Happily Ever After

Sixty Two~ Scrapbook

Kris

This year Valentine's Day falls right before we had to report to spring training. Jenna and Mary would be there for the first part of camp but this is the last time we have together before baseball takes over our lives again. So I wanted to do some with special with both Mary and Jenna before the season starts and we won't have the time anymore. I decide we were going to go have a day full of family fun and lots of love. The first order of business was to have breakfast at our favorite place in the world, Connies Cafe.

We join Joe and Maggie as they sit in their usual spots. We all order some heart shape pancakes excited for what the day will bring.

"I can't believe you're getting so big" Joe says as he nudged Mary making her giggle. He was like the grandpa every kid wanted and he was so good to her. I loved their relationship and I hope he can stay around for as long as possible.

"I want to grow up to be as big as Kris" she cheers and I laugh.

"I don't know about that" I assure her.

"Why not" she pouts earning a chuckle from everyone at the table. "You always say I can be whatever I want to be" she reminds me.

I go to rebuttable but I had nothing. I tell her every day she can be whatever she wants to be and I know it isn't true. But I didn't know how to explain that to her.

Luckily for me Jenna was a little too good at explaining things that shouldn't need explaining purely from experience. "You should never ask for change where change is not needed.

You can't change the color of your skin, your natural hair, your pretty blue eyes or how tall you're going to be. Things like that that make you you, you shouldn't wish for those things to change. Because there's someone out there who would love to have what you have and they can't. Life might get hard little one, but it will never get easier if you're wishing for change where change doesn't happen.

When you're growing older and you're thinking about what you want to be, don't think about having straight hair or being tall or wanting to be darker. You are beautiful in every shape and every form you may take. Don't wish it away because you think being tall is what you need to be to be valid. You're perfect just the way you are" Jenna says as she boop's Marys nose. Mary just smiles up at her aunt having no clue how lucky she is to be with her.

"I gotta admit, I can't believe there was ever a time we helped you with anything" Maggie admits.

"What can I say? It took me a lifetime of hurting to find peace. And I found it in this little one and I'm never letting her go" Jenna smiles.

We finish up breakfast and it becomes the second part of our Valentine's Day spectacular. We go to the park not too far from the cafe just to hang out a little. Mary has her little backpack on as she runs around the bean. Jenna takes pictures for Mary to have when she gets older.

I wrap my arms around Jenna as she quickly leans into me. She kisses my cheek and I couldn't stop my lips from pulling as tight as they can. "You're really great, you know that" I ask.

"I don't know if great is the right word" she argues.

"Jenny you're the most amazing person I know, inside and out. You have done nothing but be able to survive the worst of situations and never lose yourself in the process. You could have kept drinking, kept cutting, you could have made a mistake like your sister and this world would be deprived of yet another amazing soul. There's been so many times where you could have given into the pain and temptations, but you never did. And you can't convince me that this world isn't a better place with you in it" I promise as I squeeze her tight.

"You know if you keep telling me stuff like this I'm going to start believing you" she teases making me chuckle.

"I can only hope" I sigh.

Eventually Mary comes back to us and she sheds her backpack. She grabs something out of it before coming up to me. She hands me a little package in red wrapping paper and I look at her weird.

"What is this" I question.

"A va-val-valentine's day present" she tries as she stumbles with the word.

"Well aren't you sweet" I say as I squat down next to her. I let her help me rip open the wrapping paper because there is little in life she enjoys more than tearing up things.

Once we get the wrapping paper off I see a scrapbook and I smile really big. I never had anything scrapbook worthy before. I had trophies and bats and momentous, but never memories. Never times where I will want to sit back and reminisce on like I do with Jenna and Mary. On the front there was a picture of the three of us in the cafe last October. We all look so young even though it was just four short months ago.

"Open it open it" Mary begs and I don't hesitate.

I sit in the park and go through all the pictures. There's so many memories that were precious and sweet, to have them all in one place was kind of incredible to me. To think so many great moments in my life are in this little book means everything to me. Looking at these pictures brings so many feelings of pure happiness and joy it made me well up with tears. I was the luckiest man in the world, I just had to be.

I get to the back where the pages were blank and I look up at Jenna confused as to where the pages were.

"They're supposed to be blank" she assures me. "There's room for future pictures, like some from today and spring training, then the rest of our lives. We can fill dozens of books with pictures of nothing but the happiest times of our lives. And even if the picture isn't perfect, even if whatever the moment became wasn't as great as it seemed in the picture, we can still enjoy a part of our history that leaded to the next part and the next after that" she explains.

"This is absolutely perfect, I love it" I smile as she smiles back.

"Eh, we're pretty fond of you" she teases.