Fall Daydreaming

Fall Daydreaming: Part 1

Their relationship is normal. Heather muses in thought as she watches, her husband, Karter get ready for work as she did any day. After rising at the crack of dawn to begin his morning shift at Banes Hospital, he spends a solid twenty minutes in the shower before returning to their room to groom himself. Heather peers at him through the mirror as he uses her favourite comb to run through his silver hair and tie it back neatly with the scrunchie she had bought for him. When it seems as if he is looking at her, she covers her head to feign innocence. When he is finished, he sits near her legs and puts on his shoes. Then, he treads softly on the floor to draw down the sheets and kiss her cheeks. The warmth she feels after he kisses her warns her that she has a furious blush on her face. "Honey, have a good day," he whispers in her ear, then covers her head once more.

She lays still, listening to his movements in their sons' room. She hears his quick, hurried footsteps rush to the sitting room, pauses—he is grabbing his bag—and leave the apartment building. Heather knows that if she waits by the bedroom window overlooking the cityscape for some time, she will see a tiny blob of silver trudge towards the brutalist building of the hospital.

She breathes out a sigh, sits up on her bed and mentally counts to ten. The door tears open and their firstborn shouts out, "Dad, I got you today!"

Heather stifles a laugh as she observes the dumbstruck expression on Hector's face. His wide brown eyes scan the room, and when they land on his mother, he pouts and exclaims, "Aaah, not again!"

For the past two weeks, Hector and his twin brothers, Kris and Kevin, have been trying to wake up early to greet their father before he left for work. It seems as if today the twins had given up. Karter had told them he was the head of investigating an unknown bacteria that was found in a patient, and he was going to work late for a while. The boys were missing him, so they had been setting their alarms earlier than usual. But every morning, they would wake up to find that their father had already left for the day. Heather knew that the boys were disappointed, but she also knew that Karter was doing important work.

Hector jumps into her open arms and places his head on her chest. Heather strokes his hair and chuckles. "You know, I can tell him to wake all of you up before he leaves." Hector lifts his head and looks at her with concern. "But, we want to be the ones to see him off. We want it to be special Mom."

She cups his face in her hands and looks into his eyes. "Hector, your father loves you very much, and I know he appreciates the effort you and your brothers are making. I think having him wake you up would be better because you get to see him." Hector nods, but she can tell that he's still not convinced.

"Don't worry Mom, tomorrow we'll catch him. I just need to set my alarm a little earlier." He states in a gleeful tone and gives her a toothy grin. Heather sighs, smiles and hugs him tightly. "Fine, but I'll wake you up tomorrow ok!"

Hector giggles and returns her embrace. "Yeah." They remain in that position for a few moments, savouring each other's presence. Then, Hector begins to drift off to sleep, his eyelids fluttering as he fights to stay awake. Heather gently strokes his hair and tucks him into his blankets. He will be turning six in a few days, and she is already brainstorming ideas for a cake to bake. He loved autumn with its crisp air and vibrant colours, and it was never too hot or too cold to play outside. For her, the season evoked feelings of coziness and nostalgia. She had met Karter in the fall and they had married each other in the same season. Hinata began her daydream with a smile as she recalled the happy memories of the fall.