Once Upon A Dream (Kris Bryant)

67- Party Of the Century

Kris

After a really really long two days the city and the cubs finally agree that we can put on the parade. I would be surprised if anyone on this team has gotten more than a few hours of sleep since we won the World Series. We technically won Wednesday morning and then the parade is Friday morning therefore there hasn't been a lot of time for this all to sink in.

So I wake up my seven months pregnant fiancé and get her going. She sleepily pulls on a tank top and one of my jerseys. She leaves it unbuttoned because she was definitely showing now and she didn't want to stretch out my jersey. She squished into her favorite pair of jeans and plops down on the bed. I grab her the comfiest pair of shoes and start to put them on for her.

"This whole no coffee thing is a pain in my ass" she groans.

"You can have a cup of coffee" I remind her.

"I have no restraint to have just a cup of coffee" she insists.

"You have a point" I admit. I finish getting her shoes on and pull her off the bed.

"Alright, you're all set" I say.

"I haven't done anything to my face or brushed through my hair yet" she defends.

"So? You still look beautiful" I say and she smiles.

"You're too sweet" she claims softly touching my cheek. She pulls me into a kiss before going to the bathroom to finish getting ready.

I change into jeans and a long sleeved t-shirt before throwing my jersey over it. It was going to be kinda cool which would be kinda nice considering we usually play when it's a hundred degrees outside.

After we get ready we say goodbye to our puppy and head to the field. Joe called us over to the diamond before we got on busses. The tv crews were set up already and beer was getting passed out. There was a lot going on and Joe tried his best to pump us up. His voice was gone and many other guys' were too. But he tells us that he's proud and that we worked our asses off to be here so we should enjoy this as much as we can. He lets us go and most people go to take pictures with their families to remember this moment. I grab my girlfriend and head over to the ivy. We have Anthony take a bunch of pictures of us and we take some of him and Mandy. Then we get one all together because we're just cool like that.

After pictures I start to head to the bus but something shiny caught my eyes. One of the maintenance guys was carrying around a wwe belt with the Cubs logo on it and I was interested.

"What is that" I ask.

"Someone just handed to me. You want it" he asks and my eyes go big.

"Hell yeah I want it" I scoff and he laughs. He hands it to me and I put it on.

"What, in the wide world, is that" Jayden laughs. One hand resting on her belly and the other pointing to my new toy.

"It's awesome that's what this is" I reply and she laughs.

"I didn't peg you as a material kind of guy" she jokes.

"I'm not. But come on... look at this thing" I say excitedly.

"It is pretty cool"  she admits.

After a interview or two I find the bus we were supposed to be on. I help Jayden up the incredibly steep steps and we find a seat. I had dexter and Anthony and Jason on the bus with us. Their friends and family join us as we wait for the buses to take off.

"Did you hear over five million people are going to be coming to this thing" Mandy asks sitting next to her sister.

"Really" I gasp.

"Yeah. People have been out here since last night waiting to see you guys. Apparently the park is already packed" she claims.

"That's pretty cool" Jason admits.

"A hundred years in the making" Dexter smirks. I'm surprised I made it this far in the day until I heard that joke.

Eventually we pull out and start our trek from Wrigley to grant park. Every inch of open space was filled with blue as fans line the street, packed in like crayons. Each turn you take you think it would get thinner but it doesn't. People hung from buildings and street lights and stood on shoulders just to look at us, kinda crazy ain't it.

I turn around and see Jayden rubbing her arms. I shed my hoodie and slip it in her. She was still swimming in it as she smiles up at me.

"Thank you" she giggles.

"You're welcome" I nod.

"This is pretty cool huh" she asks.

"Yeah. I mean I've seen crowds like this for you outside your concerts, inside them too. But it's crazy seeing people with my name on them" I admit.

"You're pretty great" she smirks.

"I try to be" I smile back at her.

After what felt like forever on lake shore drive we pull up to grant. Here alone was two million people packed into the park to listen to us yell drunken words into a microphone. I grab my belt and toss it over my shoulder. I give Jayden a kiss before she takes off with Manny into the crowd.

One by one they call us up there and give introductions. Some guys give speeches but I rather let my play say what I need to.

I walk on stage and look out to the crowd. It was crazy out there, people screaming holding up signs and jumping up and down. Joe was right, this could be the baseballs equivalent of Woodstock.

I give my best wrestling impression before standing with the guys. After me was Anthony, naturally, and he goes up for a speech. He was emotional and drunk and this was s great set up for a good time.

"What's up Chicago" he starts as the crowd roars. "Thank you all for coming out and supporting us. Whether you've been a fan for a few weeks or a few decades, you mean the world to us. I'm so happy we could give the cubs fans what they so desperately deserved" he says. "But on a more serious note, I need you guys to know what this means to me. At the begging of this year I wanted this to all be over. My best friend since I was three years old got very very sick, and she was left fighting for her life in icu at a hospital in New York. My heart was hurting and I was losing my mind. She was there for me when I was sick and I wasn't there for her when she was sick. It hurt a lot. It's one thing to go through it yourself and a totally different thing to watch it happen to someone you love. You feel powerless and hopeless and everything you used to be so certain of is not uncertain.

But then she got better. The doctors cured her and she assured me that we were going to fight and we were going to win. And now I got to celebrate this great win with her and her unborn baby and watch my closest friend on the team purpose to her and I have to say... it makes moments like this all that much sweeter" he sniffles.

I walk over and start to rub his shoulders. He looks over to me and laughs.

"You're a mess" I tease.

"I can't help it" he admits. I pull him into a hug and he squeezes me good.

"I love you dude" I admit.

"Love you too kris."