When the Stars Align (Anthony Rizzo)

60| Over The Horizon

Anthony

After two months in Arizona making plays and plans for the upcoming season we finally return to Chicago. A lot has changed since I left here about two months ago. It's early April and there's a lot that still needs to happen. We're now planning for a kid and Halley is getting big and is going to need space to run free. Our lives were growing and we needed a place to keep up with it. So I decide that these few off days we are going to look for a new house. We couldn't put a nursery in here and I wanted a backyard that lets us be lineient with the dog if we're ever gone for a while. So we look around the greater Chicago area for something that will be good for us to build a family in. We weren't that picky, but we were a little nervous about not getting the right house then being stuck with it.

"What about this one" I say motioning to the house on the computer screen. It was pretty much a mansion at this point.

"I don't know... that one looks like a bit much" she admits. It was three stories and I know neither of us will want to navigate that.

"Alright, fair enough. Lets stick with a two story house" I agree. So we keep looking and looking until we find one that we couldn't deny was the house for us.

Finally we find a house that was perfect for us. It was near Wrigley field so I could just walk there if needed. Then those long nights when I get caught up at work I can rush home to be back with my wife and kids, you know, eventually. This house had a old style home feel to it where the exterior was all grey and white and tan bricks and a dark grey roof. There was four bedrooms and two and a half baths. There was a home office and a place for me to do some workouts in. The basement was going to be converted into a place for us to just get away from life for a while. It certainly had the makings of a beautiful home.

But the best part was the roof. This house has a viewing area on the roof where we can put the telescope and a few pillows and blankets up there. It was at the highest point of the house so it was the closest to the sky, just like I promised her all that time ago.

So I email the seller and ask to see the house. She agrees to meet with us to look over the house and talk about purchasing it. We meet her right before the clock struck 5 and she shows us around. The kitchen was insanely big and the living room was perfect for entertaining guest. The master bedroom was in a great location to check up on the nursery and eventually the kids room when the baby gets older. It was almost too good to be true, that this incredible house was in this incredible location.

Finally we make it up to the roof and to the sky deck. I ask for a few moments with my girlfriend to talk about the house and what we wanted to do. Once the lady leaves I grab Kelsey's hips and pull her into my embrace. She wraps her arms around my neck and starts to play with my hair making me smile.

"So, what are your thoughts? I want to know" I beg.

"This is a beautiful house Anthony. I can see us starting a family here, we can host as many parties as we want and Halley will absolutely love the backyard. I think this is a perfect house for us" she insists. I smile big because I was thinking the exact same thing, and I didn't even need to say it because she knew.

I press a soft kiss on her lips as I hold her close. We look out at the sky and she rests her head on my shoulder. We watch the clouds move across the sky like a train across the tracks. We don't say anything because we didn't need to. We could communicate in the most amazing ways possible, that's why the decision to get a house was so easy. When you're connected in the way Kelsey and I are everything works out in the end. As long as I'm real with her and open she reads me like a book.

"I can get used to this view" she admits as I hold her in my arms. You can see the field and the city and everything that's beautiful that Chicago has to offer.

"I can too. And then we can bring our kid up here and show them the world. We can remind them that every view has a horizon and right behind it is a world we don't know. We can teach them to always keep their horizons moving because you never know what might lie behind that line of what you know and what you don't know. It might just be the best thing you've ever seen" I say turning to her.

"Are you talking about me" she questions and I smile.

"Of course I am. Remember when we first met and you put your hand against mine? You told me that I have to realize that everything I ever wanted could be right behind the horizon my hand created. And it was, it was your hand and now we're here about to start a family in this beautiful house in one of the best neighborhoods in the best city in the world" I say.

"So we're getting this house" she gasps.

"I wouldn't settle for anything less" I assure her.

She excitedly pulls me into a hug and I was taken aback a little. But it doesn't take me long to hug her back.

"Thank you for making me the happiest girl in the world" she whispers in my ear. I get chills as I close my eyes and hold her tight.

"I would do anything for you" I promise.

She places a quick kiss on my lips before she grabs my hand. We head downstairs to talk to the lady who was selling the house. We assure her that we wanted it and I was going to put a down payment down so no one else could get it. We wouldn't move in just yet, it needed some furniture and appliances before we can move in. But it was a start of a new journey I couldn't be more excited to be taking.