Autumn Awakening

by Amy Sparling

  “Ah,” I say as relief falls over me. “So that’s why you were late to this? I thought I was going to have to pick out a brick color by myself.”

  He opens his mouth but doesn’t say anything for a second. Then he winces. “Actually, I kind of forgot about this meeting. There was an alarm reminder on my phone but, yeah, I didn’t get that. My phone has been in the office all day.”

  I pretend to playfully slap him in the chest. “Jace! I can’t believe you forgot this!”

  “I know, I know. I’m sorry babe.” He leans in for a kiss but I give him my cheek instead. “There’s been so much shit going on that I totally forgot. But I’m here now. Let’s pick out a color.”

  I sigh and fold my arms over my chest. “Any color you like is fine,” I say. Then, because I can’t help myself, I add, “You seem to be forgetting about a lot of things lately.”

  “What’s that mean?” Jace asks, lifting an eyebrow. He must have picked up on my tone. “I remember the important things.”

  “Really?” I ask, a little heavy on the sarcasm.

  “Of course.”

  I’m really not in the mood to fight so I just nod and pretend to look at the brick colors. But if I was in the mood to fight I would have asked him how he can possibly remember everything important but forget that it’s almost our anniversary.

  Chapter 9

  Working out is my new best friend. Every morning, Jace and Park work on the business until around noon, when they break for a quick lunch and then take a few laps around the track. After riding, they go to the gym and workout, then shower and go back to work. I’ve slipped into a perfect routine that works around it.

  Every single day for two weeks now, I have waited until mid-morning when the boys get on their dirt bikes. And then I head to the gym and do my workout. It hasn’t been very long, but I’m already noticing a difference. My arms feel more toned and my abs feel like they actually exist under the layer of flab. I’m happier, too.

  That old saying that exercise makes you happy is no joke. It’s the truest thing I’ve ever experienced. All of my resentment and quiet disappointment in my approaching anniversary can be quelled with an hour on the elliptical machine. And now that the anniversary is only three days away, I need exercise more than I need breathing.

  Exercise keeps me focused. The burn in my muscles and the stinging in my lungs fuels me to keep going, to keep pushing to make myself better. I forget all about how Jace has come home from the track the last two days, showered, and passed out without so much as wanting to make out.

  And he always wants to make out.

  When I’m sweating my ass off in the gym, I can push those thoughts to the back of my mind. I can tell myself that Jace is just busy with work and that it’s not a lack of interest in me that makes him so tired all the time.

  Things aren’t bad, I know that. They’re just . . . off. Life with Jace isn’t the way it used to be, where I felt like his number one priority all of the time. Now I just feel like an accessory, a piece of his life that comes after work and after the stupid new business.

  Yesterday, after catching me flexing in the mirror, Becca had asked about my new daily workout routine. I had told her how powerful I felt during my workouts and how although I had started working out under the idea that I’d get in shape to look hot, I now love it just because it’s fun.

  I’m starting to care less and less about the whole concept of “looking hot” and I’m just focusing on being healthy and feeling strong. The cool thing about working out is that even when your mind is weak and broken, your body can be strong for you.

  Apparently my explanation had become a pep talk for my best friend, because after a few minutes of talking about it, she had begged to come with me today. So she meets me in the kid room at the track, grinning with enthusiasm. She’s wearing a matching set of workout capri pants and a tank top, both in pink with a little grey stripe down the side. Her Nikes are pink and purple and even her water bottle matches the pink color theme.

  I lift an eyebrow. “Did you rob a fitness model or something?”

  She laughs. “Is it too much? I didn’t know what to wear to a gym so the lady at the mall helped me out.”

  “Oh my god, Becca,” I say, rolling my eyes. “It’s not even a real gym for the public or anything. It’s just us.” I gesture at my yoga pants and old tank top. “This is all I wear.”

  “You’re wrong about that,” she says, following me into the gym and making funny faces at Jett, who squirms in my arms. “If it was just going to be you and me, then yeah, I’d wear whatever. But Park is here.”

