Chapter 42: California

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-Anthony's POV-

After avoiding being swept by the Pirates we head into the allstar break on a high note. Vanessa, my parents, and I all get in a plane and head out to California a little early to catch some rays. After we check into the hotel we all head to the beach and find a nice spot to chill out. "This... is great" Vanessa says from beside me. She sets out a blanket and lays on it. She was wearing reflective sun glasses and a all black bikini and looked mighty fine in it. "Dang Vanessa. Your abs are better than Anthony's" my dad says and she laughs. I shot him a glare and he raises his hands innocently. We all get settled and take in the sun. "So guys. How's life been" my mom says. "You call Vanessa like twice a week you should know" I scoff. I swear she likes her more than me. "Hey, you brought me a nice girl, I'm taking advantage of it" my mom defends. "Life's been good. Wrigley is getting so big. He misses you guys" Vanessa says interjecting our bickering. My mom nods and smiles. "Any time you need a dog sitter let us know. How's things been with your mom" my mom asks Vanessa. I give her a "really" look and she realizes she shouldn't have asked. "I actually invited her to our wedding. Not sure how I feel about that yet. Its not like I want to be mad at her, it's just so hard to let her in considering I've done so much without her" she sighs. I'm so proud that she's trying to make things right. It hasn't been easy lately but she's fighting it. "Have you thought about who's walking you down the isle" my dad asks. I could see through her glasses that she was about to cry. She wanted her dad to so bad and it was killing her that he isn't here to enjoy it. I try sending messages to my parents to lay off all the family questions but they weren't getting it. "I haven't thought about it" she whispers. It goes quite, no one really sure what to say. "If you would like, I would love to walk you down the isle" my dad says. Vanessa sits up and removes her sunglasses so she could look him in the eyes. "Really? You mean that" she ask. My dad smiles and nods. "It would be my honor" he replies. Vanessa being Vanessa gets up and hugs my dad with great force. She kept saying thank you and my mom was trying hard not to cry. She eventually returns to my side and leans her head on my shoulder. Her hair falls and grazes the sand. We sit like that for a while until my mom speaks up. "I wanna shop, you comin" she asks Vanessa and she perks up. "Hell yeah" she answers raising a fist in the air. I let out a whine and also get up. "Mom, you're not stealing my fiancé this whole vacation" I complain and they both roll their eyes. "I want to be with my future daughter in law and you will not stop me" she responds throwing her arms around Vanessa. They head towards. the board walk leaving my dad and I. "Want to go back to the hotel and watch SportsCenter" my dad says and I easily comply.

"Thanks for offering to walk Vanessa down the isle" I say sitting on the bed. The girls have been gone for two hours and we were getting hungry. I got my cooking capabilities from my dad, which is nothing. "I wanted to. She's a really good girl and I want her to be happy" he says looking in my eyes. I let a smile spread and nod. Around 7:30 the girls come back with a bunch of bags being extremely loud. "I see you guys had fun" I comment as they collapse on the beds. "Now I know what they mean when people say shop till you drop" Vanessa laughs. "I still can't believe you walked into that California sports store and bought a bunch of Cubs stuff" my mom laughs rolling over. "I can't believe they had that much Cubs stuff in the first place" Vanessa giggles pulling out a Anthony Rizzo doll. After they put their things away and we go out to find a pizzeria. While we wait for the food we talk about all we want to do during the home run derby tomorrow. "I really want to meet David Ortiz. Like he's legendary" Vanessa says. I agree, he's like a baseball god. "I call being with Vanessa" my mom protests and I look at her. "Are we going to be fighting over Vanessa" I joke and she nods. We finish dinner and head back to the hotel to get ready for tomorrow.

We all arrive at PetCo and get onto the designated truck with my name in it and drive through the parade. It was awesome to see so many Cubs fans so far from home. Granted we made up over half the starting lineup so everyone pretty much had to cheer for us, still crazy to see so much cubbie blue. We all sit and wave to people. My parents and Vanessa really seemed to enjoy it. I forgot how much I love seeing Vanessa in my jersey since she has her own for games. I smile at her and she smiles back. I take in this moment where I was by the people I loved for the sport I loved.

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