When Riley was eighteen months old, Troye and I decided to take her to the local zoo for the day. I got up early to pack a picnic lunch for us while Troye got Riley dressed for the day.
"Papa!" I turned around at the sound of Riley's little voice, smiling when I saw that she was tentatively taking small steps as Troye held her hands tightly.
"Hey princess. How clever are you?" She'd only really started walking a few months back, being a little less adventurous than most children her age. I moved a little closer before kneeling down and reaching towards her. "Come to papa."
"There you go." Troye said softly, stopping just far enough away that she had to take a few wobbly steps unaided before I caught her, pulling her in for a hug.
"You're so clever, Riley. You'll be running marathons any day now." I laughed.
"Oh please no. I don't want to be getting up at ridiculous hours of the morning to take her to training sessions." Troye begged.
"I'll take her."
"I think I'll have to get you to sign something to prove that you offered to take her to early morning training."
"What? Why?" I frowned, standing up carefully with Riley still in my arms.
"You're not exactly a morning person. How many days did I have to practically drag you out of bed on our honeymoon?"
"There were reasons I wanted to stay in bed then. And not many of them included sleeping." I retorted, smiling when I noticed his cheeks turning a little pink. "You didn't exactly complain much, either. In fact, I remember one particular morning, in that gorgeous hotel room with the big windows, where you were pinning me down and-"
"Okay, okay. You win." He cut me off hurriedly and I had to laugh as he took Riley from me.
"I'm more of a morning person than you'll ever be."
"Whatever. Are you ready to go?" He tilted his head to the side a little so that Riley, who was sitting on his hip, could reach up and play with his hair. It was something she'd recently started doing, twisting her fingers into our hair and gently tugging on the strands, either until she got bored or she accidentally pulled too hard and we made her let go.
"Yeah. Just packing these last things. You?"
"I can't find her hat. Do you know where it is?" I glanced sideways at him as I answered.
"Which one? She's got so many. They seem to be all your family ever send her."
"Don't be mean. It's just that the sun at home in Australia is so strong. They don't know that it's not as bad here. They just want her to be safe."
"I know. And honestly, I don't mind. She looks adorable in a hat."
"She does. But I want to find that pink one with the flower in the front."
"I don't think I've seen it. Have you checked the car? She was wearing it at the park the other day so maybe it's there."
"I'll go and check. Can I leave Riley here with you?"
"Yeah. Just put her on the floor." I watched as he carefully set Riley down, freeing his hair from her grip in the process.
"You be a good girl for papa." He told her gently before disappearing towards the garage. Riley looked up at me from her spot, a mischievous look in her eye.
"What are you planning, cheeky monkey?" I asked her and she blinked at me, innocently.
"No papa." She told me and I turned back to what I'd been doing, packing boxes into a bag and listening carefully as she giggled and clapped her hands playfully. "Papa. Lookie."