  “Park is in the facility, but he’s not here here,” I say. “Trust me, if there was any chance the boys would see me working out, I wouldn’t do it. Just the idea of it makes me mortified.”

  “Me too,” she says, exhaling and shaking her head. “Hell freaking no.”

  I laugh, and push open the door to the gym. And then I stop short and my stomach crawls into my throat.

  “Hey girls,” Park says. He’s sitting on the incline press, a barbell in his hands. He lifts the weights and sets it back on the rack and then sits up. He smiles. “Are you joining us?”

  I look around and find Jace on the treadmill, his shirt soaked with sweat. They’ve been at this a while and they’re hours earlier than usual. “What are you doing here?” I ask, quickly adding, “I mean, shouldn’t you be working?”

  We’re taking the day off,” Jace says, slowing the treadmill down until it’s at a walking pace. He hops off and walks over to me, wearing a huge smile on his face. “We’d love for you to join us. It’s boring as hell in here with just Park.”

  “Hey man, you’re not the most interesting guy, either,” Park shoots back. To us, he says, “Come hang out with us.”

  “Sure,” Becca says, setting her water bottle down on a weight machine. “We came to hang out.”

  I sigh. “Yep. We’re here to hang out.”

  Jace takes Jett and gives me a weird look. “Do you want us to leave so you can work out in silence?”

  I can feel the heat jump into my cheeks. “What? No. We don’t want to work out. You’re fine.”

  A sly smile spreads across his lips. “Okay, just thought I’d ask.”

  #

  At night, I’m feeling a little more jaded than usual and it’s probably because I skipped my workout. Tomorrow makes two days until my anniversary with Jace and he still hasn’t said anything about it. But I’m kind of over being upset about it. I mean, all it does is hurt me each time I sit here and lament about it. Nowhere in our wedding vows did we promise to talk to each other about upcoming anniversaries.

  Of course now I’m wishing I would have put that in the vows. Anyhow, while Jace is in the shower and after Jett finally falls asleep, I crawl into bed and tell myself that it’s only hurting me to be so upset about this. I draw in a deep breath and tell myself all of the things I love about Jace:

  He’s totally hot. And that’s shallow, but I don’t care.

  He’s a loving husband and he’s never cheated on me.

  He tells me everything about his life anytime I ask.

  He’s a great dad and he’s always happy to help out with the baby when I need him to.

  I love him. I love everything about him.

  Except this one little thing.

  I smile as I pull the sheets up higher and get comfortable in bed. One tiny annoying thing out of a bunch of good things isn’t that bad. Maybe I’ll just break down and tell him about our anniversary so he’ll have at least one day to plan some time to spend the day with me.

  When Jace crawls into bed a few minutes later, I roll over and snuggle up next to him. He wraps an arm around me and strokes my hair while he flips through the channels on TV, looking for something to watch.

  “Hey babe?” I say.

  “Hmm?” he murmurs, looking down at me.

  I decide to give him one last chance to remember the anniversary before I remind him myself.
“I was wondering what your plans are for the next couple of days? I was thinking maybe we could do something fun.”

  “Oh shit,” he says, sitting up in bed. I lift up on my elbows. This is it. He just realized he forgot our anniversary.

  “What, babe?” I ask, pretending I don’t already know.

  “I totally forgot I have to get up early tomorrow,” he says, reaching for his phone. He opens the clock and sets an alarm for tomorrow at five in the morning.

  “Huh?” I say. That’s definitely not what I thought he would say.

  He looks at me and smiles. And then he bites his lip. “Okay, so I might have forgotten to tell you,” he says slowly, and with each passing second I realize he’s afraid I’m going to be mad at him.

  “What did you forget to tell me?” I ask, alarmed.

  His Adam’s apple bobs in the glow of the television. “Um, well, yeah. My parents are coming to visit for a few days.”

