Drama Momma (Surprisingly Perfect Sequel)

He's So Perfect

The walking trails in my neighborhood were super quiet, so it was the perfect place for Chase and I to take a walk. We held hands as he pushed Ollie and Blaze down the path in their double stroller.

    "Look at us. I'm off for the summer, my two nephews are six months old, and you, my pretty lady." He gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. "Are twelve weeks and three days along."

    "Wow. You're even better at keeping track than I am!" I said.

    "I can't wait to go to your appointment on Thursday!" Chase said.

    "Right after my last final."

    Chase took a deep breath. "I can't wait to finally see our baby!"

    "Me too. I'm desperate for more pictures."

    I looked up at the puffy moving clouds and thought about all the reactions I'd get on social media when I made it public that I was pregnant. I snapped a few quick pictures of the boys. Ollie pulled his hat off and was nibbling on it. Blaze was laughing and kicking his feet.

    "I think they're having a good time," I said as I took my last picture. I looked up and saw a bench nearby. "Hey, I need to take a break."

    "Yeah, of course. You okay?"

    I nodded. "Just tired. We walked kinda far."

    We took a seat on the bench, which faced the neighborhood playground. I thought about all the times Chrys and I would play there with Destiny and her brothers, climbing the jungle gym or trying to see who could go highest on the swings.

Today it was quiet, though. The paint on the swing set was still peeling off. The plastic seats on the seesaws were all faded from years of being in the sunlight. Everything was old, but still usable. Chase taking a fussy Ollie out of the stroller snapped me out of my thoughts.

Chase tickled him and ruffled his mop of fluffy brown curls. It was crazy how much he looked like Chrys, and even crazier how much Blaze looked like Jace and Chase.

"You okay? You're making that face you make when you're thinking really hard," Chase said. 

"Yeah, a little." I sighed. "My mom contacted a real estate agent. She wants us to move before I'm too far along."

"That's good!"

"I just don't really want to move that badly. And I know that Chrys doesn't. I'm just like, really sad that my baby won't be able to grow up in the same house or go for walks on the trail like we did, or use the playground."

"Hey, you know what?" He took my hand in his. "They'll have all of their own memories in whatever house you choose to live in, and then later on when we move in together."

I smiled and leaned on my boyfriend's shoulder. Chase and I talked about living arrangements and he was totally fine with the fact that I wanted to stay with my family. I wanted to try and be normal and graduate high school with Destiny.

"This whole thing is just...really hard," I said.

Chase kept holding me close. "And I'll always be here for you when you feel like it gets to be too much, even if I'm away doing appearances over the summer."

I groaned. "You're going to Australia in two weeks. Take. Me. With you!"

"You're pregnant and this pregnancy hasn't been the most low-risk. You need to stay here, where you're close to your doctor." I pouted. "We can video chat every night...or day...not sure what the time difference will be over there."

"You know, I don't know what's gotten into him. He got my parents to give your mom that big check, and he's even watching the boys more often."

I rolled my eyes. "Maybe he feels bad since he's been such a dick to Chrys for the past year."

"I'm just saying, I'm really surprised, gumdrop," he said.

"Why are you calling me that?"

He kissed the top of my head. "Because you're sweet as can be, and your little belly also makes you look like one...and between the two of us...you're delicious."

He placed Ollie back in the stroller and attacked me with tickles and kisses while making "nom nom nom" noises. We giggled and laughed, which woke up Blaze, who I didn't even realize was dozing off.  

"You know what? I think we should have a goodbye dinner at my place. Maybe we can finally bring everyone together and be civil about it. It seems like my parents are willing if they gave Jace all that money for your mom, and Jace has been completely different lately. I can have Kyle make that chicken Florentine you love so much."

"I...I dunno...I think you and I should go on our own date instead," I said, trying to keep calm.

"It would mean a lot to me if we could try having a dinner with our families together again. Think about how good that harmony would be for the boys, for our little—"

"Girl!" I said, cradling my small bump.

"There you go again," Chase said, chuckling to himself. "I'll get everything set up with Jace and my parents."

"As long as that chef is making the same thing as last time, it's all good with me."

Chase was seriously the most perfect boyfriend in the world. I leaned my head on his shoulder while he rubbed my back. As long as everyone kept their cool, we'd be fine. I mean, really, there's no way this dinner could possibly be any worse than the last one we had with Mr. and Mrs. Hetcher.