Reason

Chapter 6:

"Hey, honey!" I called from the living room. I tied up my tennis shoes and tied up Claire's as well. Tony walked into the living room, all dressed up. I admired him as he brushed his teeth. "Going on a date?"

"Not tonight." He laughed through brushing his teeth. "I have a meeting with the Board." He walked back into our room.

I continued tying Claire's shoes. Tony came behind me and started to massage my shoulders. I smiled and turned around to face him.

"Too bad you can't come on a walk with us." I teased. He bent down and kissed me. I grabbed the sides of his face and smiled into the kiss. He broke the kiss and shrugged his shoulders.

"Duty calls." He said. "I'll be back in an hour though."

I nodded and brought Claire to her feet. Tony helped me to my feet and bent down to kiss Claire. She squealed as Tony picked her up and swung her around.

"Daddy! Daddy!" Claire screeched as Tony put her down. He laughed and kissed me one more time before he left.

I watched as his car pulled out of the driveway and into the street. I took a deep breath and looked down at Claire whose face was pressed against the glass of the door.

"Ready to go, Claire?" I asked, grabbing Brodie's car seat. Claire nodded and walked to the door that lead to the garage. I hauled the car seat over to the door and opened up the door. We walked out and I closed the door. I watched as Claire ran to the new stroller we bought. She sat down in the front and I strapped Brodie's car seat into the back of the stroller. I rolled them out of the garage and into the driveway.

"So, what did you do at Ariel's?" I asked Claire, closing the garage door. Claire looked back and me and smiled.

"I played with Harper and Brooke. We also went swimming." Claire said.

"Did you have fun?" I questioned, rolling the stroller out of the driveway.

"Yes! Mommy?" Claire asked.

"What, baby?" I answered, turning the stroller left at the end of our driveway.

"Can we go to the park?" Claire asked with a smile on her face. I giggled and pointed towards the swings that were poking out of the foliage at the end of the road. Claire squealed in delight and Brodie cooed.

"Ariel said you did good today so I figured that we could go." I told her.

"I was. I helped with Isabel when she needed to be feeded." Claire replied, nodding her head. I laughed and shook my head.

"It's fed, baby girl." I said. Claire made an O with her mouth and a frown landed on her face.

"Why didn't Brooke come today?" She asked, slapping the straps of her stroller.

"Her mom had to work. Her daddy picked her up today." I answered. Claire frowned further and turned around.

We walked closer to the park and Claire was practically jumping out of the stroller. I let her out and let her run to the playground. I laughed and wheeled the stroller to a park bench.

"Hello, Brodie." I greeted, wrapping him tighter into the blanket he was in. "Once you get bigger, you'll get to play there with your sister."

I looked up and watched as Claire climbed up the stairs. I loved her energy and that she was so much like my only sibling. My sibling was so energetic and lovable. If you were sad, she could bring you up in an instant. It made me cry. My sister was perfect and was the person I loved the most. But in an instant, she was gone.

"Hey, are you ok?" A voice asked from behind me. I quickly wiped my eyes and turned around. It was woman I had never seen before. She had chestnut brown hair and friendly face.