Crazy In Love (Anthony Rizzo)

Bucket List

Melissa

There's a knock on the door of my apartment and I hold my breath. I feel like time stops as I look around trying to find a way out of this.

"Why do I feel like you're more nervous to see your parents than I am" Anthony asks.

"Because they haven't disowned you" I scoff.

"Fair enough" he nods.

I muster up the courage and go to the door. I grab the handle and let out a long breath, here goes nothing.

You see, I haven't seen my parents in over five years and haven't talked to them since I moved to Chicago. They are just as upset at me as I was with them. They wouldn't let me grow, wouldn't let me be myself or even find out who that was. I had to be whatever they wanted me to be but I wasn't buying it. They said taking pictures will never pay the bills and never supported my dreams to do so.

So I said fuck them and went to college in Alabama. Our relationship got strained and I stopped coming home after a while. I was in my revolting stage and they were having none of it. I was the youngest of seven and none of the kids defied them until I came along, and I more than made up for that.

Then news got our that I had run away before graduating, that was the breaking point. They asked how I could do this to the family and they never listened to me. That decision was never about my family but they made it seem like it was, like I lived my life just to spite them. They never gave me a listening ear or the benifit of the doubt when I tried to explain myself, they just expected me to be this perfect little girl, and I was the farthest thing from it.

So I ran away and never talked to them again. I got pregnant and they weren't going to help, they gave up on me and left me to do it alone. But in a way I should be thanking them, I learned the hard way but I did learn. If it wasn't for them I would have never figured out who I was.

And now here they are, after six years trying to fix this thing that's happened between us because my dying brother asked us to. They were really here to watch him throw out the first pitch of the Cubs game because it was on his bucket list, but they wanted to see me and meet Mallory and I wanted to make my brother happy, so here we are.

I slowly open up the door and see my parents standing there, they look the same as I remember, just a little bit older. My mom has my bright blue eyes and I have my dads dirty blonde hair. Of course his has a bunch of grey in it, and it's not his fault, he has a lot of kids to keep up with. And my mom was still a southern girl, her hair as long as ever and a lot of makeup on. But she still looked pretty great.

My mom smiles big as she looks me up and down. The last time she saw me I was a wild college girl, and now I'm a mother just like her.

We all kind of stay still in our place until she opens her arms. She nods her head because she knew I was going to ask if I had to, the answer is always yes. So I give in and walk into her arms before she pulls me the rest of the way. She latches her arms around me tight and I have to admit I missed this a lot.

"I've missed you Lissa" she whispers into my ear and I couldn't help but smile. Only she calls me that.

"I've missed you too Momma" I admit.

"I'm so sorry" she whispers and I choke back my tears. There was a lot of things I was feeling and there is no way of hiding any of them.

"It's okay mom" I assure her as my fingers grip her tight.

We finally break apart and I return to Anthony's side. My mom smiles as she looks him up and down. She probably likes him simply because he wasn't Brady, and I couldn't really blame her. 

"Who is this with you" she asks with a wink and I kind of giggle, I really did miss her. We hit heads but she was my mother, she raised me and cared about me when she didn't have to.

"I'm sure Tim has told you all about him, but this is Anthony" I introduce.

"Big fan" my dad claims as he shakes Anthony's hand.

"Thank you sir" Anthony smiles.

"Come here sweetie" my mom insists as she pulls him into a hug. She kisses his cheek and I have to laugh.

"Mom" I groan.

"It's okay, I'm from Florida, I expect nothing less" Anthony insists.

"Oh a southern boy, I like him" my dad claims. Of course he does.

I welcome them in and they come see Tim. Eventually Mallory wakes up from her nap and I grab her. I put her on my hip and brings her out.

"Oh my goodness... she is the most precious little thing ever" my mom whispers as she covers her mouth.

"Mallory, this is your grandma and Grandpa" I explain and she nods so I know she understands. I hand her off to my mom and she smiles big.

"Look at you, you're so beautiful" my mom whispers.

"I get it from my mom" Mallory says and I gasp.

"Where did you hear that from" I ask.

"Uncle Tim" she claims.

"Uncle Tim" I repeat.

"I've been summoned" Tim says coming out of the kitchen with Anthony behind him.

"You're teaching my daughter phrases she shouldn't be saying. I don't want my daughters foul mouth to be your legacy" I insist.

"I think it works out pretty fine" he claims.

"So Melissa, what can you tell us about Anthony" my dad asks. I was never close with him but he never pushed me, never told me who to be so it was easier for me to talk to him than my mom. But because of his lack of caring I never reached out to him either.

"He's amazing. He has taken Timothy's bucket list and turned it into a to do list. He's always here to watch over him and hired doctors to be here when Tim needs it. And Mallory calls him Dad, she knows that's not her real dad but she doesn't care. He takes care of her and brings her things and goes on play dates with her. She is his world and I'm so happy she got a real dad" I insist.

"And what about you, what does he do for you" he asks and I smile. I watch as Anthony plays with Mallory and my mom. He says something that makes them laugh and that made me so happy.

"He means the world to me, he's my everything. I never thought I would be able to get through my past, that I was stuck there. I thought my mistakes were on me like a tattoo. But then he came into my life and showed me things I've never seen. He makes me feel things I never felt. He has been the best thing that's happened to me since Mallory was born. I love him so much, more than I will ever be able to tell him. And he's made me realize that we can look past our differences and focus on what makes us more of the same, kinda like what I'm trying to do with you and mom" I admit.

"We missed you so much Mel. We never wanted to lose you like that. I know you have changed, we have too. And all we wanted was what is best for you" he insists.

"I know that, and I love that you guys cared so much. But this is my life, I needed to learn for myself who I was and who I wasn't. And I wasn't anything you guys wanted me to be" I explain.

"I see that now. And I hate that it took this long for us to overcome our differences. But seeing you and your daughter today, I can tell things are going to work out just fine" he smiles.

"I sure hope so."

We go to the Cubs game and watch Tim throw out the first pitch. The cubs were awesome and treated him as one of the guys. The crowd was so loud as he threw that pitch to Anthony it was probably the coolest moment of his life.

Two things off of the bucket list, a bunch more to go.