Punk and AJ had stuck to their plan of having a little rest day by the pool in Erica's back garden for the day. Since the heat had exhausted Tate and Thomas at the beach yesterday, they figured a little chilled out day would be good for them. They had the rest of the week to do other things.
It also gave AJ more time to chat with Erica while Punk kept an eye on the boys in the pool. She knew Punk promised he would teach Tate how to swim, and knowing Punk, he wouldn't leave the water until Tate knew how to swim.
"So what did you say to your patients?" Erica turned her head to the side to look at her sister, both of them sitting on sun beds facing the sun, AJ's eyes opening as she looked to her sister.
"I just told them I was taking a few weeks off. I gave them numbers to other psychiatrists near by." AJ said, "I couldn't possibly give out advice and work properly with so much stress." AJ said, knowing her job needed serious concentration to do correctly.
"I'm sure everyone would understand." Erica said, "Have you spoke to mom recently?" Erica asked.
"Yeah. She gave me and Phil a hard time about me being pregnant. It was almost like she was saying we couldn't do it." AJ said as Erica frowned.
"I'm sure she wasn't trying to mean it like that." Erica said.
"No, she was." AJ said, "And there I was… thinking I was a good mother." AJ chuckled to herself.
"You are a good mother." Erica replied quickly, "Those boys would be lost without you, and I don't mean just the two of them." Erica smiled as AJ looked across at Punk playing with Thomas and Tate, smiles on all of their faces as they enjoyed the warm day without noticing because of the coolness of the water.
"I don't know where I'd be without them." AJ said quietly, barely enough for Erica to hear. She genuinely didn't know where she would be without her family, without Punk. No doubt still in the mental hospital.
Later on…
Because the boys never got to go out last night, AJ and Punk decided they would take the boys out for dinner and then to the park across the road to play, hoping they would enjoy being out in the cool air instead of the scorching hot day time air.
AJ smiled as they ran ahead of her and Punk, not too far, close enough for her eyes to still be on them. They had their little polo shirts on, Tate's being black and Thomas's being white, with little cargo shorts like their fathers. She loved dressing them in summery outfits, and they'd already produced a tan from the two days they had been in the warm country. Punk on the other hand had to burn before he tanned, but AJ made sure to slap sun block on the boys at least every half hour.
"I think they really like it here." AJ smiled, holding on to Punks arm as they walked down the pavement after dinner, heading to the park they had promised to take the boys to.
"I think they do." Punk agreed, "It'd be great to live out here. Don't you think?" Punk asked his wife.
"It'd be amazing." AJ agreed, "Tate, slow down." AJ told her eldest son who was running a little too ahead for her liking.
"I suppose when we get home, we'll have to book a scan and start the nursery. We will have officially ran out of rooms." Punk said, the spare room now having something to not be so spare about.
"I want to wait to do the nursery until after we find out what the baby is. That way we can paint it blue or pink." AJ smiled.
"You really are enjoying this, aren't you? You really want this baby…" Punk smiled, loving how excited AJ was about the baby, you'd think third time round that it would just be the same old same old, but she was glowing with excitement and he loved it.
"I really do." AJ smiled.
The night spiralled on and it was so relaxing to just sit on a bench leaning into Punk while their sons played in the parks chutes, swings and climbing attractions. The best thing about it for Punk, was seeing both his sons fall countless times, but stand straight back up to dust their knees and carry on. Just like he had taught them from day one.
Just seeing the smiles on Tate and Thomas's faces was the highlight of AJ's night. They looked so happy, therefor she was happy. They'd never really been on a vacation. They spend endless minutes playing in their back garden and eating frozen food from their kitchen at home. It was nice to see them on this big adventure. They still looked mesmerized. AJ just loved the chilled vibes this place gave her. It made her feel like she was floating in the air, no stress or worries what so ever and she loved that.
