An Afternoon with Caleb
Blaine leaned back, sitting under a tree with it's warm bark to his back. He had spread out a blanket to sit on, letting Caleb play to his hearts content. A smile stayed stuck to his face, he was unable to watch his little boy without it. He fascinated him. The way he grew and learned each day, the way he laughed and smiled.
He had so much of his mother in him. It wasn't just the hair and the smile, no. It was the way his eyes lit up when he saw something new, or when he found something he enjoyed. Yesterday it was a yellow butterfly, landing close by on the blanket. Caleb's mouth had opened into a tiny o, and he had waved his arms as the butterfly flew around them. He had rolled over onto his stomach trying to keep in sight, trying to pull himself up.
Blaine had been as captivated by him as Caleb had been by the butterfly. Every day Caleb got closer to walking, and Blaine knew it would be a whole new world when he did. He wished so much that he could share it with Hallie somehow, and the familiar ache of missing her crept into his stomach with the wish.
He missed her with a fierce longing, with every fiber of hie being. He missed her smile, her laugh, the way she looked and felt in his arms. He missed talking to her, missed spending hours filled with discussions on anything and everything. When he missed her like this, he would replay the day they met in his head, their first date, their first night together.
Grinning, he remembered their day of shopping. He had gotten that huge tree print that had hung over his bed, so that whenever he looked up it had felt like he was looking into the branches of the biggest tree. He glanced up into the oak above him, smiling. There were birds playing and flitting about, like spring time. He saw a baby bird stick it's head out of a nest, then hop out onto a branch. It fluttered it's little wings, trying to decide if it was ready to fly.
He looked back down in time to see Caleb roll over onto his stomach, then push with his little arms until he was about an inch off of the blanket. Blaine waited to see if he would make it further, then chuckled when he sneezed, causing him to tumble back down onto his stomach.
Caleb looked over at him, blowing bubbles with slobber. Blaine made a face back, moving forward and scoping him up in his arms.
"Hey there little man, you trying to walk on me now?" He tickled his chin, nuzzling him with his nose. "How about we go get some lunch? I'll tell you about the time me and mommy bought a tree," he smiled, standing. He grabbed up the blanket with a free hand, throwing it over his shoulder and heading towards their house.