  The knot in my stomach doubles in size. Not only did my husband forget our second wedding anniversary, but now he’s invited his parents over. Guess there won’t be any celebrating after all.

  Chapter 10

  The baby wakes up just moments after Jace’s alarm starts blaring the next morning. I roll over in bed and groan, wishing for just five more minutes of sleep. Actually, who am I kidding? I’d like another five hours of sleep.

  Jace crawls out of bed slowly, as if he thinks it won’t wake me up even more, and heads into the closet to change clothes. I try lying here, hoping Jett will fall back asleep, but the high pitched wails sounding from down the hall tell me that I’m just wishful thinking.

  I with a sigh, I throw off the blankets and crawl out of bed. Jett is standing in his crib, holding onto the rails and crying as if he were in a real prison instead of a baby crib.

  “Aww,” I say, reaching into the crib and picking him up. I change his diaper and shake his favorite rattle until the tears dry up and he starts smiling.

  “Are you excited to see your grandparents today?” I ask as I pull off his pajamas and look for a cute outfit. It’s a ridiculously early hour in the day, but now that I’m awake, I figure we might as well go with Jace to the airport. If I stay here, I’ll only lie awake in bed and obsess over how he invited his parents over when he should have been planning to spend our anniversary with me, his wife.

  So yeah, we’re going.

  Jace lifts an eyebrow when I walk into the living room holding a diaper bag and Jett, who is all dressed and ready for the day.

  “What’s going on?” he asks.

  I shrug. “I figured we’d come with you to the airport.”

  “Really?” He smiles and turns on the coffee maker. “It’s so early though. But yeah, that’s awesome.”

  I grab some snacks from the pantry and shove them into my purse. The airport is only a two hour drive away, but snacks are always a good idea. “Well babe,” I say, leaning over to give him a kiss while he pours us two mugs of coffee, “We’ve been together like three years now and I still love spending time with you, so I think it’ll be fun to tag along.”

  “You’re the best,” he says, wrapping an arm around my waist and pulling me in for another kiss. “Mom and Dad will be excited to see you and Jett.”

  He hands me a coffee and I pour some creamer into it. “So what made them want to come visit right now?” I ask as casually as I can manage. “Did they miss the baby?”

  He stares at me like I’ve gone completely insane. “The business is opening in a week,” he says with a laugh. “They’re dying to come see it. And you know Mom, she’s insisting that she can find a way to help invest in the company even though I keep telling her I don’t want their money.”

  “Ah,” I say, nodding. Now I feel like an idiot. Of course they’re coming over to see the track. Everything is about the track now. My lips press into a thin smile. “Okay, well that will be fun.”

  I turn and head back into the living room to do one last check on everything I’ve packed. I could be wrong, but it almost sounds like Jace makes this kind of snort of laughter as I’m walking away. I turn around. “Did you say something?”

  He gives me an innocent look. “Nope.”

  #

  Although I am annoyed that Mr. and Mrs. Adams are coming to spend a few says with us during our anniversary, I am starting to get excited about seeing them. They’re really nice people and they’ve always been so welcoming to me. I get the feeling that most parents wouldn’t be that psyched to meet their son’s girlfriend for the first time after she’s already pregnant, but they were surprisingly awesome about it.

  His parents have only become even more cool to be around after the baby was born. They’re just like my mom in that they act like Jett is the greatest thing to ever happen to them. And although Jett is my son and he’s actually the greatest thing to happen in my life, it makes me happy to know that he brightens their life as much as he does mine. Babies are definitely little miracles.

  We wait by the baggage claim at the airport for what feels like hours even though it’s only about fifteen minutes. Jace holds Jett and I wrap my arm around Jace’s elbow and lean against his arm while we wait. Soon, Jace’s mom, Julie, appears in the crowd of people exiting the plane. She squeals when she sees Jett and she rushes up to him, her arms open wide.

