Built On Trust

I'm not old

I wake up and notice that Brad isn't in bed, and Shay isn't in her bed either. I walk out into the kitchen to find a cake, card and small present all sitting on the table with Brad holding Shay letting her look over the deck to see the mountains. We just got to Washington yesterday for our vacation, and have been having a really good time. I walk out to the deck to join them taking a blanket with since Brad doesn't have one "Thanks for letting me sleep in."

He walks over and wraps the blanket around Shay and kisses me "Happy birthday. You're catching up to me now."

"I will never be as old as you. I'm still 25." I smirk and take Shay as I walk inside "It's too cold out there for her."

Brad follows me inside and turns the fireplace on so we aren't all freezing then tells me to sit at the table "You need to open your presents so we can eat the cake for breakfast." He hands me the card "Don't get mad at me, I thought it was funny."

I open the card and read it and can see why Brad said that. It's making fun of my age, but in a funny way "This doesn't bother me, you'll always be 5 years older." I move on to open my present and find a ring with two hearts on it "Awe, this is so cute! Did you make it?"

He puts it on my right ring finger "Yeah, I thought each heart was one of ours, and they connect."

My heart melts. I really don't know how I found someone as sweet as him "I love you, thank you!" I look at it for a while then watch as Shay slowly starts trying to crawl "She's really trying. We should probably start baby proofing the house soon."

Brad picks her up so she stops "She won't be starting anytime soon. Her and I have a deal, she isn't going to get too big."

I take her from Brad and put her back on the floor so she can keep trying "You're so cute trying to keep her little. It's not going to work." I wait for Brad to cut up my cake then him and I eat, and I feed Shay once we're done. We go sit out on the deck, this time with appropriate clothing for the weather. I take time to admire how beautiful it is outside. All the snow covered trees, and the frozen over lake, it makes me happy thinking off all kinds of different holiday memories. Brad sits next to me standing Shay up on his lap so she can see over the side. I know at this age she doesn't really know what she's looking at, but I love how much he loves her. He always wants to be with her and show her things, and she's always happy around him.

Brad interrupts my thoughts asking me what I want to do for my birthday "You get to pick, it's your day."

I think about what we can do for a while then decide on going on a small hike "We could go on a hike. They have mountains that are safe in the winter with strollers, we just have to stay warm and we should be okay."

"Are you sure she won't get too cold?" Brad asks me as he gets up to walk inside "She's so little."

"I know she is." I laugh as I follow him inside. I get a pair of long pants, a long sleeve shirt, and the winter jacket and boots I got for Shay then put them on her before getting dressed myself. Looking through what I packed I get sneakers, long heavy pants, a sweater and jacket "I hope this is fun,I don't really know what else we can do around here with her."

Brad finishes getting dressed then gets the stroller ready, and puts Shay in then a heavy blanket over her "I'm sure it will be, the mountains always have a nice view, and she might sleep for some of it." I follow him as he walks out onto the trail leading up the mountain, and we walk silently for a while looking at all the different scenery. There's rows of trees that look like Christmas trees, then some that hardly have any leaves on and almost look dead. The grass is all covered in snow, and the hiking trail we're on is completely dried up. With each step, you can hear the ground crunching beneath you.

"Maybe we should stop over at that lookout." I point out what I'm talking about for Brad "She's going to be hungry soon and it gives us a little break."

He walks over to the lookout and pulls Shay out of her stroller, wrapping her in her blanket, then gets a bottle to feed her "She seems to like it, she's been babbling things to herself the whole time."

"I think she does, I know I do so far." I take a minute to notice my surroundings "Everything is so peaceful and beautiful here. Even if we can't do too much right now it's still a nice trip so far."

"I'm starting to get cold." Brad complains completely ignoring what I just said and putting Shay back in her stroller "I can feel my fingers slowly freezing off."

"No shit. I told you to wear gloves." I take his hands and hold them to warm them up a little "You should have listened to me."

He puts his hands in his jacket pockets and moves to the side so I can push the stroller "I did listen to you, she has the blanket, I just forgot gloves."

"No, I think you just half listened to me." I choose to ignore it and keep walking. He has to pay for it anyway, not me. We get to the top of the trail and I stop walking "Wow, it's beautiful."

Brad walks up behind me wrapping his arm around me "It really is." He turns my face a little so I'm facing him and kisses me sweetly "It makes you look so beautiful, even more than I thought it would. Then again, you don't really need much help."

"You really are the best." I kiss him back, and watch Shay looking around like Brad is "What do you think she's thinking about?"

"I don't know. Maybe when these crazy people will take her back so she isn't freezing." Brad jokes as he takes the stroller from me "I think we should probably go back. We start walking back towards the beginning of the trail and this time instead of focusing on the scenery, I watch Shay. She tries despertaly to kick her boots off with no luck, then starts flailing her arms around like crazy letting Brad and I know she's upset. I let go of Brad's hand and gently hold hers so she can calm down a little. Once we get closer I take her out of the stroller so I can take her inside while Brad takes apart the stroller.

I put her on the floor so she can play or crawl around again "Are you going to try and crawl?" I ask her not expecting an answer, and of course, don't get one. I let her on the floor while I go to mack Brad and I hot chocolate and give him his when he walks in "Maybe this will warm up your hands a little."

He starts taking his jacket off and holds both hands over the cup to warm up and watches as Shay starts slowly moving little by little across the floor "She really was trying."

"I told you!" I watch her for a little until she stops right in the middle of the floor "Awe, well at least she started." I move her toys a little closer to her so she can reach them and she sits up to play with them "She's getting so big."

"I want another." Brad sits down next to me "Not right now, but soon." He plays with her for a while before looking over at me "You okay? You're kinda just sitting there."

"I'm fine." I pick up one of the stuffed animals and start to play with them "I want another too."