One week later…
Unfortunately for AJ and Punk, the holiday did have to come to an end and they were met by another day of hectic travelling as they left Spain and Erica to go back to their boring old life in Philadelphia. AJ always did love the comfort of her own bed and the feeling of her own home, but she missed the sun, sand and cool water so badly, as did Tate and Thomas.
But like always, life had to carry on. It was back to getting muddy in the back garden and having chicken nuggets for dinner. As soon as AJ got back and unpacked, she called for an appointment at the hospital for her five month scan in a few days, to which she was so excited for.
"Boys, go wash your hands, dinner's nearly ready." AJ stood at the back door in the kitchen, watching the boys run past her and into the house, racing each other upstairs to wash their hands for their dinner.
They did miss their week of adventures and fun, but they seemed to fit back to their normal life just fine. AJ felt like her mission of reconnecting with her husband and family was successful. In fact, she wasn't even thinking about Tim or Jenny, she felt comforted and at peace.
"What are you doing, Phil?" AJ got a glimpse of Punk sitting at the kitchen table while she plated the boys dinner for them, seeing Punk with a newspaper and pen, circling parts of the paper and reading closely.
"I'm looking for other jobs." Punk said as AJ turned around in pause.
"What's wrong with the garage?" AJ asked suddenly.
"Nothing." Punk looked up at his wife, "It's just… you know, I'm bored. Yeah, the guys are hilarious and the work is a piece of cake now. But I don't know… I just feel like I should move on." He shrugged.
"And what are you thinking of moving on to?" AJ asked, turning back around to finish putting the boys dinner out, hearing them run downstairs and into the kitchen.
"I don't know. I used to work in sales, but then I got fired and put in a mental hospital." Punk said as AJ chuckled shaking her head at his need to joke.
"Why don't you work in sales again?" AJ asked, putting the boys plates down in front of them along with their juice boxes.
"I don't know." Punk shrugged, "Maybe I'm being too ambitious." He admitted as he folded the paper up, hitting it off of Thomas's head playfully and then tossing it in the trash.
"No, you aren't. If you aren't happy working in the garage anymore you need to do something about it. I don't want an unhappy husband." She pouted.
"I'm not unhappy, AJ." Punk chuckled, "I'm just curious as to what else I could really do instead of fixing cars all day." He said.
"You're a father. That's the most important job you have and guess what?" AJ smiled to her husband.
"What?" Punk retorted.
"You do it pretty damn good." She smiled, throwing the kitchen towel over on the counter, leaving the kitchen and Punk to watch the boys have their dinner to make sure they behaved, which for most of the time they did.
A few days later…
"So, is this our first?" The midwife asked, squeezing the cold gel onto AJ's growing tummy, seeing the couple as just young kids still.
"No… no, this is our third." AJ said.
"Oh, well you'll be pro's by now." The midwife smiled, moving the probe around AJ's stomach to get a clearer picture on the monitor. Even if it was their third child and they knew what was going on, Punk still had a firm grip on AJ's hand.
"Is everything ok?" Punk asked impatiently, hating the dead silence.
"Everything is perfect. The heartbeat is strong and everything looks wonderful." The midwife said as she pulled the monitor closer to the couple, pointing out the head and different limbs.
There was no better feeling to Punk than hearing that his third child was healthy and growing strong the way it should. He was now getting more and more excited to have three beautiful kids to look after, although the thought sometimes haunted him.
"Would you like to know the sex of the baby?" The midwife asked, rolling the monitor back after the couple had taken a look.
"Yeah." AJ smiled with anticipation, her heart beating rapidly.
For the sake of having a happy wife, Punk hoped the baby was a girl… and he had began to grow fond of the idea these past few days. It was a challenge he was willing to make. Having a daughter.
"Ok… you said you had two sons?" The midwife turned to AJ.
"Yeah… two sons." AJ nodded with a smile.
"Well…" The midwife smiled as she finalised her searching, making sure she was one hundred percent sure, "You can tell them they're going to have a little sister."
10 REVIEWS = New Chapter.