Free Autumn Awakening by Amy Sparling

 

Chapter 12
     
    “You’re kidding,” I say, my face expressionless.
    Jace shakes his head and his mom claps while she sits on the floor, playing with Jett. “Not kidding. I planned a little trip for us to Dallas. It’s not that far away and it’s not super glamourous, but I figured we could spare a couple of days to celebrate being married two years.”
    Tears fill my eyes. “Babe!” I say, slapping his chest. “You’ve had this planned the whole time?”
    He nods, gazing down on me with this look of satisfaction on his face. “Yep.”
    “And why didn’t you say anything?”
    He shrugs. “I don’t know. I was going to, but then I could tell you were getting mad at me for not planning anything and it just got too good. I had to make you wait a little longer.”
    I laugh and try to punch him in the stomach but he catches my hand. “You are such a jerk.”
    He leans down and gives me a quick kiss. “Aren’t you glad you married me?”
    I roll my eyes. “Hardly.”
    “We should probably go get our stuff packed,” he says. “We’ll leave first thing in the morning.”
    “Awesome,” I say, pausing a moment later. I kneel on the floor and pick up Jett, squeezing him in my arms. “I’m going to miss this kid though.”
    “He’ll be fine,” Julie assures me. “I’ll take super good care of him. And Jace put this app on my phone that will let us talk to each other in a video chat so you can tell him goodnight.”
    “Cool,” I say, grinning while Jett pats my face with his tiny chubby hand. I haven’t been away from Jett like this, but he’s really happy with his grandparents and I’m sure he’ll be fine. And a couple of nights without changing diapers would be kind of an awesome break.
    “Although this is really amazing of you,” I say, glaring at Jace. “You better not do this next year.”
    “No worries,” he says, holding up his hands. “It was entirely too hard to keep this a secret for so long. Next year you’re just getting a present.”
    The mention of a present makes me startle. “When did you say we’re leaving?”
    “Like six in the morning,” he says. “I have a whole spa day planned for us in Dallas.”
    My heartbeat quickens and I plaster on a fake smile and then excuse myself to the other room, saying I need to pack. Instead, I slip into my closet and call Becca.
    “Red alert,” I say in a hushed tone.
    “Huh?” she says. “Since when do you use code words like red alert?”
    I roll my eyes. “This is bad. I need to talk to Park.”
    “Okay, calm down, Bay. What’s bad? What happened?”
    I take a deep breath and explain to her what just happened with Jace and his surprise anniversary getaway.
    “Oh my god, that’s amazing!” she squeals. “Why is this bad? You thought he forgot about the date and he so didn’t.”
    “It’s bad because my present for him is a sign that Park said he’d install later on. But I kind of need it to be installed like, now.”
    “What do you mean?”
    I pace the length of the closet, thinking about how terrible it would be to spend our anniversary without a real present to show him. “We’re leaving at six in the morning. We’ll drive by the track on the way to Dallas and I’d like to be able to show him his present. If it’s not up, then it just won’t have as much impact, you know?”
    “Yeah, I see your point,” she says. “Hold on, I’m putting you on speakerphone. Okay say it all again.”
    “Hi Bayleigh,” Park says into the phone.
    I repeat the whole story to him, while pacing in the closet and trying not to freak out. “I know I’m asking a lot but . . . is there any way you could install that sign tonight?”
    “Of course,” he says without missing a beat. “That won’t be a problem.”
    “Thanks Park, you’re the best,” I say as a wave of relief washes over me. “I guess I’ll see you guys in three days.”
    “Have fun,” Park says.
    “Be good!” Becca says. “Don’t do anything I