Smiley and Sunshine

35.

"Guess what!"

The silence of the early morning was broken right on schedule. As they passed under a light post, Austin glanced down at his sister, catching the adoring twinkle in her eyes as she gazed up at him. Without fail, as they began to near Hayes' favorite part of their morning run, Hayes always became a chatter box.

And he meant, chatter box.

Just like when she was a baby, best described as rapid-fire, non-stop word vomit.

He loved it; absolutely loved seeing his little sister's personality shine, even if it was barely 6 in the morning.

It was refreshing, listening to her talk about anything and everything under the sun and Austin wasn't one to boast but he didn't see his little sister just chatting off anyone else's ear, now did he.

Ha.

Take that, brothers.

"What?" Austin replied with the same amount of zest, a smile playing on his lips.

Their footsteps hit in sync creating a rhythmic sound as the two ran down the beaten path, Hayes taking two steps for every one of Austin's.

That, their breathing, and the birds chirping made for a peaceful atmosphere.

The calm before the storm.

He could see they were approaching the lake up ahead, so Austin slowed the pace a bit so they could talk in a casual manner without feeling like they were gasping for air, more so for Hayes' benefit than his. The two were, without a doubt, in great shape, but sometimes Hayes struggled keeping up with Austin's long legs. She'd never admit defeat though.

It wasn't fair that she was fun-sized.

But, just the other day, Austin noticed she'd grown a smidge since living with them.

Hallelujah!

There was hope for the future.

"My birthday is Saturday!" Hayes cheered, a bit loudly for it being the crack of dawn. But it was a monumental birthday, the big one four.

Nah, just kidding.

It wasn't the age that was important - another year older, another year wiser. So what? But the fact that it was her first birthday that she would remember celebrating with all her brothers, now that was memorable.

"Is that so?" Austin teased. Of course he knew his little sister's birthday was coming up. He knew all of his siblings' birth dates, since he was the one buying the presents.

Now, Austin Powers loved all his siblings equally. He didn't have a favorite, as the elder of the family, he couldn't. But, he couldn't deny that October 13th was one of the most special days of the year, especially because of a little someone.

"Yessss," Hayes emphasized. She couldn't help the excitement that ran through her. Even though she wasn't asking for anything, it still made her feel special. A whole day, just to celebrate her!

All that was required was a whole lot of ice cream cake and a whole lot of love, two things that for sure her brothers could manage, no problem.

She knew it wasn't feasible as Emerson had a prior engagement over the weekend, but she also really wished all her brothers would be home. Hayes kept her fingers crossed for that request.

"Oh gosh, thanks for reminding me. I almost forgot."

The scowl on Hayes' face was priceless making Austin chuckle wholeheartedly. She seemed to have taken offense to that comment.