Falling Fast and Breathing Hard

Nine days have passed since I yelled at Kris for not calling me and letting me know where he is, and now, things couldn't be better. Kalea is healthy and just keeps getting cuter while the boys are 3-1 in the first round against the Lightning. Today's game is at noon, which I guess I'm okay with, since it's the weekend and I get to spend the rest of the day with Kris regardless of if the Pens eliminate the Bolts from the playoffs or not. Going into the game, I was still tired from the night before. Kalea who usually sleeps through the night, woke up four times during the night, so I hope that I don't fall asleep during the game. That never happens though, right? The game turned out brutal for them as they unexpectedly lost 8-2; the two goals we scored were from Conner and Rupp, which Kris assisted on. I knew that I'd have to do some major damage control once I saw him; he always beats himself up with games like this whether they be at home or in a different city.

"It's gonna be another bad day, isn't it?" I asked Vero, knowing Marc was even worse after games like this one.

"Yep. I'm ready for it though." she said, sighing heavily.

Once it was time for us to go down to the locker room, I took a sleeping Kalea and made the short trip. When I got there, Kris was there with his head in his hands; my heart broke.

"Kris?" I whispered, walking toward him.

He didn't answer me.

When I was right beside him, I put a hand on his leg. He looked up a little teary; my heart broke even more because things were never this bad. I sat beside him and kissed his cheek.

"I love you." I said, placing my head on his shoulder.

"I love you, too." he said, grasping my hand.

"Do you just wanna take a nap?"

"If you wouldn't mind."

"Of course I wouldn't. I'm still tired from that little one over there. I almost fell asleep during the game, if you can believe it."

I saw him smile and look over at our sleeping daughter.

"When did she fall asleep?"

"About twenty minutes ago."

"She looks so peaceful. You look peaceful when you sleep too."

I smiled and melted.

"You're so sweet."

He turned to me and kissed me.

"Ready to go?" I asked.

"Yeah. Let's go."

He kneeled down and kissed Kalea on her forehead and told he loved her before he took control of the stroller and we left. A few minutes after we left the parking lot, I fell asleep. I saw Kalea wake up, but I'd like to think she'd fall back asleep because I know I would if I were her. When I heard us pull up to the house, I wanted to keep on sleeping, especially when Kris opened my door and began talking to me.

"Athena? We're home."

"No."

"No?"

I just moaned.

"Well, in that case, I'll leave you in here then. Ok?"

"Ok."

"Your mommy's silly, isn't she?" he asked Kalea.

She giggled.

Clearly, our daughter is awake. He shut my door and opened the back and got out her stroller before opening her door and placing her in her stroller and grabbing her diaper bag. I then heard him shut the door and walk to the front door and unlocking it. A couple of minutes later, my door was opened and my seatbelt was unbuckled. A strong Kris picked me up and placed me in his arms as I wrapped mine around his neck and snuggled into him. Five minutes later, I woke up on our bed still sleepy. I heard his footsteps come into our room as I was stretching.

"Hey, sleepyhead." he said, climbing into the bed.

"Hey. Thanks for bringing me in, but uh... I'm sorry about being lazy."

"Don't apologize. I enjoyed the entire two minutes of it. I'd do it again."

I laughed and pulled him down onto me.

"As I said earlier to Kalea, you are silly."

"Was she awake the entire trip?"

"For about half of it. She's asleep now, though. I put her in her crib."

I smiled and kissed him.

"Are you still up for a nap?" I asked.

"If you are, I am."

"Of course. Can't you see me yawning?"

He laughed.

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

An hour later, I woke up refreshed and ready to get something to eat. I let Kris sleep and went to Kalea's nursery to wake her up, but she was already up when I got there.

"Hey, baby girl. Did you have a nice nap?"

She giggled.

"That's good. We're gonna let Daddy sleep though. He didn't have a good day, ok?"

She just looked up at me with those beautiful brown eyes of hers. I set her up in the living room as I headed to the kitchen for a quick snack and got her bottle; I'd make dinner in an hour. After heating up her bottle, I put in a plate of pizza rolls and walked back into the living room to feed her. Shortly after I started dinner, I went into our bedroom to see if Kris was sleeping; he was trying to wake up, so I had an idea and brought Kalea with me. He was lying on his back, so I let her climb onto Kris. I had my phone out, ready to capture the moment. He grumbled then opened his eyes; on top of him was a giggling Kalea.

"Hi, Kalea. What are you doing? Are you here to wake Daddy?" he asked, laughing.

She giggled even more.

When he lifted her up, I took a quick pic. She certainly enjoyed that as she was all smiles. After a couple minutes, he kissed her cheek and gave her to me.

"Hi babe." he said with a smile.

"Hey. Did ya have a nice nap?" I asked, leaning in to kiss him.

"I had a very nice nap." he replied, returning the favor.

"Are you hungry?"

"Starving. What are you making?"

"Well, right now, I'm defrosting pierogies..."

"Pork chops and pierogies?!"

"With green beans. Yes."

"I'm glad I turned you onto those. I was turned onto that dish when I came here. I'm glad I was turned onto it."

"Me too. Pennsylvania has great food that almost rivals Maryland food."

"Almost?"

"Almost. I just love my home state's food so much."

He shook his head and we walked down the hall and down the steps. Kris took Kalea in the living room with him. I headed back into the kitchen to see if my pierogies were ready to cook; seeing they were, I put olive oil and butter in one pan and some in the other and got them heating. Once I got everything cooking, I headed to the living room. Kris had our daughter in his lap; I almost died of cuteness.

"May I take another picture?"

"Yes. Yes, you may."

I smiled and took out my phone.

"Smile!"

I got huge smiles from two of my favorite people.

"Mind if I sit here?"

"Not at all."

Maybe half an hour later, dinner was ready and everybody was hungry. I fed Kalea as I sat down to eat before I ate myself, obviously.

"How's dinner?"

Kris gave me a look.

"What?"

"That's a stupid question! It's delicious!"

He laughed which caused me to laugh. Come 11, Kris and I had watched a few movies and we were ready for bed.

"Thanks for the great day. It would've sucked if I didn't have you and Kalea.

I smiled and blushed.

"My pleasure. I love you and Kalea more than anything else in the world."

"Good to know. I love you and our daughter just the same."

Notes

Chapter title courtesy of Have I Told You Lately That I Love You? by Van Morrison.