A Great Saturday

'Ames, you don't need to do this,' Jake said.

'No, I do,' she persisted.

'But you could get hurt.'

'It'll be fine.'

'And mini-Ames?'

'He'll be fine too.'

'Amy, just think this through once.'

'I have.' POP! 'Now grab a brush and help me paint this nursery!'

'Why is blue associated with boys?' Jake asked as he painted one section of the nursery.

'This coming from my boyfriend who made the inside of the cake blue for my baby's sex reveal party,' Amy joked from another corner of the room and Jake laughed a bit.

'Yeah, but the baby wasn't going to see the cake's color.'

'True.'

'I'm just saying, why paint a nursery blue for a boy? I mean, that may not be his favorite color.'

'Yeah, you may be right. What was your favorite color as a kid?'

'I liked red.'

'Any particular reason?'

'I loved gummies and red ones were the most common.'

Amy rolled her eyes. 'Well, painting the nursery red was definitely out of the question,' she informed him.

'Why?'

'Well, I was kinda worried that the red coat on white would turn into a bad shade of pink. But, more importantly, I wasn't gonna paint my son's room like a sex dungeon.'

'Yeah, you've got a point.'

'I did think of painting it orange though.'

'Why didn't you?'

'Blue is just so peaceful and calm, don't you think?'

'It is,' Jake said as he paused to take a step back and observe how much he'd painted. 'But what about for later?' he asked.

'What do you mean?'

'Like if you decide to have another baby? What if it's a girl? I mean, don't get me wrong, blue works for both genders but I always thought pink or like light green for a girl.'

'Well, as a matter of fact, I don't want to use the nursery for a second time.'

'Wait, what?' he asked as he turned to her. 'You don't think you want to have a second child?' he asked her.

'No, I meant I don't want to use this nursery for a second time,' she quickly clarified but Jake still had a confused look on his face. 'If and when I have a second child, I hope it'll be living in a house, with my husband and this little guy,' Amy explained as she stroked her baby bump.

'Oh, that's sweet… Just to be clear, am I the husband?'

'Well, as of now, I hope you'll be my husband, don't you?'

'Definitely,' he replied with a smile and they both returned to painting.

Eventually, there was only one wall left and Jake and Amy were about to finish it.

'So, have you thought of any names?' Jake asked.

'Yeah, just a few,' she replied.

'Ooh, can I hear them?'

'Well, the first one I thought of was Sergio because that was my grandfather's name but that was also one of the criminals I'd been after for five years.'

'Don't wanna name your child after someone you've caught now.'

'Nope, I do not. Then I thought of my maternal grandfather's name – Andres.'

'Andres Santiago… kinda has a ring to it.'

'Right? But I wanted to think of as many names as possible.'

'What about just keeping it mini-Ames?' Jake joked.

'Come on, Jake.'

'Tell you what? If you do keep his name mini-Ames, I'll paint myself blue.'

'No, you wouldn't.'

'Oh, really?' Jake asked and he painted one side of his face blue.

Amy was laughing uncontrollably. Seeing one side have of Jake's face painted in blue was hilarious. 'Oh, my God!' she said after she controlled herself.

'So, mini-Ames Santiago it is then.'

'Hey, I never agreed to that.'

'But I painted myself blue!'

'Well, that's on you then,' Amy said as she resumed to paint the wall. But then she felt something cold on her face and she immediately realized what it was. 'Oh, my God! You didn't just paint my face blue, did you?' she asked.

'I most certainly did!'

'Well, this is war then!'

They both chased each other around the nursery, trying to get as much paint as they could on the other person. Jake was being very careful not to exhaust his girlfriend. Just as he was about to open the last two cans of paint, Amy held his hand. 'Jake, as fun as this is, I think we first need to finish painting the wall,' Amy said.

'Oh, yeah. I forgot about that. But, hey, you got so much more paint on me than I did on you!'

'Jake, please. Look, we'll finish this and, if some paint is left, we'll resume our game.'

'Deal.'

Jake got out of the shower and entered Amy's bedroom. He was a bit surprised to not find her there. 'Ames?' he called out.

'Yeah?' she called out from the couch in the living room and Jake went there.

'There you are,' he said as he walked over to her and sat beside her.

'Good shower?'

'Oh, yeah. I got paint in some places that I didn't know I could get paint.'

'Hmm, me too.'

'So, what'cha doin'?' he asked as he gestured to all the papers and files around.

'Oh, I'm preparing for the sergeant's exam.'

'Oh, that's right. You're taking the exam in six months now.'

'Yeah. I hope you don't mind I have to practice right now.'

'Of course not.'

'Really?'

'Yeah. I'll figure something out.'

'Okay, thanks.'

Jake took out his phone and Amy went back to her papers. But she couldn't concentrate. His words kept echoing in her head: 'I'll figure something out.' Was he annoyed at the fact that they weren't spending time right now? And was this how their relationship was going to be if she became a sergeant? Plus, she would be having a baby in less than a month. Would they have time to spend with each other or were they going to be busy every minute of every day? As she had these thoughts, she slowly started crying.

'Ames? What's wrong?' Jake asked immediately when he realized a few tears were rolling down her check. 'Hey, it's okay. I'm here,' he reassured her as he wrapped an arm around her.

'I'm sorry,' she said slowly.

'Hey, it's okay. What happened? Do you need help with something?'

'No, I was thinking and maybe I shouldn't take the sergeant's exam.'

'Ames, what are you talking about?'

'I mean, just look at us right now. We can't even spend time together on a Saturday properly. If I become a sergeant, I'll have more responsibility, and we might see less of each other outside of work. Plus, this little guy's arriving in less than a month. And things between us have been so great. I don't want it to change. Obviously, the baby will be a part of our lives but I can at least not be a sergeant and try to keep things just the way things are.'

'Amy, you're right, we will have to be more responsible when the baby gets here. And, yeah, things will change. But change is always inevitable. And that doesn't mean you give up your dreams. I mean, we were able to have a relationship when you were pregnant with someone else's baby.'

'Don't say it like that.'

'Right, my bad, sorry. Anyway, my point is, if we could manage this, we can pass any hurdle that comes our way. And that's my promise to you.'

Amy had tears in her eyes again. But these were happy tears because she had a really awesome boyfriend, who ALWAYS kept his promises to her. Plus, he made sure everything was right for them. Could he be any sweeter? 'I love you so much,' she said.

'I love you so much too.' They shared a soft, sweet kiss.

'I'm sorry our Saturday's going like this. I'm sure you had hoped for something else.'

'Not really. I just wanted to spend time with you and I also got to get into a paint fight with you. This is a great Saturday!'

Apparently, he could be sweeter. 'Come on, you can rest lay your head on my lap,' she offered.

'Yes!' He was just as excited as a child would be when you gave them candy. As he got comfy, Amy ran her hand through his hair, knowing fully well how much he enjoyed it. 'Hey, Ames?' Jake called.

'Yeah?'

'I hope mini-Ames and I won't have to fight over who gets to sleep in your lap.'

'Hey, as far as I'm concerned, mini-Ames wins that fight every single time.'

'Guess I'll just have to make the most of it right now then.'

And Amy wouldn't want to have it any other way.