Divergent High: Our Happily Ever After

ｔｈｉｒｔｅｅｎ

Today is Tobias's birthday, just a few days after Halloween, and I'm hoping I can get Tobias to sleep in. Lately, he likes to be up and moving, but just for today I want him to relax and stay in bed. I've been up for a little while with Riley, trying to get him to fall back asleep, but he is fighting it with all his might. Singing to him and rocking him both haven't worked, his little stubborn self just doesn't want to sleep. Eventually, I give up, since it's like seven and there's no way he's going back to sleep now.

Tobias wakes up a little as I slide off the bed, so I walk around to his side, cradling Riley in my arms. Leaning down to Tobias's level as he lays in bed, I brush my fingers through his hair.

"Go back to sleep," I whisper and press a kiss to his temple. A sleepy, tight-lipped smile spreads on his face as he blinks a couple times before closing his eyes again and turning towards the other side of the bed.

I take Riley into his room to change his clothes, dressing him in a simple long sleeve, gray onesie covered in white stars and socks for his feet. It's pretty chilly outside and I don't want his feet to get cold, although I know his socks will fall off at some point within the next few hours. They always seem to slip off and end up in random spots around the apartment. Then I take a seat in the rocking chair in the corner to feed him before I get him settled into the wrap baby carrier. I'm hoping the feeding and the motion of the carrier will put Riley to sleep but we'll see if it works or not.

I decide to pick up around the apartment a little bit, starting with the dirty dishes from last night, and then moving to the living room where I fix the throw pillows on the couch and put dog toys back in the basket where they belong. The dining room is also a mess, with chairs pulled out and random things scattered over the table.

As I push in the last chair, I look down and notice that Riley is zonked out. Grateful, I gently press a kiss to the top of his head. After bringing a box of cereal that I have no doubt that Tobias left on the dining table back into the pantry, I glance at the clock to see that it's almost eight. I realize that Tobias probably won't be sleeping in too much longer, so I walk over to the fridge and pull out the box of cupcakes I picked up from a nearby bakery last night. I carefully grab a chocolate one and put the box back in the fridge. Heading back into the bedroom, I carefully open the door before I start singing the happy birthday song.

Tobias sits up in our bed, a big grin spreading on his face as I replace his name in the song with the word 'daddy'. I hand the cupcake to Tobias as I finish up the song and sit on the end of the bed, facing him.

"Thank you, babe," Tobias says, leaning over and kissing my lips.

"Sorry, you don't get a candle this morning," I joke as I carefully take Riley out of the carrier and get him comfortable in my arms.

"I don't even know what I would wish for," he responds. "I have everything I could ever want." That makes my heart leap, and I can't help but smile.

+ + + + +

I turn in my seat, checking to see if Riley has fallen asleep yet. Sure enough he has. Just a few minutes in the car always seem to put him out like a light. Grinning at my baby boy, I face forward again and grab Tobias's hand. He laces our fingers, lifting our hands and pressing a kiss to the back of mine.

The two hour drive to Normal seems shorter than it did this time last year, when we drove down for the state championships. The quarterfinals were this morning, with the semifinals this afternoon and the championship game tonight. Divergent High won their first game of the day, and the semifinal is supposed to start about fifteen minutes after we arrive, so we hurry to get inside and find seats before it begins. I can't wait to finally be able to watch the girls play, since Tobias didn't want me to go to the first one and I had Riley not long after that.