Always Us

surprise visit

just a fun little fluff (chaos) piece where nothing goes right
_____

With the car in park, Olivia reached into her purse for her notepad. Quickly, she jotted down a loving note to her husband, folded it neatly, and tucked it into the lunch bag on the passenger seat. She had been planning this day for weeks, but when she stepped out of her car into the L.A. heat, her giddiness quickly melted into confusion. She had expected more cars in the lot. Or at least more people.

Still, she headed towards the practice facility, and by the time she completed the quarter mile walk to the entrance, she was out of breath. She missed the days when every little thing didn't feel like a full-blown workout.

Holding up a hand to block the sun, she squinted at the security guard. "Is this where they're holding the open practice?"

"Open practice was last week, ma'am."

She furrowed her eyebrows, confused. He must be mistaken. She wrote it down in her planner. It was today. "Are you sure?" she asked.

He eyed her up and down, trying to figure out what to make of her. "Positive, ma'am."

"But I wrote it down."

He shrugged, passing his walkie talkie from one hand to the other. "Must've written it down wrong. Open practice, Fan Day, that was all last week."

At this point, the security guard's explanation was going in one ear and out the other. Her thumb scrolled through her calendar, but she realized she had actually marked multiple days as Open Practice - Surprise Spencer with Lunch. Frustrated with her useless past self, she googled the Rams schedule. And that's when she saw it, Open Practice, August 4th. One week ago.

Olivia looked up to catch him still rambling. "You can always catch it next year though."

She scrunched her nose in an attempt to hold back the wave of emotion that was hurling at her. "But I was supposed to come this year."

"Well that ship has sailed, ma'am. Now, if you need help getting back to your car, I'm more than happy to call over a golf cart."

Tears stung against the back of her eyes as she dug her heels into the ground. Weary, the security guard lifted the radio to his mouth, ready to call for back up.

A tear rolled down her cheek, and she swatted at it, embarrassed at the complete lack of control over her emotions. "Why didn't Spencer tell me?"

The security guard lowered his radio. "You James' girl?"

"Wife," she corrected. "I was going to bring him lunch."

He eyed her protruding belly, the lunch bag strapped over her shoulder. "Let me see what I can do. Give me one second."

_____

"Baby, what are you doing here?" Panicked, Spencer jogged towards the sideline to his pregnant wife. "Everything okay?"

"Everything's fine," she assured him while waving goodbye to her new friend, "relax."

Instinctively, he caressed her stomach. "I wasn't expecting you here today. You sure everything's okay? You looked flushed."

"Everything's fine, Spencer," she snapped. Heads turned down the sideline, watching the young married couple. "Everything's absolutely fine."

"Okay." He took a weary step back, rearing up for whatever was coming. "So... what's up?"

Olivia's eyes turned to slits. "What's up?"

He inched closer, softening his voice. "I'm happy to see you, baby, but you gotta tell me why you're here."

Olivia bit her lip and nodded. "I'm here because my memory has become absolute shit since you decided it'd be a good idea to..."

"Hey, hey, hey." Spencer hurried closer to his wife before she had the chance to recount the exact events that led up to the positive pregnancy test, a habit she had adopted every time a new symptom started to wreak havoc on her life. He could already sense the teasing that awaited him once Olivia left, and he didn't need her adding fuel to the fire. "What's wrong, baby? Please just tell me."

His wife took in a deep breath. "I thought that today was open practice, and I had this whole plan to come down here, bring you lunch, and cheer you on during your first training camp. But because I forgot, I blew it. And now, the food is cold and I'm interrupting—"

"Liv, it's okay." Now that it was clear that his pregnant wife wasn't in any danger, his receivers coach was strutting down the sideline. "I gotta go, but I appreciate you." Catching the disappointed look on her face, he threw in, "so much. So, so much."

She stole a glance at the coach and rushed to hold up the lunch bag. "Wait, at least take this. I made it for you."

He cocked an eyebrow, suspicious. "You made it?"

She scowled. "I bought it. You don't have to be rude."

"I wasn't trying to be rude, just... checking."

"It's a grilled chicken sandwich, just like you like it," she said, sarcasm dripping off her tongue. "No cheese, no sauce, no bacon, no bread, no anything good. Just chicken, lettuce, and tomato."

"Perfect. Thank you." Ignoring the attitude, he tucked the bag into the crook of his arm, his coach steps away. As his wife turned to go, he called after her. "I love you. Josh can take you back to the car."

She waved him off. "I'm good."

"Let him take you in the golf cart!"

Olivia ignored him.

"Liv!"

"James! On the field. Now!"