Deceit

4 - Routine

Yamaris:

I jumped out of my slumber as soon as my alarm clock went off and began my usual morning routine. As long as I finished a night of drinking off with a cold glass of water and some aspirin, I was good to go the next morning. After brushing my teeth and pulling my thick curls into a ponytail, I hurriedly put on my running shorts and a tank top before stretching. There was no need to wake Harlem, nor tempt him with any visuals so I was going to instead run my three miles outside today.

My days were never especially difficult at the office but getting my body warmed up early made my day go by much faster. It was rare for me to run outside in the summer due to the blazing temperature; however, the crisp autumn air was slowly beginning to infiltrate the region and I was glad. Being in the mountains allowed seasonal changes to take place a little sooner than they did along the coastline. Still, I was going to enjoy the transition and hit my daily Move goal on my Apple Watch.

With my headphones in my ears, I jogged downstairs and put a piece of bread in the toaster. Jogging inside the house was the perfect way to get my heart rate up and prepare me for the next 45 minutes. I grabbed some butter from the fridge and peanut butter from the neighboring cabinet and spread the two on my light brown toast. My small meal gave me just enough energy to get through my run before I really had to prepare for the day. After cleaning up, I slipped into my Nike's and set the workout timer on my watch. It was go time.

Feeling my heart shoot up to my throat, I wasted no time getting up to speed and embraced the cool air whipping around my body. Runner's high kept me going as I ascended a sloped hill and numerous joggers greeted me as they passed. Our community was pretty active and full of nature trails to admire the surrounding scenery. There were plenty of times where I would just sit on one of the available benches and embrace the true beauty of the world around me.

My parents made sure Logan and I were no strangers to hiking and took us on weekly trips to the various national parks in our home state. Those memories were some of my fondest and gave me something to look forward to when I was actually ready to settle down and begin my own family. Despite growing up with a small family, I wanted at least four children. After all, I would have to pass the family business down to someone just like Logan was doing with his tattoo shop.

My big family desires mostly stemmed from having an older brother who always wanted to use me as some kind of guinea pig. Sure, learning how to skate was cool and all; however, I was never a fan of eating mud pies, being the tester whenever he wanted to dye his hair, or being tricked into walking through cling wrap traps. I always thought that if I had a sister, we would've spent our time doing things I was actually interested in like dolls, art, and Sailor Moon.

Just as I reached my halfway mark which signaled it was time to turn around and complete the other 1.5 miles of my run, my phone pinged. I maintained a slower jog as I checked the message from Charles.

Charles: Good morning, my love. Are you free for lunch today at Montego's? I was thinking 12:30.

Jamaican food didn't sound half bad and I always loved an opportunity to decompress in the middle of the day. I confirmed our plans and continued my journey towards my home.

Running for the final mile was always much easier than when I got started. Not only did I not have to deal the mountainous incline, but my reward for completing my workout was pretty awesome too. I got to eat a more satisfactory breakfast plus a Starbucks coffee. When I didn't finish my workouts, I forced myself to get through the day without any caffeine. There had to be some sort of punishment for breaking my routine. Self-parenting as an adult was real.