's the problem with people. I've actually learned a lot by being locked down here. We will never know what we're truly capable of because we're always too scared to try. We're too afraid of failure that it stops us from being who we should be. From doing what we could do. I wouldn't have done this a year ago if you gave me a gift card to Home Depot and a blank wall. This wall would probably still be grey. But I watched this bright eyed boy do things people have never done before and decided I could do something I've never done before too if I trusted in myself.

I probably messed up a hundred times and wanted to give up just as much. But I never did, because this beautiful image has been stuck in my head. Dancing around up there complied of my favorite memories all put into one beautiful picture. And now, much much later, I have this. And I'm proud because it sums up the beauty of life. It reminds me how our relationship started and where my home is. But there is one more part to be done in order to complete it. And it calls for your help" she claims and I raise a eyebrow.

"Me? I'm not artistic" I defend. She takes me to the end of the drawing and it was a stick figure of her pregnant on the wall. I laugh a little as she hands me a paint brush and I put myself in there. She gets mad because I made myself so much taller than her but I just did it to see her smile.

"So what happens in may when you're not pregnant anymore" I ask.

"That's one of the other cool things I learned from this. Things change and it's not that hard to adapt if you really want something. With some new paint you can easily change your perspective. You can change everything and still be using the same paint" she smiles.

"You learned so much for painting, how" I ask.

"I was inspired. Doesn't take much after that" she shrugs.

We return upstairs for some thanksgiving dinner and to watch some football. I watch her scream at the tv and smile to myself. I remember why I fell in love with her as I fall deeper in love with her.