  For a second, I’m afraid Jett will freak out and turn away from her, but instead, he smiles and goes right into her arms. Gary walks up a minute later, after having grabbed their suitcases. His hair is grayer than it was last time I saw him, and the briefcase he carries along with his suitcase tells me he’ll probably spend most of his visit sitting in our living room doing work.

  “Hi son,” Gary says, giving Jace one of those manly hugs. Then he turns to me and gives me a hug, too. “How have you been, Bayleigh?”

  “I’ve been great,” I say with a smile. “What about you?”

  “Oh same old,” he says, waving a hand. “Julie has been driving me insane. All she does is talk about wanting to see that baby.” He smiles and pats Jace on the shoulder. “Keep an eye on your son. Your mother might try to steal him.”

  Once Julie has finished cooing over Jett, she gives Jace and me equally huge hugs and kisses on the cheek. Then she spends the entire walk back to the truck talking about how big Jett has gotten and how he’s the cutest baby in the entire world. And of course, I couldn’t agree with her more.

  #

  Before we go home, we take his parents to the site of our new house, even though it’s just a slab and a skeleton of a frame still. There’s plumbing and wiring and some of the walls are up, but it’s still pretty far from being a real house. Still, his parents love it anyway.

  I show Julie the bricks we’d chosen and she says they’re “perfectly me”, whatever that means. The whole time we walk around the construction site, I don’t even have to worry about Jett. Julie refuses to let him go, saying she needs all the grandma time she can get. And that’s fine by me. It’s not very often that I get to walk around without having a baby hugging onto my legs or hanging off my hip.

  After the tour of our house, Jace drives us to the track next door so we can show his parents the progress we’ve made so far. The place is pretty much ready to be open to the public and Jace already has several clients lined up for training next week. Jace’s dad spends a lot of time looking around the building and nodding in an approving way.

  I can tell by the way Jace stands with his shoulders back that he’s proud to have his dad’s approval. They start talking about business stuff and I decide to pull Julie away to give them some father-son bonding time together.

  “You want to see the kid room?” I ask her.

  “Kid room?” she says, lifting a brow. “I don’t think I’ve heard of that.”

  “You totally have to see it,” I say, walking her from the main lobby down to the hallway. “We thought it’d be cool to have a play room for Jett since we spend so much time here, and then we made it bigger so other moms w
ith little kids could hang out inside.”

  “Oh, that’ll be a godsend in the summer time,” she says, making a funny face at Jett.

  We go inside the room and I hold out my hands in this goofy way. “Ta-da!”

  She looks around the room, nodding. “This place is nice. It’s like a Mommy Lounge. Ooh!” she says, her eyes lighting up as she scurries over to the couch. “This couch is amazingly comfortable. And you have TV, too?” She sits and balances Jett in her lap. “Hand me a remote, I’m going to hang out here all day.”

  I laugh and join her on the couch. “While the boys are doing their thing, we can do ours in here.”

  “All we need is a wine bar and you’ll be all set.”

  “If only I were old enough to buy alcohol,” I say with a laugh.

  Julie pats my arm. “You’ll get there soon enough. Trust me, the older you get, the more the time just flies on by. One day you’ll be my age and you’ll be wondering where all the years went.”

  I nod. “I can’t believe Jett’s almost two years old. I can already feel the time flying by.”

  She reaches over and squeezes my arm. “My son did a good job picking you, Bayleigh. I knew it the moment I met you, but now that it’s been two years since the wedding, I know it more than anything.”

  I force a smile even as sadness slips into my heart. “At least you know it’s been two years,” I mutter.

  “What do you mean by that?” she asks, her head tilting to the side.

  I am keenly aware that I shouldn’t badmouth my husband in front of his own mother. So I just shrug. “Jace hasn’t even mentioned our anniversary. Like at all. And it’s two days away.”

  She gives me a knowing smile. “Oh honey, I wouldn’t write him off just yet . . .”

  My eyebrows draw together. “What does that mean?”

  She lifts her shoulders and focuses on Jett. “Now, who wants some dinner?”